Chapter 104 Chapter 104
As the door opened, Kush was the first to step in, holding two huge lunch boxes in his arms, which completely covered his face. "Make way, the love delivery has arrived—" Kento followed him in.
He was also carrying two slightly smaller delivery boxes and walked into the room with a smile: "I ran into Yongpei and Dasheng in the elevator, so we came up together." Before he finished speaking, Dasheng poked half of his face out from behind him.
He greeted them with a smile: "Long time no see." Lia was stunned for a moment and subconsciously bowed to the two people behind Kento: "Hello seniors, long time no see." "???" The three remaining people in the room turned to look at her in unison.
Kush had already walked into the living room, put down the box in his hand, turned around and put his hands on his hips, looking hurt. "Why are you only being so polite to these two? We are also seniors, seniors!"
Lia made a face at him, a look that said, "What can you do to me?" "Long Er, punish her!" Kush complained to Quan Zhilong with tears in his eyes. Quan Zhilong raised an eyebrow at this: "Didn't we meet at nine o'clock?"
"Kento insisted on taking the subway," Kush said, his expression changing immediately, completely shirking responsibility. "We went from Umeda to Tennoji, then back to Honmachi. Finally, we couldn't figure out the direction, so we took a taxi."
Osaka's subway system is a complex web of intertwined private and public lines, coupled with numerous transfer stations. A moment's distraction can easily land you in the wrong direction. "Miyang, I'll definitely be on time next time," Kento said, squatting down to place his lunch box, his face innocent.
"We brought some midnight snacks to apologize." They brought back some packed snacks from the izakaya next door: two boxes of beautifully presented sashimi, as well as freshly fried tempura and takoyaki, the steam wafting in the air with the aroma of the sauce.
Quan Zhilong stood up and went to the kitchen to get some tableware. He casually asked Lia, "Can you eat more?" Lia nodded. She had gone straight to the hotel after descending from Fushimi Inari and was indeed hungry.
She doesn't like raw food very much, and Quan Zhilong seemed to know that and pushed the tempura and takoyaki in front of her.
Dasheng stood aside, glancing thoughtfully at the two of them. Recalling the last time he'd secretly detoured to watch the recording, he felt a certain tension between them. He stole a glance at Kush, hoping for a second opinion, but Kush was already happily trotting off to the bar to choose a drink, oblivious to what was happening in the living room.
"......" Dasheng was speechless. Kush quickly took back two bottles of red wine. Everyone quickly gathered around the low table in the living room, with red wine, sashimi, and fried food scattered all over the table. "Let's play Mafia
"How about a game? Police, Citizens, that one," Kush said excitedly. Mafia Game was a popular game lately, and Kush had played it a few times at other parties and was very addicted.
Kento raised his hand. "It's the one that says 'Close your eyes when it gets dark,' right?" Lia asked weakly, "What's that...?" Everyone looked at her. ——Good, she's the only one who doesn't know. Lia sighed.
Kush gave her a sympathetic look—a modern-day slave with no recreational life at all—and he enthusiastically explained the rules again.
——A six-person bureau, consisting of a □□, a police officer, a doctor, and three citizens; at night, they open their eyes in order to perform tasks: □□ kills people, the police investigate people, and the doctor saves people; then during the day, all members speak in order, discuss, and vote to execute a suspect.
"Simply put - the narcotics team must hide their identities while killing people. The good guys, consisting of police, doctors, and citizens, must find the narcotics team. Whichever team survives wins."
"If you lose... you three still have to perform tomorrow, so just for show," he said, pointing at Kwon Ji-yong, Dong Young-bae, and Kang Dae-sung, and making a small, knuckle-length gesture. "Mini bite."
"How about the rest of us have a drink?" Quan Zhilong looked at Lia, perhaps remembering her earlier comment about her "good alcohol tolerance." Lia nodded in agreement. The others also agreed.
"Oh right! We're still short of a judge!" Kush slapped his forehead, ran to the door, and waved one of the bodyguards in.
He didn't know when he became familiar with the man. After a few whispers, the bodyguard smiled and nodded, happy to be the referee.
"Then let's officially get started!" Kush clapped his hands, his face filled with excitement. "We agreed that the person who got cheated can't get angry."
