Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 4

Epoh, when reversed, spelled Hope.

Will this god before me bring hope or despair?

The deep, azure lake before him, like a chasm between the Chu and Han territories, kept the deity isolated and beyond the reach of his devotees.

Zhou Qian wondered if there was any danger lurking beneath those waters. He didn’t take any rash actions, choosing instead to continue listening to the followers, hoping to gather some clues about the plot.

Yet, other than a barrage of swear words, he didn’t gather much.

The gates of Apple Paradise closed at 8 PM. Players had to find a way into the park before then, marking their first mission in this instance.

It seemed the rest of the story would likely unfold after 8.

Thinking this, Zhou Qian felt no urgency to explore further. He found a corner to settle in and then took out the treasure chest from his bag.

The bag had the ability to shrink items, had an infinite capacity, and was incredibly light, akin to a virtual space.

This was automatically provided by the game system. As soon as players logged in, they would have this bag.

The treasure chest Zhou Qian now took out was the one he obtained after defeating Li Dafu and clearing the side mission.

Upon opening the chest, he found a small iron box within.

[Player obtains item: Mysterious Medicine Maker with Built-in Ingredients]

[Function: As per item name]

[Grade: F]

Zhou Qian: “……”

Why was it another grade F reward? What happened to the promise of better rewards for greater challenges?

Wait a minute. Maybe it’s not that simple.

If he combined the two Grade F items… What would that result in?

Only a few seconds passed before Zhou Qian had an epiphany.

He quickly took out the previously acquired [Grass] and placed it into the newly acquired iron box.

After a few seconds, Zhou Qian thought of three key reasons.

First, the function of the [Grass] was marked with a question mark, indicating its purpose needed further exploration, possibly with the help of another item.

Second, the reward from defeating Li Dafu and the tutorial level seemed intertwined. Perhaps their respective rewards were as well.

Lastly, herbs could serve as raw materials.

Zhou Qian was correct in his assumption.

After placing the grass into the iron box, there was a brief grinding noise. Moments later, the sound ceased. When he opened the box, the grass was gone, replaced by three tiny black pills.

[Player obtains item: Dalang¹, it’s medicine time.]

[Function: Aim at a target and say, “Dalang, it’s medicine time”. The target will compulsorily approach to take and ingest the pill, becoming immobilized for 3 minutes.]

[Grade: C]

[Note: Effective against both NPCs and players; using it three times on the same target will summon a Rank A NPC, Wu Song, who will perceive the player as Pan Jinlian and launch an attack¹. Players are advised to use with caution.]

¹Clarity: This is referencing characters in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. In the story, Pan Jinlian (portrayed as a femme fatale) is married to Wu Dalang, who is the elder brother of Wu Song. Due to his ugly appearance, Pan Jinlian cheats on him with Ximen Qing, a handsome womanizer in town. Wu Dalang eventually finds out but Pan Jinlian and Ximen Qing murder him by adding poison to his food (thus the reference to it’s medicine time). Eventually, Wu Song finds out about their deeds and kills Pan Jinlian. || It’s quite apt and humorous once you know the background.

Zhou Qian: “……”

Before he could remark about the strange name of this item or contemplate the game designer’s peculiar sense of humor, he was interrupted by a familiar voice.

“Zhou Qian! I’ll get my revenge!”

It seemed Dong Xiang had found a way in after all.

Turning around, Zhou Qian saw Dong Xiang with a menacing and fierce expression on his face.

With someone by his side supporting him, Dong Xiang appeared incredibly confident.

That individual was very young—probably 18 at most. Standing tall at about 185 cm, he had a lean build. He stood straight, almost like a sword, next to Dong Xiang.

He gave a brief glance at Zhou Qian, and then his attention shifted to the surroundings. When his eyes fell on the Great God Epoh, he frowned, seemingly curious about the god’s origin.

Using his watch to scan the young man, Zhou Qian gleaned some information.

[Player Name: Qi Liuxing]

[Player Rank: D]

[Specialty: Swordsmanship, close combat, high attack power]

[Gambler System’s Evaluation: Sword god, kill in ten steps, leaves no trace]

What’s the Gambler System? Zhou Qian wasn’t sure yet.

But one thing was clear: the odds were stacked against him.

