Chapter 42: The Main God Who Stands on One's Own Side (2/4)

“What are we supposed to do now?”

Day had already broken, and Misaki Mei had been sent home by Liu Mengchao. The girl, exhausted after a long night, was now sleeping peacefully in her bed. Outside her room, Liu Ling stood with a frown, speaking with Liu Mengchao.

“What do you mean, what are we supposed to do?”

“The Main God’s mission.” Liu Ling shook her head. “That is probably the Main God’s true purpose: to make us turn on one another.”

“What makes you say that?”

Liu Mengchao suddenly became interested. He wanted to know what the person before him was thinking.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Liu Ling shot him an annoyed glance. “When the Main God first announced the mission to identify the dead, no reward was mentioned. So I assumed the reward would be the same as in an ordinary reincarnation world: once the world ended, each person would receive one thousand Main God points.”

“But now...” Liu Ling immediately shook her head, dispelling that thought. “Things are different. The Main God has announced new conditions for the reward—side-story points and even more reward points.”

As she spoke, a resolute look suddenly appeared in her eyes.

“If there is only one reward... I do not know whether we will end up killing one another over it. We came together before because our interests were aligned. But now, the benefits can go to only one person.”

At this, Liu Ling fell silent for a moment.

“Liu Mengchao, you wouldn’t kill me, would you?”

He gave her no answer. All Liu Mengchao left her with was an inscrutable smile and a back that gradually vanished from sight.

The morning air on Yomiyama Mountain was crisp and fresh. As Liu Mengchao strolled along the riverbank, he was in an exceptionally good mood. Whenever he felt happy, he liked to talk with someone.

There were things he could not say to the reincarnators. Fortunately, he had another listener.

A quiet listener.

“Bai Ya, don’t you think the mission I devised was wonderfully clever?” Liu Mengchao said to her within his mind as he sat down and watched the Yomiyama River flow slowly before him.

“What makes you say that?”

Bai Ya was clearly a very competent listener. At the very least, her questions always came at precisely the right moment.

“The other two reincarnators must be feeling extremely conflicted right now. No—more accurately, Zhen Qianting must be the one struggling.”

“Why?”

Bai Ya still did not understand what Liu Mengchao meant and continued questioning him.

“If I had not issued the two later missions, the two of them would have been united in killing me. After all, my death would cost them nothing. Even if they killed the wrong person, they could simply wait until the curse of Class Three, Year Three struck again. Once several more people died, they could identify the remaining dead person.”

“You mean the time limit?”

“Yes, the time limit.” Liu Mengchao rose and looked toward the opposite bank. A girl was walking there beneath the sunlight, her red hair falling over her shoulders. “There are only three days left. If they cannot identify the dead person within three days, five thousand Main God points will be deducted. Unfortunately for them...” He paused. “They are still newcomers.”

Bai Ya immediately understood and finished the thought for him.

“Yes. Newcomers.” Liu Mengchao smiled as he watched Izumi Akazawa gradually disappear from view. “If they identify the wrong dead person, death will be waiting for them. The pressure of time will make them nervous. The closer they get to the end, the more mistakes they will make—and some of those mistakes will be fatal.”

The fatal mistake Liu Mengchao was referring to was hesitation.

What if I kill the wrong person?

That was exactly the conflict tormenting Zhen Qianting.

When Izumi Akazawa appeared before her and obediently waited for nightfall, Zhen Qianting could not help growing tense. What if this woman was the extra person?

She had already become absolutely certain of her deduction concerning the dead person. But...

Zhen Qianting sighed as she looked at Izumi Akazawa’s tranquil face, and anxiety once again rose within her. If Liu Mengchao was not the extra person and the girl before her was, then once Liu Mengchao killed her, would not the entire reward fall into his hands?

And if she made such a move, then once that veteran discovered it, she would have no chance of surviving. All that awaited her would be abandonment by Liu Mengchao in the next reincarnation world.

Damn it!

Zhen Qianting frowned. She was so tense, yet Old Snake opposite her remained utterly unmoved.

Old Snake continued smoking with the calm assurance of a seasoned man. The ember at the tip of his cigarette flickered bright and dim, bright and dim, without the slightest trace of nervousness.

That composure was the product of years spent deceiving people.

Because in truth, he was incomparably nervous and excited.

Forcing his expression to remain calm, Old Snake turned toward Zhen Qianting and smiled.

“Don’t worry. Everything is proceeding according to plan.”

As he spoke, he toyed with the ring on his finger.

It was something Qingyun had given him when he left the library. As long as he could kill Liu Mengchao and the other reincarnators in this world, he would pass that lord’s test and cast off his identity as a reincarnator.

At the very least, he would be able to escape this hell of death.

Excitement. Nervousness.

Old Snake raised his head and watched the hands of the wall clock move forward, second by second. The moment he had been waiting for was finally approaching.

“Let’s go over the plan once more.” His eyes were filled with confidence. If you wanted others to believe you, you first had to deceive yourself. Only by believing every word you spoke could you make those puppets dance gracefully in your hands.

“Tonight, you will go find Liu Mengchao alone.” Old Snake stepped in front of Izumi Akazawa, turning the ring on his finger. It emitted a red glow that flashed across her eyes. “Qianting and I will follow behind you. If anything happens, we’ll come looking for you.”

“Mm...” Izumi Akazawa nodded slowly. Her expression remained blank as she gradually drew the knife from inside her coat.

That blade would soon be thrust into the chest of the man who had killed her brother.

Just as Teacher Zhang had said—

“End this year’s curse!”

End... the curse...

Ding.

The bell slowly rang through the cold classroom.

The three people inside instinctively turned their eyes toward the clock.

Six o’clock in the evening.

“Let’s go.”

Old Snake opened the door first and looked out at the world beyond.

The moon was hidden beneath vast masses of dark cloud, its light impossible to see. Only the streetlamps continued to perform their duty, flickering feebly as they struggled against the darkness.

“Mm.”

Like a soulless puppet, Izumi Akazawa tucked the knife into her coat and walked out. Her steps were slow, like those of a rag doll staggering unsteadily forward.

Old Snake followed close behind. His footsteps were light, and a smile hung at the corners of his mouth.

The Main God’s mission had been designed solely to heighten the reincarnators’ anxiety. At first, when Izumi Akazawa told him that Liu Mengchao had killed Tatsuhiko Chibiki in the library, Old Snake had felt nervous for a while.

He had thought that the lord was merely a hidden character within the plot and that he himself was nothing more than a pawn in that person’s hand.

But after hearing the mission issued by the Main God, Old Snake no longer felt nervous in the slightest.

Identify the dead person within three days?

Who was the dead person?

Himself!

Anyone who failed to identify the dead person would be erased.

And who would be erased?

The reincarnators!

What did that mean?

A smile slowly spread across Old Snake’s face. Inwardly, he was so excited that he nearly shouted aloud.

It could mean only one thing:

The Main God was on his side.

It wanted every reincarnator to die!