As he spoke, he raised his hand in a pretentious manner and said solemnly, "Come, recite it with me—the more ruthless the deception, the deeper the feelings!" Lia blinked and recited it obediently. "..." The air was silent for two seconds.
She froze in place, her expression subtly frozen. Of the seven people present, she was the only one who followed along. The next second, a roar of laughter erupted in the living room. The instigator clutched his stomach, nearly collapsing under the table.
Quan Zhilong sat beside her, smiling until the corners of his eyes turned red. Under the light, his pupils glowed a light amber, as if hiding tiny points of light, floating quietly in his smile.
Lia held her forehead, silently praying to herself to stay calm, and barely resisted the urge to beat up Kush.
After everyone had laughed enough, Kento stood up and took out a pen and paper from the drawer. He quickly wrote out six identity cards, folded them, and placed them in a uniquely shaped fruit bowl on the hotel coffee table, shaking them gently.
The fruit bowl was made of clear glass, with delicate patterns carved around the edges. It shimmered under the warm yellow light. Lia sat up straight, quickly reviewing the rules of the game Kush had just explained, and reached out to pull out a slip of paper.
The moment the note unfolded, her fingertips paused slightly. She lowered her eyelashes, quickly glanced at the words on the paper, then folded the note and tucked it into her palm. Without moving her eyes, she slowly scanned the group of people across from her.
Kush grinned and winked at her. Yongpei, Dasheng and Kento were folding notes and not paying attention to their surroundings.
Quan Zhilong looked down at the slip of paper in his hand, his expression expressionless, making it impossible to tell what he had drawn. After everyone confirmed their identities, Kush clapped his hands and said, "Let's begin, Judge Ding."
The bodyguard, whose name was called, stepped forward with a smile and began to preside over the game. On the first night, it was "dark," and the players closed their eyes. Lia sat with her eyes closed, the judge's calm yet clear voice echoing in her ears: "□□, please open your eyes."
"Ms. □□, please choose the person you want to kill tonight." "Ms. □□, please close your eyes." After a pause, the judge continued: "Officer, please open your eyes." "Officer, please choose the person you want to verify the identity of tonight." "This is their identity."
"Officer, please close your eyes." There was another silence, followed by: "Doctor, please open your eyes." "Doctor, please open your eyes." "Do you want to save him tonight? You can also choose not to save him." "Doctor, please close your eyes." Finally, he said calmly:
"It's dawn, everyone please open your eyes." It was dawn, Christmas Eve. Lia looked around, and everyone had different expressions.
Kento spoke first: "Let me start by saying, I'm a police officer. I checked Kush last night, and he's a good man. If the day before was Christmas Eve, it means a doctor saved someone. If there are doctors, please come out and explain the situation. Although there is not much information at the moment, I will check again tonight based on everyone's subsequent comments - everyone, please be careful with what you say~"
Lia was a little shocked and whispered, "Really?" The judge immediately cleared his throat: "No talking allowed in this round." Lia stuck out her tongue and retracted her head.
Yongpei was the second to speak: "...I'm a good citizen. At the moment... I don't know anything. Well, let's leave it at that for now. If no new police officers show up, I'll trust Kento for now."
As soon as he finished speaking, Kush could no longer sit still.
He raised his hand and spoke solemnly, "Kento says he's a police officer, but I'm the real police officer. I think we need to investigate who Kento is. He might be a traitor pretending to be a police officer, deliberately investigating me as a good guy. That way, my identity as a good guy is confirmed, right? Last night, I used my police ID to check Yongpei, and he is a good guy."
Everyone: "......" Even if he's a good guy, why do they still want to vote him out? Kento gave him a helpless look.
Dasheng was the fourth to speak. He spoke slowly, his tone filled with obvious uncertainty: "...I'm also a good citizen. If Kento and Kush both claim to be police officers, could one of them be a traitor? Yeah, of course...it's also possible that they're both good people."
Then, it was Lia's turn. She hesitated slightly and cleared her throat.
"Well... I'm also a good citizen." She imitated Dasheng's tone, trying to sound harmless. "Even though I don't know anything, I'll try to deduce based on what everyone said."
She paused and continued, "Although both Kento and Kush claim to be police officers, Kush is actually right. If Kento is a real police officer, then Kush is a good guy; but if Kento is a fake, then Kush is still a good guy."
