Following the final announcement of the mechanical voice, Steven felt a sudden burst of blinding golden light erupt before his eyes.
Steven's vision blurred, and the surrounding blood-colored void collapsed instantly.
When the dizziness subsided and his vision regained clarity,
Steven found that he had left that blood-colored Paranormal space and arrived in a completely different environment.
This appeared to be a conference room with a sense of age, its decor reflecting an old style from the 1990s.
Dim yellow lights hung overhead, and in the center sat a long, scratch-covered solid wood conference table.
Seated around the conference table, besides himself, were six other people.
Steven narrowed his eyes slightly, calmly observing this sudden turn of events.
"Aside from me, there are six others?"
"Including me, that makes seven players."
Steven's heart was filled with doubt.
One must remember that he had been forcibly sucked into that vortex at the center of the altar in the Imperial Capital.
Before that, the entire Paranormal World had been completely frozen by Zhang Yi's Ghost Domain of time-space stasis.
Since time in the entire world had stopped, where did these six living people come from?
"Could it be that they aren't from this world at all? Are they players forcibly pulled from other parallel planes or other worlds invaded by anomalies?"
Steven's thoughts raced.
This guess was highly likely; after all, since this SSS-level Anomaly could drag him from Blue Star, it wouldn't be surprising if it had the ability to pull players across dimensions.
He discreetly scanned the other six people present.
Four men and three women.
Among the men, sitting at the head on the left was an extremely obese man with a face full of fatty flesh.
Beside him was a burly man whose muscles nearly burst through his tank top.
Opposite them sat an elderly man who looked like he had one foot in the grave, his back hunched, occasionally letting out several violent coughs.
As for the three women, they each had their own style.
One wore professional business attire, her face cold and her gaze as sharp as a knife.
One wore a sailor suit and looked like an inexperienced student, shivering as she hugged her arms tightly.
The last one wore a red dress with heavy makeup, leaning back in her chair with a seductive posture and a flirtatious look in her eyes.
After observing the others, Steven suddenly realized a problem; he looked down to examine his current appearance.
Withered palms, a loose green Taoist robe, and he even held an illusory fly-whisk in his hand.
Steven's mouth twitched slightly.
"The image of an old Taoist priest?"
Why was the randomly generated image so similar to Zhang Yi, the one who had screwed him over and got him into this?
Just as everyone was sizing each other up and the atmosphere grew oppressive to the extreme,
A sound suddenly came from an old speaker directly above the conference room, followed by that cold, mechanical notification voice ringing out again.
[Welcome, players, to this game]
[Rules: None]
[Clearance Conditions: Discover for yourselves]
Accompanying these three outrageously brief voice announcements, a large display screen on the front wall of the conference room, which had been black, suddenly lit up with a beep.
On the screen, there were only three lines of blood-red numbers, shocking to the eye.
[Total Players: 7]
[Deaths Yesterday: 0]
[Cleared Players: 0]
[The game officially begins]
The voice from the speaker disappeared completely, cutting off all communication.
That was it?
No background introduction, no mission prompts, not even the most basic rule restrictions on what couldn't be done.
Steven looked at the speaker as it faded to silence, then turned his gaze to the three lines of data on the screen, his brain rapidly processing the limited information.
"Total of 7, that's straightforward—it's the seven of us present."
"'Deaths Yesterday: 0.' The word 'yesterday' is key. It indicates this game isn't a speedrun that ends in a few hours, but a long-term survival battle measured in days. Today just started, so it's 0."
"Cleared Players: 0. This suggests we are the first batch, or rather, no one has ever cleared this dungeon before."
After gathering this basic information, Steven stopped looking at the screen and refocused on the others at the table, quietly observing their every move.
At this point, as the notification ended, the other six in the room finally snapped out of their daze.
But surprisingly, everyone maintained a tacit silence.
No one was the first to speak, and no one took the initiative to introduce themselves.
In a death game where one didn't know who was friend or foe, or even the rules, whoever spoke first might reveal their trump cards, become a target for all, or trigger some hidden certain-death rule.
The atmosphere fell into a temporary stagnation.
Taking advantage of this gap, Steven silently felt the state of his soul.
"As expected..."
Steven sighed inwardly.
In this highly regulated place, he found that all his other abilities were suppressed, except for the heart of faith that was still beating steadily deep within his soul.
The Fifth-Order power in his body could not be invoked.
His ice-type supernatural ability was like a pool of stagnant water.
spatial teleportation was even more tightly locked by the rules of this world.
