Chapter 378: Forgiveness

He set down his fork and knife, took the napkin, and elegantly wiped the corner of his mouth, then he slowly turned his head.

Those eyes, which should have been filled with terror or confusion, were now a hollow black void, and his face bore the same standard crimson smile as the faceless jester.

He looked at the nearest player and, in a flat, unruffled yet oddly enthusiastic tone, said, "You seem to have some doubts about this feast? Perhaps I can answer them. After all… maintaining the feast's order is a duty every servant must fulfill."

【Servant】!

The word rang in everyone's mind like a thunderclap!

The assimilated player actually disclosed that his faction is "Feast Servant"!

The player he questioned turned pale with fear and stammered, "N-no, not needed… I have no doubts…"

"Is that so?" the assimilated servant's smile remained unchanged, his black pupils never blinking, "But your gaze tells me you are afraid. Fear… is a desecration of this perfect feast. Shall I… help you erase that terror?"

He rose slowly, his movements still retaining that odd elegance, and approached the player.

The scene was terrifying enough for onlookers, and the player confronting it was scared stiff, collapsing to the ground.

No one knew what awaited him.

Cheng Shuili squinted, remained silent for a moment, then used Insight on the servant.

【Insight succeeded!】

【Assimilated Guest Servant】

【Description: A unique Instance product! Originally a player, now a puppet assimilated by the rules, lacking its own thoughts or conduct, all actions follow the pre‑set rules! Though its mind is unified by the Instance, its body remains the player's original body. If it begins to coerce you, perhaps you may resort to perfectly normal self‑defense. But killing too many servants may incur the displeasure of some powerful entity.】

【Weakness: The whole body is a weakness.】

That's fine then.

Cheng Shuili said nothing, merely watching the events unfold in silence.

The player targeted by the servant was not from the Long Guo region, so Cheng Shuili had no reason to rescue him; she decided to observe quietly and see if any new clues emerged.

The servant's smile was hard and terrifying; he tilted his head and slowly approached the rather unlucky player, "You seem even more frightened now, really don't need my help?"

The player who had collapsed was initially staring intently at the servant, but now lacked the courage even to look at him, turning his head away and repeatedly saying sorry.

The scene was rather surreal.

Cheng Shuili thought to herself, why do these people keep apologizing at the brink of death?

But immediately, an even more surreal moment unfolded.

The advancing servant seemed to hit a pause button, a standard smile appearing on his face, he straightened up and said clearly, "First mistake, I forgive your offense."

After the words fell, he oddly reseated himself as if not triggered, picked up his fork and knife, clinked the dishes and resumed cutting meat.

Everyone's eyes were on him; the table had been silent for a long time, then a voice sounded again, and it was Kai Er speaking: "So… he was just forgiven?"

That question was too pivotal.

The one who had faced death and escaped gasped, rose from the ground, pounded his chest, paused, then whispered, "What did he just say? Forgive my offense?"

"Why did this happen?"

Another voice finally sounded at the table.

"Do these rules apply only to these servants? If the offended one is the master, is it a certain death?"

"Not necessarily."

It was Pan Shi's voice.

He turned to Cheng Shuili, saw she was not surprised at all, as if it were approved, and whispered his conjecture: "Perhaps because they recognized their mistake."

Pan Shi's gaze swept over everyone's faces, then settled on the plate of human limbs on the table, "This person… do you remember what he shouted before he was turned into this?"

Someone answered immediately, "He said he wouldn't play this damned game anymore; he wanted to leave."

"Exactly!" Pan Shi's voice rose a notch, as if finding a kindred spirit, affirming, "Leaving is a kind of refusal, isn't it? He not only violated the second rule, he also showed no remorse! And just now this…"

Pan Shi didn't name anyone explicitly, but everyone knew who he meant, "He kept saying sorry, so he was forgiven."

"Heh." A sudden mocking laugh interjected, "Long Guo person, so all this is just your speculation, right? You don't even know the real rules, yet you spew these statements based on guesswork?"

It was Kai Er again.

Cheng Shuili frowned; such a rebuttal‑type personality usually meets a terrible end.

He probably wouldn't be an exception.

Pan Shi's temper seemed fine; when questioned, he simply retorted, "Then, Mr. Kai Er, do you have any better suggestions?"

Kai Er didn't expect the other to throw the question back, but he produced a pre‑prepared line: "Do you Long Guo people only ask questions like this? If you truly lack the ability to think, you could donate your brain to those in need."

He seemed pleased with his retort and smiled smugly.

Several teammates sitting beside him also smiled, showing a faint sense of pride in him.

Pan Shi remained gentle, smiling as he asked the other players, "So, what does everyone think about this?"

The first four‑person squad spoke up immediately, "I think this Long Guo gentleman's words are decent, and also this lady from Long Guo,"

She was referring to Cheng Shuili, who returned a gentle smile.

"If it weren't for your brilliance, we might have lost even more people in the recent clash with that monster."

"Exactly, since we're cooperating, we should have a proper discussion."

The last person hinted, "Some arrogant people, if they think they can handle things alone, why bother discussing with us?"

I think this gentleman's point has some merit; we know too little now, and all we can do is guess. Since the guesses are out, the next step is to verify them.

She turned to the player the servant had just questioned, "Do you remember what you said earlier that caught the servant's attention?"

The player pondered briefly, then answered uncertainly, "I think I asked a question."

"What question?!"

He glanced at the servant, seeming torn about whether to speak it outright.

His chance of being forgiven is gone; next time he errs, something precious will be taken, and he doesn't want to lose it.

