Yue Nu tightly gripped the paper she held, thinking fast in the darkness.

She'd been all alone since dinner and hadn't received any clues. Naturally, she had no idea who to vote for.

This game... should allow abstentions, but I absolutely refuse to do that.

Most people probably don't have any clues on the first night and will likely abstain.

However, if eleven out of twelve players abstain, and one person suddenly votes for another, the one player with the vote will be automatically out.

I have no idea how things will develop, nor do I know if I'll be the unfortunate one to get voted out.

But there's always a chance of the unexpected.

Therefore, to protect myself, I must vote for one of the remaining eleven players.

Deciding who to vote for is a challenge in itself.

Yue Nu swiftly scanned the names on her list while thinking. There were twelve names, representing the players in the "Close Your Eyes" game.

Although it's confirmed that 007 is an instance player, the instance rules don't specify that instance players can't play the ghost. Yue Nu thought.

Then, her gaze fell upon the most conspicuous name—Gu Mian.

This is a name known almost universally. Killing this person will earn thirty thousand Game Coins.

Thirty thousand Game Coins... a sum so large it's almost unthinkable.

However, I still don't know if this Gu Mian is an instance NPC or a player. Even if he's a player, killing him in the instance is useless; I'd have to actually kill him in reality to get those thirty thousand Game Coins.

She didn't dwell on that name for long.

Although I'm very tempted to do something to the owner of this name, I can only think about it for now.

Moving on, her eyes landed on the last name on the list—"Zhang Pingfan."

This person is the best choice. I'm not sure about the others, but I know this Zhang Pingfan mysteriously disappeared the day before we entered the instance.

The others probably think the same way and will also find the person who mysteriously disappeared the most suspicious.

If I have to make a blind vote, Zhang Pingfan, the one who mysteriously disappeared, is the most likely candidate.

As she thought this, Yue Nu tightened her grip on the paper and slowly said into the microphone, "I vote for Zhang Pingfan."

Silence fell on the other end, but the line remained open.

Yue Nu furrowed her brows, waiting for what would come next.

The silence didn't last long. After about twenty seconds, the robotic voice echoed from the speaker again.

"The first round of voting has ended. Eight players voted, three players abstained. The player with the most votes in the first round is—"

"Li Wentao, seven votes."

Li Wentao? Seven votes?

That's a boy from my class, I remember him.

Yue Nu's brows furrowed even tighter.

Does that mean I was the only one who voted for Zhang Pingfan?

Seven people voted for Li Wentao. Something must have happened that I don't know about... If seven people are so sure Li Wentao is the ghost, then he almost certainly is, right?

And eight plus three is eleven. Only eleven people voted, which means one person has already been killed?

As Yue Nu pondered these questions, she waited quietly for the rest of the announcement. The line hadn't been disconnected; the summary of player numbers was still to come.

The summary would state the remaining number of ghosts and civilians, and Li Wentao's identity would also be publicly announced.

But isn't the pause between the last sentence and the summary a bit too long? Yue Nu's brows knitted tighter.

During this pause, Pan Yue, who was being choked, suddenly felt the grip on her neck loosen. She fell to the floor. Ignoring the pain, she immediately took a deep breath. Fresh air flooded her lungs, and she felt as if she had been brought back to life.

Right! Seven people voted for Li Wentao, so he's going to be eliminated!

Thinking this, she raised her head to look for Li Wentao.

However, as Pan Yue raised her head, she saw the horrified expressions on Li Yibai and Keke's faces.

Next were Lin Qi, who was frozen stiff, and Meiren Chu, whose expression was unnatural.

Finally, there was Gu Mian, who had just walked up, flashlight in hand.

The flashlight beam cut through the darkness, allowing her to see everyone's expressions clearly.

Without exception, none of them were looking at her.

Whether their faces showed terror or shock, these emotions weren't directed at her, but... above her.

What's wrong? Pan Yue froze.

Then, she suddenly felt something warm drip onto her face.

Her hand trembled slightly as she reached up to touch her face.

Then she looked down at what she had wiped off.

It was blood.

Blood that was so dark red in the blackness it looked almost black.

Stunned, Pan Yue looked up.

It was Li Wentao. He could no longer make a sound.

He looked like a steamed bun being torn apart, his skin slowly ripping to reveal the bright red flesh beneath.

It was torn and stretched like rubber bands, gradually pulling taut until it snapped with a SNAP, revealing the white bones beneath the flesh.

Pan Yue heard something cracking.

Tiny cracks spread across the white bones, gradually covering them, until with a sharp CRACK, they snapped like dry kindling.

Li Wentao was still conscious.

His eyes were wide open, tears streaming down his face.

Pan Yue watched, dumbfounded.

With a final CRACK like breaking firewood, his neck was wrenched backward as if someone had violently twisted it. His head lolled onto his shoulder, and he finally fell silent.

Dead.

His large body then slumped onto the staircase, right in front of Pan Yue.

No one had expected the outcome of the public vote to be like this.

The sound of Li Yibai dry-heaving echoed. He clung to the stair railing, retching repeatedly.

Pan Yue seemed unable to process what she had just witnessed, her expression blank.

Just as Li Wentao's body thudded to the ground, the mechanical voice echoed once more from the building's loudspeakers.

"The first round of the game has ended. One player was killed, one player was voted out. The second round begins. Ten players remain: seven civilians and three ghosts."

Pan Yue turned her head stiffly. "What... what did it say? How many ghosts are left?"

Keke stammered from beside her, "There are... still three ghosts..."

That meant Li Wentao wasn't a ghost; he hadn't killed anyone.

But now he lay dead here, his death horrifyingly gruesome.

Everyone else was also stunned, apparently unable to believe this outcome.

Pan Yue scrambled to her feet, agitated. She didn't dare look at Li Wentao lying beside her. Instead, she looked at the others pleadingly, "How could Li Wentao not be the ghost? He is the ghost, isn't he? You all thought he was the ghost too, right?!"

No one answered her.

The stairwell plunged into silence.

Receiving no answer, Pan Yue finally lost control. She shoved 007 aside and fled as if escaping for her life.