Furthermore, because his thousands of Totems of Undying were stored within the body of that Fifth-Order zombie, he, having entered the game as a pure soul entity, could not access them at all.
It could be said that he was now just an unarmed ordinary old Taoist, albeit with a slightly more condensed soul.
"However, it's not like I have no chance of winning."
Steven felt the heart of faith, his confidence bolstered.
As long as this heart remained, he was an invincible existence with an infinite health bar in this game.
"If my abilities are suppressed to zero, then these people should be the same."
Steven's gaze swept over the crowd.
Everyone was at the same starting line now; the only difference was that they only had one life, while he had countless.
Just then, Steven's gaze landed on a dust-covered map on the side wall of the conference room.
It seemed to be a floor plan of the area, with over a dozen different locations marked in red ballpoint pen: a dining room, an art studio, a basement, a back garden, and so on.
Since sitting idly was a waste of time, someone had to break the deadlock, and he, with his heart of faith, was the best candidate to do so.
Steven cleared his throat. Under the effect of his mask, the voice he produced was aged and carried the aura of an otherworldly master who had experienced many vicissitudes, perfectly matching his old Taoist disguise.
"Fellow laypeople."
The moment Steven spoke, the gazes of the other six people instantly pierced toward him, their eyes filled with vigilance and wariness.
Steven didn't mind. He pointed at the map on the wall and said in a flat tone.
"Since everyone has just arrived and is wary of one another, and no one is willing to say much, sitting here staring at each other is futile."
"This humble Taoist sees a map on the wall. Why don't we disperse and investigate the reality of this world first to see if we can find clues to clear the stage? What do you all think?"
Hearing these words, the hostility in everyone's eyes weakened slightly.
In this unknown environment, while huddling together might provide warmth, it also made it easy to be wiped out all at once.
Scattering to explore and finding clues individually was indeed the most stable way to break the deadlock at the moment.
The burly man was the first to stand up. He gave Steven a cold sweep of his eyes, pushed open the meeting room door without a word, and strode out.
Subsequently, the cold woman in professional attire and the enchanting woman in the red dress also rose and left one after another.
Everyone shared a tacit understanding; since someone had proposed a feasible suggestion, they would follow it and minimize communication as much as possible.
Steven sat upright in his chair, not in a hurry to leave. Instead, he quietly watched the backs of everyone as they departed.
When the fat man with a face full of fleshy scars stood up and walked toward the door, Steven's pupils constricted slightly.
"Something's not right."
That fat man had a bloated physique, weighing at least over two hundred pounds, but at the moment he stood up and walked, his steps were surprisingly light.
There was none of the heavy, jarring sensation that usually accompanied the walk of a person with such a large weight.
This kind of gait could absolutely not appear on a pampered fat man.
"So that's how it is..."
Steven chuckled inwardly as he realized it instantly.
"It seems that before entering this meeting room, I wasn't the only one who saw the [Mask] and [Black Robe] on that platform."
"They are all in disguise."
"Then what about that note?"
That old man who looked like he had one foot in the grave might actually be a burly man with the strength to lift mountains.
That trembling schoolgirl might very well be a cold-blooded female demon.
Only after everyone had left the meeting room did Steven stand up, shake out his azure Taoist robe, and walk out the door.
As soon as he stepped out of the meeting room door, a blast of gloomy, cold wind hit his face.
Steven narrowed his eyes slightly and looked back.
Only then did he discover that the meeting room they were just in wasn't some ordinary office building, but a side room located at the edge of a structure.
And behind him, within the mist, a vast and terrifying mansion in the style of an ancient India towered into the clouds, quietly looking down on the seven of them like tiny prey.
"Is this our game field?"
At this moment, Steven stood in place, not rushing toward that unknown mansion like the others.
With his hands tucked into the wide sleeves of his azure Taoist robe, he stared coldly through that featureless white mask at the six figures ahead gradually disappearing into the mist.
"The start of this game is quite interesting."
Steven pondered to himself.
"Typical rule-based ghost games or battle royale dungeons usually drop players directly into the main building's hall or a sealed room to announce the rules."
"Good heavens, this Ghost Domain actually chose a remote external side room as the initial spawn point? Is this to give us a buffer time to observe each other, or is the outer courtyard itself a layer of screening?"
Seeing that the others were about to reach the main building's gate, Steven no longer lingered.
He adjusted his breathing, set off, and followed the stone path toward the mansion deep inside.
He wanted to see along the way if there were any hidden clues in the courtyard or hints similar to the note from earlier.
