Chapter 319: "Isn't it delightful to have friends coming from afar?
"What method?"
Hungry Monkey asked subconsciously, mainly because the rules provided too little substance; there wasn't a single piece of useful information, and there really weren't any good leads to follow. If some information were provided—for instance, the traitor's dietary habits or accent—certain conclusions could be drawn.
But there was nothing.
Currently, Zhou Shen's solution seemed to be the easiest to arrive at a conclusion. It was quite simple. Just kill everyone except themselves, and naturally, the traitor would be gone. It was highly probable the traitor wasn't among them.
But this method was a bit too murderous.
Chen Miao said nothing but slowly walked up to the front of the crowd with his cane, looked towards the somewhat panicked people and spoke calmly, "I am not yet clear who amongst you is the traitor."
"But what I can assure is that, if you step forward now, there will be no reproach for past actions."
"Only..."
"If it comes down to me to root out the traitor, then I, Chen Miao, will swear to the Nine Heavens that I will eradicate your entire race, leaving not one survivor!"
"The entire universe will hear the wails of your people dying in agony!"
"Die alone now, or have your entire race perish later."
"Choose for yourself."
"I'll give you one minute to come forward."
These words were powerful and resonant!
Everyone looked at one another with panicked and fearful faces, as if everyone but themselves seemed like the traitor. Even those who had entered the secret realm with their family and friends now trusted their companions somewhat less, fearful that they might have been replaced.
And Hungry Monkey, standing behind Miao, couldn't help but feel goosebumps all over, his toes were constantly rubbing at the bottom of his shoe, he leaned into Zhou Shen's ear and whispered, "What does Miao mean by this? The traitor won't simply be scared out, will they?"
"That would be too absurd."
"Perhaps it really would work."
Zhou Shen looked thoughtfully towards Miao's back and nodded. He seemed to understand what Miao was getting at. After thirty consecutive days of random combat events, except for the first day's spider army, not a single monster had been seen.
Every monster was too timid to show up.
Even though he didn't know what had happened, nor why the monsters in these secret realms seemed to fear the mention of Miao's name, at least it proved that Miao had high prestige in the minds of these monsters.
In the past few days, Miao had also shared some speculations with them.
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He said these monsters differed from the others they had encountered before. They possessed high Spiritual Wisdom, seeming like a race just like humans, like the Zhiren Race within Miao's body, only with higher Spiritual Wisdom than the Zhiren Race.
If there was intelligence, a concept of race, then there was likely a civilization.
The most terrifying thing for anyone in any civilization is the extinction of their civilization. This fear even exceeds concern for their own safety. Miao was probing. He was betting that the inside traitor would consider the life of their civilization more significant than their own life.
Of course, the traitor first had to believe that Chen Miao possessed the ability to exterminate their race.
There lay many uncertainties in this.
Right now, Miao certainly didn't have that power, but since the monsters were so fearful of him, they must have heard of his deeds and believed that Miao would eventually grow to great heights. Wielding the threat of his future potential should be worth a try.
...
Standing still, Chen Miao, leaning on his cane, looked calmly at the line of people before him. He, too, was somewhat not fully confident. He had merely bluffed, just giving it a try. If this method didn't work, then he would think of another.
However...
A minute was about to pass, and still, nobody took the initiative to step out.
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and he couldn't help but feel that this was a blow to his face, he seemed to have overestimated his fame—his reputation wasn't yet big enough for this.
But just then—
A skinny boy carefully walked out from the crowd, his hand raised apprehensively as he blurted out, "Miao, I am the mole, but just don't rush to hit me. The announcement clearly stated finding the mole is enough."
"It didn't say that the mole had to be killed."
"What if I just leave now, okay?"
A mole has really come out?
A flicker of surprise crossed Chen Miao's eyes, and then he heard the announcement in his ear, indicating they had successfully found the mole. Today's event was complete—it was that simple?
Then he looked at the skinny man in front of him with a smile.
"As the old saying goes, 'it's a joy to have friends come from afar.'
"Since you're here, take a seat before you go."
"Someone!"
"Attend to our guest!"
...
Ten minutes later.
Outside the street bus stop, a dozen men wearing sunglasses, suits, and holding Thomson submachine guns stood with cold expressions, facing outward as they encircled the entire platform, not allowing anyone to step in, looking like a bodyguard team.
Meanwhile, inside the bus stop,
This man, barely over 1.6 meters tall, was shivering and restless, sitting on the ground. He was one of the few members who had been left behind. Even if the mole did not come forward, according to Zhou Shen's method of resolution, this mole would have been eliminated in the first round.
Zhou Shen, Yuan Buping, Hungry Monkey, and Chen Miao were all surrounding this man with sinister eyes.
The sight made the skinny man shiver uncontrollably, his voice trembling as he spoke, "Brother, are you really set on killing me today?"
"Don't rush."
Chen Miao chuckled as he raised his hand, gently brushing off non-existent dust from the man's shoulder, saying with a smile, "Not to kill you, just to have a chat. First question, to which race do you belong?"
No sooner had he spoken,
The man's complexion went deathly pale in an instant, his pupils dilated as he yelled in agony, "Didn't you say you wouldn't exterminate our Azure Dragon Clan? Weren't those promises made just now! Why now do you ask the name of our Azure Dragon Clan???!!"
"I would rather die than tell you!!!"
"I, Wang Defa, will not become a traitor to the Azure Dragon Clan!!!"
It seemed the man was prepared to die; the whole person hysterically ready to suddenly burst out, though quickly was suppressed by a slap from Hungry Monkey. Under Hungry Monkey's exaggerated Strength Value, the young man was like a tiny shrimp, completely incapable of movement.
"Hmm..."
With a slightly weird expression, Hungry Monkey looked down at the skinny man under his palm, hesitating for a while before saying, "Did that kid just say their race belongs to the Azure Dragon Clan?"
"He did indeed."
Yuan Buping nodded with a pensive look, clicking his tongue and said, "And he said it three times—important things must be said three times. It seems as if he's afraid we won't remember that his race is the Azure Dragon Clan."