Chapter 29: National Football Team MVP
Unfortunately, on the first night, the Catwoman didn’t get into trouble. Instead, Su Xiao was attacked. This left the little detective girl baffled. She immediately realized her initial suspicion was wrong—the National Football Team leader might have swapped number plates just to coordinate with his two brothers. So, she shifted her reasoning and pointed the finger at the Catwoman. To be fair, the little detective was indeed clever; all her suspects were connected to Alice.
The second night’s outcome was quite dramatic. By then, Alice also sensed that her suspicion had been cleared. The three brothers of the National Football Team were now at the back of the suspect list, and Alice, hidden among them, felt safe.
Driven by personal grudges, Alice chose not to enjoy the game but instead focused entirely on killing Su Xiao. She quickly “neutralized” the sharp-witted little detective, limiting her reasoning to short bursts. This made the detective’s deductions fragmented and misleading.
After that, Alice entered the rooms of Fatty, Glasses Guy, and the second brother of the National Football Team. She used force to drive them out, making them violate the rules and creating confusion. Then, she killed the Catwoman, swapped back the number plates, and made herself suspicious on the fourth day to lure others into verifying her. At that point, Alice was actually No. 5 (the Catwoman’s original plate), but everyone thought she was No. 6. Verifying No. 6 was essentially verifying the Catwoman.
On the following night, Alice would swap plates again, becoming the already-verified “No. 6,” and then commit suicide. This would result in the deaths of both the “National Football Team leader” and the Catwoman. With both dead, the Catwoman would inevitably be verified—but that wouldn’t expose Alice, since the Catwoman wasn’t Alice. Being verified twice would completely clear the “National Football Team leader” of suspicion, breaking the link between him and the Catwoman. Since both No. 5 and No. 6 had been verified, no one would bother checking again. In reality, everyone had verified the Catwoman twice, and Fatty and Glasses Guy would become the prime suspects.
Alice’s plan was insidious, but the “O+*” clue provided by the National Football Team leader was too precise. It bypassed the game rules while offering clear information.
Thinking back, the “National Football Team leader’s” words and actions kept the three brothers “coasting” throughout the game. No one suspected them because the trio truly wasn’t good at reasoning.
The little detective was too erratic to replace.
Su Xiao was the target and couldn’t be replaced.
Fatty didn’t fit Alice’s aesthetic—pass.
Glasses Guy was mediocre—pass.
The Catwoman was part of the plan—pass.
The National Football Team leader was the best fit. To some extent, he could steer the opinions of the second and third brothers.
After the game started, the “National Football Team leader’s” statements were mostly like this:
“Questioning whether self-verification is effective is unknown; there’s some risk involved.”
“Cough, we three brothers will follow the majority’s view.”
“Doesn’t that mean we’ll win soon?”
…
In the discussion about who Alice was, the Alice-disguised National Football Team leader only said these three sentences. Thanks to the unconscious cover from the second and third brothers, no one noticed the leader spoke very little. Even Su Xiao was used to treating the “Three Fools of the National Football Team” as a unit, so their total dialogue didn’t seem sparse.
The first sentence was to stir things up. Questioning himself was a good tactic—he didn’t want things to develop that way. If they started with the third brother, it would soon reach him, lasting at most three game days. So, he caused chaos.
The second sentence: “We three brothers will follow the majority’s view.” This came after the situation favored Alice’s clone. She started coasting, dragging the second and third brothers along with her.
The third sentence: “Doesn’t that mean we’ll win soon?” This was pure misdirection. From Alice’s clone’s perspective, the contractors were doomed, and her Catwoman card would soon pay off.
Looking back after the game, the National Football Team leader’s words were indeed suspicious. But at the time, they were easy to overlook, partly due to the little detective’s constant reasoning—her mouth barely stopped.
The truth was indeed singular: Player No. 5, the National Football Team leader, was Alice in disguise.
In the hall, Su Xiao sat on the sofa. He received a notification from Reincarnation Paradise.
[Game over. The Hunter has successfully passed the third game.]
[Tip: The Hunter has obtained Pandora’s Box.]
A fist-sized square box appeared in Su Xiao’s hand. Each of its six sides had a button, and the opening method was unknown.
[Pandora’s Box]
Quality: Gold
Type: Rare Item
Effect (Single-use): Upon opening, obtain White to Gold quality equipment, materials, recovery items, bloodlines, severe curses (debuffs), undead (debuffs), etc.
Tip: Opening Pandora’s Box carries great danger and unpredictability. It is recommended to open it within Reincarnation Paradise.
Rating: 360 points (Gold item rating range: 310–400 points)
Introduction: The unknown represents opportunity, but also danger.
Price: 157,000 Paradise Coins
…
Seeing Pandora’s Box’s attributes, Su Xiao’s eyes lit up. This item was peculiar—opening it could yield rewards or trigger curses or powerful undead.
Su Xiao put away Pandora’s Box. It was safer to open it in Reincarnation Paradise. Even if something bizarre appeared, it wouldn’t cause much trouble there.
Su Xiao couldn’t help but imagine a scene: after opening Pandora’s Box, a demon god or undead lord emerged, grinning as it prepared to kill him—only to realize it was in Reincarnation Paradise. How despairing that would be for the demon god or undead lord.
Su Xiao leaned back on the sofa. Beside him, the third brother of the National Football Team looked utterly confused.
“So the Catwoman was Alice? Hmm… I guess my earlier guess was right.”
The third brother adjusted his hairstyle. Su Xiao was speechless. He seemed to understand why Alice had let the third brother go—this guy couldn’t advance the game and was lucky not to hinder it. Still, the third brother had played a key role this time; the “Broken Egg” clue was very helpful.
Not being good at reasoning didn’t mean the third brother was weak. His strength lay elsewhere; everyone has weaknesses.
Creak~
The door diagonally above the living room opened. Fatty, Glasses Guy, and the second brother of the National Football Team walked out.
White light surged in the living room, and the National Football Team leader was teleported back.
“How was it? Did my drawn clue work?”
The leader looked around.
“It played a crucial role.”
“Haha, I knew it!”
The leader signaled to the second and third brothers. They quickly stepped forward, holding hands. With the leader as the center, the second and third brothers leaned outward, forming a triangle.
“The National Football Team has arrived! MVP is ours!”
The game ended, and the three brothers started their antics again.
“We were completely fooled by that woman Alice.”
Glasses Guy leaned on the sofa. If you looked closely, you’d notice one lens of his glasses was missing—the broken one from before.
“As expected, I’m not good at this kind of reasoning game.”
Fatty chewed on some food and sighed.
“I was careless. I forgot to account for the number plate swaps. But… why did Alice attack you on the first night?”
The little detective had recovered. She looked at Su Xiao, seeming a bit unsatisfied with the game.
Nine people had participated in the Demon Fruit Castle game, and seven survived—a high survival rate compared to past castle games.
Tap, tap, tap…
The sound of high heels echoed. Hearing it, the little detective’s face paled, and she instinctively hugged her shoulders.
With a creak, Room No. 5 opened. Alice’s clone, dressed in a white gown, stepped out. According to her plan, she would have rushed out first on the fourth day to hide the fact that she was in Room No. 5, but that was no longer necessary.
After Alice exited, the door slowly closed. Inside, the room looked like a typhoon had hit it.
A rope hung from the ceiling’s center, with the Catwoman suspended midair. The ligature marks on her neck were purple and blue. She had been dead for some time.
The Catwoman was dead—killed by insufficient strength and bad luck.
Only those who endure hardships without dying can be called strong. From the moment one resolves to become a strong person, they must be ready to fall anywhere.