Just as Steven was walking at the very back of the group, an extremely enchanting figure in a red dress ahead suddenly slowed her pace.
That was Player Number Two.
Under the disguise of the mask, although her face couldn't be seen, the tight red dress outlined the woman's curves perfectly.
Number Two seemed to be intentionally slowing down, waiting for Steven to approach.
When Steven reached her, Number Two naturally leaned in close to him, and a sweet, cloying fragrance wafted over.
"Old Taoist..."
An extremely ethereal and charming female voice came from under the mask, whispering in a low tone.
"Your performance in the meeting room just now seemed a bit special. You were the first one who dared to speak up and break the deadlock. Did you get some special information before coming in?"
Hearing the red-dressed woman's probe, Steven's brow under the mask twitched slightly.
"I don't know what madness she's having, suddenly coming over to test me? Is she trying to bait me to see if I got that note saying to trust everyone?"
Steven didn't reply immediately, but instead stared at her coldly.
At the same time, in the Fortress Command Center.
On the massive LCD screen, the scenes within the Ghost Domain were being broadcast in real-time from Steven's first-person perspective.
When she saw Player Number Two, dressed in a tight red dress with an enchanting figure, proactively approaching Steven and even showing a hint of deliberate charm, Muriel, sitting at the console, suddenly felt a wave of inexplicable displeasure in her heart.
"Who is this woman? Why is she getting so close to Steven?"
Muriel's heterochromatic eyes narrowed slightly. Although she knew he was on a mission, seeing another woman leaning toward Steven still made her recently awakened maiden heart feel a burst of irritation.
However, the battle-hardened analysis experts in the Command Center were not focused on jealousy at all.
"Report, the Operations Analysis Department has a major discovery."
An expert wearing thick glasses stood up abruptly, pointing at a data comparison chart split off on one side of the large screen, his voice shocked.
"This Player Number Two absolutely does not match the behavioral characteristics of a female."
Randy was stunned for a moment upon hearing this and turned his head.
"What do you mean? Are you saying this woman was originally a man? She only has the appearance and voice of a woman because she has a disguise item like Steven's?"
"It's more than just that, Chief. The situation is even more terrifying than we imagined."
The expert swallowed hard, his fingers tapping frantically on the keyboard to bring up numerous motion capture images.
"According to the joint assessment of our behavior analysts, gait experts, micro-expression and body movement specialists, and planners..."
"The six players in front of us, although they vary in height, weight, gender, and age, all of their subconscious behaviors fully match the characteristics of an adult male."
"There isn't a single trace of female behavioral habits."
"Moreover..."
Hearing the word 'moreover,' Muriel, who had been jealous just a moment ago, also realized the gravity of the situation and asked in confusion.
"Moreover what?"
The expert took a deep breath and said with a trembling voice.
"Moreover, according to our supercomputer's dynamic frame-by-frame video comparison, although the appearance and physique of the six of them were completely disguised by masks and clothing..."
"The behavioral actions of those six people, their muscle exertion habits, the interval frequency of their foot lifts when walking, the amplitude of their arm swings, and even the angle of their center of gravity shift when standing—are completely identical!"
"One hundred percent identical."
Randy was instantly struck as if by lightning, his entire body freezing on the spot.
The behavioral habits of six people were actually exactly the same?
A spine-chilling conjecture instantly exploded in Randy's mind.
"What about... compared to Steven's behavioral habits?"
Randy's voice trembled.
The expert from the Think Tank nodded heavily and gave the final conclusion.
"Yes, Chief. Their subconscious behaviors are exactly the same as Director Steven's behavioral habits, without the slightest difference."
Boom!
A single stone stirred up a thousand waves.
The entire Command Center was instantly in an uproar.
All the staff officers and generals felt a chill run up their spines.
In other words, in this Paranormal World game, those hidden behind the masks were all Steven?
No wonder.
No wonder before entering the game, that note had written:
['My name is Steven... please be sure to listen to and believe everything everyone inside says.']
Because everyone inside was him.
After learning this subversive and terrifying news, Randy was as anxious as an ant on a hot griddle.
He desperately wanted to transmit this news immediately to Steven, who was currently in the game.
As long as Steven knew everyone was himself, then this suspicion chain of the Prisoner's Dilemma would collapse on its own.
But he couldn't do it.
"Damn it, can we find a way to send the message through?"
Randy roared.
"Reporting to the Chief, it's not working."
The communications officer was drenched in sweat.
"The zombies sent to the other world for support were instantly enveloped by that time-stilled Ghost Domain the moment they stepped in. They are frozen in place, and even their soul connection has been temporarily blocked."
