The glasses-wearing man laughed wildly.

Yu Chaohui’s fury boiled over. He forced himself to his feet, ready to go after the man.

The short-haired woman blocked him: “Violence is prohibited in the game. If you want to deal with him, wait until after the game has concluded!”

Yu Chaohui stared at the glasses-wearing man with scarlet eyes!

The glasses-wearing man didn’t care in the slightest. He strode out of the voting booth, laughing, and arrogantly urged the inspector: “Announce the results already! Make these fools all disappear, and give me their gadgets and puzzle pieces! Give me everything!”

Yu Chaohui’s fury surged even higher. He ground his teeth: “So you were the X-Guest all along! You used us!!!”

“Isn’t it perfectly natural to use you?” The glasses-wearing man kept laughing. “What kind of place is this? This is the Doll Game! Did you think it was a mutual aid society?! If I hadn’t used you, how would I have won?! Oh, and that doctor — what a colossal fool. All that posturing about saving humanity, it’s hilarious hahaha……”

“You call him a fool? Are you any less of one yourself?” Bai Youwei glided out in her wheelchair, slowly, her tone glacial. “If not, then why did you hang on his every word, fawning and groveling your way through this whole game? In my view, you two are cut from the exact same cloth.”

The glasses-wearing man paused at that, looked at Bai Youwei, adjusted his frames, and sneered: “Say what you like. You probably wouldn’t understand even if I explained.”

Bai Youwei narrowed her eyes slightly. “Oh……? Explain what?”

“I was treating him,” the glasses-wearing man said. “Do you understand that?”

Bai Youwei: “Treating the doctor?”

“Exactly — treating the doctor of his own illness.”

The glasses-wearing man’s lips curved upward, his entire face radiating smug triumph.

“He liked playing the doctor, so I pretended to be his patient. He liked controlling people, so I pretended to be under his control. Whatever he wanted his controlled patients to look like, I pretended to be exactly that! Blind devotion, mindless trust, craven submission — these were all the things he wanted to see!

I satisfied every single one of his psychological needs, and in return, he gave me everything I wanted! It’s just like how the more a doctor cares for a patient, the more the patient depends on the doctor — and the more the patient depends on the doctor, the more the doctor can’t help but look after the patient! See that? Without me saying a word, the doctor would proactively look out for me! Protect me! Because — I was his precious patient!

Hahaha, you fools! Do you understand now?! Human emotional relationships influence and act upon each other! A doctor can manipulate a patient, and a patient can manipulate a doctor! And I am the manipulator of this entire game — I am the greatest winner!”

Bai Youwei watched him with cold detachment and asked lightly: “Since emotional relationships influence and act upon each other — then a patient who has lost their doctor will probably have a very hard time surviving on their own, won’t they……”

“Are you joking? I’ve already won!” The glasses-wearing man laughed with arrogant abandon. “I’ve won! Hurry up and announce the results!”

Bai Youwei closed her eyes and said nothing more.

The inspector looked at Bai Youwei, looked at the glasses-wearing man, then looked at the others, and finally announced:

“The fifth round’s eliminated numbers and vote counts are now being announced!”

“Number 6 — 1 vote.”

“Number 7 — 1 vote.”

“Number 14 — 2 votes.”

“Number 24 — 2 votes.”

“Number 29 — 2 votes.”

The glasses-wearing man’s expression froze. He wondered if he’d heard wrong. “How… how can this be? What about number 11? Why isn’t there a number 11?! Did he not press number 11?!”

The sphere was silent a moment, then said: “He did press it.”

“Then WHY?! Number 11 should have at least 1 vote! And the rest of you! What happened?! Why didn’t you vote the way I told you to?!”

The glasses-wearing man began to panic, scanning every face around him. “Who voted for number 29?! Who?!!”

Bai Youwei looked at him with calm eyes and said: “That was, of course…… because I told them to vote that way.”

—