Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

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

---

Chapter 92: Board Game

At midnight, the hands of the manor’s grandfather clock aligned, emitting a loud and profound sound.

The experienced team members had already put down their tea, packed their bags, and tidied their clothes, calmly readying themselves for the new battlefield.

With a flash of bright light, the five of them found themselves in a sealed room.

The room, about half the size of a classroom, had gray-white walls on all four sides. The ceiling and floor were also in the same color scheme, with no windows, no doors, and no furnishings—the entire space resembled a gray-white box.

Such an environment instinctively induced anxiety, but fortunately, after a few seconds, “colleagues” started to appear.

The first to arrive was a team called “Rainbow Assault Team”, falling from a purple vortex that suddenly appeared in the ceiling. Each of the five challengers wore the same style of jacket but in different colors: elegant gray, sky blue, wine red, deep purple, and bright orange. There wasn’t the brightest, only brighter.

Xu Wang’s team exchanged glances with them, capturing a sense of wariness in each other’s eyes, and then tacitly skipped the pleasantries. Each team chose a corner of the room to settle in, quietly waiting for what was to come.

Still, Captain Xu couldn’t help but whisper to his teammates. “That one in elegant gray must be their team captain.”

His four teammates agreed—given the same jacket, while others could only choose flashy colors, he managed to pick a cool and sophisticated shade. There was no other explanation except for the privilege of being the team captain.

Just as the two teams had settled, the center of the room’s floor opened up into a purple vortex, and five more people were delivered.

They were stunned for a few seconds, obviously new to this challenge and unprepared for the overwhelming gray and white, then they noticed the two teams in the corners.

Their reaction was normal when they saw the Rainbow Assault Team: quiet, silent, on guard.

But their expressions became much more animated when they saw Xu Wang’s team.

Xu Wang, Wu Sheng, Qian Ai, and Kuang Jinxin also widened their eyes in surprise.

In the enclosed space, eight friends simultaneously let out a “joyful shout”—

Sheng, Wang, Jin, Qian: “Long Legs, Handsome, Stick Figure, Fair Face?!”

Long Legs, Handsome, Stick Figure, Fair Face: “Fuck!”

Chi Yingxue and the fifth person from the other team looked baffled.

The Rainbow Assault Team frowned, unable to determine the relationship between the two teams. On one hand, Xu Wang’s team looked as joyful as if they had a “reunion with old friends”, but on the other, Long Legs, Handsome, Stick Figure, Fair Face’s expressions looked like “enemies meeting on a narrow path”.

“Uh,” the first to speak was the fifth member of Long Legs, Handsome, Stick Figure, Fair Face, addressing their Long Legs Captain. “Captain, I think I need a backstory here.”

Log Leg’s expression became very subtle.

This wasn’t a good story to brief a new teammate on.

Just then, a third team appeared.

A purple vortex opened in the wall opposite Xu Wang’s team, and five people entered leisurely as if through a door.

The captain was a handsome young man in his late twenties. He had his hands in his hoodie pockets and lively eyes. Upon entering, he surveyed Xu Wang’s team in Corner 1, the Rainbow Assault Team in Corner 2, and Long Legs, Handsome, Stick Figure, Fair Face in the center. Finally, he waved to everyone. “Hi~”

Following him was a man in glasses, also in his late twenties, but with a more composed demeanor. His harmless-looking eyes occasionally flashed with intelligent insight.

The remaining three teammates entered simultaneously. One was tall and slender with fair skin and delicate features but a cold demeanor, like an ice beauty. Another was vibrant and sunny, with a smile even brighter than the captain’s. The last one was tall and robust, naturally exuding an aura of authority without needing to frown or glare.

The Rainbow Assault Team observed silently.

Long Legs, Handsome, Stick Figure, Fair Face tightened their formation, wary and frowning.

Only Xu Wang’s team curiously observed, with the captain responding with a smile. “Hi~”

“……” Long Legs, Handsome, Stick Figure, Fair Face alternated their gazes between the two teams, finally understanding the strange dissonance. These two teams had clashed with each other, and it was quite evident!

