Eighteenth day (14) Three Kingdoms Stand Together

  Everyone is selfish, and I am too.

  Everyone is weak, and so am I.

  But I won't be selfish enough to put others in danger for my own safety.

  Nor will I be so weak as to push others to the brink of death in order to survive myself.

  But these college students in front of me are really challenging my bottom line again and again, I endured and endured, looking at them coldly.

  Xiao Bin said, "I know it's a bit cruel to do this, but if he's a murderer, then throwing him out will make us all safe. If Ai Ya plans to find someone to take revenge, putting him outside will also prevent her from coming in. This way is good for everyone, isn't it?"

  The students around me all echoed in agreement. Although I extremely disliked Hou Mingyu and thought he was a despicable person, when it actually came to this moment, seeing the panic on his face and tears welling up in his eyes, I couldn't bear it anymore.

  I am not a law enforcement officer. There may be many criminals in this room, but there are absolutely no law enforcement officers. Even if someone can enforce the law, they cannot use personal preferences to judge a person's life and death.

  Restraining dangerous elements is one thing, letting them die is another matter.

  I stood there and said loudly, I object, isn't this murder?

  Xiao Bin said, I am doing this to protect us.

  I say, after all this is murder, I oppose it.

  Xiao Bin took a glance at Ma Tiancheng and said, "What about the inn?"

  Ma Tiancheng said, "It's your own business, I'm too lazy to care about it. If you want to die, just die, it has nothing to do with us."

  Xiao Bin said, that's good.

  Then he said a few words to the two people behind him, Jin Sanpang and Zhang Dazhuang stood behind him. Xiao Bin said, "If you oppose it, then let's see if you can beat them alone. If necessary, I'll add half of myself." Anyway, we're going to get rid of him today.

  I am thoroughly disappointed in this group of students in front of me, they are selfish, narrow-minded and cruel. It seems that the confined space has brought out their darkest side. When it comes to doing certain things, their decisions are completely based on their own interests. I believe that when necessary, if they were to kill off the remaining people, they probably wouldn't even bat an eye.

  I know that death can drive a person crazy, and for the sake of survival, it can also make a person do anything, but I never thought that before death arrives, humanity would be so ugly.

  I know my own death date, neither more nor less eighteen days, this is the longest limit of my life. Every minute and every second I may encounter death here, will meet the sniper of the god of death. But compared to them, I am much more calm, at least I won't become a mad dog for my own survival.

  I stood there, confronting the students, with a dagger in my pocket, said to be the one they used to force Mei Xue to surrender. Was I supposed to use this dagger to avenge Mei Xue at that moment?

  The students felt a bit tense when they saw me put my hand in my pocket, they knew that the dagger was on my body. Jin Sanpang picked up a chair next to him and held it in his hand, Zhang Dazhuang's courage was small, he shrank to the back, then he said: "Hou Mingyu is a murderer, you're still protecting him, are you his accomplice?"

  I saw Xiao Bin's eyes light up and he said, "Right, you've been interrogating us all along, but we haven't asked you yet - what exactly are you here for?"

  I said I was a writer, back in my hometown to gather material.

  Xiao Bin said, "Writer? Online writer, just writing randomly online."

  So what if I said it?

  Xiao Bin said, we don't write books, but we read books online. Online writers are all writing recklessly, updating so many words every day, and can't even take a break for one day. Let alone going out to experience life, being stuck in this small mountain village for so many days, it's not like you have time to go shopping either, right?

  Jin San said, "Right, I've seen it, and I understand this state. You're absolutely not a web writer, so what are you doing here?"

  I'm saying, what do you suspect me of?

  Jin San said, "Your arrival is quite strange, isn't it? All along, you've been positioning yourself as an outsider, responsible for mediating our relationships. We also trusted you. But now that I think about it, your sudden appearance here is suspicious. Don't you have some ulterior motive that you can't reveal?"

  I said, I know my hometown has become a ghost village, can't I go back and take a look?

  Xiao Bin said, "I can, but aren't you supposed to be dead now? Why are you back so coincidentally?"

  Ma Tiancheng spoke up, "What do you mean? Explain yourselves clearly. What's suspicious about this young man?" "Ding brother, explain yourself clearly, what kind of person are you?"

  Ma Tiancheng represents the hotel side. Although there are fewer people, their combat power is the strongest. I alone can't even deal with the student party, let alone make an enemy of the hotel again.

  I was just about to continue explaining when the dwarf suddenly spoke up and said, "You're so good at meddling in other people's business, you must be a cop."

  I was stunned, turned my head to see the dwarf's sinister expression, and felt a chill in my heart. The dwarf said I was a police officer, probably referring to me as a narcotics detective. At this moment, if I nodded casually, wouldn't I be dead here?

  Before I could speak, Ma Tiancheng said something that wouldn't work, then lowered his head and whispered a few words to the dwarf. The dwarf also whispered a few words back, and Ma Tiancheng said, "Can my brother tell lies? Absolutely not, you can rest assured."

