Chapter 150

Lin Tu opened her eyes. She had put on her down jacket before entering, yet the cold seeped into her bones.

She sat up in bed and realized she was in a large dormitory with over a dozen people. Her hand brushed against three items: two booklets and a communicator. One was an introduction to the occupations, the other was her identity card.

The card was green—she was on the good side.

Before she could examine it, she sensed someone approaching. She quickly stashed it away and looked up.

A thin young man in his twenties, face dotted with acne, stood before her. A white number "12" floated above his head.

He gave her a once-over and offered a slight nod. "Nice to meet you. I'm 37."

Lin Tu nodded back.

He grinned. "Cannibal."

Lin Tu: "???"

She'd studied the disaster introduction thoroughly before coming in, so she knew what a Cannibal was. Wasn't that one of the bad-guy roles? And he'd just waltzed up and told her his identity outright. How was that different from self-destructing?

But Lin Tu quickly steadied herself. In games like this, there were no fools.

A bad guy revealing themselves from the start could only mean one thing: they were looking for help. But Lin Tu knew she was good. So there had to be another reason...

Before entering the game, Lin Tu had gathered plenty of intel. Though she'd never encountered a disaster quite like this in [Infinite Calamity], she'd drawn inspiration from similar games in this world. Her occupation had made Zheng Ka assume she was a bad guy.

"Thief," she said. Those were the only two bad-guy roles she knew from the intro. She didn't dare imitate a Serial Killer, who might come with special equipment, so she went with Thief.

"No knife?" 12 sounded disappointed.

Lin Tu shook her head.

The disaster forbade random killing. As the note said, you had to play your role faithfully—only occupation-specific skills could be used.

"Annoying. Then we'll need other allies, or make our move at night. By the way—" He stopped when he saw she was being quiet. "So? Stick together or go solo?"

"Let's exchange contacts, then go solo for now." Lin Tu held up the communicator the disaster had given her—her phone had been confiscated the moment she entered. "If you find someone with a knife, let me know, and I'll join you."

"Fine." They added each other as friends, and 12 left.

Only then did Lin Tu pull out her identity card.

[Idiot (Green): You know nothing, so you gain everyone's trust. To good guys with special detection abilities, you appear as a green name; to bad guys, you appear as a red name.

Daily Quest: None.

Next-tier Skill: None.

Faction Quest: Follow everyone to get the ship back on track.]

Lin Tu: "..." This wasn't an Idiot. It was an Ultimate Slacker.

Slacking was nice, but for someone like Lin Tu, whose enemy was on this very ship, she'd have traded for a professional killer. At least then there'd be a chance...

She opened the occupation handbook. Every occupation that could kill had a star marked next to it, making them easy to spot. As a good guy, she wouldn't covet other good-guy occupation cards for now. Among the bad guys, there were twelve knife-wielding roles—besides the aforementioned Serial Killer, there was also the Cannibal Hunter, and others.

She picked up her communicator. She still had only 12 as a friend. The remaining survivor count hadn't changed; it would only change during assembly and court sessions, which happened once a day at lunchtime. Other times, special occupations or good guys who discovered bodies could call for an alarm, allowing up to three court sessions per day.

She hoped 12 would quickly find his Cannibal Hunter, or someone else with a knife. After all, in her eyes as an Idiot, everyone was a white name—she couldn't tell good from bad.

She hopped off the bed and was just about to wander outside when she heard a distant bell toll.

Instinctively, Lin Tu glanced at the communicator. The remaining survivor count had changed to 99. The next second, her vision blurred, and she found herself in the main hall on the second floor of the ship.

Ninety-nine people sat around a circular table. A beam of light shone down from above, revealing a corpse laid out on the table.

"Order!" As the NPC judge set up the countdown, Lin Tu took the opportunity to scan for Yi Ying and the others. She quickly spotted them and mouthed a gesture toward the door of the deck. All of them blinked in acknowledgment.

"Now, the reporter who discovered the body may state their account—"

In the darkened hall, another beam of light fell. A girl shot to her feet. "I want to report 36 and 97—one of them must be the killer! Didn't we all spawn in the dorms at the start? I heard noises from the next room when we began, so I used my skill to look. Guess what I saw—"

Before she could finish, a shadow dropped from above. A massive bloody hole appeared on her forehead.

