Chapter 169: Ants

Wu Hui manipulated his Imprint Beast, beginning to conduct a stealthy reconnaissance.

There were many ants, but in reality, they constituted a single Imprint Beast.

Its name was Ant Colony.

Every single ant was part of the collective. Though scattering them meant that each could gather only a limited amount of information, the tiny bits of feedback from all of them combined were more than enough for Wu Hui to piece together a clear picture.

At the same time, he noticed Number Six casting a glance in his direction.

This middle-aged man possessed formidable investigative abilities, seeming to know everything, which made Wu Hui deeply wary.

In truth, however, Number Six was equally wary of him.

"Lust's objective is to have a... with every living person present," Wu Hui muttered, reading the inscription on the oil painting Number Two had hidden beneath her bed. "Is that why her complexion is so terrible? Because she is Lust?"

If one were to disregard such matters, this task wasn't particularly difficult. As for living people, regardless of gender, could one simply eliminate the ones they found annoying? Hmm...

However, for any proper woman, she would likely choose the path of eliminating everyone else, wouldn't she? He needed to guard against that.

If the opportunity arose, he should strike first to gain the upper hand.

Yet, he couldn't be certain just yet. Perhaps the other party was deliberately putting on a pale face, leading people to inspect this oil painting so they would misjudge her identity.

Overestimating an opponent at most meant frightening oneself, but underestimating an opponent could easily cost one's life.

Wu Hui's habit was to prepare for multiple contingencies. No matter what the truth turned out to be, he would be able to respond swiftly. He would test the waters in descending order of probability before taking action.

Speaking of which, in terms of appearance, this young woman and he bore a certain resemblance. It wasn't the similarity in temperament he shared with Ren Yin, nor was it the familiarity born from years of living together like Wu Tong. It was a resemblance in their facial features.

Hmm...

Considering this was the Overlord's game, one might suspect there was some blood relation between them—a twist where the game would wait until they had slaughtered each other to the very end before emerging to reveal the truth, leaving them filled with bitter regret.

Alternatively, it could be a deliberate trap to induce this very misconception, only to later pull the rug out from under him and declare they were unrelated, causing him to throw away his own chance at survival through misplaced forbearance.

This was precisely why Wu Hui disliked the Overlord's games. They were maliciously designed traps where every move, whether forward or backward, was fraught with peril, intended either to kill you or make your existence utterly miserable.

Even if they were relatives, however, Wu Hui felt little emotional attachment. Regardless of why his birth parents might have abandoned him once upon a time, there was no emotional foundation between them. Of course, it was also possible that his parents had already passed away, or that some accident had caused him to be lost.

Yet none of that mattered anymore. The only true parents in his heart were the mother and father of Wu Tong, who had picked him up from the side of the road.

His thoughts had drifted too far, which was of no help to the immediate situation. When the ultimate crisis arrived, talk of blood ties meant nothing; surviving was paramount. Furthermore, the notion of kinship was merely an unfounded guess.

Having somewhat similar facial features wasn't an exceptionally rare occurrence, anyway.

Wu Hui adjusted his glasses, bringing his destined-to-be-fruitless train of thought to a close. Just then, he heard Number Six give two dry coughs, drawing everyone's attention: "I suggest we all gather in the hall to discuss and share the clues we've gathered so far."

Sharing clues?

Humans were naturally walled off from one another, and communication was the best way to break down those barriers and build trust. But the problem was that these people were most likely locked in a life-or-death struggle; what was the point of communication?

Still, there was indeed nothing else to do right now, and once everyone left, Wu Hui would have the perfect opportunity to command his ant colony to snoop through everyone else's rooms.

In the room occupied by Number Four, the fat man, it was written that Wrath must kill everyone who bore hatred toward him.

In the room of Number Five, the skinny woman, it was written that Greed is never satisfied and only desires more.

Number Six, the middle-aged man's room, featured strange lines. The ant colony had not dared to approach closely.

In the room of Number Seven, the woman with heavy dark circles, the message was: Swallow six hearts to truly become Gluttony.

By process of elimination, the message in Number Six's room should pertain to Sloth.

Could it be that he was Wrath, destined to slay everyone who held a grudge against him?

Those slips of paper had suggested that certain sins held grudges against others, but Wu Hui felt those weren't entirely reliable—perhaps they were merely smoke screens deliberately manufactured by the Overlord to mislead their vision.

Ever since the prompt regarding the room selection had passed, the Overlord had remained silent, leaving this group of people to indulge in wild speculation.

Wu Hui currently entertained two hypotheses.

First, these tasks were objectives everyone was meant to complete, and failing to do so would incur penalties.

Second, these tasks were taboos that must not be completed, yet the Overlord deliberately misled the participants into attempting them. While inciting conflict, anyone who completed the task would automatically fail the game.

Every single hint seemed designed to goad them into fighting and tearing each other apart.

Yet the more obvious those hints were, the more important it was to remain calm.

"Ahem." Seeing that everyone had seated themselves around the round table, Number Six spoke in place of Number One, who had initially stepped up to host the meeting: "I imagine everyone has seen the text on the oil painting by now? My suggestion is that even if someone discovers information related to their own identity, they should not complete the task."

Number Five, the skinny woman, flashed a strange smile: "You say not to complete it, so we just shouldn't? Do we look that easy to fool? Or are we exceptionally obedient?"

Number Six replied, "Whether you choose to go through with it or not is entirely your own decision; I am merely making a suggestion. Who knows whether those pieces of information are taboos or actual tasks? Besides, the notes found in our rooms are hardly trustworthy either."

"I agree." Number Seven, the woman whose dark circles made her look somewhat like a ghost, finally spoke: "I suspect those notes aren't system prompts at all, but rather... leftovers left behind by previous players."

Number Four chimed in: "So you're planning to just do this? Sit here and wait until a new game prompt appears?"

"Waiting is actually a rather good idea. In the Overlord's games, making rash moves is the greatest taboos of all." Wu Hui endorsed Number Four's half-joking proposal.

"Well then... let us simply wait, slowly. Until specific demands are made, whatever we do might turn out to be wrong," Number Six said.

Only Number Two maintained her icy detachment, uttering not a single word.

This was a game where even the ultimate objective remained obscure. The Overlord had provided merely a single setting, and already one of them was dead.

To wait, meeting all changes with steadfast immutability—this was the correct path. If anyone among them made a rash move, it would simply hand the Overlord an opportunity to sow discord.

Thus, the waiting began, and hours slipped away.

An occasional casual remark was exchanged, but the overall atmosphere remained deeply oppressive. No one was willing to delve into anything too profound.

Number Six took the initiative to walk over to Wu Hui's side: "I am willing to trade a piece of information from my room in exchange for the information you hold regarding Greed, Envy, and Gluttony."

Wu Hui asked, "One piece of information traded for three—does that strike you as a fair deal?"

"Only one of them is of any use to me, and besides, once you have mine, you'll possess all the information, won't you?" The middle-aged man produced a pack of cigarettes, stuck one between his lips, but left it unlit.