Chapter 17: The Hanging
After the third brother of the National Football Team spoke, the room fell silent enough to hear a pin drop.
With a clink, the cutlery slipped from the little detective girl’s hands. She scooted her bottom away a bit, afraid that when the third brother of the National Football Team died, blood might splash on her. In the previous round, she had been splattered with blood.
“Who told you this secret?”
Alice’s smile suddenly vanished as if she were considering something. After a moment, she shook her head.
“Denied.”
Alice’s smile returned.
“A player passes the second game.”
The Wolf Butler walked over to the third brother of the National Football Team, signaling for him to stand up.
“We had to do this.”
“No choice. If we don’t use this, we might all die here.”
The eldest and second brothers of the National Football Team weren’t surprised by the third brother’s move. This was information they had obtained beforehand—to apply to Alice for a ‘hanging.’ If Alice agreed, they were doomed. If she refused, they could directly pass a game and receive its rewards.
Su Xiao raised his wine glass. Without a doubt, the three brothers of the National Football Team had mastered a method to exempt themselves from a certain game.
From the known information, asking Alice if one could choose to be hanged, and having her refuse, granted immunity for that round.
The third brother of the National Football Team did this and succeeded. However, Su Xiao wouldn’t attempt it. He knew nothing about the hidden circumstances behind this.
Earlier, during free movement on the first floor, Su Xiao had a feeling that the three brothers of the National Football Team seemed somewhat familiar with the castle, but not deeply. They didn’t understand the game’s content; otherwise, they would have prepared countermeasures long ago.
“Ms. Alice, may I rest for a moment?”
The man with the gold-rimmed glasses began to try a more conservative approach.
However, this question received no response. Alice merely glanced sideways at him and then ignored him.
Aside from asking whether one could choose to be hanged, any other inquiry was ineffective.
“Ms. Alice… can I… choose… to be hanged?”
A timid voice came—the little detective girl.
“You may.”
Alice smiled warmly at the little detective girl, whose pupils contracted. This wasn’t what she had expected.
A rope materialized out of thin air, looping around the little detective girl’s neck.
Sizzle~
The rope tightened, and the little detective girl was hoisted up. She struggled painfully, her face turning red.
“Substitute… death.”
A doll slipped from the little detective girl’s sleeve, glowing with golden light.
With a thud, the little detective girl fell to the ground. The bruising on her neck gradually faded, while a ligature mark appeared on the doll’s neck.
“My substitute doll…”
The little detective girl picked up the doll from the floor, her face full of heartache.
It turned out that before triggering some prerequisite condition, choosing to be hanged was almost certain death. The little detective girl had a substitute ability, so she took the risk.
After this ‘little episode,’ Su Xiao decisively abandoned the idea of ‘being hanged.’ He drank most of a bottle of No. 1 Potion, filled his health to max, then tilted his head back and downed the red wine in his goblet.
[Tip: The Hunter has consumed ‘Bloody Agate.’]
[Tip: You cannot receive any healing effects for 20 minutes and enter a Vulnerable State.]
[Vulnerable State: Any damage taken is multiplied by 2.]
…
The red wine in the glass was very fragrant, but the debuff it brought was nearly fatal. Potions were ineffective, and no healing effects could be received.
Not only that, but for the next 20 minutes, any damage Su Xiao took would be doubled.
Compared to poisoned wine, this drink was far more malicious. Su Xiao still remembered how Alice had cheerfully poured him the wine, her smile genuine.
A venomous snake with a kind heart? No, using that term to describe Alice was an insult to her. This woman could no longer be judged by good or evil. She could harbor goodwill while doing things so malicious they made one’s hair stand on end—like stabbing someone, kindly helping them stop the bleeding, saying comforting words, then stabbing them again while affectionately claiming it was for their own good. What a complete bitch.
The poisonous dragon meat steak was still half-eaten. If he consumed the rest of this poisonous dragon meat, Su Xiao would take at least 160% or more true magic damage. In other words, eating this… would kill him.
However, one type of recovery effect wasn’t eliminated: the health recovery derived from system attributes. This didn’t count as external healing.
Su Xiao had his Absolute Magic Resistance, which negated part of the true magic damage. The portions of poisonous dragon meat in front of others varied. The fat man and the cat girl had smaller portions. If their health recovery rate was fast enough, they might barely survive. The man with the gold-rimmed glasses, having displayed table manners, had a much larger portion left.
The third brother of the National Football Team used his trump card to complete the game early, not because he was afraid of death, but to remove the ‘Bloody Agate’ effect on himself. The three brothers had a life link. If the third brother could endure, the eldest and second brothers wouldn’t die either.
Sure enough, the third brother frantically healed himself, while the eldest and second brothers focused on dealing with the poisonous dragon meat.
“Finish the meal within 20 minutes. This is the dining etiquette of the castle.”
The Wolf Butler spoke, already pulling out a stopwatch.
Su Xiao squinted his eyes. Relying on his own endurance was clearly not feasible. Since he had just consumed a No. 1 Potion, his health was around 99%.
After a moment of hesitation, Su Xiao cut off a very small piece of poisonous dragon meat and tossed it to Bubu Wang beside him. Bubu Wang understood, silently catching it and swallowing it in one gulp.
[Tip: Your follower ‘Bubuteni’ has devoured the flesh of a super-high-level creature.]
Su Xiao wasn’t surprised by this notification. This was the meat of some kind of dragon. Dragons were certainly high-level creatures—no, super-high-level creatures.
After Su Xiao tossed the poisonous dragon meat to Bubu Wang, Bubu Wang’s health rapidly decreased. But Bubu Wang was an amateur healer and calmly healed himself.
Su Xiao kept an eye on Alice and the Wolf Butler’s actions. He wasn’t sure if this method violated the game rules.
[Tip: Your action has displeased the Wolf Butler. Wolf Butler’s favorability -2.]
Alice didn’t react, but the Wolf Butler walked behind Su Xiao.
“Wolf Butler, I’m not breaking the game rules, am I?”
“…”
The Wolf Butler didn’t speak, just stood behind Su Xiao. This carried a lot of information, but Su Xiao didn’t care at all about the Wolf Butler’s favorability. From the start, he had sensed that the Wolf Butler harbored some hostility toward him. After Sha’s reminder, he understood why—it was because of his Demon Mark ability.
For neutral plot characters like the Wolf Butler, negotiation was best if possible. If offended, it didn’t really matter. At most, they’d be cold. The Wolf Butler was still under Alice’s authority and wouldn’t dare violate the game rules—that would be defying Alice.
Having figured this out, Su Xiao cut off another piece of poisonous dragon meat and tossed it to Bubu Wang. This stuff was extremely delicious. Bubu Wang didn’t care if it was poisonous. Su Xiao had already given him three bottles of No. 1 Potion.
Bubu Wang ate happily. Of course, Su Xiao also ate a few small pieces of the poisonous dragon meat. This was part of the game’s content and might affect the reward stage later.
Every game was brutal, but beneath the cruelty, opportunities coexisted.
The seven people at the table each used their own methods. As for the eighth person, Alice, she had no reaction to eating the poisonous dragon meat. She was simply enjoying a fine meal.