Rainy Night Theater (13)

The room door was wide open. Bai Ci peered inside. The furnishings were identical to her own room, showing no signs of a struggle.

The victim was none other than the overalls man.

His face was a bluish-purple, his lips black. He lay flat on his back on the floor with his eyes closed as if he were asleep, his face completely devoid of any expression of pain or struggle.

Fu Yan stepped forward to check the overalls man's clothes. There were no strangulation marks on his neck, nor were there any obvious external injuries on his body.

All signs pointed to one possibility: he had been poisoned, and the deed had been done while he was fast asleep.

“He died from a toxic agent,” Fu Yan said, flipping the overalls man over and pulling down his collar to show his neck. “There's a needle mark on the back of his neck.”

The previously somewhat calm atmosphere shattered. Upon seeing the overalls man's corpse, the mutual suspicion among the group was finally brought into the open.

A Madman was hidden among them and had already made a move. The next to die could very well be any one of them.

And so, chaos ensued.

“Does anyone want to exchange clues?” Fu Yan stood up, his eyes sweeping past the top of the doorframe as he calmly started a new topic.

Just as he finished speaking, the muscular man stepped forward—not to exchange clues, but to voice his doubts and dissatisfaction.

“Exchange clues? Isn't the most important thing right now to find the Madmen first? This guy was clearly killed by a Madman. Only Madmen are allowed to act at night. If they didn't kill him, who else did?”

Fu Yan looked at him calmly. “Do you have clues? Can you prove who the Madman is?”

The muscular man choked on his words, a flash of embarrassment crossing his face. But he quickly stiffened his neck and retorted, “I might not have explicit clues, but someone had a conflict with Wang Er yesterday, didn't they?”

His gaze swept over Fu Yan and Bai Ci. The gesture was blatant, his tone dripping with hostility as he pointed the finger squarely at the two of them.

“Yesterday, you had such a fierce argument with this worker. And you—you were speaking up for him back then.” The muscular man pointed at Fu Yan, then at Bai Ci. “Maybe you two held a grudge against him and teamed up to kill him.”

“What utter nonsense!” Supported by the boy with the flashlight, the high-ponytail girl struggled to her feet. Though she was still trembling with fear, she mustered her courage to stand up and defend Bai Ci.

“Bai Jiu is not that kind of person! She's always wanted everyone to stay safe and not kill anyone. And yesterday, she was only trying to stop the fight. She didn't hold a grudge against him at all!”

“What do you know, you little brat?” The muscular man sneered, putting on airs as he snapped back.

“You can never know what someone is truly thinking. She acts all sweet and innocent on the outside, but she might be the most ruthless of us all behind our backs. Besides, who else had a reason to kill this worker?”

“Are you out of your mind?” Sun Hao leaned against the corridor wall with his arms crossed, a look of sheer exasperation on his face as he rolled his eyes. “By your logic, shouldn't I have been the first to die?”

Since entering this instance, he had lost count of how many times he'd rolled his eyes. He was surrounded by a bunch of absolute morons, both teammates and opponents alike.

“I've offended way more people than he did. Most of you probably can't stand the sight of me. If holding a grudge was all it took to get someone killed, would it really have been his turn first?”

Sun Hao's words made the muscular man's face flush with embarrassment, but he still refused to back down. He opened his mouth to argue back, but Bai Ci cut him off.

“Um...” Bai Ci didn't raise her hand this time. Instead, she simply tucked her hands behind her back. “Brother Wang... I recall his surname was Wang, right?”

“Brother Wang was very strong and well-built, and he looked like he had a lot of physical strength. If someone made a move on him while he was awake, whether they used poison or something else, it would have been hard to prevent him from resisting. He might have even overpowered his attacker.”

“Look, Brother Wang Er's expression is very peaceful, with no signs of a struggle. This indicates that when he was poisoned, he was likely asleep, or perhaps in a state of unconsciousness.”

“Which means the Madman's side is likely physically weak.” Fu Yan followed Bai Ci's train of thought, grasping her underlying meaning.

“Aren't you just describing your own crime?” The muscular man seized upon Bai Ci's words, his tone growing sharper. “How do you know so sure he was poisoned while unconscious?”

“I already explained it. Judging from his expression and the state of the room, is it really that hard to deduce that he was poisoned while unconscious?”

“Besides, by that logic, you might be the next one to die. After all, you're also very strong, just like Brother Wang. If the Madmen want to make a move, they would naturally choose to do it at night when you are unconscious.”

Bai Ci offered the warning with an air of pure concern.

Her concern was somewhat genuine, but if the Madmen really wanted to kill someone during the nighttime phase, the others couldn't stop them anyway. This way, the muscular man would be on tenterhooks for the entire daytime phase, dreading the moment he had to fall asleep.

Secondly, someone who was prepared for an attack might just be able to leave a nice surprise for the Madmen.

Moreover, this man's name had appeared on a tombstone, so there might be some deeper significance to him.

For example, could he actually be a Madman?

If she looked at it that way, Fu Liu could also be a Madman.

Thinking of this, Bai Ci's mind wandered. If she were to ask Fu Liu directly, given their current relationship, would he tell her the truth?

“Are you threatening to kill me, you little brat?” Whether intentionally or not, the muscular man interpreted Bai Ci's words as a threat. He raised a fist, pointing it at her.

“That's enough.” Sun Hao stepped between the two of them, rolling his eyes deeply at the muscular man. “Have you ever played even a single game of Werewolf?”

“The ones who thrust themselves into the spotlight are always the first to die, especially in a trash setup like this with no Seer. Acting so aggressive only makes me think you are the Madman.”

Fu Liu stepped forward, shielding Bai Ci behind him once again. “Please show some respect to my girlfriend,” he warned. “Do not falsely accuse her, and watch your mouth.”

“Oh, look at you, being all protective,” Sun Hao said, waving his hand impatiently. “Fine, fine, I can't stand you two. So dramatic. If we're going to exchange clues, let's get on with it. Keep dragging your feet, and the next to die might be one of us.”

The muscular man snorted, lowered his fist, and stepped aside in silence.

The group briefly compared notes.

It was already known that the left corridor contained several locations: the garden, the banquet hall, the study, the bedroom, the cave, and the base of the high tower. With Fu Yan's additions, the locations in the right corridor were also clarified: the kitchen, the ward, the mansion living room, the ballroom, and the prison.

The furnishings of every room on the second floor were completely identical, offering no additional clues.

Aside from that, there was the matter of food. Cheng Xi had tasted everything one by one and confirmed that the food in the kitchen scene was edible, but it did not provide any sense of satiety.

With the exchange of clues complete, the group fell into silence.

Though there seemed to be many clues, none of them pointed to the Madmen, nor did they shed much light on the secrets of the theater. Instead, they only raised more questions.