Villain’s Favorite 196

Chapter 196 It’s Weird 

Maya realized her own words sounded a little unhinged even to her own ears. 

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She checked the time, decided arguing about it wasn’t worth the energy, said her goodbyes, and signed off. 

Training had gone on as usual that day, but when the shooting session wrapped up, Philbert didn’t send her back to rest like he normally did. He kept her there and directed her toward the study. 

He pointed at the chair across from the desk and gestured for her to sit. 

Maya sat down like the obedient little creature she was, hands folded on her knees, spine perfectly straight. 

Philbert studied her with an unhurried gaze. “You’re six this year, correct?” 

“Yep.” Maya nodded, perking up the way she always did when her age came up. “Almost seven, actually.” 

Two months, and she’d hit the milestone. 

“Is that so…” He had no idea what she was so delighted about, but watching her eyes curve into little crescents and her legs start swinging from sheer enthusiasm pulled the faintest trace of warmth into his expression. “When you turn eight, there’ll be a culling game. Do you want to participate?” 

Maya went still. 

A culling game. 

Alfred had mentioned it once, his voice so casual and unbothered that it might as well have been a weather report. 

He’d said it was something every child in the Clark family went through. A rite of passage. A filter. 

But did that include her, too? 

And more to the point, eight years old? Was there really no minimum age restriction on something like this? Why did it kick in at eight? That made absolutely no sense. 

Maya thought it over before asking, “Will my brothers be there too?” 

“Your brother will be a year ahead of you. But at seven, you can join him.” 

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Chapter 196 It’s Weird 

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Seven and eight weren’t that far apart, as these things went. 

Maya cut straight to what mattered most to her. “Am I going to die?” 

A flicker of amusement passed through Philbert’s eyes. 

“That depends on what you’re capable of,” he said. “There’s no need to be afraid. They won’t actually let you all die in there. 

“Someone will be watching the whole time. If it ever truly reaches a life-or-death threshold, they’ll pull you out.” 

“What are the win conditions?” Maya asked, tilting her head. “Do you have to eliminate everyone?” 

“No, not necessarily.” Philbert shook his head. “Though that’s usually how it ends up playing out. If you don’t try to take out the others, they’ll come for you instead.” 

His gaze grew distant, like he was seeing something that wasn’t in the room. 

“Once you’re inside, there’ll be people evaluating your performance. If you meet the standard, you’ll be pulled out early, even if you’re not the last one standing.” 

As for the ones who were too frightened to act, too weak to compete, too timid to raise a hand against anyone in there… 

Those were the ones who got left behind. 

“Then how did Toby win? He used to lose to me in a fight.” 

“Him?” Something in Philbert’s tone softened the moment the subject turned to that particular child. “Out of all of you, he’s the one most willing to do whatever it takes. Once you’re inside, any method is permitted. Staying alive is the only rule. Playing weak, landing a sucker punch, turning on your own team, none of it is off-limits.” 

Among all the children, Toby had the most adaptable mind. His arrogance was a product of his status, but in a genuine survival environment, he shed all of that with startling speed. He’d play the victim beautifully, strike without warning, and somehow manage to squirrel away a firearm the entire time without anyone noticing. 

Slippery as an eel and twice as persuasive, he’d taken what should’ve been a culling game and turned the whole thing into something closer to a social deduction match. 

After all, who was going to suspect the sickly, harmless little boy with no apparent threat level whatsoever? 

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Chapter 196 it’s Wend 

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He’d sown discord behind everyone’s backs, stirred up chaos from the shadows, and never stayed with any one group long enough to get caught. He’d play his part, cause his damage, and quietly disappear to the next faction. 

Near the end, a few of the other children had started to put it together. 

They hadn’t made it to the finish line. 

Even the weakest player has a way to win if they’re clever enough about it. 

Maya watched the old man’s face settle into unmistakable satisfaction the moment her third brother came up, and she pressed her lips quietly together. 

Her understanding of just how gloriously shameless and devious that particular brother was had reached a whole new level. 

“He may not match you in raw ability, but what he did in there was a genuine win,” Philbert said with a small smile. “The real question is, could you actually bring yourself to kill someone?” 

Killing someone. 

Springing that on her out of nowhere, Maya had to be honest with herself. Right now, she wasn’t quite there. 

But… 

“I’ll work toward it,” she said, and looked up at him with complete sincerity. 

She’ll work toward it. 

That answer made Philbert look at her twice, then a third time, with something close to bewilderment settling into his expression. He’d expected fear. Protest. Maybe tears. 

Instead, she was prepared to put in the effort. 

He regarded her the way someone might regard a creature they’d never seen before and couldn’t quite classify. 

This child has nothing in common with a normal person. 

A normal person would have bolted by now, or at least shrieked and backed away from the entire conversation. 

Not her. 

She didn’t need the world to bend itself to accommodate her. 

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She’d reach out with both hands, grab hold of whatever environment she landed in, and pull herself into it until she belonged there completely. 

She was like water taking the shape of whatever vessel held it, without losing a single drop of what it actually was. 

It was only now, sitting across from her, that he finally understood why every last one of those strange children under his roof had opened their arms to her so readily. 

The old man’s expression eased, and in a gesture that was startlingly unlike his usual self, he spoke to her the way a grandfather who actually loved his grandchildren might. 

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