Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 167
The sky remained a perpetually unchanging gray.
On Purple Mist Mountain, towering trees stretched in succession, painting a bizarre and unique apocalyptic landscape.
Halfway up the mountain, Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou sat side by side.
Bai Zhou glanced at a small scar on the corner of Zhou Qian’s mouth, reached out, and gently placed his thumb against Zhou Qian’s cheek. “Does it hurt?” he asked.
Zhou Qian gave him a glance. “This? It’s nothing. Barely a scratch.”
At this, Bai Zhou was briefly taken aback, then smiled faintly, though his eyes remained dark and heavy.
Zhou Qian seemed to sense something and looked him in the eyes, saying with mock innocence, “I only say stuff like this to you. I don’t say it to anyone else.”
Bai Zhou was amused and pinched his ear. “Alright.”
Zhou Qian also smiled, then asked, “By the way, you mentioned on the way here… something about a capsule that can change an instance’s nature?”
Bai Zhou nodded. “A long time ago, I heard Shao Chuan mention it. But I couldn’t confirm it before. After talking to Shan Sheng, that guess turned out to be correct.”
After giving a general explanation of the capsule’s function, Bai Zhou continued,
“There’s an instance in Blue Harbor City that opens from time to time. It’s only open for half a day at a time and closes quickly. No one has ever fully cleared it with 100% completion, and thus no one’s obtained its hidden rewards.”
In certain instances, it’s not that players aren’t capable of triggering or completing hidden tasks. It’s that the system hasn’t made them available at all.
Why? Was it because some prerequisite condition hadn’t been met?
Zhou Qian asked, “Is it that instance… Murder Exhibition?”
Bai Zhou nodded. “Yes, that one.
“The hidden rewards related to Genesis, based on legend, number seven in total. The earlier ones aren’t that hard to get, but the later ones are increasingly difficult. Despite the Peach Blossom Legion’s vast manpower, they’ve never collected all seven.
“This time, after finally obtaining some clues and analyzing them, they concluded that if they could fully convert Blue Harbor City into a closed instance, it might meet the activation conditions for Murder Exhibition hidden task and allow them to trigger it. And as for the result… You’ve seen it for yourself.”
Zhou Qian looked down the mountain, his gaze showing clear interest. “Yeah, they succeeded in triggering the hidden storyline. At the start, the system even said that when the instance ends, we’d see a god.”
He changed tone and added, “You just said using that kind of capsule allows someone to design the instance. But from what I know about the system, it doesn’t give full control to that designer, does it?”
“Correct,” Bai Zhou said. “Even if a player uses a capsule to design an instance, the system will still intervene to maintain balance.
“Also, converting an instance as large as Blue Harbor City is extremely difficult. The larger the area and the more built-in storylines and settings, the harder it is to modify, and the smaller the player’s influence becomes.”
At this point, Zhou Qian finally understood how this instance came to be.
Put simply, the PVE elements—the storyline parts—were still designed by the system.
Only the PVP parts, the player-versus-player mechanics, were designed by the Peach Blossom Legion.
The Murder Exhibition Hall already contained secrets linking different timelines, gathering many killers and presenting the possibility of bringing them together.
However, the system had never actively opened the corresponding hidden story. How those timelines were connected, and what the hall was really for, was never explained.
The Peach Blossom Legion turned Blue Harbor City into a closed instance, triggering the conditions to activate the hidden storyline. Only then did the plot finally reveal itself.
But that plot was entirely designed by the system. It had nothing to do with the players.
The only parts the Peach Blossom Legion could control or design were the wristbands and weapons.
Grasping this key point, Zhou Qian smiled and said, “So the real method of clearing this instance, and what those killers will ultimately do, Peach Blossom doesn’t know. They only designed the wristbands and weapons, trying to get 100 players to kill each other.
“As for why they need to kill so many people… After talking with Priest about his concept of hell, I think I get it. Also…”
Zhou Qian looked to Bai Zhou and asked, “This game is dangerous, but the system has never forced players to die. In terms of game balance, it should intervene even in the PVP parts, right?”
Bai Zhou clearly understood what Zhou Qian was getting at and answered immediately, “Yes. Shan Sheng was involved in the design. I confirmed with him. They didn’t design a white wristband.”
The Peach Blossom Legion created seven colors of wristbands: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, along with their wearing rules, and designed the strongest weapon: guns and bullets.
But the system would still make balance adjustments based on the players’ plans.
This resulted in “unexpected” elements that even the Peach Blossom Legion couldn’t control…
First, the system set a yet-unannounced “maximum value”.
