The middle-aged man panicked too. He was good, yet he hadn’t been put on the four-person train—there had to be evil on that train.
Fu Songcheng turned around, his gaze sweeping coldly over the short-haired girl and the middle-aged man. His voice rose a notch, his speech rapid-fire, carrying immense inflammatory force: “No time left!”
He looked at the short-haired girl. “You don’t need to say more.”
Then he pointed at the middle-aged man. “You failed the mission as captain that round—you can’t clear your suspicion either.”
Finally, Fu Songcheng looked at the four he’d chosen. “Vote. I’ll lead you to victory.”
Utterly decisive.
The chosen Brother Dao and bleached-hair youth had only one thought in their minds: Fu Songcheng must be Merlin!
Only Merlin, with a god’s-eye view, could, in such a chaotic situation, so confidently circle out a lineup of four.
The countdown had only three seconds left.
The bleached-hair youth, eyes red, slammed [Approve].
Brother Dao didn’t hesitate either—to protect his “Merlin,” he’d pressed [Approve] long ago.
Fu Songcheng pressed [Approve].
Yu Huaiting still wanted to pull some little stunt, and Fu Songcheng naturally noticed.
Fu Songcheng’s hand was in his pocket, summoning Yu Huaiting’s doll, kneading and twisting it repeatedly to warn Yu Huaiting not to cause trouble.
Yu Huaiting, ears red, pressed [Approve].
Damn Fu Songcheng—he was going to confiscate that doll!
[Voting result: 4 Approve, 2 Reject.]
[Lineup approved.]
[Fifth round mission members, please prepare to board.]
The system’s cold notification sounded, as if pronouncing some final verdict.
The short-haired girl staggered back two steps, looking at the four on the train in despair. “You bunch of idiots…”
Just then, the air on the platform suddenly underwent an eerie change.
Yu Huaiting suddenly let out a low laugh—it grew louder and louder, finally becoming wild, unrestrained laughter.
Yu Huaiting ripped open the button at his collar, as if shedding some heavy disguise.
He walked over to Fu Songcheng in a few strides and slung an arm around Fu Songcheng’s shoulder with utter naturalness, his whole posture arrogant to the extreme.
Yu Huaiting looked provocatively at the short-haired girl and the middle-aged man below the platform, then turned to the still-stunned bleached-hair youth and Brother Dao beside him, his eyes full of malicious mockery. “A bunch of fools. Sold out, and still rushing to help count the money!”
Brother Dao shuddered as if struck by lightning.
He whipped his head around, staring dead at Yu Huaiting, then at Fu Songcheng, held in Yu Huaiting’s arm. “What do you mean?”
“What do you mean?”
Yu Huaiting laughed until tears nearly came, pointing at himself, then at Fu Songcheng. “Still don’t get it?”
Brother Dao stared dead at Fu Songcheng, held in Yu Huaiting’s embrace.
At this moment, the calm and composure on Fu Songcheng’s face were rapidly melting away like ice and snow, replaced by an undisguised, cunning smile of victory.
The corners of his mouth lifted upward, and the mockery between his brows and eyes—at first glance—was astonishingly similar to the arrogant, domineering Yu Huaiting beside him!
They were in it together.
They were both evil.
The “Merlin” he’d sworn to protect to the death was actually “Morgana”—and the short-haired girl he’d suspected the entire game was the real “Merlin.”
The truth crashed into the back of Brother Dao’s head like a heavy hammer, sending his world spinning.
His breathing grew heavy, his chest heaving violently.
Fu Songcheng slowly broke free from Yu Huaiting’s arm.
Then he leaned forward slightly, his gaze sweeping over Brother Dao, the short-haired girl, the bleached-hair youth, and the middle-aged man, and performed an extremely gentlemanly chest-salute. His thin lips parted lightly, spitting out two airy words: “Sorry.”
Yu Huaiting laughed even more recklessly beside him. He turned to face the short-haired girl below the platform.
He raised his right hand—thumb up, index and middle fingers pressed together, pointing at the girl’s brow. His knuckles defined, his fingers mimed the shape of a gun barrel.
“Merlin~”
Yu Huaiting made the sound effect, his fingertip flicking upward with utter arrogance in a shooting gesture, his eyes full of teasing and provocation.
“Let’s go, accomplice. Time to wreck the mission.”
Yu Huaiting turned to Fu Songcheng, his tone familiar and easy.
Fu Songcheng gave him a cold glance, but the smile at the corner of his mouth couldn’t be suppressed either.
