Chapter 1: Who is the Last Thief?

  Lost and Found Notice.

  Age: three years old

  Sex: Male;

  Breed: American Shih Tzu

  Temperament: gentle

  Body: Healthy.

  Due to personal reasons, I am unable to continue caring for it and have carefully considered finding a suitable owner to entrust it to.

  Requirements: The other party has a certain number of years of experience in raising medium-sized dogs; good character. (Dog traffickers, do not disturb!!!) Contact information: 13156168346.

  An Yi looked at the monitor and re-checked the content of the post before pressing the Enter key on the keyboard with a sense of relief.

  "Woof! Woof!" A white American Samoyed dog wagged its tail and ran to the computer desk, rubbing against An Yi's pants leg.

  An Yi rubbed the Golden Retriever's head and got up to get a steamed bun from the kitchen.

  The Shiba Inu is a medium-sized dog, but its stomach isn't very good. Compared to other foods, mixed grains, vegetables, and dried shredded meat are more suitable.

  Of course...

  Dog food is also possible. However, with the appetite of a Shih Tzu, relying on dog food for a long time would undoubtedly be unaffordable for ordinary people.

  The dog wagged its tail, took the Wonton from An Yi's hand with its mouth and ran to the drying platform to eat it deliciously, humming and basking in the sun.

  An Yi went to wash his hands and walked to the corner of the living room.

  A small table was placed in the corner of the living room with a photo frame on it.

  In the frame is a black and white photo of a middle-aged couple.

  An Yi picked up the photo frame and wiped off the almost non-existent dust on it.

  Only after carefully dusting... until not a speck of dust could be seen on the frame, did An Yi gingerly put the frame back in its original place.

  "Dad... Mom..." An Yi quietly gazed at the framed photo, her eyes filled with deep longing.

  An Yi suddenly pulled out a mobile phone from his pocket.

  A black-and-white screen phone, although the model is a bit old, it's nothing special. But...

  There is a colorful pattern on the screen of the old-fashioned mobile phone.

  Full moon, ancient temple, bonfire, sixteen vague silhouettes sitting around the bonfire. And...

  A stick of incense in the very center of the pattern! A single stick of incense that dwindles down slowly, as if burning.

  Looking at this mobile phone, An Yi's face was somewhat complicated.

  In fact, this mobile phone was deliberately thrown away by An Yi several times. Once, it was even smashed to pieces!

  But...

  Every time it will inexplicably return to An Yi's side!

  Looking at the pattern in the center, the sandalwood that was almost 'burned' to the end, An Yi bitterly smiled and put it back into his pocket.

  The moment the phone was stuffed back into An Yi's pocket was also the instant when Tan Xiang's 'fire' reached its end. A black hole suddenly appeared out of thin air behind An Yi.

  Chain after chain extended from the black hole, binding An Yi's body and pulling him into the black hole.

  When An Wei's body was completely engulfed, the black hole disappeared as if it had never appeared before...

  The dark night sky, with a full moon hanging high above, seems to be within arm's reach.

  In front of the ancient temple gate, the light of the torch fire flickered.

  Sixteen men and women with different figures sat in a circle around the bonfire.

  My lower body is completely immobilized and can't move at all.

  An Yi came here for the second time, calmly looking at everything around him.

  14。

  Blood-red numbers were printed on the front of An Yi's knees.

  A gust of wind suddenly appeared, and the burning bonfire was blown out in an instant.

  Darkness thoroughly enveloped and descended, barely able to see a distance of about an inch around me.

  In front of An Yi's crossed legs, the number '14' squirmed and changed, finally turning into a 'min' character.

  The character "min" didn't exist for long, it was fixed for a while and then changed back to '14'.

  In the silent darkness, An Yi quietly waits, waiting for the game, waiting for the start of the slaughter.

  This is a game between 16 people. 4 sheriffs, 8 civilians, 4 thieves.

  The 4 officials and 8 civilians are one camp, the 4 thieves are one camp.

  When the bonfire goes out, it represents the arrival of night.

  In 3 minutes of night...

  The official can see the official, the official can talk with the official;

  Thieves are no exception;

  But the people cannot see other people, nor can they talk to other people. In other words, the people can neither see nor hear anything!

  Every night, a constable can check one person's identity; a thief can kill one person.

  And during the day, one person will be voted out by voting.

  When all 4 Shang, or 8 Min, or 4 Zei characters die, the game ends.

  The officials are all dead, or the people are all dead, representing the good guys, lose; The thieves are all dead, representing the bad guys, lose.

  Lies, deductions, will fill this game between 16 people. Just...

  The cost of defeat is true death!

  One minute, two minutes, three minutes...

  The bonfire roared again and reignited.

  In the darkness, the obscured No. 11 suddenly and exceptionally reveals her figure.

  No. 11 is a girl of about twenty years old;

  She was wearing a plain-colored long dress, her shoulder-length hair scattered casually on her shoulders.

  It's just... this delicate and elegant girl with a hint of weakness, yet her face and eyes seem to hold some inexplicable sorrow.

  A noose suddenly appeared and was wrapped around the neck of Girl No. 11.

  The rope was pulled upwards, dragging along the body of Girl No. 11, which was slowly lifted up bit by bit.

  An eerie silence, and there was no sound of the girl's expected cry for help.

  Not even a hint of resistance could be seen from the 11-year-old girl. Just like a puppet on strings!

  It was as if a gentle breeze had blown by, causing the bonfire to sway slightly, and then blowing against the white dress of Girl No. 11, making it flutter slightly.

  Quietly, everything was quiet, only the corpse of No. 11 girl, always hung quietly in mid-air by that noose.

