Horror Movie Set: This extra is too good at playing the tricks.

Chapter 99 A Strategy No One Can Resist

The atmosphere was like a taut string, ready to snap at the slightest disturbance.

Lin Xiaoxiao used both hands to push the plate along the tabletop slide towards the center of the round table.

All eyes were on her hands.

Just a second before the plate was about to leave the safe zone, her hand suddenly stopped, her fingers clenched, and she pulled the crystal apple back in front of her. The movement was smooth and fluid, without any hesitation.

"Never mind." Lin Xiaoxiao brushed a stray hair behind her ear, her tone indifferent. "This apple looks pretty good, I don't think I want to change it anymore."

The push and pull took no more than 3 seconds.

A fleeting look of excitement crossed Lu Dan's eyes as he sat diagonally opposite her.

She got it.

This is a signal; it requires no words, no eye contact, and tests tacit understanding.

Under the unspoken rules, Lin Xiaoxiao carved out a path to survival through her actions.

Although Bao Ping, huddled in the chair, was timid, he was cowardly, not stupid.

As a seasoned veteran who has spent years navigating the complexities of human relationships, he has an innate sense for these intricate and subtle social dynamics.

Her tiny, beady eyes darted around, and she immediately understood what was going on: "Um, I want to change too."

Bao Ping shouted loudly, picked up the wriggling, crawling repair tool in front of him with both hands, and made as if to push it out.

But the instant the plate left his hand, he recoiled as if electrocuted, clutching it tightly to his chest with a cheeky, reluctant expression: "Oh no, no, this wrench looks really good, I love it, I'm not changing it, I'm not changing it."

However, not everyone can keep up with the thought process of these cunning old bastards.

Chen Zhongyi, sitting to Lu Dan's right, was in a state of mental paralysis at the moment.

He glanced at Lu Dan, who was calmly cutting the cake on his left, then at the boisterous Bao Ping, and finally stared at the grayish-white brain in front of him—this was the thing Lu Dan had just forced on him.

"No?" Chen Zhongyi scratched his head and finally couldn't help but speak up, "What are you guys doing? Are you playing some kind of shameful play? Pushing them out and then pulling them back in."

He pointed to the clown doll in the center of the table, which was grinning strangely.

"This isn't a Galgame (a type of visual novel) anymore! If you choose the wrong option, there's no save file to reload and start over, folks!"

No one paid any attention to his complaints, because the intelligent people present had already completed the first round of information exchange.

On the other side, Chen Hua, who was supporting Ye Jianguo, and Da Lu exchanged glances.

A resolute look flashed across Chen Hua's cold face: "I want to change."

She supported the unconscious Ye Jianguo with one hand, while placing the other on her plate. Her gaze swept across the large round table and locked onto Chen Zhongyi: "Um... your name is Chen Zhongyi, right? I want to switch with you."

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhongyi was even more bewildered: "Huh? You want to switch with me again?" He pointed to his nose, his face full of disbelief, "What are you going to give me?"

"Enough with the nonsense!" Chen Hua's eyes were sharp. "Just trust us. Don't worry about anything else. Agree to the exchange."

This is not a discussion, it's an order.

Chen Zhongyi was intimidated by the woman's aura and shrank back: "No, didn't the doll say that each person only has one chance to exchange? Lu Dan has already exchanged with me, can I exchange again?"

"Wordplay," Lu Dan casually interjected, elegantly slicing off a piece of the still-smoking coal cake.

Without looking up, he said, "The rule states that each person has one chance to exchange, which means each person has one initiative to initiate an exchange."

Lu Dan raised his head, a hint of disdain in his eyes: "As long as the other party agrees, as the passive recipient, you can change it as many times as you want."

"This is a linguistic trap deliberately left by the head chef."

"If we don't play word games like this, how can we increase the difficulty for us? How can we appreciate the ugly spectacle of us distrusting each other in our despair?"

He turned his head, looked at the dolls among the flowers, and raised his fork in a gesture of greeting: "Don't you think so, Chef?"

"Chirp chirp chirp—!" The clown doll let out a high-pitched laugh like a mouse.

It danced and sang among the flowers, waving its baton like a windmill, "Clever people, hahaha, what a clever bunch!"

"What should we do? I was hoping to see you all distrust each other and kill each other, but you've already figured out the flaws so quickly. This is so exciting."

"Since the rules allow it, let's switch! Hurry up and switch! I can't wait to see what happens next."

Having received official approval, Chen Hua no longer hesitated and urged again, "Agree quickly!"

Although Chen Zhongyi's mind was still a complete mess, he had one redeeming quality: he listened to advice. "Alright, alright, let's switch. You're the eldest sister, you make the decisions."

As Chen Zhongyi nodded, their plates floated in mid-air and landed steadily in front of each other.

"vomit--"

When Chen Zhongyi saw the dishes Chen Hua had brought over, the stomach acid he had suppressed surged up again.

It was a huge glass jar containing something resembling a baby, but it was definitely not a human baby, and it was filled with a murky yellow liquid.

Its body was covered in stiff black fur, its facial features were twisted and squeezed together, and it was clutching a candy that looked like an eye tightly in its hand.

"This is supposed to be vegetables?" Chen Zhongyi's face turned deathly pale. "This is edible? Wouldn't that be a crime against humanity?"

However, this is not the end.

Chen Hua had just caught the brain when Lin Xiaoxiao's voice rang out.

"Chen Hua, I'll switch with you!"

His tone was firm and unwavering, leaving no room for doubt.

Chen Hua turned his gaze to Lin Xiaoxiao. Lin Xiaoxiao's eyes were calm, and she offered no explanation, simply placing her hand on the crystal apple.

"Okay." Chen Hua didn't ask any further questions; this was an unspoken understanding between intelligent people.

