“I... vote for Jiang Yan.”
“What?!”
“Teacher Jian Hou?!”
[Huh?!]
[What the heck?!]
[What’s going on? Did the main system implant memories in me too? Aren’t Jian Hou and Jiang Yan childhood friends? Is my memory malfunctioning?!]
[What else could it be? Clearly, the two of them planned this in advance!]
[But... what?]
Jian Hou's words were like a pebble thrown into a dry well—not heavy in weight but loud enough to stir things up. Even the players lurking in the forums, who had planned to give up after being silenced by the main system, were blown back into activity.
The giant’s hand, which had been lightly patting Jiang Yan’s waist, paused. He stared at Jian Hou for a moment, then said faintly, “Oh, alright.”
“What the hell?! What kind of trick are you playing now?!” Lu Sha slammed the table, breaking the silence in the banquet hall.
“Is... is it because the rules changed, and now we vote for someone innocent?” the middle-aged man timidly asked.
“Oh? Planning to trick us again?” Yu Jia sneered coldly, looking at Jian Hou without a hint of amusement.
Everyone knew Jian Hou and Jiang Yan were friends.
In the last copy, Yu Jia had been completely played by Jian Hou’s double-dealing and still hadn’t let go of that grudge.
Jian Hou smiled sheepishly at everyone before glaring fiercely at Jiang Yan.
In Jiang Yan’s pocket, golden light flowed through the dried veins of the crimson rose petals.
Jian Hou’s voice sounded, “See? I told you this wouldn’t work! Did you really think people were that dumb?”
Jiang Yan raised his eyebrows.
Yes, he was the one who had just told Jian Hou to vote for him.
“Host... I’ve never considered you an especially smart person, but you do have your moments of cleverness,” remarked 663, who had spent most of this scenario pretending to be dead but now couldn’t resist chiming in.
663 spoke earnestly, “Even though this game doesn’t qualify as a real brain-teaser survival game and the copy logic can’t withstand scrutiny, in this situation, having the player Jian Hou vote for you—are you seriously taking everyone else for fools?”
Jiang Yan curled the corners of his lips: “After the earlier game incident, no player would dare vote for me again. Even if Yu Jia and Lu Sha still choose to vote for me, the new players definitely wouldn’t dare to follow.”
663 made a sound of agreement to show approval, then analyzed thoughtfully: “Actually, I was just thinking...
“You had the player Jian Hou vote for you, not for your own sake, but to make the players shift their focus onto Jian Hou.
“To remind the new players that he’s your friend, while subtly diverting their attention from the implanted memories that are completely different between Jian Hou and the other players, and instead drawing their attention back to you.”
663 continued seriously, “But! I think... there’s no way you would think in such a simple manner, right, Host?”
Jiang Yan: “...”
Neither the person nor the system spoke, and for a moment, the atmosphere in Jiang Yan’s consciousness and the control space with 663 became awkward.
663: “... So, is that what you were thinking?”
Jiang Yan: “...”
“Wow!! My host! Your thought process is absolutely brilliant!!” 663 exclaimed, cheerfully buttering him up.
Jiang Yan: “Enough.”
663 took the hint and stopped.
Jiang Yan added coldly: “Actually, there’s another reason. Based on all the information we currently have, none of it is related to the king’s death. There’s not the slightest clue about the murderer, and you still want me to find the culprit?”
Jiang Yan let out a mocking laugh: “It’s purely gambling! The main system just wants to see players and NPCs killing each other.
“So, unless we all get extraordinarily lucky tonight, the final result of this vote will undoubtedly be: a player or an NPC will be thrown out as a sacrifice.
“This is nothing less than collective murder.”
Jiang Yan’s blue eyes reflected Jian Hou’s helpless expression. He softly said, “Old Jian... is just an ordinary person.
“For ordinary people, witnessing a killing is already enough to cause a mental breakdown.
“To personally kill an innocent person...”
Jiang Yan once read a book that described the entire emotional journey of a Japanese police officer during the seven days leading up to carrying out a prisoner’s death sentence.
He didn’t need to fire a gun, didn’t need to place the noose around the death row inmate’s neck, nor could he even confirm if it was his action alone that carried out the execution—because several of his colleagues were also present.
A group of officers pressed the button together, and the trapdoor beneath the criminal’s feet opened. Suspended midair, the criminal was strangled to death by the rope.
Even so, he still felt pain and fear.
Although working in the prison, he had witnessed countless executions and dealt with the aftermath of numerous criminals’ deaths, becoming almost numb to it all.
Yet, when assigned the task of carrying out the death penalty, he still suffered greatly.
Even if the criminal was a heinous offender who had raped and murdered young girls.
In the end, before the execution, he desperately reviewed the criminal’s files, watched tearful interviews with the victims’ families, and looked at the innocent girls’ radiant smiles from before their deaths. Only by sustaining his anger and hatred could he complete the execution.
When the button was pressed, and he heard the sound of the criminal’s neck snapping, all his accumulated anger instantly dissipated.
What remained was endless emptiness and confusion.
