“What?” Shang Sirui looked at Pei Tingsong in shock, “Little Pei is dead? Why did you kill Little Pei?”
Fang Juexia looked over and saw Pei Tingsong smiling and teasing, “This show is really unfriendly to newcomers.”
The program’s narration sounded again, “The deceased player loses their right to speak. Please proceed to the execution area to await departure.”
So he stood up and followed the instructions to the red circular area on the floor of the reception room, the only way for the deceased player to leave the room.
Fang Juexia stared at Pei Tingsong, and as if by some unspoken agreement, he looked back at him.
He smiled rarely, as if accepting defeat, and fell from the execution zone.
As the floor closed again, the first player left the room. The remaining players had mixed feelings; some were surprised, while others adjusted their thoughts to the reality.
Pei Tingsong’s death came too suddenly, catching everyone off guard.
Zhou Ziheng frowned and glanced at the time, “There are only fifteen minutes left before the next round of voting for the killer.”
Fang Juexia glanced back at the handkerchief on the cabinet, “Shouldn’t we solve this first?”
“It can be solved anytime.” After saying that, he looked at Fang Juexia, “Don’t worry, this door is definitely not as simple as just one lock.”
Zhou Ziheng walked over to the sofa and called everyone together for a discussion before the second round of voting.
Fang Juexia took one last look and followed him to the coffee table.
“Let’s first organize the clues and elements we have.” Zhou Ziheng had clearly taken the lead. “In the previous round, I believe everyone’s focus was on Xi Qing and Xiao Pei. Now, verifying the voting patterns from that round isn’t very realistic, after all, the production team specifically used an anonymous voting system. Both of them were still alive before, but the killer killed Xiao Pei. This is very strange and worth analyzing.”
Shang Sui was still in shock over Pei Tingsong’s death. “Wait, let me sort this out. I’m so confused right now.”
He held his head in his hands for a long time, then suddenly spoke up, “Before Xiao Pei died, he stood up and said he wanted to go back to Zhai Ying’s room to take another look, but he died after taking just a few steps. Could it be that there’s something in Zhai Ying’s room?”
Zhai Ying interjected, “I heard what he said too, and it’s true. At the time, I also wanted to go to my room to take a look, but I didn’t expect the production team to suddenly announce his death. Additionally, when Xi Qing and Pei Tingsong were confronting each other earlier, both of them claimed to be the ‘white knight.’ Now that Little Pei is dead, could it be that the killer targeted the ‘white knight’ they believed themselves to be?”
Shang Sui suddenly looked at Xia Xiqing.
“Why are you looking at me?” Xia Xiqing remained unfazed and even smiled. “Do you think I killed him? Think about it—it’s impossible. Why would the killer wear a knight’s outfit and then kill another knight? Now that Pei Tingsong is dead, everyone will suspect me. Do you think I would use such a risky tactic?”
Zhou Ziheng smiled, “It’s not impossible.”
Fang Juexia looked at him.
“Because everyone knows you’re a high-level player and wouldn’t use such a tactic. If you did, it could actually clear you of suspicion, making it seem like someone else framed you with a little trick.”
Xia Xiqing had almost threatened Zhou Ziheng before the show, but suddenly the program’s announcement sounded.
“Attention all players, we will now announce the Double Knight’s choice.”
Upon hearing this, Fang Juexia calmly unscrewed the water bottle on the sofa and took a sip of water.
“He chose the Dark Camp.”
The players present had various expressions. Fang Juexia screwed the cap back on the bottle, placed it on the coffee table, and sighed, “The Black Knight…”
Zhou Ziheng analyzed first, “Actually, from the beginning, when I said that Xiqing and Xiao Pei were jumping, I felt that the true knight was offstage. Because I believe that regardless of black or white, a knight would not easily reveal their true colors. Of course, this rule doesn’t apply to Xi Qing, because he’s a self-destructive player. That’s why everyone’s vision is so unclear.”
“Now that the factions have been revealed, it further supports my theory. The real knight chose the black card. He knows his identity will eventually be revealed, so he can’t reveal himself too easily. Then what about the two who did reveal themselves? Either they are ordinary players who mistakenly believe the knight is a white knight and stepped forward to shield the knight, or they are killers.”
