Ren Yi gazed at the mixture of surprise and joy on Player 4's face, which didn't seem faked, and felt a secret sense of relief.
Good, the worst-case scenario hadn't happened.
What was the worst-case scenario?
Naturally, it was the possibility that when Ren Yi said those words, Player 4 would look shocked, then immediately turn solemn.
And then, he would pull out a bottle of bubbling green liquid—something that clearly looked like bad news—and splash it all over Ren Yi's face.
If that had happened, the best outcome would have been a one-for-one trade.
Judging by Player 4's reaction, he definitely wasn't the Poison Apprentice. That was enough.
Ren Yi lowered his eyelids and gave a slight nod, but the smile on his lips grew even more brilliant.
Player 4 didn't notice anything unusual in the depths of Ren Yi's eyes. Instead, he breathed a sigh of relief, and his tone became much more friendly.
"That's great! I didn't expect to run into the Poison Apprentice. With you here, we'll be much safer tonight!"
"Even if an Anomaly attacks us, we won't be completely helpless."
Player 4's joy stemmed from two things.
The first was what he had said aloud: if his roommate was the Poison Apprentice, they had a way to counter an Anomaly's attack.
The second was... his roommate couldn't be an Anomaly now.
It was simple. Although Player 4 was a bit dim-witted and sometimes slow on the uptake, he wasn't stupid.
The clues were obvious: the fact that all the keys were given out on the first day but would have to be found later, and the structure of these hermetically sealed pods...
He could roughly guess that it was likely extremely difficult for an Anomaly to break in from the outside on the first night.
So, while he said those things, he was thinking clearly—there was a high probability that this bottle of poison wouldn't be needed on the first night.
Under these circumstances, the Anomaly faction would either not kill anyone, or a problem would arise within the double rooms.
So, while Player 4 seemed carefree, he had actually been on edge, his skin crawling with anxiety.
Running off to shower earlier had also been, in part, an attempt to avoid being alone with Ren Yi.
But now that Ren Yi had proactively "revealed his identity," the probability of him being an Anomaly had dropped significantly.
If his roommate really were an Anomaly intending to kill him, there would be no need for this unnecessary act of faking a Special's identity.
And if he didn't intend to kill tonight, what if a real Poison Apprentice showed up later? He would just be walking into a trap and increasing his risk of exposure.
As for blindly believing him and labeling every other Poison Apprentice who appeared later as an Anomaly...
Player 4 curled his lip inwardly; he wasn't that stupid. Thinking this way, he regained a bit of confidence in his own intelligence.
Ren Yi was unaware of Player 4's internal monologue. After confirming that Player 4 was indeed not the Poison Apprentice, he continued to stare at him with a bold, fixed gaze.
"What's wrong?" Player 4's smile didn't last two seconds before he met Ren Yi's eyes.
Looking at the mottled white foundation, the still vivid and piercing lipstick, and the messy rainbow hair on Ren Yi's face, Player 4's heart skipped a beat, and that inexplicable sense of panic surged back up.
Ren Yi didn't answer. He simply raised his hand slowly, holding the bottle before his eyes and examining it against the light.
"I've been direct and told you my identity. You could say I'm being very honest..."
He gently swirled the liquid, watching the white mist within shimmer under the light, as he spoke slowly.
"Since I'm being so honest, shouldn't you be a little honest too?"
"Mr. 4, are you... an Anomaly?"
Player 4 had just finished hearing the first half of Ren Yi's sentence and was about to answer: "I'm just an ordinary person... no, what did you ask?"
He realized a second too late that Ren Yi hadn't asked "What is your identity," but rather "Are you an Anomaly."
He froze for a second, then hurriedly waved his hands and replied, "What are you talking about? Of course I'm human."
"Is that so?" Ren Yi suddenly stood up. His movements weren't fast, yet they carried an inexplicable sense of pressure.
With a crisp click, the sound of the bottle cap being unscrewed was exceptionally piercing in the small, silent pod.
Player 4 could clearly see the seemingly sacred liquid slowly steaming from the mouth of the bottle, but he felt a fatal threat.
Whether it was the original version of this game or the rules mentioned at the dinner table earlier, it had been made very clear.
