Chapter 19: Mask of Agony

Li Annan's next in line was Baili Qiangsheng. At this moment, he needed to draw one of Baili Qiangsheng's cards.

Baili Qiangsheng's cards were: Wolf, Wolf, Sheep.

Li Annan drew a Wolf Card.

Next.

Baili Qiangsheng drew Zhang Yuan's: Shepherd Card.

Zhang Yuan drew Ma Wenjie's: Sheep Card.

Ma Wenjie drew Cheng Si's: Shepherd Card.

Cheng Si drew Chen Ran's: Shepherd Card.

Chen Ran drew Li Annan's: Shepherd Card.

Because Li Annan was first in the order, according to the rules of the game, he needed to draw one more time before the Settlement.

His target in the order, meaning the cards currently on Baili Qiangsheng's table, were: Shepherd, Wolf, Sheep.

He drew the...

Wolf Card!

With this, the first round of drawing came to an end.

Zhang Yuan looked at the cards on the other five players' tables.

Ma Wenjie: Shepherd, Shepherd, Sheep.

Cheng Si: Shepherd, Wolf, Wolf.

Chen Ran: Shepherd, Shepherd, Sheep.

Li Annan: Wolf, Wolf, Wolf.

Baili Qiangsheng: Shepherd, Sheep.

'Previously, I deduced that the cards on my table were: Shepherd, Sheep, Sheep.'

'Baili Qiangsheng took my Shepherd Card, and I drew Ma Wenjie's Sheep Card. So, my current hand is: Sheep, Sheep, Sheep.'

'Next, we can determine the winner based on which way the Scales of Judgment tilt.'

Having figured this out, Zhang Yuan glanced toward the Scales of Judgment and accidentally caught sight of Chen Ran. Seeing him still frowning, Zhang Yuan could not help but find it amusing.

'The soul inside Chen Ran's body is highly likely to be one of the trio involving Baili Qiangsheng.'

'It has been so long.'

'Could it be that he still has not figured out what cards are on his table?'

Just as this thought crossed his mind, he noticed that Baili Qiangsheng was also frowning.

Aside from those two, the remaining three were all focused on the shifts in the Scales of Judgment.

The dial of the Scales of Judgment had five markings on both the left and right sides. At this moment, the pointer unexpectedly shifted one tick to the left, tilting the scale in that direction.

Resting on the left pan was...

The Pistol!

Seeing this outcome, all six people at the table fell deep into thought once again, and Zhang Yuan was no exception.

'The six card combinations on the tables are: Shepherd-Shepherd-Sheep, Shepherd-Wolf-Wolf, Shepherd-Shepherd-Sheep, Wolf-Wolf-Wolf, Shepherd-Sheep, and Sheep-Sheep-Sheep.'

'Shepherd-Shepherd-Sheep can be interpreted as two Shepherds watching over one Sheep. When a Wolf attacks, one Shepherd guards the Sheep while the other fights the Wolf. This way, they ensure both that the Sheep will not escape and that the Wolf cannot eat it.'

'Conclusion: With Shepherd-Shepherd-Sheep, the Shepherd wins!'

'Following this logic...'

'Shepherd-Wolf-Wolf: The Wolf wins!'

'Shepherd-Shepherd-Sheep: The Shepherd wins!'

'Wolf-Wolf-Wolf: The Wolf wins!'

'Sheep-Sheep-Sheep: The Sheep wins!'

'The trickiest one is Baili Qiangsheng. He only has two cards on his table: Shepherd and Sheep.'

'It is hard to determine the victory or defeat for that.'

'However, I can ignore it for now and deduce the process directly from the final result later.'

'Excluding Baili Qiangsheng's cards, the scoring situation for the five of us is:'

'Two wins for the Shepherd, two wins for the Wolf, and one win for the Sheep.'

'In Western mythology, a scale sits in the judgment hall of the dead. The deceased's heart is placed on the left side of the scale, and a feather on the right.'

'If the heart is heavier than the feather, it indicates the deceased committed evil in life. If the heart is lighter than the feather, it shows the soul was good.'

'The Scales of Judgment tilted one tick to the left, which means it leaned one tick toward the Pistol.'

'Conclusion: At the end of the first draw round, the judgment of the scale reveals that evil outweighs good.'

'Evil is the Pistol, and good is the Handcuffs.'

'Who needs a Pistol?'

