Chapter 52: This Doesn't Matter!

The middle-aged woman furrowed her brows.

'Strange.'

'Just now, He Lang seemed very surprised—surprised that he was chosen to be cannon fodder.'

'In other words, in his subconscious, he believed there was a much weaker member in the team.'

'What would make the middle-aged uncle skip the weakest member of his team and send He Lang directly to his death?'

'It is just like playing cards. You only have singles in your hand, and you are the first to play. You could easily play a three, yet you insist on playing a king.'

'That means there is a problem with the king!'

'He Lang only spoke two sentences this entire time.'

'The first sentence: Because you are teammates.'

'The issue must lie in the first sentence.'

'At that time, the middle-aged uncle wanted Chen Ran's teammate to wake Chen Ran up. In response, Chen Ran's teammate asked: On what grounds?'

'The middle-aged uncle did not dare to answer that, but He Lang could not keep his mouth shut and replied: Because you are teammates.'

'In other words, it was this exact sentence that caused the middle-aged uncle to sentence He Lang to death.'

'If there was nothing wrong with that reckless comment, He Lang would not have died. This proves that his statement was highly likely a lie.'

'Because you are teammates...'

'That was a lie!'

'Which means the truth is...'

'You are not teammates!'

At this thought, the middle-aged woman looked toward Chen Ran's teammate. Her hair was completely white, and her aged face was covered in deep wrinkles.

'Chen Ran's teammate has looked exactly like this from the very beginning. She hasn't changed at all!'

'There is no problem with her.'

'Could the problem be with Chen Ran?'

She then shifted her gaze to Chen Ran. His frail build, handsome face, and the way he smoked his cigarette remained completely unchanged.

'There is no problem with Chen Ran either.'

'Since neither of them is the problem, that means the one with the problem is... me!'

'My memories or my perception of reality must have been tampered with!'

'When exactly was my memory or cognition altered?'

'When Wang Yan died!'

'At that time, four gunshots rang out, yet Wang Yan was only hit twice. Two people used a skill.'

'One of them was me.'

'Who was the other?'

'It seems that doesn't matter.'

'What matters is that I had no other choice when I used my Liar-Slayer skill!'

'Even though I secured the right to cut in line during the gambling game, if I couldn't deduce which numbers were dangerous, I could still easily die.'

'Furthermore, during the ten cycles of amnesia, I didn't record the numbers from each memory loss.'

'Therefore, my only option was to use my Liar-Slayer skill to peek at the numbers hidden in the palms of Chen Ran or his teammate.'

'This means the other person who used the Liar-Slayer skill also had no choice and could only obtain the numbers from those two.'

'So, the memory or cognition that this person altered must be related to Chen Ran or his teammate. In other words...'

'After Wang Yan's death, the identities of Chen Ran and his teammate became questionable!'

'Chen Ran might be Chen Ran, or he might be the one who used the Liar-Slayer skill.'

'By the same logic, Chen Ran's teammate could also be the one who used the Liar-Slayer skill.'

'Whoever calls out their names or states that they are teammates...'

'...is telling a lie!'

'When He Lang called them teammates, he was lying. That is why the middle-aged uncle abandoned him.'

'Rather than letting him be judged and killed later, it was better to squeeze out his remaining value and use him as cannon fodder.'

The middle-aged woman frowned deeply. She felt incredibly strange. Logically, having reasoned this far, it should have been easy to deduce exactly who used the Liar-Slayer skill.

Yet, it was as if a cognitive firewall had been installed over that person's name in her mind, preventing her from ever figuring out who it was.

'Who it is doesn't matter.'

'??'

'!!'

'Why am I having this thought again?'

'To alter cognition to this extent... what a terrifyingly strong Liar-Slayer skill!'

'Wait...'

'The method to break this wall seems very simple.'

'Since that person has a cognitive firewall, I just need to bypass it.'

'One of the two—either Chen Ran or his teammate—has a questionable identity, so...'

'Where did the real Chen Ran, or the real teammate, whose identity was stolen go?'

'Let me eliminate them one by one.'

'Am I Chen Ran? Or Chen Ran's teammate?'

'Impossible.'

'In my memory, I used the Liar-Slayer skill, and I withdrew my skill only after that person used theirs. Therefore, I cannot be Chen Ran or his teammate.'

'There are three teams with twelve members in total. Could one of them be Chen Ran or his teammate?'

'Also impossible.'

'If so, it would mean the person who used the Liar-Slayer skill is one of those twelve. Would someone with such a powerful Liar-Slayer skill willingly play the lackey for someone else?'

'Therefore, they can be ruled out as well.'

'That leaves the three captains and Zhang Jinhua. One of these four must be the original Chen Ran or his teammate.'

'First, eliminate the three captains.'

'When assigning the cannon fodder, they all called out their cannon fodder's names. If one of them was Chen Ran or his teammate, they absolutely wouldn't be able to name them.'

'So...'

'There is only one answer left: Zhang Jinhua is Chen Ran, or Zhang Jinhua is Chen Ran's teammate.'

'Which means.'

'The person using the Liar-Slayer skill is... this doesn't matter!'

'Damn it, I've deduced this much, yet the cognitive firewall is still there!'

'I must keep bypassing it.'

'Since Zhang Jinhua is Chen Ran, or his teammate, I will look directly for a breakthrough from Zhang Jinhua.'

'How could this be?!!'

The middle-aged woman suddenly widened her eyes, staring in horror at the three captains and Chen Ran.

'Just now, when the cannon fodder Liang Jing was trying to solve the puzzle, those four clearly didn't want to help.'

'Then, the gold-rimmed glasses captain smoothly brought up the promise Zhang Jinhua made to help him solve the puzzle after he showed her the five numbers recorded in his palm.'

'Simply put, whoever helped Liang Jing solve the puzzle would be... this doesn't matter!'

'...'

'Simply put, whoever helped Liang Jing solve the puzzle is the one who used the Liar-Slayer skill.'

'It can't be!'

'Those four figured this out a long time ago. They coordinated flawlessly to smoke out... this doesn't matter.'

'To smoke out that person.'

'Just what kind of monsters have been matched into this One-Star Instance?!'

'However.'

'An unexpected twist occurred. Chen Ran, who originally didn't intend to help Liang Jing, suddenly spoke up and solved the puzzle.'

'Basically, when those four were tacitly cooperating by refusing to solve the puzzle earlier, the three captains could almost guarantee that the one whose identity was stolen was Chen Ran's teammate.'

'But since Chen Ran changed his mind at the last second to help Liang Jing, his own identity came into question.'

'Based on my previous deduction, whoever solved Liang Jing's puzzle is the one who used the skill.'

'First Chen Ran refused to help, but then he turned around and solved it. So is he the user, or isn't he?'

'No wonder the three captains instantly wore a mask of agony the moment Chen Ran provided the solution.'

'This kind of maneuver.'

'It is enough to piss someone off to death!'

'I bet the middle-aged uncle and the other two want nothing more than to strangle him right now.'

'So here is the problem.'

'If Chen Ran is truly Chen Ran, why would he do such a thing?'

The middle-aged woman gazed at Chen Ran. She saw him leisurely smoking his cigarette, yet exuding an aura of extreme danger.

'This guy is about to kill someone!'

'It makes sense. If Chen Ran is Chen Ran, given his swift and ruthless handling of the teenager, being played like this would definitely ignite his murderous intent.'