“Ungrateful wolves! You're all ungrateful wolves!” Filament’s voice was filled with grief and indignation. “She defended you so much. Even to me, she didn't reveal who you were, yet you went and killed her anyway!”
Forcing down the anger in her heart, she turned her gaze to the crowd, her tone carrying a trace of resentment. “Yesterday during the day, did anyone find any extra clues besides that yellowed notebook?”
Bai Ci shook her head slightly. “No, we searched for a long time afterward yesterday and didn't find any other clues. Perhaps... some clues only appear at night.”
This was just a routine summary of the situation, and Bai Ci had no idea which part of her words had triggered Filament, completely igniting her fury.
She whipped her head around to glare at Bai Ci, her voice sharp. “Clues at night? Easy for you to say!”
“Weiwei was killed at night, and now you're telling me there are clues at night? Did you know this would happen all along? Do you just not care whether we live or die at all?”
Bai Ci was stunned. She hadn't expected Filament to suddenly vent her anger on her, and she was almost amused by the absurdity of it.
She opened her mouth, wanting to explain, but Filament cut her off.
“Don't bother explaining to me!” Filament was losing control of her emotions. “Who do you think you are? Acting all innocent and kind, when who knows what you're actually plotting inside!”
“What right do you have to falsely accuse my baby?” Fu Liu took a step forward, shielding Bai Ci behind him, and glared coldly back at Filament. “My baby has never harmed anyone. She even saved Liu Siwei yesterday. Looking back now, we might as well have poured that antidote down the drain.”
“Falsely accuse her?” Filament let out an angry laugh. “You're no good either! Calling her ‘baby’ this and ‘baby’ that all day long—who are you trying to disgust?”
After snapping at Fu Liu, Filament turned her gaze to the others present, giving Fu Liu no chance to argue back.
“And the rest of you, every single one of you is cold and heartless! Watching someone get killed, all you can do is stay silent and suspect each other. You don't even think about searching for clues together and surviving together!”
“People like you don't deserve to win! You deserve to die right here!”
As Bai Ci watched the hysterical Filament, she began to read between the lines. Filament's breakdown wasn't entirely due to her friend's death; there seemed to be the fury of betrayal mixed in as well.
“Tongtong, calm down. We're friends. You can trust Fu Liu and me. Let's find Weiwei's killer together.” Bai Ci reached out to Filament, a hint of a probe hidden beneath her comforting words.
“Calm down? How can I calm down?” Filament shoved Bai Ci's hand away, her eyes brimming with tears and resentment. “Weiwei was my best friend. She died such a horrible death. How could I possibly calm down?”
“Even though she didn't tell me who the Madmen were, I know her too well. I can guess who some of them are.”
The result of the probe was clear; Filament's response said it all.
“You let the kindest person die. None of you deserve to win, and none of you deserve to get out of here alive!”
Filament spun around, marched back into her dormitory, and slammed the door shut with a loud bang, shutting everyone out.
Silence fell over the hallway once more. Everyone stood with their heads bowed, lost in their own thoughts.
Bai Ci stood where she was and glanced sideways at Fu Liu. He, too, was likely a member of the Madman faction.
That was why Filament had broken down so completely. Someone she had thought was a friend from the same faction was now staying silent in the face of another friend's death—and that silent person was the one most likely to know something.
Filament was a friend of the high-ponytail girl, and naturally, she had been closer to the high-ponytail girl and the boy with the flashlight.
Now that they had died one after another, and Bai Ci and Fu Liu were a couple with their own natural faction, even the minimal sense of belonging and security Filament had from sticking together was about to vanish.
With nowhere left to turn and no one to rely on, Filament's state of mind had been deeply affected, driving her toward a self-destructive, “burn-it-all-down” attitude.
Just then, Cheng Xi broke the silence, her gaze locking onto Fu Liu. “You're a Madman too, aren't you?”
It wasn't just Bai Ci; Cheng Xi had also read between the lines of Filament's attitude.
Filament's hostility was clearly directed at Bai Ci and Fu Liu. What other reason could there be for her to turn on two of her friends over the death of another?
Naturally, it was the silence of someone who knew the truth.
Since Bai Ci was undeniably the Doctor, the only one who could be labeled a Madman was Fu Liu.
Cheng Xi rarely spoke and usually stayed out of such discussions, but when she did speak, she made it count. Her words drew everyone's eyes to Fu Liu in unison.
“I...” Fu Liu opened his mouth to explain, but he had no idea what to say. The word “I” was followed only by a long, heavy silence.
Just then, the sound of something shattering, accompanied by a dull thud, echoed clearly from Filament's dormitory.
Bai Ci's heart tightened. That sound didn't seem like someone accidentally dropping something. Without a moment's hesitation, she knocked on Filament's door. “Wu Tong, what happened? Are you okay?”
There was no response, not even a sharp retort.
To rule out the possibility that Filament was just sulking and refusing to answer, Bai Ci pounded on the door several more times, trying various ways of coaxing and questioning, but the result was the same dead silence.
“Kick it open,” Fu Yan suggested. True to his word, he was the first to land a kick on the door.
However, Fu Yan had a rather slender build. Aside from making a louder noise than the knocking, his kick achieved absolutely nothing.
Then again, it made sense. A programmer being big, burly, and muscular wouldn't really fit, would it?
The others realized what was happening and joined in, taking turns kicking the door, especially the muscular man.
Building on the previous attempts, his powerful kick finally busted the door open.
As the door swung open, they saw Filament collapsed on the floor, foaming at the mouth.
Beside her was a shattered water glass, and among the shards lay a beautiful, completely red fruit.
Sensing that someone had broken in, her eyes struggled to open. Her gaze was unfocused, but using the last ounce of her strength, she raised a finger and pointed directly at Fu Liu, who was standing by the door.
Her lips trembled as if she wanted to say something, but she couldn't make a sound.
Finally, her head lolled to the side, and her breathing stopped completely.
“No... it wasn't me!” Fu Liu panicked completely. In a situation like this, he had no idea how to defend himself. “It really wasn't me! I didn't kill her! I can show you my poison to prove I haven't used it!”
Ignoring Fu Liu's defense, Fu Yan walked straight over to Filament's body, wrapped the fruit in a handkerchief, and held it out to Cheng Xi. “Is it this?”
Cheng Xi glanced at it, picked up the camera hanging around her neck, and began scrolling through the images. After clicking a few times, she stopped, looking back and forth between the fruit and the photo.
“It is. This is a poisonous fruit.” Noticing the questioning gazes directed at her, Cheng Xi paused before explaining, “There was a notice about it posted in the hospital scene.”
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