"We can currently only receive his visual feed one-way through the special high-dimensional bond of the heart of faith on Director Steven; we cannot transmit any information back at all."
Looking at the isolated and helpless Steven on the screen, Muriel was also extremely anxious. She suddenly thought of something and exclaimed.
"Seven Stevens? Could it be that Steven was also copied by something like Alex's Twin Dread Domain? Is this a mirrored copy trap targeted at him personally?"
Meanwhile, in the Paranormal World, inside the courtyard.
Steven didn't know that the external Command Center was already in chaos, let alone that the enchanting woman standing before him was, in terms of behavioral logic, himself.
He merely looked Player Number Two up and down with an extremely cold gaze through that white mask.
"Is there something, layman?"
Steven deliberately lowered his voice, asking back with the kind of voice that belonged to an old Taoist priest.
Hearing the word 'layman,' Player Number Two suddenly gave a light chuckle.
Although the voice remained that of a light, enchanting woman under the mask's disguise, Number Two's tone changed instantly, revealing an extremely calm rationality.
"As expected, talking to a smart person like you is different. We're all thousand-year-old foxes; there's no need to play these 'layman' ghost stories with me, right?"
Number Two leaned in slightly, keeping their voice very low.
"You actually realized long ago that I'm not a woman, didn't you?"
The corner of Steven's mouth under the mask curled slightly.
"Indeed."
Steven admitted it without any evasion.
"The way you just walked—although you deliberately swayed your hips, the swing of your shoulders and the heaviness of your footfalls really don't seem like a woman's movements."
"It seems you, like me, obtained the [mask] and [Clothes] disguise on that platform, right?"
Number Two nodded, a hint of seriousness in the enchanting female voice.
"Correct. Since you're also a sensible person, how about we cooperate?"
"Cooperate?"
Steven was slightly taken aback, his deep gaze staring intently at Number Two through the mask's eye holes.
"There are five other people in this game; why pick me?"
That Number Two said as if it were a matter of course.
"Because you have the ability and courage to break the deadlock, of course. Just now in the meeting room, everyone was cautiously testing each other, and no one dared to be the first to speak up."
"Yet you dared to be the first to stand out, taking the initiative to open up the situation and guide everyone to disperse and explore."
"In this death game where not even the rules are given, the survival rate is naturally highest when cooperating with a smart person who dares to break the deadlock."
Hearing this seamless logical analysis, Steven couldn't help but be secretly amazed.
"This fellow's logical thinking is quite to my taste."
However, Steven didn't want to so easily trust a stranger who took the initiative to approach and form an alliance in a Paranormal World game.
"These words sound reasonable, but they might be a form of testing. It seems he probably also got that note before starting."
"Is he trying to test whether the words on my note are real? Or does he want to use an alliance to test if I received the same hint?"
"'Listen to and believe everything everyone inside says'?"
Steven sneered in his heart.
"Like hell I'll believe that."
He had zero interest in this kind of cliquey testing.
With the immortal super-cheat of the heart of faith on him, he didn't need any teammates at all.
"I think I'll pass."
Steven's tone instantly returned to coldness and detachment.
"I'm used to being a lone wanderer. I can play this game slowly on my own; I won't trouble you."
After saying that, Steven didn't even look at Number Two again. Flicking the wide sleeve of his green Taoist robe, he stepped past Number Two and strode toward the gate of that gloomy mansion.
At this moment, Number Two stood alone on the spot, the gaze under the mask looking at Steven's receding back with extreme complexity.
"Why..."
Number Two screamed inwardly, their breathing even becoming hurried.
"Why are his walking movements, those subtle habits, and even that unquestionable tone when rejecting others so similar to mine?"
"The same goes for the other people in the meeting room."
"What kind of hellish game is this? That note placed on the starting platform—should the things written on it be believed or not?"
Number Two fell into a state of extreme self-doubt and shock.
On the other side, Steven was walking alone up the stone steps leading to the mansion's gate.
Just as he was about to step onto the final stair, that long-lost system voice, which he had almost forgotten, suddenly rang out in his mind without warning.
[Congratulations Host, mission complete!]
Along with this prompt, a long string of generous rewards scrolled across Steven's retina like a waterfall.
[Paranormal World stage rewards issued:]
[1. Tier 5 Genetic Medicine x1]
[2. One SS-peak Paranormal core]
[Fantasy World stage rewards issued:]
[1. Full set of Tier 3 Genetic Medicine formulas]
[2. Red-Hot Crystal forging technology]
Looking at the reward panel that suddenly popped up, Steven's eyes brightened slightly behind his mask, and a surge of satisfaction welled up in his heart.
