The resurrected player was no longer nervous. He had checked their livestream data; almost all the players present, including the two resurrected ones, had an average online audience of 190,000. Therefore, it was obvious that Ren Yifei was going to lose this round.
Even without this bet, he would still lose because his popularity rating is too low.
The contestants all showed expressions of regret, but the person involved remained calmly seated.
The resurrected contestant who had been criticized earlier stood up, pointed at the door, and said, "He Zhaoming? Please, do you need someone to carry you out?"
That's the face of a petty person who's gotten their way.
"What's the rush?" Ren Yifei glanced at him sideways.
"You still want to stay here?" the man said smugly. "I told you long ago, your skills and popularity are nothing special. You only fooled the audience by pulling some stunts. It turns out that a person still needs real talent, otherwise... sooner or later you'll be seen through and end up like this."
Ren Yifei stared at him for a long time, waiting for him to finish speaking, before asking in confusion, "Didn't you notice that the waiter hasn't come yet?"
If someone is eliminated, the waiter should come and ask them to leave immediately. But the waiter hasn't appeared yet. Doesn't that say something?
The contestant was taken aback, but he quickly found a reason: "Because he hasn't announced my score yet. Fine, then I'll let you die knowing exactly what happened."
With an average of only 150,000 online users, this person already considered Ren Yifei a death sentence, so he made no attempt to hide himself and became arrogant and domineering after achieving his goal.
"As long as I keep winning, no one will dare to say anything," he said with certainty.
"Hehehe," the person behind the scenes laughed, "Let me tell you about the average number of online users for another person. Zhang Bin, 183,763."
The contestant, Zhang Bin, immediately burst into a hearty laugh: "He Zhaoming, it's better to laugh smartly than early. When you were mocking me, you never imagined this day would come, did you?"
Although the number was lower than he had expected, it was fine as long as it exceeded He Zhaoming's.
Ren Yifei didn't say anything, but the contestant next to him patted him on the shoulder, offering silent comfort.
The contestants had no idea what was happening outside. Ren Yifei, who had always been very popular, only had this many average online viewers... average?
The contestants suddenly realized something, and they looked at Ren Yifei, only to see him smiling.
"What are you laughing at? Have you lost your mind?" Contestant Zhang Bin frowned at him. "Where's the waiter?"
The waiter came out, but instead of going to Ren Yifei's side, he walked over to Zhang Bin and gestured for him to come. Zhang Bin's face instantly changed: "You've got the wrong person. I'm not He Zhaoming."
The waiter remained motionless, simply watching him.
"He didn't pick the wrong person," one contestant said.
Zhang Bin panicked completely: "What do you mean?"
"Your average number of online viewers is higher than He Zhaoming's," the contestant said. "But the problem is that an contestant's popularity is not measured by their average number of online viewers."
"When we talk about elimination based on the lowest popularity, we always say 'popularity' because of habit. In fact, its specific definition should be 'the number of viewers who stay for more than one hour within 24 hours'," Ren Yifei interjected.
He reached out and scratched his face with his finger: "I was a little surprised when the director mentioned the average number of online viewers."
"Where did you see that?" Zhang Bin still didn't believe it.
"Didn't you carefully read those thirteen pages of 'Contestant Instructions' when you signed the contract?" Ren Yifei shook his head. It's easy to fall into a trap if you don't read the contract details carefully.
Zhang Bin looked at the others and found that they were also nodding: "That's right."
"He Zhaoming, your live stream popularity score is 280,000. Zhang Bin, your live stream popularity score is 250,000. Unfortunately, you have been eliminated, Zhang Bin." The voice added at this moment, which was the last straw that broke the camel's back.
Zhang Bin went crazy: "I don't believe it! You've all conspired to play me!"
He was covered by a waiter and dragged out.
Ren Yifei looked at him without any emotional reaction. He raised his head and said, "The director has such a twisted sense of humor. He's scaring people, he's terrifying them to death."
"Did I scare you? I didn't see that coming from you." The voice carried a hint of malice.
"I guess I was thinking about why so many people were suddenly gone, and I didn't realize it for a moment," Ren Yifei said with a smile.
"Yeah, how come things have changed so drastically all of a sudden?" The others also found it strange.
Ren Yifei already had a guess: "I guess it's because of what we talked about at noon. What makes everyone so disgusted must be a matter of principle. Most people, as long as they still have basic judgment, will not like people who break the law and regulations. Those people are probably using the same old tricks again."
"That's really persistent. The entertainment industry is indeed as complicated as rumored." The ordinary people couldn't help but sigh. Fortunately, He Zhaoming called the police at the time, otherwise he would have been in deep trouble and unable to explain himself.Entertainment Center
Ren Yifei was still wondering what methods the other party had used.
With the police involved, it's too late for them to photoshop images, edit videos, and frame others. At most, they can only offer some vague and ambiguous statements.
