vstars Chapter 82 The Dead—Bridget
Chapter 82 The Dead—Bridget
Its daybreak.
When the first ray of grayish-white light peeked through the crack in the cell window bars, Li Ang immediately opened his eyes.
The kerosene lamps in the corridor all went out at the same time, and the air was filled with the lingering smell of burning kerosene.
He stood up from the haystack, a dark circle around his eyes.
In the early hours of yesterday morning, he used a black knife to cut through the iron bars of his cell. The bars weren't very sturdy; they were rusty and raised suspicions that even two strong detectives could easily break them.
Looking around, the cut still bears the charred marks left by the blade.
But before he could take his first step, the jailer appeared in front of him.
It crawled out of the darkness without any warning and silently appeared in front of his cell, its small eyes staring intently at Li Ang.
"You may not leave," it said slowly. "You may not leave your cell at night."
After leaving behind this warning, his body slowly shrank back into the darkness. The slime left on the corridor dried soon after the other party left, leaving only a faint white trace.
Li Ang did not try to step outside again, but instead sat against the wall all night.
To be honest, he didn't sleep well last night. Not because of the bed, after all, a haystack is much softer than a wooden plank bed in the slums.
But he dared not close his eyes. In this unfamiliar prison, a witch who could take his life at any moment was hiding among them.
Just as Charlotte had said before, the witch might very well see herself as a target as well.
When that time comes, he will at least have the power to resist.
On the first night, apart from Shirley, probably no one really slept.
At this moment, the sound of shoes stepping on the stone slabs came from the depths of the corridor, passing through cell after cell, getting closer and closer.
Li Ang stood up from the haystack, stretched his stiff neck, and heard a slight cracking sound from his joints.
As soon as he stepped out of the cell, the owner of the footsteps appeared in front of him.
It was Charlotte.
Her back was very straight, and there were a few bits of dry grass stuck to her trench coat. There was a small, inconspicuous crease on the cuff of her trench coat, like the marks left by someone who hadn't lain down all night and had been sitting against the wall.
In addition, Li Ang noticed that her skirt seemed to be wet, and dark water could be seen.
Seemingly noticing Li Ang's gaze, Charlotte took the initiative to explain, "For some reason, there are water droplets dripping from the walls of my room. It might be because it's close to the sea."
The prison itself was built on the sea, and Charlotte's cell was the one closest to the sea. As the air became more humid at night, water droplets seeped from the walls and trickled down the cracks in the stones, making her cell probably the dampest in the entire prison.
She stopped in front of Li Ang's cell, her hands in her pockets, her blue eyes noticing the dark circles under his eyes, and a slight smile appeared on her lips.
"It seems we're all still alive," Charlotte said again.
"Yes," Li Ang said, leaning against the iron railing. "I hope no one died last night."
If the witches, as they intend, assume Lilith is unprotected and target her on the first night, then Bridget's protection will be effective, and the witches will miss their target.
On the first night, Christmas Eve, no one died.
"Have you spoken to Lilith about it?" Li Ang asked.
"Last night during dinner, I found an opportunity to have her verify Bridget's true identity after dawn."
"What did she say?"
"She naturally agreed. Although she looked incredulous at the time."
If all goes well, Lilith will be able to use her abilities safely on the first night to verify Bridget's identity.
Because Bridget is the most crucial piece in this game, Leon must confirm that she is not a witch before he can fully trust her.
With the help of Fibel's ability to detect lies and Boudica's tracking, he was able to eliminate half of the suspects on the first day.
With a bit of luck, you might even win the game on the first day without any deaths.
Here's their plan. When it comes to theory, everything seems perfect.
"I hope no one died last night," Li Ang remarked again.
Charlotte glanced at him, but didn't reply. Instead, she took a folded handkerchief from her pocket and handed it to him.
The handkerchief was white, with a small blue flower embroidered on the corner, seemingly a personal item for a young girl.
