Chapter 65

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“Untie me,” A gruff voice growled from the ground. Li Xiao had recovered from his abnormal state. His eyes were focused and clear, even his typical hostility was back.

Their sweet moment was suddenly interrupted, and Bai Zhi remembered where they were. She wanted to push Zhao Zixun away, but he just pulled her closer. Glancing at Li Xiao, he said, “No, you’re too dangerous.”

Li Xiao glared, “You damn traitor… You tricked me to go out and bring you information…”

“The man is dead; your revenge is complete. How did I trick you?” Zhao Zixun sneered. “You could have stayed outside. Why did you come back?”

Li Xiao struggled fiercely against the ropes, “Hurry up and untie me!”

Bai Zhi jumped back.

Zhao Zixun squeezed her waist reassuringly. In a deep, he asserted, “I can untie you, but first tell me your rules, and why you returned.”

Li Xiao stopped struggling, “My rules are simple: kill the prison guards and warden. As for why I came back…” He glanced at Zheng Ze, “Are you sure you want me to tell you in front of him?”

Bai Zhi followed Li Xiao’s gaze and discovered that Zheng Ze had woken up some time ago. The expression on his face was not one of fear but bewilderment and surprise.

“He will die soon,” Zhao Zixun said.

Bai Zhi shuddered in his arms. Zhao Zixun smoothed her hair and whispered, “If I don’t kill him now, he will come after me sooner or later.”

“Wait! I’ll talk! Fuck, don’t kill me. What I have to say is very important…” Zheng Ze desperately shouted.

“I get to decide whether it’s important or not,” Zhao Zixun snorted.

“I—! I know Gu Ze and Xiao Yang’s rules! I’ll tell you everything and even spy on them for you… Don’t kill me.” The long-haired man panicked. “Li Xiao, my rules are the same as yours! We can win together…”

“Fuck off,” Li Xiao turned away in disgust.

“Talk. Let’s see if you can satisfy me,” Zhao Zixun let go of Bai Zhi and looked down at the bound man condescendingly.

“I’ll talk, I’ll talk… Gu Ze and Xiao Yang’s rules are the same as mine: kill the prison guards and warden, and overthrow the prison order.”

Zhao Zixun slammed his foot down on Zheng Ze’s head, “Four people with the same rules, are you fucking with me?!”

“I-It’s true… They told me themselves. Gao Qiu’s rule is to kill the ‘traitors’ among the prisoners and protect the three of us… That’s why we teamed up… They told me all of this personally! I swear!” Zheng Ze argued. His long hair flopped from side to side against the floor. The sticky, dried blood became coated in dust. (🤢 Blergh)

Zhao Zixun removed his foot.

“Hmph, bull.” Li Xiao snorted, “Either you’re lying, or they’re pulling your leg.”

“You’ve been fooled, Zheng Ze,” Zhao Zixun sneered.

“Wha-What?” Zheng Ze’s expression was turbulent and confused.

“Out of nine prisoners, there are four ‘revolutionaries’ who want to overthrow the prison order. Do you think that’s logical? Impossible, it would destroy the entire power dynamic of this game.”

“What’s a ‘revolutionary’, and what’s a ‘traitor’? I-I’m a little confused…” Bai Zhi asked at a loss.

Zhao Zixun explained: “My theory is that of the nine prisoners remaining, there are three different types. The first is the ‘revolutionaries’ like Li Xiao and Zheng Ze. If they want to win, they must kill the guards and warden, and overthrow the prison order. The second is the ‘traitors’. Although they are prisoners, they actually stand on the side of the guards. Their rules are to protect the warden and kill the revolutionaries. The last is ‘ordinary prisoners’. They must protect the revolutionaries and expose the traitors.”

“So… it’s like that…” Bai Zhi said in shock. Her head was spinning with the new information, and she worked hard to make sense of it all.

“And then there’s the most basic rule of all: just kill. No matter what stage the game is in, as long as the number of prisoners reaches a certain threshold, all of them are considered winners.” Li Xiao added.

“How many people is the threshold?” Bai Zhi asked.

“Dunno,” Li Xiao licked his lips, “but we can find out.”

Bai Zhi trembled.

Zhao Zixun gave a grim smile and leaned down over Zheng Ze. “Zheng Ze, let me tell you once and for all, the only ‘revolutionaries’ in the entire prison are just you and Li Xiao. Gu Ze and Xiao Yang are lying to you.”

Zheng Ze lay dazed, not yet recovered from the shock.

Zhao Zixun looked down at him disdainfully. He gave him one final jab, “And, I don’t need you to spy on Gu Ze’s little group. You just need to worry about your own little life; don’t become their sacrificial lamb.”

Li Xiao raised a brow and watched Zheng Ze stand up unsteadily and stagger, without even cleaning his dirty appearance, out of the small attic space.

“Zhao Zixun, you really are a cunning old fox,” Li Xiao said.

TL Woes:

Anyone else surprised that there are only 9 prisoners left (I can’t remember if that is including the warden or not)? I was always under the impression that there were many more because of the scale of things… Granted, there have been at least three deaths (two since BZ’s arrival), and we don’t know how many prisoners there were to begin with.

I always feel like I’m reading this novel for the first time, even though it’s actually the third time now (there are certain chapters I’ve read more than three times, cough). I mostly skimmed through the, ahem, non-essential parts, but you’d think I’d still remember some of it… LOL

P.S. I’ve caught up! Hallelujah!

Other resources: Character List

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