Spirit Realm Walker

Fire Demon’s expression turned ugly, and he said in a deep voice, ”I’m the Guardian.”

Xie Lingxi rolled her eyes. ”Bullshit! You thick-browed, big-eyed scoundrel, you’ve been nothing but a troublemaker from start to finish. Actually, no, that’s… Anyway, you’re just full of it.”

Fire Demon did not panic, but defended himself with measured composure. ”Brother Wang Tai, I really am the Guardian. I figured out you were the captain a long time ago, back during the roller coaster. Think about it. If I were the evildoer, I would have killed you the same way River Lord was killed.”

”Hahaha…” Zhang Yuanqing laughed in response.

”What are you laughing at?” Fire Demon demanded with a frown.

Zhang Yuanqing’s laughter faded, replaced by a cold sneer. ”I’m an expert who has survived countless Spirit Realm dungeons, a Walker of vast experience. No lie works on me. Just now, when you saw me walk out of the Haunted House, you looked pretty disappointed.”

”How could I be disappointed?” Fire Demon snapped. ”I couldn’t be happier. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already. Doesn’t that make sense?”

Lingxi wanted to speak up, but held back. She could tell Fire Demon was no good, but she lacked concrete evidence and was afraid that a wrong word might mislead the captain.

If even one role assignment was wrong, the entire captain’s faction would be eliminated, herself included.

Her heart was already in her throat.

”Then explain this. During the roller coaster, why did you try to mislead everyone by saying the eyes closed strategy had failed? Don’t tell me you were scared witless. None of us are rookies. Did holding a severed head scare you that badly?” Zhang Yuanqing challenged him.

Fire Demon took a deep breath, forcing down his explosive temper, and explained patiently, ”I admit I misjudged the situation. I was anxious. But that’s a competence issue, not proof that I wanted everyone dead. What good would killing everyone do for me? The roller coaster was only the first mission. How would I clear the rest alone?”

Zhang Yuanqing waggled his finger with a smile. ”No, no, no! I never said you wanted to wipe out the team by suggesting we open our eyes. What devious thoughts could you possibly have? You were just trying to identify the captain.”

Fire Demon’s expression grew uncertain.

Lingxi, however, smiled.

”Back then, this was my argument to you all: if the conditions for clearing the roller coaster hadn’t changed, everyone keeping their eyes open would mean a total wipe. By comparison, losing one teammate per round was the more rational choice. Strangely, though, everyone voted to open their eyes.” 

Zhang Yuanqing snorted and said, ”Of course, none of you were that foolish. Every single one of you had ulterior motives. Some wanted to protect themselves, but others wanted to use the opportunity to identify the captain, because you all knew the captain would object.”

Fire Demon was speechless.

Lingxi smiled, turning her beautiful eyes into crescent moons. ”You’re incredible, Bro Wang Tai.”

She meant it sincerely. The vote had been her idea. At the time, she had not yet chosen a faction. She had gone along with the proposal to keep their eyes open not just to gauge the captain’s capabilities, but also because she feared that vigorous opposition would draw the evildoer’s suspicion and get her killed. Regardless of the vote’s outcome, she would have kept her eyes closed anyway.

Xi Shi and Ashamed Father had most likely thought the same.

What Lingxi had not expected was that Bro Wang Tai had seen through their intentions all along. Her confidence in the upcoming deduction soared.

Fire Demon was silent for a long moment before repeating the same tired line, ”I really am a good person. I’m not the evildoer. Otherwise, I would have killed you already.”

Zhang Yuanqing shook his head. ”You wouldn’t have!” 

He went on to lay out the evidence. ”After the Roller Coaster stage, I knew I was exposed. From that point on, I was playing with my cards face up. I had to protect myself. So the moment we entered the Underground Parking Garage stage, I kept hammering the same message: we’re all in this together, we have to work as one.

”Luckily, the parking garage stage required manpower. I was actually quite happy at the time because I knew the early stages would be safe. Later, when Xie Lingxi received the card that allowed one of us to use an item, I immediately volunteered to take on the car robot, and I made sure to tell everyone about the Red Dancing Shoes’ lethal cost.

”All of it was to make the killer hesitate, to make them feel they could afford to wait, that there was no rush to kill me because I still had value. They could simply sit back and reap the rewards.”

Fire Demon’s expression shifted constantly, cycling through emotions as if he could no longer contain his rage. 

He snarled viciously, ”I should have killed you sooner. I should have killed you back in the Underground Parking Garage!!”

Lingxi egged him on. ”You could always try right now.”

Fire Demon shot her a venomous glare, then closed his eyes and breathed deeply. ”Wang Tai, you’re strong. I lost. I admit it. I’m the evildoer.”

Zhang Yuanqing let out a short laugh, plucked out Fire Demon’s nameplate, and affixed it to the Mole statue.