And this was a police officer. His target was a truly wicked criminal deserving of death.
Jian Hou, however, was just an ordinary person.
An ordinary person who inherently holds immense respect for the lives of others, even if those lives might deserve condemnation.
Jiang Yan wanted to protect his friend.
Even though it sounded absurd in a game that thrived on slaughter, protecting his friend from personally bearing the burden of death seemed utterly ridiculous.
But Jiang Yan wanted to do just that.
From childhood to now, he rarely had things he truly wanted to do. Everything that had to be done was handled perfunctorily.
Now, it was rare for him to have something he wanted to accomplish:
Protecting Jian Hou was one;
Bringing Yu Xiu and Jian Hou back home together was another.
Jiang Yan continued calmly, “Besides, just now, the giant was already counting down to the final number. That guy is unstable—no one knows what might have happened when he finished counting.”
663 chuckled, “What would happen? He’d start killing one by one, making an example out of someone until the rest of you are willing to vote.”
Jiang Yan raised an eyebrow, “I’m really curious! Your main god wants me to help gather faith energy. People need to be alive to believe in gods, don’t they? So why does it seem like he’s so eager to see players and NPCs kill each other?”
663 paused, then said, “What… what main god asked you to help gather faith energy? Host, you’ve misunderstood! This [Divine System], well... it’s actually—”
Jiang Yan cut him off, “Stop pretending.”
663: “...Got it.”
After a moment, 663 lowered its voice, laughing softly as it replied, “Host... your life in the real world must be exceptionally smooth and happy, right?”
Jiang Yan didn’t deny it.
663 continued to laugh, "Although I haven’t been human for many years, I still remember when I, as a human, believed in gods the most and hoped for their appearance the most."
Jiang Yan: "When?"
663: "When I was desperate and close to death."
Jiang Yan’s gaze darkened.
663 went on to explain: "Humans, at the brink of death, most fervently wish for gods to appear. The faith energy that bursts forth from them at that moment is the strongest."
"If a person is near death, and their friends, family, or loved ones witness it... they too will collectively erupt with immense faith energy!"
"They will scream, cry out desperately, and pray with all their might—calling on gods, begging for miracles, pleading with all the divine beings, no matter who, no matter which one, to save the one they care about most."
"This is beyond religion. At that moment, whichever god shows up first will immediately gain their devotion."
"Humans—regardless of their civilization, class, or race—will always do two things in moments of despair."
Jiang Yan frowned more and more deeply: "What two things?"
663: "Pray to the heavens and call for their mothers."
Jiang Yan: "..."
"And that’s why the main god wants slaughter to occur! The more desperate humans are, the stronger the faith energy they unleash... In fact, Host, when you’re gathering faith energy, you could use this same approach!"
663 added with a meaningful smile, "After all... you’re not an ordinary person, are you?"
Jiang Yan’s long eyelashes trembled, and he remained silent.
"Jiang Yan—1 vote," the giant announced.
The giant’s hand, resting on Jiang Yan’s waist, resumed its gentle tapping. His emerald green eyes scanned the table’s occupants, and he said, "Very good! Now then, how will the rest of you vote?"
Lu Sha glared at Jiang Yan with his beautiful eyes, filled with anger, and said, "You think I don’t dare to vote for you anymore?"
Yu Jia’s fingers, resting on his knee, moved slightly, and he said slowly, "Old Lu, don’t be impulsive."
Lu Sha’s eyes instantly reddened. "I insist on voting for him!"
"I vote for Jiang Yan!" Lu Sha announced.
"Oh, very good." The giant smiled. "Jiang Yan—2 votes."
[?! Lu Sha is so daring.]
[That was reckless...]
[Why does it feel like Lu Sha is particularly irritable in this instance?]
Lu Sha turned to the group of new players. "You’ve all seen it! He must be eliminated! If we don’t eliminate him, we’re all going to die!"
Jiang Yan tilted his head slightly, looking at Lu Sha.
Yu Jia looked troubled. "Using the game rules to eliminate Jiang Yan does seem like a good idea for now, but earlier..."
"Earlier was just an accident!!" Lu Sha retorted. "Everyone saw it! It was just an accident!"
The new players exchanged uncertain glances.
The middle-aged man stared daggers at Jiang Yan.
He hated Jiang Yan! Hated him for causing his son to lose a finger, hated him for turning his son into a cripple. His son was his only child!
But... but earlier...
Yu Jia glanced at the middle-aged man and then at Jiang Yan, his fingers twitching slightly.
Earlier... it was indeed just an accident.
The middle-aged man suddenly broke the silence. "Earlier... earlier was just a system malfunction, wasn’t it?"
"Da-dad?!" The boy with the colorful braids stared at his father in disbelief.
[Huh?! He still dares to vote for him?]
[Whoa… that’s bold! Bold! Really gutsy to still target Jiang Yan after what just happened!]
[So daring! So daring! Even after that major incident earlier, still going after Jiang Yan?!]
[What’s the situation now? Jiang Yan has the most votes??]
[Could it be… they’re really going to vote Jiang Yan out in the end??]
[This… no way, right?]