"Your face is covered in dust, wipe it off. Also, your dark circles are too obvious; if people see them later, they'll think you didn't sleep well last night. People who don't sleep well are easily suspected."
Li Ang took the handkerchief and wiped his face casually a couple of times.
The handkerchief had a faint lavender scent, which was different from the scent he had smelled on the detective before. He wondered how she had managed to do it.
Could it be that they used different perfumes?
Li Ang handed the handkerchief back. Just then, a sticky, wriggling sound came from the other side of the corridor, and the jailer emerged from the darkness.
"It's time for breakfast. Please proceed to the dining room immediately."
After saying that, it disappeared, seemingly to notify others.
Li Ang and Charlotte exchanged a glance, then turned and walked towards the restaurant.
The corridor was long, and the kerosene lamps had gone out, but fortunately it was almost dawn, and the light coming through the windows of the cells was enough to illuminate the path under their feet.
They hadn't walked far when they heard hurried footsteps behind them.
"Good morning, Mr. Leon and Miss Charlotte!"
Shirley caught up from behind. Her voice was clear and loud, echoing several times in the empty corridor before slowly fading away.
She even skipped Li Ang's surname quite naturally and addressed him by his first name.
Her blue hair was sticking up in a messy, unruly fashion, with a few stray hairs standing on top of her head. There was no sign of fatigue on her face.
His golden eyes were bright, and he had a big smile on his lips.
Li Ang nodded. "Good morning."
Charlotte slightly raised her chin in response.
Shirley didn't pay attention and followed the two of them. The three of them walked side by side in the narrow corridor, their shoulders almost touching the stone walls on both sides.
"Ugh, the mattress in this cell is so hard." Shirley raised her hand and rubbed her shoulder, her blue ahoge (cowlick) bobbing slightly with the movement. "But it's alright. I slept really well last night, how about you guys?"
"It's alright," Li Ang said.
"So-so," Charlotte said.
In fact, the two of them chose the same thing: to lean against the wall and rest with their eyes closed. They would wake up immediately if there was any disturbance outside.
Seeing Shirley's ability to sleep peacefully, the two couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.
She was probably the only person who could sleep peacefully in such a place on such a first night.
Shirley nodded, then changed the subject.
"Speaking of which, the wick of the kerosene lamp in my cell corridor always made a crackling sound. Luckily, I knocked it over with a stone, which allowed me to get a good night's sleep."
"Mmm." Li Ang pretended to listen attentively.
"But you know what? When I woke up this morning, the kerosene lamp was still hanging perfectly intact on the hallway wall. That's amazing."
"Speaking of which, the kerosene lamps in the corridor outside the cell are indeed strange; they light up automatically at night and go out automatically at dawn."
Charlotte joined the conversation, clearly noticing that Sherry's remarks had also caught her attention.
"Right? It truly lives up to its reputation as a supernatural event. Even the things inside are supernatural," Shirley said with a chuckle.
The conversation then drifted to other topics, mostly trivial matters. Li Ang would occasionally respond, but most of the time he was just a listener.
The restaurant was already occupied.
Boudica sat at the round table near the door, with breakfast such as fried eggs, toast, and smoked meat in front of her, and she had already drunk most of the black tea in her cup.
Her dark purple braids hung down her chest, and she looked quite well.
She picked up a piece of smoked meat with her fork, put it in her mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and looked up at the three people who walked in.
"It seems we've made it through the first night safely." She put down her fork and picked up a napkin to wipe her mouth.
Li Ang sat down next to her, picked up the steaming cup of black tea in front of him, and held it in his hands without drinking it.
"Whom did you choose last night?" he asked.
Boudica picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, put it down, and looked at him.
"you."
Li Ang's eyebrows twitched, but he didn't show much surprise.
"I don't completely trust you." Boudica's tone was very frank, so frank that it was as if she were saying something that didn't need to be hidden at all.
"Although that man named Aloy endorsed you, and you demonstrated your abilities, that black knife certainly doesn't look like something an ordinary person could wield. But in this place, who can guarantee you're not using an imposter?"