The two turned shoulder to shoulder and stepped without hesitation onto the carriage representing the fifth round’s mission.
The remaining two on the four-person list—Brother Dao and the bleached-hair youth—reluctantly, under the system’s urging, walked into the mission carriage with ashen faces.
On the train’s console, two buttons representing “mission status” lit up. One was green for [Success], the other red for [Failure].
Fu Songcheng didn’t hesitate in the slightest—he pressed hard on the [Failure] button.
[Ding—]
[Judging fifth round mission result…]
[Fifth round mission: Failure.]
[Faction confrontation result determined: Evil faction has accumulated three mission failures. Evil faction wins.]
[All surviving players of the Good faction: system eradication protocol executed immediately.]
The cold system notification exploded in everyone’s minds.
History was always written by the clever victors.
The defeated eat dust.
“Ahhhhh—!”
The bleached-hair youth completely broke down. He collapsed to his knees, both hands clawing at his own throat, tears and snot smeared across his face. “I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die! You lied to me!”
And Brother Dao, at this moment, had gone strangely quiet.
He stared dead at the train doors slowly opening, watching Fu Songcheng and Yu Huaiting step out from inside.
His brain had never been clearer than at this moment.
The instance had failed.
As the losing Good faction, he would be strangled by the system any second now—either way, death. But he absolutely refused to close his eyes just like this!
If he had to die, he was dragging down with him the man who had deceived him, used him, and even made him personally hand the villains their victory—Fu Songcheng!
“I’ll kill you!!!”
Brother Dao exploded to his feet, the veins on his neck bulging. His right hand grabbed violently at the void.
A flash of light, and a pitch-black pistol radiating a cold metallic sheen was summoned from his system space.
Brother Dao gripped the gun with both hands, the muzzle instantly locking onto Fu Songcheng and Yu Huaiting as they stepped out of the carriage. He pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The deafening gunshots echoed across the platform. The muzzle spat blazing tongues of fire, and three large-caliber bullets screamed through the air, hurtling straight for the two men’s faces.
Yu Huaiting’s previously lazy eyes turned fiercely sharp in an instant.
His reaction speed was astonishing—almost the same instant Brother Dao drew his gun, his right hand had already reached into the system space.
Clang—!
A dull metallic hum suddenly rang out.
A greatsword materialized in Yu Huaiting’s hand out of thin air.
He gripped the hilt with both hands, put his waist into it, and swung the greatsword horizontally before him.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The three bullets slammed viciously into the broad blade, bursting into blinding sparks.
The massive impact made Yu Huaiting’s body slide back half a step, but his grip on the sword was utterly steady—he took the three lethal shots head-on.
And almost the same instant Yu Huaiting blocked the bullets, Fu Songcheng, standing behind him, moved too.
Fu Songcheng’s wrist flipped, and his customary dagger appeared between his fingers.
Without any superfluous movement, Fu Songcheng’s arm snapped out, and the dagger became a silver bolt of lightning, slicing through the air, hurtling straight for Brother Dao’s throat.
Brother Dao’s pupils contracted. Years of instinct from hovering on the edge of life and death made him jerk his body sideways.
Shh—
The dagger grazed past Brother Dao’s cheek, trailing a string of blood beads, then with a thunk, buried itself deep in the platform’s wooden planks not far behind him.
Before Brother Dao could even feel relief, a suffocating pressure was already bearing down on him.
Seizing the gap while Brother Dao dodged the dagger, Yu Huaiting had already closed in like a ferocious hunting leopard.
Yu Huaiting raised the greatsword with both hands, carrying the momentum of Mount Tai crashing down, and swung it viciously at Brother Dao’s head!
The howling wind nearly tore through Brother Dao’s eardrums.
No retreat!
Brother Dao let out a furious roar, gripping both ends of the pistol with all his might, and forcibly raised the barrel horizontally above his head to block this lethal blow.
Clang—!!!
The greatsword and the pistol barrel slammed together with a deafening crash.
The web of Brother Dao’s hand split instantly, blood spraying out.
His knees buckled uncontrollably. With a thump, he crashed down onto one knee, smashing a dent into the platform’s wooden boards.
Yu Huaiting looked down at him from above, both hands steadily applying pressure.
The greatsword’s edge pressed down on the barrel inch by inch, sparks continuously bursting between them.
“Not bad strength, old man.”
Yu Huaiting sneered, his eyes full of contempt. “Too bad you ran into me.”
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