Fragments

When the words fell, silence surrounded them.

The Goatee Horror didn't speak a word, merely lifting its formerly drooping eyelids and curling its lips upward.

Ji Xiting watched it with desperate hopefulness, its short, rapid breathing standing out clearly in the quiet.

"Oh." It was Madam who finally broke the silence. "Now that's interesting. This one's genuinely interesting."

It gazed appreciatively at the head of The Murderer.

"What a pretty little boy. Drying the bloodstains off and displaying him like this—that's an art in itself."

Zhu Yan observed cautiously.

These horrors' reactions weren't intense, but at the very least, he had their complete attention.

Over a dozen pairs of eyes—some sinister, some excited—were fixed on him. He could see the hidden smile beneath The Murderer's mask.

None of them had voiced an opinion yet. They were all likely anticipating something even more thrilling.

Zhu Yan calculated the time.

About twenty minutes left.

"Before the surveillance cameras were installed in the Kitchen, I once probed Dragonfly from the Lazy Man's Craft Shop, digging for information about the players and their leaders."

"What it let slip shocked me."

Zhu Yan let out a soft laugh, looking at the head of "Zhu Zeyu."

Dropping a disguise and fishing for a reaction in a situation like this—it felt fantastic.

"It told me that The Murderer is close to the player leaders, deeply trusted by them."

That wasn't exactly a lie, either.

Yang Zhanbai, Qi Yinming, Shen Zichen, and the others—they all held considerable influence and voice among the players.

Aren't these people blindly trusting of him, Zhu Yan... ah, no, Zhu Zeyu?

The horrors smiled knowingly. Madam leaned forward, unfolding a small folding fan to half-cover her face.

"My, my," it giggled. "So the owner of the Lazy Man's Craft Shop tends to leak bits and pieces now and then. But to pry that much out of them—impressive."

Seeing Madam's appreciation for the head chef, an unnatural flush crept across Ji Xiting's face.

Zhu Yan noticed it. Though he couldn't tell what emotion that blush signified, he promptly praised Ji Xiting anyway.

"It wasn't my doing," he said, lowering his head respectfully. "Dragonfly told me that before coming to the Kitchen, it got caught by Mr. Ji for being lazy."

"It fears Mr. Ji's power, so it didn't dare act up and let a little slip."

It was a clever lie.

Except for the last sentence being untrue, every other word was the truth, and it neatly explained the source of the information.

As for Ji Xiting—when this thing turned into a horror, it was probably just an immature child at heart.

With a little provocation like this, it would absolutely jump in and claim all the credit for itself.

Sure enough, the horror in the form of a young man proudly lifted its chin. "Indeed."

"That dragonfly lied to me, so I punished it severely."

Ji Xiting looked at the head chef, feeling that it really ought to pay more attention to its subordinates in the future.

Leaving aside everything else, if it could promote more people like this "head chef," its status and its household would be rock solid—no worries at all.

With Ji Xiting vouching for him, combined with Dragonfly's known tendency to be loose-lipped, none of the other horrors doubted Zhu Yan's source of information.

Seeing that no one raised any objections, Zhu Yan continued his smooth talk.

"What we see as The Murderer is, in the players' eyes, a leader out in the open."

"So, as this dish slowly sinks, you distinguished ladies and gentlemen can enjoy two entirely different expressions."

"First, there will be shock and grief."

"And when the Murderer's mark on their hands is revealed, when The Murderer's identity is exposed..."

Zhu Yan thought of Yang Zhanbai and smiled. "Then you'll get to enjoy the fury of being deceived."

"Besides, isn't the theme of this banquet 'Angels and Redemption'?"

He pointed at that delicious corpse.

"Helping the players kill a traitor like The Murderer—isn't that being a savior?"

"Putting Key Fragment No. 5 in The Murderer's mouth—isn't that the guidance of the Morning Star?"

Madam's somewhat sagging eyes narrowed, the exposed muscles around them stiffening and contracting—she was smiling.

Zhu Yan grew even more excited as he spoke.

"The rules say players can trade The Murderer's corpse for clues about the Key Fragments."

"Under extreme hunger and rage, will they remember that rule?"

"If they don't, the belated regret is delicious; if they do..."

The smile at the corner of Zhu Yan's mouth stretched wider.

He mimicked the rigid curve of The Murderer's mouth, his eyes curving into soft parallelograms.

"Then, the clue to the Key Fragment will point directly to you distinguished guests."

"When they fight their way here with all their strength and see this scene—how could that not count as a redemption born of despair?"

Madam laughed with delight.

"A banquet should always stay on theme," she said in her lilting voice. "He's covered everything. Mr. Ji's little game isn't boring after all. I cast my vote in favor."

The delicate fan covered the lower half of her face as Madam swept her gaze around the room.

"Any objections?"

Thunk!

The Murderer slammed a short axe, caked with rust and grime, deep into the tabletop.

"Agreed," it rasped.

Ji Xiting was breathing heavily; Zhu Yan wasn't sure whether horrors needed to breathe, but its chest rose and fell violently, its face a clear display of anticipation, excitement, and nervousness all at once.

"This was all my plan!" it shouted, hands clenched tight. "I won't let you down—absolutely not!"

The horrors began raising their hands one after another.

Until finally, the one with the goatee delivered the verdict.

"Fine," it said, its eyelids drooping again. "I agree."

"Oh, you old thing," Madam said with a laugh.

Zhu Yan lowered his head, looking at the uniform he wore.

There was still some time, but probably not much.

Maybe ten minutes, or five.

He needed to get his hands on Key Fragment No. 5 as soon as possible!

"Then, ladies and gentlemen."

He bowed to both sides, urging them on with subtle impatience.

"We hope to provide you all with the most comfortable viewing experience. If you would like to begin the game now, I will continue to serve you delicious dishes throughout the proceedings."

Zhu Yan glanced at Ji Xiting again, deliberately buttering him up. "This is Mr. Ji's splendid design."

Ji Xiting leapt to its feet, eager to claim it.

"Mine!" it laughed heartily. "Head Chef, go bring out the other raw cuts right away."

"Set them out right here, right on the floor!"

As he spoke, Ji Xiting, without a shred of dignity, crawled across the table, came up to Zhu Yan, and hopped twice.

"This is the venue I arranged."

"The ground I'm standing on right now is the very heart of the main hub—this is the table where the players eat!"

"Hahahaha! What we're stepping on right now is the providence that players will be rushing to look up at!"

It was so excited that its face had turned red, pushing at Zhu Yan, urging him to get the meat out on the table.

That long-goateed horror stood up and raised a hand to stop Ji Xiting in his tracks.

Zhu Yan couldn't help but tense up.

He held his breath, but the creature merely extended a hand with very long fingernails and pulled a gleaming white [Key Fragment] from its pocket.

"Head chef."

The Goatee Horror stepped forward, placed the pale fragment into the puppet's mouth, and it began to float gently into the air.

"Go serve the dishes, and bring back the other four key fragments while you're at it."