Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

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Chapter 25

Zhou Qian claimed that his strategy for clearing the level required him to sequentially visit rooms 4, 7, and 8, where he would have three gunmen each fire a bullet. He would first try room number 4.

If he failed to use his time-slowing skill to dodge the bullet, he would undoubtedly die. At that point, he would need He Xiaowei to save him with the Tick Tock Clock and then completely abandon this sub-quest.

However, if he succeeded, he could consecutively use his time-slowing skill three times to clear the level.

Now, Zhu Qiang discovered that Zhou Qian was lying.

He doesn’t have enough mana to use the skill three times!

He hasn’t even successfully obtained the Tick Tock Clock from Qi Liuxing!

Furthermore, when players opened unsafe rooms, they were invariably shot at, and the gunman’s accuracy was 100%! This meant that Zhou Qian shouldn’t be able to dodge the bullet in Room 4…

All in all, Zhou Qian wouldn’t enter Room 4. All of this was his deception!

From the moment Zhou Qian was accused by Situ Qing of being the murderer who killed Gao Shan, he didn’t even defend himself. He kept emphasizing that the game’s time limit was nearing its end and that everyone should focus on clearing the level.

Pretending to be a fanatical lunatic only concerned about clearing the level, he appeared not to care about Gao Shan’s life, Yun Xiangrong’s hatred, being misidentified as the killer, or even potentially being shot…

He Xiaowei and Lu Mengmeng… were all deceived by him. Zhou Qian even took a long time explaining the principles of this level, trying to convince them of his method. To further appear genuine, he pretended that he needed He Xiaowei’s, and even Lu Mengmeng’s, cooperation and help.

But what if all this was just a ruse Zhou Qian put on?

Everyone believed he would enter Room 4, but in reality, he wouldn’t.

Since he wouldn’t actually walk into this dangerous room to face the bullet, what was his real purpose in slowing down time?

It could only be to commit murder.

Who would he kill?

It had to be Lu Mengmeng, who possessed extremely fast speed.

Thus, the real purpose of slowing down time wasn’t to decrease the bullet’s speed but to decrease Lu Mengmeng’s speed!

Zhou Qian’s range for slowing down time was limited to an area of 10 square meters. If he openly expressed his intention to kill Lu Mengmeng, he would be on guard and escape in advance.

But with Zhou Qian’s series of deceits, Lu Mengmeng thought that the time-slowing skill was only to dodge the bullets. He wouldn’t run away; instead, he’d approach Room 4 out of curiosity to see the outcome.

So… Lu Mengmeng was likely doomed.

In the bathroom of the luxury suite, realizing this, Zhu Qiang’s hand trembled, and his phone dropped to the floor. His face went pale, and his body started shaking.

He shouldn’t…

Shouldn’t have gone against Zhou Qian.

From the beginning, when Lu Mengmeng discussed this matter with him via video call, he should have persuaded him to cooperate with Zhou Qian. But he was afraid. He trusted Lu Mengmeng, Situ Qing, the mysterious man advising Situ Qing on the phone, and even himself.

He thought he knew Zhou Qian well enough after observing one of his games. With the information he got from Yu Xian and combined with Situ Qing and Lu Mengmeng’s input, he believed he could defeat Zhou Qian.

But he was terribly wrong.

In the game, Lu Mengmeng followed He Xiaowei to the front of Room 4, watching intently as Zhou Qian approached the door. The fog made it hard to see clearly, so he took another step forward, eager to understand Zhou Qian’s actions. He was incredibly curious—could Zhou Qian genuinely dodge the bullet by slowing down time?

At this moment, Yun Xiangrong was crying beside Lu Mengmeng, but he seemed oblivious. It seemed he had even forgotten that he was the one who killed her true love.

Lu Mengmeng was obsessed with clearing the level.

In this game, every time a player exited an instance, the system would restrict the time for their next entry—typically 7 to 10 days. If a player didn’t enter the instance within this time frame, they would instantly die.

However, Lu Mengmeng never cared about these time constraints. After each exit from an instance, he would rest for just one night and immediately enter the next one. Although he didn’t achieve any significant feats, at least he always managed to complete the dungeon with just a sliver of health left.

Due to the frequency of his instance runs, Lu Mengmeng, who was otherwise average in performance, managed to ascend to Rank D.

After clearing each level, Lu Mengmeng felt profound satisfaction. Clearing these levels touched a raw nerve in him, evoking an indescribable sensation.

It reminded him of something he did half a year ago.

About six months ago, Lu Mengmeng saw the list of graduate students selected for research in his department. Upon checking, he found his academic points were just one rank below his roommate’s, causing him to miss out. One night, in a fit of rage, he climbed onto his roommate’s bed with a knife and stabbed him in the chest…

Now that you’re dead, I can move up a rank and qualify for the department.

Blood spurted as he pulled out the knife, covering Lu Mengmeng’s face. Chaos erupted in the dormitory, with roommates screaming, calling the police, and trying to restrain him. But he didn’t react. Holding the knife, he felt an indescribable thrill. He believed he had cleared the “Research Qualification” level.

In the present, reminiscent of the night when he had suddenly awoken and reached for the knife in his drawer, Lu Mengmeng felt the excitement of nearing another level completion, so much so that his eyes turned red. He moved closer, watching as Zhou Qian was about to open Room 4.

To him, the scene of Zhou Qian pushing the door seemed infinitely slow because time around him had decelerated. Everything became distorted, and he anxiously waited. Suddenly, he was caught off guard by a piercing cold gaze. Zhou Qian had turned to look directly at him.

Sensing danger, Lu Mengmeng stepped back. But his feet felt heavy. He wanted to activate a skill to increase his speed but couldn’t. As Zhou Qian approached, the malice in his eyes intensified. At that moment, Zhou Qian seemed like a god about to punish a sinner.

Panicking, Lu Mengmeng activated a skill to boost his speed by 80% and tried to flee. Many times, this skill had saved him from monsters or bosses. He believed he could escape. He told himself it would definitely work; he must escape!

But suddenly, time slowed even further. The effect negated all his speed boosts, leaving him running only slightly faster than a jog.

