Chapter 6 A Hard Decision

“Oh? Not w.a.n.g Qiang? How interesting.”

The crowd went silent for a while, and then Shang Zhiyuan started laughing softly, and Pin Chuanxia looked at me nervously, while still locking her eyebrows and waiting for Shang Zhiyuan to speak.

That made sense since last time she backtracked and suspected him.

But from how I saw it, the motivation for that backtracking was still open for dispute.

As a victim, Guan Ling used her ability as the captain to investigate the perpetrator, and at the same time, she believed the retired veteran who protected her without any proof. Things did not look good for Guan Ling and w.a.n.g Qiang.

“Boring.”

w.a.n.g Qiang’s reaction was more laid-back than I thought. He didn’t care that his silence would only add more suspicion.

“Amen, may G.o.d forgive our mistakes. Little girl, I remember that each investigation can only be conducted after each voting. But why were you able to promise us that he was not a Howler if you didn’t investigate w.a.n.g Qiang?”

The old man’s expression seemed religious and sincere, quite like the perfect believer, but I didn’t see much compa.s.sion or mercy from his eyes, even if it didn’t count as a reason for suspicion.

“Yeah, this doesn’t make sense, according to my gaming experience!”

Liu Nian went along as well, and this made me realize another characteristic of his: no personal opinion.

And when the atmosphere froze to a certain degree, Guan Ling’s eyes once again showed her persistence in wanting to see her mother.

That moment was gone in a flash, but I captured it just in time. The little girl’s reactions kept challenging my three values1.

“I… I only know that I can see my mom sooner the faster the game ends, so I picked the bad guy, and I was lucky the first time, I guessed it right!”

Guan Ling’s childish comment made the atmosphere cold. It was like when a group of people were chatting, and someone brought up an awkward topic. This type of comment that contradicted her mature personality from before increased Guan Ling’s suspiciousness.

“Sigh, I’m so worried, if only we could help her. It’s almost time for us to fall asleep, what do we do if we can’t find the Howler.”

Acting sweet and innocent was new and interesting the first couple of times, but for someone perceptive like me, it was like a C-list actress overdoing it.

I was only unsatisfied with Pin Chuanxia’s innocent ‘green tea girl’2 act, and I didn’t really suspect her. At least now she merely seemed to be smart, and good at aggravating the situation.

Maybe the real person behind this was also one of the Howlers. They would probably be one of the more important people calling the shots.

Using his temporary ident.i.ty and powerful position to brainwash people, he was definitely someone amongst us who stood out, I deduced with my own reasoning and fast reacting.

But why should I tell everyone else about this. People who experienced this type of real Mafia game probably have seen through the depths of human nature.

That’s just the way humans are. I didn’t look so good myself, but definitely not as terrible. I was just me. That was all.

“Don’t worry. What should be exposed will be exposed eventually, right?”

I smiled, but only I understood the meaning behind this smile.

Liu Nian was right, the exposure of human nature that was happening on the plane did seem like the lasting effect of a Mafia game.

Especially the mental game, testing everyone’s patience and acting skills.

But what the college student with the gla.s.ses wouldn’t understand was that, even if he won every single game of Mafia, it would be hard to survive the Wailing Flight.

People who play party games together are all friends, but the eleven people in front of me, most of them were up to no good. This was already more than just trying to win a game.

“Hehe, maybe. Seems like you really did find something. I will look forward to what you have to say before the next round of voting.”

“I will do my best.”

Pin Chuanxia said naughtily. It was supposed to be a sweet smile, but somehow my heart couldn’t relax.

“Don’t worry child, no matter what you are hiding, G.o.d will forgive your sins. If you help us survive, it will be like washing away all of your sins.”

The silver-haired old man suddenly became the head of the players, just like the leader in a game of Werewolf or Mafia.

Putting religion aside, people within the clergy were a sensitive subject. Even though the old man didn’t say much, his att.i.tude was as if he were a priest waiting for people to confess and repent to him.

Seeing his hypocritical face, I was afraid that even I would fall for a line like that, if it weren’t for him exposing his vicious, malicious face for a split second when he strangled someone before.

“Your cross is covered in blood, Mister G.o.dfather.”

