What malicious intent could NPCs possibly have? C39.2

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Chp39. part2

It was Lu Juan speaking.

“This is the rear carriage broadcast. All carriages, take note: there’s a small square door on the corner wall. Open it, don’t be shocked. Be careful.”

He’d sent another hint, but it was too late this time. Ning Ge and the others had already found the Imposter and completed the mission themselves.

After this one sentence, Lu Juan fell silent.

Ning Ge deduced that Lu Juan must first complete his task before returning to the broadcast location to issue instructions to the entire train, which explained the delay.

The back carriage, after a fierce battle, finally managed to capture the Giant Spider and throw it out before the countdown expired.

When the half-hour timer ran out, the subway quietly stopped. One carriage must have failed to capture the spider and was now out of luck.

After waiting for a while, the train doors finally closed, and it quietly resumed its journey.

Having successfully passed another stage, they wondered how far they were from the legendary Terminal Station with the Anchor Point.

The train’s real broadcast finally came.

A sweet female voice announced: “This subway’s terminal station is Loop Line Station. Next stop: Jipingmen.”

As soon as the train started moving, the door between their carriage and the next automatically slid open. Pei Han asked Ning Ge, “Shall we continue towards the back?”

The question carried an air of certainty.

“Let’s go,” Ning Ge replied.

The door remained open for only a brief moment; they had barely stepped through when it slammed shut behind them.

There were about twenty-odd people left in the carriage. They had been fighting earlier, but after Pei Han’s suggestion, they had found the Giant Spider. Now, they all turned to watch the four newcomers, silent and expressionless.

Ning Ge and the others chose a corner at the far end of the carriage, keeping their distance from the crowd. They planned to stay in this carriage for just one stop before continuing to the rear of the train.

The atmosphere in the carriage was heavy, everyone holding their breath in tense anticipation of the next station.

Every face was etched with anxiety, for they all understood that each stop brought a new challenge. Some would pass, while others would be forever left behind in the darkness outside the train.

The distances between stations were short. Within minutes, the train’s intercom announced: “The train will soon arrive at Jipingmen.”

The train slowed and came to a halt. The door opened once more, its maw gaping toward the darkness, and a gust of wind swept through the carriage.

The new task had finally arrived.

The soft female voice on the intercom spoke again.

“Attention passengers: Imposters are hidden in each carriage. Passengers must clear the Imposters from the train within thirty minutes. Carriages that fail to do so will be inspected, and passengers will be disembarked and transferred to other trains.”

The announcement was almost identical to the previous one, with only slight differences in wording.

Yet this time, the female voice quickly added a new instruction: “Hint: Imposters are identified by a red circular mark on their wrists.”

Still a red circular mark, but this time on the wrist, not the back.

Ning Ge and Pei Han exchanged a look.

This situation was dire.

The broadcast mentioned “wrists.” A spider doesn’t have wrists, and animals don’t have wrists. Strictly speaking, even a monkey doesn’t have “wrists.”

The use of the word “wrists” strongly suggested that the Imposter was likely human or some other humanoid creature, such as a doll.

Moments later, the familiar ding-ding-ding-dong alert sounded again.

“If the Imposter is not cleared from the train within thirty minutes, the Imposter will not be required to disembark after this round.”

This was clearly a reward for the Imposter.

Owen chuckled softly. “Now that’s more like it. The Imposter should get a reward. Otherwise, it’s death either way. If some particularly self-sacrificing type sacrifices themselves to save everyone else, this game would be pointless.”

This time, the Imposter seemed to be a real person. As long as they hid successfully until the end and weren’t voted off, everyone on the train would disembark after the timer ran out, and only the Imposter would be spared.

Even with the broadcast’s clear hint, some still clung to false hope.

“Could there be another Giant Spider hidden somewhere?” someone asked.

They began frantically searching the train car, turning over every possible hiding spot, prying at things with screwdrivers, and even reopening the compartment where the spider had been hidden last time to check it again.

Ning Ge ignored them, secretly glancing at her wrist.

Her right wrist was clearly empty.

