Internal players

Chapter 4

Ren Li's face darkened instantly, observing the unfriendly chill in Pei Jingling's eyes.

Pei Jingling, seemingly oblivious, curved his lips into a smile. "I am a purifier. I sense that Brother No. 6 is also a purifier. I don't feel anything from the others, so I want to team up with him for the mission. That's it."

The gazes of everyone oscillated between them. Ren Li's face grew increasingly gloomy, presenting a cold and volatile demeanor.

Although having interacted with this person for a short time, such capricious and thoughtless behavior indicated it wasn't his genuine sentiment.

It was deliberate. But why did he act this way?

To appear foolish and non-threatening? Or to pull him into trouble?

Ren Li stared at Pei Jingling for a while, analyzing his actions on a deeper level. The coldness in his eyes gradually dissipated, and his somber expression slightly eased.

On the other side, Pei Jingling, noticing Ren Li's earlier aggressive aura weakening, smugly sent him a virtual "k."

Then, Pei Jingling successfully observed Ren Li's face growing somber again, his eyes filled with a warning.

Pei Jingling's eyes sparkled, seemingly victorious in his mischief.

"Cough... It's my turn to speak." Player No. 4, a middle-aged man in a suit, interrupted the subtle exchange between the two with a light cough, breaking the awkwardness. "Let me introduce myself first. I'm Zhong Yunyang, also a purifier."

"Firstly, regarding Player No. 3's statement, I personally hope we avoid such remarks. Phrases like 'I feel' and 'I don't feel,' with their strong subjective nature, can easily set the tone and mislead others when used to judge someone's identity. To draw conclusions, we need substantial reasons."

Pei Jingling looked somewhat innocent, shrugged his shoulders, remaining noncommittal to Zhong Yunyang's words.

Pei Jingling maintained a somewhat innocent expression, shrugging his shoulders in response to Zhong Yunyang's words, neither confirming nor denying.

"However, I cannot say that your thoughts lack intelligence," Zhong Yunyang, appearing mature, spoke with a rational tone. "From the words of the old man earlier, we know that if an undercover agent disrupts purification, a corresponding talisman will be deducted. This helps us deduce the number of infiltrators participating in tonight's purification task."

"From this, we can infer that as an undercover agent, one wouldn't voluntarily team up with their allies for the task. Because, in such a scenario, the infiltrator faces a dilemma: whether to sabotage the mission or choose purification to conceal their identity."

"In the first case, choosing sabotage. In this situation, if the ally also opts for sabotage, two talismans will be deducted. If it's a two-person task tonight, both infiltrators will be exposed immediately. Even in subsequent tasks involving more people, though the immediate exposure might not happen, it significantly narrows down the search for the two infiltrators. Undoubtedly, it's highly unfavorable for the infiltrators."

"Now, the second scenario, choosing purification. To conceal their identity, the infiltrator selects purification, hoping their ally will disrupt the mission to avoid losing two talismans. However, the ally may think the same way. If both choose purification simultaneously, they lose the round outright, which isn't advantageous. Therefore, I believe the probability of the infiltrator actively teaming up with their ally for the task is very low."

Zhong Yunyang looked at Pei Jingling.

Pei Jingling smiled faintly. "I don't know if Player No. 3 acted spontaneously or had these considerations in mind, but indeed, because he actively proposed to team up with No. 6 for the task, the likelihood of both being infiltrators has decreased—at least the probability of two infiltrators. Of course, the same reasoning applies to Players No. 1 and 2."