Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

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Chapter 163

The roof of the small-footprint church was a spired cone. At its very peak stood a cross, while twelve panes of stained glass formed the church’s dome.

When sunlight streamed through those panes, anyone standing in the ground-floor hall would feel bathed in divine light.

Bathed in such radiance, walking through such a church, no one could help believing that their wishes would be granted if they only prayed to God.

Unfortunately, there was no sunlight now; only the eternally unchanging gray sky.

And of the twelve beautiful panes, one had already been shattered.

Bai Zhou and Zhou Qian now stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the metal framing between the two panes flanking that gap.

On the narrow stone eaves outside the remaining panes stood, to their left, the Peach Blossom Legion headed by Ke Yuxiao, and, to their right, the Feidu Legion led by Xu Yang.

The three gunshots had barely rung out when both Ke Yuxiao and Xu Yang were stunned, and so were the people in the church below who had watched everything through the glass.

Zhou Qian’s features were exquisitely handsome. When he narrowed his eyes to aim, the lift of his outer eye-corners lent a hint of wickedness to his assured gaze—it was hard to look away once you saw it.

At the same time, he bore the obvious polish of someone raised amid wealth. Even now, his stance as he fired was textbook perfect, very likely the product of frequent professional training at archery ranges and the like back in real life.

That Zhou Qian had fired three shots into the empty sky with such crisp, fluid form. After the brief moment of confusion, the spectators in the hall below were instantly gripped by dread. A few who didn’t know him couldn’t keep from cursing aloud.

“Those were our only three rounds. What’s he playing at?!”

“Has he lost his mind?!”

“If he doesn’t care about living, what are we supposed to do?”

“No, he’s famous. I know him. In the player-rating leaderboards before S-level he’s still number one. No one’s ever topped him! It’s just that his clears are always something no one expects.”

“I don’t care how ingenious he is. There are rules, you know! He’s just thrown away our only weapon!”

……

Up on the roof, Zhou Qian ignored every word from the players below. He casually tossed the gun onto the tiles, shot Ke Yuxiao a contemptuous glance, then turned a look of lofty disdain toward Xu Yang.

He began, “Hints in the system broadcasts, the fact that you knew weapon caches beforehand, your recruiting by way of making examples of others. All of it points to one thing: weapons in this instance are extremely limited.

“The Peach Blossom Legion opened this very special instance with a mountain of intel in hand and made straight for the richest weapon deposits. How did the Feidu Legion learn all that? I’m guessing… you planted a mole in Peach Blossom, right?”

Peach Blossom had triggered the instance. They wanted its hidden rewards, and they wanted Zhou Qian dead in the melee. Coming in with so much info, they should have stationed different squads at each cache to monopolize the lot. At minimum, it was enough to deny Feidu any chance to stand as an equal.

So how had things ended up like this?

Peach Blossom weren’t fools: knowing caches lay in several spots, they couldn’t have occupied only one, unless they had a traitor.

Most likely that mole gathered intel, hid a portion of the weapons from Peach Blossom, then passed the info to Feidu, letting Feidu seize those arms.

“Mm. Peach Blossom has a Feidu mole. I don’t need to spell that out, do I?”

Here Zhou Qian turned to look at Ke Yuxiao and the ranking members behind him. Seeing their faces indeed shift, he went on with a smile. “Peach Blossom’s a big legion. Intel of this weight can’t be handled by one person. So our mole wouldn’t dare sit on anything really crucial. It would be too easy to get caught. A reasonable inference, then…”

His gaze slid to Xu Yang, eyes glinting. “Peach Blossom’s stockpile still exceeds yours by far. Xu Yang, with things like that, you’re still here for me?”

Without waiting for more words, Xu Yang quickly worked out the logic and his complexion darkened.

By contrast, Zhou Qian looked ever more composed. “Xu Yang, what passed between us before, you can call it a minor episode, water under the bridge. What feud do we really have?

“Let me pose this: say you have twenty bullets left, Peach Blossom fifty. Wiping out everyone here with me would cost you your full twenty. You sure you want that?”

He spread his hands. “You know there were only three bullets where I was. If I’d claimed I couldn’t find them, you’d never trust me. You’d fear I’d take a potshot. If I’d sworn not to use them, same story. Lucky for you, I did find all three—and I’ve just fired them. You saw it yourself.

“Now you’re certain I pose zero threat, yes?

“Unarmed me is no danger to Feidu or Peach Blossom. In that case, will you waste your ammo on me or save it to use on each other?”

With that, he took Bai Zhou’s hand, as calmly as if out for a lovers’ stroll.

He did indeed lead Bai Zhou a few steps along the roof’s edge, then looked back at Ke Yuxiao’s side. “Same logic your way. Even with fifty rounds, killing me costs you twenty. Why not keep them for the real threat, Feidu?

“If you shoot us, it’s thirty versus twenty and your edge shrinks. Besides… you still have at least one mole you haven’t found, don’t you?”