She checked her left wrist—still nothing.

She pushed aside the black bracelet on her left wrist, glanced at it briefly, and immediately let go, looking up.

In that instant, Ning Ge saw it clearly: hidden beneath her bracelet was a tiny, soybean-sized red circle.

She had no idea when it had appeared.

This luck is too good to be true, she thought. Out of over twenty people in this entire carriage, why did it have to be me?

Pei Han, standing close beside her, immediately sensed something was wrong with Ning Ge. Noticing her expression, he reached out and took her left hand, holding it in his palm.

The gesture looked like a natural act between lovers, and no one around paid any attention.

But Ning Ge knew he was concealing it with his hand. His thumb had lifted her bracelet to reveal the small red circle. He glanced at it, then removed his thumb, continuing to grip her hand tightly. He remained lost in thought, likely brainstorming ideas.

Ning Ge was also racking her brain for solutions.

Everyone will get a chance to survive, she reasoned. Based on the style of previous missions, there must be a way to save the other passengers while ensuring I, the Imposter, don’t actually have to die.

But what was the method?

Pei Han pondered for a moment, then suddenly released Ning Ge’s hand, unzipped his black shoulder bag, and quietly reached inside for something.

He placed a hand on Ning Ge’s shoulder, gently pulling her into his arms as if about to embrace her.

Owen raised an eyebrow, pretending not to notice.

The high school student, embarrassed by their public display of affection, turned his head away.

Pei Han, Ning Ge, and the carriage wall formed a corner shielded from everyone’s eyes.

Pei Han pulled out what he’d taken from the bag: a red permanent marker. He uncapped it.

The red tip indicated it was a red marker.

He must have seen it while putting things in his bag earlier.

He pushed up his bracelet and carefully drew a small red circle on his wrist, in the same position as Ning Ge’s.

The circle was quite similar to the one on Ning Ge’s wrist.

He examined it, seemingly satisfied. He covered the small red circle with his bracelet and casually put the marker away.

Ning Ge looked up at him, her gaze steady.

If the other passengers discovered she was an Imposter, they would tear her apart.

He intended to stand in front of her, taking the blame for her Imposter status.

Pei Han put away his pen and noticed Ning Ge had been watching him the whole time. He smiled at her and smoothed her hair, as if what he’d just done was no big deal.

The others had already been searching the subway car for a long time, turning it upside down.

The car’s layout wasn’t complicated, yet after such a thorough search, they hadn’t found a second Giant Spider, nor any dolls, photos, or anything else.

Finally, they came to their senses and started checking the passengers.

A man in a black T-shirt, his muscular arms exposed, stepped forward. He spoke with an authoritative tone, as if he were the de facto leader of the car, barking orders at everyone.

“The Imposter is probably just one person,” he declared. “Everyone, roll up your sleeves so we can check each other. If you’re the Imposter, there’s nothing we can do. We’ll have to ask you to leave. No hard feelings.”

Everyone immediately rolled up their sleeves.

Unlike their backs, which they couldn’t see, everyone had secretly checked their wrists when the announcement about the mark came on.

Ning Ge glanced around.

This time, everyone rolled up their sleeves willingly and cooperated with the check, knowing they had nothing to hide.

It seemed she was the only one with the marked “Imposter” bracelet.

The man in the black T-shirt and his companions began their systematic search from the far end of the carriage, meticulously checking each person one by one. They flipped hands over and over, not even sparing the area beneath the bracelets.

Pei Han waited quietly as they slowly approached.

Ning Ge knew he was stalling for time. The longer they remained undiscovered, the better for her.

Finally, they reached their section.

The entire carriage had nearly been searched. As the end drew near, tension mounted, as everyone knew that if an Imposter existed, they must be among the last few.

Gradually, all eyes turned to Ning Ge and the others at the end of the carriage.

Pei Han took a step forward.

“No need to check further,” he said, raising his hand and pulling off his bracelet to reveal the small red circle underneath. “It’s me.”

Even Owen and the middle schooler were startled.

The carriage fell silent.

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