Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 171
100 players entered this game. Now, 82 remained.
All 82 were locked inside a massive cage while countless killers stood outside with gazes filled with a mix of curiosity, scrutiny, malice, and excitement… but also a shared, undisguised hostility.
At first, everyone assumed the Murder Exhibition was for tourists to view crime-related corpses and uncover the killers’ identities and motives.
But at this moment, the tourists themselves had become the ones on display, and the murderers, the spectators.
It turned out this was a display about the victims.
All players were undeniably uncomfortable now.
They had once visited zoos to look at animals. Now, they were the ones in the cage, being watched and judged.
Behind the bars, Zhou Qian’s gaze was steady.
He locked eyes with Ruan Mei.
Until now, Zhou Qian had only seen Ruan Mei in the Murder Exhibition’s virtual game. That version wasn’t the real historical figure but a game NPC, with many scripted behaviors.
So this moment marked his first true encounter with the real historical Ruan Mei.
As Ruan Mei slowly approached and peered at him curiously, Zhou Qian stared into her eyes and calmly said, “I know what you did. I know the exact day, the order of your murders, and the methods you used…
“I know everything about you. I hold the most critical evidence of your crimes.”
Behind him, He Xiaowei squeezed through the crowd, finally reaching Zhou Qian’s side. He’d arrived full of pride, eager to report his success. How he’d guessed many of Zhou Qian’s intentions and completed the mission he’d been assigned.
He never expected that just as he arrived, he’d hear Zhou Qian utter such bold words to a deranged NPC.
Though instinctively inclined to trust Zhou Qian, He Xiaowei’s heart still skipped a beat.
He couldn’t help but think, Damn, Qian’er really is fearless, saying something like that to an NPC without knowing anything. What if Ruan Mei retaliates? I’m nervous!
But in the next moment, He Xiaowei noticed Ruan Mei’s expression shift.
Though the depths of her eyes held no trace of kindness, she still wore a mask of gentleness, the smile of a dutiful, tolerant mother.
Looking at that smile, no one would believe this housewife could be a monstrous killer.
Zhou Qian’s words had ripped that mask off.
Her gaze turned fierce and shadowed, shooting Zhou Qian a look full of menace before turning and leaving.
Having followed Zhou Qian for so long, He Xiaowei was starting to catch on.
He figured Zhou Qian was testing something.
And judging by Ruan Mei’s reaction, the test had worked.
Once she walked off, He Xiaowei couldn’t help but ask quietly, “Qian’er, what was that all about?”
Zhou Qian smiled faintly. “Just confirming a theory.”
He Xiaowei: ?
Seeing Zhou Qian remain vague, He Xiaowei turned to Bai Zhou beside him and asked hopefully, “You get what he means, right?”
Bai Zhou looked at him and nodded.
He Xiaowei pressed, “Then…”
Bai Zhou tilted his chin behind He Xiaowei. “Ask your master.”
He Xiaowei: “……”
Just then, a soft chuckle sounded. He turned to see Hidden Blade walking over.
Zhou Qian glanced at He Xiaowei and smiled. “You guys did great. Without you, things would’ve been much trickier. How did you get the weapons?”
He Xiaowei took out a pair of private chat devices, handing one to Zhou Qian, then quietly explained the secrets of the mansion and added, “We stayed inside so long that Xu Feiyu brought her people in to ask about our progress. So of course we had to use the haunting devices to scare them!
“Haha, you should’ve seen it. Those two lackeys were so scared they dropped their guns, and we snatched them right away!
“By the way… that magician was amazing, building something like that in his time… and never getting discovered!”
After listening to the full account, Zhou Qian returned the private chat tool and mused, “Looks like having more disciples has its perks. This reminds me… I haven’t checked out the virtual game hall yet. I should go watch some footage, maybe recruit a few apprentices too.”
At that, Zhou Qian noticed He Xiaowei madly winking at him.
