After listening to the round of speeches, this time Liu Bo had been given enough time to think, forming his own judgment: “No. 1 is definitely the killer because she was able to speak so effortlessly! I don’t know if No. 12, who was eliminated was also a killer, but for No. 1 to so smoothly say that as long as Shen Mu is eliminated, tonight will be a peaceful night? The reason behind No. 8 being very sleepy? I don’t goddamn know if he’s just sleepy by nature!” Liu Bo said, while pointing his finger at No. 8 beside him.
“Yang Ge has never checked you, yet he knows that you’re innocent! If you’re really a civilian with no ability, how could you be so sure that Yang Ge is definitely a police officer. Do you trust him without reservations just because he said so? It wouldn’t matter if this was just an ordinary game, but if you lose in this broken game, you may even lose your life! You trust him so much, just because you are old classmates that haven’t met up for a few years? There is only one truth, you and him were killer teammates from the beginning! Originally I really believed in Yang Ge’s words, but No. 1’s speech was too atrocious. If you want someone to blame, blame your pig teammate!” Liu Bo’s position clearly showed his attitude. The only thing that made him a little hesitant was, “No. 11. To me, you don’t look like someone who’d make a move on their own sister, so why would you choose to support Yang Ge? What do you mean by surreptitiously substituting one thing for another? No. 1’s speech is already this flawed, even if we don’t mention why No. 1 trusts No. 4, can we just pretend that she has a brainhole? No. 4 still trusts No. 1 unconditionally, how could they not be teammates?”
Of course, Li Xuesong couldn’t answer Liu Bo’s question, but Li Xuesong’s silence caused a hint of uncertainty to flash across Liu Bo’s countenance.
At the end of No. 9 Liu Bo’s speech, the green indicator light turned to today’s last player, player No. 8.
No. 8: “……”
No. 8’s stillness made the atmosphere increasingly tense, but it also gave other players three minutes of peace. Liu Bo seemed to have also started pondering whether Lin Huiru was just a civilian whose speech was extremely bad. It seemed that this kind of possibility also existed. Li Xuesong’s eyebrows creased tightly, it wasn’t known whether he was hesitant regarding his own judgment or reflecting on how to clearly explain it.
The period of 3 minutes was almost up. The second round of voting now began.
No. 8 still had no reaction and Yang Ge inwardly let out a sigh of relief. The remaining eight players finally made their own decisions. The second round of voting was completed, and the mobile phone screen showed today’s voting results.
The players who voted for No. 3 Shen Mu were No. 1 Lin Huiru, No. 4 Yang Ge, No. 5 Sun Jieqing and No. 11 Li Xuesong.
The players who voted for No. 4 Yang Ge were No. 2 Jiang Shuyi, No. 3 Shen Mu, No. 9 Liu Bo, No.10 Kexin.
The player who abstained from voting was No. 8.
The screen of the mobile phone had changed again and now read: No. 3 and No. 4 tied votes, player No. 8 who didn’t vote for either No. 3 or No. 4, please vote again.
In a split second, everyone’s complexion changed, one after another staring at No. 8. Even Shen Mu had a moment where he thought that little 8 would suddenly become clear-headed, pick up the phone and quickly pick a person between him and Yang Ge.
……
3 minutes passed and nothing happened. The phone screen refreshed again: No one was eliminated on the second day.
The game time for the second round of discussions was over. From then on, even if they still had thousands of words to say, the discussion wouldn’t continue until 9:00 am tomorrow. Shen Mu suppressed the smile on the corner of his lips, his eyebrows tightened. His face was filled with the word, “finished”, sitting with a somewhat lost expression.
“Are you okay?” Jiang Shuyi, who was next to him, asked cautiously.
Shen Mu shook his head and didn’t speak.
Yang Ge gave Shen Mu a deep look and also without speaking, stood up to leave.
“Yang Ge……” Seeing that Yang Ge was preparing to leave, Lin Huiru subconsciously opened her mouth to stop him, but seeing everyone looking at her with complex eyes, and also some confusion, she changed her words to, “What are you looking at? Never seen a beauty ah!”
While she was speaking, Yang Ge had already left and Lin Huiru was stuck in place by herself. For a while, she was a little embarrassed, before she stamped her foot as she ran outside.
Everyone’s expressions weren’t very good. The only chance for the good side to win was the voting during the day. If the killer couldn’t be voted out during the day and the killer killed one more person at night, it was another step closer to the killers’ victory.
Liu Bo stood up and looked at Shen Mu with a complex expression: “I’d rather …” He didn’t finish speaking, however his words were self-explanatory.
If Shen Mu was really a police officer, then as he said, No. 12 Zhang Ji was most likely a civilian who was voted out, and all three killers were still alive. After tonight, there would be only eight —no, not including No. 8 who was unable to vote — there would be only 7 players. If another wrong vote was cast, the police and civilians would directly fail.
Yet if Yang Ge was a police officer, then No. 12 Zhang Ji would be an already eliminated killer, and Shen Mu would definitely be a killer. The remaining killer would then most likely be No. 8. This kind of situation was much less tense.
