Chapter 28: Suspicion

"What do you mean by that?" The rich kid frowned at him. "Everyone was by the fuse box when the power went out, and you only came over after hearing the commotion yourself. Who could have split themselves in two to commit murder?"

"I've taken a look," Xu Huo said. "The shelf that fell over by the hot spring pool—Du Lanlan and Xia Guo were killed without even a cry for help. It is highly likely that there was a massive disparity in strength between them and the killer, and there are very few signs of a struggle."

"Are you suggesting the shelf just tipped over on its own?" Wan Zhikang looked at him as if he were an idiot.

"It could have been knocked over by accident, or perhaps by a draft. With so many uncertain factors, how can you be certain that someone was actually here when the shelf fell?" Xu Huo said meaningfully. "Game items can also be used to manufacture alibis."

The group was taken aback, and the implication hit them. That was right—there had been several minutes between the power outage and when they discovered the bodies. Since the two women were killed without any calls for help or sounds of a struggle, the sudden toppling of the shelf felt unnatural, almost as if it had been staged specifically for the players to see.

"Maybe it was just a coincidence," Abel suggested. "The equipment here is old and soaked in steam; it wouldn't be strange for it to be unstable."

"Coincidences are a separate matter," Huang Junjie said. "At the very least, we must confirm that none of the players are suspects, otherwise how can we work together to deal with the Decapitator?"

"That's fair," the rich kid started. "I was with Liu Yuanyuan before the power went out, and I ran into Zhang Xiong when I came out to check the fuse box."

Zhang Xiong nodded. "He had just come out when I passed through the hallway, and I saw Liu Yuanyuan smoking."

Liu Yuanyuan corroborated this. "Zhang Xiong did indeed pass by the entrance."

"Yuan Yao and I heard the sound when Zhang Xiong came out," Huang Junjie added.

Prior to that, Zhang Xiong, Wan Zhikang, and Abel had been in the same room, and the three could vouch for each other.

Wang Wei had arrived at the storage room with the college student, but he hesitated before saying, "However, before the power went out, he went out for a while."

The college student’s expression turned visibly panicked. "It wasn't me! I didn't kill anyone! I had already returned to my room before the power went out! I even called out to you when the lights first went out, and you were still in the bathroom then!"

"It’s possible they didn't die after the power went out!" Huang Junjie watched him warily. "You could have killed them first, then cut the power to lure everyone out, and then pretended to come out with Wang Wei."

"It wasn't me!" the college student suddenly shouted, but before he could continue his explanation, Zhang Xiong punched him in the abdomen. He curled up on the floor, eyes filled with tears and resentment. "I said it wasn't me! If Du Lanlan and the other girl died before the power went out, all of you were in your own rooms—no one can prove their own whereabouts!"

Zhang Xiong hauled him up. "Are you saying we conspired to commit murder?"

"If it wasn't the Decapitator, who has the ability to kill silently unless multiple people cooperated?" The college student struggled, and a fruit knife suddenly fell from behind him.

Wan Zhikang grabbed it and angrily demanded, "What is this?"

Before the college student could speak, he was struck by two more blows. Zhang Xiong looked like he intended to beat the man to death, but Xu Huo stopped him. "The murder weapon was not a fruit knife."

Both Du and Xia had clear signs of violent chopping on their necks; a fruit knife could never have caused such wounds.

"So what?" Wan Zhikang said. "As long as he can't explain what he was doing before the power went out, he is the prime suspect!"

The college student, now bruised and swollen, squinted at Zhang and Wan. "You are the only ones in the villa who have an axe."

"I hid the fruit knife for self-defense. I found it in the dining hall during the day and didn't take it because I was afraid others would see. I only went out at night to retrieve it!"

"How could a fruit knife possibly decapitate someone!"

Almost all the players arrived empty-handed. To commit murder, one needed a tool, and among those present, only Wan Zhikang had the axe he had seized earlier.

"You dare to frame us!" Wan Zhikang lunged forward to hit him, but was held back by the rich kid and Wang Wei. The former remarked, "You've been annoyed with the two of them for a while now, haven't you?"

The color drained from Wan Zhikang's pudgy face. "You suspect me?"

The group remained silent, watching him. It was clear they believed the college student's words; he, along with his roommates Zhang Xiong and Abel, were all under suspicion.

"Bullshit!" Zhang Xiong roared. "I never lay a hand on women!"

"Absolutely not!" Abel added in a panic. "I believe in Buddhism; I do not kill!"

The rich kid sneered. "You foreign devil, do you even know what Buddhism is? You are the only ones with an axe, and the victims were killed by an axe. If it wasn't you, then who was it?"

Wan Zhikang was drenched in sweat, his eyes darting frantically. In his panic, he suddenly pointed at Xu Huo. "What about him? There’s also him! He was the only one not in the villa just now, and he just came back from outside. He is the one most worthy of suspicion!"

"I only met Zhang Xiong and Abel after entering the game. Even if I had a conflict with those two women, how could I convince them to help me kill? What good would it do me if the players are all dead? I can't even beat the Decapitator!"

"That's right, you didn't show up after the first power outage. You were the only one outside!" Zhang Xiong immediately shifted the focus.

The others turned their gaze toward Xu Huo. Huang Junjie looked suspicious. "Why did you choose to stay in the cabin alone?"

Under normal circumstances, no one would willingly be left alone in such a dangerous place. Yet, even when Xu Huo had the chance to return to the villa with them, he chose to stay behind, which in itself was highly suspicious.

"I gave my reason earlier: I was simply curious to see if that person would come back to life again." Xu Huo remained completely calm, speaking in a measured tone. "Besides, I had already been through a life-or-death struggle and had to dig a hole to bury someone. In that short amount of time, no matter how fast I am, it would be impossible for me to run back and forth and kill three people in total."

"By the way, I picked these wild plums from the woods. You have to admit, there are quite a lot of fruit trees around here."

The players were confused.

The college student was a bit too weak—he couldn't even take a punch from Zhang Xiong; it was a stretch to say he could kill and decapitate someone silently on his own.

As for convincing others to conspire, that was no easy task either. Merely possessing an axe didn't prove anything, as by that logic, players in other rooms were equally suspicious; no one could determine if players in other rooms had already formed an alliance.

As for Xu Huo, he clearly lacked the time. During the first power outage, he hadn't returned with Huang Junjie and Yuan Yao, and he had been busy killing and burying bodies near the cabin. The interval between the two power outages was not that long.

For a moment, it seemed as if every player was a suspect, yet it also seemed as if every player might be innocent.

"You all are overthinking this," Liu Yuanyuan, who had been sitting to the side, spoke up. "There is a Decapitator in the villa, and instead of suspecting him, you're looking for a killer among your own people?"