After speaking, he looked at Xia Xiqing, “This precisely validates my previous logic. The first time, you used your self-destructive player identity to make everyone think you might be the true knight. The second time, you exploited the惯性思维 that high-level players wouldn’t kill players who stepped forward, thereby clearing yourself of suspicion. As for why you killed Xiao Pei? Either you truly believed he was the White Knight, but I’m more inclined to think you discovered Xiao Pei had found evidence pointing to your identity.”
His words were delivered with conviction, his logic airtight. He paused abruptly, forcing everyone to follow his train of thought, leaving little room for flaws.
The room fell silent, even Xia Xiqing merely smiled.
Fang Juexia clasped his hands and asked, “Following this logic, we can indeed analyze the recent duels and Xiao Pei’s death. However, the killer’s identity is tied to the plot. I believe it’s unwise to make such a judgment so quickly when the plot isn’t this clear.”
“Finally, someone who understands.” Xia Xiqing sneered, “Logical reasoning is your strong suit, Zhou Ziheng, and so is deduction. Let’s put that aside for now and sort out the plot of this case.”
He leaned back on the sofa and pointed to the painting on the display wall, “Do you see the painting in the middle? The one where a man dies in a bathtub. This painting is called ‘The Death of Marat,’ depicting the assassination of the brutal leader Marat in a bathtub during the French Revolution.“ He laughed as he spoke, ”But there’s something wrong with this painting.”
“In the original composition, Marat and the bathtub are on the left side of the painting, but this one is reversed, upside down. When I saw this painting, I knew it was a clue set up by the production team. So I took the painting down and found this between the canvas and the frame.” He pulled out a piece of paper, and Fang Juexia recognized it immediately—it was the same grid-patterned paper as the high school girl’s suicide note.
As Fang Juexia had suspected, Xia Xiqing had indeed opened the painting, which is why there was a gap.
Shang Suiwei leaned in, “What does it say?”
Xia Xiqing: “This is an early diary entry.”
He read aloud, “Save me, I don’t want to be controlled. I feel like I’m breaking down, splitting apart, I’m in so much pain. Why isn’t the treatment making any progress? Instead, it’s dragging me into a quagmire I can’t escape from. I have a feeling I’m going to die soon. The doctor said it’s all my imagination. He said my neighbor is an old woman, there are no college students, and the band doesn’t exist. Why is he lying to me? No, it’s all fake.”
“Xiao Xi from next door said he’ll help me. He’ll tutor me in my studies, talk to me, and make me feel like there’s still hope in the world. My current suffering is temporary. I need to relax. I’ve already bought tickets to see Together’s performance. I miss Zoe so much. Yan Teacher, right? Yan Teacher will help me. Dr. Tian said I’ll get better, and I will. The weather is so sunny today, isn’t it?”
He finished reading the diary on the paper and placed the paper on the table. “Don’t you understand yet? This entire clinic is filled with clues. Van Gogh’s paintings—you all know Van Gogh suffered from schizophrenia in the end—and Zhou Ziheng’s backpack with the multiverse and grid patterns, all pointing to early clues. These hints suggest that whether it’s Zoe, Yan Teacher, or the neighbor’s older brother, they are all split personalities formed as a self-protective mechanism after being harmed early on. She is a child who was persecuted, even attempting suicide once.” Xia Xiqing looked at them, “Do you really think she’s the killer arranged by the production team?”
Shang Sui’s face lit up with realization, “What about the detective? Is the detective also her alter ego?”
“I’m not sure,” Xia Xiqing said. “I tend to think the detective is real, but Zao Zao couldn’t possibly be the criminal she’s hunting.”
“I accept the plot of multiple personalities. When I saw the multiverse, I had a vague feeling, but,” Zhai Ying shook her head, “according to this logic, you are all Zaozao, and I and the doctor are independent individuals. Zaozao is not the criminal, so it must be the doctor? But the doctor is already dead, and besides, how could such a renowned doctor be a fugitive? The letter also said that the last time they saw the fugitive was at the clinic. It doesn’t make sense that the doctor is the fugitive. In that case, wouldn’t that mean no one is the fugitive?”