At the same time, he felt that Zhou Qian behind him wasn’t affected by the slowing of time. He stood outside of time like a god, looking down on him with a mocking gaze, as if watching a clown, seeing him run hopelessly in a cage he couldn’t escape from.

In the next moment, Lu Mengmeng’s nape was forcefully gripped by a hand.

Soon after, he was flipped over by the person behind him, with his neck being held. As he was forcibly turned around, out of the corner of his eye, Lu Mengmeng noticed he was now at the location of Room 9.

Directly in front of him, Zhou Qian’s eyes, filled with murderous intent, magnified immensely.

A sharp pain emanated from his neck as Zhou Qian pressed a dagger against it. Lu Mengmeng’s heart trembled violently, and his pupils dilated rapidly in fear…

With one hand holding the pale and frail neck of Lu Mengmeng, Zhou Qian used the other hand to wield a common dagger he bought from the trading house, pinning him against the door. It seemed that with just a gentle push, Lu Mengmeng could be thrown directly into Room 9.

The blade of the dagger pierced the surface of Lu Mengmeng’s neck; tiny beads of blood rolled out, almost casting a dark red shade in the depths of Zhou Qian’s eyes.

With those deep red eyes, Zhou Qian coldly stared at Lu Mengmeng.

“You… You want to kill me…”

Due to the slowing of time, Lu Mengmeng’s voice sounded incredibly stretched, as if the playback speed was lowered. Even the tremors of his body and the fluttering of his eyelids were slowed down, making him look somewhat comical.

Zhou Qian’s mouth curled into a derisive smirk. “You swapped the number plates, leading to Gao Shan’s death, didn’t you?”

Lu Mengmeng immediately denied. “I… I didn’t! It was…”

Zhou Qian whispered, “Swapping plates multiple times, drawing misleading symbols on doors, and just now using your major skill to come here… Out of mana, are you? Otherwise, I’d have to be wary of your assassin abilities. Even if affected by time slow, your dagger would stab slowly, but I can’t be careless.”

Lu Mengmeng panicked. After using his skills so many times, he indeed had no mana left. His already pale face now looked utterly bloodless, trembling in front of Zhou Qian.

Zhou Qian pressed him further. “So there’s no point in denying it. It was you. But I want to know, did Situ Qing direct you?”

Lu Mengmeng murmured, “You… I don’t know…”

The dagger in Zhou Qian’s hand advanced mercilessly. The pain caused Lu Mengmeng to wince, tears streaming down instantly. He stared at Zhou Qian in horror. “What… What are you…”

“Killing a mere pawn like you would only dirty my hands. It’s not worth it,” Zhou Qian whispered seductively in his ear. “Tell me, what do you know? Who’s behind you and Situ Qing?”

Lu Mengmeng’s voice quivered uncontrollably. Yet the cold blade kept pressing deeper, forcing him to speak, “It… It’s a legion…”

Jingle, jingle, jingle.

The sound of bells approached from behind, accompanied by a chilling frosty aura. It felt as if an immense snowstorm was about to engulf the world. Though powerful, due to the slowed time, it hadn’t reached Zhou Qian yet.

Ignoring the creeping cold from behind, Zhou Qian moved the knife, lifting Lu Mengmeng’s pale chin, forcing him to look straight into his eyes.

From this superior stance, Zhou Qian demanded, “Tell me the name of that legion. Or I’ll give you two choices: have your throat slit by me or be thrown into Room 9 to face bullets.”

“I… I…” Tears streamed from Lu Mengmeng’s terrified eyes, his body shaking uncontrollably. He felt the encroaching cold. Whether he answered or not, death seemed inevitable.

Zhou Qian’s voice resonated close to his ear. “Speak. You’re merely a tool, controlled and ordered around. You’re not my real enemy. If you talk, I might spare you.”

But on the other side, the approaching snowy aura hinted that if he spoke, he might be silenced permanently.

“I’ll spare you.”

“Not just that, I’ll also help you clear the game.”

“The condition is, you need to tell me—what’s the name of that legion?”

The words “clear the game” seemed to stimulate Lu Mengmeng. At the mention, his eyes reddened. He opened his mouth, seemingly about to confess. But suddenly, a crystalline snowflake floated by, sealing his lips.

Then, the bell sound grew louder, as if time, slowed down earlier, was returning to its normal pace. Lu Mengmeng felt an immense blizzard approaching rapidly. Overwhelmed by fear, his pupils contracted. But it seemed like his entire body was immobilized by the frost, with no escape.

In the corridor, time indeed resumed. With Zhou Qian’s mana almost depleted, visible only to him and Yu Xian, his skill bar had dropped to 5%.

Using the last 4% of his mana, Zhou Qian slowed down time once more, stepping outside its bounds. He quickly retreated, escaping the blizzard. Lu Mengmeng, drained of mana and unable to use any skill to evade, was enveloped by the blizzard and harshly thrown into Room 9.

Three seconds later—”Bang!”

A gunshot echoed, and Lu Mengmeng died inside Room 9. He didn’t even make it back to the corridor like the others who were shot.

At this moment, only 7 minutes remained until the one-hour time limit to clear the level.

Turning around, through the thick fog, Zhou Qian saw the hazy figure of Situ Qing, who was known as the “Ice Queen”.

She stood far at the other end of the corridor with a cold and composed expression.

Time slowed down, and her movement speed was reduced to a crawl.

Yet, with her powerful long-range attack capability, even from that distance, she could kill Lu Mengmeng.

Expressionless, Zhou Qian said to Situ Qing, “Even under my time-slowing effect, you managed to come here to silence him. Did you guess what I was up to?”

“In this game, players can see each other’s health but not their mana. Also, no one should know what my skill’s special feature is. So, no one should know that my mana isn’t sufficient to slow down time thrice and guess that my real target was Lu Mengmeng.”

“So, you shouldn’t be here.”

His eyes filled with scorn, Zhou Qian disdainfully looked at Situ Qing. “So, even though you silenced Lu Mengmeng and prevented him from telling me who’s manipulating you all from behind, your actions now reveal one thing—the group backing you is powerful, so powerful that you fear them deeply.”