The plate took flight again, and the "Painful Memories" brain, which had spun around on the table, finally landed in front of Lin Xiaoxiao, while Chen Hua received the seemingly normal and safe crystal apple.

At the same time, Da Lu, who had been silent all along, also moved, wiping the fine beads of cold sweat from his forehead.

He looked at Bao Ping: "Master Bao, I want to switch places with you."

Bao Ping's face was bitter, but he still agreed: "Let's change it."

The plates were exchanged, and the unidentified paste in front of Da Lu was moved to Bao Ping's side, while Bao Ping's bowl of live tools went to Da Lu.

Thus, the first round of exchanges ended, and the situation on the table underwent a dramatic change.

Chen Zhongyi stared at the monstrous infant in front of him, utterly bewildered. "No, I still don't understand. Why go through all this trouble? What's the point?"

"Screening," Lin Xiaoxiao began, explaining to the newbies and reviewing the situation for everyone. "The head chef issued two warning messages, telling the two people that the dishes inside were all bad."

"These two messages are one true and one false. For the person who receives the message, regardless of whether it is true or false, he dares not gamble. His only way to survive is to exchange them."

Lin Xiaoxiao pointed at Lu Dan: "Lu Dan was the first initiator. He didn't hesitate to exchange with you, which proves to some extent that he received a warning."

"Bao Ping and I didn't receive any warning, so we used a feint to identify ourselves and let them know we were safe. That's how we locked onto the rest of the people."

Lin Xiaoxiao's gaze swept over Da Lu and Chen Hua: "Although Chen Hua initiated the exchange, it was to take over the bomb from you."

"Da Lu must have received the second warning, so he had to switch the dishes out."

"Master Bao was the second to last person to taste the dishes, and he took over Da Lu's cooking."

"So the situation is very clear now: out of the seven dishes, one is truly bad and the other is just ordinary, which is in the hands of me and Chef Bao respectively."

"Actually, even if someone doesn't understand, in the end, the food will still end up in our hands."

"Because the other person who gets the bad dish will eventually find out, and there are more than two people who say they want to exchange but then refuse."

"It's also thanks to Lu Dan asking about the order of tasting the dishes that this person will definitely choose to switch in the end."

"The most troublesome situation is, what if the really good dishes are with Team Leader Ye?"

"Also, how should we distinguish between these two dishes, and which one is truly the bad one?"

Just then, a crisp bell rang, interrupting all the reasoning.

The clown doll in the center of the table stood up, its eyes glowing bright red.

"Time's up, the exchange is over. What a brilliant performance! What perfect logic!"

It clapped its hands, its tone maniacal: "Wow, amazing! Now, please begin your meal, starting with the first diner, clockwise."

The baton pointed at Lu Dan: "Please have your meal."

Lu Dan looked at the empty plate in front of him and shrugged: "I've finished eating. As for the taste, it was a bit like burnt tire. Thumbs down."

"Very good, the first one passes." The clown doll didn't care about his provocation, and simply turned the baton to point to Chen Zhongyi, who was to Lu Dan's right.

"Second person, please have your meal."

Chen Zhongyi looked at the black-haired baby in front of him, his stomach churning. "Eat this?" He trembled as he picked up a fork and tried to poke it, but then he saw the thing suddenly open its eyes and let out a sharp cry.

"Wow!"

The scream shattered the glass jar, and murky yellow water spilled all over the table.

The monster baby crawled out using both its hands and feet, following the flow of the medicine, and bit Chen Zhongyi's fork.

"Snap!"

The stainless steel fork was bitten off like a biscuit.

"I'll die if I don't eat."

The words echoed in Chen Zhongyi's mind. He closed his eyes, steeled his heart, and grabbed the wet, slippery monster. Ignoring its biting and screams, he shoved it into his mouth, shouting, "I'll eat it! I'll eat it!"

With the sounds of swallowing and the monster's screams, Chen Zhongyi's body glowed green, he spat out a mouthful of black blood, and his whole body slumped down, but at least he survived.

"Second place, passed."

The doll announced loudly.

Next up is Luzon.

Da Lu took a deep breath, picked up the plate, tilted his head back and gulped it down in one go.

One second, two seconds, three seconds. Da Lu's face went from deathly pale to flushed red. Then, his skin began to blister like boiling water, and he curled up in pain on the chair.

"Ahhhhh!"

Screams echoed throughout the banquet hall.

"How could this happen?" Bao Ping shouted.

Lin Xiaoxiao's heart sank. Did this mean that the bad stuff was what Da Lu had?

Lu Dan just stared at the doll without saying a word.

After a short while, Da Lu suddenly stopped screaming.

The blisters on his body quickly dried up and fell off, revealing the new skin underneath. He touched his face and clenched his fist: "Am I alright?" He even felt a surge of strength within him.

"Congratulations!" the clown doll said. "Who told you that anything that makes your body feel uncomfortable is poison? The most extreme pain is often the strongest tonic."

"This dish is called 'The Wrench of Guilt.' Although the process is excruciating, congratulations, your physical strength has increased."

"Unfortunately, this dish is just an ordinary dish and doesn't have the right to be purified."

"Oh, next up is the patient who fainted. He doesn't seem to be able to eat, so let's move on to the next one."

The clown doll pointed its baton at Chen Hua, who then silently began to eat.

"Okay, you've passed."

The worst happened: the other four people did not gain the ability to purify the food after eating it, and they did not know which of the last two dishes was the real bad dish.

Bao Ping and Lin Xiaoxiao stared at the Grim Reaper in their dish, even though they had meticulously planned every trick in the book.

They checked all the potential mines, but they overlooked luck.

The vegetables that can be purified are indeed with Ye Jianguo.