"I am the King."
The moment Lin got the cards, there was no possibility of anyone else being the King. After dealing, he didn't even look at his own card before flipping it over. Then, he looked at Elysia, who was sneakily trying to hide her card.
"Number 3, report your weight."
Elysia expression stiffened. "Can I change to a Dare?"
"Sure. The Dare is to stand on a digital scale."
"..."
Although Lin expression didn't ripple, it was obvious that a deep sense of vengeance was floating beneath that blank face. With the lie detector present, no one could lie.
Next was...
"Kevin, the number of times you took photos of Mei in high school to bring home."
"..."
"Vil-V, what inappropriate fantasies do you have about the opposite sex while working?"
"Eh?"
"Mei, tell us your 'chunibyo' outbursts from when you were in school."
"Pfft."
"Su, your middle school crush experience."
"Wait, why me too? And did Kevin tell you this?"
Lin was the King eleven times in a row. Every question was sharp, nearly fatal. They hadn't even realized they had so many embarrassing stories.
Except for... Sakura.
When it finally came to Sakura, Lin stared at her for a long time in silence. Sakura was the only one he couldn't think of anything embarrassing for. Even for Hua, Lin could bring up a hilarious situation from her first mission.
"Sakura... what kind of music do you like to listen to?"
When everyone else has had a "special" interaction and it's your turn to be treated differently—whether for better or worse—it creates a psychological gap. It's essentially telling someone: "We aren't close."
Sakura kept her head down gloomily for a long time before answering with a single word.
"Mm, I like that too."
Eh?
Sakura looked up in surprise. She saw Lin nodding at her in agreement, and the lie detector didn't sound. Strange... it was just a mundane agreement... yet Sakura mood suddenly brightened significantly.
After Lin "tyranny" lasted over an hour, the "exposing-each-other's-pasts" session ended. Everyone returned to their rooms to rest, waiting to arrive at the uninhabited island—
But just as Lin thought this, he woke from his sleep to cold seawater slapping his cheeks. He was lying alone amidst the wreckage of a cruise ship, staring at an unfamiliar island.
Lin had encountered many strange events in his time. The Honkai had caused countless anomalies; the environmental phenomena of a Great Eruption alone were enough to make one feel they had stepped into another world. But never had he been as confused as he was now.
He had gone to sleep in his room after the game. But today, he woke up in tattered clothes amidst the wreckage of the ship on a mysterious island. Lin wasn't frightened; he calmly observed the situation and quickly grasped some details.
First, the wreckage—torn like scrap paper—was indeed their ship. The details matched his memory. Second, this island likely wasn't their destination, "No-Name Island," but another one. This could be determined by observing the position of the sun. Finally...
Lin saw a trail of footprints on the beach leading into the island. He thought for a moment and followed them.
The ship was severely damaged; only scattered debris remained. The main body was gone, looking as if it had been smashed from the center by something. Aside from those footprints, Lin saw no trace of anyone else. He wasn't carrying his communicator, so he couldn't check on the others.
Still... a group of MANTIS from Fire Moth going on vacation and being wiped out by a shipwreck? It sounded as absurd as a Herrscher choking to death on water.
Because it was impossible, Lin didn't dwell on it. The priority was to find the person who had drifted here with him. Perhaps that person realized someone would look for her, so she left a trail. Lin found her easily.
A girl with animal ears sat by a clear stream. She cupped the river water with her clean hands, took a sip, and nodded slightly upon confirming it was fresh water. Turning around, she found Lin standing behind her. She froze for a second, then calmly nodded to him.
"Found anyone else?" Lin pushed aside hanging branches and walked to her side, squatting by the river.
Compared to Sakura simple check for drinkability, Lin could find much more information from the stream. By checking the distribution of fresh water, he could deduce the terrain and the habitats of wild animals.
"No."
Lin didn't say much. He later asked Sakura if she had a communicator; she said she didn't.
So, the current situation was: they were on an unknown island southeast of the Mu continent. The ship was gone, leaving only useless wreckage. They had no way to contact headquarters or the others, and they didn't know where the others were.
The good news was that the island had fresh water, animals, and plants. They wouldn't starve.
Great. Next, they might grow barley and rice, make tools and pottery, domesticate goats, build a villa and a farm, and live a rich, simple life. Then they'd find traces of savages, save one named "Friday" from a cannibal feast, help a stranded captain settle a mutiny, and finally return to society after 35 years. The experience would be turned into a legendary novel called Robinson Crusoe.
Of course, that was nearly impossible. If Fire Moth found important personnel missing, they would send a rescue. At best, they'd live here for a few days before being picked up.
"Let's set up camp first. I saw traces of wild beasts; it's better to pick a spot far from their gathering grounds."
Neither feared beasts—their physical capabilities far exceeded almost any wild animal on land—but being harassed by them would be a nuisance. Having teamed up before, their efficiency and cooperation were excellent. In under half an hour, they found a spot and built a simple camp using ship wreckage, wood, and stones. They found some edible mushrooms and roasted them over a fire.
At this moment, neither realized their thoughts were too naive...