"It's been so long since I heard this system speak, I almost forgot about the mission rewards."
He knew this must be because Randy and the others were outside, nearly finishing their sweep of the Fantasy World, which triggered the system's settlement mechanism.
The system's cold voice rang out again.
[Ding! Endgame mission triggered!]
[Paranormal World final mission: Crack 'Seven Days, Same Day']
[Mission description: See through the falsehood, sever the reincarnation]
[Mission reward: SSS-grade Mirror Paranormal core x1]
[Fantasy World final mission: Great Unification]
[Mission description: Completely dominate the Fantasy World and establish a stable cross-realm ruling order]
[Mission reward: Star Gold (can be used for Iron Golem evolution), Plane Portal x1]
Steven stopped in his tracks, staring fixedly at the blood-red words on the mission panel.
"Seven Days, Same Day?"
Steven's heart jolted.
"Seven Days, Same Day... Seven days... Seven people? What does this mean?"
He instantly recalled the cold prompt on the large screen in the meeting room.
"I see. This isn't some ordinary battle royale at all. The name of this instance, or rather, the core rule of this SSS-grade Ghost Domain, is 'Seven Days, Same Day'."
"The seven of us are to experience reincarnation within the same day?"
Steven took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing these complicated thoughts.
No matter what monstrous conspiracy 'Seven Days, Same Day' hid, as long as he had the heart of faith as his foundation, he had nothing to fear.
As for the Star Gold and Portal on the Fantasy World side, it further confirmed his suspicions.
"It seems these two worlds are nearing their end. Once I get the Portal, it will be time to start interstellar navigation or invade higher-level worlds."
Steven composed himself, concealing the fervor in his eyes beneath his mask.
He looked up at the vermilion door covered in bronze studs before him. Without any hesitation, he reached out and pushed hard.
The heavy door slowly swung open to both sides.
Steven stepped into the building, but what met his gaze made him pause slightly.
The interior of the mansion reflected a richly traditional Indian aesthetic.
Intricately carved jali window screens filtered the light into delicate patterns, while towering teakwood pillars stood polished and majestic. Long, winding corridors stretched inward, adorned with brass lamps and handwoven rugs.
It was as if time here had been stagnant for a hundred years.
"Divergence between appearance and reality, spatial dislocation..."
Steven was in no hurry to go deeper. Instead, he stood in the center of the courtyard and tilted his head slightly.
His gaze swept past the players who had already scattered and were rushing to various corners to find clues, finally settling on the deep corridor on the second floor.
When spiritual perception is suppressed, intuition is often the most reliable weapon.
"Second floor."
Steven thought to himself; that faint feeling of being watched was coming from above.
Ignoring the others, he climbed the mahogany stairs at the end of the hall alone.
The stairs were arranged in a V-shape, leading to the corridors on the left and right sides of the second floor, with a row of closed doors in the middle.
"Tap, tap, tap."
The sound of footsteps echoed in the empty hallway.
Reaching the second-floor corridor, Steven looked left and right but found nothing unusual.
He walked to the first door closest to the stairs and grasped the cold bronze handle.
It wasn't locked.
The door was slowly pushed open.
It was a spacious study.
The four walls were lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, packed densely with various books, most of which were yellowed and some even damaged.
Steven stepped into the study, his eyes quickly scanning the book titles on the shelves, trying to find any clues about this 'Seven Days, Same Day' instance.
Just as he was about to close the door and search alone...
Clap.
A palm as white as jade suddenly reached out, stopping the door from closing.
Steven's pupils constricted as he whipped his head around.
He saw Number Two, dressed in a tight red dress with an enchanting figure, leaning against the doorframe, looking at him with a half-smile.
"You again?"
Steven's brow furrowed, a hint of impatience rising in his heart.
This fellow had been staring at him since earlier; now they had actually followed him here?
"What? Do you own this path?"
Steven said coldly.
"Why are you following me instead of looking for clues yourself?"
Number Two did not back down from Steven's coldness. Instead, she slipped into the study with a light movement, then closed the door behind her and leaned against it. Her eyes behind the mask held an indescribable playfulness.
"You're different from them."
Number Two's voice was still that of a charming woman, but the tone was exceptionally certain.
"Nonsense."
Steven sneered and turned back to continue checking the bookshelves.
"Of course I'm different from them. Do you think you're a pig?"
"..."
