HM Chapter 28

As the door closed behind Rabbit, her worried gaze disappeared from sight.

A card was drawn from the table, leaving only the joker and the Ace of Spades.

Andre adjusted his posture, lounging comfortably with his legs stretched out, resembling a decadent noble accustomed to such games, his eyes filled with silent mockery.

In that moment, it seemed as if all the players were mere pawns at his disposal, exerting an immense invisible pressure on the other side.

But the player across from him was oblivious.

Yuan Yuxue continued to gaze at the two silver cards, ready to draw as soon as the butler announced the start of the next round.

This time, it was his turn to draw first.

When Yuan Yuxue's fingers touched the cool surface of the card, Andre suddenly spoke, “Now it’s just the two of us.”

Yuan Yuxue: “.”

“Let’s change the game rules,” Andre said, unconcerned with Yuan Yuxue’s lack of response, “Since there’s no chance of overhearing answers, we won’t use written responses for the next questions.”

Andre’s fingers drummed rhythmically on the table, “We’ll answer face-to-face, with the same hundred-second limit.”

This direct confrontation would be more intimidating, especially with the unpredictable boss on one side and a lone player on the other.

But Yuan Yuxue showed no sign of feeling disadvantaged, calmly agreeing, “Okay.”

Thus, the pen and paper were removed. Yuan Yuxue flipped over his card.

Ace of Spades.

Andre looked at the joker in his hand, not appearing particularly pleased. After a brief silence, he said, “The same question.”

“Describe a memorable moment from my past, different from the previous answer.”

Yuan Yuxue tilted his head slightly, showing no confusion, but his gaze made Andre feel strangely seen through—then he heard Yuan Yuxue’s response.

“You were once locked in a cabinet and left a message inside.”

Andre’s pupils contracted slightly.

His expression in that moment was hard to describe—anger, embarrassment, malice, or perhaps an intense killing intent toward Yuan Yuxue.

The butler and servants maintained their puppet-like silence, and Yuan Yuxue’s breathing was so light it was almost inaudible. The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, the only sound being a “click” like bones being crushed.

Andre’s golden eyes seemed to turn slightly red, staring silently at Yuan Yuxue like a predator eyeing its prey. After a long silence, he asked, “Do you think that was me?”

Yuan Yuxue’s calmness bordered on extreme indifference, “It’s not time for the second question yet.”

Andre looked like an enraged beast ready to pounce, but surprisingly, he restrained himself and tilted his chin slightly, “Correct answer.”

In the first round of the chase game, the writing Yuan Yuxue saw in the wardrobe—words of terror, guilt, hatred, and despair—were not left by previous players but by Andre himself.

The two cards were placed back in the middle, shuffled briefly.

Before drawing again, Andre said, “I want to know how much you remember. So this round, the joker will still be mine.”

This blatant cheating provoked little anger from Yuan Yuxue. As Andre waited for a retort, Yuan Yuxue finally shifted his gaze from the cards and looked at Andre with a hint of confusion.

“Not drawing?” Yuan Yuxue asked.

Andre: “...”

He begrudgingly touched the card in front of him.

It was the joker.

After Yuan Yuxue drew the Ace of Spades, Andre revealed the joker with a cold smile, “Same question as before—of course, a different answer. Yuan Yuxue, what else have you uncovered?”

Yuan Yuxue quietly observed him, then lowered his gaze as if in thought. Andre waited, only mocking him when the countdown reached the last thirty seconds, “Oh, I forgot to mention. Since you’re the last to be eliminated, the game time is over, and the punishment must change—how about spending a beautiful day outside the villa, Yuan Yuxue? Are you satisfied?”

“You were dismembered once,” Yuan Yuxue said, causing Andre’s mocking smile to freeze.

“Maybe it was before you died, maybe after. Your organs were taken away,” Yuan Yuxue added calmly, “Do you need more details?”

This memory was not just significant but engraved deeply.

Andre’s eyes turned red, his relaxed posture gone. His legs were tense, his chest heaving, and his hands on the table clenched white, as if he wanted to break his fingers.

After a few silent, intense breaths, Andre seemed to calm down, sneering, “Do you think the things you saw in the basement are important? They’re just there to scare people. I could decorate the entire villa with such things if I wanted...”

“So,” Yuan Yuxue interrupted, not intentionally, lifting his gaze to reflect Andre’s current expression, “Was my answer correct?”

Andre paused.

He silently confronted Yuan Yuxue, momentarily regretting the chosen format.

Andre seemed to want to remain silent, but under the rules, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he said, almost indifferently, “Congratulations.”

“Correct answer.”