“Earlier, you did everything to protect Lu Mengmeng, not letting him spill your alliance’s secrets. But now, you’re scared. You fear revealing the group’s secrets and facing punishment, so you attack Lu Mengmeng. Moreover—”

“From your actions now, I’m sure that your group can identify my real identity and my gambler status, right? The secret of my skill should only be known to my fellow gambler. So how did it get leaked?”

Without looking at Situ Qing, Zhou Qian’s gaze shifted to a certain point in the void.

Coincidentally, through the phone screen, Yu Xian saw Zhou Qian’s cold gaze as if they were making eye contact. He shivered involuntarily.

“Yu Xian, is Qiang Ge next to you?”

“You have two choices: either kill him or hide so far away that you never see him again in this lifetime. Otherwise, once I leave this game and return to reality, the first thing I’ll do is deal with you. Got it?”

“Your Qiang Ge, in collusion with Lu Mengmeng, wants to kill me. Did you even realize that?”

“Forget it, I guess you can’t do it. So, listen to me and run. Now.”

At the phone screen, Yu Xian was stunned.

It took him a full ten seconds to come to his senses.

Grabbing his phone, he rushed to the bathroom of the suite, but he pulled back just before his hand touched the door.

Should I listen to Zhou Qian and leave immediately, or should I talk to Qiang Ge?

Yu Xian was truly torn because he couldn’t believe Zhu Qiang could betray him like this.

It was Zhu Qiang who brought him to this city when he didn’t know where to find work.

Finding jobs, renting a place… Zhu Qiang had always taken care of him.

When he first arrived and wasn’t accustomed to the new environment, falling sick often, it was always Zhu Qiang who took him to the hospital.

He couldn’t believe that Zhu Qiang would betray him so easily.

At that moment, inside the bathroom.

Zhu Qiang sat on the cold tiles, looking at the luxurious bathroom. The shower space alone was bigger than the rented room he used to live in.

Zhu Qiang laughed—a laugh filled with self-mockery and despair.

He realized he was crying when he felt the wetness on his face.

He didn’t yearn for wealth and luxury when he didn’t have them.

But once he experienced them, he couldn’t let go.

His phone kept vibrating.

It was messages from the System.

[Gambler Zhu Qiang, the player you bet on, Lu Mengmeng, is dead.]

[Lu Mengmeng failed the challenge. You are no longer qualified for the two million.]

[The System will deduct your bet amount of 1 million.]

[Gambler Zhu Qiang, your bank balance is insufficient. Please recharge within three days. If the debt exceeds ten days, you will die.]

[If you recharge within three days, you can choose another player to bet on.]

[We hope your choice of players gets better. If your player reaches Rank S, you can become an advanced gambler.]

[Advanced gamblers can enter the main game hall. Then, you will have a chance to approach the gods.]

I still have a chance…

As long as I get one million within three days… I have another shot…

I can repay all the money I lost outside!

If I win just once more… I can repay all the money.

After that, I’ll quit and never touch this game again!

But where can I get the money for these three days…?

In a moment of hesitation, Zhu Qiang heard the hoarse voice of Yu Xian from outside the door. “Qiang Ge, can I… Can I ask you a question? Are you… are you…”

He already knows.

Then there’s nothing I can do.

Zhu Qiang’s gaze finally rested on the razor at the washbasin. Rising from his seat and moving towards the washbasin, he said to the door, “It’s not what you think, Lao Yu. Listen to me… I’ll explain to you. I’ll be right out…”

…..

Three minutes later, Yu Xian lay in a pool of blood. He stared at Zhu Qiang, seemingly unable to believe what had happened.

Zhu Qiang’s hand holding the razor trembled. “I’m sorry, Lao Yu… I took the money I earned from this game to the casino, and I lost it all, racking up a lot of debt. Now that Lu Mengmeng is dead… I can’t repay it. I have to keep going…”

Extending his other hand, Zhu Qiang took a bank card from Yu Xian’s pocket. “I’m sorry. I just… just wanted to take the money when Zhou Qian wins, and the prize money arrives in your account. I just… just wanted money… Yu Xian, I… No, that’s not right!”

Suddenly, Zhu Qiang’s expression changed. He glared angrily at Yu Xian and said, “No, it’s not my fault! It’s yours! I warned you about this game. I told you not to start! But you insisted on continuing! I only continued because I saw you doing it!”

“It’s your fault! You forced me into this debt; you made me a murderer…”

“You used to always be less than me, why… Why is your player better than mine? Why can you win effortlessly…”

Yu Xian couldn’t answer any of Zhu Qiang’s words because he had stopped breathing.

After a while, Zhu Qiang stood in the pool of blood, closing his eyes exhaustedly. Suddenly, he heard the doorbell ring.

Zhu Qiang jumped up, panicked, glancing in the direction of the door, then hastily tried to clean the bloodstains. Just then, he received a text message.

[Gambler Zhu Qiang, I know what you did. Let’s talk.]

A minute later, Zhu Qiang opened the door to let in a refined and elegant-looking man. He had a gentle yet stern demeanor, giving off a somewhat old-fashioned vibe. He looked like a doctor, or perhaps a lawyer.

The man walked straight into the house and sat on the sofa. Passing by Yu Xian’s body, he didn’t even blink an eye, as if he were used to such sights.

When he sat down, Zhu Qiang immediately asked, “Who are you? You…”

The man replied, “I’m also a player in this game. You can call me the [Priest].”

“Priest? Game? What do you mean? What the hell is going on…”

Priest succinctly said, “You acted too impulsively. Killing is a crime. With such a crude method, I predict the police will arrest you within 48 hours. By then, you won’t be able to gamble anymore. Your phone will be confiscated.”

Stunned, Zhu Qiang’s back was drenched in cold sweat. “I…”

After watching the game for a long time, he seemed to believe he was a player in the game. Players often fought and killed with their skills. As a result, he forgot that he was in reality and that he shouldn’t have acted this way.

At this point, Zhu Qiang vaguely felt that somehow, while watching the game, he had been influenced. He wouldn’t have acted so impulsively, so recklessly, and so cruelly before. But now, his mental state was off. He seemed to have turned into a madman.

The Priest continued, “The police will arrest you within 48 hours. I can get you a lawyer, and even arrange for… a mental evaluation.”

“Mental evaluation? What does that mean?” Zhu Qiang clenched his hands together.

