Chapter 73: Heart-Killing (1)

Bang!

Bang!

Chen Ran B and Chen Ran C, dead.

...

Time returned to the present.

Four people rushed out of the Third Study, executing the Chen Ran and Geng Hao who had been conversing inside the Second Study through Judgment.

The four looked at the densely packed corpses piled up in the Second Study and felt their scalps tingle, especially since these dead bodies wore faces identical to their own...

Following their previous agreement, Geng Hao and Geng Hao A would have their ultimate showdown here.

Meanwhile, Chen Ran and Chen Ran A headed to the First Study, continuing their duel while simultaneously killing any newly spawned versions of Chen Ran and Geng Hao.

"You lied."

"You lied."

Two newly generated clones, Chen Ran X and Geng Hao X, were immediately executed via Judgment by Chen Ran before they could even figure out what was happening.

Chen Ran A, having nothing to do, sat on the desk with his legs crossed.

"I'm curious, what kind of plan do you intend to use to kill me?" Chen Ran A asked.

When Chen Ran BC dealt with Chen Ran D, they had utilized proactive strategic planning. When Chen Ran and Chen Ran A dealt with Chen Ran BC, they used the advantage of foresight to trap those with hindsight. After all, they were all Chen Ran; conventional methods would never be able to deceive each other.

Therefore, in the showdown between Chen Ran and Chen Ran A, if Chen Ran wanted to win, he also had to utilize the advantage of having the initiative.

Chen Ran smiled brightly and said, "Tell me, is there a possibility that the number of spawn batches is limited? Or perhaps, the duration of the game has a time limit?"

"In the Heir Game, where there are bets, there are winners and losers. What do you think defines winning and losing?"

Chen Ran A pondered for a moment before replying, "There are two possibilities. The first is that the true Chen Ran and the true Geng Hao are judged by the number of spawned clones they kill in the Escape Room Game. Whoever kills more is the final winner."

"The second possibility is this: within a set time limit, whichever of the true Chen Ran or true Geng Hao kills the most clones wins."

Chen Ran nodded and continued to ask, "And what is the difference between these two possibilities?"

"The first one has no time limit, which means there is a limit on the number of replications."

"The second one has a time limit, which means that as soon as the time is up..."

Suddenly, Chen Ran A froze.

'If the second possibility has a time limit, that means as soon as time is up, the game ends...'

'The true Chen Ran and the true Geng Hao will be instantly teleported out!!!'

'And an NPC like me will either be left here forever, or directly erased.'

'After all, they are the real Players!'

'Simply put, with the first possibility, I have plenty of time to slowly trap and kill Chen Ran, then replace him. With the second, as long as Chen Ran keeps his mouth shut and stalls for time, I am completely doomed.'

'Wait!'

'If it really is the second possibility, there was absolutely no need for Chen Ran to set up such an elaborate scheme.'

'Since he ensured that all subsequently spawned clones would inherently possess the lying attribute, he could have completely ignored everyone else, come straight to the First Study, and simply shot the newly born clones.'

'But why did he still go out of his way to trap and kill those two Chen Rans?'

'Wait!'

'He was deceiving the true Geng Hao! Judging by the results, the true Geng Hao was tricked into staying in the Second Study. Because of that, all the Players spawned in the First Study belong to him alone. His kill count will absolutely be higher than the true Geng Hao's.'

Seeing his expression change, Chen Ran continued, "To me, it doesn't matter which possibility it is. If it's the first one, the worst that happens is I fight you again. If it's the second one, Geng Hao and I will just be teleported away. Tell me, is there any need for a game to exist without its Players?"

Those words acted like a sharp thorn, ruthlessly stabbing into Chen Ran A's heart.

If there was a time limit, how long was it? No one knew.

It could be in a few hours, or it could be... at any moment.

"I wonder if you noticed just now... there really are a lot of corpses in the Second Study," Chen Ran said with a cheeky tone.

Chen Ran A: "..."

'This bastard is trying to remind me that the sheer number of corpses proves one thing: replication might be infinite, but the Players' participation time has a limit.'

Just as Chen Ran A was lost in thought...

"You lied."

Those words startled Chen Ran A into a cold sweat. He looked up, only to realize it was merely Chen Ran executing the newly spawned Chen Ran via Judgment.

However, Chen Ran wasn't in a hurry to turn his gun around and pass Judgment on the newly spawned Geng Hao.

Instead, he slowly shifted the barrel of his gun. Watching this scene made Chen Ran A's scalp go numb, and he immediately shouted, "Don't!"

However, it was too late.

The newly spawned Geng Hao watched as the Chen Ran who had appeared alongside him was judged and killed.

And then there was another Chen Ran, leisurely turning his gun, clearly intending to pass Judgment on him next.

How could he not realize that he had most likely already told a lie? Even though he had no memory of doing so.

But that didn't stop him from instantly drawing his Liar-Slayer and activating his skill.

"Liar-Slayer: Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back."

In the next moment, the Secret Room turned pitch black. Plunged into the darkness, the newly spawned Geng Hao ran desperately toward the rear door of the Study. Just before the light returned...

He pulled open the rear door and dashed into the Second Study, only to see corpses stacked all over the floor—some belonging to Chen Ran, some belonging to himself.

The very next moment...

The door was slammed shut.

Witnessing this scene, Chen Ran A's face turned ashen, and he couldn't shake off the shock for a long time.

'The door closed?'

'No...'

'Shouldn't the Geng Hao inside have killed this newly spawned Geng Hao first?'

'If that Geng Hao had died just now, his skill would have vanished.'

'But since he didn't die, Chen Ran and I are still trapped by the skill's effects.'

'Chen Ran did this on purpose!'

'He riled up my emotions first, then intentionally let a Geng Hao who had used a skill escape.'

'Which means it's highly likely he had already formed some kind of agreement with the two Geng Haos beforehand...'

'For the true Geng Hao, he already has no chance of winning this game. He only wants to leave the Secret Room alive.'

'Because of that, he will help the true Chen Ran.'

'As for the fake Geng Hao, he told a lie and used his skill—a skill that Chen Ran personally experienced. They probably reached their agreement during that very experience.'

'This is bad.'

'The people in the Second Study should be: Geng Hao and the Geng Hao who just ran in.'

'Meanwhile, Geng Hao A, who also told a lie, should be hiding in the Third Study to avoid a shootout with the recent Geng Hao.'

'Which means the recent Geng Hao most likely won't be immediately judged and killed by the true Geng Hao.'

'Chen Ran and I will remain under the effects of the skill for the next five minutes.'

'If I go into the Second Study right now to execute the recent Geng Hao...'

'That would be irrational. Just walking to the rear door of the Study alone would trigger several illusions.'

'All I can do is wait!'

'Wait for the next batch of spawned clones to appear, forfeit the chance to judge them, and use Eternal Kingdom... I have to wait five minutes.'

Chen Ran A frowned. He knew exactly what Chen Ran was doing; this was heart-killing.

'The longer this drags on, the more panicked I'll become, terrified that the second possibility is the truth.'

'If my mind falls into chaos, it's highly likely I'll stumble right into Chen Ran's trap later!'