Under the bright spotlight, there was a dull thud as she pitched forward onto the circular table. The crowd fell into dead silence.

"No. 42 has died to an Assassin kill." The NPC judge's voice was ice-cold.

Assassin. Lin Tu recalled the handbook's explanation—a bad-guy occupation that could kill without a knife.

[Assassin (Red): Once you confirm someone's occupation in court, you may assassinate them. You may only assassinate once per day.]

So that's why No. 42 died. Her words "I used my skill to look" had given away her occupation. Lin Tu quickly matched it to the handbook.

[Watcher (Green): You can see through walls to observe what's happening on the other side.]

"Statement over. Now it's free discussion. Raise your hand first; speak only when the light lands on you."

One person raised their hand and shouted, "Where's the doctor?! Heal her!"

[Doctor (Green): You may heal one person per day if they died or were injured within 1 hour.]

Another raised their hand. "Are you insane?! Or are you a bad guy? Doctor, don't listen to him—don't reveal yourself to heal! You saw how the Assassin kills. If the Doctor heals her now, the Assassin will kill the Doctor tomorrow!"

72 raised their hand. "Let her die. Have the Scientist resurrect her and strip her occupation card. Otherwise, the Assassin knows her occupation. Even if the Doctor saves her, the Assassin will kill her again at the next court session. She'd just be XP for the Assassin!"

[Scientist (Green): You may clone one person per day to resurrect them. The resurrected player will receive a new occupation card at random, but their faction remains unchanged.]

What she said made sense. Every occupation had daily quests, and the XP accumulated could be used to level up, unlocking higher-tier skills. Assassins definitely had daily quests too. If they leveled up, they'd become even more unstoppable.

Another hand went up. "What about the one who just died? Does he just die in vain?"

He hadn't been dead for a full hour—the Doctor could still save him... The thought crossed Lin Tu's mind as everyone looked around. But no one stepped forward. Clearly, the Doctor was afraid of dying too.

28 raised their hand and spoke earnestly, "Why must we fight and kill? We're all comrades. If we all refuse to do our quests and just wait out the three months, we can all pass. Let's unite!"

Lin Tu watched him in silence. His idea was noble, but in this kind of game, it was completely impossible. One bad apple would destroy the whole group's trust.

Sure enough, another hand went up. "Then tell me, how did No. 42 and the one on the table die? You want to unite with others, but they'd rather kill you to pass."

When he sat down, no other hands rose. The round table fell back into darkness and silence.

The second hand ticked away. Their time wasn't infinite. When the timer ran out, they would raise their hands to vote. If abstentions were fewer than the highest vote count—and there was no tie for the highest—the person with the most votes would be executed.

Someone raised their hand. "Since No. 42 sacrificed herself to make that accusation, let's at least have 36 and 97 defend themselves. One of you two must be the killer. After both speak, we'll vote."

36 had the smaller number, so he stood up first. "I really don't know anything! I heard noises from next door, so I ran over to check, and I saw the body. Before I could report it, No. 42 already had. I can't say what my occupation is, but it's definitely not bad-guy. Please believe me—even if you abstain, don't just vote randomly!"

97 spoke up: "Listen to me, everyone. There's not just me and 36—there's also 86. I was indeed roommates with the dead man, but that doesn't mean I killed him. The two of us were exchanging info when someone knocked. 36 and 86 came to verify identities and group up. We were talking when 86 suddenly lashed out and killed my roommate! He threatened to kill us if we touched our communicators. Maybe No. 42's skill had limitations, and she didn't see 86."

Now everyone turned to 86. He looked agitated. "They're both lying! I'm the dead man's roommate! They're both wolves!"

One of three, and everyone was stumped.

Even before voting started, Lin Tu had already quietly pressed abstain on her communicator. Simple—she really wanted a bad-guy occupation card. With this measly [Idiot] role, she couldn't even touch her enemy if she met them.

Besides, if it came to a vote, Lin Tu would still abstain.

