After parting ways with Xia Yue, Lin Yu's next target was naturally Yu Longguo!
Even though he now possessed a pistol, Lin Yu still wasn't particularly eager to face Yu Longguo, the 'Soldier'...
But some meetings were unavoidable.
After all, that single bullet in the chamber was most likely meant for him!
With only Yu Longguo and Xia Yue remaining as 'Werewolves', Lin Yu's plan was to wait for them to eliminate each other before executing the survivor with his pistol.
Lin Yu arrived on the third floor.
After killing Xu Xiumei, Yu Longguo hadn't moved from his location.
Thus Lin Yu easily found Yu Longguo in the third-floor study.
The soldier was casually lifting Xu Xiumei's corpse, attempting to stash it atop a bookshelf.
"Knock knock. Greetings, 'Soldier'."
Yu Longguo immediately turned around in alarm, relaxing when he saw it was Lin Yu.
"It's you, Game Master. What brings you here?"
Lin Yu smiled at Yu Longguo.
"Just came to check on your progress... Do you have any questions for me now that you've succeeded?"
Yu Longguo seemed surprised by Lin Yu's proactive approach.
"Hmm, didn't expect the Game Master to be so helpful," Yu Longguo muttered while stroking his chin. "As for questions..."
Just as Yu Longguo was pondering...
Rapid footsteps suddenly approached from behind Lin Yu.
"Huff—"
"'Soldier', don't be so quick to ask him anything!"
Xia Yue's voice abruptly rang out from behind Lin Yu.
Both Yu Longguo and Lin Yu turned to see the panting 'Veterinarian'.
In her hand, she openly carried a bloodstained dagger.
Yu Longguo frowned at Xia Yue. "You're that... Veterinarian. What do you want?"
Ignoring his question, Xia Yue looked at the half-concealed corpse on the bookshelf. "So you did kill the 'Teacher'. Don't bother explaining or attacking me yet—listen first!"
"I killed the 'Ruffian', and the 'Ruffian' had just killed the 'Thief' on the first floor—I found the body."
"That means currently, only you, me, the 'Otaku'... and this 'Game Master' remain alive," Xia Yue stated calmly.
Yu Longguo instantly grasped the crucial implication in her words.
"Are you suggesting the 'Game Master' is actually a player, and the 'Lone Wolf' doesn't exist?"
He looked at Xia Yue with undisguised wariness—clearly more suspicious of her than Lin Yu at this moment.
Lin Yu also regarded Xia Yue with interest.
"Accusing the Game Master? This batch of newcomers is truly fascinating!"
Xia Yue coldly addressed Lin Yu: "Stop acting... You're clearly the 'Lone Wolf'. This game probably never had a 'Game Master' to begin with!"
As she spoke, Lin Yu crossed his arms with amusement.
"And how did you reach this conclusion?"
"Because the killing pace is unnaturally fast... rendering all those supposedly 'complicated' rules from the letter meaningless!"
"Team divisions, voting meetings... even the tasks have become pointless—everyone will be dead within a day at this rate."
"This feels extremely 'abnormal'... And the root cause is the 'hints' provided by this so-called Game Master. His prompts have turned this into a simple closed-space killing game."
"In other words, if we removed the 'hints' from this Game Master... wouldn't we be playing the game as intended?"
"Another point—since entering this 'game', the setup actively avoids acknowledging it's a 'game'. Even the rules were delivered via letter."
"Yet this guy barges in boldly proclaiming himself 'Game Master'. Isn't that suspicious?"
As Xia Yue laid out her reasoning, Yu Longguo nodded slightly.
"Logical, but... not entirely convincing."
"These points alone shouldn't make you so certain."
Xia Yue smiled at his response. "Good, 'Soldier'—you're sharp. These weren't my definitive proofs."
"As the 'Veterinarian', my ability is conversing with animals," Xia Yue pointed at crows outside the window. "After growing suspicious, I spoke briefly with these crows... I asked two questions."
"First, whether they'd seen an eighth person in this manor besides our six and the 'Game Master'... Answer: no."
"Second, I inquired about the 'Game Master's' actions after game start—he immediately went to a storage room on the first floor and opened a supply crate."
"If he's truly the administrator... why would he need to open supply crates?"
Yu Longguo nodded thoughtfully.
"This does cast reasonable doubt on you, 'Game Master'... Though I'm curious how you knew so much about us."
His gaze at Lin Yu now held open suspicion.
"He might not necessarily be the 'Lone Wolf'. Knowing our personal details could be his profession ability," Xia Yue raised a finger. "Or... perhaps he isn't a new player and has special methods."
Yu Longguo narrowed his eyes.
"So your suggestion is—"
"Let's team up to challenge the 'Game Master'. After all, his goal seems to be having us all dead by day one."
Xia Yue grinned as she made her proposal.
"What brilliant deduction, Xia Yue. You've exceeded my expectations."
Lin Yu regarded the 'Veterinarian' with newfound respect.
To deduce he was the 'seventh player' from such limited information was impressive.
Though not entirely accurate... her reasoning was remarkably sharp.
Recalling the previous round, she'd even maintained a completely believable fake ability!
Last time, Lin Yu never guessed her true power was 'animal communication'.
Her early death then was simply due to terrible acting and challenging the wrong person.
Or perhaps the real reason—she'd been unlucky enough to be paired with him.
"Xia Yue, I underestimated you."
The praised Xia Yue flashed her sweet, innocent smile again. "Thank you, Game Master... But honestly, I just really want to survive."
Lin Yu chuckled.
"Is that so? Then you haven't gone far enough."
"Because while your deduction was brilliant... this game's foundation is ultimately violence."
With that, Lin Yu raised his hand.
"Bang!"
A gunshot echoed as Yu Longguo collapsed behind him in shock.
Then Lin Yu aimed the pistol at Xia Yue.
"Checkmate."