Number Two was momentarily speechless but didn't get angry. Instead, the interest in her eyes deepened.
He thought to himself.
"This way of speaking, this logic of retorting... it feels so familiar, like looking in a mirror."
"Number One."
Number Two stopped beating around the bush and spoke directly.
"My intuition is very accurate. In the meeting room, only you were the calmest, and only you dared to break the deadlock. I feel that following you will lead to clearing the instance."
He paused, his tone becoming somewhat roguish.
"Do whatever you want; don't mind me, just let me follow. If we encounter danger, an extra person means extra backup, doesn't it?"
Hearing this, Steven stopped what he was doing and turned to give Number Two a deep look.
"It seems he really did get that note."
Steven made a judgment in his heart.
"And he chose to believe the contents of the note, listening to everyone inside. So he wants to use this method to get a so-called way of survival from me?"
"Heh, suit yourself."
Steven said no more.
Since the other party wanted to follow, then let them follow.
Anyway, with the heart of faith as a safety net, he wasn't afraid of someone stabbing him in the back.
If it really came to a fight, it wasn't certain who would end up dead.
Steven didn't know he was playing mind games with himself.
He walked around the study and flipped through a few local chronicles about the mansion's history, but found no valuable clues.
The book recorded nothing but trivial family matters, appearing quite unremarkable.
"No hidden compartments, no false layers."
Steven put down the book and walked to the window.
Through the dust-covered glass pane, he looked out at the world outside.
Outside the window was a gray, hazy scene, but he could vaguely see high-rise buildings standing in the distance, as well as an open large iron gate leading to the outside world.
"Strange..."
Steven's brow furrowed slightly.
"The gate is actually open? Does that mean the game's scope includes the city outside, beyond just this mansion?"
Just then, Number Two, who was standing behind him, also leaned over.
"Hmm?"
Number Two followed Steven's gaze, suddenly froze for a moment, and then pointed below.
"Are those... Number Three and Number Seven?"
"What?"
Steven focused his eyes.
Sure enough, in that grayish-white mist, two figures—one fat and one thin—were walking quickly across the courtyard toward the open iron gate.
It was indeed Number Three, who was wearing a sailor suit, and the fleshy-faced Number Seven.
"Those two guys..."
A trace of doubt rose in Steven's heart.
"This mansion hasn't been fully explored yet, and the rules haven't been figured out, yet they dare to run out so brazenly? Aren't they afraid of death?"
Steven himself dared to move freely because he had the heart of faith as a safety net, giving him the capital for infinite resurrection.
"Could it be that they also have some trump cards?"
Steven narrowed his eyes.
"Or rather, have they discovered some path to survival that I don't know about?"
"Something's wrong."
Steven muttered in a low voice.
"These two are not right."
"Indeed."
Number Two beside him also nodded, his tone carrying a depth that didn't match his appearance.
"There is definitely something wrong with those two. In a Ghost Domain where the rules are unclear, rashly leaving the initial safe zone is a suicidal act, unless..."
"Unless they have special information, or someone is about to make a move and they are baiting the enemy?"
Number Two's analysis was exactly the same as the thoughts in Steven's mind.
Steven glanced at Number Two with some surprise.
How was this guy's line of thinking so perfectly in sync with his own?
"Should we go stop them?"
Number Two asked, his tone carrying a hint of testing.
"No need."
Steven shook his head, his expression cold and indifferent.
"Since someone is willing to be a pathfinder, let them go. If the outside is a path to survival, it won't be too late for us to follow. If it's a dead end, it just helps us eliminate a wrong option."
"It's a good thing if they can test out more information for us."
"Heh..."
After hearing this, Number Two gave a light chuckle, which seemed to carry a trace of admiration.
"Great minds truly think alike."
At this moment, Number Two stood behind Steven, his eyes flashing with extreme complexity beneath the mask.
"The question just now was only to confirm whether this Number One is indeed me."
Number Two thought to himself.
"Looking at it now, that precise judgment of the situation, and even that sinister idea of using others to scout the way, are identical to mine."
"It's definitely me, no doubt about it."
Number Two's current mood was extremely complicated.
"Then here comes the problem."
Number Two watched Number Three and Number Seven receding in the distance outside the window, his brain working rapidly.
"Why did this Number Seven take away Number Three?"
"What's even more confusing is, if this Number Three is also me, then why would she follow Number Seven?"
Number Two knew his own personality very well.
A person like Steven is suspicious by nature and extremely cautious; he would never follow a stranger he just met to take risks unless... 'Unless this Number Three Steven is the same as I am now.'