This round of questioning seemed to drain Andre emotionally. His malicious, mocking expression had entirely vanished, replaced by a strong, unhidden hostility.

One might suspect that without the rules, Andre would kill Yuan Yuxue without hesitation.

Despite his strong aversion, Andre remained silent for a while but eventually said before the next draw, “The joker will still be mine.”

Given Andre’s rule-favored mind-reading abilities, his words carried a heavy weight.

Yuan Yuxue hesitated slightly. His hand hovered over a thin card, and as he picked it up, he focused intensely on its back, as if seeing through to the front.

“No,” Yuan Yuxue said, “I am the joker.”

With that, he flipped the card.

It depicted Andre smiling, the joker.

In that moment, Andre’s face showed unhidden surprise and a trace of shock.

When Yuan Yuxue answered his question, Andre was more embarrassed and angry than surprised, but now he was genuinely astonished.

How could Yuan Yuxue draw the joker?

“My question is,” Yuan Yuxue held the joker between his fingers, the bright light making his fingers look even longer and more radiant, “Andre, what am I thinking?”

Andre’s lips pressed together. He seemed unwilling, but he sneered, “You’re probably thinking—I'm a fraud who can't read minds.”

“Correct answer,” Yuan Yuxue said, “Though not entirely untrue.”

Andre: “.”

Indeed, the ability given by the rules wasn’t mind-reading.

It was cognitive suggestion.

From the smallest, insignificant, non-intrusive cognitive suggestions.

Every player's question seemed like a tough challenge they had thought of themselves.

People trust their own judgments.

But what if even that judgment was suggested by someone else?

Advanced math problems, skits, even game rules—all were questions posed by former players.

Information related to themselves—what they said or did after entering the game—was compiled into basic analysis data for Andre, ensuring balanced information. Andre knew Blackie was a college student, Gold liked watching skits, and Rabbit valued teammates' safety over winning the game, making it easier for Andre to suggest questions fitting their personalities and cognition.

Every question players thought they independently came up with was carefully selected by Andre.

Of course, no one knew better how to answer them.

He could even influence others' answering process, making them write identical answers.

Changing cognition is challenging. Human contradictions trigger subconscious thought, and resistance reveals anomalies.

If Andre suggested players "help the boss eliminate teammates," it would strongly contradict their beliefs, exposing his influence.

But Andre only did things that fit within players' cognitive range—simply telling them they thought of a tough question that might eliminate him.

With no defense, the game felt like a free-thinking competition.

Yet from the first question, Andre had the players' moves tightly controlled.

Yuan Yuxue was the anomaly.

Unlike others, the system provided minimal information on him—more accurately, it was a blank slate.

Andre couldn’t grasp questions fitting Yuan Yuxue’s cognition and had to avoid him drawing the joker.

He could see the cards; it was his privilege.

Suggesting which card to draw, everything seemed a carefully arranged “random” chance.

Andre’s cognitive suggestion to Yuan Yuxue was simple, “draw the first card,” “draw the second card,” a technique that had never failed in countless games, was just broken.

Yuan Yuxue rejected the cognitive suggestion to switch cards for a better chance of drawing the joker and insisted on his initial choice. Andre frowned slightly, looking at Yuan Yuxue like a monster, “When did you notice something was off? Just because I asked you to choose the left card?”

Yuan Yuxue remained silent.

Perhaps he should tell Andre that his core protection program was robust, triggering a level one alert for even minor modifications.

But he simply conveyed the most straightforward and seemingly capricious thought.

“I don’t like having my thoughts altered.”

As a war robot, it was the only thing he had that was truly his own.

After a long silence.

Andre finally said, “Not bad.” Given his dubious reputation, it was hard to tell if this was praise or sarcasm, but he continued, “Then let’s continue the game.”

With hidden rules removed, the game became slightly fairer. In the next round, Andre drew the joker again and asked, “What was the most important deal I ever made?”

Yuan Yuxue recalled the story of the monkey’s paw.

And the mother’s diary, filled with scrawled notes.

All information formed a coherent line, revealing a complete picture.

“...With it,” Yuan Yuxue slowly added to his answer.

“You made a deal with it, gaining power and becoming who you are now.”

“You traded yourself to it.”

After another dangerously silent moment, Andre’s lips curled slightly, a dark emotion rising in his eyes.

He had experienced countless days, countless “birthdays,” killing endless players, trapped in an eternal cycle, almost numb. Finally, one day, a newcomer exposed his deepest secret, nearly forgotten past.

He had sold himself to “it,” the dungeon, the rules, gaining the power for revenge, but also becoming the monster imprisoned in the villa.

Andre looked at Yuan Yuxue, his expression indescribable, but he finally responded:

“...Correct answer.”