Chapter 56: Identity Rotation

The three clues for the Escaper had practically spelled out in bold letters: You are the Devil.

Lin Kuo froze for two seconds, then quickly ducked behind a stone pillar. The Pillow Girl and the Short-Haired Man—who he’d deliberately sent away—were now near the villa’s entrance, having been distracted. Lin Kuo didn’t have time to analyze everything in detail. He took a breath, forced himself to suppress the emotions stirred by this sudden reversal, and walked over calmly.

“Who’s been trying the code again?!” Pillow Girl hugged her pillow tighter, frustration clear in her voice. “Another three wrong attempts! Which means if we want out, the earliest we can leave is three days from now. Ugh, this is driving me crazy!”

The Short-Haired Man shot Lin Kuo a sharp, suspicious look. “I bet you distracted us on purpose. You’re the Devil!”

That word—Devil—left Lin Kuo uncomfortable, instantly wiping away his good mood. His tone turned cold, and if you listened carefully, there was a faint but distinct trace of disgust:

“It wasn’t me.”

The Short-Haired Man obviously didn’t believe him and was about to argue back when a horrific scream suddenly tore through the air from the third floor:

“HELP!!! HELP!!! THERE’S A MURDER!”

Both Pillow Girl and the Short-Haired Man shuddered violently. Pillow Girl clutched her pillow like a shield. “…S-should… should we… check?”

The Short-Haired Man couldn’t answer immediately. His legs were trembling so hard it was obvious he had zero desire to go investigate.

Lin Kuo, however, wasn’t about to waste any more time on them. A shadow of madness flickered in his brown eyes as he sprinted straight to the kitchen. He grabbed a knife from the rack, its cold blade glinting ominously, reflecting the grim determination on his face.

The clues were already clear enough. If he killed Zhang Yi, he could escape Deadly Mountain Villa, finish this dungeon, and ascend to Area A—one step closer to the coveted S-Rank Zone.

Lin Kuo tightened his grip on the knife, swallowing the chaotic emotions inside him. He was ready to move.

But just then, that chilling mechanical voice rang out again:

“Ding! Ding! Ding!
The Devil’s latest clue is now in Room 11 on the second floor.
Escapers, you are welcome to investigate.”

The voice, as always, was eerily flat, utterly devoid of inflection, like the beeping of a hospital monitor. Every word dripped with uncanny detachment, like a bucket of cold water dumped on Lin Kuo’s head. Rationality flooded back into him.

It wasn’t going to be that easy.

Lin Kuo dropped the knife and headed upstairs empty-handed. He passed the panicked Long-Haired Men fleeing from the third floor, and one detail immediately stood out—Long-Haired Man No. 1 was missing. Lin Kuo recalled the last announcement:
“Participant has violated the rules.” Combined with the scream, it wasn’t hard to guess what had happened.

Zhang Yi—no, Zhou Mu, his real name—had killed Long-Haired Man No. 1 while in the Escaper role.

There were only two dungeon participants total. Zhou Mu had broken the rules, yet the scenario continued. Lin Kuo didn’t think the Main God System would broadcast false messages. Based on his past dungeon experience, that meant some vital rule was being hidden.

He turned into Room 11, where the new Devil clue awaited. It was the room Zhou Mu had stayed in on the first night—the one where he’d hidden his bag.

Inside, a crumpled piece of paper lay on the bed. Lin Kuo smoothed it out. Both sides contained writing.

The first side read: “Second-floor bathroom.”
He flipped to the back.
One word: Zhou.

***

Ten Minutes Earlier – Third Floor, Storage Room

Zhou Mu—formerly Zhang Yi—was straddling Long-Haired Man No. 1, one hand choking his throat while the other stabbed him over and over with a switchblade.

The other Long-Haired Men had bolted already, leaving only Zhou Mu and his victim. When Zhou Mu confirmed Long-Haired Man No. 1 had stopped breathing, he sat back, waiting for the system to announce the end of the dungeon.

The mechanical voice came instead, but not with what he expected:

“Participant has violated the rules.
A punishment will be issued within 12 hours.
Code has been entered incorrectly three times.
Three Escaper clues revealed: Zhou, 16, 162.”

Zhou Mu froze as if struck by lightning.

What did that mean?

He wasn’t… the Devil?

Shock coursed through him as he leapt off the corpse. At that exact moment, the supposedly dead man tilted his head toward Zhou Mu and grinned.

“Heh… heh-heh… heh-heh-heh-heh…”

Zhou Mu’s mind went blank. He stared at the body, only to see it motionless again. The corpse’s face was twisted with suffocation and stab wounds—horribly mutilated.

The switchblade slipped from Zhou Mu’s trembling hand. His thoughts were scrambled beyond recognition; the world around him muted. All he could hear was his own hammering heartbeat, pounding like it was about to burst.

The dread of being wrong about his role clawed at him. He’d attacked an NPC as an Escaper. That meant punishment worse than death awaited him. And the real Devil—still hidden in the shadows—now knew everything.

He was doomed.