“Ding—”

“Ding—”

The sound of “twenty-in-one” echoed in the enclosed space with a reverberating effect, especially noticeable when it rang twice in a row.

All four teams checked their arms simultaneously.

[Roster]: You have 5 minutes of exemption time to choose [Retreat] or [Kick]. Countdown starts now.

[Cheat Sheet]: 15 minutes until the official start of 7/23. Don’t be late. Countdown starts now.

The first message was familiar to all teams since they had received a similar prompt in 6/23 when forming five-person teams. Any team in a five-person challenge would receive such a notification upon completion, facilitating those who wanted to adjust their [Roster].

The second message, however, was completely different from 6/23. In the previous challenge, teams in the banquet hall could enter the castle and start the challenge anytime after completing their lineup.

According to Chi Yingxue’s “spoiler”, this message was related to the nature of this challenge’s competition—it was a board game, requiring all teams to start simultaneously. If some teams arrived early and others joined later, the game couldn’t proceed. Thus, whether teams wanted to recruit new members or swap existing ones, they had to complete their roster adjustments within these 15 minutes. If they missed the deadline, even if they had a full team, they couldn’t enter the challenge and would have to wait until the next day.

“All three teams are here for the first time,” Wu Sheng said, lowering his voice after sneaking a glance around.

Xu Wang nodded. “Yes, but any team that has made it this far is not to be underestimated. We can’t let our guard down.”

Qian Ai’s brows furrowed in confusion. “How do you know they’re all first-timers?”

Chi Yingxue explained indifferently, “They’re still reading the prompts. The duration of their reading corresponds to processing and understanding unfamiliar rules.”

Qian Ai: “……”

Kuang Jinxin comforted. “Qian Ge, I didn’t notice it either.”

Qian Ai patted his head. “But you’re lucky…”

Whether cunning, intelligent, physically strong, or a bringer of luck to the team, Qian Ai, who couldn’t identify any strengths in himself, sank into anxiety about being kicked out of the team at any moment.

Fifteen minutes later, the room still housed the same four teams—surprisingly, no new teams had entered.

As the challenges progressed, the number of teams dwindled, something Xu Wang had anticipated but was now feeling acutely for the first time.

[Owl: 7/23 officially begins. Don’t be nervous. It’s just a board game battle~~]

“Ding—”

[Cheat Sheet]: Please select your participant. Chi Yingxue/Kuang Jinxin/Qian Ai/Wu Sheng/Xu Wang?

All four teammates looked up, unanimously focusing on the pre-decided candidate—Advisor Wu.

Wu Sheng nodded slowly and confidently, his eyes full of determination.

His teammates were reminded of his campaign speech during the day in the manor, discussing who would participate in the challenge—

[Werewolf, Legends of the Three Kingdoms, Killing Games, Aeroplane Chess, Go, Four Nations Chess, strategy, combat, logical deduction… I can win any game I want to.]

With a sense of sure victory, the five members together pressed the selection.

Wu Sheng’s figure flickered and then completely vanished.

On one wall of the sealed room, a live broadcast image suddenly appeared. Wu Sheng was now in another room, sitting at a lavish round table with four golden chairs.

Soon, the other three teams completed their selections, and the game room’s round table was finally fully occupied.

Long Legs, Handsome, Stick Figure, and Fair Face’s team chose their Long Legs Captain, the Rainbow Assault Team chose the man in elegant gray, presumably also their captain. The last team to enter chose the steady man with glasses. The moment he sat down, he gently pushed up his glasses, and just with that gesture, Wu Sheng, sitting across from him, seemed to sense a kindred spirit and looked over.

The young man with glasses nodded politely and said something.

Wu Sheng smiled back and replied.

The teammates in the observation room then realized, damn it, the live broadcast had no sound!

“Kankan? Hello—” The captain of the team with the glasses guy seemed undeterred, calling out to the broadcast wall again.

“Captain.” The sunny, handsome guy sighed. “Zhao Ge has said many times, he refuses this nickname.”

Before the one addressed as Captain could speak, the tall and robust one was already showing annoyance. “Xiao Dong, Zhao Ge also said not to reveal names casually.”