Among the good guys, there was a [Detective (Green): Can check one person per day to see if they've killed.] The best course was to have the Detective check 86 first—since his testimony differed from the other two. If 86 had killed, he'd be exposed as a bad guy. If not, the other two were the bad guys.

Voting without evidence was just throwing yourself into a trap.

Clearly, everyone else felt the same. When voting came around, abstentions outnumbered the highest vote count, so no one was executed in this session.

"I'm the Captain!" Just as the court was about to close, No. 55 suddenly stood up. "The Assassin can't kill me! If any of you have info to share in court, come find me, and I'll say it for you! All good guys, we need to stick together!"

A flash of white light, and Lin Tu was back in the dorm.

She rose and quickly made her way to the deck entrance as arranged.

Outside, not only were Yi Ying and the others waiting, but dozens of other players were lurking in their own corners.

Lin Tu walked over to Yi Ying's group. "Let's go to the corner first."

Given the variety of scouting and peeping occupations, and since it was free time, Lin Tu didn't ask directly. Instead, she added everyone's communicator IDs, created a group chat, and asked there:

"What are your occupations? I'm an Idiot."

The others: "..." It took a moment, but they realized she meant the occupation.

Yi Ying: "I'm a Chef." [Chef (Green): You may claim thirty meals per day to provide to others.]

Luo Yongzhi: "I'm a Medium." [Medium (Green): Consume thirty meals/wood to summon a dead person and have them answer one question (they will only answer yes or no).]

Guan Suiyue: "I'm an Avenger." [Avenger (Green): After witnessing a murder, you gain the ability to kill within 5 minutes.]

Liu Sheng: "I'm a Guard." [Guard (Green): Designate one person to protect. When they take damage, you absorb half of it.]

Kou Lin: "I'm a Mechanic." [Mechanic (Green): You can travel anywhere through pipes. You can check at any time if someone is sabotaging the ship's facilities and lock onto the nearest saboteur for ten seconds.]

After everyone spoke, only Guan Suixing had remained silent.

She looked annoyed and typed: "I'm the Doctor."

Guan Suiyue was pleased. "You didn't jump out just now. Xingxing, you've grown."

Guan Suixing rolled her eyes. "Guan Suiyue, are you insane?! I'm not stupid!" Jumping out meant certain death. So she'd been thinking of a better way—could she save the dead guy and find out who killed him?

"Liu Sheng, protect her." Lin Tu decided on the spot.

"Oh, right..." Liu Sheng quickly linked his Guard skill with Guan Suixing.

"Sister Lin, no need..." Guan Suixing scratched her head. She really wouldn't do something dumb...

Then Lin Tu continued: "Yi Ying, go claim food and give it to Luo Yongzhi so he can summon the dead guy—ask if 86 killed him. Guan Suixing, don't go save the first one who died. Go save No. 42 instead. Have Kou Lin take the pipes to get you there."

Guan Suixing nodded immediately. "No problem!"

Guan Suiyue turned to see her sister acting like someone else was her big sister now, and shot Lin Tu a rather aggrieved look. "What about you?"

"I'm the Idiot, aren't I? I'm going to go fool some people." Lin Tu crooked a finger at Guan Suiyue. "Follow me at a distance."

That was easier said than done. Lin Tu had no idea who the bad guys were. She wandered around for a bit, but no bad guy approached her. Deciding she'd have to squeeze 12 for information, she opened her communicator: "Found someone with a knife?"

"Found one," 12 replied, sounding helpless. "But they don't want me. I'm a Cannibal—I eat corpses and spit out food supplies. But I can only eat half; I can't make the body disappear. They think the supplies aren't worth it."

"I'm a Thief. I can look like the dead guy. If we team up, I can be useful." Lin Tu coaxed. "Eat the head part, and I'll take their form to blend in. Even if the body's found, no one will catch me."

12 was astonished. "Genius!"

"Hurry to the third floor. They're all there. I'll talk to them now."

Lin Tu shot Guan Suiyue a look and ran toward the third floor.

About seven or eight bad guys were gathered there.

When Lin Tu showed up with a red name, no one suspected her.

"Thief?" 62 asked.

Lin Tu nodded and glanced around. She didn't see 36 or the others who'd made a scene in court. Probably smart—unless they wanted to get voted out, they'd better not make a move until someone else died.

