Chapter 98: Total Wipeout

To keep Song Wan in check, the director had made a special rule: only Shi Feng was allowed to tear off a name tag.

Song Wan felt a little uneasy, but when she remembered Shi Feng’s fierce streak of eliminating two contestants in a row, she could only give a smile.
Of course, whether in a role or out of it, the Empress always carried an invincible blessing.

The first person they targeted was, of course, Zheng Fang, who Song Wan considered her biggest enemy.

When Song Wan found Zheng Fang, he was still searching for clues.
Though the suspicion around him had been temporarily cleared, he knew that if another clue unfavorable to him appeared, everyone would once again treat him as the murderer.
So when he saw Song Wan, he no longer teased with her as before; he only asked one question and went back to searching.

Song Wan moved to him, face full of doubt. “Brother Zheng, I think I’ve found a clue that might be bad for you.”
He snapped up his head. “What is it?”
His voice was so loud that it pulled in Guo Feng, who was also searching for scraps on the other side.

Zheng Fang immediately realized he must not let Guo Feng see the note.
Among everyone here, Guo Feng was the one who suspected him the most; if Guo Feng saw an incriminating clue, even a whole Yellow River wash wouldn’t clear him.
So Zheng Fang hastily pulled Song Wan to the other side.
Song Wan gladly complied, waving to Guo Feng as she was dragged away.

Guo Feng frowned and followed for a few steps. But when he saw Zheng had no obvious intention of harming Song Wan, he stopped.

“Let’s keep looking for clues.” Guo Feng said seriously. “If Song Wan is eliminated, the killer is definitely Zheng Fang. I’ll tear his name tag with my own hands.”
Zheng Fang didn’t hear every word, but he could guess.
It didn’t matter, anyway. He wouldn’t hurt Song Wan.

He took Song Wan to the staircase. Finding nobody nearby, he looked at her. “Where’s that note you found? Can I see it?”
Song Wan’s expression wavered. “Brother Zheng… are you really not the killer?”
Zheng Fang almost choked. “I’m definitely not the killer! If I were, you would’ve been eliminated already. Would I be worrying about what your note says?”
Song Wan frowned, glanced back over his shoulder, then unexpectedly bowed and apologized. “I’m sorry, Brother Zheng. I know you’re not the killer, but… I am!”

Zheng Fang was startled and turned to run.
A sharp rip sounded.
He turned just in time to face Shi Feng with a self-satisfied smile.
His eyes widened. “Shi Feng? What are you doing here?”
He turned back to Song Wan’s apologetic look, then suddenly got it. “Shi Feng is your fan? The one who kidnapped the director? That’s impossible.”
So Shi Feng was Song Wan’s fan?

Song Wan laughed awkwardly. “It’s not like that.”
But Shi Feng, serene as ever, said, “Why can’t I be Song Wan’s fan? I absolutely love her in *Immortal in the Clouds*. So cool!”
Song Wan and Zheng stared in disbelief.
Song Wan blurted, “Sister Shi Feng, have you seen *Cloud Immortal*?”
Shi Feng nodded calmly. “You did it well. Better than I did.”
Song Wan: “……”

Zheng thought, It’s almost a blessing that I was eliminated so early.

—

Once Zheng Fang had been torn off, things became much freer.

After a moment, Song Wan looked at Shi Feng. “Sister Shi Feng, how about taking down Brother Guo?”
Shi Feng was already hooked on the act of tearing name tags, and her whole face glowed with excitement, eyes glittering. “Anytime. As long as I can tear one.”
Song Wan decided firmly. “Then let’s tear Brother Guo.”

They had no choice. Moments earlier, Guo Feng had seen her leave with Zheng Fang, and soon after Zheng was eliminated. Even if Guo Feng trusted her, this was exactly the kind of moment that made trust hard to hold.
By chance, Guo Feng was looking for Song Wan now, too.