……
Only after returning to the room could Shen Mu not restrain the corner of his mouth from rising. The identities of the players were basically clear. There must be a police officer between No. 7 Li Fengmei and No. 6 Song Yue. Among the votes cast for him, only Sun Jieqing could’ve picked up a police card. On the issue of Li Fengmei and Song Yue, there wasn’t much meaning for Yang Ge to lie. The three police cards should belong to No. 4 Yang Ge, No. 5 Sun Jieqing and No. 7 Li Fengmei.
A plan gradually took shape in Shen Mu’s mind.
Shen Mu picked up a plate of blueberries, feeding it to No. 8 tenderly one by one. Only after seeing that he’d eaten almost all of it did he help him sort out his somewhat messy clothes: “In the next few days, Little 8, you must take care of yourself well.”
Seeing No. 8’s bewildered face, with a drop of blueberry juice on the corner of his mouth, Shen Mu pressed down the throbbing in his heart and used his finger to gently wipe away the drop of blue juice. Under the devil’s impulse, he even licked his fingertips.
“My home is LanCheng Garden, BaiYan City, Building 13, Unit 2. Little 8, if you still remember me when you go back, you must come and find me.” Shen Mu’s heart became a little sour, “If you don’t come, I will be very sad.”
No. 8 also learned from Shen Mu and licked his fingertips, looking at him with innocent eyes.
Shen Mu rubbed his soft hair, no longer speaking.
……
Nighttime, 2:00.
Kexin opened the door with thoughts heavily weighing on her mind. Just as she was about to go to the third floor, she saw Shen Mu standing at the door, gesturing for her to enter.
Shen Mu closed the door: “Kexin, we’re going to kill Yang Ge tonight.”
Kexin could not help but exclaim quietly: “Won’t you be exposed then?”
Yet Shen Mu smiled: “How could I not be exposed. We always need to kill people, and aren’t allowed to kill ourselves. Earning an extra turn by not being eliminated today is so far good enough.” Shen Mu paused slightly, before saying, “Today’s voting pattern has already been revealed. On Yang Ge’s side, there should be Sun Jieqing, who should be the last police, and Lin Huiru. Those two people definitely won’t change their votes. In contrast, on our side Jiang Shuyi and Liu Bo’s attitude isn’t firm enough. Even if we leave Yang Ge alone, we won’t necessarily gain their trust tomorrow.”
“Yang Ge will be eliminated tonight, and I will be the last speaker tomorrow. ‘ll decide depending on the situation.” Shen Mu paused, “However once Yang Ge is out, the others aren’t stupid. Even if it was just to reach an equilibrium, they would still vote me out. I’ll try to pull two more votes so that you remain hidden.”
“I don’t need to jump out as a police officer?” Kexin tried hard to think, “That’s right, Yang Ge was already killed, jumping out as your companion is basically asking to be packaged up and thrown out together… Then…” Kexin licked her lips, and somewhat understood, “If you’re voted out tomorrow, I will kill Sun Jieqing tomorrow night, and stay hidden as a civilian?”
Shen Mu nodded: “Yes. Liu Bo, Jiang Shuyi and Lin Huiru are all people that each have their own suspects. Starting from morning, the day after tomorrow, it will be a round without the guidance of the police. The six of you, or it could be said that the five of you, start speaking from Jiang Shuyi, while you are the second last one. If none of the people in front of you suspect Liu Bo and Liu Bo hasn’t doubted you previously, then you shouldn’t attack Liu Bo.”
Shen Mu thought for a while, then proceeded to say: “After Yang Ge is killed, you must find an opportunity to stand on the same side as the others and insist that the only reason you believed that I am a good person was because I explained the rules. If someone wants to vote out No. 8, don’t follow them to vote, but if all the people in front of you want to vote out No. 8, then don’t object.”
Kexin nodded solemnly, the two people completed their voting.
Shen Mu, seeing she was filled with worry, couldn’t help softly consoling her: “It’s okay, hold on, we can still win.” Seeing that Kexin was still worried, Shen Mu stood up, “Okay, be good and don’t think so much. The third day hasn’t passed yet, maybe things will proceed in another direction. The most important thing for you today, is to have a good rest and keep your spirits up! I’ll go upstairs and help Little 8 vote.”
Saying this, Shen Mu walked towards the exit, preparing to open the door and go out.
“Brother!” The moment when Shen Mu was about to open the door, Kexin finally couldn’t resist calling out.
Shen Mu trembled, as though an electric current was flowing through him from head to toe. A bold guess suddenly emerged in his mind, and Shen Mu turned his head in disbelief.
“Brother…” Kexin’s voice somewhat quivered, “Brother… I’m sorry, I lied to you. I’m not the little girl downstairs. Qiu Siying is not your neighboring aunty, she is your mother, and my mother too… In fact, I’m not Qiu Kexin, my name is Shen Xin. We are biological siblings.”
When Kexin…Shen Xin had called Shen Mu just as he was about to leave, he’d already had a premonition in his heart, but when Shen Xin actually told him the truth, Shen Mu still drew in a breath of cold air, and for a moment, he forgot how to speak.
“Sister…” Shen Mu whispered this strange yet familiar word. An amiable and astringent feeling emerged in his heart, as though the dormant bond in his blood was awakening at this very moment. Shen Mu took a deep breath, suppressing the warm surge in his eyes.
“Sorry brother, I didn’t lie to you on purpose.”
From the intermittent words of Shen Xin, Shen Mu learned some other stories from a few months ago.
Timeless Translations 
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