Xiao Dong looked at him pitifully. “Qi Ge, you just revealed my surname too.”

Burly Fu Qi: “……”

Innocent Dong Xi: “……”

“From now on, both of you are on mute!” Le Xing, the team captain who was close to revealing half of his team’s names, was on the verge of a breakdown.

Jing Jinglin, who had been quiet all along, gave a cool glance over Xu Wang’s team and Long Legs, Handsome, Stick Figure, and Fair Face’s team and sighed. “It’s the same game, but we can’t share names with each other.”

Long Legs, Handsome, Stick Figure, Fair Face’s team: “……”

Xu Wang looked at his teammates with an indescribable feeling. “Do you guys have a sense of déjà vu…?”

Qian Ai, Kuang Jinxin: “Feels like looking at our past selves…”

Chi Yingxue: “A low-budget version.”

“It’s starting,” Fair Face said quietly, looking at the broadcast wall.

In the game room, an owl hologram appeared in the center of the round table, and then the hologram dispersed, turning the entire table surface transparent. The transparent surfaces in front of Wu Sheng, Zhao Yukan, the man in elegant gray, and Long Legs displayed the same image—twenty face-down cards.

The four participants in the battle didn’t rashly touch anything.

As first-timers in this 7/23 level but seasoned players, they knew better than to act hastily.

Sure enough, in both the game and observation rooms, a voice similar to the “Owl’s” but more solemn sounded. This time, it wasn’t inside their heads but from the ceiling, as if both rooms had synchronized loudspeakers—

[Now announcing the game content…]

Everyone, including Xu Wang’s team, perked up their ears.

[This is a game of story continuation. Each participant has 20 cards in front of them, including 15 story cards, 3 interruption cards, 1 exchange card, and 1 conclusion card. Participants must use the keywords on their story cards to tell and continue a story, ultimately leading the story towards their own conclusion card.

The specific rules are as follows: Among the four participants, the one who has spent the least time in the “Owl” will start telling the story. Each time a keyword on a story card is used, the corresponding story card can be played. If the following three situations occur during the storytelling, the right to tell the story is transferred — 1) The story cannot continue, and the next storyteller can be designated; 2) If a keyword from another person’s story card is touched upon, the owner of that story card immediately plays it and continues the story; 3) If interrupted by someone else using an interruption card, the person who used the interruption card continues the story.

The exchange card can only be used when you have the right to tell the story. The user can exchange any card in their hand for a random card of the same type from another person.

The first to play all 15 story cards and 1 conclusion card wins.

Friendly reminder: 1) If the storyteller’s story is extremely unreasonable, it will be forcibly interrupted. 2) If the narrative between two story cards is too long, it will be forcibly interrupted.]

In the game room, the 20 cards in front of each player slowly flipped over. They could see their own cards clearly, but the others’ tables remained transparent.

In the observation room, the sixteen onlookers could no longer see any images on the round table and could only see the four players looking down at their tables, focused and serious.

At this moment, Xu Wang’s team’s emotions were quite complex—

Qian Ai: “Story continuation… Is it strategy, combat, or logical deduction?”

Xu Wang: “Language expression.”

Kuang Jinxin: “Sheng Ge… Can he do it?”

Xu Wang looked at the broadcast wall, his heart sinking.

Can he? Even Kuang Jinxin is doubting him, so he definitely can’t!

“I’m sorry.” Chi Yingxue sighed deeply. “I should have listened to the content and rules before giving up control of my body.”

“Ding—”

In the observation room, another notification sounded.

This prompt caught the sixteen teammates off guard, as the battle was about to begin. What could it be? And from the live broadcast, it was clear that the four participants in the game room didn’t receive this notification.

[Cheat Sheet]: Please select the narrative participant. Chi Yingxue/Kuang Jinxin/Qian Ai/Xu Wang?

Narrative participant?

Xu Wang’s team raised their heads, only to find the other three teams equally puzzled.

The sixteen teammates looked at each other in the gray-white sealed room, slowly enveloped by a shadow called “ominous premonition”…

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>