"So I temporarily believe that Kush is a police officer. On that basis, he said Yongbae Oppa is a good person, so this is the second one."
She glanced at the crowd. "Among the rest of the people, Dasheng-oppa sounded more hesitant, like a citizen who really didn't know who to trust. Therefore, I tend to believe that he is a good person."
"So if we use the process of elimination...the identity of □□ is most likely between Kento and Zhilong Oppa. Next, I want to hear what Zhilong Oppa has to say." Everyone's eyes fell on Kwon Zhilong.
He changed his lazy posture, sat up straight, and stated his identity: "I am a good person, but I really can't tell who is the problem right now."
"Overall, I agree with Lia's reasoning. The only problem is that she only eliminated Kush and Yongpei through the process of elimination. The remaining Kento, Lia, Dasheng, and I are all suspects, but Dasheng is less likely."
He raised his lips slightly: "In that case, why don't we vote Kento out first in this round, and let the police check Lia or me in the next round." "The □□ should be among the three of us." Lia: "???"
——How could someone include herself on the suspect list? She was completely stunned, her expression too shocked to control for a moment.
Everyone noticed the surprise on her face. Dasheng was the first to laugh, followed by Kush, who collapsed on the sofa cushions. Even Yongpei couldn't help but chuckle softly and shook his head. Quan Zhilong looked at her expression with a smile in his eyes.
He was definitely teasing her. Although his previous inference wasn't wrong, Lia was laughed at again, so she shrugged and sighed. The round of speeches ended, and the voting began.
Kwon Ji-yong's speech clearly played a crucial role. Ultimately, everyone voted for him, except Kento himself. In the first round, Kento was eliminated in tears, and the game continued. On the second night, darkness fell.
The judge's voice rang out as usual: "□□, please open your eyes—" After a moment, Lia slowly opened her eyes. ——Yes, she was □□.
The first night she killed Kush, for no other reason than that she simply felt he talked too much and keeping him around would only cause trouble.
But Kush didn't die, and was obviously saved by the doctor. In this way, Kento, who stamped Kush as a good guy, is more like the "doctor" than the "policeman" he himself called himself.
Killing the police would be the best option. After all, if she were checked, she would be out of the game the next day. Unfortunately, the information she had was not enough, so she couldn't be completely sure who the police were.
Thinking of this, her gaze swept across everyone's faces and finally stopped on Quan Zhilong.
She put on a good show in the first round, and while she wasn't sure if she had fooled the others, her priority was clearly to take down Quan Zhilong. His words were too dangerous, both logically and on her own. Another round would have been enough to end her life.
She no longer hesitated, gestured in his direction, and after waiting for the judge's confirmation, she quietly closed her eyes. It was the police officer's turn to open his eyes— Quan Zhilong opened his eyes. First, he checked Kush.
Kush was a talkative person, and if he hadn't confirmed it, he would have messed up the whole situation. Turns out, he turned out to be a good person—there was even a strong possibility that he was a doctor.
Kus swore Yongpei was a good man, which meant Yongpei might be the person he saved that first night. As for Kento... he was probably a citizen pretending to be a police officer to share the firepower.
In this case, the identity of the boss can only fall on Lia or Dasheng - He tilted his head and glanced at Lia very lightly.
She had her eyes closed, her face calm. The light reflected on her profile, her long eyelashes casting a soft shadow under her eyes, making her look like a quiet, well-behaved novice. He chuckled and gestured to the judge to examine Dasheng.
The judge gestured in response: Dasheng is a good man. Quan Zhilong's eyebrows twitched, a subtle expression on his face. He subconsciously glanced at Lia, and for the first time, a hint of confusion appeared in his eyes. Then, the doctor and the citizen opened their eyes one by one. Daybreak had arrived.
The judge read out: "Zhilong was killed last night and left no last words." Everyone looked confused and the speeches on the field resumed.
Yongpei was the first to speak: "This round... if Kento and Zhilong aren't the □□, then I think it might really be Lia?"
Kush exclaimed, "Huh? Lia, are you a XXX??? I'm sorry everyone, I pretended to be a police officer the first time, and now the real police should have been checking people last night, come out quickly. I'm just an ordinary citizen, really!"