  This sentence makes me quite confused, when did I become Ma Tiancheng's brother? Did he just praise my cooking skills a few times and think that this big fool has won my heart?

  But at this moment, survival is the most important thing. I cannot afford to make an enemy of both the inn and the student party at the same time, or else it will be me who gets thrown out.

  I'm saying, what's your intention? I don't even know you guys, what reason is there for me to kill you?

  Xiao Bin said, "If we don't know you, can't kill people? What if you're a pervert? What if you're a serial killer? You say it's just that kind of person who kills without reason."

  I pulled out a dagger and pointed at Xiaobin, saying that if I really was, I would kill you first.

  Xiao Bin said, don't scare us either. Okay, you think I'm talking nonsense, then let me ask you, you don't know us, do you know Mei Xue?

  I was taken aback by this sentence. What does it mean? Although I didn't understand, the student party clearly became tense. I said, what do you mean?

  Xiao Bin said, "We're all in this together, we're all on the same rope. This inn is a local business, and we only interacted with them when we arrived. But you're the strangest one - you followed us onto the train, and then coincidentally showed up here in the village too. You've been lurking around us until now, even if we were dead, I haven't seen you show any fear. What exactly are you?"

  I said it was a coincidence to meet you on the train.

  Xiao Bin said, "I think it's unlikely to be a coincidence. If you've been following us all along, then do you have some unmentionable purpose?"

  I say, what purpose can I have when everyone has such a dirty past like you?

  Xiao Bin said, don't mention us either. Answer our question, do you know Mei Xue or not?

  I said I don't know him.

  Xiao Bin said, but I think you know us. Maybe you're one of Meixue's crazy pursuers, or maybe you're her brother, or maybe you're some kind of uncle to her. Anyway, you found us and plan to avenge Meixue, right? For so many days, you've been very interested in Meixue's affairs, forcing us to speak out, now your goal is achieved. I think next step you should put us on trial, shouldn't you?

  I saw several people already had a besieging posture, I gripped the dagger tightly, the other party's words were not unreasonable, someone like me participating in their murder case, can't help but be suspected as the murderer.

  Xiao Bin said again, "You see, you're still holding that dagger. That night, Mei Xue ran away with this very same dagger, and even after she fell off the cliff, she was still carrying it. I think you plan to use this dagger to kill us all."

  This sentence seems to further prove that I am the murderer, my wrist was suddenly grabbed by a hand, this hand is small but very powerful, I looked down and saw it was a dwarf, he stared at me coldly and said, "Give me the dagger."

  Ma Tiancheng said on the side, "Don't worry about it, don't worry about it. That's absolutely those bastards talking nonsense. My brother won't lie."

  The dwarf suddenly turned his head and said to Ma Tiancheng, "Shut up."

  Ma Tiancheng suddenly shut up, and the dwarf's one sentence showed that his status was much higher than Ma Tiancheng. He continued to say coldly to me, "Hand over the dagger."

  I'm definitely not capable of being an enemy to both the inn and the student party at this moment, after all I'm just one person and I still have to ensure Xiao Ai's safety. My wrist relaxed, the dagger fell into the dwarf's hands, the dwarf put the dagger in his sleeve, then said to the student party: "Your inference sounds reasonable, but whether it's true or false you're also clear about. The two of us are just here seeking wealth, now we've gotten into trouble, we don't want to get involved too much in your affairs either." I established a rule here: from now on, let's consider ourselves three countries standing together, the two of us as one country, you students as one country, and that writer and his upstairs friend as another country. Three countries standing together, no one should interfere with anyone else's family matters, as for whether others live or die, that's each person's fate. Now it's best if everyone doesn't provoke conflict, if one side causes trouble, the other two sides will work together to throw him out.

  I furrowed my brow, this statement sounds like it's getting me off the hook, but in fact, it completely handed Hou Mingyu over to them for handling. How would these students handle Hou Mingyu?

  I was just about to speak when Ma Tiancheng pressed down on my shoulder and said, "Brother, at this time, think of yourself first. Don't look for trouble. You go upstairs first. Out of sight, out of mind. Whether he's dead or alive has nothing to do with you. It's not worth risking your own life for someone else."

  I felt the strength of Ma Tiancheng's palm, and it was obvious that if I spoke again, I would be thrown out of the hotel by them.

  I gritted my teeth, watching Jin Sanpang and Zhang Dazhuang start pushing and pulling Hou Mingyu's chair. Hou Mingyu was very heavy, and the two of them couldn't lift him completely off the ground. The chair scraped against the floor with a loud creaking sound, like the footsteps of a devil.

  Accompanied by the creaking sound, I seemed to see a demon in the dark shadow slowly walking towards us, absorbing our souls and devouring our last humanity.

  This devil is turning all of us into demons, making us his servants.