Qi Liuxing was Rank D. Disregarding all other abilities, just his HP alone were almost seven times his own. And it seemed he was on good terms with Dong Xiang? Had they collaborated in other instances before?

Many thoughts crossed his mind, but Zhou Qian showed no expression on his face.

He calmly shifted his gaze and looked again at the God Epoh on the other side of the lake.

While Zhou Qian was very calm, in front of the screen, Yu Xian and Zhu Qiang were both sweating profusely.

“In my opinion, Zhou Qian should have just gone all out and killed Dong Xiang just now. Now that guy has reinforcements! Qi Liuxing is a sword god! He sounds very powerful!”

“You can’t really say that. Li Dafu is an NPC in the game. Killing him is like killing a monster. But Dong Xiang is a player. If Zhou Qian did something to him, he would be a real murderer.”

“Yeah, I know that’s the reason. I’m just worried, okay?”

“Look, two more players have arrived! That’s five now! All the players are here!”

The two new players arrived holding hands, both appearing to be around 20 years old.

They were both very pleasing to the eye; clearly a young couple with both looks and talent.

[Player Name: Gao Shan]

[Player Rank: E]

[Specialty: Tank-type skills, high HP, strong defense]

[Player Name: Yun Xiangrong]

[Player Rank: E]

[Specialty: Healing magic, helps teammates recover HP]

“Gao Shan sounds like a plain name, but the girl’s is nice! Yun Xiangrong? Like ‘the clouds want to be her, and the flowers want to decorate her face*’.”

*This is a poem written by poet Li Bai and refers to the first line. Regarding how it relates to Yun Xiangrong’s name, Yun Xiang (云想) means the clouds think/want (which is part of the first line in the poem). Rong (容) refers to the latter half of the line (adorn/decorate). 

“You’re focusing on the wrong thing. Their skills are interesting. One is a tank, and the other is a healer! These two are super important in a team!”

“Yeah, this couple seems pretty powerful.”

“No, that’s actually the problem! If they team up, they need another damage dealer, like Qi Liuxing. But this sword god is obviously with Dong Xiang!”

“Ah… So our Qian Ge is useless now? He doesn’t have any skills yet, so he provides no contribution in team battles! And he has a grudge against Dong Xiang!”

“Danger! Qian Ge is really in danger! I’m afraid the other four will team up and he’ll be left out!”

……

8 PM.

With a loud bang, the palace doors closed.

Immediately, two graceful girls in white gowns walked over.

According to the system prompt, these two goddess-like girls were as high as Rank B, with an HP of 8,000, and incredibly high attack power. They were on a completely different level than the players here, capable of easily crushing them like ants.

There was basically no possibility for players to confront them head-on.

Whatever they said, players would have to obey.

The two goddesses each had their duties. One raised her hand, counting like she was selecting soldiers, while the other walked past each devotee, her palm passing over the top of their heads.

The counting goddess spoke first. “We sent out 24 invitations, but 25 people came!”

The other goddess said, “There are five people here whose thoughts I can’t read. I can’t see if they have a connection with the Great God Epoh.”

These five people the goddess referred to were obviously the five players who replaced the devotees.

Zhou Qian heard this but showed no emotion.

“Why are there as many as five with issues?”

“How would I know? The ceremony is about to begin. We can’t delay. We need to quickly get one person out! I’ll go prepare the ceremony. You handle this!”

After the two goddesses discussed briefly, one left while the other looked at the five players.

“Among you, only four can participate in the ceremony! Who is pretending to be a devotee? Discuss and find them!”

The healer named Yun Xiangrong bravely asked first, “What will happen to the imposter?”

The goddess answered, “No one can deceive a god. The imposter will be executed, of course. Discuss it quickly and find them. I’ll be back after helping my sister.”

As the goddess was about to leave, Dong Xiang glared viciously at Zhou Qian and quickly said, “Goddess! I want to report, that person is not Li Da—”

“Shut up!”

Zhou Qian’s voice became terrifyingly cold as he looked at Dong Xiang with icy eyes.

Dong Xiang felt he was already wicked enough, but under Zhou Qian’s gaze, he froze in place, trembling.

Who on earth is this guy?

For fuck’s sake, he doesn’t look old. Why does he have such terrifying eyes?