Dasheng looked at Kush in shock, probably because he didn't expect it could be played like this.
He hesitated for two seconds and quietly excused himself: "Um... I'm really not a □□, I don't know anything... So you are not police officers? Where are the police? I feel dizzy now TT" Finally it was Lia's turn.
She cleared her throat, sat up slightly, and spoke as if after careful consideration. "I'm actually a police officer," she said. The remaining people were all stunned.
"Let me first tell you the results of the inspection: the first night's inspection was on Kush, and the second night's inspection was on Zhilong Oppa. They are both good people." She spoke in a calm tone, as if she was reconstructing the incident through memory.
"I didn't identify myself in the first round because I wasn't familiar with the rules. I was a little surprised when Kento pretended to be a police officer, but then I thought he might be pretending to be a police officer, or he might be covering for the real police officers."
Everyone couldn't help but recall her surprised expression at the time, which didn't seem fake. Lia continued, "I didn't identify myself during the day yesterday because I was afraid I'd be killed at night. But now that Zhilong Oppa has been killed, I have no choice but to speak out."
"On the first night, I found out that Kush was a good guy. Then he confirmed that Yongbae was a good guy, so I concluded that Kush was a doctor and that he saved Yongbae Oppa on the first night."
She paused and glanced at Kush, "But since you said you're a citizen this time, your information isn't necessarily credible, right?" Kush opened his mouth and nodded blankly.
"So right now, the ones on the court whose identities are blurred are Young-bae Oppa and Dae-sung Oppa."
"Comparing the two people's speeches this round: Daesung Oppa's speech was relatively neutral, and he really seemed like a citizen who really didn't understand the situation; but Youngbae Oppa's speech today was obviously leading, and I am a police officer." Lia's eyes were calm.
"So I suggest—vote for Youngbae this round. With a high probability, this game will be over." She looked at Dasheng: "Oppa, can I trust you?" Dasheng nodded almost subconsciously. Kush nodded as well.
Yongpei: “???” Quan Zhilong outside the venue: “???” Even the judge forgot to continue the procedure for a moment and stared at her blankly.
Quan Zhilong's expression went from shock, amusement, and then astonishment in a few seconds. He came to his senses, reached out and patted the judge's shoulder, and whispered a reminder: "The process." The judge finally woke up: "Then let's move on to the voting phase--"
Lia raised her hand first, pointing at Yongbae. Dasheng and Kush hesitated for a second, then followed suit. At this point, it didn't matter who Yongbae voted for. In the second round, Yongbae was eliminated. "It's dark, please close your eyes," the judge continued.
Kush: "???" Lia's face flashed with surprise for a moment, and she turned to look at Dasheng with a complicated expression. Kush also quickly glanced over, his eyes full of confusion. Dasheng looked bewildered: "......???"
"Please open your eyes." After everyone closed their eyes, the judge continued. Lia slowly opened her eyes.
The eliminated players, with the exception of Quan Zhilong, stared blankly at her. She looked calm, even with a faint smile in her eyes. Without hesitation, she raised her chin slightly in Kush's direction.
The judge received the message and gave an OK sign. Before closing her eyes, she winked at them nonchalantly. Quan Zhilong saw it clearly.
He reacted earlier than the others, and by now he had recovered from his initial shock. He even felt like laughing. He had accidentally underestimated her. Now, he just felt that this game was becoming more and more interesting.
"It's dawn." The judge cleared his throat and announced the result, "Last night, Kush was 'killed' and the mafia won." After a brief silence, Kush opened his eyes.
The next second, he lunged at Dasheng, his voice wailing: "What's going on? You've deceived me so badly!" Dasheng was pressed on the sofa, struggling in his death throes: "I am... a good citizen, brother, wuwuwu——"
Kush froze at that, then slowly turned his head. Lia sat quietly in her seat, a smile on her lips as she gracefully blew him a kiss. The crowd erupted in laughter.
Quan Zhilong sat back down beside her and clapped his hands softly to celebrate her victory. Kush: "..." Kento shed tears: "I'm a doctor and I'm telling you... I won't save you again next time, Kush..."
In the first round, □□ won. The others accepted the loss and raised their glasses, drinking from them, officially starting the night's game.
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