Chapter 141: Grand Performance (IV) “The Decameron”

Qi Si remembered that he once had a true friend.

It didn’t matter about interests, gains, or losses; simply because they met at the right time and didn’t find each other too annoying, they hung out together.

That was eleven years ago. A silly kid happened to be his desk-mate, and just like him, had no friends, so they naturally grew close, sharing snacks, chatting, and playing together.

Back then, Qi Si was only eleven. Although he was already not quite normal, at least he hadn’t committed any crimes.

He would just sit quietly in a corner, flipping through some bloody and dark forbidden books, imagining the miserable states of the characters in the books until a flush appeared on his pale face and his breathing became rapid.

The “Friend” couldn’t understand his hobbies, but still sat by his side, reading and watching with difficulty and alarm, trying to understand his excitement and joy.

—Just to have a friend, just to no longer be alone.

“Qi Si, why do you always look at these things?” the “Friend” asked Qi Si once.

“I’m choosing a way to die for myself,” Qi Si said.

Holding a book explaining the relationship between eros and appetite, he didn’t look up: “I’ve always been curious about how I will die and where I will go after death.”

The “Friend” clicked his tongue: “You’re only eleven, why are you considering these things?”

“Because it’s boring,” Qi Si said. “This world is like it’s been programmed; everyone and everything has a fixed behavioral pattern. Joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness can be precisely measured, but I have nothing.”

“Then how do you know the world after death isn’t boring?”

“I don’t know, but it’s like a blind box; at least there’s a certain chance it’ll be interesting.”

The “Friend” was stunned for a long time, then suddenly started telling some nonsensical jokes.

Qi Si knew the “Friend” wanted to cheer him up. According to conventional wisdom, he should be tactful and supportive.

So he closed the book, quietly listened to those boring jokes, put on an exaggerated fake smile, and told even more boring jokes in response.

At that time, he never told the “Friend” that the thought of killing had crossed his mind more than once.

In the hazy impressions of his childhood, a voice at the bottom of his mind always tempted him, saying that missing emotions could be spurred by the stimulation of killing, pale memories could be colored by the blood of the dead, and a wild beast should live in his barren heart… But he told that voice that the “Friend” was such a law-abiding person; if he knew he had become a murderer, who knew how long he would nag him.

If nothing unexpected happened, Qi Si might have tried to disguise himself as a normal person and gradually become accustomed to this false mediocrity, letting the hidden desires in his heart fade with time.

Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last. One day, some bored children discovered his oddities and naturally started playing a game of “slaying the monster.”

“Qi Si is evil, we must defeat him,” the children said.

After they declared, “Whoever plays with Qi Si again, we’ll beat them up,” the “Friend” got scared. Every time he saw Qi Si, he stayed far away, as if avoiding a plague or a wild beast.

Even, under the call of the children, the “Friend” began to spit on him and throw mud at him.

When the “Friend” once again intentionally tore his book, a wisp of human emotion finally wove together in his empty palace of emotions.

It wasn’t strong, but it was a novel, negative sensation that undeniably formed his initial perception of emotion.

To avoid being looked at with the “Friend’s” hateful eyes, he could only let those eyes belonging to the “Friend” close forever.

Since childhood, he was a child with strong practical skills. Killing a peer wasn’t difficult for him, but the subsequent trouble did make him feel nauseous.

At that time, his parents were still alive, so he certainly couldn’t take the body back; and leaving it outside risked it rotting and being discovered by the Security Bureau.

He had no choice but to eat his silly “Friend” mouthful by mouthful, eating very cleanly and becoming very full.

—It didn’t taste good at all; he never wanted to eat it again… His thoughts touched the gray area in his memory, kicking up clouds of dust.

Qi Si moved his gaze, taking in everyone’s expressions, and basically confirmed his previous guess.

The details he mentioned perfectly matched the victim’s cause of death, yet no one identified him. There was only one possibility—the corpses the players saw were different.

Qi Si looked at Charlie and asked politely, “May we have a short break to exchange details about the corpses?”

