So it was a show of force… Igor understood that Annan’s words were essentially a blatant declaration: “I know you all want to snatch it away, but no matter what schemes you have, I will be the ultimate winner.”
Compared to empty threats, this sort of confidence, as if everything was under control, was far more likely to intimidate.
“However, with this, everyone guessed correctly, and the scores are all the same, which is kind of boring,” Annan pondered. “Plus, if everyone asks their own questions, there might be some special queries they would be too embarrassed to voice… I’ve got it!”
She pulled out a stack of Scribble Note Paper from a drawer nearby: “This is ‘Thought-Scribing Scribble Note Paper,’ which can automatically transcribe one’s inner thoughts onto it in standard size 4 font. This means you can’t identify the writer by their handwriting, essentially giving it an anonymous feature.”
She then brought out a black box: “Everyone writes a question, then throws it into this box. We’ll draw three to ask, so no one will know who asked which question. With so many security measures in place, you can now freely ask whatever you’re curious about, right?”
Seeing the complete set of Items at hand, Igor knew that Annan had definitely prepared this in advance. She might have been waiting for them to make an outrageous demand, then took the opportunity to suggest this game… But why this game?
What purpose could Annan achieve with this game?
When Igor received the Scribble Note Paper, he suddenly realized the interesting aspect of this game.
Everyone present had to answer truthfully.
And the questions were random, with no one knowing who the asker was.
This meant that even if Igor decided to ask, “Are you planning to murder Igor, Ashe, Archibald, and Lise after the Weaving Festival?” he could find out if Annan had any plans to eliminate them. And since he was just one among the group, he wouldn’t draw Annan’s hostility upon himself!
No… It would be a waste to use such a golden opportunity just to question Annan; after all, everyone else was also obliged to answer truthfully. He could craft a brilliant question to elicit everyone’s honest thoughts—
Igor was taken aback.
Igor finally understood Annan’s intent.
It was a despicable and shameless Open Conspiracy, but even Igor, realizing its cunning, had no choice but to dive in.
No wonder the game was called “Guess the True Heart”; the focus wasn’t the ‘true heart’ at all, but the ‘guessing’!
When you try to unearth the dark side of human nature, you always get the answers you’re looking for. Human nature cannot withstand scrutiny, nor can the true heart be guessed!
“Do you have a small mirror, Banjeet?” Lise suddenly asked: “I want to see if Aunt Bukin made my braids pretty.”
“Of course, Miss Lise,” Banjeet replied, producing a small mirror from seemingly nowhere.
Snap.
Once everyone had thrown in their Scribble Note Paper, Annan clapped her hands lightly: “Now that the questions are all collected… Mr. Bukin, please preside over the next Q&A and guessing rounds. After all, the box and Scribble Note Paper were provided by me; if I were to host as well, you might suspect I’d rigged something.”
Igor couldn’t refuse such a reasonable request. He drew a piece of paper from the black box, his pupils dilating slightly.
“Question.”
“If you had the chance, would you commit murder to seize the Divine Master’s Wish from the other five people present?”
“Oh ho,” Annan chuckled, “What a thrilling question.”
Everyone placed a Gold Coin beneath their handkerchiefs, then entered the guessing round. Annan was the first to speak: “I believe the number of people who would answer ‘yes’ is 0.”
“I disagree,” Harvey pressed down a Silver Coin: “I think it’s 1.”
“I also think it’s 1,” Igor followed.
Ashe spread his hands: “I’m different from you guys; I choose 0.”
Banjeet also chose 0, only Lise pressed down 2 Silver Coins, causing a slight shock among the crowd, but they quickly understood—perhaps Lise saw Annan and Banjeet as the bad people controlling her, naturally thinking that both of them could commit murder.
But that was impossible, at least Banjeet wouldn’t do it—because the option ‘murder the other five people’ included murdering Annan.
Although Ashe and the others didn’t know how long Banjeet had lived with Annan, Banjeet was over sixty years old. To him, Annan could almost be considered his daughter. Plus, with no children of his own, how could he possibly murder Annan, his only family in reality?
