Xie Antong looked at the figure in the distance, the corners of her lips slowly curling up.
Her All-Knowing Eye flew in much closer, carefully observing the other person's hands, but when she saw the shape of the palm, it was completely like that of a middle-aged man—just like Know-it-All’s.
“Tsk, can this guy’s transformation even change his body?”
Xie Antong immediately frowned.
Even now, she still believed that the person in front of her was "Sin" in disguise, not the real Know-it-All. If she had to explain why—it was just a gut feeling.
As for how he suddenly had this shapeshifting ability… well, doesn’t he always suddenly have new powers?
After all, he clears every level perfectly.
Where the ability came from—whether it was the mask or something else—she still couldn’t be sure.
“Troublesome. How am I supposed to tell…”
“Hey, can you hear me?”
...
She got no response at all—Lu Ce hadn’t even put on his headset. He was too busy having fun and totally forgot he was supposed to contact Xie Antong.
But of course, Xie Antong had her own way around that—an idea she actually got from “Sin” last time.
—Her All-Knowing Eye could totally ram into him!
Up in the sky, the All-Knowing Eye, hidden beneath a holographic illusion and practically blending into the air, began to dive downward!
Lu Ce was strolling around aimlessly, like he was hoping to randomly run into that tall figure.
But right then, he suddenly felt a jolt, and instinctively raised his hand, grabbing something out of thin air.
He didn’t open his palm right away—instead, he felt the texture and gave it a slight rub.
Then, he simply pulled the headset out of his backpack and put it on.
“Hey.”
“Can you hear me?” Xie Antong’s voice came through.
“You didn’t even know if your own headset works?” Lu Ce replied instinctively, not even thinking.
Xie Antong: ......
“So mean. Jealous much?”
“Mind your own business.” His tone was still just as nasty.
Xie Antong raised an eyebrow. “Weren’t you the one who came looking for me? You figured I’d go to Know-it-All, and even got a headset ready.”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to team up?” Lu Ce shot back. “I also figured you’d try to get me a headset and fail.”
Xie Antong: ......
She was kind of speechless now. From the way he talked, it was clear—trying to use dialogue to figure out if this guy was the real Lu Ce was totally useless.
These masks exaggerated personalities way too much.
There was no way to gauge the real person underneath—their personalities got way too warped.
So, she could only return her focus to the game for now and asked:
“Got any plans?”
“Plans?” Lu Ce sounded genuinely confused. “Isn’t that your job?”
“Then will you follow my lead?”
“Probably not.”
They both fell silent. Xie Antong was at a loss for words, and even Lu Ce realized something felt off, so he added:
“Breaking out of prison isn’t urgent. I’ve got some interesting stuff going on here.”
“Interesting stuff?” Xie Antong actually laughed in disbelief. “You mean walking around being a jacka** disguised as other people for fun?”
“Also, when you turned into me, what the h**l did you do?”
“Why is my bullet screen full of ‘Poor Blank’?”
Lu Ce was instantly annoyed. He’d worked so hard on building that persona—how dare people pity her.
“Those viewers don’t know s**t. You should feel honored that I even turned into you. After this, Old Wan’s probably gonna treat you extra nice. Just don’t blow your cover.”
Xie Antong: ......
“In the mission, you're the one supposed to lead everyone out of the prison. What’s your take?”
“Just kill them all and leave. Simple.”
That one line stunned Xie Antong for several seconds—her brows furrowed hard.
Did putting on a mask really make someone this heartless?
“What?” Lu Ce continued, his tone chilling, “They’re all scum anyway. You’re not planning to stop me, are you? Think you’ve got what it takes?”
“Not really. With what they’ve done, yeah—they deserve it.” Xie Antong agreed. But then she added:
“Still, I noticed a little problem.”
Lu Ce: ?
“You noticed something I didn’t?”
Xie Antong ignored him and went on:
“I talked to those people. Tried to dig into their mental weak spots.”
“And I noticed—they all seem a little mentally unstable. Their words don’t line up, timelines don’t match, there are all sorts of logical errors.”
“It’s like their past experiences contradict each other. It’s very off. But this place is a regular prison, not a mental hospital.”
Lu Ce used what little rationality he had left to suppress his more twisted urges and gave it some thought.
“That’s really happening?”
“...You actually talked to them?”
Even Xie Antong was surprised. She had assumed that this “Sin” in the Jealousy Mask would mock her for wasting time.
But instead, he gave a surprisingly reasonable response.
“This version of you... kinda throwing me off.”
“Anyway, let’s set that aside. I’ve got some other info.” As she spoke, Xie Antong shared what her All-Knowing Eye had seen.
Including the possible locations of other players, the general layout of the prison, and the areas the All-Knowing Eye couldn’t even enter.
...
“Alright, let’s leave it at that for now.”
Their conversation didn’t last long. Lu Ce, in the form of Know-it-All, was so intimidating that no one dared approach him.
But on Xie Antong’s end, even trying to talk required being extremely cautious.
After hanging up, Lu Ce made a simple turn and came face-to-face with someone he’d been looking for.
—The prison guard.
As long as he met the guard in this identity, his plan to spark conflict on three fronts would be complete.
But this one wouldn’t be easy to fool. The guard knew him.
At the moment, the guard was still injured—clearly had been in a fight recently.
When he saw Know-it-All, his bloodshot eyes widened slightly. As far as he knew, Know-it-All basically never left his room.
But before he could say a word, Lu Ce took the initiative—his tone harsh and aggressive:
“Hmph, there you are.”
“Took me long enough to find you. Well? What the h**l do you want from me?!”
As he spoke, Lu Ce even planted his feet in a combat stance, one foot forward and one back, twisting his neck like he was about to throw down.
Prison Guard: ?
“When did I ever come looking for you?”
His hoarse voice barely contained his fury, eyes sharp with suspicion as he stared at the man pretending to be Know-it-All.