The goddess, who was about to leave, stopped and curiously looked at Dong Xiang. “What were you going to say?”

Zhou Qian stepped forward to the goddess; the coldness in his eyes was replaced by a gentle smile. “It’s okay, Goddess. We’ll discuss it.”

Looks were indeed a powerful weapon.

Under Zhou Qian’s smiling gaze, the goddess shyly smiled and walked away, lifting the hem of her dress.

As soon as the goddess left, Zhou Qian’s expression immediately turned cold.

Facing everyone, he said, “24 invitations were sent out, but 25 people came. Among us, who has the ability or tool to duplicate an invitation? No matter what, five of us are false believers.”

“You all heard what those two goddesses said. They actually know that all of us are problematic, but a major ceremony is about to begin, and they need 24 believers to participate. To avoid causing trouble, they are turning a blind eye, allowing four of us to participate.”

“Think about it. If we report each other as false believers and expose this, what will happen?”

Yun Xiangrong, whose face had already turned pale, was the first to respond, “Actually, those two are neglecting their duties. If we make a big fuss about this, they can’t handle the aftermath. We would all be punished for deceiving the gods—we’d all die.”

“Exactly. So—” Zhou Qian said coldly, looking at Dong Xiang, “Don’t think about reporting me unless you want to die with me.”

“You son of a—” Dong Xiang started to curse but seemed afraid of attracting the goddesses’ attention, so he shut his mouth.

Yun Xiangrong asked, “So, how do we choose?”

Zhou Qian replied, “Let’s not choose yet. Let’s leave this problem to the two goddesses. Ensuring that 24 believers attend the ceremony is their task. They’ll figure something out.”

Soon, the two goddesses returned.

“Have you identified the imposter?” one of them asked.

Zhou Qian stepped forward to answer, still smiling warmly. “No, we can’t. You goddesses can’t identify them either, so what can we do?”

Zhou Qian’s words were pleasing.

The two goddesses exchanged glances, both giggling shyly.

After a moment, they spoke in quick succession.

“If you can’t decide amongst yourselves for fear of offending others, let’s change the method of selection.”

“Come! Please follow us!”

The goddesses led the players down a path into a dense forest. The deeper they went, the denser the forest became, to the point where it was pitch dark.

After walking for a few hundred meters, the players arrived in a clearing.

Zhou Qian looked up to see several treehouses.

The treehouses weren’t very high, perched at different heights on sturdy tree trunks, accessible by hanging ladders.

Zhou Qian counted five treehouses, corresponding to the five players. Presumably, the goddesses would ask each player to enter a different treehouse for some task.

Could this be the prisoner’s dilemma*?

*Game theory thought experiment that involves two rational agents, each of whom can cooperate for mutual benefit or betray their partner (“defect”) for individual reward.

As Zhou Qian pondered, he heard the goddesses speak.

“Let’s pose some test questions.”

“Players can hear the questions together but must whisper the answers in our ears one by one.”

“No whispering to each other! Those who break the rules will be considered [false believers] and will be eliminated!”

“The one with the best answers will have the most decision-making power.”

These questions… might be quite difficult, right?

That was the common thought among several players present.

They either used props to copy the invitation letters from the believers they met outside, or used props to steal them… In short, they were all false believers.

So, if they were asked about the beliefs and Epoh, how would they possibly know the answer?

Soon, the goddesses posed their questions.

“Please listen to the questions carefully.”

“1. What is this palace called?”

“2. Who is the master of the palace?”

“3. What is your status here?”

“4. Why did you come here?”

Upon hearing these questions, almost everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The answers were simple: [Apple Paradise], [Epoh], [believer], [received an invitation].

But the following questions weren’t so easy.

The goddesses continued, “5. What has the master of the palace ever done for you?”

“6. Why do you hold a grudge against the master of the palace?”

Zhou Qian smirked—he knew the answers to these two questions, as he had encountered a side quest in the tutorial level and had specifically asked a boy about it after receiving the invitation. But the other four players probably didn’t know.

Zhou Qian still didn’t know what the “decision-making power” that the player who knew all the answers would get.

After these questions, the goddess smiled and spoke to the players.

