There was a strange food stall on my way home from work. It opened at 11 PM every night and closed at midnight. But the owner never sold anything. That night, I tried to buy some braised beef, but I was refused. Later, I fell asleep in my bed, only to wake up tied to a chair in front of that very stall. The owner said someone had stolen food when she wasn't looking. If we didn't find the thief, everyone who visited the stall tonight would die. 1 I was completely bewildered when I woke up tied to a chair in front of the food stall. I distinctly remembered going to bed. Why was I suddenly here? I wasn't the only one confused. Several other people were tied up next to me. "What the hell is this?! Killing people over stolen food? Are you insane?" A guy with bleached blond hair shouted what we were all thinking. The stall owner walked up to him, her expression dark. "You're so agitated. Did you steal my food?" "Your food is trash! Let me go, or I won't be polite!" The blond guy cursed, and the others started chiming in. "Yeah, it's just some braised meat! Tying us up is ridiculous!" "Exactly! I don't care who ate it, I'll pay for it! How expensive can it be? I'm in the middle of a multi-million dollar deal! If I lose it, can you afford to compensate me?" A middle-aged man wearing a thick gold chain struggled against the black ropes binding him. "Right! Kidnapping us in the middle of the night over a snack? You're sick!" "Let us go, or I'm calling the police!" While they shouted insults at the owner, I stayed silent. The owner's cold gaze swept over us, sending a chill down my spine. These people weren't using their brains. We were all in different places, doing different things, and suddenly we were all tied up here at the same time. Could this owner be a normal human? I had always felt this stall was weird. It only opened for one hour, late at night. I never saw any customers, just an old lady fussing over her pots. I've walked this route for two years. I only saw it when I worked late. I only knew it closed at midnight because I passed by after a late team dinner once. Tonight, I was starving after overtime and just wanted a late-night snack. The owner told me she wasn't selling, so I left. Who could have predicted this? The owner listened to their complaints without saying a word. Suddenly, I felt the black ropes tighten around me. "Ah! It hurts!" Everyone started screaming. The ropes constricted tighter and tighter, threatening to crush us. "Are you still noisy?" The owner asked. Everyone shook their heads frantically, terrified into silence. The next second, the ropes loosened slightly. I gasped for air. "Answer me. Who stole my food?" No one dared to speak. We looked at the owner with fear in our eyes. Except for the blond guy, who still had a death wish. "Killing people over a snack? Don't let her scare you! She's just an old lady, how can she kill us? The ropes probably have some mechanism in the chairs!" The owner walked up to him, her face grim. "You've been unusually agitated from the start. It must be you." "I didn't..." Before he could finish, his eyes went wide, and he went limp. 2 The owner's hand sliced open the blond guy's stomach and reached inside, rummaging around in his stomach. Blood dripped everywhere. "Ahhh! Grandma, I'm scared!" A five-year-old boy to my right screamed. His grandmother quickly covered his eyes. I almost threw up, turning my head away in horror. The owner pulled her hand out of the guy's body, holding something. "You stole my food. This piece of braised beef is proof." The blond guy was dead as a doornail. He couldn't argue. The owner tossed the beef back into the pot. We looked at each other, terrified. When she turned around again, I mustered up the courage to speak. "Boss, you found the thief. Can you let us go now?" "No." I was confused. "Why?" The owner's face darkened. "I only found one piece of beef. Other food is missing too. Someone else among you stole from me!" Her sudden rage made us tremble. "What will it take for you to let us go?" The man with the gold chain asked. The owner glanced at him. "Find the thief. Then the rest can go." "How do we find them?! Are you going to gut us one by one?!" The Gold Chain Boss suddenly shut up, realizing that might be exactly what she planned. "No! Please let me go! I didn't steal anything, I beg you!" A girl in a white dress started sobbing, pleading with the owner. The owner was unmoved. "It's 3 AM. You have one hour. The thief must confess before 4 AM, or everyone dies!" She ignored us and went back to sit at her stall, staring at us. "Who ate it?! Step forward! Don't kill us all!" The Gold Chain Boss roared. Others joined in. "Yeah, whoever did it, own up! We're innocent!" No one stepped forward. Confessing meant getting gutted. The thief wouldn't dare. Shouting wouldn't solve anything. "Stop arguing! This isn't helping!" I shouted. The Gold Chain Boss snapped back, "You got a better idea?" "I do." I looked up, and everyone's eyes fell on me. "The thief won't confess. Instead of waiting to die, we should find them ourselves." "How?" I looked around. "Everyone recount what happened when you were at the stall. We vote for the most suspicious person and let the owner check their stomach." "Right! If she finds the food, the rest of us live!" The Gold Chain Boss laughed. But the girl in the white dress disagreed. "But we're sending someone to their death. We'd be accomplices to murder." "Accomplices?! If that person hadn't stolen, we wouldn't be here! It's their fault! If you don't agree, I'm voting for you first! I'm innocent, and I don't want to die!" The Gold Chain Boss was fierce. The girl turned red with fear. Others agreed. "Yeah, if you don't agree, we vote for you." "I'm voting for you too. Better you than me." "In chaos, kill the saint first. I vote for you." Everyone ganged up on her. The girl cried, "It's not me! I didn't steal!" 