"This inn doesn’t have electricity. You can tell from the candlestick on the reception desk that the inn keeps candles, yet there wasn’t a single candle in the rooms where it mattered most."
Ji Yang took a sip of water, his tone loaded with meaning.
"This proves the innkeeper knew candles attract something, so they refused to give candles to guests and instead prepared flashlights. Not to mention, the flashlights seem to have some kind of effect."
[This is what a smart person's brain looks like?]
[Your brain and mine must be different]
[Xu Xi reacted to that thing in less than two seconds, man, to realize that in such a short time, holy crap]
[Who was saying Xu Xi gets through things by luck? Look at how fast he blew out the candle, nobody can beat that reaction speed]
[I always thought Xu Xi was cold, but he actually warned his teammates out loud. I misjudged him, he’s just a bit eccentric]
[+1, I thought this instance wasn’t one of those road-type instances where teammates are chained to each other, where players would just watch if something happened to teammates]
[But the instance just started, and someone’s already out]
[Don’t you all think... the Glasses Woman was set up and killed by Xu Xi?]
[???]
When Ji Yang saw the comment claiming the Glasses Woman was framed to death by Xu Xi, he paused slightly while drinking.
His eyebrows rose as he said, "I didn't expect someone here to share my suspicion."
[Ah, streamer you think so too?]
[I didn’t see it as Xu Xi framing her. Didn’t the Glasses Woman hold the candle, hear the warning, and then fail to put it out immediately, which is why that thing killed her?]
[Right, Xu Xi warned them kindly, but they didn’t believe him]
Ji Yang didn’t get angry at the skepticism. He chose his words carefully and shared his view with the livestream chat.
"When the five split into two groups, they lit another candle at the reception desk. Refined Man handed his candle to High-Ponytailed Woman, and Burly Man gave the lit second candle to the Glasses Woman."
[Not gonna lie, these two guys are sneaky. One gives a half-burned candle to the other group, the other purposely hands a candle to the Glasses Woman to make her go first]
[Human nature, but pretty shady]
[No wonder those two defaulted to grouping, no surprise similar kinds attract each other]
Ji Yang smiled and continued, "When they reached the staircase and split up, the candle was still in the Glasses Woman’s hand, and she was the one walking in front."
"When that humanoid thing appeared, Xu Xi determined within two seconds that it was attracted to candles. After quickly extinguishing the High-Ponytailed Woman’s candle, he warned the three on the second floor. In theory, he could have done nothing more and just waited to see what happened next."
"But instead he turned on his flashlight and shone it at that humanoid thing."
"That thing actually moved very slowly, but when the flashlight’s intense beam hit it, it went berserk. It was true the thing feared the strong light, yet the light also stimulated it, increasing its speed dramatically, even causing it to teleport straight to the Glasses Woman’s face."
"Refined Man said they hesitated after hearing the warning. If Xu Xi hadn’t shined the flashlight at that thing, given how slowly it had been moving, the three would have had enough time to judge whether Xu Xi’s warning was trustworthy before that thing reached the second floor."
"Yet that split second is what caused the Glasses Woman’s death."
The chat fell silent for a moment, then exploded again.
[Holy crap holy crap, now that you put it like that, it really seems so]
[So Xu Xi was taking revenge for the clue that was robbed earlier? Turns out it wasn’t that he didn’t want revenge, the timing just wasn’t right]
[Kinda terrifying, he quietly set up and killed a player, and none of the teammates noticed anything]
[How could they notice? Even we with an omniscient view didn’t feel anything off]
"But this is just my suspicion, and the main thing is, I don’t have proof." Ji Yang said, holding his water cup, "All this is premised on Xu Xi having shone his flashlight at that thing. Whether he did it on purpose, whether he knew the flashlight would both irritate and repel it..."
"I’m more inclined to believe he knew and did it deliberately. The timing was just too precise. If anyone disagrees, put it in the public chat and we can discuss it together."
[I have a question: wouldn’t it have been enough for Xu Xi to stay silent and not warn them? Then the Glasses Woman would still have died, and only two more people would be alive]
[He extinguished the ponytailed girl's candle so fast, that already proves he knew the thing was attracted by candles. Just because the ponytailed girl didn’t think of it at the moment doesn’t mean she wouldn’t later. The only teammate left is a cold-blooded person who disregards life—how do you think she would react?]
[Why care what she thinks? As if Xu Xi would care. If he cared about other players’ opinions he wouldn’t behave like that]
[...damn, that actually makes sense]
Ji Yang pondered for a moment, staring at the youth on screen as he calmly offered his analysis: "Either the other two still had use to him, or he was simply going with the flow and seizing the chance."
——
Completely unaware that the outside world had once again labeled him inscrutably deep, Xu Xi was still thinking about how to explain why he knew candles were the culprit that attracted the ghostly thing.
There was no reason—ask him and he’d say he died once.
Xu Xi unconsciously shifted the flashlight in his hand. He was about to do what he had done in the last instance and blur the matter over when Refined Man suddenly said, "I know."
"?" Xu Xi internally went huh, wanting to ask, know what?
Refined Man pulled an identical flashlight from his pocket and fixed his blazing gaze on Xu Xi: "You noticed there were no candles in the rooms earlier, right?"
When he said that, Burly Man and High-Ponytailed Woman’s minds spun for a few beats and they immediately understood.
"So that’s it." Burly Man blinked in sudden comprehension, an odd look mixed into his gaze toward Xu Xi.
"..." So that’s what it was? Don’t leave the sentence hanging!
Xu Xi’s mind raced, trying to parse the meaning behind Refined Man’s words.
But the other three merely met the youth’s calm glance and averted their eyes, silent. Their manner suggested the remark was made casually, but their subsequent attitude toward him was of no real consequence.
Burly Man had a short temper. He admitted the taciturn youth had something going on, but that air of indifference the guy showed toward them really irritated him.
As if they weren’t worth his time.