The air seemed to freeze, and a bone-chilling cold enveloped the humans who remained truly awake.
Only one minute remained until the end of Lilian's moment of death.
Even if Green and the others weren't the brightest, they knew it must be heavily related to Heta's answer.
The success or failure of this mission depended on whether she could see through the true killing move in the Singing and Dancing Ball-Passing Game.
Seeing Heta glance over, Qi Zhimu gave no reaction.
Heta understood, however.
His actions matched his words; he supported whatever choice she made.
Heta looked directly at the Headless Senior Female Student, then reached out and pointed at Lilian, who was sitting beside her.
"Ten days ago, I poisoned Lilian's drinking water, killing her before you could."
"Because I stole your target, I was poisoned to death by you in the same way, just yesterday."
Hearing these words, Green and her companion's eyes nearly popped out of their heads.
Is that right?
That can't be right...
Heta clearly...
Before they could regain their senses, the heavy, cold atmosphere vanished instantly, seamlessly switching back to the warm light of day.
Bursts of enthusiastic applause filled their ears.
The group stiffly looked around; those hideous ghosts had all turned back into normal students.
They were the ones clapping.
"Student Heta's 'Truth' answer is over, let's continue the game~~"
Heta checked the time: 16:20:57.
Soon, the clock ticked to 16:21.
There are no notifications for failing a single mission, and none for success either.
Changing the target's time of death by even one second counted as completing the mission. Now that Lilian wasn't dead, the result spoke for itself.
"Everyone, I have an urgent matter to attend to, please excuse me." Heta stood up quickly.
The senior student made a token effort to ask her to stay, only to receive a regretful look in return.
The transfer student named Heta left Wudu Art Academy forever without even attending a single formal class.
The group couldn't contact Brooks's side for the time being, so they found a cafe to rest and calm their nerves.
And—to seek answers.
Green and the others were too curious: how exactly was the mission completed?
They still felt a sense of unreality after leaving the academy, and no matter how much they racked their brains, they couldn't find the answer.
The cafe was filled with the aroma of roasted coffee, and the window seat was perfectly sunlit.
After experiencing that game surrounded by ghosts, their hands holding the hot coffee were still trembling.
Heta ignored their eager gazes, waiting for something.
Two minutes later, Green's phone rang.
Bad news came back.
Brooks and his team had not only failed, but someone had died.
Even Heta's eyes narrowed upon hearing about the death.
But when she learned the specific reason, she really didn't know what to say.
That person had been scared to death by the terrifying scene, suffering a sudden cardiac arrest. Could that be counted as the Grim Reaper breaking the rules?
Eight people on the list, currently four dead and one survivor...
If the remaining three also died, with a mission completion rate of less than 13%, it was hard to imagine how terrifying the Grim Reaper's pursuit would be.
"Heta... can you explain it to us? Please, we're really curious."
Green's gaze was earnest.
Curiosity was one thing, but they also wanted to understand the problem-solving logic.
Once they understood the logic, perhaps they could find the issues in the few remaining missions and change the targets' fates?
But Green and the others seemed to have forgotten one fact.
They had been mere dead weight in the previous instances; could they really be relied upon for the remaining missions?
Heta didn't hold it against them. She quietly watched the steam rising from her cup, took two sips, and set it down.
"It's actually not complicated. Aside from Lilian and me, all the other students participating in the ball-passing game were victims who had already been killed by the Headless Senior Female Student."
Green wasn't surprised by this.
Heta continued her explanation:
"This means that the entertainment activity was essentially a death memory party."
"Every ghost that caught the ball was stating how they were originally killed by the Headless Senior Female Student. Thinking back, the talents they performed and their 'Truth' answers were all death replays, right?"
"Didn't you notice a fairly obvious pattern?"
"I was the first to catch the ball. Everyone who caught it after me followed in order starting from my right side."
"There were 24 people who could catch the ball, but no one ever caught it out of turn between the previous two people. I don't deny such a probability exists, but it's very low."
"Once you notice the catching order, you should pay attention to what the ghosts said and did."
"I just said they were all doing death replays. Besides all being killed by the Headless Senior Female Student, there were two other patterns."
"First: No ghost caught the ball twice. Their hideous appearances were only to make us lose our memory anchors, thus ignoring this information. This was a pitfall buried by the Grim Reaper."
"Second: Every ghost, besides describing their method of death, also included the time. Think back, were the times they reported getting closer and closer to today?"
Green and the other two thought back for a moment and gasped.
It really was!
And just as Heta said, those ghosts looked too terrifying; they hadn't dared to look closely at all.
Unlike Heta, who could sit right next to them and observe the differences with an expressionless face.
The short-haired woman sitting next to Green couldn't help but ask:
"But what does this have to do with saving Lilian? Why did you say you killed her at the end?"
Qi Zhimu, sitting by the window looking bored, couldn't help but feel a surge of sarcasm in his eyes upon hearing this question.
Little Heta had practically handed them the answer, yet their brains still wouldn't turn.
Truly pig teammates; it was a blessing as long as they didn't drag her down.
Heta: "The Grim Reaper set a cognitive blind spot for the ghosts. You were wearing guard uniforms when you approached, yet the Headless Senior Female Student addressed you as students."
"This shows that in her twisted perception, she can't distinguish between the living and the dead; she can only operate according to a set logic."
Green was listening so intently she didn't even notice her coffee spilling.
Heta explained clearly: "When I caught the ball for the second time, the time of death for the previous ghost was 23 days ago. Therefore, I had to give a logically consistent answer. Otherwise, the next person to catch the ball would definitely be Lilian, and knowing nothing, she would surely die the moment she spoke."
"The Headless Senior Female Student asked me who I killed, so I just followed her lead and fabricated it. That's why I said I poisoned Lilian ten days ago."
"Since Lilian was 'killed' by me, the Headless Senior Female Student—or rather... the Grim Reaper—cannot kill someone who is already dead within the moment of death."
Green and the others were stunned, their eyes slowly widening.
"...Directly erasing the target person conceptually, leaving the Grim Reaper with no way to act?"
"Correct."
"Then why did you say you were killed too? Clearly, the Grim Reaper won't move against us yet."
Heta took another sip of coffee: "To explain why I was sitting among a pile of dead people, and at the same time affirm the senior student's dominant position, allowing the lie to form a perfect closed loop."
"The Grim Reaper isn't moving against us for now, but that doesn't mean we can ignore logical loopholes in our own existence. One wrong move could lead to total defeat."
"By doing this, the Grim Reaper's execution logic gets stuck, making it impossible to act against the target during the moment of death... Amazing!" Green's face was full of shock.
Her gaze toward Heta was filled with deep awe.
To be able to maintain absolute clarity while surrounded by ghosts and use logical deception by insightfully seeing through the rules.
Her abilities were terrifyingly powerful; being a detective was truly a waste of her talent.
"It's nothing amazing. Before the answer comes out, it's all a gamble." Heta's expression was calm.
Only, she wasn't gambling alone.