Xie Lingxi’s face went pale with shock, and she let out a sharp gasp. ”You…”

But then she saw Fire Demon’s expression transform completely. Despair and panic flooded his eyes. All that ferocity and rage from moments ago had apparently been an act.

Lingxi held her breath.

【Ding! Deduction successful.】

【Mole: Your role identity is Mole. Before the end of the first mission, find the evildoer and assist them in concealing their identity and eliminating the squad captain. Upon the captain’s death, the mission is complete. Reward: one item.】

”I never said you were the evildoer,” Zhang Yuanqing spat. ”You’re just a damn mole. Were you trying to mislead me into a wrong deduction?” 

Fire Demon looked as though his very soul had been drained. His gaze went blank as he murmured, ”How… how did you know…”

”Because you were too obvious. If I were the evildoer, I would absolutely find a way to disguise myself and avoid drawing anyone’s attention. Staying invisible would have been ideal.” 

Zhang Yuanqing studied the Mole’s mission description, rubbing his chin. ”So then, who the evildoer is becomes perfectly clear. Just as I suspected, it’s Great Sage Equal to Heaven.”

He regarded the shell-shocked Fire Demon with a cold smile. ”I suspected every single person in the squad. I tested and investigated each one, and by the end, I was wavering between you and Great Sage Equal to Heaven. Even on the way to the Detective Mystery Hall, I still wasn’t sure which of you was the evildoer. It wasn’t until I saw the Mole role that everything clicked.

”Xie Lingxi was right. You were like a troublemaker, and acted too much like the wolf. You were the first to suggest the group open their eyes on the roller coaster. You sat behind River Lord, targeted Lingxi relentlessly, and  the moment I pulled you aside for a talk and hinted that there was danger within the team, you immediately showed goodwill toward me. That fits the profile of a guilty killer perfectly. I have to admit, your disguise was convincing.

”But that’s exactly why I couldn’t pin down which of you two was the real culprit. Now I understand. The logic behind your entire string of behaviors was to act as a shield for Great Sage Equal to Heaven, to divert my attention as squad captain and make me focus my suspicions on you.”

A trace of fear surfaced in Fire Demon’s eyes. This young man’s mind was terrifyingly meticulous.

Zhang Yuanqing glanced at Lingxi. Seeing the little miss gazing at him with sparkling eyes full of admiration, he nodded in satisfaction and continued his deductions.

”When we entered the underground parking garage, you and Great Sage Equal to Heaven had an argument. He wanted to stick together, but you insisted on splitting up. That’s where the two of you disagreed, isn’t it?”

Fire Demon ground his teeth and said, ”After the roller coaster, you hinted that there was danger within the squad. I knew I’d been too conspicuous and that you probably suspected me. Since the evildoer has the power to kill, the captain surely does too.

”I was terrified you’d kill me, so I hinted to Great Sage Equal to Heaven that he should take you out in the underground parking garage, but he refused. He thought the parking garage was too dangerous and that killing you then wasn’t wise. Easy for him to say when he wasn’t the one being threatened. That bastard treated me like a disposable pawn from the start.

”Later, when you didn’t kill me after we cleared the parking garage, I finally relaxed a little. Then came the Haunted House, and I hinted to him again that he should kill you. But he still wouldn’t.”

Zhang Yuanqing laughed. ”Of course he wouldn’t. Why do you think I revealed my Nocturnal Specter class? I was still on edge during the Underground Parking Garage stage, but once we entered the Haunted House stage, I knew for certain that I would not die.

”You all needed the Nocturnal Specter to escort you through, and you both knew the Ghost Bride would definitely choose me. As long as I was there, you could practically coast through the Haunted House. Killing me would have been digging your own grave.”

The Nocturnal Specter held a fatal attraction for vengeful spirits. The person the Ghost Bride would choose as her groom was obvious enough that even a child could figure it out.

Fire Demon suddenly remembered something, and his voice rose sharply. ”Then why didn’t the Ghost Bride choose you? Why?!”

That was precisely what had been gnawing at him, and why he had been both shocked and disappointed to see Wang Tai walk out of the bridal chamber alive.

Zhang Yuanqing and Xie Lingxi burst into laughter at the same time.

The girl put her hands on her hips, looking immensely proud of herself. ”Because we found a card in the underground parking garage. A card that redirects aggro.”

She had dropped the sweet and delicate act entirely.

”I chose to redirect the Ghost Bride’s attention onto Great Sage Equal to Heaven, because I considered him the more suspicious of the two,” Zhang Yuanqing added with a smile.

”You two...” 

A chill ran through Fire Demon’s core. From start to finish, he and Great Sage Equal to Heaven had been completely outmaneuvered.

The despair was crushing.

That selfish fool probably did not even know how he had died.

Zhang Yuanqing did not spare him another glance. He affixed Great Sage Equal to Heaven’s nameplate onto the Evildoer statue.