“I’ve already reserved a bed for you at Spring Hill Mental Asylum.” Priest stood up. “I met you today just to give you a heads-up, so you’re not too scared when the police arrest you. Don’t worry, you won’t go to prison. Farewell, see you at Spring Hill Mental Asylum.”

“Wait, what do you mean by mental asylum? Explain yourself!”

“You have two options now. First, wait to be arrested by the police, be unable to continue as a gambler, owe a huge debt, and be killed by the system in ten days. Second, come to Spring Hill Mental Hospital, become a game player, and earn coins to repay your debt. You’re smart; you should know which option to choose.”

Zhu Qiang collapsed to the ground, seemingly devoid of a soul. As Priest left, Zhu Qiang heard him say one last thing.

“Welcome, player, to the game. I hope you enjoy it.”

……

Inside the game.

The temperature in the corridor had dropped below zero.

The sustained cold temperature couldn’t decrease the health of living players, but it severely affected their condition.

Zhou Qian, sensitive to both summer heat and winter cold, immediately opened the trade house and bought a down jacket to wear. As he leisurely buttoned up his jacket, he looked at Situ Qing and said, “Earlier, you only threw Lu Mengmeng into Room 9, but you didn’t actually try to kill me. Why? Because you want me to help you clear this stage, right?”

“There are only 6 minutes left to clear the level. Now, perhaps you are thinking of pushing either me, He Xiaowei, or Yun Xiangrong, one by one, into two rooms. You want to sacrifice us to pass the level?”

Situ Qing replied indifferently, “You figured out my intention, yet you’re not planning to flee?”

Zhou Qian laughed. “Why should I? You aren’t attacking me now.”

Situ Qing frowned and stayed silent. Zhou Qian continued, “Killing us might be easy for you. But, to throw two living people into two specific rooms to trick the bullets and do all this within 6 minutes… That’s tough.”

Situ Qing remained silent.

Buttoning up, Zhou Qian said, “See, you just admitted something: you are interested in the side quests. So… the person behind you forbids you to play them, right? You should really consider breaking free from his control. I can help.”

Situ Qing simply said, “Don’t try to sow discord between us.”

Zhou Qian responded sarcastically, “Last time I told you, he doesn’t want you to get stronger because he wants to control you.”

“Now, let me tell you another harsh truth. Generally, when someone wants to control you, it’s because you’re useful to him. But have you ever thought about what happens when you’re no longer useful? Will he abandon you or… kill you?

“Just like… you had to kill Lu Mengmeng because he was no longer of any use.”

“Zhou Qian, let me tell you once again—” Situ Qing’s voice became colder. “You don’t understand our relationship. Don’t be so presumptuous!”

Zhou Qian just chuckled and walked towards a room.

Just then, He Xiaowei came running.

He was shivering from the cold and looked dazed. But when he saw the frost on the door of Room 9, he realized something. After a terrified glance at Situ Qing, he quickly distanced himself from her and found Zhou Qian.

“What the hell is going on?” He Xiaowei asked in surprise.

Zhou Qian replied, “Situ Qing pushed Lu Mengmeng into room 9. So, it’s clear who harmed Gao Shan, right?”

“Heck, that’s scary. Why did she kill Lu Mengmeng? Why didn’t she harm you?”

“If she hurt me, who would help her clear the side quest?”

“So, what do we do now? Fuck, Room 9’s gun is short of a bullet. How are we going to handle this?”

“It’s simple,” Zhou Qian said. “Now, the lowest rank is Room 6. Rooms 7 and 8, which were safe rooms, are no longer safe and need to be entered.”

“We will go into Rooms 7 and 8 in turn, making each lose one bullet. Finally, we return the ‘S’ bullet, which was found under Jiang Yuqing’s pillow, to Room 9.”

“You mean, you want to continue delaying and dodging bullets?” He Xiaowei asked uncertainly.

Zhou Qian sighed. “Ah, I ran out of mana.”

He Xiaowei exclaimed, “Fucking hell, what now?!”

Without speaking further, Zhou Qian quickly returned to the door of Room 12.

There were three dead bodies of the cleaners.

“You overlooked the NPCs provided by the game. Three NPCs began the game, and they can also end it. The only solution now is to manipulate these three bodies to enter the doors, using them to fire three bullets.”

“But, since Lu Mengmeng’s body already received one, we only need two now. So, Brother Xiaowei—”

Zhou Qian turned back to him. “Can your ability achieve this?”

There was one thing Zhou Qian was unsure about—whether the gunners would target bodies without vital signs.

If using bodies didn’t work, he would have to send his two dragons, both with his life signals, to cheat the bullets.

However, the actual situation showed that the bodies were indeed useful.

The game specifically set a scene where three cleaners ran back to the corridor before dying, instead of dying in their rooms directly, which seemed to have a hidden meaning.

Zhou Qian and He Xiaowei each carried a corpse and quickly ran to Rooms 7 and 8.

Immediately, He Xiaowei took out a guqin, raised his amusingly 八-shaped eyebrows at Zhou Qian, and then seriously looked towards the door of Room 7, saying, “Although my attack power isn’t high, I’m still a long-range attacker. Using the sound waves produced by the guqin, I can send corpses or bullets!”

He Xiaowei sat down cross-legged, holding up the instrument with one hand and plucking the strings with the other. As he played, the sound flowed, and an invisible soundwave instantly burst from the strings. A cleaner’s corpse was lifted by the sound wave and crashed straight into Room 7.

“Bang!” The corpse successfully drew a bullet.

Overjoyed, He Xiaowei used the same technique to send another corpse into room 8. In this way, rooms 7 and 8 each had one less bullet.

Up to now, on the entire abstract turntable, Rooms 12, 1, 2, 6, 9, 7, and 8 had each lost a bullet. Rooms 12 and 6, 1 and 7, 2 and 8 could, respectively, form three diameters. They were all lightened by the weight of one bullet, and their effects on the entire turntable canceled each other out. The only point that truly affected the imbalance of the turntable was now Room 9.

Room 9 was missing a bullet, making the center of gravity of the turntable at point 3. Just returning one bullet to point 9 will balance the turntable.