  The number '11' next to corpse No. 11 began to squirm and gradually changed, finally settling into the character for 'people'.

  $$99 candles burning around the bonfire.

  "Number 12, please speak." A low, muffled voice, seemingly from nowhere, suddenly echoed around.

  99 burning candles, starting one second at a time, extinguished ceaselessly.

  The darkness of No. 12 completely receded, exposing his figure.

  No. 12 was a young boy still wearing his blue school uniform. But...

  That still handsome face, however, was filled with an inexplicable air of arrogance.

  "By the way, I'm a yamen runner! Last night, I caught a commoner, but I don't want to issue him a permit!" Number 12 raised his chin: "Don't ask me why I don't want to issue it, in short, I just don't want to issue it!"

  "No. 12, speech ended." After the candle went out, No. 12's figure was once again shrouded in darkness.

  $$The candle was lit again as usual, and the voice from nowhere, as always, was dull: "Number 13, please speak."

  No. 13 was a young man in a suit and tie with glasses, looking refined and elegant. Only...

  Underneath the young man's suit jacket was a wrinkled hospital gown.

  Moreover... on the chest of the patient's clothes, one can faintly see a row of red characters with slight wrinkles, reading 'XX Second Spiritual XX'.

  "First of all, I'd like to state my identity, a civilian." The voice of the 13-year-old young man was surprisingly calm.

  No. 13's tone was warm and elegant, without any impatience: "Next, let's talk about the credibility of No. 12's confession."

  "The package doesn't stay, no household registration, no census...". The 13th smiled warmly: "Therefore, I think the 12th is not established. It's Zhang Min or a citizen ID card below!"

  If you want to establish a government, either issue people's certificates or report and investigate the killings.

  Of course, those who issue folk certificates or report killings are not necessarily yamen runners; they may be thieves.

  Even... some rioters will issue a people's certificate, or report and kill.

  It's just that in general, there aren't many rioters!

  If the people report the murder to the authorities and it reaches the head of the yamen, or if the people's certificate is issued to the thief, they are almost close to losing.

  Death in the game is not true death; but the victory or defeat of the camp means real life and death! Therefore, few people will joke about their own lives.

  So, No. 13 said that No. 12's argument is untenable, which is indeed not unreasonable.

  "Right, and there's No. 14 too..." No. 13 suddenly drew out a long tone: "What's your identity? Is No. 11 your knife? Planning to take down No. 11, establish yourself as the top official, and make a bold jump?"

  "I am a civilian." An Yi ignored No. 13's questioning and even his speech was very brief.

  "On the 14th, the speech ended." After An Yi finished speaking for a while, all 99 candles went out.

  $$When the candle was lit again, the dull voice appeared once more without exception: "Number 15, please speak."

  "Are you guys telling the truth?" Number 15 was just a little girl around seven or eight years old.

  She had two small braids on her head, and her light voice was full of trembles: "Lose, will I really die if I lose? Is this true?"

  "I don't want to die, I want Mom... Waaah..." No. 15 said, and then burst into tears.

  And... Girl No. 15, this cry lasted for 99 seconds.

  It wasn't until all 99 candles had gone out and were re-lit that the sobbing cries from No. 15 finally disappeared.

  $$16 is a young man in his early twenties with yellow hair and 7 or 8 earrings on his ears. Even...

  Even her nose had two nose rings on it.

  As the darkness that shrouded his figure receded in an instant, he first spat a mouthful of thick phlegm onto the ground.

  "Cry! Cry! Cry! Cry Nima ah! Cry!" The 16-year-old blonde youth seemed a bit annoyed.

  "I've made up my mind! I investigated No. 3 last night! No. 3 is a traitor!" No. 16 paused for a moment: "12, 13, and 14, come and PK with me! If you don't die, you won't leave the stage! People in the back, make an effort to curse these three traitors!"

  "No. 16 said up to here, his tone suddenly softened: 'Everyone, big brothers, please turn on the lights! I don't want to die ah ah ah!'"

  $$Number 1 is a thirty-something fat man wearing pajamas, desperately repeating: "I don't know anything, I don't know anything, I don't know anything..."

  Number one mouth on one side said that, the oily and greasy big face, also trembled and shook slightly.

  Just this one sentence, No. 1 pajamas big fat man, insisted on repeating until the 99 candles were extinguished.

  $$"I, I am a people..." No. 2 was wearing an oversized sweatshirt with XX Beer printed on it, seemingly a beer salesgirl.

  The No. 2 beer girl spoke hesitantly, but managed to get her words out clearly. It was just the content of what she said...

  "Out, out 12... no, no, or maybe out 13... no, no, still out 14... not good, not good, still out 12..."

  The No. 2 beer girl's words kept changing back and forth. Her eyes would look one way at the darkness of No. 12, then another way at No. 13, and again in the direction of No. 14.

  But...

  Until all the candles went out, Beer Girl No. 12 still didn't say a word.

  $$3 seems a bit like a creamy young freshman, judging by his age he's probably a university student.

  "Little sister No. 15, don't cry." The pale face of No. 3 Butter, which had been left with a hint of terror, gradually calmed down.

  "No. 16 handed me the ID card, and I accepted it." No. 3 said, frowning: "If we really have to choose someone from among Nos. 12, 13, and 14, I think..."

  No. 3 Butter Young thought for a moment and suddenly looked towards An Yi's direction in the darkness: "Come out, No. 14!"

  "No. 14's speech was too brief and his tone was a bit too calm. It felt... it felt..." The No. 3 creamy young master paused for a moment: "It feels like he has nothing to fear!"