3 "Wait!" I interrupted. "We can't vote blindly." The Gold Chain Boss sneered at me. "Playing hero? Should we vote for you instead?" "That's not what I mean. Listen to me." I looked at everyone. "If I'm right, the owner can't kill indiscriminately. What's the difference between us voting randomly and her gutting us one by one? She could just kill us all, but she gave us time to find the real thief. That means killing innocents carries a penalty for her." I swallowed hard, watching the owner. She didn't get angry, so I continued. "With the blond guy, he was acting suspicious, so she was 80% sure before she killed him. Now, if we vote randomly and she kills an innocent, she might stop caring and just kill us all to find the food." 4 AM was the deadline. If she didn't find the thief by then, she would be punished. That punishment must be worse than the penalty for killing innocents. So she gave us an hour. If we find the thief, she avoids punishment. If we fail, she has to kill everyone to find the food. This hour is our only chance. "You have a point. If we guess wrong, she might just wipe us out." The Gold Chain Boss agreed. I nodded. "Let's go one by one. Tell us what happened at the stall. We find the real thief!" Besides the Gold Chain Boss and the white dress girl, there was a grandmother holding a boy, and a young couple. Everyone looked at each other, hesitant to start. I had nothing to hide, so I went first. "I take this road home from work every day. I worked late tonight and was hungry, so I stopped to buy some food. The owner said she wasn't selling, so I left. I was there for less than a minute." The owner spoke up. "When you asked, I didn't look up. I didn't see what you did during that minute." "What about the others?" Everyone here was a suspect. I didn't rush to clear my name. I wanted to see who was more suspicious. Following my lead, others started talking. The Gold Chain Boss said, "I was at the KTV nearby for a meeting. My driver had a stomach ache and went to the bathroom, so he parked on the roadside. I saw the stall and wanted some food. The owner refused. I cursed a bit, she ignored me, so I kicked the stool next to the stall and left." The owner said slowly, "After you kicked the stool, I turned to fix it. I couldn't see what you did when my back was turned." So, the Gold Chain Boss was very suspicious. Rich boss meets disrespectful stall owner, curses, gets ignored, kicks a stool, and steals a bite while the owner is distracted. The logic held up. Others thought so too, looking at him suspiciously. The Boss got angry. "What are you looking at? She said no, so I didn't eat! I kicked the stool out of anger, but I didn't steal!" 4 The girl in the white dress spoke next. "I was shopping. saw the stall on my way home. I wanted to try it, but no one was there. I waited a bit, no one came, so I left." Everyone looked at the owner. Such important food, and she left the stall unattended? The owner didn't care. "I went next door to get some noodles. She saw the empty stall and approached. She's a suspect." The girl had never met the owner, yet the owner knew she was there. This owner definitely wasn't normal. Maybe not even human! Now, only the couple and the grandma-grandson pair were left. The boyfriend said, "We were on a date, walking around. My girlfriend wanted food, so we stopped. The owner refused. My girlfriend was upset, so I tried to persuade the owner. She still refused, so we left." The owner stared at the boy. "You came inside to bug me for a long time. While we talked, your girlfriend wasn't in my line of sight." The girlfriend retorted, "I just stood there watching you talk! I did nothing!" The owner looked away, seemingly unconvinced. Finally, the grandma and grandson. The boy was buried in his grandma's arms, terrified by the blond guy's death. The grandma trembled. "I live nearby. Took my grandson for a walk. He wanted the food. I asked, she refused. He really wanted it, so I begged her. She wouldn't sell, so we left." The owner looked at the boy this time. "While I was talking to you, your grandson was running around. He left my sight multiple times." "My grandson is a good boy! He wouldn't steal!" The boy peeked out. "I didn't steal." "See? Children don't lie." The grandma swore up and down. The owner fell silent. She was waiting for us to choose. Right now, the Gold Chain Boss seemed the most suspicious. He tried to force a sale, got rejected, kicked a stool. He had the strongest motive. I looked at him. He noticed and roared, "It wasn't me! I was mad she wouldn't sell! I offered money and she refused! I kicked the stool because I lost face! I'm rich, I don't need to steal food!" "Who knows? Maybe you just had to have a taste?" Others nodded. The Boss panicked. "Really not me! Don't frame a good person!" "Vote and find out!" The white dress girl, remembering his threat earlier, pointed at him. "I vote for him!" "Me too!" The boyfriend joined in. His girlfriend echoed, "I vote whoever babe votes for." I slowly raised my hand and pointed at the Boss. The grandma and grandson did the same. The Boss was so scared he peed himself. "It's not me! You're wrong!" No one cared about his screams. We all hoped it was him so we could go home. The owner stood up and walked towards him.
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