The others also understood his concern.

A player pulls a notebook with a pen clipped to it from his body, and after passing through several hands, hands it to him.

That person writes a line of text in an unknown language on the notebook, and the others immediately pass it around to start reading.

The game's translation is unexpectedly considerate; whether written like this or spoken, it automatically translates into the language the player understands.

Thus Cheng Shuili instantly understood its meaning the moment she saw the line, "Can we now only guess whether we are guests or attendants?"

The notebook circulates among the players; everyone reads the question clearly and instantly grasps the key that triggers the attendant.

Directly mention or discuss faction identity!

"It seems that before that monster, or within these attendants' rules, directly discussing factions is taboo," Pan Shi said in a deep voice, his gaze sweeping the crowd, "At least until we clearly obtain our identities, we cannot discuss this openly."

"But not discussing it publicly…" a player raised a doubt, "How can we know which faction we belong to?"

Cheng Shuili neither affirmed nor denied the question; she had many guesses in her mind, but they would have to be verified slowly.

Everyone has one chance to be forgiven; that player just now, judging from the attendant's reaction, should belong to the guest faction.

If he were also an attendant, the attendant would have no need to speak that way.

In other words…

Cheng Shuili lightly tapped the tabletop, and the gesture quickly drew the attention of everyone at the long table.

But her gaze fell on the transformed attendant.

Then she slowly lifted her lips and said, "Am I… a guest or an attendant?"

Cheng Shuili's voice was clear and calm, yet like a massive stone dropped into still water, it stirred violent ripples across the long table.

Everyone stared at her in shock, and even the attendants who had been maintaining elegant dining postures abruptly halted, their stiff necks turning, hollow black eyes fixed on her.

The air froze instantly.

The attendant being questioned wore his standard red smile, which seemed to widen further, almost stretching to his ears.

He slowly set down his knife and fork, the metal striking the porcelain plate with a crisp, grating clang.

He rose, his movements still bearing that preprogrammed, unsettling elegance, facing Cheng Shuili.

"You… are asking about your identity?"

His tone was flat, but a strange enthusiasm grew more evident, as if he sensed a long‑awaited scent, "Confusion about one's own belonging also disrupts the banquet's order."

He took steps, neither hurried nor slow, and walked toward Cheng Shuili.

"Do you need me… to clarify your identity?"

A terrifying sense of oppression followed.

The surrounding players instinctively held their breath; some even quietly shifted backward, trying to distance themselves from the storm's center.

Kai Er's face showed a schadenfreude grin, as if he had already foreseen Cheng Shuili's grim fate.

Pan Shi's brows knit, his hand slightly clenched, his body tense, but seeing Cheng Shuili's still composed profile, he restrained himself and made no move.

Cheng Shuili was, of course, confident.

This damned thing, wasn't it clearly stated above that it can perceive?

It's trash; its whole body is full of weak points.

Cheng Shuili didn't care about any rules, regular or not; as long as this thing dares to act, she will act as well.

When the attendant was only three steps away, the inhuman chill almost palpable, she spoke again, "So, what is my identity?"

"Serving you is my duty," the attendant said, bending slightly, "but answering such a question is clearly beyond my duty."

That sentence was interesting.

Serving Cheng Shuili is his responsibility.

What should be able to make an attendant serve?

Cheng Shuili formed a calculation in her mind, and the other players wore increasingly complex expressions.

If this method works, they too could know their identities.

The attendant straightened again, and at some point had grasped a dinner knife, now held aloft; the players only then noticed the weapon in his hand, "You clearly know your own identity, yet you still ask me—making an attendant's situation difficult, is that the pleasure you seek?"

The attendant's tone shifted from gentle to cold, and finally even exuded a hint of murderous intent.

Cheng Shuili showed no reaction, while the attendant cracked a smile.

"Perhaps attacking you could also give me pleasure."

His raised arm came down abruptly, and just as everyone thought Cheng Shuili could not escape death, a flash of blade streaked through.

Under the stunned gazes of the other players, the attendant's head rolled onto the floor; his standard red smile hadn't even time to change, and his hollow black eyes reflected the dim light from the restaurant ceiling.

The headless body remained rigid on the spot, the dinner knife still raised in a downward slash, and after a moment it crashed to the ground.

A death‑like silence fell over the dining table.

All the players stared dumbfounded at the scene, watching the Long Guo woman who sheathed her blade and stood with a calm expression.

She didn't even leave her seat; at some point she somehow had a remarkable long sword in her hand,

Kai Er's schadenfreude grin froze completely, turning into an incredulous horror.

His teammates beside him also turned pale.

Pan Shi's pupils narrowed as he looked at the knife in Cheng Shuili's hand, then at the dismembered attendant on the floor; his clenched fist slowly released, a flash of understanding and deeper gravity passing through his eyes.

"Y‑you killed him?!" a player shouted, voice trembling with fear, "How could you kill him?"

Cheng Shuili gave him a glance; he was grabbed by a companion and expressed an apology to Cheng Shuili.

"So these monsters can be killed?" Pan Shi finally realized.

"And…," another clever player said, glancing at Cheng Shuili before continuing, "You just now extracted your own identity, didn't you?"

Her gaze fell again on the player who initially triggered the attendant, "Now only two people on the field know their identities, and you are both guests."

"Wait!" her teammate interjected, "Isn't it a bit too hasty to conclude like this? Does the attendant's statement have to be the truth?"

When that question arose, one member of Pan Shi's squad suddenly had an epiphany, "I get it! To confirm our identities, we can only ask these non‑player guests!"