Behind Ke Yuxiao, several squad leaders were now eyeing one another warily. Seeing it, Zhou Qian narrowed his eyes, waved lightly, and, before both legions’ gazes, walked to the roof edge.

Bai Zhou slipped an arm around his waist. “Hold tight.”

“Mm.” Zhou Qian smiled at him, hooked his left arm around Bai Zhou’s neck…

And Bai Zhou, holding him, leapt down, landing steadily on Liuguang Street.

Under everyone’s eyes, Zhou Qian swaggered into the church hall with Bai Zhou, produced all the yellow wristbands, and tossed them a careless look.

“Put them on, all of you. You heard what I said: for them to spend all their ammo on us is a losing bargain. In this situation the twenty of us must come together completely if we’re to flip disadvantage to advantage. If we don’t stay united, we’ll spiral into collapse and we’ll all die. But…”

His tone suddenly turned icy, laden with menace. “I advise you to stay obedient. First, they may not trust you; second, all they want are the information on the murderers you possess, and afterward they’ll kill you anyway.

“And weapons are limited—those will go to their own. If you defect you may not get a weapon, and even if you do…”

Here Zhou Qian lifted Bai Zhou’s hand. “We have Bai Zhou here, ranked first among god-tier players. One way or another, he will cut down traitors. Therefore…

“Take my advice: drop all thoughts of betrayal.

“Since you’re with me, believe this—I can lead you to victory.”

……

[Holy crap, why didn’t I think of that?]

[I’m not being an armchair critic. I did think of it, but I’d never dare try it…]

[Same as above. How could Qian Ge leave those two up there?]

[Yeah, Qian Ge talks a good game, but what if… what if the two legions join forces?]

[Right… They could each spare a few bullets and be done, couldn’t they?]

…

Inside a private box of the virtual viewing hall. 

Zhou Qian’s gamblers launched into heated debate over his move.

And not just here, barrage comments were flooding every viewing hall.

The dozen gamblers in this box all turned in unison toward one man.

He was someone with quite a history: Yuan Bing.

Yuan Bing had once been Wen Bin’s gambler. His machinations had nearly trapped Zhou Qian’s team. 

Only later did the gamblers learn that Wen Bin’s prowess owed to a brilliant strategist behind him, namely Yuan Bing.

With Wen Bin’s death, Yuan Bing, having lost his bet, owed an astronomical sum.

After a player reached S-level, the number of gamblers soared. Any loss multiplied their payouts. No one knew what Yuan Bing did in real life, but he somehow produced several hundred million and paid it.

Then he actually kept playing, picked a new player, and became Zhou Qian’s gambler.

At first the other gamblers resented him for their former enmity.

Now his position had changed, and they were all in the same boat. Though the other gamblers couldn’t say much to him, they never given him a good face.

But starting from Banquet of the Red God, things changed. Time and again Yuan Bing read Zhou Qian’s moves with uncanny accuracy, and the others began to see him differently.

Since Priest no longer appeared as a gambler to answer questions, Yuan Bing became their sole source for explanations.

Now, facing their expectant looks, Yuan Bing said, “No. The odds of Peach Blossom and Feidu cooperating are vanishingly small.”

“Why?” someone asked.

Yuan Bing: “Had Zhou Qian’s gambit failed, he’d never have left the roof with Bai Zhou alive. Their hesitation proves one thing: Zhou Qian’s calculation was right…

“Right that Peach Blossom has more bullets than Feidu, and both sides prize their ammo. How, then, could they cooperate? Killing Zhou Qian takes at least twenty rounds. Peach Blossom might agree to split it half and half, but Feidu never would. And how would Feidu negotiate?”

One gambler suddenly caught on and shouted, “Holy shit. I get it!”

“What did you get?” someone still lost hurriedly asked.

Excited, he explained: “If Feidu proposed concrete terms, say they supply thirty percent of the bullets and Peach Blossom seventy, what would Peach Blossom think? They’d back-calculate Feidu’s total ammo!

“Qian Ge’s group is twenty people. That’s fixed. Peach Blossom knows its own numbers and how many it’s killed. Everyone knows the total player count is a hundred. Simple subtraction lets Peach Blossom estimate Feidu’s manpower.

“Bullets are precious. They need them for enemy factions and for their own non-core members. Feidu has to ensure enough rounds to cover those before killing Zhou Qian. So broaching terms would expose Feidu’s real tally. This is hugely disadvantageous!”

Thus, the board had become a three-way standoff.

Granted, Zhou Qian’s camp was still the weakest since they had no weapons at all.

This instance had a quirk: each wristband color existed in only twenty-five copies. As things progressed, Peach Blossom’s faction surely controlled more than just green; Feidu likewise more than violet, assigning other execs to manage other colors.

Whatever their exact holdings, seeing Zhou Qian’s headcount let each legion roughly gauge the other’s total numbers—made up of legion core, legion non-core, and coerced lone players.

For Xu Yang of Feidu, the system’s coming “max headcount” meant he had to kill people; only by trimming players to that cap could he clear. 

Those he was sure to kill were every non-core member beyond himself, his sister, and five confidants.