He Xiaowei took the bullet from Zhou Qian, plucked the string, and the bullet rose into the air, about to be sent into room 9.

Zhou Qian reminded him, “Remember the position I told you about? You must hit the shooter.”

Zhou Qian had already experimented; no matter what weight was added to the room, whether it was a corpse, a bullet, or even heavy weights, it didn’t affect the turntable. The only thing that could be abstracted into the turntable model, creating a “position” change, was the 12 gunmen themselves. Zhou Qian also found that anything that tried to stick or got added to the gunman’s body would fall off. Even strong adhesive didn’t work. According to the logic of this level, the only thing the gunman would accept is a bullet.

The difficulty of this level lay in finding an abstract model, analyzing from which rooms to cheat out bullets, and deciding which room should receive the bullet back. Without any additional information, the game shouldn’t make returning the bullet itself a new challenge. Therefore, as long as the bullet was shot back at the shooter, it should be enough.

The only premise was… He Xiaowei, who hadn’t entered the room, didn’t know the shooter’s location and was separated by a door panel. Could he accurately shoot the bullet based on Zhou Qian’s description and drawings?

“Come, He Xiaowei, look at my drawing again. You must aim accurately.”

When Zhou Qian’s voice came, He Xiaowei couldn’t help but glance at him, meeting his extremely serious gaze. He Xiaowei couldn’t help but complain, “Damn, you look like a teacher checking my homework! I graduated years ago. Stop it!”

Zhou Qian glared at him. “Hurry up, be quick and accurate!”

“Oh, I got it! Your gaze is murderous.”

He Xiaowei quickly plucked the strings, using the sound wave to send the bullet towards Room 9. The bullet, under the effect of the sound wave, pierced through the door, leaving a small hole, and continued into the room.

Then, without He Xiaowei needing to aim, the shooter inside opened his hands and directly caught the bullet.

[Side Quest ‘Checks and Balance’ Completion: 50%.]

[The 12 shooters’ ranks have been balanced. They cannot shoot to kill.]

[Hint: There are only three minutes left before the end of the level.]

Seeing the system’s message, He Xiaowei immediately started laughing, holding his guqin.

“Hahaha, great! We just need to quickly find the 12 pieces of evidence, and we can pass the level!”

“Yes. Remember what I said? The evidence is near the shooters. Once inside, don’t waste time elsewhere. Go straight to the shooter,” Zhou Qian said. “I’ll start from the left of room 9, you start from the right. We’ll split up.”

“Got it!” After saying this, He Xiaowei directly rushed into Room 10. The evidence from Rooms 7 and 8 had already been collected, which were two bullets marked with “7”, so Zhou Qian headed straight to Room 6.

At that moment, a girl suddenly appeared, blocking his path. It was Yun Xiangrong. Raising her flute, she said to Zhou Qian, “Give me the Tick Tock Clock. I need to save Gao Shan. If you don’t give it to me, I will temporarily join forces with Situ Qing and take it from your corpse. Right now, reviving Gao Shan is more important to me than revenge.”

Yun Xiangrong’s words had just fallen when an icy chill came over once again.

Approaching Zhou Qian step by step was Situ Qing.

Raising the bell in her hand, she said to Zhou Qian, “You were right earlier. When I killed Lu Mengmeng, I didn’t strike at you at the same time. There’s a reason for that. If I killed you, who would help me complete the side quest?”

“Whether or not I’m interested in the side quest, the opportunity to complete it is now right in front of me. Why wouldn’t I take it?”

“Zhou Qian, you’ve completed your task. You can die now.”

“I can kill you in just 30 seconds. The remaining two and a half minutes will be enough for me to gather all the clues.”

“Initially, I thought it would be better not to kill you directly in front of other teammates and instead quietly use the instance trap. But now… I think I should deal with you earlier, especially when you’re out of mana.”

“Perhaps you’re thinking of using that pill of yours to immobilize me? Fortunately, that gambler named Zhu Qiang informed me about it in advance. In fact, with such tools, as long as I’m prepared in advance and don’t hear your command, I can totally evade its effects.”

Taking out two items resembling earplugs, Situ Qing promptly plugged her ears. Then she raised her bell towards Zhou Qian.

“Zhou Qian, you can’t escape.”

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

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

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Chapter 24

In the corridor, in the thick fog, in front of Room 8.

Zhou Qian’s words seemed to completely baffle He Xiaowei. “What the hell does this mean? What do you mean by going to an unsafe room to find a gunman to shoot… No, Zhou Qian, explain yourself.”

[The lowest ranked cannot be kill!]

[Balance of power is the only solution!]

Zhou Qian took out the hints he got from the photos and showed them to everyone. “The keywords in these two hints are ‘ranked’ and ‘balance’… Do you remember the name of this side quest?”

He Xiaowei immediately replied. “I do! It’s called ‘Checks and Balances’!”

“Right, so when the rank of the gunman changes and their power becomes unbalanced, killing ensues. The key to cracking this mission is actually already given to us in the title—balance, to restore the rank of the 12 gunmen to equilibrium.”

Zhou Qian said, “I suspect that at the beginning, the rank of the 12 gunmen was balanced. Do you remember how the first cleaner died? She wore a military uniform with a ‘7’ on it. Why would the game designer intentionally design a plot point about stealing a military uniform? There must be a deeper purpose.”

He Xiaowei seemed to have an epiphany. “Let’s assume that the military unit where Jiang Yuqing belonged is called Unit 7; then these gunmen belong to the S Unit. So, 7 and S might be opposing forces? Therefore… seeing a uniform from Unit 7 triggered the gunfire?”

“Exactly,” Zhou Qian said. “I believe that’s the case. If we had randomly entered any of those 12 rooms at the beginning, probably no one would have been shot. The first cleaner was killed because she wore a uniform with ‘7’, which was an intentional plot point. That uniform triggered the hatred of Unit S and brought the first bullet. From then on, the ranks of the 12 gunmen became unbalanced, and the killings began. Hence—”

Zhou Qian concluded, “The 12 gunmen of Unit S were originally in some kind of balanced state. The first cleaner’s death, based on the hidden plot of S opposing 7, led to the shooting, disrupting the original balance. Subsequently, every time a gunman fires a bullet, the rank of the 12 gunmen changes.”

