Never mind whether a violent game-break would trigger the system’s forceful backlash—just consider their current identities.
He was Morgana, who needed to impersonate Merlin to deceive Percival; Yu Huaiting was the Assassin, who needed to hide in the shadows and find the real Merlin.
With this outburst, Yu Huaiting had directly pushed himself to the opposite side of everyone. Fortunately, he still had some brains and hadn’t outright declared himself a bad guy.
But this kind of behavior practically put him in the spotlight from the very start—every word and action of his afterward would draw extra scrutiny from everyone.
Fu Songcheng slowly lowered his right hand beneath the table. With a flicker of thought, the system space opened.
The miniature “Yu Huaiting” Sympathy Doll, wearing a light gray hoodie, instantly dropped into his palm.
Fu Songcheng watched expressionlessly as Yu Huaiting was about to swing his sword. His five slender fingers suddenly tightened, clamping dead around the doll’s throat. His thumb pressed hard against the doll’s fragile carotid artery, pressing down viciously!
“Urk—!”
Yu Huaiting, who’d been about to strike, went rigid all over.
The sudden suffocation instantly choked off his movement!
He instinctively raised his left hand to touch his neck, but found nothing solid there. Yu Huaiting turned his head with difficulty, following that unseen pull of the shared senses, and his gaze landed on Fu Songcheng.
Fu Songcheng was still sitting steadily in his chair, the crisp combat suit making him look cold and ascetic.
One hand rested on the table; the other was hidden beneath it. His deep, dark eyes were fixed unblinkingly on Yu Huaiting.
Two off-key coughs escaped Yu Huaiting’s throat, and a faint ring of red marks even surfaced on his neck.
The wheel of fortune turns—retribution came fast.
Yu Huaiting released his right hand from the greatsword and gave up resisting.
He rubbed his still-aching neck, and the ferocity in his eyes instantly softened.
Yu Huaiting pursed his lips rather aggrievedly and plopped back down into his chair without a word.
Clang.
As he sat, the terrifying greatsword dissolved into streaks of light and vanished into the system space.
The whole process took less than ten seconds.
The other four people in the café were dumbfounded.
They couldn’t understand why this madman, who a second ago was about to hack everyone to pieces, had suddenly—like a kitten grabbed by the scruff of its neck—coughed twice and obediently sat down.
What did that mean?
Did the madman also have asthma?
Brother Dao swallowed and looked back and forth between Yu Huaiting and Fu Songcheng, his grip on the gun loosening slightly.
“What’s your relationship?” Brother Dao sensed something off.
Fu Songcheng’s hand beneath the table relaxed a little, but still held the Sympathy Doll.
He raised his head and calmly met Brother Dao’s gaze.
“What relationship?”
Fu Songcheng’s voice was cool and steady, carrying a composedness that inspired confidence. “What are you talking about?”
Yu Huaiting rolled his eyes beside him and muttered under his breath while rubbing his neck: “Soon as I get the chance, I’ll kill all five of you.”
Fu Songcheng’s fingers beneath the table immediately flicked the doll on the back of its head.
Yu Huaiting let out a hiss and immediately shut his mouth, leaning obediently against the chair back and playing dead.
Brother Dao watched and couldn’t see anything different. He was Percival—able to see Fu Songcheng and the short-haired girl.
Among these two, one was Merlin, the guiding light of the Good faction, and the other was Morgana, the leader of the Evil faction.
When Yu Huaiting drew his sword, the short-haired girl had been calm and decisive.
And Fu Songcheng had shown no flaws either. He couldn’t distinguish good from evil, but his instincts told him Fu Songcheng seemed a bit more dangerous.
He needed to confirm Fu Songcheng’s identity as soon as possible.
“Woo—!”
Outside the window, the steam train’s whistle sounded long and loud.
[The first train is about to depart.]
[Captain for this round: Brother Dao.]
[Number of players required to board: 2. Captain, please select two players (yourself included) to carry out this mission.]
Brother Dao took a deep breath and holstered his pistol at his waist.
He crossed his hands on the table and looked at Fu Songcheng.
“Even though there was a bit of unpleasantness just now, I trust my instincts.”
Brother Dao stared into Fu Songcheng’s eyes, speaking word by word, “For the first train, I choose myself—and you.”
He extended a finger, pointing straight at Fu Songcheng.
Hearing this, the short-haired girl beside him opened her mouth as if to say something, but forcibly swallowed it back.
Fu Songcheng noted everyone’s reactions, then offered a lukewarm comment: “A wise choice.”
Though it was praise, Brother Dao felt inexplicably uncomfortable hearing it.
He couldn’t tell whether Fu Songcheng was being sarcastic, or whether he was Merlin who knew everyone’s identities and was giving him a hint.
But that tone really was infuriating.
In the first round, no one had any clues yet—generally, the captain and the boarding candidates were approved by default.
But someone, as always, didn’t like taking the conventional path.
“I object.”
Yu Huaiting leaned back in his chair. “I want to board. If you don’t take me, I’ll object.”
Brother Dao sneered and didn’t even bother with him.
The system notification sounded right on cue:
[Captain has nominated: Brother Dao, Fu Songcheng.]
[All players, please vote. To approve this lineup, choose “Approve”; to oppose, choose “Reject.”]
Fu Songcheng glanced at his panel and pressed “Approve” without hesitation.
He turned his head slightly, watching Yu Huaiting out of the corner of his eye.
Yu Huaiting was idly picking at the wood grain on the table. Feeling Fu Songcheng’s gaze, he reluctantly raised his hand and tapped once on the panel.
[Voting result: 4 Approve, 2 Reject.]
The reject votes came from Yu Huaiting and the middle-aged man.
[First train lineup confirmed! Selected players, please board immediately!]
The wooden door leading from the café to the platform banged open, and cold wind mixed with coal ash howled into the room.
Fu Songcheng stood up and smoothed the hem of his combat suit.
The carriage door slammed shut behind him, sealing off the café’s clamor outside.
At the end of the narrow corridor, two independent compartments branched off. Fu Songcheng and Brother Dao tacitly exchanged no words, each stepping into a different room.
On the console before him were only two buttons gleaming with cold light: red for “Mission Failed,” green for “Mission Success.”
Fu Songcheng’s gaze darkened slightly. This was the first round, and there were only two people on the train.
If he voted “Fail” now, it would be equivalent to announcing to the whole table: one of the two people on this train must be evil.
As Morgana, who needed to impersonate Merlin, he absolutely could not become a conspicuous target at this moment.
“A wise choice.”
The evaluation he’d just given Brother Dao flashed through his mind. Indeed very wise—choosing Morgana to board on the very first round.
Without the slightest hesitation, Fu Songcheng extended his finger and steadily pressed the green “Mission Success” button.
If you’re going to act, act the whole part.
He wasn’t the evil Morgana—he was the good Merlin. How could a train approved by “Merlin” Fu Songcheng possibly fail its mission?
As the indicator light glowed green, the system’s cold notification sounded in the cramped space: “Mission execution complete.”
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