ANMELDEN“Were you guys driven up here by the fire too?”We charged onto the rooftop, ready for a fight, only to be caught completely off guard.Their tone was oddly friendly, nothing like people about to throw down.We were rendered speechless for a moment, quickly hiding the pipes and bottles behind our backs.One of them added, almost politely, “Let’s figure out a way to escape.”Was the fire not their doing? Why were they acting like they had no idea? Had I overthought it?No, I did not.It was their setup.I counted their numbers. There were only eight of them on the rooftop.If I was right, the other five were still on the lower floors setting fires, not yet back.They did not have the advantage in numbers, so they were stalling.“Shut the rooftop door! Lock it! Now!”The moment I saw through it, I shouted.We had to cut off their reinforcements. If they could not regroup, we could trap them and finish them off.They realized we had caught on and dropped the act. They grabbe
After the news spread, the patients in the psychiatric hospital naturally split into two factions.One faction consisted of twenty-two people whose identities had already been verified by the hothead. People who were considered one hundred percent confirmed.The other faction was made up of the remaining ten, whose identities had never been verified and could not be confirmed.Among those ten were me, the old lady, the little girl, the boy who had helped her carry rice, the autistic woman, and several others I had barely interacted with.The patient faction held an absolute advantage in numbers.If I were them, I would not waste time trying to identify impostors anymore.No matter how they tried, the success rate would only be two out of ten.However, if they simply eliminated all ten of us, the success rate would jump to one hundred percent. It was clean and decisive.What I could think of, they could think of too.As I looked at their predatory stares, a chill crawled up my
The current number of survivors was thirty-two people. In the new round of voting, opinions were scattered, and me and several others all received votes.“Has anyone noticed we’re one vote short?”The old lady began her performance.“We’ve had seven deaths so far. That means there should be thirty-three votes left, but only thirty-two valid votes were cast today. Don’t you find that strange?”On the first day, there were three deaths. Two people who mistakenly took the red pills, and the old man who was poisoned.On the second day, there were two deaths. The young man who was eliminated in the first vote, and the man who was punished in the church for lying.On the third day, there was one death. The hothead.On the fourth day, there was one death. The woman we had just seen at the stairwell corner.After that wake-up call, everyone looked like they had just come out of a dream, murmuring in shock.“Yeah, only seven people died, so why are there only thirty-two votes? Who didn
“Did you hear the rules for today?”“Yeah. They said there are ghosts tonight.”“That’s not the important part. The key is that no one is allowed to leave their room. It’s the perfect chance to frame someone.”“How do we frame them?”“Later, two women will come into this room. One is skin and bones, practically collapsing from a breeze. The other is autistic and doesn’t speak. Tonight, we kill the thin one and pin it on the autistic girl. We’ll get everyone to vote her out tomorrow.”The old lady’s plan was feasible, but I still hesitated.“Young lady, I’ve seen what you’ve done for me. I’m repaying you this time.“I’m already old. If I live one more day, that’s just one more day. But you’re young and beautiful. Once you get out, you still have a whole future ahead of you. I can’t stand seeing you lose it like this. Everything I’m doing is for you.”Her words hit exactly where it hurt most.In the end, I agreed to take part in her plan without hesitation.As expected, not lon
“This is really pushing this old body of mine too far.”The old lady gave up and sat down on the floor.“Grandma, don’t give up. Carry as much as you can, I’ll cover the rest for you.”She helped me before, so now that she was in trouble, I could not just stand by.“Thank you, young lady, but I know my own body’s limits. I really can’t carry a single sack. Don’t worry about me.”She waved me off.I did not dare promise too much. It would only disappoint her if I failed. So I said nothing more and shouldered the rice sack, heading for the rooftop.All elevators in the building were shut down when we were moving the rice.Everyone climbed step by step like snails.After about ten hours, the broadcasts began to ring out one after another.“Current number of people who have completed the task, one.”“Current number of people who have completed the task, two.”…“Current number of people who have completed the task, thirty.”I was the thirty-first person to finish.I thought
With death staring me in the face, I decided to take a gamble.“You’ve been questioning all of us, but what about you? Are you an impostor?”I had only meant to stall for time, but that counter-question exposed something big.Judging by the way the hothead was enraged yet could not defend himself, he was most likely an impostor too.“You dare question me?”Of course, pissing him off was the worst possible move.Even though I managed to shift the attention onto him, escaping his grip was not going to be easy.His hand tightened around my throat. My face turned red from lack of air. I tried to call for help, only to find a ring of cold, indifferent eyes staring back at me.“Ding-dong! It’s breakfast time. All patients, please proceed to the cafeteria immediately.”Thank goodness, I was saved!“Miss, don’t go to the cafeteria. Come with me.”On the way there, an old lady suddenly appeared and told me to follow her.“Where?”“Somewhere to hide. You exposed him. He’s not going