Number Two's gaze lingered on Steven's back for a moment.
"I chose to follow and observe because I saw the possibility of breaking the deadlock in Number One, attracted by that leadership quality and decisiveness."
"And that Number Three, perhaps she saw some key to breaking the deadlock in Number Seven?"
"That fat guy, Number Seven, what does he have on him?"
Number Two looked at the two people gradually disappearing into the mist outside the window, a playful smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"It seems this group of Stevens all have very complex minds."
"I wonder which Steven will ultimately succeed in breaking the deadlock and lead us out of this ghostly place."
At this moment, Steven, standing by the window, suddenly felt a chill down his back.
He turned his head sharply and looked at Number Two behind him.
He saw Number Two with his head lowered, wearing a thoughtful expression, as if calculating something.
"This guy..."
Alarm bells rang in Steven's heart.
"He's been playing dumb this whole time, but those few lines of analysis just now were clear and logically rigorous. He's definitely not a simple character."
"It seems Number Two must have information that I don't know."
"If I just let him follow me like this, he only adds a few words after I speak. I can't get any truly valuable information from him at all; he's hiding his light under a bushel."
Steven thought for a moment and decided to take the initiative.
"I need to find a way to test this Number Two."
Looking at Number Two's thoughtful expression, Steven suddenly asked.
"What? Looking at you like this, do you want to go out too?"
Number Two raised his head and met Steven's scrutinizing gaze.
In that brief moment of eye contact, Number Two smiled.
He knew that Number One was testing him.
After all, they were both Steven. He knew his own nature better than anyone.
That suspiciousness, that desire to control everything—it was practically etched into his bones.
"He saw me thinking, so he wants to bluff me?"
Number Two laughed inwardly.
"Unfortunately, for someone who is also Steven, this little test of yours is practically transparent."
"No need."
Number Two shrugged and said in a relaxed tone.
"The mist is heavy outside; it's easy to get your shoes wet. Better to see what's fishy inside this old mansion first. After all, this is the starting point, isn't it?"
"Heh."
Steven gave a soft laugh and turned away.
Although the other party's answer was airtight, that was exactly what proved he wasn't simple.
Command Center.
"Reporting to the Chief!"
The leader of the Psychological Analysis Team shouted excitedly.
"There's a major discovery. The behavior pattern of Number Two Director Steven is abnormal."
"Based on the dialogue and micro-expression analysis just now, Number Two Director Steven has been consciously testing Director Steven's way of thinking and reactions."
"Inferred result: Number Two Director Steven has likely already guessed it."
"He has guessed that the true identities of the players are actually all Steven himself."
Upon hearing this, Randy's furrowed brow finally relaxed a bit, and he slapped his thigh hard.
"That's good, that's good."
"As long as there's a person who understands following Steven and knows everyone's identity, things will be much easier to handle."
"According to Steven's personality, at the critical moment, Number Two will definitely choose to tell Number One his identity, then share information and join forces."
"However..."
Randy stared at the screen.
"Currently, it seems Number Two has been influenced by that note. He's constantly testing Director Steven's bottom line, trying to confirm if Director Steven is someone worth listening to."
"As for Number Seven and Number Three..."
The analyst pulled up the surveillance footage from another window.
On the screen, Number Three and Number Seven had already walked out the main gate and entered the city streets shrouded in mist.
"Based on the recent perspective analysis, although Number Three and Number Seven are walking together, they have begun to forcibly change their behavioral habits, deliberately imitating the movements of a woman or a fat person."
"This means they should have also discovered that everyone around them is themselves. They've reached a certain tacit understanding and are disguising themselves to prevent being seen through by other Stevens."
"This really is a high-level game of deceiving oneself."
Randy didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Then why hasn't Director Steven noticed yet?"
"Because of a blind spot in his perspective."
The analyst explained.
"Director Steven was the last one to enter the conference room, and his attention was mainly focused on observing the environment. Number Two was ahead of him and had ample time to observe everyone, while Director Steven only briefly observed Number Two, Number Three, and Number Seven."
"However..."
The analyst pointed at Steven on the screen.
"Knowing Director Steven, as long as that Number Two lingers in front of him a few more times and shows even a slight slip-up, he should be able to deduce it very quickly."
"Good."
Randy said in a deep voice.
"Continue analyzing the behavioral patterns of all Stevens. Do not let a single detail slip. This game has only just begun!"
Steven stood before a massive mahogany bookshelf, his hands rapidly flipping through thick ancient tomes.
"Nothing... still nothing."