“After the third cleaner went into rooms 6 and 7 and found them safe, he was killed in room 2. After that, I went into room 7 without any issues, but Gao Shan was killed in room 6. This is because the bullet from room 2 that killed the third cleaner changed the rank of all the gunmen. Now, we need to restore the balance of the 12 gunmen. Only then will all 12 rooms be safe. We can freely enter all rooms and gather the so-called ‘evidence’.”

Beside them, Lu Mengmeng couldn’t help but ask in a whisper, “If shooting disrupts the balance, and S and 7 are opposing forces, can we infer that if a gunman from Unit S kills someone from Unit 7, they gain merit and improve their rank?”

Zhou Qian bluntly replied, “Absolutely not.”

Lu Mengmeng realized his mistake. “Yeah, it doesn’t make sense. After the first death, the shooter in room 12 should have gained the highest rank, making the shooters in rooms 1 to 11 the lowest in rank. Thus, they shouldn’t be able to shoot, and there shouldn’t be subsequent shootings. My hypothesis is flawed.”

Zhou Qian glanced at him and said, “Even so, your guess has its basis. It just doesn’t align with reality, so we have to rule it out. In fact, the game doesn’t provide us with any narrative clues as to why ‘shooting’ would change a gunman’s ‘rank’. From the narrative’s perspective, we have no way to find a solution.”

What exactly is Unit S? What is Unit 7? Who is Jiang Yuqing? What happened between Unit 7 and Unit S? The players were completely in the dark, with no clues to tell them regarding the story of that time.

He Xiaowei pondered over it, increasingly frustrated. “There’s no clue at all! How are we supposed to figure this out?!”

Zhou Qian replied, “If we can’t deduce from the plot, then we won’t. Because the solution is probably unrelated to the story itself.”

He Xiaowei sighed in despair. “I just don’t get it.”

Zhou Qian suddenly changed the subject and said, “After I entered Room 8 just now, I quickly found the evidence. Its location was almost identical to the evidence in Room 7, both near the gunman. The reason I took some time to come out was that I was conducting an experiment.”

“What experiment?” He Xiaowei asked.

“I teased the gunman,” Zhou Qian laughed.

He Xiaowei: ???

Wow, bro, you’re badass.

A moment ago, Zhou Qian entered Room 8.

No gunshots were heard within three seconds. Once again, Zhou Qian noticed that the gunman in front of him had lowered his gun. At that moment, Zhou Qian realized that the position of this gunman was exactly the same as the one in Room 7.

Zhou Qian stepped forward and looked closely at the gunman.

He had no facial features—just a shadowy figure blurred in the mist, and it was the same size as the one in Room 7.

“Can you see me?” Zhou Qian asked.

The shadowy gunman did not respond.

Crouching down and reaching out, Zhou Qian grasped the gunman’s gun.

Yet, the gunman remained unresponsive.

Then, Zhou Qian tried to pull the gun away but found he couldn’t.

Seems like the level has set it so that the gunman’s position can’t be changed and his gun can’t be taken by the player.

This setting undoubtedly reinforced Zhou Qian’s speculation about the “pattern”.

Zhou Qian took out his bone prop and placed it on the gunman’s shoulder. As soon as it touched the gunman, it fell off, and Zhou Qian caught it immediately.

After some thought, Zhou Qian opened the trade window, buying a universal adhesive and a weight. He then applied the adhesive to the weight and tried sticking it to the gunman’s shoulder. But the adhesive didn’t work, and both items instantly fell to the ground.

Having observed all this, Zhou Qian left Room 8 and returned to the corridor.

At this moment, He Xiaowei was utterly baffled by Zhou Qian’s account. “Bro, I don’t get it!”

Zhou Qian explained, “My experiment shows that in this level’s setup, we can’t increase the weight of the gunman but can increase the room’s weight. This indicates that the weight of the gunman is crucial to the game and cannot be altered, but the room doesn’t matter.

“Therefore, the change in ‘rank’ is related to the gunman and has nothing to do with the room.”

He Xiaowei: “So…”

Zhou Qian: “When playing a game, facing certain levels, if the plot doesn’t provide clues, we need to change our thinking. Shooting leads to a change in the rank of the 12 gunmen. Without plot clues, we’ll take another approach—abstract the 12 gunmen.”

He Xiaowei was utterly perplexed. “Abstract? What do you mean?”

Zhou Qian took out a blank piece of paper, drew a circle, and marked it with 12 numbers like a clock.

“The word ‘rank’ has been given too many meanings by us, such as power, merit, wealth… But sometimes, we often overlook the most basic meaning of the word.

“Have you ever thought that at this level, the meaning of ‘rank’ might be straightforward? For instance, whoever stands at the lowest point has the lowest rank.”

As he spoke, Zhou Qian suddenly asked He Xiaowei and Lu Mengmeng. “Have you ever played roulette?”

“Ah… Ah!” He Xiaowei seemed to have a vague realization but couldn’t grasp the key point yet.

Zhou Qian continued, “We abstract the 12 gunmen, imagining them as 12 bullet holes on a roulette turntable. Let’s assume each hole contains an equal number of bullets—let’s say 10 in each hole.

“At first, the turntable is horizontal, with the bullet holes evenly distributed. At this time, the turntable is ‘balanced’, meaning all gunmen are at the same level.

“The center of gravity of this turntable is Room 701, located right at the center.”

In the midst of He Xiaowei’s gaze, interwoven with shock and excitement, Zhou Qian uttered the idea that was slowly forming in He Xiaowei’s mind. “The balance of the horizontal turntable has been disrupted by the cleaner in military uniform. She attracted the shot from Gunman No. 12, causing one less bullet in the bullet hole at 12 o’clock. From then on, the horizontal turntable tilted and spun… When it finally stopped, which point would it be at the bottom?”

Lu Mengmeng took over. “6 o’clock! There are only 9 bullets left at 12 o’clock, it becomes lighter, but the other 11 points are equally heavy; all still have 10 bullets… So, if the turntable is viewed as a whole, its center of gravity will be at the 6 o’clock position! Turn this turntable… It will definitely fall to 6 o’clock in the end, so the position of 6 o’clock is the lowest!”