The thing that I worried about most at that moment was still how Guan Ling would handle this. My arms twitched a little, and unconsciously wanted to do something, since I found out her ident.i.ty.

And if the two of them were really the flight attendants, it meant that I found a good pair of partners, kind of like the couples Cupid chooses in the game of Werewolf.

Uh, I looked at the team combination that was like father and daughter, w.a.n.g Qiang and Guan Ling. I thought that this kind of pairing looked too out of place, at most they looked like siblings.

But it didn’t matter what they looked like, what I saw in them was the trust that they had for each other. Earning the two flight attendants’ trust would be even more valuable than two normal pa.s.sengers’ votes.

This would be the key to us winning this game!

“Because I investigated w.a.n.g Qiang the second time, so, so I said I definitely trust him. The first time was my instinct. My mom told me that eyes don’t lie. Don’t you think so, grandpa?”

Guan Ling’s innocence, naivete, straightforward method, and desire to survive; when all of these characteristics were focused in this ten year old little girl, the chemical result made me shiver.

If my feelings were not wrong, once Guan Ling suspected me as the person who was stopping her from winning this game, or hindering her from finding her mother, she would probably vote for me with w.a.n.g Qiang and kill me.

Even if that little girl looked so helpless.

Whether it was roping in w.a.n.g Qiang and Guan Ling, or continuing being a spectator, it had become one of the most important questions I had to consider, which would decide my destiny to a great degree.

Including Shang Zhiyuan who had been smiling silently, Pin Chuanxia who had been looking at me sweetly, the family of three who had been observing, Liu Nian who didn’t have any personal opinion, and the silver-haired old man who had been pressuring people.

Of course there was also Qian Duoduo, the guy who began to treat this like a show.

Their every eye contact, every breath might all be the detail I needed to pay attention to.

“I believe that she and the retired veteran are both good guys.”

A person who didn’t have a presence or existence can sometimes become the focus at crucial moment.

When I heard the lazy voice full of intellect, I realized that it was a person who hadn’t spoken up for a while, the girl with the unusual eyes, who had voted for Shang Zhiyuan.

Those eyes seemed to be seeing through life and death, or it meant death itself as some kind of symbolism, and just like how she introduced herself, it pushed everyone’s suspicions to the top.

“Let me introduce myself. I am a pa.s.senger. My name is Xia Ling, and I work in forensics. So I can give some professional tips, or my own deduction. Which kind of help do you care about more now?”

That’s why. No wonder she would suddenly find a clue for voting, and at the same time be laying low the whole game.

This seemed to match the corner I’d been ignoring, the girl who could also be seen as unsuspicious and did next to nothing, was actually someone special.

“Friendly reminder, I will only provide one type of a.s.sistance. This is not a question with multiple answers.”

And on this death flight, it was an important, special professional.

“Forensics! Then couldn’t you find out if the two killings before are the same or not? This is more important than her reasoning.”

Qian Duoduo who had been struggling on how to kill people was already stirred up, and he seemed to be more worried that next time, the person who died under that method would be himself.

But if someone was really copying w.a.n.g Qiang’s killing signature, then after voting off w.a.n.g Qiang, the real Howler would still be in the shadows or switch to another killing signature. It was impossible to defend against it.

“…”

But the crowd was still being silent, because it was a difficult choice.

Even I didn’t really know if we should seek the help in forensic knowledge, or her reasoning that could be full of future possibilities.

The smiles of Shang Zhiyuan and Pin Chuanxia, other people’s indifference, or dullness, made the atmosphere sink into a mysterious awkwardness.

“What the h.e.l.l, what is all this! Do you guys even know how to play the game? Right now, what we need are clues, what are you all staring blankly at, if they’re not answering, I will help them decide!”

Qian Duoduo was really irritated for some reason, or the clock had been ticking closer to the countdown. Most of the three hours had pa.s.sed while we were resting and talking.

Continuing to stall would only put the wheel back into the Howler’s hands. If we lost even a little bit of unity, we would be lambs waiting to be killed.

So if that girl found any clues, of the a.s.sistance she provided, one may lead us to victory, and the other could be utterly useless.

Translated by crushanapple

Edited by Niles