Fang Juexia listened silently to these words and couldn’t help but feel a little impressed. The logical flaw he had found in Xia Xiqing’s reasoning had been accurately pointed out by her.
“No, there’s another possibility,” Xia Xiqing continued. “The primary personality is Zaozao, but that doesn’t mean Zaozao is the fugitive. It’s very likely that the crimes were committed when the secondary personality was in control of his body. In that case, the fugitive is very likely the secondary personality.”
“If that’s the case, then the knight is someone who can both protect Zao Zao and persecute Zao Zao…” Fang Juexia smiled, “Then isn’t it most likely that Zi Heng and I are the suspects? After all, Zoe is an idol, so she might be distant from him.”
Fang Juexia secretly admired the screenwriter for embedding duality into so many characters.
Zhai Ying raised a point, “I used to love reading European history. At first, I didn’t know that this painting was of Marat. After Xi Qing pointed it out, I thought of something. Before the revolution, Marat was a doctor, and the one who assassinated him was a vengeful young woman. So does this also imply something?”
Xia Qing seemed to have already thought of this point and quickly countered, “This painting is upside down, so can I also say that the one who was killed was the girl?”
Fang Juexia looked into their eyes, his fingers lightly scraping the sofa, and said casually, “The story behind this painting may not be that significant. What’s important is the letter behind it. That’s my personal opinion.”
Zhou Ziheng, who had been silent throughout, picked up the paper, looked at it, and spoke up, “All the reasoning so far is based on Xiqing’s assumption—that Zaozao is truly the victim.”
He leaned back on the sofa and continued his analysis, “Multiple personalities or schizophrenia—I can accept that plot because there are simply too many unexplained aspects. Me, Zaozao, Zoe, and Yan Laoshi—we all know each other, and coincidentally, we’re all patients of Dr. Tian. The probability of that is too low. The most likely explanation is indeed that we’re actually one person—the only patient.”
“But this assumption has a problem,” Zhou Ziheng looked at Xia Xiqing, “Why would Zao Zao, who sought help, be able to escape suspicion as the killer? We’ve heard too many stories where the seemingly weakest character turns out to be the final boss. Do you know what I thought after hearing that diary?”
He looked at everyone and pointed to the diary. “Look, Zao Zao had already been diagnosed with schizophrenia by the doctor, yet she still went to find Zoe, Xiao Xi, and Yan Laoshi. Why? She wanted to save herself. Shouldn’t she have accepted her diagnosis and sought treatment? Why did she go to find other personalities? What was her purpose?”
“Look at the second sentence in the diary. She feels split and wants to be saved. This indicates that she is no longer satisfied with sharing the same body with other personalities. Only by eliminating the other personalities can she truly feel saved.”
Zhou Ziheng raised an eyebrow, “There may be more than one victim, but there is only one killer.”
He was implying that the girl, Zaozao, had found the other personalities and eliminated them all.
The two of them were at odds with each other. But Fang Juexia stared at the diary facing Xia Xiqing. He sat on the sofa to the side and could only see it from the side. Fang Juexia tilted his head and carefully read each sentence in his mind. He turned his head and reexamined the upside-down painting of “The Death of Marat.”
Upside down…
Shang Sui was confused, “I think what you both said makes sense. They are clearly two different sets of logic, but now I feel that both are feasible.”
Zhai Ying suddenly remembered the draft paper she had given Fang Juexia earlier, “Right, Juexia, did you solve the double integral problem on that paper just now?”
“Oh, right.” Fang Juexia also remembered, so he took out the draft paper and the paper he had recalculated, “I’ve calculated it, and it’s correct.”
His heart pounded violently in his chest.
Xia Xiqing glanced at it and roughly checked the process. There were also some sets on the paper, similar to {1, 2, 3, 4, 2, 5, 2, 2, 2, 2}{3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1}… there were many. But his attention wasn’t on that. “I used to think the killer was Xiao Pei, but now that I think about it, the one who secretly pushed me into the dark camp from the beginning wasn’t him, but Zhou Ziheng. When I saw my own cards, I naturally suspected you.”
