Of course, in Wen Xishu's view, they accepted it rather quickly...

Wen Xishu suddenly realized the logic of expectation value—it's all about the spectacle.

Ordinary people, people without distinctive features, will have very low expectation values.

For example, the majority of people start with the lowest initial value, 10 points.

But the Snake-tongued Woman... she has too many spectacle points, like her large steamed bun-sized breasts that give her an initial value of 75 points.

The Bald Spider-man looks like he has a story, and the foolish ones are always quite amusing...

So their expectation values are all higher than the initial value.

However, no matter your appearance, you can't compare to the milky white Snowchild.

A few seconds later...

None of them could move.

Behind Wen Xishu and the other seven people—a knight holding a greatsword stood ready.

The knight could decapitate them with a single slash at any moment.

[You have thirty seconds to communicate freely. After thirty seconds, the story will begin.]

"What the hell... Why can't I move?" shouted the Thief-eyebrowed Man.

Wen Xishu spoke:

"Stop struggling, everyone, listen to me. If you want to survive, follow the game rules."

"Instead of thinking about how to escape or struggle, think about how the upcoming story can keep your expectation value from hitting zero."

"Also, after telling the story, pay attention to the comments. If the comments are pleased, only then will you get expectation points."

Wen Xishu's expectation value had already turned to 22.

His speech earned him some additional expectation points.

"Also... the story only lasts one minute. Don't talk about too many details; just mention the wicked things you've done."

Has Wen Xishu done bad things?

From his standpoint, no.

But good or bad, it's all about perspective.

In his past life, Wen Xishu's parents also thought they were good people.

In the present life, those who died at Wen Xishu's hands also believed they were good people.

So, how to tell, and how to tell with a hook, is crucial.

At this moment, the Gentle Man's expectation value had dropped to 5 points.

That's an extremely low number, akin to being at the critical point of an enemy's kill line.

Because the Gentle Man had no outstanding performance.

The Chef's expectation value also dropped to 8 points.

Thirty seconds passed quickly.

The eight knights' greatswords pointed at the eight people's heads.

[The storytelling will begin—please, the first person, start your story. You have sixty seconds.]

The first person to tell a story obviously felt the most pressure. Without others as examples, he didn't know how far to go.

And the Thief-eyebrowed Man, the person with the smallest courage, was the first to tell his story.

He was truly timid...

His rodent-like eyes darted around constantly:

"Help me... What should I do?"

No one spoke.

Because at that moment, Wen Xishu and the others could do nothing but listen.

Fifteen seconds passed.

The Thief-eyebrowed Man hadn't uttered a word, but his panicked reaction had raised his expectation value instead.

Before long, the Thief-eyebrowed Man's expectation value reached 24 points!

Wen Xishu guessed that his fear of death had caught the audience's attention.

"I hope everyone's stories are exciting enough, and I also hope everyone is interesting enough themselves..."

Wen Xishu understood.

Even if the story isn't thrilling, as long as you can attract the audience yourself... your expectation value will be high.

In other words, you need to have showmanship.

Showmanship comes from emotions, performances, event conflicts... and also inherent conditions.

At this moment, the Thief-eyebrowed Man showed a lot of showmanship because he was too scared to tell his story.

"But hitting zero expectation value... isn't the only way to die."

Wen Xishu immediately realized this.

If hitting zero expectation value were the only way to die, then there would be no need to tell a story; just performing foolish acts would suffice.

So, even though the Thief-eyebrowed Man's expectation value kept rising, already reaching 24 points... if he doesn't tell a story or if the story doesn't meet the requirements—

He would probably still die, wouldn't he?

Thirty seconds.

The Thief-eyebrowed Man's expectation value turned to 30 points.

Thirty-five seconds.

The Thief-eyebrowed Man's expectation value turned to 40 points.

The expectation value was rising rapidly.

They, or rather it... what are they expecting?

Wen Xishu had a bad premonition. After all, he didn't want this game to have dead people too soon.

[He seems really anxious!]

[Does he not want that person to die?]

[No way, no way, is he the type with a strong sense of justice? Don't make me laugh.]

[Saint.]

Wen Xishu's expectation value dropped.

Damn? I'm a saint now?

Wen Xishu intentionally showed concern and anxiety to gain favor.

But now it seemed... his audience had a rather nasty disposition.

His expressions could also affect his own expectation value.

"This is the significance of paying attention to the comments, right? Determine their character, cater to them, and tell stories that fit the theme and please them?"

This was Wen Xishu's thought.

Wen Xishu took particular notice, and luckily, the comments seemed to indicate that "they" could only see the surface and not perceive inner thoughts.

50 seconds.

The Thief-eyebrowed Man still couldn't speak.

Ten seconds left until the minute ended.

Ten.

Nine.

Eight.

...

Five, four...

The Thief-eyebrowed Man finally thought of something to say, but by then, he barely had enough time left to tell his story.

Three seconds—the knight behind the Thief-eyebrowed Man raised his greatsword slightly, ready to descend at any moment, piercing the Thief-eyebrowed Man's head and decapitating him.

At the edge of life and death! The Thief-eyebrowed Man managed to tell his story:

"I—I stole from my neighbor!"

A thief, huh?

Wen Xishu discovered that on the panel he was able to view, new content had been added.

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