Once bullets were gone, they’d be down to melee or clever item use.

Assuming those seven people in Feidu were elite enough to handle two foes apiece; that saved twenty-one bullets. 

If their whole faction numbered forty, they still needed nineteen bullets just to quell internal trouble before even facing outsiders.

On top of that they must exterminate everyone outside. Every remaining round had to count.

Earlier Zhou Qian had hypothetically said they held twenty bullets. 

In such a pinch, to kill Zhou Qian’s twenty he’d at most offer one round and demand Peach Blossom supply nineteen. 

But negotiating at all would lay out Feidu’s trump card.

This undoubtedly would have a huge negative effect on his side. He would never accept it.

Zhou Qian stood in the worst spot—no men, just three bullets. 

Yet with a few words and those shots he had used softness to overcome strength, flipping disadvantage into advantage.

Once they grasped that keystone, the gamblers sat in stunned silence before agreeing in chorus: “Holy shit, awesome.” “So dirty. Political masterminds are filthy.” “Is it too late to pick up game theory now?”

Yuan Bing said, “Peach Blossom probably never dreamt they had a mole. Either way, neither legion will move on Zhou Qian: whoever spends ammo is weakened for later fights. But negotiating will reveal their hand, which is also disadvantageous.

“With such self-interested pragmatists, they’ll do neither.

“So, even if Zhou Qian is weaponless, he has formed a stable tripod with them. The three sides will settle into a delicate stalemate. As things continue…”

He paused, then added, “On Peach Blossom’s side… to have obtained intel this crucial, the mole must be high-level and rooting them out is imperative, likely to spark bloody infighting.

“As for Feidu, their non-core members may not know they’re marked for death or some do know but keep silent to avoid being silenced. 

“They need only a spark to erupt. And who’s the spark? Don’t forget, they themselves brought in Hidden Blade, He Xiaowei, and the rest.”

With his explanation done, the gamblers relaxed into smiles.

“Qian Ge never disappoints.”

“Yeah, what were we worrying about? We can just lie back.”

“Hey, Yuan Bing, you don’t look that relaxed.”

“Ah, he’s just a serious guy.”

“Come on, let’s hop to another hall and chat with the other Qian Ge’s gamblers. Next time have everyone gather here. No more typing, just talk!”

……

“I’m heading to reality for a bit. Keep an eye on things.”

With that, Yuan Bing rose and left the box.

The gamblers paid little heed… Until, at the main door, a deep, unreadable emotion flickered in Yuan Bing’s gaze.

Instead of pressing the exit button to reach the public transfer zone and return via the high-roller channel, he stopped at the door and quietly drew out an identity-switch card.

In a blink he changed from gambler to player and an “inventory” slot appeared on him.

Next he took out a capsule.

Back when Wen Bin died in Murder Exhibition, Yuan Bing, as his gambler, had faced a colossal payout and despair. Priest had approached him then, inviting him into the Peach Blossom Legion.

Those hundreds of millions? Priest had staked him.

And this capsule in his hand—Priest had given it too.

[Item: Territory-Seizing Capsule]

[Function: Want to expand your legion’s territory? This capsule can help! Activate it to alter the nature of the current instance. A peaceful zone can become a battlefield; an open dungeon can become a sealed one.

Using the capsule, you may design parts of the game world. You will be the god and ruler of this instance! In the dream game you create, the system believes you can sweep all before you and claim victory. Win, and the current instance becomes your legion’s territory. Tempting, isn’t it?]

[Note 1: The user may script portions of the story and settings. For balance, the system will polish the instance, making minor tweaks that don’t affect its framework.]

[Note 2: Seizing territory and scripting a game are no easy feats. Before the capsule fully takes effect, you must clear three solo instances created for you. Their difficulty scales to the size of the territory you hope to claim: the larger the land, the tougher the trials. Use with caution!]

The moment had come. Without hesitation, Yuan Bing used the capsule, converting the semi-open virtual viewing hall into a sealed instance.

A prompt appeared: he must clear solo trials. He clicked Confirm.

Another prompt followed…

[The instance you wish to convert contains many non-players. Will you convert them to NPCs or expel them?]

Yuan Bing chose to convert them all and, in his settings, added a keyword: [Killable.]

Why had he backed Wen Bin so hard, only for Wen Bin to lose to Zhou Qian?

Why could these gamblers, who’d done nothing but pick the right horse, rake in fortunes?

He was the clever one; he deserved to be Zhou Qian’s gambler, didn’t he?

Now, only he could truly help Zhou Qian.

So why should other gamblers split the winnings with him?

As the trial loaded, Yuan Bing murmured almost to himself, “I’ll kill every gambler. Zhou Qian, only I deserve to be your sole gambler.

“When Wen Bin died, I hated you, but now… now I’m your comrade. I want to win with you!

“Only I can help you seize victory.

“You’ll come to see…I’m your one and only gambler.”

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The author has something to say:

Yuan Bing’s storyline was foreshadowed back in Chapter 101~

And through his perspective we also get an explanation for how Blue Harbor City was altered.

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