The Peach Blossom Legion couldn’t determine what this “maximum value” was.
Second, although they designed the red wristband, it never appeared for players. This was presumably the system’s doing. No one knew where the red wristband had gone.
Finally, the appearance of the white wristband was also completely unanticipated.
The Peach Blossom Legion had carefully planned the location of every wristband and nearby weapon, ensuring they could rapidly gather them all when the game began.
Under their design, there were no weapons near the yellow wristband.
To balance the game, the system placed three bullets and one gun in that area and also a white wristband.
“So, we can turn the tables.”
As Zhou Qian said this, his eyes fell on the wristband around his wrist.
Smiling, he said, “They tried to design around me, so I’ll let them die by their own design. This system really does share my personality. And…”
He raised his arm, revealing the white wristband. Looking up at Bai Zhou, he added, “White really is my trump card. Zhou Ge, see? I told you white is my lucky color.”
……
Thirty minutes later, Xu Yang arrived as agreed.
His expression was extremely unpleasant upon seeing Zhou Qian, but he forced himself to keep it under control.
In contrast, Zhou Qian looked relaxed and cheerful. He casually gestured to a rock beside him. “Have a seat.”
Xu Yang impatiently said, “Cut the crap. How do we kill the Peach Blossom Legion?”
Back when the game started, Zhou Qian had already met Xu Yang.
At the time, Xu Yang had been arrogant and aggressive.
He came into the instance with a mindset to slaughter everyone, fully confident that he would win and claim the ultimate prize.
But now, his demeanor had completely changed.
When Zhou Qian met him at the church rooftop, he was no longer blindly confident or relaxed.
They agreed to meet again in an hour. Zhou Qian said little at the time and just had him come to Purple Mist Mountain.
Xu Yang had been clearly frustrated, but he still swallowed his pride and came in person.
The change in attitude was easy to guess.
The Feidu Legion had been expanding rapidly and aggressively, but Xu Yang wasn’t reckless.
If he knew the Peach Blossom Legion held a clear advantage, he wouldn’t have come.
The reason he had come, and the earlier confidence he had, could only mean one thing:
He believed he had an edge over the Peach Blossom Legion.
Why?
He must have been fed information by a supposed mole and he trusted that mole deeply and believed everything they said.
Zhou Qian imagined the mole had said something like: “Commander Xu, I’ve infiltrated the Peach Blossom Legion and risen to a high rank. I got confirmed intel about this Blue Harbor City closed instance. When I reported to leadership, I deliberately hid and altered some information.
“There are two major weapon stockpiles. I disguised the smaller one as the larger and fed that to Peach Blossom.
“The location I’m giving you holds the real stockpile. Whoever controls the weapons, controls the game.
“You can defeat Peach Blossom and claim final victory!”
But thanks to Shan Sheng, Zhou Qian knew the truth.
Shan Sheng had discovered the mole and deliberately passed them false information to lure Feidu into a trap.
Xu Yang didn’t know this. He’d walked in thinking he held all the cards, only to watch everything go sideways.
The Peach Blossom Legion had killed many and was using bullets freely. They clearly weren’t short on ammo.
They brought in many powerful leaders.
So what was the real “maximum value”? Wasn’t it supposed to be low?
And Zhou Qian’s white wristband… What did it mean?
Xu Yang must have asked himself repeatedly: What went wrong? Why was all his intel false?
Now, Zhou Qian looked at him and asked, “Even though I said that on the church rooftop, I’m guessing… your mole never actually entered this instance, right?”
Xu Yang’s face went pale.
Seeing this, Zhou Qian, who’d only been 90% sure, was now completely certain.
Xu Yang was full of doubt but couldn’t find his mole. That’s why he had no choice but to come to Zhou Qian for an alliance.
Zhou Qian pressed, “You think your mole betrayed you?”
“Impossible!” Xu Yang snapped. “He’d never betray me! I trained him myself! I saved him countless times. I trust him completely. But for some reason… he really isn’t here.”
“Then he was used,” Zhou Qian sighed. “I thought you were smart. Can’t believe you didn’t see that. Or do you trust him so much that you think he couldn’t possibly be exposed?”
Xu Yang frowned harder. “You mean…”
“You don’t get it yet? Your mole was exposed long ago. The Peach Blossom Legion found out who he was, but didn’t act. Instead, they let him think he was manipulating them with fake reports. But in reality, everything he did played right into Peach Blossom’s hands.
“Why did Peach Blossom do this? Isn’t it obvious?”