The sensation of cracking a tough problem excited him. At this moment, his voice was much louder than a mosquito’s, and he seemed to completely forget that he had killed someone not long ago.

Zhou Qian glanced at him and said calmly, “With one less bullet at 12 o’clock, the turntable’s center of gravity shifts to 6 o’clock. 6 o’clock becomes the lowest point, which is what is meant by the ‘lowest rank’ in the literal sense. At this point, the gunman at 6 o’clock should not fire, and room 6 is safe.

“Then, the second cleaner entered Room 1 and died. The bullet hole at the 1 o’clock position also lost a bullet. Thus, 12 and 1 both reduced the weight by a bullet, and the turntable’s center of gravity shifted again, falling between 6 and 7.

“As a result, at that time, both 6 and 7 had the lowest rank and were on the same horizontal line. So, rooms 6 and 7 are safe. The third cleaner entered these two rooms and was not killed. But he was killed when he entered room 2.”

For some reason, He Xiaowei felt a shudder down his soul, repeatedly murmuring, “Holy crap… Holy crap? Holy crap!!”

At this moment, the delicate footsteps of a girl approached from the distant corridor. Zhou Qian squinted slightly but continued talking. “After the third cleaner died, the 2 o’clock point was lightened by one bullet. Now, 12, 1, and 2 all reduce the weight of one bullet. The focal point of the turntable falls on point 7. Therefore, Room 6 is no longer safe. Only Room 7 is safe.”

As the footsteps grew closer, Zhou Qian’s narration did not pause. “For this reason, I entered Room 7 and was unharmed, while Gao Shan entered Room 6 and died.”

“With Gao Shan’s death, the bullet hole at the 6 o’clock point lost one bullet. The overall center of gravity of the turntable changed again.”

“At this moment, in this abstract turntable composed of 12 gunmen, the center of gravity is between 7 and 8. Both 7 and 8 have the lowest rank, so both rooms are safe.”

By now, He Xiaowei had fully grasped the situation. Currently, points 12, 1, 2, and 7 all had a reduced weight of one bullet, making them lighter than the other eight points, causing the turntable to be imbalanced. To make every room safe, players need to restore the center of gravity of the turntable to the center position—that was, room 701. Only then could all 12 points possibly return to the same level.

However, a new problem arose. How could the turntable’s center of gravity be restored to the center? With four rooms each missing a bullet, should they go to the remaining eight rooms one by one? If this was the case, probably no one except a nine-lived cat demon could pass this level.

Should they just give up on this side quest?

As he pondered, He Xiaowei took the pen and paper from Zhou Qian’s hand and began to deduce, but he remained puzzled. “I graduated from high school so many years ago… This is a physics mechanics problem, right? Isn’t it about torque balance? I can’t solve it! Besides letting eight more people die, I can’t find a way to clear the level.”

Lu Mengmeng seemed to understand something. “Actually, we don’t need to do specific calculations. We just need to find symmetry points. Look… currently, points 12, 1, 2, and 6 are light, right? Let’s look at it symmetrically. Points 12 and 6 are two points on the diameter of the circle and have a center-symmetry relationship. So…”

“Both of these points have one less bullet, so their effects on the turntable actually cancel each other out.

“In this case, we can temporarily ignore points 12 and 6 and just consider 1 and 2. With 1 and 2 reduced in weight, the overall center of gravity will shift to their center-symmetric points, 7 and 8, making 7 and 8 the safe rooms…”

Eyes shining slightly, Lu Mengmeng said, “So, to restore balance to the turntable, we just need to get the gunmen in rooms 7 and 8 to each fire a bullet, right? Then the whole turntable will be balanced!”

He Xiaowei shook his head emphatically. “That’s the contradiction! We can’t get these two gunmen to fire. They are at the lowest position now. How can they shoot? We can only run once in each of the other rooms… You’d need the nine lives of a cat to clear this!”

“If you can’t cheat a bullet out of the safe room… then this problem has no solution! Even if you had nine lives, you couldn’t solve it.” Lu Mengmeng took He Xiaowei’s draft paper, connected 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock, 11 o’clock to 5 o’clock… and so on, drawing a total of six diameters across the circle.

“Even if you won’t get shot and can keep going to the unsafe rooms to get the gunmen to fire and reduce bullets, there will always be one remaining at the center of gravity—the lowest safe point. To balance the turntable, you have to get the lowest-status safe room to lose a bullet. But at that moment, the gunman wouldn’t fire… This contradiction will always exist!”

Lu Mengmeng was out of ideas, and his brows furrowed in frustration. Beside him, He Xiaowei suddenly became excited. “No! I’ve got it! I’ve found a way!”

Looking at Zhou Qian, he said smugly, “Not long ago, you said your solution was to go to the unsafe rooms and get shot, right? You were wrong! I’ve thought of the real solution!”

He Xiaowei’s eyes were so red with excitement. “You all forgot something. Although the gunmen can’t shoot when they’re at their lowest rank… there’s an exception! The exception is that ‘7’ uniform! We’ve already figured out that as long as Rooms 7 and 8 each lose a bullet, we can clear the stage! But how can we get the gunmen to fire in a safe room? Hahaha, of course, by wearing that uniform!”

Contrasting with He Xiaowei’s excitement, Lu Mengmeng’s voice trembled slightly. “So… we just need to wear the uniform to enter these two rooms and lure the gunmen to fire to clear the level? But who will go? Does this mean… to clear the level, we have to sacrifice two players?”

Lu Mengmeng’s words, like a bucket of cold water, doused He Xiaowei’s enthusiasm.

He was stunned. Indeed, do they have to sacrifice two people to clear the level?

Beside them, a thickening fog slid past Zhou Qian’s cold, beautiful eyes. He quietly watched He Xiaowei without saying anything, waiting for his answer.

After a moment, He Xiaowei sat on the ground with a sigh. “That won’t work… Let’s give up this side quest. We’ve already lost one player. How can we let more die? This level is so hard; the rewards must be significant… but no matter what, we can’t sacrifice our teammates. I have principles…”

Hearing this answer, the corner of Zhou Qian’s mouth twitched. After a pause, he finally spoke, further disappointing the already disheartened He Xiaowei. He said, “You’re wrong. The uniform can no longer trick bullets out. The blood on the corpse has completely covered that ‘7’. This was deliberately done by the game designer to block that solution. I guess the bloodstains are also hard to wash off completely. Otherwise, the solution would be too simple. Try it if you don’t believe me.”

