Chapter Thirty-Two: Saya Takagi's Dedicated Performance

The so-called "mind anchor" has always been a mysterious topic. If you are someone adept at establishing such an anchor in another’s psyche, then congratulations—for at certain moments, these anchors become your tools.

A tool akin to the strings of a puppet.

Liu Mengchao stood quietly beside Saya Takashiro, waiting for the girl to speak.

Yet Liu Mengchao was not in the least worried that Saya Takashiro would refuse to seek his help. After all, he had already set a mind anchor within her.

A mind anchor, also known as psychological anchoring, in simple terms, is about establishing a benchmark in someone’s impression during your very first meeting.

Liu Mengchao smiled faintly, recalling the process of setting this anchor.

During their first encounter, he had ruthlessly stripped away all of Saya Takashiro’s pretenses in front of everyone, laying bare her thoughts completely.

So now, when Saya Takashiro was faced once again with the question of who had lied, the first person she would think of would not be anyone else, but Liu Mengchao.

“You’re hesitating.”

Liu Mengchao’s words suddenly sounded in Saya Takashiro’s ear.

This abrupt comment startled Saya Takashiro, and even Ye Yutian, lying on the bed, as well as Makoto Ito, just stepping in from the balcony, tensed up.

Would Liu Mengchao simply discard me after using me?

Ye Yutian’s heart churned like boiling water, bubbling restlessly.

Liu Mengchao relished this situation, especially the silence from Saya Takashiro. The longer she remained silent, the greater the pressure on the real culprit.

Of course, Liu Mengchao was not actually here to find the murderer.

Night. 8:03… seconds.

The blood of Hirano Kouta obscured the seconds hand on the clock, and through that thin veil of crimson, Ye Yutian seemed to see the man’s once plump face now mangled beyond recognition.

Ye Yutian dared not speak, and Makoto Ito felt just as uneasy.

Liu Mengchao noticed Makoto Ito, standing by the balcony, unconsciously rubbing his thigh. It wasn’t to wipe away sweat, but to dispel his nervousness.

Or rather, all the Reincarnators now found themselves under Liu Mengchao’s oppressive presence.

At this thought, Liu Mengchao felt the urge to laugh.

From the very beginning of this world of reincarnation, his relentless exposure of lies through reading micro-expressions had left an indelible impression on every Reincarnator and every character in this story.

Who was lying? Who spoke the truth? Only he, Liu Mengchao, had the right to judge.

Life, or perhaps…

Liu Mengchao lowered his head and glanced at Hirano Kouta’s corpse on the ground.

Death.

“Liu Mengchao…”

Saya Takashiro’s eyes reflected a faint, dim light as she hung her head low, staring blankly at Hirano Kouta’s body. She spoke softly.

“You’re an expert in psychology. Then surely you can discover who has lied.”

After speaking, Saya Takashiro drew a long, deep breath, her chest heaving, and lifted her gaze, eyes brimming with murderous intent as she swept them across the room.

“You must also be able to discern who the real culprit is. Right now, there are four suspects.” As she spoke, Saya Takashiro slowly raised her hand, pointing at Xu Zhengdong, who still wore an expression of disbelief. “The one who pulled the trigger.”

Xu Zhengdong didn’t seem to hear her. He only lowered his head, watching the blood on the floor creep closer, drop by drop, slowly staining his pants. The red liquid, like a serpent, coiled slowly up his clothes.

“And you.” Saya Takashiro had never felt her mind spin so rapidly. “Ye Yutian, you stayed upstairs all along, the most likely to have loaded the gun and prepared the bullets.”

With that, she spun around to face Li Xin, who stood amidst the crowd.

“You were the last to come down the stairs. If Ye Yutian only woke up as we came up, then you’re the most suspicious.”

“Me?” Li Xin didn’t wait for her to finish before retorting, “I was the last down, but Makoto Ito also stayed upstairs—do you mean to say the three of us conspired to kill Hirano Kouta?”

Saya Takashiro gave no answer, only snorted disdainfully through her nose. In her current state, she felt that none of these Chinese could be trusted, nor could Makoto Ito, who associated so closely with them.

With this thought, Saya Takashiro glanced toward Liu Mengchao, still leaning calmly against the wall, then quickly looked away, avoiding eye contact.

Did you really think that being able to read expressions meant you could do as you pleased? Saya Takashiro unconsciously clenched her fists, staring at Hirano Kouta’s corpse.

Before dawn, I will see to it that all of you—every last one of you—die here.

Taking a deep breath, a faint smile curled on Saya Takashiro’s lips.

The first step was to sow discord within their little group, to drive a wedge between them, and finally, to have them turn on and slaughter each other.

At this notion, Saya Takashiro felt a surge of excitement. The blood staining her chest seemed to bloom before her eyes like a flower.

A flower nourished by Hirano Kouta’s death.

“Liu Mengchao… Now, tell me—who among them is lying?”

Saya Takashiro’s lips lifted in a cold smile as she looked up at the clock on the wall.

Night. 8:10… seconds.

Hirano Kouta, I swear I’ll avenge you.

Saya Takashiro steeled her resolve.

Just then, Liu Mengchao stepped onto the stage he had so meticulously constructed, surveying his surroundings like a monarch. He took in every terrified face before returning his gaze to himself.

Prize pool: two hundred and twenty thousand.

Everything was proceeding smoothly.

Liu Mengchao smiled, silently reciting to himself:

“Thank you for your stellar performance, Saya Takashiro.”

—————————————————————————————————————

(A quiet aside… While chatting with Shungun, I suddenly thought about taking the day off, oh hohoho… Just kidding ╭╮

Also, did anyone guess last time that Hirano Kouta would be the first to meet his end…? Drop by the comment section… leave some splendid reviews, some ratings…

Next… a new round of guessing begins… ╭╮ I bet it’s going to be really hard this time!

Thanks to wlsbt, Requiem of the Owl, bxeroxb, Xuanyuan Killer, Mukten Xidi, and Story of the Starry Sky for their generous rewards.)