Zhou Ziheng smiled, “My logic has been consistent and coherent from start to finish, with no issues whatsoever. Besides, your reasons for denying that you are the killer are not sufficient.”
The two argued back and forth. Fang Juexia thought for a moment and then spoke up, “I still tend to think that Xi Qingge is not the killer. If he were the killer, killing Xiao Pei to gain trust would be very risky. Plus, I’ve always been curious why, when the situation was completely unclear, Ziheng pointed the finger at Xi Qing. That doesn’t seem like the move of an ordinary player, because ordinary players would be afraid of misunderstanding someone’s identity due to unclear information or attracting the killer’s attention.”
“So you’re siding with Xi Qing now?” Zhou Ziheng smiled, “You haven’t spoken much during the game, but when you do, it’s almost always neutral or subtly supporting him. Can I reasonably suspect that there’s some connection between you two?”
Xi Qing suddenly laughed, raised his eyebrows at Zhou Ziheng, and said in a lighthearted tone, “So what if there is? What are you going to do about it?”
Fang Juexia felt forced into another chaotic situation, feeling awkward.
“I accept all suspicions.” After speaking, Fang Juexia looked Zhou Ziheng straight in the eye, “I just think your sudden confrontation came out of nowhere. I’m not accusing you of being the killer. There’s one more thing: I’m not sure how the killer committed the murder, whether a phone was involved. I’m just curious—when Xiao Pei died, you happened to be taking out your phone.”
Zhai Ying asked at this moment, “What if you had already opened the murder menu and entered Pei Tingsong’s name beforehand? In that case, seeing you take out your phone would actually serve as an alibi.”
Time passed, and the program’s narration appeared again.
“All players, the final round of player voting will begin in 30 seconds. The player to be executed will be eliminated. The countdown begins.”
“You’ll regret it if you vote me out,” Zhou Ziheng said.
Xia Xiqing shrugged, tapped his chin with his finger, and stood up from the sofa.
The remaining five people scattered, and Fang Juexia walked a few steps to the two large doors of the examination room. The others also went to other doors or walls, each facing away, and took out their phones.
At that moment, he could still feel the lingering tremors from Pei Tingsong slapping his chest, as well as the rustling sound he heard from his front pocket.
He took out the piece of paper, just as he had done when he was shooting for the magazine, revealing the poem Pei Tingsong had given him.
The front of the paper had an English word written on it.
[Ukulele]
Ukulele.
He flipped the paper over and saw a line of text written in bold, unrestrained handwriting.
For some reason, just seeing those words made his heart race.
“Voting has ended. The results will be announced shortly.”
Fang Juexia turned around calmly, stuffed the paper and his phone into his pocket, and waited for the verdict.
Everyone turned to look at Zhou Ziheng, who furrowed his brows, shook his head, and walked silently toward the bright red circle.
Watching him fall, Fang Juexia gazed at the final gate.
Xia Xiqing seemed satisfied with the outcome. “Now that the killer is dead, the production team will surely reveal the Black Knight’s information.”
Shang Sirui felt a bit scared, “Last season, they didn’t execute so many people, and everyone still managed to escape.”
Zhai Ying glanced at him, “What are you afraid of? It’s not real.”
Fang Juexia leaned against the door, holding his waist, and said, “By the way, we’ve been discussing the killer, and I almost forgot.” He pointed to the cabinet by the door, his eyes fixed on Xia Xiqing, “Didn’t we see a 36-grid array on the screen by the door earlier? I just unlocked the mechanism on the drawer of the cabinet next to it, and there was a grid-patterned handkerchief inside. Earlier, Zi Heng soaked it with water and saw the password inside.”
He walked over, and the others followed closely behind. Xia Xiqing looked down at the grid pattern printed on the handkerchief, and Fang Juexia explained, “There are numbers on the handkerchief.”
“This is a chessboard code,” said Xia Xiqing. “I’ve read a lot of books on decryption, and this is one of the most classic codes in classical cryptography.”
___1__2__3__4__5
1__q__w__e__r__t
2__y__u_i/j_o__p
3__a__s__d__f__g
4__h__k__l__z__x
5__c__v__b__n__m
“You’ve really found the key clue.” Xia Xiqing pointed to the numbers on the handkerchief. “The first row reads 15.41.23.14.33. These are actually coordinates. The first number is the row, and the second number is the column. Corresponding to the chessboard just now, 15 is t, 41 is h, 23 is i or j, 14 is r, and 33 is d.”
