Chapter 2: Probing

“My name's Tian Yi. I run a bookshop.” Tian Yi's introduction was flat, and he still wore that irritatingly listless expression. That was all he had to say.

The introductions did not take long. Learning each other's names was secondary; the exercise revealed far more than that. Each person's tone, expression, manner, occupation, and so on roughly established where all thirteen of them stood socially, by mainstream standards.

Birds of a feather flock together, as the saying went. Tian Yi had noticed it from the outset. When those twelve people woke to find themselves in strange, desolate surroundings, animal instinct led them, consciously or otherwise, to gravitate toward their “own kind.”

Skin color, sex, age, probably in that order. Someone of the same sex and skin color, close to one's own age, was the “safest.” Conversely, someone of the opposite sex, with a different skin color and a substantial age gap, posed the greatest “threat.” This was experience carried in the blood of all living creatures through the long course of evolution. However many years passed, humanity could never escape that instinct.

After Yang Gang gathered everyone together, the way they arranged themselves followed that same pattern, which was why the woman, a fellow Asian, stood so close to Tian Yi.

Once the introductions were over, however, that pattern would break down.

Clearly, all twelve were still rational at this stage. The moral and legal principles ingrained in them by ordinary society still influenced their thinking.

So, without realizing it, people of similar social standing would gradually draw together. The aristocrat and the entrepreneur; the white-collar workers and the technical workers. And, of course, the street performer who went around spreading rumors about aliens and the burly bald man who worked at a meat-processing plant.

Tian Yi watched their movements with cold detachment, saying nothing. He noticed that the woman was still beside him. Was she being sensible or stubborn…?

Before long, the group reached an agreement. Their conversation had revealed that everyone was equally baffled by their predicament, so all they could do for now was look around.

Yang Gang advised against going alone. They should explore the surrounding area, preferably in twos or threes, without venturing too far inland. Getting lost in the island's dense forest would be extremely dangerous. In any event, they agreed to return to this stretch of beach in an hour to exchange information and see what everyone had found.

Once everyone had dispersed, Tian Yi said to the woman beside him, “A word in private.”

With that, Tian Yi walked toward the sea. The water was calm now, the waves gently lapping at the beach. He stopped when the seawater covered his ankles. This was far enough. There was no one within several dozen meters, and if he went any farther, people might think he was going for a swim or trying to kill himself.

The woman followed. She had taken off her shoes and was carrying them in one hand, her trouser legs rolled up a little. Apparently she did not want to get her clothes wet. “Um… Mr. Tian?”

“Jiang Yun, was it? There are a few things I'd like to confirm with you,” Tian Yi said.

“Yes, go ahead,” Jiang Yun replied.

“You know Yang Gang isn't a police officer. So he's…”

“A wanted criminal,” Jiang Yun replied. “I saw his photograph in the paper.”

“Aren't you afraid I might be a wanted criminal whose photograph you haven't seen?” Tian Yi asked.

Jiang Yun smiled. “Then I suppose that's my bad luck.” Clearly, she thought he was joking.

“So your plan is to tell as many people here as possible the truth without Yang Gang noticing, so they'll be wary of this ‘Officer Yang’ and take precautions before it's too late,” Tian Yi said.

“Yes. If you believe me, would you be willing to help?”

Tian Yi did not answer. As far as he was concerned, one word summed this woman up. Muddleheaded. She wasn't entirely without clever ideas, and she was at least sharper than the bald fellow, but this plan defied description. The chances of failure were well over ninety percent.

If you imagine everyone is as kindhearted as you are, you'd better pray they're all even stupider.

“Normally I charge a hefty fee for giving people this sort of advice, but this time I can give you a better plan for free,” Tian Yi said. “Before he shows his true colors, pick up a rock, sneak up behind him, catch him off guard, and hit him hard in the back of the head. Take him out in one go.”

“But I… How could I possibly…” Then something occurred to Jiang Yun. “Mr. Tian, please don't do anything rash… He's a wanted criminal…”

Tian Yi was truly baffled. Yang Gang poses no threat to me, he thought. What reason would I have to kill him? Eliminate a potential threat for a bunch of complete strangers? What's in it for me?

“Relax… I'm only offering a suggestion. I've no interest in doing it myself,” he replied. What he was thinking, though, was that if he ever had to take action, it would pretty much mean human flesh was the only thing left to eat on this island.

“Um… Mr. Tian, shouldn't we look around too?” Jiang Yun asked. “So we don't stand out and attract Yang Gang's attention.”

“The men here have all been paying attention to you for quite a while…” Tian Yi mumbled indistinctly.

“Hmm? What?” Jiang Yun asked.

“I said I've had my eye on those woods for quite a while. Let's go take a look for now.”

“Oh…” Jiang Yun murmured, and left the water's edge with him.

She put her shoes back on at the beach and followed Tian Yi for a while. Then something suddenly occurred to her. “Mr. Tian, why did you go into the water with your shoes on? Doesn't that feel uncomfortable?”