“Of course!” Charlie’s cheerful laughter sounded muffled behind the mask. “It seems Gentleman No. 1 has already discovered the foreshadowing I left! Very good, very dramatic!”

As soon as these words were spoken, the players could no longer afford to dwell on Qi Si’s bloody self-narration.

The hint couldn’t have been clearer.

Dong Xiwen muttered, “The corpse I saw was a young male with multiple fractures and brain matter all over his face.”

“No, that’s not what I saw,” He Hui said with a pale face. “I saw a fat man…”

Qi Si smiled, resting his chin on his hand and tapping his jaw rhythmically. “Do you still remember the previous hint? ‘Every one of us is guilty.’ The murderer might not be just one person.”

“I understand. Every one of us is a murderer, and what we see is the first person each of us killed.” A cruel grin appeared on Hansen’s face. “You guys sure put on a good act. If Zhou Ke hadn’t pointed it out, were you planning to vote me as the murderer and let me die?”

The crowd neither admitted nor denied it. The answer was very clear and needed no further discussion.

Charlie had said that the truth wasn’t important; they just needed to vote someone out. Even if a wrong vote had indirect consequences, it was better than being voted out and executed oneself.

“We can all abstain; it didn’t say we must vote,” Dong Xiwen whispered.

Charlie heard him and added with a smile, “If your votes are tied, then everyone will be executed! I’ve designed an artistic way to die for each of you. Every one of you is guilty and deserves a try!”

Dong Xiwen’s eyes widened. “But we’re all murderers. How else can we vote? Everyone votes for themselves and then we all commit suicide to atone for our crimes?”

No one responded.

In a situation where everyone was a murderer, anyone could be voted for. The most economical choice would inevitably be to select a scapegoat and have everyone vote for them together.

Cynthia pondered for a moment and said with a smile, “Since we are all murderers, there’s no need to consider the issue of the truth. I think after Charlie asks the third question, we will know who to choose.”

Everyone looked at Charlie.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, this puppet-like NPC trembled extravagantly and burst into a fit of mad laughter: “The third question: What are your professions and contributions? Perhaps someone valuable can offset their crimes with merit and not have to die—maybe!”

Assessing the value of life and determining life or death based on that value… It was that same utilitarianism that divided people into different classes.

Qi Si inexplicably thought of the two endings of “Shuangxi Town”—

“The Sacrifice” and “Severing the Calamity.”

What attitude did the Eerie Game actually hold toward this kind of moral kidnapping of sacrificing one person to satisfy the majority?

Happy to see it happen, or watching coldly from the sidelines?

Cynthia clasped her hands and spoke solemnly: “I am the Archon of the Silesia District of the Federation. If you frequently follow the social situation, you should know that I once promoted the Federation’s improvement of the healthcare system and focused on the rights of vulnerable groups. During that global eerie fire six years ago, I also went to the front lines for rescue.”

“If I can leave this dungeon alive, I will continue to seek the welfare of all humanity and continue doing what I have always been doing—fighting for women’s rights, so that all girls can grow up in peace, happiness, equality, and safety.”

Qi Si understood that Cynthia’s rhetoric was aimed at He Hui, similar in nature to his previous display of goodwill toward Dong Xiwen.

A vote involving life and death would inevitably fail to satisfy everyone; it only needed to win the support of some people.

“I don’t believe a single word from you politicians! Who sitting in that position doesn’t have a few dirty secrets on them?” Hansen interrupted Cynthia with a cold laugh. “I’m a loan shark. Just as you guessed, I’ve killed and burned my whole life, and I haven’t done many good things.”

“As for nice words like not lending money in the future, I doubt you’d believe me even if I said them. However, I can promise you that once I leave this dungeon, I will destroy those IOUs in my hands and let those deadbeats off. You should also know whose promise is easier to fulfill compared to that old woman’s empty checks.”

After Hansen finished speaking, he leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed, his face saying “do as you see fit.”

After these two’s speeches, the answering order was already messed up.

