Chapter 10

After the one temporarily referred to as Mr. Demon finished speaking, the remaining seven people present fell into dead silence.
Daring to call himself a god in the game, replacing the god who watched over them, and even claiming to be a demon, he was undoubtedly a being not to be trifled with.
Perhaps it was inappropriate to refer to him as "he"; rather, like addressing a god, one should use "It" to denote this existence.
Gu Yi'an immediately labeled this Mr. Demon as having a vile personality.
Though the spectator had changed, whether it was a god or a demon, the one watching the show was equally malicious.
Seeing how wary everyone was, Mr. Demon chuckled and said, "Let's play a game. The name of the game is 'Death List.'"
Gu Yi'an heard someone gasp involuntarily.
She understood the person who made the sound.
Because at that moment, her feelings mirrored theirs, utter astonishment.
"Death List" didn't sound like a pleasant game.
Or rather, anything associated with death was definitely not a good game.
"Now, let me explain the rules," Mr. Demon's voice was smooth and warm, but to the players, it sounded like notes of a death knell.
"There are seven of you in total. I have no interest in knowing your names. I have seven cards here, each corresponding to one of you."
"These seven cards are: Butcher, Thief, Swindler, Witch, Sage, Merchant, and Student."
Mr. Demon hinted meaningfully, "You're all clever enough; I'm sure you can guess which card you'll get. From this moment on, remember the order of the Death List."
"The Butcher dies on the first night."
"The Thief dies on the second night."
"The Swindler dies on the third night."
"The Witch dies on the fourth night."
"The Sage dies on the fifth night."
"The Merchant dies on the sixth night."
"The Student dies on the seventh night."
As Mr. Demon spoke, seven pitch-black cards materialized on the table in front of the seven players.
A burly, middle-aged man with a face full of hardened flesh eagerly flipped over the card in front of him.
"Butcher? I die first?" The man's voice carried a murderous tone, but his eyes kept darting toward the other players around the round table.
Almost simultaneously, a sharp-faced young man next to him turned over his own card.
"Sage." The young man looked at the card, a hint of glee flashing in his eyes.
Seeing that they remained unharmed, Gu Yi'an reached out and touched the card in front of her.
Immediately, a piece of information from the card entered her mind.
The Thief card, possessing the inherent skill of Exchange.
She could swap any card present on the field.
As long as Gu Yi'an willed it, with a mere thought, the card's skill would activate, allowing her to replace the card in her hand with someone else's.
In the death list, the Thief died on the second night.
Although Gu Yi'an hadn't memorized the entire order of deaths, she still remembered the first few.
To be honest, this card had taken Gu Yi'an completely by surprise.
After all, based on the hidden implication in Mr. Demon's earlier words, the cards they obtained would be related to their identities.
Gu Yi'an had thought she would receive a card like the "Student."
Instead, it was the Thief.
Gu Yi'an did not use the card's skill. She flipped the card over.
This should be the front of the card.
The card was roughly the size of a playing card, with two elegant, gilded cursive characters on the front: Thief.
At this moment, the other players also opened their cards, with mixed reactions of joy and worry.
Following the example set by the burly middle-aged man and the sharp-faced young man earlier, everyone announced the role of the card they held, but by unspoken agreement, no one revealed their card's skill.
Gu Yi'an made a point of listening to the roles of the two people beside her.
To her left was the Witch, an elegant woman with silver strands in her hair, well-maintained and refined.
To her right was the Merchant, a man who appeared cheerful and wore a suit as if he were about to head to work.
And to the right of the Merchant was a timid, hesitant boy.
His card was the Student.
Gu Yi'an had originally thought the Student would be her card.
She glanced again at the seating order of the seven of them.
Starting from the burly middle-aged man, the Butcher, on the far left, she was the fifth, followed by the Merchant and the Student, all seven were present.
Gu Yi'an had a bold guess in mind.
However, since Mr. Demon had only announced the death order once, Gu Yi'an still hadn't fully memorized the sequence of the seven roles.
In fact, she hadn't even memorized all seven roles corresponding to the cards.
The likelihood of this guess being correct was very low.
Mr. Demon waited until everyone had quieted down and asked in his gentle voice, "Does anyone have questions about their card?"
"Yes."
Gu Yi’an softly uttered this word.
In an instant, the gazes of the other six players, along with that of Mr. Demon, converged on her.
Yet Gu Yi’an remained unruffled.
Had Mr. Demon not posed his earlier question, she might not have dared to trust her own speculation.
But since he had asked, the scales in Gu Yi’an’s heart immediately tipped in favor of her conjecture.
There was definitely something off about the card in his hand.
Mr. Demon inquired, “What seems to be the issue, Miss Thief?”
Gu Yi’an smiled faintly and said, “Mr. Demon, if I may address you as such.”
Mr. Demon let out an ambiguous chuckle but did not object.
“Earlier, you mentioned that we should know which card we hold. Was that a hint that the role on our cards is related to our identities? In my life, I have never engaged in acts like stealing others’ belongings.”
From as far back as she could remember, Gu Yi’an had never been involved in any shady dealings, not even in her previous life.
So why had she drawn the Thief card?
Since the Thief card’s ability was to swap cards, could it be that someone had exchanged her original card?
Gu Yi’an faced the scrutiny of the other players with composure.
Her gaze inadvertently fell upon the second player to her left.
The sharp-featured young man met her eyes without a trace of guilt.
Seeing his reaction, Gu Yi’an found her answer.
Hearing Gu Yi’an’s question, Mr. Demon observed her with keen interest from behind his mask.
He suddenly remarked, “Haven’t you heard of the term ‘stealing hearts’?”
A slight crack appeared in Gu Yi’an’s perfectly maintained smile.
Did he mean what she thought he meant?
Gu Yi’an looked at Mr. Demon with disbelief.
She was discussing serious matters, and he was joking with her?
Mr. Demon seemed to find her reaction highly amusing and added, “Your appearance has already stolen too many hearts. The Thief card suits you perfectly.”
Gu Yi’an was now certain that Mr. Demon was teasing her.
She fell silent for a moment, about to speak, when Mr. Demon interjected again.
“Including mine.”
Gu Yi’an: “…”