“Oh… that. If I exposed my socks to the air, I wouldn't be the only one feeling uncomfortable.” Tian Yi brushed the matter aside and changed the subject. “This island isn't small. Whoever brought us here must have some purpose. It just hasn't surfaced yet. But there's always danger lurking out of sight. You'd better not get too relaxed.”

At that, Tian Yi suddenly stopped. Behind him, Jiang Yun grew nervous too, wondering what had happened up ahead.

“So there's a water source this close to the coast…” Tian Yi started walking again. He went around a few trees, and a clear spring came into view.

“Good, we've found something useful. The next problem is food. I haven't seen any animal tracks along the way, but we're still close to shore. There might be some farther inland.” As he spoke, Tian Yi was already preparing to head deeper into the island.

“Mr. Tian, if we go too far and get lost…” Jiang Yun said.

Tian Yi kept walking and spoke without turning around. “Without food and water, these people have no way to meet their most basic needs. Once that happens, human civilization rapidly regresses to a primitive state. Within two days, everyone here will be no different from a wanted criminal. Possibly worse.”

For a moment, Jiang Yun could not understand what he meant. She came from a privileged background, was highly educated, and had never associated with people whose social standing differed greatly from her own. To her, propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame were things one took for granted. Bad people should be brought to justice, and good people would naturally live out their lives in peace.

Tian Yi's view of such people was that once reality had thoroughly battered their innocence, it would reveal just how closely it resembled stupidity…

Under extreme conditions, humanity's false facade would soon shatter. Suppose there was a piece of meat. Eat it, and you could live two more days. Don't, and you'd starve to death right away. But as luck would have it, someone you barely knew wanted that same piece of meat. Ordinarily, you'd have neither the reason nor the nerve to kill, but at a time like that, everything else went out the window. Better him than you, as they said. Kill the bastard, and you could live two more days.

Tian Yi glanced at Jiang Yun's expression and sighed. “Don't think so highly of everyone. Just among the thirteen people on this island, there are several besides Yang Gang worth watching.”

Tian Yi said, “Jerry, the boy who looks thirteen or fourteen and claims to be an aristocrat, and his fifty-something ‘butler,’ Mr. Rude, are obviously lying. Jerry's rough hands, his speech, and his manner alone tell you he's no aristocrat. Rude's overbearing behavior is much more like that of a noble lord.

“The tattoo on the back of our bald friend Carl's neck looks very much like a gang mark. I suspect he may have a little ‘sideline’ besides his regular work. Our friend Isaac, the firm believer in aliens, doesn't seem to have any secrets. He's just a bit high-strung. We can't rule out the possibility of him losing his mind if he gets hungry enough.

“Ms. Fidelia, who claims to be a white-collar worker, is very likely a prostitute. Secondary syphilis, no question. I'd keep my distance if I were you. It's hard to say whether even her name is real.

“The old man called Noguchi Masao is a dirty old lecher. Since he opened his eyes, he's barely taken them off the three women here, you included, of course. His claim to be some major entrepreneur isn't necessarily credible either. As far as I know, there are no large companies in Sakura Prefecture whose owner is named Noguchi. To my eye, he looks more like an official or a politician.

“The remaining four, Becky the college student, Gavin the architect, and the company employees Dale and Lambert, haven't shown anything obviously suspicious yet. Hmm… It seems people of that sort need even closer attention.”

As Jiang Yun listened, she grew more and more surprised. She had not expected this seemingly distracted man to have remembered and analyzed every person there, one by one. She could not help asking, “Do you really just run a bookshop, Mr. Tian?”

Tian Yi answered calmly. “If I were a psychopathic killer, and you'd followed me here alone, to this secluded place where there's no one around…” He looked back at her. “Could you still laugh it off and say, ‘That's my bad luck’…?”

Jiang Yun froze. At that moment, she truly felt afraid. She knew nothing about the man in front of her. Half an hour ago, she hadn't even known him. It was even possible that this Tian Yi had brought all of them to the island… She remembered that when she'd first opened her eyes, Tian Yi had been the only one standing alone, far from the others, and he had woken well before them. Could it be…?

Her sense of foreboding grew stronger. But Tian Yi turned away again and continued in the same unhurried tone. “It's good that you know how to be afraid. People should always have some sense of danger, whatever their surroundings.” At that moment, he seemed to become a harmless, dependable man again. “I've always been honest with people. If I say I run a bookshop, I run a bookshop. If I didn't, my only option would be to start a pig farm.”

Jiang Yun breathed a sigh of relief and gave an awkward smile. She felt she had been worrying too much just now. This wasn't a novel, after all. How many psychopathic killers who enjoyed toying with their victims could there possibly be in the world?

But what Tian Yi did best, and enjoyed most, was repeatedly sending people's emotions soaring and plunging within a single stretch of speech. Continuing from what he'd just said, he abruptly changed tack. “What about you, though? Are you really a playwright? Why do I get the feeling you're lying too…?”