Zhou Qian: “Hm?”
He Xiaowei kept gesturing, whispering, “Behind you!”
Zhou Qian calmly replied, “With two god-level players present, no matter how quiet you are, they’ll hear you.”
Then he turned and saw Bai Zhou silently watching him, eyes noticeably darker and deeper than usual.
Hmm? Is Bai Zhou… jealous?
Zhou Qian smiled and teased, “So, what do disciples call their master’s boyfriend?”
Before Bai Zhou could answer, He Xiaowei chimed in, “Eh? I thought you’d just call him ‘husband’.”
Zhou Qian didn’t turn his head. His words were directed at He Xiaowei, but his eyes never left Bai Zhou, clearly speaking for his benefit:
“Why say something like that in public? I’ll tell Zhou Ge in private.”
He Xiaowei: “……”
Even He Xiaowei now realized, Fuck, Qian’er’s really good at flirting. If I had even a tenth of his skills, I’d have a girlfriend by now!
Curious, he looked toward Bai Zhou….only to see the man purse his lips, seemingly suppressing something.
Even though the sky was dark, He Xiaowei could tell his ears had turned slightly red.
Then Bai Zhou grabbed Zhou Qian’s hand and led him to a quieter corner of the cage.
He Xiaowei: “Ah…”
These two… their relationship is really good. I’m so jealous!
In the corner, Zhou Qian stopped joking and began scanning the people around him.
An hour ago, when Hidden Blade used that special picture, Zhou Qian’s system panel began lighting up nonstop…
It was full of people requesting to join his faction, believing the picture’s story and Bai Zhou’s words.
Zhou Qian approved them all.
Now, among the 82 survivors: Originally, Peach Blossom had 32, Feidu had 26, Zhou Qian had 21, and Hidden Blade’s three disciples were still hidden in the mansion.
At this point, regardless of wristband color, Zhou Qian had gained 23 more people.
Xu Yang and his remaining followers had defected to Peach Blossom, Xu Feiyu was captured by Hidden Blade’s disciple, and even her usual subordinates had switched sides to join Zhou Qian.
The previous three-way balance had completely shifted.
Zhou Qian now had 50 people, Peach Blossom 32.
In addition, Zhou Qian noticed something else.
When Ruan Mei had left earlier, she tucked her hair behind her ear. Her sleeve slipped, revealing a red wristband…
Red, corresponding to the first stripe of the rainbow.
Not just Ruan Mei. Watching the other killers pass by outside, Zhou Qian saw red wristbands on all their left wrists.
So the killers belong to the Red faction?
All these killers, drawn from different eras and brought here weren’t just to hasten the world’s collapse… What was the real goal?
Would the players eventually have to fight them?
As he was thinking, Bai Zhou whispered, “Zhou Qian, this prison cell feels… off.”
“What do you mean?” Zhou Qian asked.
“The shape’s wrong,” Bai Zhou replied. “Let Little Dragon scout it out.”
“Alright.”
As expected, Zhou Qian sent Little Dragon to explore.
When it returned, Zhou Qian finally saw the truth through its eyes.
Because the cage was so massive and Zhou Qian had been shoved into a corner while looking outward, he’d subconsciously assumed it was square.
Now, with Little Dragon’s view, he saw that the center of the cage was actually a perfect hexagon. Six equilateral triangles extended from each side, and only beyond those were the actual iron bars.
Six colors. Six triangles…
Zhou Qian suddenly understood. He turned to Bai Zhou. “This is a board. A Chinese checkers board.
“Don’t tell me… the system is making us play Chinese checkers?”
As he said this, he looked first at Bai Zhou, then, sharing Little Dragon’s view, he saw another familiar face… Priest.
Coincidentally or not, Priest also noticed Little Dragon and locked eyes with it across the Peach Blossom players.
Thus, Zhou Qian and Priest made eye contact, from a distance.
Zhou Qian could see Priest’s face clearly, but the reverse wasn’t true.