Shang Sirui immediately caught on, “Third! Third!”
Xia Xiqing nodded, and they continued to decipher the rest. Fang Juexia remained silent; everyone’s attention was focused on this.
He quietly walked away. Zhai Ying noticed and turned to ask him, “Where are you going, Juexia?”
Fang Juexia turned back, a hint of confusion on his face. “I find it strange that I’m the only one without a medical record. Maybe I just didn’t find it? I want to go back to the clinic and take another look. There might be some key clues.”
Xia Xiqing also turned back and thought for a moment, “There really isn’t one for you.”
“No matter what, unlocking the door is the most important thing. I’ll go look for it first, and you guys can come over later.”
Shang Sirui said, “The third row, right? I’ll try it.” Xia Xiqing immediately stopped him, “Finish unlocking it first. If you press the wrong button, you’ll have to wait an hour!”
Fang Juexia quietly made his way to the examination room. After confirming no one was following him, he hurried to the bookshelf and took down the ukulele.
When he took it down, he noticed a book had also been pulled out and placed next to the ukulele—it was an astronomy book. There was even a magnifying glass on top of it. He had noticed the astronomy book before, but was the magnifying glass also from the psychologist’s room?
If that was the case, his thoughts became even more certain.
Fang Juexia turned the ukulele over and shook it. There was indeed something inside. He carefully reached in with his fingers, afraid of making a sound.
Sweat beaded on his forehead.
Finally, Fang Juexia took out what was inside. It was a stack of slightly thick folded paper. He gently put down the ukulele, unfolded the paper, and walked toward Zao Zao’s room.
The first sheet of paper was his medical record, which clearly stated his condition—bipolar disorder.
Seeing those words, Fang Juexia’s breath caught in his throat.
Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive disorder.
He flipped to the second sheet, which was a guitar tab, but it was hastily scribbled on an old newspaper. When he turned to the back, he saw a news article circled in pen on the newspaper.
At 5:52 a.m. today, a young man surnamed Tan, wearing a white coat, stabbed and killed a middle-aged man on Yanghua Road. The motive for the killing remains unclear, and the police have launched an investigation to track down the fugitive. According to sources, Tan is not a doctor. At the age of 13, he was sexually assaulted by a neighbor, which caused a stir at the time. Subsequently, Tan developed paranoia and multiple personality disorder, and had been receiving treatment at a private clinic in the city… ]
5:52 a.m.
Isn’t this the first numerical puzzle he has solved?
The character “Tan” in Tan’s name was highlighted in the news article, and next to it were a few hastily written words.
[Yan, Xi, Zao, north, Tian, together]
Fang Juexia suddenly recalled the collection on the draft paper and realized something.
He hurriedly flipped to the last page, which seemed to have been rolled up before, leaving obvious creases. There were a few sentences written on it.
[One counterattack won’t truly make you stand up.
Life is precious because it acknowledges its own insignificance.
Gravel obeys the sea, just as the subordinate obeys the master.
Understanding oneself is the key to true rest.
Give up sooner, for you will always be subordinate]
“Juexia, did you find it? Your medical records.”
Fang Juexia heard Shang Sirui’s voice, gathered the other papers, clutched the medical records in his hand, and crouched beside the sofa, “I think I found it…”
Shang Sirui walked in, seeing Fang Juexia’s flushed face as she pulled a piece of paper from under the sofa. Fang Juexia stood up, brushing the dust off the paper, “This should be it.”
“What illness does Teacher Yan have?”
“Yes.” Zhai Ying turned back, “It’s the third row, first column. We solved the magic square, but then another problem arose. Xi Qing just entered the answer, but it was incorrect. Fortunately, we don’t have to wait an hour for this answer.”
Xi Qing was now sitting back on the sofa, frowning as he seemed to be thinking deeply.
“What problem?” Fang Juexia walked over and tapped the display screen on the door.