'Who needs Handcuffs?'

'The police are the embodiment of justice and definitely not evil, so the police need the Handcuffs.'

'The Masked Man is guilty of a Heinous Crime, representing evil; therefore, the Masked Man needs the Pistol.'

'Those two are easy enough to understand, but the question is, does the Husband need the Pistol or the Handcuffs?'

'In our previous deductions, the Husband's Child was murdered, and his ex-wife was also killed. The Husband definitely wants the Masked Man dead!'

'But in the previous Secret Room, the Masked Man provided false information to the police. Furthermore, everyone who knew he was an accomplice to the criminals has already been burned to death by him in the Classroom.'

'Because of this, the Masked Man will not face legal justice. Yet, the Husband still wants him dead.'

'Conclusion 1: The Husband has no choice but to bypass the law and kill the Masked Man with his own hands.'

'Conclusion 2: The Husband is also evil.'

'From this, it can be concluded that the win-loss situation for the five of us in this round is: two wins for good, and three wins for evil.'

'Good and evil sit on opposite ends of the Scales of Judgment. Two goods cancel out two evils, leaving one evil remaining. This is why the scale tilted one tick to the left.'

'Since the outcomes of us five determined the tilt of the scale, it means the cards on Baili Qiangsheng's table are completely meaningless.'

'Shepherd and Sheep is a draw!'

'Wait, no, it should be interpreted like this: the Shepherd is good, the Sheep is evil, and the two together create a tie.'

Zhang Yuan rubbed his temples, feeling as though his brain cells were on the verge of shutting down entirely.

He looked at the Scales of Judgment, thinking to himself that he absolutely could not let it tilt to the left again. Otherwise, if the Masked Man got the Gun, he might go on a killing spree.

It no longer mattered whether Li Annan or Ma Wenjie was the Masked Man. As long as the other three could deduce the answer, those two would be completely out of options.

At this thought.

Zhang Yuan's expression turned peculiar. The other three...

Could they actually deduce the answer?

However, when he looked at the trio, his heart immediately sank.

Cheng Si was deep in agonizing thought.

Chen Ran was racking his brains.

Baili Qiangsheng was the most exaggerated of all, his eyes glazed over, his lips pale, and his face drenched in cold sweat.

If he were still in school during a final exam and saw the three of them looking like this, he would have laughed.

But right now, he felt like crying.

'This is strange. Out of the three of them, one is definitely Baili Qiangsheng's soul. With his intelligence, deducing the answer shouldn't be a problem.'

'This is strange. Out of the three of them, one is definitely Baili Qiangsheng's soul. With his intelligence, deducing the answer shouldn't be a problem.'

'But it seems like he cannot figure it out...'

Zhang Yuan wanted to remind them or just outright share the results of his deduction.

Just as he was about to open his mouth, he froze.

'Wait!'

'They don't know that I am Cheng Si. Would they even believe a word I say?'

'No, they wouldn't!'

'Baili Qiangsheng and the other two left the Second Chamber first, so they don't know that Zhang Yuan is dead.'

'From their perspective, having six people in this Secret Room is perfectly normal. Therefore, the Masked Man would never even appear in their deductions.'

'What the fuck!!!'

And so...

Following Chen Ran, Cheng Si, and Baili Qiangsheng, Zhang Yuan also donned a Mask of Agony.

"They seem to be in a lot of pain?" Ma Wenjie remarked with a soft chuckle, toying with the cards on his table.

"Probably because they don't have enough brains to go around," Li Annan said, resting his head on his arms as he admired the expressions of the four players.

Their conversation disrupted everyone's train of thought, prompting the four to glare at them furiously.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Is it my fault you lack the IQ?"

"Exactly, exactly. You should really look for the problems within yourselves more often."

The two chimed in one after another, completely denying the four any chance to think in peace.

The four of them stared back with fire in their eyes, looking as though they wanted to skin the two of them alive.

Ma Wenjie suddenly interjected, "Whose turn is it to draw a card? Hurry up!"

Caught off guard by the sudden pressure, Cheng Si pointed at Li Annan and blurted out, "You are first in the order. Of course it's your turn to draw."

Li Annan and Ma Wenjie's demeanors shifted in a flash. They instantly dropped their amused expressions, pulled out their Liar-Slayers without any warning, and aimed the muzzles directly at her under Cheng Si's terrified gaze.

"You lied."

"You lied."