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墨書 Inktalez
Horror Chapter
Malice was the first to speak, touching the Ugly Mask on her face as she shared her thoughts. "I've always had a question: why do we all have this Ugly Mask on our faces? What does it represent? What would happen if we took it off?"
Her words stirred the others; indeed, why hadn't they thought of that? If the path to survival lay in removing the mask, then they could avoid this damned game altogether. Yet, despite the thought, no one dared to act. The outcome was uncertain, and each person's life was singular; if the result wasn't survival, then removing the mask might trigger death instead. Without certainty, no one was willing to take the risk.
"This could also be a path to survival," Laziness said, also touching his mask. "But we can't be sure that taking off the mask means survival. What if it's a condition that triggers death?"
"What do you mean?" Malice asked.
"No one is foolish! If you want to know what happens when you take off the mask, why not just try it yourself?"
Laziness's words awakened those present who had considered removing their masks. Everyone looked at Malice with strange expressions.
"Heh, I just brought up this idea; I didn't mean anything by it." Although everyone's expressions were hidden by their masks, Jiang Liu could sense a hint of irritation in Malice's tone.
"And don't you think this mask serves other purposes?" Malice continued. "I suspect that ghosts are likely different from us commoners."
"Enough! I understand what you're trying to say. But don't you think this will only increase distrust among us?" Jiang Liu glared at Malice angrily.
"What are you all talking about? Can't you understand?" Rage was frustrated; he was the type with a simple mind and strong limbs, and he found Jiang Liu's cryptic words extremely annoying.
"It's simple," Laziness explained. "Malice means that ghosts might look different from us or have some markings indicating their ghostly identity, which is why they need this Ugly Mask to cover it. Once we take off our masks, we'll clearly see who the ghost is!"
"I think Malice has a point. If we all take off our masks, wouldn't we know who the ghost is? If someone refuses, then we'll know who it is," Fear chimed in, agreeing with Malice's idea and puzzled as to why Laziness and Pride disagreed.
"If I were a ghost, I'd definitely leave you for last!" Laziness chuckled at Fear.
"What do you mean?" Fear asked, somewhat confused.
"Because you're the dumbest!" Laziness scanned the crowd in front of the Black Round Table with his eyes, finally fixing his gaze on Fear. "I'm so dumb that I don't even know how to explain it to you so that you understand."
"You!"
"Alright, everyone, let's tone it down a bit," Jiang Liu said, looking at the two who were already on edge. To stabilize the situation, he decided to step in as a mediator. "Malice, I've thought about this idea too, but ultimately I set it aside."
"Why?" Gluttony, sitting across the table, asked.
"Because it's impractical," Jiang Liu sighed, seemingly disappointed to have such a group of incompetent allies.
"I'll ask you a question! If we confirm that we can proceed, who would be the first to take off their mask? Is it Malice who proposed this? Or is it Fear who supports Malice? Or someone else?"
"Of course it's Malice!" As soon as Fear said this, she realized she was wrong. Looking up, she saw the mockery in Laziness's eyes becoming more pronounced. Jiang Liu also looked at Fear with some helplessness, wondering how someone like her had survived this long.
"Oh! Since that's how you think, why don't you ask Malice if she would be the first to take off her mask?" Laziness mocked Fear without holding back. Fear turned to look at Malice and found her staring back with an expression that suggested she thought Fear was foolish.
"Everyone should give each other a break," Jiang Liu said, feeling that being a mediator was not something just anyone could do. But since he had already stepped up, he continued explaining: "We don't know what will happen the moment we take off our masks. Sudden death? Or something else? There are too many uncertainties, which is why I can't proceed."
"This won't do; that won't do. Have you all discussed anything at all?" Rage said impatiently.
"I've been pondering a question since earlier," Jiang Liu said as he looked at everyone and shared his thoughts. "Have we been overlooking something?"
"What have we overlooked?" Laziness asked.
"Identity of the Ghost?"
"The identity of the ghost is just a ghost, right? What other identity could there be?" The others didn't understand what Jiang Liu meant, but Lazy seemed to have thought of something upon hearing Jiang Liu's question, and his expression changed immediately.
"The mysterious voice we heard earlier said that one person among us would be randomly chosen as the ghost. That's correct, right?" Jiang Liu paused for a moment, seeing everyone nodding in agreement before continuing, "Then I have a question: since this is a game, there must be a way for everyone to pass. Otherwise, it can't be called a game."
"I understand what you mean, but can you just say it already? This will only give the ghost an opportunity to act!" Lazy's mind was quick; he realized that Jiang Liu was about to say something important.
"It's better to say it now than later," Jiang Liu replied with a bitter smile. "I have a bad feeling about this; I just sense that something will happen."
"Hey, what are you two playing at with these riddles? Why can't you just say what you mean?" Rage interjected impatiently.
Lazy picked up on Jiang Liu's determination and could only helplessly lean on the round table, no longer trying to stop him. Jiang Liu took a deep breath and looked at everyone present before sharing his thoughts.
"Don't you all realize? If one person is truly chosen randomly among us to be the ghost, then it means one of us will definitely die. This contradicts the basic rules of the game! So I've had a hypothesis from the very beginning!"
"What hypothesis?" Everyone looked at Jiang Liu nervously.
"There is a ghost among us! I believe it's the True Ghost!" Jiang Liu looked at everyone around the table and continued, "I don't know why no one died on the First Night; maybe it's because once the ghost kills someone, it reveals itself, or perhaps there are other reasons preventing it from killing right away. So when I was preparing to say this, Lazy stopped me because I thought that once I revealed this hypothesis, the true identity of the ghost would be exposed, and it would likely start killing!"
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