“Let’s discuss the rules in order. You come up one by one to answer the questions. After one question is finished, we move on to the next one. That way, it won’t be chaotic!”

“Yes, we definitely don’t want chaos!”

And so, the five players walked up to the goddess one by one and answered their respective questions.

After the first four questions were completed, it was time for the fifth.

At that moment, Zhou Qian glanced at the other players. They exchanged glances, shook their heads, and then froze, clearly not knowing the answer.

In the end, only Zhou Qian approached the goddess.

Before answering the goddess’s question, Zhou Qian glanced unintentionally at Dong Xiang and met his gaze. Dong Xiang’s eyes looked extremely sinister, as if he was brewing a particularly vicious plan.

Zhou Qian pretended not to see it and calmly answered the goddess’s last two questions.

“My name is Li Dafu. God Epoh gave me money and a boy.”

“The boy died, and I prayed to the Great God to bring him back to life, but he couldn’t. So, I harbor resentment against the Great God.”

By this point, all the players had answered, and the goddess announced the results.

As expected, Yun Xiangrong, Gao Shan, Qi Liuxing, and Dong Xiang all answered only four questions.

Only Zhou Qian answered all six.

The two goddesses smiled at Zhou Qian and spoke in turn.

“Your name is Li Dafu, right? Congratulations, you are the winner of the question game. We believe you have the highest possibility of being a true believer, and we will give you the decision-making power!”

“Among the other believers, you get to decide who’s real and who’s fake!”

“Now, we’ll give you 100 points. Please use these points to grade everyone, including yourself. Whoever has the lowest score will be considered a fake believer and will be eliminated!”

Watching this, Yu Xian, in front of his phone screen, exclaimed, “Fuck, so awesome. Qian Ge is sure to win!”

Zhu Qiang said, “It seems like it. Not only can he win… It’s like our exams. The other four are students taking the exam, and Qian Ge is the examiner. And students can bribe the examiner!”

Yu Xian: “Right, isn’t Qian Ge just short of everything? As a Rank F player, he doesn’t have any items, and only a few gold coins! He can take this opportunity to extort! He’ll give the highest score to whoever gives him the most gold coins and items! This is classic cool text*!”

*Genre in web novels, which generally have a protagonist that often has a strong, dominant role with their conflicts resolved smoothly and satisfyingly, allowing readers to experience a sense of triumph and accomplishment. These elements include such things as the main character gaining unexpected power ups, exacting satisfying revenge, or achieving significant success, which gives the reader a cool (refreshing) [shuang] (爽) feeling.

However, while the pair thought it was a cool text, they never expected what came next—

The goddess further announced the rules.

“However… we just selected the most probable true believer through a small test. But he might not really be the true believer, nor might everyone trust him!”

“So, after Li Dafu has scored everyone, the other four can vote on his grading.”

“If more than half of them are dissatisfied with his grading, then Li Dafu’s scores are invalid.”

“Li Dafu, it seems you haven’t earned the trust of the other believers. In this case, you will be considered a fake believer and will be eliminated!”

After hearing the rules, the Yu and Zhu duo exclaimed simultaneously, “Crap!”

The goddess continued, “Well, there might be a tie in the votes among the four. What happens in case of a tie? Sister, what do you think?”

The other replied, “A tie is a waste of our time. After one tie, Li Dafu’s grading is nullified, and he needs to re-grade. The other four will then vote again.”

“But if there’s a tie three times in a row, then, unfortunately, it seems Li Dafu is still a fake believer. You will be eliminated.”

The two goddesses paused, seemingly waiting for the players to digest the rules.

At this moment, Dong Xiang’s sinister voice rang out among the players.

With a ferocious look at Zhou Qian, he sneered, “Zhou Qian, no matter how you grade, Qi Liuxing and I will definitely disagree. Among the four of us, we will cast two negative votes. So, whether or not the couple Gao Shan and Yun Xiangrong agree with your grading, you’re doomed!”

“Because! Even if the young couple both agree with you, Qi Liuxing and I will definitely disagree, leading to a tie!”

“So after three rounds of ties, your grading will be nullified, and you will definitely be eliminated!”

“You’re finished, Zhou Qian. There’s no way you can turn things around!”

“I’ll send you off as the first blood in this instance!”

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