Bai Youwei stepped out of the voting booth.

Her wheelchair was parked outside the door. She suddenly seemed to remember something and let out a dramatic “Oh no!”

All thirteen people outside looked at her with suspicion.

“What do I do! I think I forgot something!” She extended one finger and pressed it against her chin, putting on an expression of deep contemplation. “What was it… Ah! I remember now — I left my gadget inside!”

Everyone: “……”

Bai Youwei gave the group a small smile. “But so as not to delay everyone’s voting time, I won’t go back in to get it. And when you go in, you don’t need to pick it up for me either. My gadget is a little special — if anyone other than me touches it, it’ll trigger a lightning strike. So terribly sorry about that~”

Everyone, once again: “……”

Ogata Kei kept a composed expression and said nothing, seemingly weighing whether Bai Youwei’s words were true or false.

The inspector on the roof curiously poked half its spherical body out and asked Bai Youwei: “Did you really leave your gadget in there?”

“Yep~” Bai Youwei tilted her head, smiling sweetly. “I accidentally left my gadget behind. That shouldn’t count as breaking the game rules, right? Even if someone triggers the gadget’s effect and gets cooked to medium-well, it has nothing to do with me, right? After all, I’ve already warned everyone in advance~”

The sphere murmured quietly: “All acts of violence are prohibited in this game……”

“I haven’t done anything.” Bai Youwei spread her hands. “I’m a helpless little person who couldn’t hurt a fly~”

The sphere: “……”

*Sigh……*

*Another one……*

It had taken so much effort to design a game that was purely a battle of wits, and yet these players had turned it into a bloodbath once again. Sigh. So disheartening.

The sphere rolled away.

In the crowd, Ogata Kei asked: “I’m quite curious — would items that disrupt game balance actually appear in a game like this?”

As soon as he spoke, the others’ faces also showed skeptical expressions, as if Bai Youwei was just bluffing.

“Compared to a gadget that can hatch moths inside someone’s body, mine is far inferior~” Bai Youwei said modestly. “And there are many restrictions on using it. Although it can cook someone in an instant, it becomes a real hassle once the charge runs out. Finding a place to recharge these days is no easy task~”

Doctor Ogata smiled slightly. “So… your gadget may not necessarily have sufficient charge, is that right?”

Bai Youwei tilted her head and studied him, the corners of her mouth curving: “You’re welcome to try. And if you’re worried about the risk, you could always send someone else to try — after all, you have so many followers. Losing one or two wouldn’t matter much, right, Doctor Ogata?”

Ogata Kei said nothing.

The others said nothing either.

Bai Youwei glided along in her wheelchair at an unhurried pace, speaking casually: “The game only asks us to vote. It never asked us to fight to the death, so why go to all that trouble? Targeting each other only leads to tragedy and regret. I’m saying all this for everyone’s own good……”

Ogata Kei’s expression darkened further.

This was naked mockery. Because these were precisely the words he himself had spoken during the previous round of voting.

Bai Youwei returned to the red-eyes’ group.

Those who still needed to vote, whatever their mood at the moment, still had to steel themselves and go in.

Every person who came out after voting would look at Bai Youwei with a complicated expression.

The glasses-wearing man chased after each one: “Did you vote for number 11? Did you? Did you vote for 11?”

“No… number 11 wasn’t selectable. I just randomly picked number 16.”

“Damn it! Number 16 is me! What the hell kind of random vote is that?!”

“Well did *you* vote for number 11? Hell, if you can’t vote for that, what are you supposed to do?!”

“Vote for number 13! Didn’t the doctor say the X-Guest’s number falls between positions 10 and 14……”

……

The voting had descended into complete chaos.

—