"Betrayal? How did he betray you?"
"Heh! You don't need to know! You just need to know that he died by my hand!"
A fierce glint flashed in Yang Peng's eyes, mixed with fanaticism and brutality.
"So that scalpel was originally yours?"
"Heh, he gave it to me, and I returned it to him in another way. It turns out that humans killed by it become Anomalies, and it's lucky that scalpel became an Anomaly Item, otherwise...heheheh..."
Bai Yuze finally understood why Yang Peng hadn't directly killed Yukinoshita Yukino and Yui Yuigahama in the basement. It turned out he was afraid they would become Anomalies and leave him nowhere to hide.
As for why Yamauchi Haruki was killed by Bai Yuze, it was because he had been possessed by an Anomaly at the time and was no longer considered human.
"Forget it, I won't waste any more words with you. After all, standing on your tiptoes like this must be uncomfortable, right? Let me help you find release."
Yang Peng approached Bai Yuze, holding a scalpel in one hand and a cleaver in the other.
However, Bai Yuze showed no fear, which somewhat disappointed Yang Peng.
"I thought I'd get to see you crying, a look of despair! How boring!"
"I haven't lost my mind. If you kill me, I'll just loop, and then all your plans will be for nothing."
Bai Yuze was well aware of Yang Peng's twisted sense of humor, which sent a chill down his spine. He, a straight man, was being teased by someone else! And that someone was a man!
If word of this got out, he'd never be able to hold his head up again!
"I have one last question. How did you cast the illusion on us?"
Yang Peng smiled, then picked up the clock that was leaning against the wall.
"Did you really think controlling time was that easy? Everything comes at a price."
The clock could adjust the time within the residence, but the cost was a decrease in sensory perception. If used more than three times, it would release an illusion centered on itself, covering the entire residence, including the basement.
Yui Yuigahama was initially focused on the clock, but Yang Peng used an Anomaly Item to affect Yui Yuigahama's senses, making her unaware that someone had broken in.
After knocking Yui Yuigahama unconscious, Yang Peng took the clock and hid in Room 104. Only after hearing Yukinoshita Yukino's movements did he set the clock, plunging everyone into the illusion.
"So, when you set the clock, the Front Desk and I were still in the basement?"
"Yes! It took me a lot of effort to get you two out!"
"Then how did you escape the illusion?"
Bai Yuze was a little surprised. The reason illusions are so hard to distinguish is that they fill in all the doubts, slowly making people lose their suspicion of the illusion. The Yukinoshita Yukino and Yui Yuigahama in the illusion saving them in critical moments was also for this reason.
Even he had almost fallen for such a powerful illusion, yet Yang Peng had directly broken free from its control.
Yang Peng truly was an unfathomable individual!
"Heh, it was just a mere illusion... How could I possibly be affected by it?"
"Mmmph mmmph mmmph!"
The Front Desk made sounds from the side, but because his mouth was gagged, no one could understand what he was mumbling.
"Almost forgot about you, my old friend. Are you happy to see me?"
Yang Peng walked over and pulled the rag out of the Front Desk's mouth.
"Yang Peng, I didn't expect you to still go down this path."
"Hahaha, don't be so absolute. Humans are self-interested creatures. I really had no other choice but to resort to such a desperate measure.
Although we were once companions, we are ultimately not on the same path. I can't be as selfless as you, but you two are ultimately just hypocrites. After all, someone who abandons their teammates has no right to be compared with me!"
"Liu Hua and I didn't abandon..."
"Shut up! I don't want to hear that guy's name!"
Yang Peng suddenly became enraged, raising his foot and forcefully stomping on the Front Desk's face, using this method to force him to shut up.
The Front Desk's nasal bone was broken, and blood flowed freely.
"If you want to kill me, then kill me, but please spare these poor children. They never harmed you from beginning to end."
The Front Desk, Liu Hua, and Yang Peng were once so-called 'players,' but the newcomers they encountered at the time sacrificed Yang Peng, using his death to ensure everyone else's survival.
Yang Peng didn't understand. He had helped others so much, yet why wouldn't they even give him one chance?
They had only survived because of his help, so why did they have the nerve to ask him to sacrifice himself?
He always led the charge in every adventure, yet why couldn't he earn anyone's true sincerity?
Over time, Yang Peng's heart became twisted under the influence of the residence. He was granted new powers by the residence, becoming a half-human, half-Anomaly creature...
And the first thing he did after gaining power was to seek revenge on those ungrateful wretches. Death was a release, but anger would persist.
To be precise, the current Yang Peng was no longer human, but a walking corpse controlled by the fire of revenge!
As for Liu Hua, due to his indifference, Yang Peng directly stabbed him to death with a scalpel.
This also corresponded to what the poem said: indifference can save you from many troubles, but it can also bring you more troubles!
To stop his former good friend from continuing to make mistakes, the Front Desk willingly became the Front Desk here. However, due to being bound by the rules, he remained in an ambiguous position, sometimes helping, sometimes not.
Consequently, many newcomers died because of his ambiguous attitude...
"I think, can't we just talk things over?"
"Heh! What's there to talk about! You're a suicide, so it's inconvenient for me to kill you, but I never said I'd let him go!"
One of Yang Peng's hands became incredibly thick, looking like it could instantly crush the Front Desk's head, and he was indeed preparing to do so.
"Is there really no room for discussion?"
Bai Yuze wanted to persuade Yang Peng to turn back, but Yang Peng was already on the verge of victory, so how could he listen to Bai Yuze!
"Discuss? You have no bargaining chips, and you're not on equal footing to negotiate with me. Why should I discuss anything with you?"
"Alright... Then I'll find someone to discuss it with you!"
After saying this, Bai Yuze suddenly shouted at the Front Desk.
"Mr. Front Desk! I report that this guy in front of me is illegally keeping pets!"
Bai Yuze's words stunned Yang Peng. When did he keep pets...?
No! The iron chain he used to tie Bai Yuze was precisely the dog leash Bai Yuze had found in the basement!
A dog leash on a person, and a person is also an animal, so by extension, he was violating the rules by keeping pets!
Ever since Yang Peng became half-human, half-Anomaly, he could connect with the residence and share the sounds and locations of the residence's creatures.
This was his main reliance in confronting the three of them. He hadn't expected that what he initially thought was a casual remark from Bai Yuze could actually trap him!
Damn it! I killed myself!
Upon hearing Bai Yuze's voice, the Front Desk suddenly froze! Then his eyes glowed red, and he directly broke free from the restraints of the iron chain!
His body was constantly growing larger, and his arm was already thicker than Yang Peng's arm.
"Um... can we reconcile?"
Yang Peng was met only by the Front Desk's fist, as large as a stone pillar!