Should she reveal this now?
The momentary, peculiar expressions of the four people who had turned into mouthpieces quickly vanished from their faces, and the strange, brief silence was soon replaced by the hum of conversation. Apart from Jiang Tian and Ya Rong, who looked somewhat hesitant, the rest of the group seemed unaware that someone had already become a mouthpiece.
When Jiang Tian tentatively reached out to pat Muya on the shoulder, the round-faced man immediately frowned and sidestepped her hand, asking warily, "What are you doing?"
Jiang Tian froze, seemingly surprised by his normal reaction. Unsure, she withdrew her hand and said, "Oh, nothing... I thought you were zoning out."
"Zoning out?" Muya pointed at Lin Sanjiu. "I'm listening to her explanation."
Lin Sanjiu pressed her lips tightly together, her mind torn between shock and realization. No wonder she couldn't discern from appearances alone who had been turned into a mouthpiece after Guan Nan and Wen Ya each secured one.
The term "mouthpiece," coined by Jiang Tian, while apt, was incredibly misleading. Even Jiang Tian herself seemed confused by it: the term implied that the person had lost their personality and humanity, reduced to a mere walking, talking tool for repeating messages. In reality, the pocket dimension's rules referred to them simply as believers.
This meant they were still themselves. Their words, actions, and behavior appeared completely normal, or at least, as long as Lin Sanjiu didn't intervene.
"Did you hear what she just said?" Jiang Tian, still trapped in her misunderstanding, cautiously asked Wen Ya. "I zoned out. Can you repeat it for me?"
"How could you zone out?" Wen Ya rolled his eyes, sounding impatient. "Guan Nan is the murderer. Didn't you catch that?"
"That's irrelevant. I'm not admitting to anything." Guan Nan's voice was calm and quiet. The anger and forceful denial from earlier were completely absent, as though the discussion were merely about who took an extra serving at lunch.
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Hina couldn't hold back and roared at her. Guan Nan, however, merely glanced away coldly.
At this point, the situation had devolved to a dire state; four out of the twelve were now beyond saving. The most pressing issue now, Lin Sanjiu realized, was how to end this pocket dimension as quickly as possible with minimal loss.
As this thought crossed her mind, a sudden idea flickered within her, one she hadn't fully contemplated.
In the next moment, this fleeting thought materialized in the room.
"No one's trying to harm us in secret anymore," Rodent-Face said. "Maybe we can start working together again."
"Right. Forget what happened before. There's always a way out," Guan Nan said. "Let's think of a solution so everyone can leave safely."
"There are plenty of pocket dimensions that can be resolved peacefully. Maybe this is one of them," Muya added, echoing her sentiment. "Is there anything in the rules we can use? Let's brainstorm."
Wen Ya opened his mouth to speak—it was clear what he intended to say—but Lin Sanjiu quickly intervened, suppressing his words before they left his lips. Without her interference, he merely let out a cold snort, as he often did before.
Jiang Tian and Ya Rong, now watching closely, exchanged stunned glances. Their eyes darted between the three believers, slowly registering what was happening. Gradually, understanding and shock seeped into their expressions like morning mist. Neither of them was foolish; seeing three people consecutively speak out of character yet with eerily similar sentiments made it clear. Ya Rong's tightly clasped hands had turned white.
Even Lin Sanjiu herself couldn't stop trembling. She didn't know why, but something about this left her deeply unsettled.
'So, it's not just the message... Anything I want to spread, they'll open their mouths one after another, expressing the same meaning in slightly different words.'
And yet, they seemed completely unaware, or perhaps unconvinced, that they had become mouthpieces.
"This scene..." Jiang Tian glanced at Lin Sanjiu, her expression carrying a newfound wariness. "Is it yours?"
"It's not mine, nor is the next one," Lin Sanjiu replied after a moment of thought. "This scene seems to be almost over. If there's anything to discuss, let's wait until the next one."
Hearing this, Jiang Tian visibly relaxed, her brows unfurrowing, a reaction that caught Lin Sanjiu off guard.
She just casually claimed, "It's not mine," and Jiang Tian believed her?
People's immediate reactions often unintentionally reveal a great deal. The sudden wave of relief washing over Jiang Tian's face was hard to fake. Perplexed, Lin Sanjiu wrapped her hand in Higher Consciousness, picked up the scalding hot fire basin, and joined the group as the office scene transitioned into a new residential area. ℞Ά𝐍ο𝖇Ěᶊ
In the residential neighborhood, aside from the sparse, dim streetlights, no lights were visible in any of the windows. Lin Sanjiu set the fire basin down, added more paper and other materials, and the group huddled around the orange glow in silence.
Unintentionally, Lin Sanjiu seemed to have become the group's anchor.
"What do we do now?" Hina's wide eyes radiated confusion. "Guan Nan killed Dr. Chen, and you're all so calm? Are we just letting her go? And you just said they each have a mouthpiece now. How are we supposed to leave the pocket dimension?"
Her words fell into the night wind but received little response. Tenny Voltz and Rob exchanged uneasy glances, seemingly as confused as Hina about the sudden shift from tension to tranquility.
Ya Rong, arms crossed, looked at Lin Sanjiu hesitantly, as if wanting to speak but holding back.
She probably couldn't understand why Lin Sanjiu hadn't revealed the truth about the mouthpieces yet.
As Lin Sanjiu thought about this, her gaze flicked to the upper-right corner of her vision.
Thanks to the believers handed over by Guan Nan and Wen Ya, her own credibility score had skyrocketed from 0.391 to 3.36. This meant that Guan Nan and Wen Ya's narratives had been highly successful, each earning them 1 credibility.
From another perspective, with her current credibility, anything Lin Sanjiu said would likely be believed by everyone remaining in the pocket dimension.
At this moment, the number of people holding her media was two: Guan Nan and Wen Ya.
The number of people who believed her message was nine: this included everyone except herself, Ya Rong, and Jiang Tian.
With the believers transferred by Guan Nan and Wen Ya, the total number of final believers was 4.
Three paths now lay before her...
"I need you to think carefully," Lin Sanjiu said softly, her thoughts aligning with her words. "In the rules, was there any mention of what happens to the believers in the end?"