The mechanical voice rang out again:

“Ding! Ding! Ding!
New Devil clue now available…”

Zhou Mu snatched up the knife and bolted out of the room. He had to confirm his identity. He hadn’t made a mistake!

***

The sound of rapid footsteps thundered down the hallway. Lin Kuo quickly hid in a wardrobe, peering through a narrow gap just in time to see Zhou Mu snatch the Devil clue. The word “Zhou” was visible.

“HAHAHAHAHA!”

Zhou Mu burst into manic laughter.

“I knew it! I knew it! I’m the Devil!”

His laughter cut off abruptly. Zhou Mu stared down at the knife in his hand, realization dawning.

From his hiding place, Lin Kuo could practically see Zhou Mu’s thoughts: He no longer cared about secrecy. He was going to kill the Escaper.

“Sheng Kuo… It’s Sheng Kuo!” Zhou Mu repeated Lin Kuo’s fake name like a mantra. “It has to be him! Where is he?! Where is he?!”

He dropped the clue, rushing out of the room.

A scream pierced the air—it was Pillow Girl. Doors slammed shut up and down the hall. Zhou Mu’s furious voice followed, accompanied by pounding fists against doors:

“Where’s Sheng Kuo?! Hand him over! I’ll kill him! I’ll kill him and get out of here! I’ll win! I’LL WIN!!! HAHAHAHA!”

***

The wardrobe was cramped, barely large enough for Lin Kuo’s tall frame. His muscles ached from contorting himself into the tight space, but discomfort was the least of his concerns. His mind was a storm of racing gears as he reviewed every clue so far.

At 7 p.m., after three failed password attempts, the system revealed: Male, Wood, B.

Midnight, first Devil clue: Rabbit.

Second midnight, Devil clue: 16.

Third midnight, Devil clue: Wood.

He paused, recalling the sound from that night—a thud as something wooden hit a wall. Zhou Mu had thrown something out the window, but someone saw that wooden object in the living room the next day. Which meant…
The third clue wasn’t “Wood.”
It was Double Wood.

Between the third and fourth midnight, Escaper clues were revealed: Zhou, 16, 162.

Fourth midnight, Devil clue: Zhou.

Lin Kuo closed his eyes for two seconds, then snapped them open. He understood everything.

The first Escaper clue matched both him and Zhou Mu because they were both Escapers at that time. The Main God System was selecting shared traits.

The Devil clues weren’t hints at all. They were announcements of a role rotation.

The “Rabbit” clue wasn’t about Zhou Mu’s pet—it meant that the Devil was someone born in the Year of the Rabbit. It was telling Lin Kuo, It’s your turn.

Second midnight, “16”: Devil role passed to Zhou Mu. Zhou killed the Glasses Man while acting as Devil, making the action valid. The dungeon continued.

In other words: except for the very first night, Lin Kuo and Zhou Mu’s identities had been switching daily.

If you mapped the timeline by Devil announcements:

Day 1: Lin Kuo = Devil, Zhou Mu = Escaper
Day 2: Lin Kuo = Escaper, Zhou Mu = Devil
Day 3: Lin Kuo = Devil, Zhou Mu = Escaper
Day 4: Lin Kuo = Escaper, Zhou Mu = Devil
…

This revelation didn’t excite him. Instead, a sense of foreboding settled deep in his gut.

He’d suspected from the start that the rules leaned heavily in favor of the Devil. He’d assumed it was to make the dungeon more thrilling. But now he realized this rotating-identity mechanic was just one piece of the puzzle.

The real highlight of Deadly Mountain Villa wasn’t merely the identity swaps.
It was this:
The punishment for participants who mistakenly believed they were the Devil but attacked NPCs while in the Escaper role.

And the psychological breakdown of players, driven mad by deceptive Devil clues.

Zhou Mu embodied both perfectly.

Long-Haired Man No. 1 had been killed while Zhou Mu was an Escaper. Yet Zhou Mu was still running around the villa, completely unscathed, fully proving Lin Kuo’s theory.

So what was the punishment? If identities rotated freely, the consequences wouldn’t be limited to Zhou Mu alone.

And since this was the dungeon’s core twist, it had to be something far worse than identity swaps.

As Lin Kuo’s mind churned through possibilities, the chilling mechanical voice blared once more—the third time in an hour. Its pitch was razor-sharp, stabbing into his eardrums:

“Ding-dong!
Participant has violated the rules.
Punishment will now be enforced…”

“Beep—beep—beep… Countdown to punishment: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Madman Protocol engaged!
Escapers and Devil, please take note. Enjoy your dungeon experience.”

Lin Kuo frowned. Madman?

Just then, a shadow blocked the wardrobe’s narrow sliver of light. He looked up, and despite everything he’d been through, the sight sent ice down his spine.

Pressed right up against the wardrobe crack was half a face.

Its eyes darted wildly, then locked on him.

Long-Haired Man No. 1 grinned, whispering in a guttural tone:

“Heh… heh-heh… heh-heh-heh… heh-heh…”