# Chapter 232: Siege of the Cannibal Player
Covering Pan Siming's face with a handkerchief, the gloomy man stood up and turned to face the other players. "You all know what this means."
"There's a hidden cannibal player among us." Li Weiran said.
Ni Tian's gaze flickered downward toward the ground.
"We were looking for the painting, and someone was hiding in the back, waiting for an opportunity to kill. How terrifying." Xu Huo said. "If we don't find this person, none of us can search for the painting in peace tonight."
"Exactly!" Xie Man was the first to speak up. "We need to check the ID numbers!"
"Would checking ID numbers even help?" Xu Huo shook his head. "Can't ID numbers be forged? Although my player level isn't high, I know there are plenty of strange items in the game. Modifying the color of an ID number shouldn't be that difficult."
"You're right." The gloomy man picked up the conversation. "Actually, I don't even need to check ID numbers to determine the killer."
"Who is it?" Ni Tian immediately asked.
The gloomy man's gaze swept back and forth across the group. "You might not have noticed, but last night, during the attacks on Big Bear and Pan Siming, someone opened and closed a door. Why would they open the door at that critical moment?"
"Coming out under those circumstances would be suicide. Taking the risk to open the door was for the purpose of killing. Whether judging by distance or sound, the person who opened that door was in the left corridor."
He took a step back as he spoke, pointing out You Huanhuan, Lu Gang, and Fan Shiji. "The cannibal player is among you three."
"You're talking nonsense!"
"You're crazy!"
Fan Shiji and You Huanhuan shouted simultaneously. The former glared at the latter before adding, "Then you've guessed wrong. I didn't lock my door last night at all. I thought since the monster was knocking, if the door wasn't locked, maybe it wouldn't attack randomly."
"You all saw Deng Yu's room. If it slashed at me like that, where would I have to retreat? So I planned to sneak out when it entered and take my chances getting into the exhibition hall."
The gloomy man nodded, acknowledging that this reasoning was plausible, then turned his gaze to You Huanhuan and the others.
"Why are you targeting us again!" You Huanhuan felt greatly wronged and said, "We never opened the door. Besides, there were empty rooms nearby. Maybe Pan Siming hid in one himself but was found by the monster. Wasn't Deng Yu also implicated?"
"Impossible!" Fan Shiji immediately retorted. "When I came out this morning, the two rooms next to me were both closed. Does the monster close doors after killing people?"
"Besides, Deng Yu is missing, not killed or eaten!"
You Huanhuan gritted her teeth and glanced at the corpse on the ground, suddenly remembering something. "Maybe the monster killed someone and hid the body on the chandelier. Deng Yu might be up there too!"
"That's simple. Go up and see, and the truth will be clear." Xu Huo said.
The crowd looked at the height of the crystal chandelier and frowned. "It's so high. How do we get up there? We don't have any tools."
"Climbing the painting should work." Xu Huo pointed behind him at the huge mural on the wall. This mural wasn't flat; it had decorative carved frames on it, and its height was just right.
"I'll go up." The gloomy man said.
"I want to see too!" You Huanhuan quickly added.
"You stay put." The gloomy man stopped her. "I can record it with my phone."
You Huanhuan, both angry and helpless, retreated back to Lu Gang's side, while Lu Gang remained unusually calm.
The gloomy man went up and came back down, showing the recorded video to everyone. "There's no second person on the chandelier. The theory that Pan Siming was killed by the monster doesn't hold. What else do you have to say?"
"Why waste words with her!" Fan Shiji pushed the gloomy man forward. "Better to kill the wrong person than let one escape. What if she comes out to attack people again tonight?"
Under the group's sharp gazes, You Huanhuan grabbed the edge of Lu Gang's clothes. Lu Gang instantly entered a state of rage and threw a punch straight at the gloomy man's nose!
Fan Shiji's push and Lu Gang's attack happened simultaneously. The gloomy man, pushed forward, couldn't completely dodge in time. As he turned his head, his left face took the full force of the punch, sending him rolling to the ground!
Xu Huo stepped in to intercept Lu Gang, neutralizing his attack with a palm against fist before retreating several steps to stand beside Li Weiran and Fan Shiji.
Fan Shiji supported him from behind. "Be careful, brother."
Xu Huo shook his slightly trembling hand and casually stepped forward again. By this time, Xie Man had also joined the fight, sneaking up from behind to slash Lu Gang's arm. Ni Tian, carrying new and old grudges, leaped and kicked him to the ground, then grabbed a painting frame from a nearby pillar and smashed it down on his head!
The painting and frame shattered together, but the other players couldn't spare a thought for the artwork. While they surrounded Lu Gang, Li Weiran, Fan Shiji, and the gloomy man encircled You Huanhuan!
Although Lu Gang wasn't particularly fast, his strength was immense. He could withstand the siege of several players with just his body, making him a tough opponent. So Xie Man shouted to the others while fighting, "Hurry up and finish over there, then come help!"
However, unexpectedly, the seemingly weaker You Huanhuan displayed astonishing combat power. Her jumping ability was incredible—she could leap three times her own height. In their initial exchange, Li Weiran and Fan Shiji both suffered, each taking a kick!
"Cannibal players have better physical abilities than black-and-white players. Don't hold back!" Li Weiran pulled out a giant pair of scissors, opened them with both hands, and aimed a waist-level cut at You Huanhuan!
You Huanhuan bounced backward, landing near a pillar in two leaps. She kicked off it and turned to attack the gloomy man!
"Be careful not to damage the paintings!" The gloomy man spoke as a folding fan appeared in his hand. He opened the fan and swept it downward from above, creating a strong wind that generated resistance, slowing You Huanhuan's charge!
At that moment, Li Weiran flanked her, snipping off half her palm with the scissors!
As blood flowed, You Huanhuan cried out in pain. Her expression was no longer the innocent indignation from before, replaced by cold viciousness. Her eyeballs suddenly bulged, and muscles swelled on her thin body, instantly expanding her maid outfit by two sizes. She licked her teeth with a wide grin, her eyes fixed intently on Li Weiran.
Li Weiran's expression remained unchanged. She said coldly, "With that ugly look, you're wasting the clothes!"
You Huanhuan let out a howl and pounced at her, stomping hard on Li Weiran's closed scissors, pressing her back step by step while reaching out to stab at her eyes!
"Watch out!" Fan Shiji shouted, hurling a glass bottle from several meters away!
"Smack!" You Huanhuan caught it with her hand, but when she turned her head, she saw the triumphant smile on his face. She instinctively tried to throw the object away, but the glass bottle rapidly melted in that split second. The flowing liquid corroded her palm, and in the blink of an eye, the bones of her hand were exposed!
"Aaaah!" You Huanhuan screamed in agony. Li Weiran took the opportunity to knock her away and thrust the scissors at her again!
Although injured, You Huanhuan didn't lose her composure. Dodging the scissors, she retreated toward Lu Gang, grabbing his clothes and shouting, "Kill them all for me!"
But before she could finish speaking, the knife that suddenly appeared in Lu Gang's hand plunged into her abdomen!
(Chapter End)