"I understand." Li Ang nodded.
He didn't feel offended; in fact, he felt somewhat relieved. Boudica's choice to uncover her identity meant, at least, that she was seeking the truth in her own way, rather than passively waiting to be saved.
The only thing he regretted was that the other party used their abilities on themselves, wasting an opportunity to eliminate someone else's suspicion.
"So, can you trust me now?"
Boudica did not answer immediately, but instead glanced at the empty chairs around the round table.
"I need to wait until everyone is here before I know," she said. "After all, it's not impossible that the witch didn't make a move last night."
Li Ang didn't ask any further questions. Instead, he picked up his black tea and took a sip. The warm liquid slid down his throat, bringing a touch of warmth to his stomach, which had been empty all night.
Charlotte sat down next to him and began to enjoy her breakfast at a leisurely pace.
Lilith was the fifth person to enter the restaurant.
There was a noticeable dark circle under her eyes, her lips were a little dry, and her face was paler than yesterday.
The moment Li Ang saw her walk in, the weight that had been hanging over his heart all night finally lifted.
His biggest worry wasn't who the witch killed, but that the witch possessed some kind of ability that could nullify the abilities of others.
If a witch can disable Bridget's protection, then this game has never been fair from the start.
Bridget can protect Lilith, but the witch can ignore protection; Lilith will still die. In that case, they're either playing a game or waiting to die.
The fact that Lilith is still alive means that the first step of their plan has been successful.
Li Ang stopped looking at Lilith and looked at Charlotte instead. The two nodded to each other knowingly.
Isabella followed Lilith in.
She looked much better than Lilith. She didn't look at anyone when she came in, went straight to the far end of the round table, sat down, and started eating breakfast by herself.
People walked in one after another.
Emily and Faye Bell emerged from the depths of the corridor together. Neither of them looked well, but at least they were safe.
Elena's golden twin ponytails stood out in the crowd. Caltacia strode in, sat down at the round table, picked up an apple, took a bite, and crunched it loudly.
Then Eloy walked in. Everyone was counting.
After a while, no one else came in after Eloi, and everyone's hearts sank.
One is missing.
Bridget did not come.
Others noticed as well; those who had taken their seats stopped talking and looked on incredulously.
Until the jailer appeared.
"Everyone is here. Bridget Lestrade died last night. She left no last words."
"Please finish your breakfast first. Afterwards, I will deal with Bridget Lestrade's body. Once that's done, we will proceed with the first round of speeches and voting."
After a brief silence, Caltacia suddenly stood up, his chair tipping over and crashing to the ground with a loud thud.
Her hands were on the table, her body leaning forward, and her voice trembled slightly with anger.
"You guys don't play by the rules at all!"
"Bridget's power is protection! She protected herself on the first night! How could a witch possibly kill her? Unless the witch has the ability to break the rules! What's the point of playing this game? She might as well just wait to die!"
"Tell me! Isn't that right?!"
No one responded immediately.
Caltacia is right. If witches can disregard the rules, then this game is meaningless. No one can protect anyone, no one can trust any rules, and no one can leave alive.
The jailer's body twitched slightly, showing no sign of anger or rage at Caltacia's words, or even any emotional reaction whatsoever.
It simply gave its answer in that deep voice.
"The witch's actions are all within the rules. There is no violation of the rules. If the witch violates the rules, she is automatically eliminated."
Caltacia opened her mouth, then closed it again, standing there completely bewildered.
At this moment, her anger felt like a punch landing on cotton, with no point of contact.
Bridget didn't protect herself last night.
Li Ang's voice came from the other end of the round table.
Caltacia turned sharply to look at him. Everyone was looking at him.
"She's protecting Lilith." Li Ang placed his fork on the plate, the fork clinking softly against the porcelain plate.
"It was something I planned with her. When she said she would protect herself in front of everyone, it was deliberately said for the witch to hear. Her power was actually used on Lilith."
As if struck by something, everyone's expression shifted subtly at the same instant.