“I’m going to check Number Five’s room. Anyone coming with me?”
What happened last night had been too sudden, so Number Two hadn’t thought to search the deceased’s side for clues yet.
Lu Nan sat motionless on the sofa, clearly not very interested in going.
“Sister, aren’t you coming?”
Lu Nan didn’t even lift her head as she replied, “Wait a bit. You guys go up first. I need to use the bathroom.”
“Alright then, we’re off~”
The girl stood up, her gaze drifting toward the bathroom in the corner. If nothing unexpected happened, Number Ten should be in there.
Did she like it that much?
Lu Nan watched as everyone headed upstairs, leaving her alone in the vast space.
In her mind, reason and affection intertwined.
Win or lose didn’t matter to her. Her purpose in coming here was for one person.
Now that the person was right in front of her, how could she not take the initiative? Wasn’t there a saying: hesitation leads to defeat, and slowness leads to giving it away for free?
As Number Ten moved farther from the bathroom door, Lu Nan spoke up. “Hold on.”
The woman in front of her paused.
Lu Nan silently climbed onto her arm. Number Ten felt the faint grip through her clothes and turned toward Lu Nan in confusion.
She asked, “What’s up?”
Lu Nan didn’t beat around the bush. “I want to team up with you.”
It was too direct. Number Ten’s expression froze visibly, as if she hadn’t expected this situation.
Team up with her?
She looked the woman up and down and asked, “Give me a reason to agree.”
“I know the specific information about that painting.”
Lu Nan threw out the first irresistible condition. Normally, Number Ten wouldn’t even bother and would just walk away, but that painting’s message was exactly what gave her a headache.
However, this statement only made Number Ten more puzzled.
Would someone as smart and aloof as Number One want to team up with someone?
Moreover, if she already knew the information, why team up with her?
“Number Six and Number Seven are connected, Number Eight and Number Four are teammates, Number Three and Number Nine are a couple, leaving Number Two.”
“In this situation, I don’t want you to become anyone’s teammate. A lone wolf is a fatal risk.”
“I have the information you want to know, and you have what I need. We’d both benefit from teaming up. Can you team up with me?”
Lu Nan spoke sincerely, and it was the truth. With everyone pairing off, the leftovers would be lone wolves.
Number Ten’s refusal stuck in her throat. For some reason, the woman in front of her had a fatal allure.
This was deadly.
That subtle feeling made her want to agree, but she didn’t want to agree so quickly.
What if Number One was the heteromorph?
Then she’d be dead meat.
When that thought emerged, her first instinct was—impossible.
The sudden idea made her suspect something was wrong. That inexplicable trust and familiarity spread in her heart.
She figured she must have been frozen silly by the cold weather to trust a stranger like this.
Number Ten analyzed the benefits in her mind: at least she’d get an important clue.
Suddenly, she thought that at some point, the two of them might fight side by side desperately. This baseless, strange idea lingered in her mind.
In the end, she nodded. “Sure.”
“Good, then let’s go.”
Lu Nan immediately pulled open the bathroom door.
—
She casually poured water from the kettle and pushed the cup over. “Drink some water.”
“Thanks.” Number Ten took the water and asked puzzledly, “We’re talking here?”
The dining table faced the sofa in the living room, and beyond that was the staircase. The first floor was empty with few furnishings, so any loud voice would be heard by others.
Chatting like this was just asking to be overheard.
“It’s fine.” Lu Nan smiled and pointed at the ceiling. “They’re all upstairs. Come closer. I’ll speak in a voice only we can hear.”
Number Ten scooted a bit toward her, leaning in slightly.
“Why do you think they killed Number Five first?”
Lu Nan looked at the person in front of her. Her words carried a questioning tone but no inflection.
“He got found out.”
Number Ten’s gaze shifted to the sofa in the living room, where bloodstains still lingered.
“Number Five was so eager to unlock and got the key information, exposing himself right to the heteromorph. That explanation works, right?”
Of course it did. The more you said, the more mistakes you’d make. Plus, he had key evidence. Though he hadn’t figured out the painting’s meaning yet, it was only a matter of time.
At that thought, Number Ten subconsciously touched the item in her pocket, the spiral pattern rubbing against her fingers. Her gaze darkened slightly.
“It does make sense,” Lu Nan replied faintly.
The first gate wasn’t hard. Though it was entry-level, everyone brainstormed and pieced together the answer. So why did Number Five rush forward to unlock it?
One mistake would offend everyone and waste a chance.
It wasn’t a smart move, unless he knew succeeding would benefit him, so he went for it.
What benefit? Naturally, the newbie gift pack.
Games always rewarded you after clearing. He’d eaten the medicine himself, and the unlock reward was that explosive key letter.
An ordinary man wasn’t guilty, but harboring a treasure made him so.
He’d swallowed the key information, so the heteromorph got anxious.
“Do you know what that painting means?”
Lu Nan propped herself on the wooden table and tilted her head toward the woman.
The woman shook her head. “No idea.”
In the quiet first floor, Lu Nan spoke. Her voice was soft and ethereal, hard for others to hear—
“That painting is the Moon Hunting Dog, which is a wolf.”
“In Norse mythology, the two werewolf brothers—one chases the sun, the other the moon. After they devour the sun and moon, Ragnarok begins, freeing their father. They were both raised by forest witches feeding them the flesh of sinners.”
“You mean the one who killed Number Five is the wolf in the painting—the heteromorph we need to vote out? This painting isn’t info from another spacetime…”
Number Ten pondered, the information flooding her brain before she could digest it.
She’d learned about mythology in middle school, but it was so long ago the memories were fuzzy.
She asked, “Werewolf witches… does that mean three heteromorphs? Or the two brothers?”
“The witch isn’t specially indicated here. The wolf brothers—one eats the sun, one the moon.” Lu Nan turned to face the woman. “And we are the sun and moon.”
“I lean more toward it representing one male and one female: sun as male, moon as female.”
“The moon usually represents tides and periods, hinting at females, with meanings of death and survival. In ancient Greece, the moon also symbolized young, beautiful women—clearly a trait we five fit.”
“The sun symbolizes power and authority. With five men and five women, it might correspond perfectly.”
Number Ten’s mind raced, vaguely recalling fragments of Norse mythology:
“I remember before Ragnarok, humanity faced three harsh winters. Doesn’t that mean we only have three days?”
Lu Nan nodded, agreeing. “Very possible. The rules say five days total, so the last two might be different.”
Different meaning that when the final battle came, they and this spacetime would change. But that hadn’t arrived yet—solve the present first.
“What if we don’t even have five days…”
Number Ten’s voice echoed in the living room, striking Lu Nan’s heart as well.
