The detective is dead, I did it.

Chapter 78 Jailer

She looked at it for a while, then slowly reached out and touched it with her fingertips.

The clump of hair twitched slightly the moment she touched it, as if some muscle was still twitching.

Shirley withdrew her finger. "Wow! It's still alive."

Caltacia's expression changed slightly.

When she placed the clump of hair on the table, she felt that it felt a little strange, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong.

Now that Shirley has said that, when she looked at the grayish-brown thing again, she suddenly realized that it was indeed moving, just like a severed octopus tentacle twitching in its last moments before death.

Charlotte stood up from her chair, walked to the table, bent down, and parted the clump of fur with one finger. Beneath the fur was a small patch of dark red, scab-like skin.

She picked up the piece of skin with her fingers, smelled it, and frowned slightly.

"It smells fishy. And there are remnants of some kind of fish scales on it."

"What kind of fish is that?" Emily asked nervously.

Charlotte didn't answer, but glanced at Li Ang. The latter shook his head slightly, signaling her not to say too much.

Because no fish in the world has such hair. If we say it out loud, it will only make people more likely to overthink things, so it's better to avoid spreading panic.

Charlotte wrapped the clump of hair in a handkerchief, put it in her pocket, and sat back down in her chair. "I don't know."

"Come to think of it, I think I saw a hairy creature like that earlier. I was going to go closer, but it just ran away."

Sherry suddenly spoke up, finally remembering where she had seen something similar before.

"I see. So that means they meant us no harm?"

"Not yet," Eloi's voice came from the far end of the round table, "but that doesn't mean it won't happen in the future. That pink-haired woman has locked us up here; she must have some means of restraint."

"Perhaps that thing is what she left behind to monitor us," Isabel said in a low voice. "I've seen that clear, slimy stuff in the corner of the corridor before, but it's dried up. Judging from the quantity and distribution, that thing is often active here."

The room fell silent for a moment.

People are always afraid of the unknown, especially when the other party is likely not a normal creature.

"There's one more problem." Caltacia took a dry, hard piece of bread from his pocket and placed it on the table.

The bread was moldy, with a layer of grayish-green fuzz on the surface, making it look like a small piece of rotten sponge under the light.

"I found nothing else in the kitchen. Do you know what that means?"

"That means there's no food in this prison," Li Ang said. "If that's the case, then we're in trouble."

If there's no food, the game becomes even more unplayable.

Especially for these detectives who are currently suffering from memory confusion, the armed detectives might be better off, as their own abilities provide a certain boost to their bodies, and they might be able to hold out for a little longer.

But it's a different story for those detectives.

Let alone seven days, they probably won't be able to stand up by the third day.

Just then, a slight sound came from the corner.

Glug glug.

All eyes turned in that direction.

Emily blushed instantly, lowered her head, and wished she could bury her face in the table.

"I'm sorry..." she whispered, "I...I didn't mean to..."

Because everyone was discussing food, Emily's stomach immediately growled loudly after hearing it.

But no one mocked her.

Shirley even leaned over from her chair, patted Emily on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "It's okay. Actually, I'm hungry too."

Emily placed her hands on her stomach, lowered her head, and her golden curly hair covered most of her face.

She hadn't eaten anything for most of the day, and hadn't even had a sip of water since being pulled into this game.

Everyone was the same. The exploration consumed a lot of physical energy, and the mental tension made the physical exertion even greater than usual.

Hunger is like an invisible thread, slowly tightened by an unseen hand.

Caltacia shook her head helplessly. "There's nothing we can do even if we're hungry. There's no food in this prison."

"What do we do?" Lilith asked incredulously. "Are we...are we going to starve to death here?"

Just then, a sound came from outside the door.

It wasn't footsteps, but something that seemed to be slowly crawling on the ground. It wasn't a snake, but more like a snail, making a sticky, damp "plop" sound.

All eyes were drawn to the wooden door.

As the sound grew clearer, the door was pushed open. Something crawled in from the darkness outside.

It has no fixed shape; its entire body is like an indescribable lump of mud, constantly wriggling, and its surface is covered with slippery mucus.

Its "head"—if that bulging tumor can be called a head—has facial features distorted together, barely resembling a human face.

Its body was very long, part of it was inside the door and part of it was in the darkness outside the door, its destination unknown.

With each movement, the slippery skin rubbed against the stone floor, producing that tingling, sticky sound that sent shivers down your spine.

The women's faces turned deathly pale in that instant.

Some people covered their mouths, some grabbed the arms of the people next to them, and some unconsciously moved their bodies back.

But no one screamed. Although they were trembling with fear, their detective instincts were still subtly influencing them.

So as not to make everyone appear even more undignified and ugly in front of this indescribable thing.

Li Ang's hands hung at his sides, his fingers slightly spread, but he did not summon his black blade. Above the monster, a line of silver notification text floated.

[Jailer. Enforcer of the game rules. Sequence Level: Unknown. Abilities: Unknown. Warning: This target is invincible.]

Unknowable. Invincible.

The monster stopped in front of the round table, its head barely managing to open a mouth, which made a low, rumbling sound as it opened and closed.

Good evening, everyone.

"I am in charge of this game. I am responsible for everyone's daily life—food, rest, and the enforcement of voting rules. Please don't be afraid. I mean no harm."

No one answered.

The monster paid no attention. Its body suddenly twitched, and in that instant, everyone thought it was about to attack. Li Ang had even summoned his black sword.

But what could be seen were several slender tentacles extending from the monster's body, the ends of which were wrapped with a silver tray, a white porcelain plate, a crystal goblet, and several steaming dishes.

The tentacle placed the tray steadily on the round table and then retracted.

Roast beef, cream soup, buttered bread, vegetable salad, crème brûlée. Each dish exuded an enticing aroma and gleamed with an oily sheen under the kerosene lamplight.

The aroma of food mingled with the fishy smell emanating from the monster, like the seabed after the tide has receded, creating a simultaneous urge of hunger and nausea in one's stomach.