Dong Xiwen simply spoke third: “I hope to live, because I still have things I want to finish. But if I must die here, then so be it; someone has to be sacrificed. I just feel that no evil should sit at this table and be judged in such an absurd manner.”

“Regarding Charlie’s question, I don’t know how to answer. I don’t have a job yet, and I haven’t made any contributions. But I will try my best to be a kind and upright person. If one day I can change the old order, I can guarantee that within my power, there will be no more people who oppress others.”

“This might sound too idealistic, a bit empty, but I still hope you can believe me. Perhaps if everyone were a bit more idealistic, this world would change…”

His words came to a sudden halt because Qi Si suddenly looked at He Hui and said weakly, “I remember that more than one of us is without a job, not just Dong Xiwen.”

He Hui nodded slightly: “Yes, I’m still in high school. But I can guarantee that I will never do anything bad in the future. I committed a crime out of necessity; if I couldn’t bear it anymore, I wouldn’t have chosen to kill…”

Her voice became softer and softer, gradually becoming inaudible.

Qi Si interrupted Dong Xiwen mainly because he was afraid this guy would continue to copy the Jiuzhou Guild’s promotional materials and go on with a long speech.

At this moment, he suddenly thought of a question and smiled as he looked around at everyone: “In your opinion, how should a person’s value be defined? Evil and value cannot be quantified into specific numbers, and one cannot simply add or subtract between the two. How should it be judged whether a person deserves to die?”

Seeing the players fall into deep thought, he continued unhurriedly: “Talking about contributions to the world is even more ethereal. Besides humans, this world also has lower animals, plants, microorganisms, and inanimate objects. From the perspective of nature as a whole, the expansion and prosperity of the human species might be a devastating disaster for other creatures…”

“Are you an animal rights activist or an environmentalist?” Cynthia asked calmly.

“No, I’m just curious from what perspective the so-called ‘contribution’ should be judged.” Qi Si glanced sideways at Charlie, his expression peaceful. “From the perspective of NPCs and other eerie beings, humanity’s greatest contribution might be self-destruction; from the perspective of ordinary people, others’ greatest contribution is solving their basic needs; from the perspective of far-sighted politicians, developing technology and exploring the future are the most meaningful things…”

“What exactly are you trying to say?” Hansen said impatiently. “We are all humans. Are you actually trying to consider things from the perspective of the eerie?”

Qi Si looked at him and smiled with narrowed eyes: “I just feel that considering contributions outside of this dungeon is meaningless. Who can control what you do after returning to reality?”

“Hansen, let’s take you as an example—what does whether you collect loans after returning to reality have to do with us? Those guys who owe high-interest loans dying together might even be a way to save social resources… To take a step back, if you die in this dungeon, it would probably take quite an effort to collect those loans you’ve put out, wouldn’t it?”

Hansen snorted coldly. “Even if I die, as long as those IOUs are still there, someone will always collect the debt.”

Qi Si ignored him and continued: “I am a Specimen Maker. The contribution I can make is to rationally analyze the situation and not do anything harmful to the collective interest out of stupidity or cowardice.”

“I will vote for Hansen. He is the only one among us who excels in physical force, and based on the first two questions, the intelligence he has displayed isn’t very high. I can’t rule out the possibility of him using force to coerce us into doing stupid things with him later. I believe it’s necessary to eliminate this unstable factor early on.”

Speaking of which, Qi Si inexplicably remembered the answer “blow up the tram” proposed by bored netizens when discussing the Trolley Problem.

All kinds of “isms” are just false propositions that will be crushed by absolute strength.

And to make the debate over “isms” play a leading role in the situation is actually not difficult; one just needs to use the rules to make the person with absolute strength get out.

Qi Si extended his index finger and tapped the table, saying in a joking tone: “Throw the well-built idiot out the door so that we ‘civilized people’ can sit down and talk quietly, right?”

Note: “The Decameron” is a collection of short stories created by the Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio. It tells the story of 10 men and women taking refuge in a country villa during the plague in Florence, Italy, each telling one story a day for 10 days, making a total of one hundred stories. This work embodies humanist thought, focusing on and promoting human value.