But the reverse could be different. If Annan were driven by enough greed, she might be willing to murder Banjeet to satisfy her desires.
That’s why Igor placed his bet on one person. The most likely individual to answer “yes” among those present was Annan.
However, when the handkerchief was lifted, everyone was stunned.
4 “no” and 2 “yes”.
Among the six of them, there were two who would not hesitate to murder the others for the Divine Master’s Wish!
Igor looked around the group; he himself was a “no,” Lise was certainly a “no,” and Banjeet was likely a “no.”
This meant that the “yes” had to come from among Annan, Ashe, or Harvey!
Even if Annan took one spot, it was certain that either Ashe or Harvey was already mentally prepared to be a butcher!
Harvey goes without saying; after his escape from Shattered Lake Prison, he had already stepped on the path to destruction. Igor felt that his flight was merely a selection of the most tragic way to die; as for Ashe, even though Igor didn’t want to believe he was that kind of person—whether it was the faint sympathy Ashe showed for Lise, or his past actions, they all suggested that he hadn’t lost his humanity.
But what if it was all a facade?
And even if it had all been genuine before, did that prove there was no darkness in his heart at this moment?
He could show compassion to a little girl, he could lash out in anger over something that involved Ronald, and he could attack Eternal Calamity to avoid harming himself… but he could also harbor murderous intentions for the sake of the Divine Master’s Wish.
The third Rule of the Con Artist: everything in this world has a price for betrayal. With enough incentive, even the sunshine could betray the sun.
Faced with the immense benefit of the Divine Master’s Wish, any decision Ashe made would be entirely rational. Even if he were genuinely kind-hearted, it wouldn’t preclude him from occasional cruelty.
Moreover, Annan might not necessarily be the other “yes”. Compared to the former death row inmates, Annan had always been a grey area worker who abided by the law, which was evident from her being on the list—illegal activities significantly reduce the chance of making it onto the list.
Annan probably hadn’t caused the death of many people. Could someone whose hands were relatively clean of blood truly resolve to murder Banjeet, who had been with her for years, and the innocent young girl, Lise?
Was the choice between Ashe and Harvey one or the other… or both?
On the other side, Ashe was having similar thoughts.
There could be at most one “yes” between Banjeet and Annan. He was a “no,” Lise was a “no,” which meant there was another “yes” between Igor and Harvey.
One of them was a villain willing to kill everything to seize the Divine Master’s Wish.
As Ashe looked up, he caught Igor looking back at him.
This was the terror of Guess the True Heart.
You try to guess the true intentions of others, and they, in turn, try to guess yours. Seeds of doubt planted in the darkest places sprout into arguments, grow into conflicts, and eventually, the tree will be ignited by anger, painting the darkness of the soul with a blood-like hue.
Ashe sighed, “This is trouble. Lise, I didn’t expect there to be two bad guys here…”
Pretending to speak to Lise to avoid Igor’s gaze, Ashe missed the cold look she gave him, devoid of the affection from before.
She looked at him as if he were a weed, with not a hint of innocence in her eyes, and even a cold, cruel indifference.
Ashe was taken aback, wondering if she had reached her rebellious phase so soon?
“Only Lise guessed correctly; Lise gets one point, everyone else remains at zero,” Annan said, seemingly unconcerned with the previous issue, “Let’s move on to the next question.”
Even with the sun shining brightly outside, the atmosphere in the living room had become somewhat oppressive. Igor sighed inwardly; the first question had already planted seeds of suspicion in everyone’s hearts, and it was frightening to imagine what the second question might bring.
He drew the second slip of paper from the black box, his eyebrows lifting before he lunged towards Ashe, the two scuffling in an instant.
“Ashe!—”
“How do you know it was me who wrote it?!”
“Who else would be so childish?”
Harvey picked up the slip of paper Igor had put down and couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter:
“Ha ha, the question is…”
“Do you think Igor should wear pretty girl’s clothes?”
