Their eyes were filled with malice, and their twisted mouths seemed to be ready to curse him to death.
For a moment, those who dared not look at Xiao Huai all stared fiercely at him, capturing every change in expression on his face.
In his deep-set eyes, there was a hint of a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. The moonlight fell on his face, outlining the delicate silhouette of his long eyelashes.
He quietly gazed at the group, but a voice suddenly rang out from the crowd.
Hu Jiang finally raised his voice, though it still stuttered.
“But! But, have you all forgotten who told us that the school rules were fake? If he hadn’t told us, we would have been in danger!”
Ning Gaoqiang snorted coldly, “What a fool. His very existence is the biggest threat. If it weren't for him, how could there be fake school rules?”
Xiao Huai glanced at Hu Jiang, surprised to see someone standing up for him in this group.
He curved his lips, his gaze deepening, “No matter if I am a high-level player or not, you will still die after killing me.”
“Haha, you’re just spouting nonsense because you're at death's door.” Ning Gaoqiang retorted with sarcasm.
Xiao Huai narrowed his eyes slightly, a low laugh escaping from deep within his throat.
“You really are quite stupid.”
“What! What did you say?” Ning Gaoqiang's eyes widened in anger, unable to tolerate even the slightest mockery.
Xiao Huai stood up, his hands tucked into the pockets of his coat, and slowly walked in front of Pan Qing.
He was a head taller than Pan Qing, tilting his head slightly to look down at him.
“You’ve overlooked one issue: the authenticity of the information. New players always unconsciously believe everything the old players say, ignoring the objective facts that exist. From the very beginning, He Lecheng made it clear that there were ‘alternatives’ among us. If you all take a good look at the game rules, you will understand that in the first layer of the dungeon, NPCs cannot lie.”
NPCs can choose not to answer questions or refrain from mentioning key information, but the information they have mentioned is never to be doubted.
That’s why He Lecheng directly told them the school rules. The rules spoken from his mouth are all verified.
So... that phrase about needing to make progress might also be a real school rule.
His deep voice reached everyone’s ears.
Xiao Huai: “So from the very beginning, I didn’t believe any of the things you said.”
He smiled as he looked at Hui Yulian, standing in the center of the crowd.
His indifferent gaze felt like he was looking at a lifeless object, inexplicably bringing a sense of oppression.
The moment Hui Yulian met his gaze, her heart skipped a beat, her face turning pale, and she felt a wave of discomfort wash over her, her fingertips trembling slightly.
Xiao Huai, without knowing where he had found it, produced a bloody booklet, the words “Student Handbook” printed on the cover.
All the players’ pupils dilated slightly as they looked at the booklet.
It was completely different from the student handbook they had found, which was handwritten, with all the rules also handwritten.
But the student handbook in Xiao Huai’s hand was printed.
This handbook contained several rules identical to the one they had, but it also had entirely different ones.
“This is the student handbook found on the corpse of a female downstairs,” he said as if flipping through someone’s corpse was nothing significant. “Whether you believe it or not is up to you, but next, I want to have a word with the werewolf.”
“Werewolf? You... you’ve discovered the traitor?! Do you know who it is?” Pan Qing looked at him in disbelief.
It was only the second day; how could he have possibly found the murderer so quickly?
Xiao Huai's gaze remained fixed on Hui Yulian; his look was the best answer.
“Hah? Are you joking? You suspect me?” Hui Yulian stepped forward, unable to believe that she had just given him a clue and was immediately betrayed.
The new players exchanged glances, their eyes filled with confusion.
Hui Yulian was someone who had helped most of them from the start. If it weren't for her, they would never have known the rules of the game; even scum like Ning Gaoqiang had some trust in Hui Yulian.
He had initially planned to attack the NPC, but it was her reminder that stopped him from making a foolish mistake.
Pan Qing followed Xiao Huai's gaze toward Hui Yulian, also a bit incredulous that Xiao Huai would suspect her.
He was also an old player, and Hui Yulian had told the new players nothing but the truth.
Although she had been reluctant to lead at first, she had shown more courage than them and ultimately helped the new players by informing them of the survival rules.
Hu Jiang was also surprised; how could it be Hui Yulian who got the identity card? As a student, what harm could she possibly cause?
Xiao Huai casually remarked, “Given the known existence of werewolves and the authenticity of the school rule 2, your suspicion is indeed the highest. However, I confirmed it was you because of the three dead people.”
Hui Yulian laughed, “What are you talking about? With just this, you think I’m the traitor?”
“Xiao Ge… I also think this is a bit unreliable; you should clarify it to everyone,” Hu Jiang quietly chimed in.
Xiao Huai: “The reason is simple, because of that set of school uniforms. I think, the school uniform in your backpack can let anyone safely enter the school, right?”
Among the thirty-four players, only Hui Yulian had entered the game wearing a school uniform.
School rule 2 stated that one had to wear a school uniform to enter the teaching building, but it never specified that it had to be the Ivy League Girls' School uniform.
Perhaps any school uniform would suffice.
The players fell into thought, but even if she could enter the teaching building in a school uniform, what did that have to do with anything?
No… it has everything to do with it!
Those with sharper insights quickly realized something was off.
She could get to the teaching building ahead of everyone and forge a student handbook.
And the reason she did this might be related to her identity card mission.
Moreover, due to her identity, she could access more information clues.
For example, Hui Yulian had known all the school rules from the beginning.
Xiao Huai slowly added, “This is just the first suspicion. The second suspicion—among the three who died in the dormitory, the cause of death was poisoned, and a false suicide scene was fabricated. At that time, you spoke about the NPC's hate value, but did you not know that even if an NPC truly kills someone, they would not fabricate a death scene?”
“After all, even if the NPC was discovered to be the murderer, what could we do? Only the weak need to cover up their crimes.”
When he finished explaining the second point of suspicion, everyone suddenly understood.
Right, NPCs have no need to fabricate a false scene after killing someone. Combined with these two points, Hui Yulian's suspicion was indeed too great.
At this point, Hui Yulian’s face was already pale, “Heh, this is just a first-level dungeon; do you really think I would kill my teammates?”
Her counter-question made everyone fall into deep thought again. How could a first-level dungeon be manipulated so intricately?
“Speaking of this, we must mention the initial game rules.”
“What? The initial ones?” The players looked at Xiao Huai in astonishment, realizing he had been paying attention to everything around him from the very beginning!
They had thought he was just napping.
He recited those few words: “Gods’ Live Stream, Entertainment Above All.”
So exciting!
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