Still, Priest’s expression was natural, as if Zhou Qian were right in front of him. He even smiled and waved.
That gentle expression and smile unsettled Zhou Qian.
In his mind, Priest was a ruthless, unscrupulous man.
In his life, Zhou Qian had met many heartless people, like his father or the scum Zhang Yanjun.
Their cruelty was bone-deep and obvious.
But Priest was different.
He looked kind, almost compassionate. Sitting there quietly with his legs crossed, he resembled a benevolent Bodhisattva.
Zhou Qian felt Bai Zhou squeeze his hand tighter.
He must’ve also noticed Priest’s gaze.
Zhou Qian looked away, called Little Dragon back, and stowed it in his bag.
Immediately, everyone felt the ground shift again. The iron pillars shot from the earth, dividing the grass into grid-like squares.
As Zhou Qian suspected, they were chessboard tiles.
Then the system prompt arrived:
[The Chinese Checkers game will begin in 20 minutes. Those wearing different color wristbands belong to different factions. Please move to your faction’s corner. You will now fight for your team.]
[Gameplay: Each player is a “piece”. If an adjacent tile has a piece, and the next tile beyond is empty, you may jump over to the empty one. Multiple jumps are allowed in a single move. Maximize each turn by chaining jumps.]
[Victory: All pieces of one color must reach the opposite corner. First team to fully occupy their target zone wins.]
[Special Rules: White wristbands = white pieces. White has a privilege: they may ally with any color and cannot be killed by others.]
[Additionally, white pieces can bypass obstacles and forcibly swap places with an adjacent piece, up to 3 tiles per turn.]
Upon hearing this, Zhou Qian didn’t look at his own white wristband. He looked at Bai Zhou. The message was clear.
Bai Zhou smiled and whispered, “You were wrong before. Meeting you is when my luck truly began.”
“Mhm. I’ve always been lucky, especially when I’m with you,” Zhou Qian replied with a grin.
The system continued:
[For the past 10 hours, the system has been searching for the evil force behind the city’s collapse. However… that force now dominates. The system can no longer stop it.]
[The killers wish to observe this game. Players, do your best.]
[The winning team will receive crucial info from the killers, a potential key to survival.]
[The game begins in 20 minutes and lasts 1 hour. Good luck!]
Zhou Qian quickly scanned the prompts. Then he saw He Xiaowei’s eager eyes.
“What is it?” he asked.
He Xiaowei: “You’re amazing, Qian’er. Chinese checkers should be easy for you, right?”
Zhou Qian shamelessly accepted the praise. “Of course.”
“So… how do we play this game?”
He Xiaowei asked expectantly, “I’m still wearing the violet wristband. Although I’m in a different camp from your big yellow arm… I can help our yellow army build bridges. So this isn’t a battle of six colors and six camps at all. It’s more like…”
“I’m afraid this is a battle between Priest and me.”
Zhou Qian narrowed his eyes that gleamed mischievously, something that He Xiaowei was familiar with.
“Priest always lurked in the shadows, composed and aloof… Well now, the game has forced him to face me directly.
“There are a million ways to win this game. I’ll choose the one that makes him lose most convincingly.”
The author has something to say:
I reread earlier chapters and realized I forgot to credit the inspiration for the first dungeon, Apple Paradise (though I swear I did in a dream or something lol).
It was inspired by performance artist Marina Abramović.
At an Italian exhibition, she numbed her whole body and only kept her mind stayed awake, and allowed the audience to do anything they wanted.
At first, people just did makeup or touched her hair, but things escalated fast… knives, guns, etc.
(If you’re interested, you can search for the details. Her love story is touching too.)
While conceptualizing, I was reading The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, which explores how individuals are devoured by group mentality.
That gave me the idea of a vine-bound god, which morphed into the Apple, Adam, Eve, and the snake that tempted her… and so the dungeon was born.
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