So it was a show of force… Igor understood that Annan’s words were essentially a blatant declaration: “I know you all want to snatch it away, but no matter what schemes you have, I will be the ultimate winner.”
Compared to empty threats, this sort of confidence, as if everything was under control, was far more likely to intimidate.
“However, with this, everyone guessed correctly, and the scores are all the same, which is kind of boring,” Annan pondered. “Plus, if everyone asks their own questions, there might be some special queries they would be too embarrassed to voice… I’ve got it!”
She pulled out a stack of Scribble Note Paper from a drawer nearby: “This is ‘Thought-Scribing Scribble Note Paper,’ which can automatically transcribe one’s inner thoughts onto it in standard size 4 font. This means you can’t identify the writer by their handwriting, essentially giving it an anonymous feature.”
She then brought out a black box: “Everyone writes a question, then throws it into this box. We’ll draw three to ask, so no one will know who asked which question. With so many security measures in place, you can now freely ask whatever you’re curious about, right?”
Seeing the complete set of Items at hand, Igor knew that Annan had definitely prepared this in advance. She might have been waiting for them to make an outrageous demand, then took the opportunity to suggest this game… But why this game?
What purpose could Annan achieve with this game?
When Igor received the Scribble Note Paper, he suddenly realized the interesting aspect of this game.
Everyone present had to answer truthfully.
And the questions were random, with no one knowing who the asker was.
This meant that even if Igor decided to ask, “Are you planning to murder Igor, Ashe, Archibald, and Lise after the Weaving Festival?” he could find out if Annan had any plans to eliminate them. And since he was just one among the group, he wouldn’t draw Annan’s hostility upon himself!
No… It would be a waste to use such a golden opportunity just to question Annan; after all, everyone else was also obliged to answer truthfully. He could craft a brilliant question to elicit everyone’s honest thoughts—
Igor was taken aback.
Igor finally understood Annan’s intent.
It was a despicable and shameless Open Conspiracy, but even Igor, realizing its cunning, had no choice but to dive in.
No wonder the game was called “Guess the True Heart”; the focus wasn’t the ‘true heart’ at all, but the ‘guessing’!
When you try to unearth the dark side of human nature, you always get the answers you’re looking for. Human nature cannot withstand scrutiny, nor can the true heart be guessed!
“Do you have a small mirror, Banjeet?” Lise suddenly asked: “I want to see if Aunt Bukin made my braids pretty.”
“Of course, Miss Lise,” Banjeet replied, producing a small mirror from seemingly nowhere.
Snap.
Once everyone had thrown in their Scribble Note Paper, Annan clapped her hands lightly: “Now that the questions are all collected… Mr. Bukin, please preside over the next Q&A and guessing rounds. After all, the box and Scribble Note Paper were provided by me; if I were to host as well, you might suspect I’d rigged something.”
Igor couldn’t refuse such a reasonable request. He drew a piece of paper from the black box, his pupils dilating slightly.
“Question.”
“If you had the chance, would you commit murder to seize the Divine Master’s Wish from the other five people present?”
“Oh ho,” Annan chuckled, “What a thrilling question.”
Everyone placed a Gold Coin beneath their handkerchiefs, then entered the guessing round. Annan was the first to speak: “I believe the number of people who would answer ‘yes’ is 0.”
“I disagree,” Harvey pressed down a Silver Coin: “I think it’s 1.”
“I also think it’s 1,” Igor followed.
Ashe spread his hands: “I’m different from you guys; I choose 0.”
Banjeet also chose 0, only Lise pressed down 2 Silver Coins, causing a slight shock among the crowd, but they quickly understood—perhaps Lise saw Annan and Banjeet as the bad people controlling her, naturally thinking that both of them could commit murder.
But that was impossible, at least Banjeet wouldn’t do it—because the option ‘murder the other five people’ included murdering Annan.
Although Ashe and the others didn’t know how long Banjeet had lived with Annan, Banjeet was over sixty years old. To him, Annan could almost be considered his daughter. Plus, with no children of his own, how could he possibly murder Annan, his only family in reality?