To confuse him, Song Wan ran as fast as she could and screamed, quickly drawing Guo Feng over.
“Guo, run! There’s a guest in this episode!”
She looked terrified, as if being chased by something unseen, and didn’t dare to stop.
“Guest? That’s impossible.”

Guo Feng was dumbfounded. His mind went blank, and he ran after her.
“Why would there be a guest? No one has seen one before!”
“I don’t know, but it was Brother Zheng who got torn by the guest. I barely caught her outline and bolted anyway.”
“What the hell, is the production team really that cruel?”

Neither knew how long they ran. They came to a small room, and Song Wan pushed the door open with all her strength.
“Guo, come in quickly!”
Bang.
They shut the door right away and dropped against it, breathing hard.

“Could there really be a guest?” Guo still didn’t believe it.
Song Wan nodded repeatedly. “Yes. From the figure, definitely a female guest.”
Guo swallowed hard, about to sit down when he heard it—a tear.
His name tag had already been ripped off.
He turned and met Shi Feng’s gentlest smile.

“Hi, Guo Feng. My name is Shi Feng.”
Guo Feng pointed at her face, his hand trembling. “You… you… you’re Empress Wu Zetian. How could that be?”
There was truly a guest—and it was Empress Wu Zetian herself.

Shi Feng smiled. “Why not? I’m an assistant specially invited by production to help Song Wan.”

—

Qing He and Li Fan stood close together, both faces drained.
Just now, Guo Feng had been eliminated.
So far, only three remained: the two of them and Song Wan.
They had originally suspected Song Wan, and when Song Wan and Guo had “run away” earlier, Qing He had happened to be there and had heard their exchange.

Li Fan frowned. “You’re saying there was a guest this episode?”
“If I didn’t mishear,” Qing He said, in a foul mood, “I saw Song Wan and Guo run off together, and Song Wan kept yelling that it was Zheng Fang who was torn by the guest.”
Li Fan, not fully convinced, asked, “Could she have staged the whole thing herself? Is Song Wan the killer?”
Qing He thought for a moment. “That’s possible, but didn’t the show announce at the start that there would be a guest this round?”
He added, “That fan.”

If that was the case, both of them could, in theory, be the killer.

They stepped back from each other in unspoken agreement.
But Qing He continued, “Still, right now the biggest suspect is Song Wan.”
They had always moved together, so it was impossible one of them had killed Guo Feng. Instead, Song Wan, who fled with him, was highly suspicious.
Yet soon the loudspeaker sounded again.

“Song Wan, out!”
A woman’s voice.
The two present men were so shocked they didn’t notice at first.

Apart from the already confirmed guest, only two people were left.
The killer was among them.

Qing He and Li Fan looked at one another in perfect unison and moved apart.
“How about one-on-one for tearing name tags?” Qing He said first.
Li Fan only gave a cold laugh. “Do you take me for an idiot?” Then he turned and ran.

One-on-one? If he and Qing got tangled together, and that guest no one had even seen appeared, they’d be torn.
So after that question, as soon as Li Fan bolted, Qing He followed and turned away from the spot.

Something was still off.
He hadn’t run far when he suddenly stopped.
His eyes widened, and he turned to chase Li Fan.
“Li Fan, out!”
Qing He froze, then sprinted back.

He finally remembered: the announcement that eliminated Song Wan had been made by a woman. But every other elimination had been called out by men.
“We’ve been fooled!”
Qing He ran like a madman into a room and locked the door at once.

Song Wan was the killer, his mind kept chanting.
Yet now he could not go out. Against Song Wan he might still have a fighting chance; against that unknown guest, he had none.
Even if she were a woman, he was no match.
He wasn’t stronger than Guo Feng, and he was hardly tall.

On the other side,
Song Wan and Shi Feng moved in and out of the building’s floors without hesitation, searching every level for Qing He.
Song Wan kept calling into the void.

“Teacher Qing He, where are you? We came to find you...”

Her faint voice bounced through the vast space, somehow taking on a strangely eerie, haunting quality.