"Good. You two, stick with me—we'll group up. I happen to know a group, and we can blend in with them."

Lin Tu studied this 62—a thirty-something man with sharp, cunning eyes. She lowered her head, then looked up with feigned surprise. "Brother, you've got a knife?"

"Of course." 62 sounded a bit impatient. "I'm a Serial Killer. I can kill one person a day. Each day I get a random target—kill them and I level up, increasing my daily kills to two."

"Wow," 12 said, before Lin Tu could even think of a reply, already clinging to 62. "Brother, you're amazing! If we stick with you, our XP will skyrocket!"

Watching 12 who'd been ice-cold to her moments ago but now blazing hot toward 62, Lin Tu: "..." This Cannibal really had two faces.

Still, this showed that the Cannibal's leveled-up skills must be formidable.

Whether anyone else appreciated that, 62 ate it up. He waved a hand. "Enough chatter. I'll take you to her. Just follow me."

The remaining few had knives or didn't, but their quests differed. They discussed whether they could cooperate, and none of them forced their way into Lin Tu's group.

Soon, 62 led Lin Tu to the second floor.

He had Lin Tu and the others guard the bathroom before heading off to find someone. Lin Tu found an excuse to send 12 away, letting Guan Suiyue slip into the restroom. About ten minutes later, Lin Tu heard footsteps outside. The door swung open, and a girl in her twenties was brought in by 62.

"You'd better have useful info—" The girl stepped inside, then found herself staring at Lin Tu and 12.

Her expression shifted. She immediately knew something was wrong.

The scene she'd expected—one good guy walking into a den of three bad guys—had turned into her face-off with Lin Tu, who suddenly raised her hand with an utterly righteous look.

"I want to report that 12 is a good guy!"

12: "???"

"He's an Avenger! I'm a Missionary, and I can turn good guys into bad guys. He forced me to come here! 62, take care of 12 first! If you don't, the moment he sees you kill this girl, he'll kill you!"

[Missionary (Red): You can slightly distort information. 1. Turn white names red (visible only to the bad-guy faction), or turn red names green (visible only to special good-guy occupations). 2. Slightly increase the number of votes a specific player receives in court.]

Lin Tu's words dumped out too much intel at once. 62 froze, and the knife he'd just drawn hung in the air, unsure who to stab.

Lin Tu took two steps back, looking at 62 with expectation, silently cheering him on: Cut him! Cut him! Whoever he kills, Guan Suiyue—who witnessed the murder—will immediately gain 5 minutes of killing power. With Guan Suiyue's skill, killing this 62 would be effortless!

Just as the arrow was about to fly, the girl who'd been led in like a lamb suddenly pulled a gun out of thin air, aimed it at 12, and pulled the trigger with a bang.

12: "???" What just happened? How did he end up as the one who died?

A bloody hole appeared in his forehead. In his final moments, he shot Lin Tu a resentful look, as if understanding everything.

In the spray of blood, the bathroom stall door burst open. Guan Suiyue, having witnessed the murder and now holding a gun that had materialized in her hand, pointed it at the knife-wielding 62 and fired without hesitation.

He'd been the hunter a second ago, but now the tables had turned, and 62 couldn't process what had unfolded.

He hit the floor, dying with eyes wide open.

Even with two bodies down, the tension in the room didn't ease.

Guan Suiyue and the other woman pointed guns at each other. After a moment, the woman finally backed down. She lowered her weapon, looked at Lin Tu, and let out a sigh. "I'm a Vigilante. No need to kill me—I'm no threat to you now."

[Vigilante (Green): You can kill anyone, but you only get one shot every seven days.]

If what she said was true, she really posed no threat.

Guan Suiyue lowered her gun. She didn't introduce her occupation, but the woman guessed it anyway. "You're the Avenger, aren't you? So you're both good guys?"

Right—unless they'd had the ability to kill only after witnessing a murder, they wouldn't have set up this whole scheme.

Lin Tu nodded but didn't say much.

The woman, however, wasn't about to let her off. She smiled. "I'm Kang Lina. I think we should get acquainted. 37—or rather, I should get to know you."