But the reverse could be different. If Annan were driven by enough greed, she might be willing to murder Banjeet to satisfy her desires.
That’s why Igor placed his bet on one person. The most likely individual to answer “yes” among those present was Annan.
However, when the handkerchief was lifted, everyone was stunned.
4 “no” and 2 “yes”.
Among the six of them, there were two who would not hesitate to murder the others for the Divine Master’s Wish!
Igor looked around the group; he himself was a “no,” Lise was certainly a “no,” and Banjeet was likely a “no.”
This meant that the “yes” had to come from among Annan, Ashe, or Harvey!
Even if Annan took one spot, it was certain that either Ashe or Harvey was already mentally prepared to be a butcher!
Harvey goes without saying; after his escape from Shattered Lake Prison, he had already stepped on the path to destruction. Igor felt that his flight was merely a selection of the most tragic way to die; as for Ashe, even though Igor didn’t want to believe he was that kind of person—whether it was the faint sympathy Ashe showed for Lise, or his past actions, they all suggested that he hadn’t lost his humanity.
But what if it was all a facade?
And even if it had all been genuine before, did that prove there was no darkness in his heart at this moment?
He could show compassion to a little girl, he could lash out in anger over something that involved Ronald, and he could attack Eternal Calamity to avoid harming himself… but he could also harbor murderous intentions for the sake of the Divine Master’s Wish.
The third Rule of the Con Artist: everything in this world has a price for betrayal. With enough incentive, even the sunshine could betray the sun.
Faced with the immense benefit of the Divine Master’s Wish, any decision Ashe made would be entirely rational. Even if he were genuinely kind-hearted, it wouldn’t preclude him from occasional cruelty.
Moreover, Annan might not necessarily be the other “yes”. Compared to the former death row inmates, Annan had always been a grey area worker who abided by the law, which was evident from her being on the list—illegal activities significantly reduce the chance of making it onto the list.
Annan probably hadn’t caused the death of many people. Could someone whose hands were relatively clean of blood truly resolve to murder Banjeet, who had been with her for years, and the innocent young girl, Lise?
Was the choice between Ashe and Harvey one or the other… or both?
On the other side, Ashe was having similar thoughts.
There could be at most one “yes” between Banjeet and Annan. He was a “no,” Lise was a “no,” which meant there was another “yes” between Igor and Harvey.
One of them was a villain willing to kill everything to seize the Divine Master’s Wish.
As Ashe looked up, he caught Igor looking back at him.
This was the terror of Guess the True Heart.
You try to guess the true intentions of others, and they, in turn, try to guess yours. Seeds of doubt planted in the darkest places sprout into arguments, grow into conflicts, and eventually, the tree will be ignited by anger, painting the darkness of the soul with a blood-like hue.
Ashe sighed, “This is trouble. Lise, I didn’t expect there to be two bad guys here…”
Pretending to speak to Lise to avoid Igor’s gaze, Ashe missed the cold look she gave him, devoid of the affection from before.
She looked at him as if he were a weed, with not a hint of innocence in her eyes, and even a cold, cruel indifference.
Ashe was taken aback, wondering if she had reached her rebellious phase so soon?
“Only Lise guessed correctly; Lise gets one point, everyone else remains at zero,” Annan said, seemingly unconcerned with the previous issue, “Let’s move on to the next question.”
Even with the sun shining brightly outside, the atmosphere in the living room had become somewhat oppressive. Igor sighed inwardly; the first question had already planted seeds of suspicion in everyone’s hearts, and it was frightening to imagine what the second question might bring.
He drew the second slip of paper from the black box, his eyebrows lifting before he lunged towards Ashe, the two scuffling in an instant.
“Ashe!—”
“How do you know it was me who wrote it?!”
“Who else would be so childish?”
Harvey picked up the slip of paper Igor had put down and couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter:
“Ha ha, the question is…”
“Do you think Igor should wear pretty girl’s clothes?”