Zhou Qian looked him in the eye and said firmly, “They wanted to lure you into this instance…and kill you. As for the reason…
“The Peach Blossom Legion might still be ranked third, but the top two haven’t been active in years. Right now, they’re number one.
“And your Feidu Legion is rising fast. You’re the biggest threat. Of course they want you dead.”
Xu Yang exhaled deeply.
Zhou Qian continued, “Peach Blossom is full of brilliant minds. They’d never let a mole actually climb to power. The facts already say everything. Unless you work with me, your only option is death.”
“You remember Qi Liuxing? The swordmaster who followed you before?” Zhou Qian asked.
“Yeah,” Xu Yang replied. “My people said he went off with someone named Ke Yuxiao. They…”
Zhou Qian said, “They had some past conflict, but they’re still friends. Otherwise, Ke Yuxiao wouldn’t have risked entering your purple base to take him away.”
Xu Yang frowned. “Ke Yuxiao? I saw him at the church. He’s leading Peach Blossom’s operations, right? He’s friends with your guy?”
“Friends, enemies—sometimes it’s just a matter of perspective.” Zhou Qian smiled. “In short, Qi Liuxing is still with Ke Yuxiao, so he hears a lot. If you trust me, trust me all the way. Your mole got played. Want revenge?”
Xu Yang, ever the pragmatic commander, said, “Of course I want revenge. But let’s be clear. First we have to take out Peach Blossom and survive.”
“Why not both? That mole got you into this mess. Don’t you want him dead too?”
Zhou Qian said, “The real designer of this instance isn’t Ke Yuxiao, but a man named Yu Huang. Peach Blossom only sent a few commander-level personnel to participate, and he is among them. He used your mole to send you fake intel.
“If you want revenge and to take down Peach Blossom, then the best move is to turn Yu Huang into the real traitor, right?”
Zhou Qian saw Xu Yang waver and pressed on.
“In this instance, Ke Yuxiao runs operations, Yu Huang designed the instance. I’m confident I can create confusion that even Yu Huang can’t explain, so Ke Yuxiao starts doubting him.
“With luck, they’ll clash. You just do as I say.”
“So what do I do?” Xu Yang asked.
“Go see Yu Huang. Make it look like you’re conspiring with him,” Zhou Qian said.
“That’s easy to say. How do I actually pull it off?” Xu Yang asked.
Zhou Qian laid out his plan and said, “But don’t rush. I’m waiting for a message from Qi Liuxing. We need to confirm Yu Huang’s movements before we act.”
So far, everything Zhou Qian said sounded airtight.
But Xu Yang couldn’t help doubting him.
Zhou Qian seemed too confident, too in control.
Could I be getting played?
Xu Yang asked, “Why should I trust you?”
“If you don’t… what’s your plan?” Zhou Qian smiled. “You know what the white wristband is? You know the ‘maximum value’?”
“But based on your plan, I’ll waste a lot of bullets. What if—” Xu Yang hesitated.
Zhou Qian looked into his eyes and replied firmly: “The final ‘maximum value’ won’t be low. This system loves messing with people. It says ‘fewer survivors is better’, then in the end announces a huge number, just to see us regret it.
“So trust me. You’ll have enough bullets.”
“You, you’re guessing! You have no evidence!”
“Then I’d better explain how this instance came to be. Ever heard of a capsule?”
He paused, then shared the conclusions he’d reached with Bai Zhou.
Zhou Qian said, “Even if we ignore the system’s logic, you should believe the Peach Blossom Legion. If the maximum value were small, would they have brought so many people? Of course not.”
Zhou Qian’s expression turned solemn. “If they win, they’ll claim all of Blue Harbor City. Do I need to explain how massive that map is? They’ll become the number one faction and dominate the game. We’ll all live under their rule. So…”
“Xu Yang. Three hours left. Do you have any better plans to turn the tables? You don’t want to lose to either sides, right? Use me. My white wristband, and the intel I’ve got.
“Xu Yang, let’s win this fight together. Right now, you have no other choice but to follow me.”
……
Half an hour later.
Huai River Park.
A Peach Blossom squad was suddenly attacked with gunfire. Two were killed instantly.
After the kills, the assailant fled immediately.
The attacker could only be from the Feidu Legion.
After realizing this, the surviving Peach Blossom squad members gave chase and saw the Feidu troops heading toward the White Spire area.
The news was soon delivered to Ke Yuxiao.
“Our people have gone after them. A firefight’s about to start. Captain, how do we handle this? That White Spire area… Yu Huang was searching there with someone. It’s gotta be him. Yu Huang’s the traitor, isn’t he?”
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