Chapter Thirty-Four: Nothing but an Accident

Upon hearing Liu Mengchao’s words, Li Xin’s heart turned utterly cold. Yet, things were far from as simple as she’d imagined.

At that moment, Makoto Ito spoke up.

“But as for Li Xin…” Makoto’s eyes turned hesitant. “She said she had something to deal with, so she left first and told me to stand outside alone and observe the zombie situation.”

The moment his words fell, the expression in everyone’s eyes changed. The implication was as clear as day: Li Xin hadn’t been with him the whole time, but had been acting alone.

Betrayal.

Li Xin looked at Makoto in utter disbelief. This man, whom she had thought so naïve and inexperienced, had so cleanly and decisively sold her out.

“When I stepped out onto the balcony, Ye Yutian was already awake!”

If you show me no mercy, I’ll repay in kind. Li Xin no longer cared about anything else; her only goal now was to clear herself of suspicion in this assassination!

“You—you two must have conspired to frame me as the scapegoat!” Li Xin was nearly hysterical, her silicone-enhanced chest heaving violently.

Liu Mengchao noticed that Li Xin’s previously professional smile had vanished without a trace. Her emotions now surged like a volcano erupting, wild and unstoppable.

The prize pool was responding quickly, rising just as fast.

Prize pool total: 255,000!

“It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me!”

Li Xin backed away as she spoke, bumping into the wall with a smack. The world seemed to spin before her eyes. Suddenly, she realized something truly terrifying.

She was… useless to Liu Mengchao.

In terms of looks, she couldn’t compete with that bodyguard Qi Xiaoxiao. In terms of intelligence, she’d just been thoroughly outmaneuvered by two snot-nosed boys. As for strength—there was nothing to speak of! And the thought that her own team had completely betrayed her was even more horrifying.

She’d once thought she’d managed to gather these two good-for-nothings by her side, that the three of them could stick together. But now she realized: she had merely been the offering these two losers presented to Liu Mengchao as a token of loyalty!

“No, she’s not the killer!”

To everyone’s shock, Saya Takagi stepped forward. The pink tips of her hair were still streaked with red, a strand falling across her glasses, hiding her gaze and her thoughts.

In a world overrun by zombies, men were far more valuable than women. If Liu Mengchao’s team pinned the murder of Hirano Kouta on Li Xin so easily, only two results would follow: first, Liu Mengchao’s group would become even more tightly knit and efficient; second, Saya would lose any chance to sow discord within their ranks. She, Takashi Komuro, Rei Miyamoto, and Shizuka Marikawa would all become mere annexes to these Chinese exchange students.

She could not allow that to happen!

The murderer had to be one of the men. Saya’s eyes fixed on Hirano Kouta’s corpse, a faint smile touching her lips.

If men are considered combat power, then as long as she could win Xu Zhengdong to her side, everything else could be swept under the rug.

All she had to do now was draw these two Chinese to her side.

Let the Chinese kill each other.

At this thought, Saya couldn’t help but picture her father—the man who seemed to have walked straight out of Japan’s militarist era—nodding at her in satisfaction.

“I won’t let you down, Father.” Saya clenched her fist as she walked across the blood-soaked floor, crouching beside Hirano Kouta and silently vowing, “I’ll avenge you too, Kouta—with Chinese blood.”

While Saya swore before the corpse, Liu Mengchao stood on the other side, smiling slightly.

He relished the current situation. Saya Takagi was like the perfect supporting character, following his plan step by step.

As expected, those so-called masterminds who couldn’t pass muster were like defective goods: they might seem impressive in peace, but at the critical moment, they always fell apart. These strategists might be geniuses in intellect, able to weave intricate plots in safe, quiet environments, but once overcome by anger, grief, or fear, their actions became as transparent and clumsy as children’s.

And it was his role to reduce these would-be masterminds to nothing more than finger-sucking toddlers.

Now, she would have to do everything she could to clear Xu Zhengdong and Li Xin of suspicion, wouldn’t she? Liu Mengchao watched with idle interest as Saya crouched down, picking up bloodstained shell casings.

Each time Saya picked up a bullet, Li Xin and Xu Zhengdong’s hearts pounded in their chests—just like the prize pool before Liu Mengchao, surging upward.

Both of them now understood their predicament: Liu Mengchao had abandoned them. Or rather, they’d acted too late, and had been offered up by Makoto Ito and Ye Yutian as tokens of loyalty to Liu Mengchao.

How laughable that they’d once thought Makoto Ito and Ye Yutian were naïve, guileless students. They themselves were the real fools!

If you want to survive in this endless cycle, you can’t afford to underestimate anyone!

Regret gnawed at Xu Zhengdong as he watched Saya. A strange thought suddenly surfaced: what if he teamed up with her?

The main system hadn’t said it was forbidden to form a new team with another character if your teammate died. Saya Takagi was the daughter of the former lord of Tokonome City. Her family must have a stockpile of weapons. If he could get his hands on those…

A loss of 2,500 points wasn’t irreparable.

At this thought, light returned to Xu Zhengdong’s eyes as he sat slumped on the floor.

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Liu Mengchao said, shaking his head at Xu Zhengdong’s expression. If someone throws themselves into something full of hope, only to find out it was all in vain from the start—what happens then?

What happens is rage. A fury so deep it makes one want to kill.

“I like your mindset, Xu Zhengdong.” Liu Mengchao parted his lips slightly, watching his next chess piece move into position.

Ye Yutian and Makoto Ito had served their purpose; now it was time to utilize the other two pieces.

After all, when this cycle ended, he was supposed to claim a million points from the prize pool!

But for now, the pool had only reached 260,000 before stalling.

“Everyone…”

Saya’s hand trembled as she reached out, searching Hirano Kouta’s body.

To her, the mangled flesh was no obstacle at all.

Saya lifted Kouta’s hand, saying, “He’s still clutching a bullet.”

“And what of it?” Liu Mengchao laughed, having seen her slyly slip the bullet into Kouta’s hand while searching him.

Qi Xiaoxiao and Saeko Busujima saw it too; scorn was written plainly on their faces.

Unfazed, Saya stood up, her expression earnest.

“It was all just an accident.”

An accident—it had to be. Saya’s chest rose and fell slightly; in her calculations, this was the best solution. Use Kouta’s death to draw the two Chinese to her side, and then…

Set them against each other!

“An accident… is it?”

Liu Mengchao laughed. He noticed that as he smiled, the other two reincarnators’ faces broke into rare smiles as well.

On Li Xin and Xu Zhengdong’s faces: the look of those who had narrowly escaped death.

“So… it really was just an accident.”

Liu Mengchao raised an eyebrow, glancing at the prize pool system before him.

Prize pool total: 270,000.

Are you really so grateful to have survived, reincarnators?

Liu Mengchao’s gaze shifted from Li Xin to Xu Zhengdong, finally coming to rest on Saya Takagi.

This was only the beginning of their despair.

Drip.

At last, blood from the clock dripped down.

With a splat, it fell into the pool of blood on the floor. The reflection in that pool still recorded the relentless passage of time.

Night. 8:20:44 PM.

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As for the recent weather, I can only say: if I were a cantaloupe, I’d be very sweet.

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