Chapter 54: The 1924 Train Murder Case (27)

“All right, now you can talk. In the last round of voting, who exactly voted for Bartholomew and Mackey?”

Del was the first to raise her hand. “I voted for Bartholomew. What about you?”

Hurt Arnold, trembling, raised his hand. “Mackey.”

Adela, too. “Mackey.”

No one else answered.

The situation had become glaringly clear.

“Well, it seems James and the traitor both voted for Bartholomew.”

Del’s face was cold, her eyes fixed suspiciously on Tang Mu.

“Miss Tang Mu, I suspect you are the real culprit in this case. Because in the second round of the game, your betrayal was utterly shameless!”

“Oh.”

Faced with Del’s suspicion, Tang Mu’s emotional response was as stingy as could be.

While others prattled on, Tang Mu replied with only a single syllable.

This made Del furious.

And now Del seemed to have reached her breaking point.

She no longer cared about the game; she just wanted to drag everyone down with her—

Either they all died together, or she alone survived!

“I’m the murderer who killed with the dinner knife! But regardless of who killed with the dinner knife or the handgun, both come after the person who used the cyanide injector.”

“So, Miss Tang Mu, do you have anything more to say?”

Pressed by Del’s interrogation, Tang Mu no longer concealed herself.

“Yes, I’m the murderer. So what? Is there a problem? It’s just a pity: if I die, the players win, but the NPCs will never allow my death, you understand?”

This was too much for Del.

It was as if a string in her mind had suddenly snapped. What she did next was not the result of any deep thought—she just acted.

Del rushed to the victim, grabbed the sealed box containing anthrax clutched to the corpse’s chest, and smashed it violently on the ground.

The box shattered.

The unknown bacteria inside swiftly spread out.

Inside the train, both NPCs and players turned pale with terror, terrified of being infected by this horrifying germ.

Tang Mu was frightened as well.

But her fear stemmed mostly from the thought of dying of anthrax infection—a death that left the corpse far from presentable.

So she immediately stood up from the sofa seat.

In two or three steps, she crossed from the sofa to the conductor’s compartment, knocking forcefully on Eli’s door.

Not every train car was locked.

To prevent any crazed individuals from breaking in with brute force, Tang Mu had to find a truly safe haven to survive until the game ended.

“Mr. Eli, the sealed box with anthrax broke, I—”

The door opened.

Tang Mu was yanked inside by a strong, firm hand.

Eli’s face was tense and anxious.

He pulled her into the compartment, then nervously scrutinized her from head to toe, checking for any wounds.

If there were any, Tang Mu would be 100% infected.

But Tang Mu just smiled. “So, you worry about me too.” Yan Xingwen had never shown such concern for whether she was hurt. Perhaps, even if he cared, he’d never show it on his face.

When she was young, Tang Mu’s hands would blister from practicing marksmanship with Yan Xingwen.

He’d seen this before and not only refused to comfort her, but continued to apply force to her right arm.

He’d said that if he truly loved someone, he would never let her become useless. He would teach her the most powerful techniques of attack, and the art of mastering the minds of others.

He told her, though he wished she would depend on him alone, she must be the kind of Queen who could hold her own against the world.

Only in this way, when faced with danger, would she not panic.

He wanted her to grow up as the most dazzling and poisonous rose, blooming in the most barren soil.

Proud and beautiful, but also sharp and venomous.

Only then could she truly say: better she betray the world than let the world betray her.

Thinking back on those cherished memories, Tang Mu’s mood was far from pleasant now. Because at this point, she was the only one who remembered them.

Yan Xingwen had completely lost all memory of their happiness together.

“Mr. Eli, I think your actions are a bit beyond the rules of this game. After all, I might already be infected with anthrax. Aren’t you afraid?”

As Tang Mu spoke, she draped her arms around Eli’s neck.

Her petite body pressed against his solid, searing chest.

But truth be told, Eli was not pleased.

There was anger burning in him.

He pushed Tang Mu away.

And told her to mind her manners.

“If I’m not mistaken, Miss Tang Mu, you have a boyfriend.”

“Oh, do I?” Tang Mu acted as though she had already forgotten what her ex looked like.

“So what?”

“So you and I should maintain our distance.”

Tang Mu let out a little laugh.

Then, feigning seriousness, she replied, “Oh, but to be honest, my ex has been gone for a long time. I think rather than wasting my time waiting for someone who might never come back from the dead, I might as well find someone new. Don’t you think so?”

Eli was speechless.

What was there to say?

Should he say Tang Mu was flirting with disaster?

Or that she was so fickle in love, always chasing after new excitement and never staying true?

Eli was furious.

But all he could do was endure it.

He gritted his teeth so hard the veins stood out on his forehead.

“Miss Tang Mu. If you don’t value this chance to save your life, you can leave right now.”

“I do value it. How could I not?” Tang Mu grinned mischievously. “I value it so much I could offer myself to you as a gift. What more do you want?”

“And besides, Mr. Eli. Don’t you think this environment is just perfect for a man and a woman to do something a bit indecent? Why don’t we start right now?”

Eli nearly spat out the word “get out.”

If he were Yan Xingwen, he would have pinned Tang Mu to the bed by now and made sure she couldn’t get up.

But he was not Yan Xingwen, he was Eli.

Tang Mu’s behavior was not the sweet play between lovers, but outright cheating and betrayal.

How was Eli supposed to tolerate that?

He took a deep breath. “I am a man of principle. I don’t get involved with women who haven’t made a clean break with their exes. Please, Miss Tang Mu, have some self-respect.”

…

His words were harsh, but Tang Mu just wanted to laugh.

But before she could, something unexpected disrupted her composure.

Suddenly, a force from outside slammed the door of the conductor’s compartment open with a bang.

Eli reacted quickly, shoving the door shut and locking it again.

Outside, someone was pounding on the door in a frenzy. “Mr. Eli, the woman hiding with you is the murderer! Are you really going to openly harbor a killer?!”

It was Del’s voice.

Del had lost all restraint.

Eli did not respond.

Nor did Tang Mu.

Only Del was left outside, pounding and screaming at the door.

“I knew it! This game was never meant to let anyone survive! You just want us all dead! We’re people! Living, breathing people! Why do you treat us like puppets? I refuse to accept it!”

There was another round of banging and clattering.

But the character "Del" was a woman, after all.

After a while, Del’s strength gave out, and she could no longer keep pounding.