Steven heavily shoved the last book back onto the shelf, his brow furrowing slightly.
The contents of these books seemed vast and complex, but in reality, they were hollow and empty. It was as if someone had specifically arranged them to fill the scene; they held no substantial value as clues.
"How is it? Did you find anything?"
Beside him, Number Two, dressed in a red dress and wearing a smile, also stopped his movements.
He had also been flipping through the books extremely seriously just now. His reading speed and information extraction efficiency were surprisingly no less than Steven's.
"It's all nonsense."
Steven patted the dust off his hands, his tone indifferent.
"It seems this study is just a front used to consume the players' time and energy. The real clues shouldn't be here."
"I think so too."
Number Two nodded, his ethereal female voice carrying a decisiveness that was completely at odds with his appearance.
"In that case, let's not waste time. Shall we check the other rooms?"
"Sure."
Steven gave Number Two a deep look.
This unreserved sense of trust made the sense of incongruity in his heart grow heavier and heavier.
In a bizarre dungeon filled with the crisis of death, two strangers who had never met—even if they had reached a verbal cooperation—could not possibly be this synchronized.
Number Two's subservient attitude even gave Steven an illusion, as if the person following behind him wasn't an independent player, but rather a clone of himself.
"What exactly is this Number Two trying to do?"
Steven snorted coldly in his heart.
"Does he really believe that note? Or is he putting on an act for me?"
"Let's go."
Pushing the thoughts aside, Steven turned and walked out of the study.
Number Two did not walk ahead. Instead, he naturally stepped aside to let Steven pass. Even after Steven walked out the door, he carefully looked back at the window's position, and only after confirming there was nothing unusual did he gently close the door.
*Click.*
Steven stood in the middle of the corridor. He didn't immediately head to the next room but stood silently, staring ahead with deep eyes.
"What's wrong?"
Number Two closed the door and turned to see Steven stopped in place, prompting him to ask.
"Did you find something?"
Steven slowly raised his hand and pointed at the deep, long corridor.
"Number Two, look closely."
Steven's voice was low.
"This corridor, and the layout of these rooms—don't they seem a bit too regular?"
Hearing this, Number Two looked in the direction of Steven's finger.
Just now, the two of them had only cared about entering the first room and hadn't looked closely.
Standing in the middle of the corridor and observing carefully now, they discovered a hair-raising pattern.
The corridor led straight into the depths of darkness. The doors on the left and right sides were perfectly symmetrical—the spacing, the door frame patterns, even the height of the doorknobs were identical.
It was as if someone had placed a ruler in the middle of a mirror.
"Perfectly symmetrical?"
Number Two's eyes behind the mask narrowed slightly.
"Although the architectural style of this mansion is strange, this level of symmetry..."
"Let's go up and see."
Steven didn't waste words. Since he saw a clue, he would use practice to test it.
The two stopped talking, lightened their footsteps, and cautiously explored forward along the corridor.
They passed one closed door after another.
Every door exuded that stale, decaying aura.
Until they reached a new door in the middle of the corridor.
This door was completely different from the study they had just come out of in both position and appearance, yet it had a certain indescribable sense of déjà vu.
Steven stopped and exchanged a look with Number Two beside him.
The mask hid their expressions, but the exchange of glances at this moment was worth a thousand words.
"Open it?"
Number Two's eyes were questioning.
Steven didn't answer. Instead, he reached out directly and firmly gripped the cold brass doorknob.
At this moment, Number Two's body stiffened slightly, and the expression under his mask became quite colorful.
As Steven, he knew himself too well.
According to Steven's usual personality—cautious and suspicious—when facing such an obviously problematic unknown door, the normal logic should be to test it first or find something to throw and probe the way.
Who would just reach out and twist it directly like this?
"Is this guy not afraid of death?"
Number Two was greatly shaken in his heart.
"If this doorknob is coated with a lethal poison, or if it triggers some instant-death rule, wouldn't this one move be the end of it?"
"Why is this Number One guy so reckless? This doesn't fit the logic of my personality."
However, Steven paid no mind to Number Two's mental activity.
"I'm opening the door."
He gave a faint warning, then his palm suddenly exerted force, pressing down.
There was no expected sound of it opening.
The moment Steven's palm pressed down, he felt an incredibly massive resistance.
It was as if the internal lock mechanism had been welded shut, or something heavy behind the door was firmly bracing against it.
"Hmm?"
Steven's brow furrowed, and his arm muscles tensed. Although his Rank Four physical strength was suppressed, the foundation was still there.
He exerted force again, attempting to break the door open by force.