Volume 1, Chapter 25: This Is Irrational

"The secret of Carriage No. 3 is the mystery of the disappearing passengers. If the murderer is Mary and Jack, then it's a case of split personality."

"The clues from the first round were sufficient; there was no need for a second round at all."

"In other words, that monster must be hiding an even deeper secret."

Qin Shang’s expression shifted, his face filled with bitterness. Who on earth developed this "God’s Path" game? It was absolutely maddening. However, a second thought struck him: this didn't feel like something designed by human hands. He had never heard of anyone entering a virtual reality game where death in the game meant true annihilation in the real world. Nor had he heard of anyone being able to unlock real-world skill trees by playing a game.

"Ah..."

Just then, a sharp, piercing scream echoed from not far away. Qin Shang had not heard the sound of anyone being teleported out of the instance. In other words, could the team leader still be alive? His face lit up, and just as he prepared to move, he saw a ghostly figure in a red dress stride past with heavy steps, shrieking incessantly.

The speed was like that of a speeding car. Qin Shang had no doubt that if he had stepped out just a moment earlier, he would have been sent flying by the impact. This sight truly terrified him. What was wrong with this thing? It looked as if it had been provoked. The shrill cries and pained wails clearly came from the ghostly figure itself. Did the Sheriff and the elderly Priest have a way to deal with this monster?

Qin Shang glanced over and saw the Sheriff and the Priest looking like survivors of a catastrophe, peeking their heads out from a sleeping compartment with shifty eyes. Seeing that Qin Shang and the little girl were unharmed, both of them wore expressions of bewilderment. At the same time, Qin Shang noticed a faint light slowly fading from the Priest’s palm.

What was that!? Was that the thing that suppressed the monster? Qin Shang froze. He wanted to ask, but he was afraid of violating the rules and drawing the ghost's attack. He had no means of resisting it.

Just then, the Sheriff glared at Qin Shang with a dark expression and strode over with a sneer. The elderly Priest followed, both of them watching him with wary, hostile eyes.

"Let that little girl go, 'Licks Cockroaches' Feet Clean.' You’ve been hiding your true colors quite well..."

Qin Shang’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. Damn, had his 'Trickster' role card been exposed? There were only four players left now. Among them were the Leader, the Accomplice, the God-Slayer, and the Passenger—just the four of them. If the old man and the Sheriff had reached a consensus and trusted each other implicitly, they would certainly be able to easily deduce who the Trickster hiding in the group was.

Damn it, I was careless...

Qin Shang was about to offer a rebuttal when heavy footsteps echoed again from nearby; the ghostly figure that had just fled had returned. Qin Shang was horrified and immediately covered his mouth, having assumed the Priest's methods would suppress it for a while. Who knew it would come back so quickly?

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

"Damn it! It’s back! 'Buddha Saves,' do you still have any cross items?"

"How could I? Those are consumable items! A single cross costs two points..."

Seeing the ghost’s ferocious demeanor, the Sheriff was startled. He dragged the old man into another compartment, attempting to evade the attack. Yet, Qin Shang could still hear their conversation. These two dared to keep talking? It seemed their survival wasn't due to unraveling the rules, but because the Priest had used an item.

Thinking of this, Qin Shang communicated with his role card to open his [Inventory]. It was empty, save for El's letter. No wonder the inventory function had only unlocked after the first round. "God’s Path" truly lived up to its name as a game; it even included an item system. *I can’t let them die yet, at least not until I find the leader...*

"Shut up! It attacks based on sound and movement. Don't move and don't make a sound, and it won't attack..."

Qin Shang hissed through gritted teeth, and the moment the red-dressed figure attacked the other two, he grabbed 'Grandpa Cow' and lunged forward into a sleeping bunk. Almost immediately, heavy footsteps echoed right beside his ear. Simultaneously, the spot where he had just been standing was shredded by shotgun fire.

Then, the foul-smelling body of the red-dressed ghost entered the very compartment where Qin Shang was hiding. Heavy breathing and thudding footsteps drew closer. Qin Shang felt his heart hammering against his ribs, but his movements were precise. He had timed his warning for the moment the ghost was distracted by the Sheriff and the Priest. The thing hadn't seen him; it had only judged his position by the sound.

Hiding under the bed with the little girl, Qin Shang realized the ghost was unlikely to attack them. After all, they hadn't moved or made a sound. This aggressive ghost was an NPC, but even NPCs had to follow their own rules. Sure enough, a moment later, the shotgun-wielding ghost walked out of the compartment and resumed its patrol, stopping at every doorway. After a few seconds, it would raise its hand and knock.

*Wait! NPCs have rules. Even if they are the souls of fallen players, this special group known as 'God-Slayers' should also have rules.*

*That’s why the clue from 'Kind Sister' was that NPCs don't lie.*

If that was the case, it wouldn't be difficult to clear the game once the players discovered the rules. Qin Shang relaxed slightly and turned to the little girl, an idea forming. He took her hand and, while the confused girl looked on, traced characters onto her palm with his finger.

He wrote: *'Are you the God-Slayer?'*

Exactly. I can't speak, but I can ask this way!

Understanding his meaning, the little girl paused, then shook her head. NPCs cannot lie, so she wasn't the God-Slayer?

Next, Qin Shang wrote a second question on her palm. *'Are you the Leader?'*

The girl shook her head again. Qin Shang felt a pang of disappointment. It seemed the Leader and the God-Slayer must be those other two. If she wasn't the God-Slayer, she wouldn't be bound by the rule that NPCs cannot lie.

*Wait.* That doesn't add up. I’ve saved this little girl so many times; she has no reason to lie to me...

*'Are you the Accomplice?'* Qin Shang frowned and wrote the third question. The girl probably didn't understand why he was asking this, but she denied it once more.

What was going on!? Qin Shang widened his eyes. Was she really just a normal passenger? That shouldn't be right. Among the four survivors, including himself—a Leader, an Accomplice, a God-Slayer, and a Passenger—if he was the Passenger, there had to be a God-Slayer and an Accomplice. If the Sheriff and the old man were the Leader and the God-Slayer, did that mean the harmless little girl beside him was the Accomplice?

But if she wasn't the Accomplice, the identities of the Leader and God-Slayer became contradictory again. If the girl wasn't trusting him and was actually the Leader, then the Sheriff and the old man were the God-Slayer and the Accomplice. But the God-Slayer was just an NPC; even if they retained the abilities of a player, surely they wouldn't have access to an inventory and items?

According to the Sheriff, the God-Slayer was once a player. The first round of the death train’s exploration task wasn't difficult—it was just about guarding against the werewolf and enduring the fear of walking through a dozen carriages. The real danger, the one that caused mass player casualties, was in the second round.

If the Priest was an NPC, and he hadn't used items when he was a player in such a dangerous instance, how could he know how to use them now that he was a dead soul and a God-Slayer?

"This doesn't make sense!"