The poison in this game wasn't some "holy water" that only worked on creatures of the dark; it was a weapon that could slay gods and buddhas alike.
It was one of the most lethal means of execution in this type of game. Regardless of whether you were human or Anomaly, or what your identity was, it could wipe you out.
This scene was no different from a temporary roommate suddenly pulling a loaded handgun from his pocket, aiming it straight at your head, and telling you he could pull the trigger at any moment.
In this game, dying meant truly dying.
Even if revival was possible, to ensure everyone's survival, their side had to win and at least four people had to remain alive.
Moreover, if this bottle of poison was used so inexplicably on him, would they still be able to win?
Even though he knew Ren Yi likely wouldn't waste such a precious poison on the first night, Player 4's heart still leaped into his throat, and a layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.
"What are you doing!" Player 4 backed away with feigned bravado, stumbling over the small desk behind him.
"Calm down," Player 4 said, trying to analyze the situation calmly to convince his seemingly crazed roommate.
"If you're the Poison Apprentice, you have to realize the importance of what's in your hand!"
"That bottle of medicine is our only way to take out an Anomaly outside of the voting process!"
"And... and if you just use it like this, you won't have any way to protect yourself for the next few nights!"
"If you can't find the key to your room in the coming nights, it will definitely be much more dangerous than it is now."
"Besides, you're a Special. The Anomalies will definitely target you... do you really think you won't show any weakness?"
In this life-or-death moment, Player 4's mind was unexpectedly clear. He poured out a long string of words in one breath, each one logical, trying to awaken the reason of the madman before him.
But Ren Yi merely tilted his head at this defense and reached out with his other hand to touch his bright red nose, his tone innocent.
"Look at you... I'm very calm right now. Especially calm. Calmer than I've ever been."
Player 4 looked at the clown in front of him. The white foundation on his face had begun to flake off, but the exaggerated lipstick at the corners of his mouth remained vivid, making that smile even more piercing.
The messy rainbow hair and the slightly excited glint in his eyes told the story.
It was over.
Player 4 suddenly realized that this roommate wasn't acting crazy—he was truly insane!
In his eyes, the current Ren Yi was even more terrifying than the Anomalies hiding in the shadows, waiting for a chance to strike.
"I get it..." Player 4 murmured, as if trying to hypnotize himself.
"You're testing me, right?"
"You're afraid I'm an Anomaly who will kill you in the night, so you're striking first and using this method to probe me."
By the end, his voice grew firm again, carrying a hint of pleading, his eyes filled with urgency.
"Now you've tested me, haven't you? I'm a good guy! I'm really human! I'm no threat to you at all!"
"Oh my, you guessed it." Ren Yi blinked playfully, his tone light as if he were playing an interesting game.
"But since you guessed it, doesn't that prove my test wasn't quite effective enough?"
"Then what on earth do you want!" Facing a madman with a lethal weapon, Player 4 was gradually losing his mind.
Ren Yi tilted his head and looked at him quietly.
"Actually, your guess wasn't entirely correct. I wasn't planning on testing you." He gave a soft sigh.
"I'm a very good person. My only flaw is that I lack a sense of security, and I don't like sleeping with others. I believe everyone in this game, except for the Anomalies, shouldn't want to sleep with someone else either."
"So, Mr. 4, your earlier speech was so careless, you were coasting the whole time, and then you were so eager to stay in a room with me. You must be an Anomaly."
Ren Yi casually bullshitted about Player 4's performance.
He stared at Player 4, who was slumped on the floor, and slowly tilted the bottle. A thin stream of water hung right above Player 4, slowly trickling toward the rim.
"Mr. 4, I'm going to pour it now." His tone was light, yet it carried a fatal pressure, as if he were joking, yet also as if he were pronouncing a death sentence. "If you're an Anomaly, you can get ready to transform now, otherwise you won't have a chance in a moment."
"So, are you... or are you not... an Anomaly?"
The shadow of death instantly loomed over him, weighing so heavily on Player 4 that he could barely breathe. He practically shrieked in a frenzy.
"I already told you!"
"I'm! Not!"
Rate on N.U.
