Inside the hat, Lord Cha bolted upright like a man rising from his deathbed.
On the other side, Lu Zihan's eyes widened. He looked at Player 11, then at Lord Cha, and covered his mouth in shock.
He couldn't help but feel lucky that he hadn't just taken a sip of water, or he would have spat it all over the table.
This wasn't an act; he was genuinely stunned. However, if one were to view it as acting, it could be described as perfectly natural.
On the field, however, things weren't looking good for Lord Cha.
The sky had fallen too suddenly, leaving Lord Cha unable to react in time, to the point where his puppet's expression was still frozen on its face.
Player 11 looked utterly terrified. Her body trembled slightly, her hands gripped the corners of her clothes tightly, and tears welled in her eyes as she continued to explain urgently.
"I'm not lying, really! Last night, I saw him disappear with my own eyes!"
As she spoke, the fear in her eyes intensified. Her voice took on a sob, and she gasped for a while, momentarily unable to speak.
At this moment, the puppet controlled by Lord Cha finally reacted.
The body, which had been sitting upright, suddenly stiffened. The serious expression on its face vanished instantly, replaced by a look of utter disbelief. Its eyes bulged as it stared fixedly at Player 11.
The acting was excellent, but inevitably, more and more wary and guarded gazes were directed toward him.
Meanwhile, the group chat between Ren Yi and the others completely exploded. Messages popped up one after another, so fast they were a blur.
【Lord Cha, did you secretly use your ability last night?】
Lu Zihan's message popped up first, his tone full of shock and confusion.
【No! Absolutely not!】 Lord Cha's message followed immediately, accompanied by several frantic emojis.
【I stayed in the room the whole time, being a good boy. I didn't even dare to move much, so how could I have used my ability? Besides, my puppet is still here. Even if I wanted to move, I couldn't just vanish into thin air!】
【I'm telling you, I can turn my True Form into a shadow to hide, but I absolutely cannot take something as large as a puppet with me. The puppet has to stay where it is. It's impossible for it to disappear with me!】 Lord Cha quickly added another message.
【Even if I really did leave, she would have seen the puppet looking like it lost consciousness at most!】
Looking at the messages in the group chat, Ren Yi sat in his seat, a flash of astonishment in his eyes.
Lord Cha had no reason to lie. They were all on the same side, and it was impossible for Lord Cha to intentionally expose himself.
Furthermore, Lord Cha's explanation was indeed logical. Back at the Lu Family Courtyard, he couldn't use his shadow to carry objects. Only a short time had passed since then; even if he could carry things now, he shouldn't be able to move large items like a puppet yet.
Therefore, there was absolutely no possibility that Lord Cha had "vanished into thin air."
That left only one possibility—Player 11 was talking nonsense. She was intentionally fabricating a lie to slander Lord Cha.
But why?
Ren Yi's gaze fell on Player 11, his brow furrowing slightly, his mind filled with doubt.
Why on earth was Player 11 so determined to label Lord Cha as an Anomaly?
From his perspective, Lord Cha had been coasting the entire time, keeping to himself and showing no flaws. He hadn't said anything wrong, nor had he performed any abnormal actions.
It couldn't be that she was simply going crazy and wanted to stir up trouble to fish in troubled waters, could it?
Ren Yi's fingers flew across the group chat as he asked Lord Cha.
【Lord Cha, think carefully. How did you and Player 11 interact last night? Did you miss any details? Did you do anything that might have made her suspicious?】
【Nothing!】
Lord Cha's message was filled with grievance and helplessness between the lines.
【I was a perfect gentleman the whole time! To avoid exposure, I specifically slept on the floor and gave her the bed. I didn't do anything suspicious at all!】
Ren Yi asked again: 【Were you in the room the whole time last night? Did anyone go to take a shower? For example, you or Player 11?】
【Of course not!】 Lord Cha replied instantly. 【In that kind of situation, who would be in the mood to shower?】
【To avoid exposure, I didn't dare take a single step out of the room. I didn't even go near the bathroom, and neither did Player 11.】
【I swear on my tail, I didn't go to the bathroom once last night!】
Just then, Player 11 suddenly addressed the entire room.
"Last night, this Player 12 suddenly disappeared while he was showering!"
In the group chat of Ren Yi and the others, a string of ellipses instantly appeared.
【...】 Ren Yi.
【...】 Zhang Qiuqiu.
【...】 Lu Zihan.
After two seconds, Lu Zihan's message broke the silence: 【Lord Cha? Didn't you say you didn't go to shower?!】
【She's slandering me! I really didn't go!】 Lord Cha was hopping mad—well, only his True Form was hopping inside the hat; the puppet remained frozen in place.
【She's lying! She's definitely lying!】
Player 11's voice trembled even more, and tears finally rolled down. She hugged her arms tightly across her chest, as if she had fallen back into that eerie and terrifying night.
"Last night, when he went to shower, I had already lied down to rest. But I'm naturally sensitive and don't sleep deeply. Suddenly, I felt like the sound of the water in the bathroom was a bit off."
"The sound was very steady, without any pause. It didn't sound like someone was actually showering."
She swallowed hard, her voice shaking. "I'm a very suspicious person. I couldn't help myself, so I crept out of bed, walked to the bathroom door, and carefully peeked through a crack."
"But the bathroom was empty. Only the showerhead was hanging there alone, spraying water with a hushing sound."
As Player 11 told her story, the others couldn't help but imagine the scene.
The room outside was pitch black, with only the light from the frosted glass door of the bathroom shining.
Upon opening the door, there were no footprints on the floor, no traces of water spreading, and not even a hint of the presence of a living person. It was as if the person who had just entered had never existed.
Player 11's voice choked. "I'm just a vulnerable girl. My roommate suddenly vanished into thin air. No body, no blood, no signs of a struggle—he just disappeared without a sound."
"My first thought was that he had been snatched and killed by an Anomaly, and I would be next!"
She raised a hand to wipe her tears, her tone full of lingering fear.
"I was scared out of my wits. I turned around and hid back under the covers, muffled my head tightly, and endured it for a long time. It wasn't until I heard the water stop that I dared to peek out from the blanket."
"But not long after, Player 12 walked out of the bathroom. He had no expression on his face, as if nothing had happened, and went straight back to his spot on the floor and lied down."
Player 11's voice suddenly rose, carrying a trace of sharp intensity that was hard to notice. "At that moment, I knew. He wasn't snatched by an Anomaly—he is the Anomaly himself!"
In the group chat, Lord Cha had stopped sending messages, seemingly having lost the strength to struggle.
The key was that he was currently in a Silence state. He couldn't even open his mouth to defend himself; he could only watch helplessly as Player 11 "slandered" him.
An Anomaly being slandered by a human... Ren Yi's mouth twitched. A sense of absurdity welled up in his heart. Did this even count as slander?
Well, considering the aforementioned plot was entirely made up by Player 11, it was indeed slander.
Rate on N.U.