【Ding. Deduction successful.】

【Evildoer: Your identity is Evildoer. Warning, there is a squad captain in the team. He is your enemy. Find him and eliminate him. Do not reveal your role identity.】

Xie Lingxi gave a little hop and let out a small cheer. ”We won!”

Fire Demon glared venomously at the two of them and sneered coldly. ”Don’t celebrate too early. I admit you’re terrifying. I admit I lost. But so what? There are only three of us left. The captain’s mission requires that at least three members of the team remain alive. Do you dare eliminate me?

”You’re smart enough to see the hidden mission’s true nature. Once the evildoer is identified, they get eliminated. The Mole faces the same risk of being ’accidentally killed.’ Therefore, there won’t be any additional punishment. What punishment could possibly be worse than death?

”Right now, even though you’ve exposed my identity as the Mole, I won’t suffer any consequences, because you gave up exercising your captain’s authority before this. Sure, you’ll have one last chance. But you can’t kill me. Not unless you want to wipe out all your current level experience.”

Once he returned to reality, he would use his connections to investigate these two, then sell their information to the evil factions. Making enemies in the Spirit Realm was common enough, and completing a dungeon did not mean the grudge was settled.

Fire Demon had killed plenty of people he’d clashed with inside Spirit Realm dungeons. He had plenty of experience dealing with enemies from the same faction.

Lingxi faltered, the joy draining from her face.

Zhang Yuanqing said nothing. After the Haunted House mission, he had chosen not to exercise his captain’s authority for precisely this reason.

”Don’t rush,” he said calmly. ”There’s still one last person.”

He affixed the final nameplate to the Guardian statue.

【Ding. Deduction successful.】

【Guardian: Your identity is Guardian. Protect the squad captain and ensure he is not killed by the evildoer. If you are killed by the evildoer (deaths during the mission stages do not count), everything about you at that moment will be suspended. If the captain wins, you will be revived. If the captain fails, revival is impossible.】

Zhang Yuanqing studied the information, feeling both surprised and unsurprised at the same time. Just as I thought!

With everything laid bare, he could now confirm that River Lord had been deliberately vying for leadership. The motivation behind the one who received the Guardian role  and the Mole role were the same: both existed to shield their respective masters.

During the initial introductions, River Lord had presented himself as cold and brooding. That type of person preferred to operate alone and was unlikely to actively compete for a leadership position. Later on, though, he completely changed his approach and fought Zhang Yuanqing for control.

A transformation like that had to be driven by something.

That was precisely what had led the evildoer to suspect River Lord was the captain, choosing to kill him first.

Zhang Yuanqing, by contrast, had been his outgoing, sociable self before anyone received the hidden missions, so there had been no dramatic shift in his behavior to give him away.

Getting back to the point, though, hidden missions were just hidden missions. This was not long lost brothers reuniting. Taking a hit for someone was dangerous business, and no one would do it without some guarantee.

For the Guardian, though, it had still been a massive gamble. The upside was that ”dying” once meant he could sit back and coast, avoiding the remaining perils of an S-rank Spirit Realm dungeon. The downside was that the gamble might turn into an actual death later on. Then again, given the staggering mortality rate of S-rank dungeons, what could possibly be worse than being matchmade into one in the first place?

What did surprise him was that the Spirit Realm could actually bring someone back from the dead. Perhaps this ”revival” ability was limited to within the dungeon, but it was still remarkable.

Once information on the Guardian appeared, Fire Demon’s face drained of color, inch by inch. His lips began to tremble, and his eyes quivered in their sockets. Overwhelming terror consumed him.

They received another Spirit Realm notification.

【Ding! You have completed the ”Detective Mystery Hall” mission. You are currently undertaking the ”Heart Pounding” mission series. The attractions in this series are: roller coaster, Underground Parking Garage, Haunted House (Ghost marriage), and Detective Mystery Hall. You have completed this series.】

Zhang Yuanqing received the same notification, plus one additional prompt that the other two did not.

【Ding. You have successfully led your team through a mission. You have one opportunity to exercise your captain’s authority. Designate the evildoer hidden among the team members. The designated individual will be eliminated!】

【If no choice is made within thirty seconds, this opportunity will be forfeited.】

Zhang Yuanqing’s expression did not change. 

”Fire Demon,” he said calmly. 

At that instant, terror blossomed in Fire Demon’s eyes. ”No—!”

Mid-scream, his head separated from his neck and tumbled to the ground. A fountain of blood sprayed two to three meters high from the stump, violent and ghastly.

Fire Demon’s severed head lay on the floor, his eyes bulging wide, his lips still opening and closing.

【Ding! Congratulations on completing the multiplayer Spirit Realm mission Jinshui Amusement Park, ID 6203, difficulty rating S. Calculating rewards…】