While thinking, Xia Xing unexpectedly noticed the scrap paper. When Fang Juexia had taken it out earlier, he had only quickly checked the solution process and answer, not paying attention to the randomly scribbled sets.
{1, 2, 3, 4, 2, 5, 2, 2, 2, 2}{3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1}
He counted them.
Fang Juexia stared at the question on the screen and heard Zhai Ying say beside him, “This is the question. Just now, Xi Qing filled in Xiao Xi and Zao Zao, but it’s wrong.”
The screen displayed two lines of English.
[Who is the main one?
Who are you?]
“Let me try.”
Xia Xiqing, who had counted the repeated elements in the set, suddenly realized and muttered, “It’s 6…”
Yes, it’s six. Six players, five rooms, the only room with two doors, six square hoods, and even the array on the door display is 6×6.
All the details came together at once—the guitar in Shang Siru’s waiting room, the ukulele in the examination room, the physics textbook in Zhou Ziheng’s waiting room, the astronomy books in the examination room, the art supplies in his room, and the painting in the examination room.
Only the examination room was initialized with two people, corresponding to the black and white doors, and the double integral on the draft paper.
Xia Xiqing lowered his head, and the inverted painting appeared in his mind. He suddenly remembered something and abruptly grabbed the diary.
No.
The painting is upside down.
The figures are upside down.
So the diary should also be upside down. The beginning of the diary should record the weather…
[Today’s weather is sunny, isn’t it?
Dr. Tian said I’ll get better, and I will.
Mr. Yan, right, Mr. Yan will help me. My current suffering is temporary. I need to relax. I’ve already bought tickets to see the Together performance. I miss Zoe so much. My neighbor, Xixi, said he’ll take me to study with him. He’ll tutor me in my homework and chat with me, making me feel that there’s still hope in the world.
The doctor said all of this is my imagination. He said my neighbor is an old woman, there are no college students, and that band doesn’t exist. Why is he lying to me? No, all of this is fake.
Why isn’t the treatment making any progress? Instead, it’s dragging me deeper into the mud.
I feel like I’m breaking down, splitting apart. I’m in so much pain.
I have a premonition that I’m about to die.
Save me, I don’t want to be controlled.
Wrong, wrong.
He was still wondering why it was “the main one” instead of “killer.”
Because the main personality is the killer.
After finishing the input, Fang Juexia stared at the question and answer on the screen.
Who is the main one? [Dr. Tian]
Who are you? [Tan Ji]
“Everyone, please note that the first player of this game has escaped.”
With a loud bang, the door opened.
The first person Fang Juexia saw was Pei Tingsong, who had been waiting outside the door for a long time. He smiled with a mix of competitiveness and ambition, spread his arms wide, and embraced the extremely tense Fang Juexia amidst the confetti and gold dust sprayed by the staff.
“You’ve worked hard.”
The program’s narrator announced the final result, “The winning team is…”
Closing his eyes, Fang Juexia saw the note with the ukulele written on it. On the back of the note was Pei Tingsong’s final message to Fang Juexia after his transformation.
[Let me win, brother.]
“Dark Camp, congratulations to Black Knight Fang Juexia and killer Pei Tingsong!”
Fang Juexia raised his head, shedding his disguise, “Half.” The cold-hearted face raised an eyebrow, even the red birthmark at the corner of his eye seemed to come alive.
“We won.”
Author’s Note: I wonder if everyone understood? Actually, I saw many readers post very insightful analyses yesterday.
How many personalities are there? How did the name Tan Ji come about? When did they confirm each other’s identities? What about the hidden audio clues that Jue Xia hasn’t revealed? What is the complete plot like? All of these will be fully revealed in the next chapter when they gather to review the situation.
This episode was really challenging, combining elements from the first two episodes of the first season. I intentionally omitted Jue Xia’s inner thoughts to avoid spoilers, and the plot can be interpreted in multiple ways depending on the clues. So, in a way, the losing players are still honorable (though they might feel otherwise after rewatching it a few times to catch the details). Because ordinary players can’t truly trust each other, but once the dark faction confirms their relationship, they share clues with each other.
Once again, I’m amazed by the readers’ intelligence. Many of you suggested the idea of multiple personalities as early as Chapter 37. You’re amazing!
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