On the ship to the island, he spent half an hour in his room and another half hour on the deck. That one hour was the time he spent getting to know this instance world and the original owner of the body.
With such a short timeframe, it's inevitable that some information will be overlooked.
He learned most of the original owner's information through his mobile phone, social media accounts, and communication records.
Ren Yifei didn't know exactly what happened that day. He only knew that the original owner of the body had been framed. He entered the actress's room because he was told by his superiors that it was a room reserved for him. However, he didn't know whether the actress herself was implicated or part of a trap.
Therefore, Ren Yifei was unsure of the current situation in the outside world.
He's now somewhat relieved that they brought up the topic at lunchtime, allowing Ren Yifei to salvage his image a little. The expert in micro-expressions' analysis was a godsend, perhaps unintentionally averting a crisis for him.
In fact, Ren Yifei had already prepared himself for elimination and to expose the death of the contestant, a fight to the death. He was not as confident as he appeared on the surface.
The organizers then announced the popularity rankings, with Ren Yifei ranking sixth, a slight drop, but still within a safe range.
Originally, the contestant with the lowest popularity was supposed to be eliminated today, but because the contestant who lost the bet had already sacrificed himself, the last contestant escaped elimination.
At this point, of the three resurrected individuals, one was eliminated due to a wrong answer, and another due to the bet, leaving only one survivor.
"Nine days later, three more resurrected players will return to the arena. This will be the last chance for resurrection; players who have already been resurrected cannot participate."
The organizers told them the bad news, but then immediately announced some good news: "Given that the players have lost interest in the current puzzle-solving mode and the audience is also tired of it, we have decided to modify the competition mode to make the competition more interesting."
The group exchanged glances, unsure whether this 'fun change' was a good thing or a bad thing for them.
Whether it's good or bad, they have no power to stop it, nor can they refuse it. As long as the organizers keep offering them enticing bait—money and resources—they'll be willing to accept new ways of doing things.
"No matter how it changes, it always revolves around solving a case. Could it have turned into a locked-room murder?" Ren Yifei thought of a schoolboy who was a death god.
"See you tomorrow, you'll love the new model." The voice disappeared with a cheerful tone at the end.
"Did the director win the lottery today?" the contestants whispered to themselves.
Where would you find a lottery in this godforsaken place? Is it almost like getting what you want...? Ren Yifei suddenly turned to look at the few empty seats.
Two veteran players were eliminated today. Are any of them each other's targets?
That night, White Butterfly flew to the cabin again and found that the eliminated contestants had been separated. Some were still in the banquet hall, some were in the entertainment hall (the ship's casino), and some had been moved to the restaurant.Entertainment Center
Ren Yifei found a newly eliminated contestant at the restaurant, and he was already getting used to his identity as an 'eliminator'.
"I never expected this after being eliminated." The contestant sat cross-legged on the ground, having just experienced being forced to use the toilet at gunpoint. He reportedly has to endure sleeping on the floor next. "It's so real, it's like I've really been kidnapped. But what's the point of kidnapping me? To inherit my debts?"
He found joy in hardship, treating this terrible experience as a rare opportunity.
"Speaking of which, I didn't see XX. Isn't he here?" He looked around but couldn't find any of the other contestants who had been eliminated in the same batch, which made him feel quite disappointed.
"I don't know where he is. If we could be together, we could at least talk."
He can no longer speak.
Ren Yifei had already searched three places, but the contestant was nowhere to be found. Like the first contestant who collapsed that day, he had vanished without a trace.
What do these two people have in common?
Villa, attic.
"Another one." The event organizer uncapped the pen in his hand and drew an X on a printed color photo.
He looked at the severed head and smiled with pleasure.
The white wall was covered with four photos. Two of them had been crossed out, showing the two contestants who had 'disappeared' one after the other. The remaining two photos showed a female contestant who was ranked third in popularity and had made it into the top two in terms of strength, and the other was the only resurrected contestant who remained today.
Below these four photos is a printed copy of the chat log, with the words "Deduction Master 33039 Chat Room" in neat, formal font at the top.
"Ding." His phone rang. The person in charge walked over, and seeing the caller ID, his smile widened. He answered the phone: "Hello?"
"What is the new model? Why was a decision made without my permission?"
"It was specially designed based on the young master's strengths. As you can see, the young master is lacking in both popularity and strength."
Mentioning this, they seemed even more dissatisfied: "Why wasn't He Zhaoming eliminated before? If we calculate based on the average number of online users, he would have been eliminated already."
"It's written in the contract, and I can't change it," the person in charge said.
The organizers were furious: "This won't work, that won't work, what else will work? I don't care how you do it, the final winner must be the one that's been decided."
"Don't worry, he will definitely stay until the end, and I will arrange the best ending for him." The person in charge looked at the heads on the wall, a cold smile on his lips.