“Damn it, I’ll try.”

Feeling defeated by Zhou Qian’s rebuttal, He Xiaowei was a bit unconvinced. But as he got up from the ground to try and take the uniform from the body, he stopped.

“Damn, why would I try? If I really tried, I’d be the one sacrificed! Zhou Qian, you must be tricking me!”

“I’m not tricking you. That solution will absolutely not work, so you’re definitely safe. I found a bullet marked ‘S’ under Jiang Yuqing’s pillow, and that’s the real solution to clearing the level. Now, let me tell you the answer.”

Zhou Qian said, “The method you were thinking of was to trick the gunman in the lowest safe room to fire, reducing its weight to balance with other points. But there’s another way, and that’s to give the bullet back to the gunman across from it, who is one bullet heavier.”

“We assume that the last remaining safe point is 10, and its corresponding point is 4. In other words, points 4 and 10 are centrally symmetrical. Connecting these two points results in a diameter passing through the center of the circle.”

“At this moment, except for points 4 and 10, the other points are balanced. The remaining pairs of centrally symmetric points, when connected by their diameters, have their center of mass back at the circle’s center. So, we only need to balance points 4 and 10 to restore the equilibrium of the entire turntable.”

“Now, the lowest point on this turntable is point 10, because it has one more bullet than point 4. Therefore, if we return a bullet to point 4, the problem will be solved.”

“Of course, the bullet found on the corpse is not usable. I’ve checked. The cartridge has separated and is severely damaged; some small fragments are nowhere to be found. We can’t piece them together into a complete bullet and give it back to the gunmen. Fortunately, I found this intact S bullet under Jiang Yuqing’s pillow.” With a faint smile, Zhou Qian held up the bullet in his hand. “We just need to return it.”

Even though He Xiaowei was rugged, at this moment he looked into Zhou Qian’s eyes, almost sparkling.

For an instant, in his eyes, Zhou Qian’s figure seemed to grow immensely tall, shining brilliantly as if radiating a holy light.

But a few seconds later, the light in He Xiaowei’s eyes dimmed.

It was because Lu Mengmeng made another discouraging remark, “So, your method indeed works, but…”

“But now Rooms 7 and 8 are equally low! To balance them, we need to return a bullet each to their opposite points, Rooms 1 and 2! But we don’t have two bullets; we only have one S bullet!”

“We… We still need to make adjustments and go to other rooms to continuously dodge bullets until there’s only one room left as the center of mass. But this means… we still have to sacrifice many people!”

It seemed Zhou Qian didn’t hear Lu Mengmeng. He just said, “I’ve already calculated it.”

Taking back the paper he initially drew the turntable on, Zhou Qian quickly wrote down the solution.

[The first step is to enter Room 4, let the gunman in Room 4 shoot, decreasing the mass at point 4. The center of mass will then be between points 8 and 9, leaning towards 8, making Room 8 the only safe one.]

[The second step, enter Room 7, and the center of mass shifts to point 9.]

[The third step, enter Room 8, and the center of mass moves to point 10.]

Zhou Qian explained, “After these three steps, that is. After the gunmen in rooms 4, 7, and 8 each shoot a bullet, the remaining diameters will all be balanced, returning to the center, room 701, except for the diameter connecting points 4 and 10.”

“At this time, the turntable’s center of mass is at point 10. Returning the bullet to the gunman at point 4, opposite point 10, will allow us to pass.”

He smiled and concluded, “In summary, we just need to enter rooms 4, 7, and 8, have each of the three gunmen shoot once, and then return one bullet to the gunman in room 4. Of course, when returning the bullet, some skill is needed. Xiaowei, what’s your skill? Can you remotely return the bullet to the gunman without opening the door?”

He Xiaowei’s expression transitioned from confused to stunned to shocked.

He then said, “Wait, never mind my skill for a moment. Your method… doesn’t that still mean three people will die?! What the hell?!”

“Brother Zhou Qian… sacrificing me, Situ Qing, and Lu Mengmeng, so you can return the bullet to the gunman in room 4, right? We three are just stepping stones for your success, aren’t we? Look, Gao Shan is dead, and you win the beauty? Fuck, Zhou Qian, are you trying to be the biggest winner here?”

“Oh.” Zhou Qian seriously pondered for a moment, then nodded. “Good idea!”

He Xiaowei: “…”

Zhou Qian then shook his head. “But I won’t let you guys die. We still have the main quest ahead. I’ll need you.”

He Xiaowei: “…”

Giving He Xiaowei an up-and-down look, Zhou Qian said earnestly, “Also, I don’t seem to like girls.”

He Xiaowei took a step back. “Could it be that you…”

Zhou Qian quickly interjected, “Don’t get the wrong idea.”

He Xiaowei: “What do you mean? I think I look okay. I was once considered the most handsome guy in our department!”

Zhou Qian, surprised, said, “Really? You rated yourself that way?”

He Xiaowei: “………”

“Let’s get back to business. I want to clear this, but I don’t need to sacrifice any of you.”

Zhou Qian held up the [Rib of God] and approached Room 4. “My weapon has the power to slow down time.”

“The bullets are fatal in one shot because the shooter is accurate and ruthless. A bullet that directly hits the heart can’t be stopped by any defense, no matter how strong. Its speed is so fast that at our current level, no one can escape. But what if—I slow down time?”

Did Zhou Qian intend… to slow down time and thereby reduce the bullet’s speed to dodge its attack?

He Xiaowei was a bit stunned.

He immediately said, “But it’s still very risky! Even if you slow down time, there’s no guarantee you can dodge it. Didn’t the level description say the bullet has a 100% hit rate? What if it’s programmed to always hit you?”

“Moreover, even if you can successfully dodge, your powerful skill must have a cooldown and consume a lot of mana, right? Can you enter three rooms and use it three times?”

“That’s why, Brother Xiaowei, I need your help,” Zhou Qian began. “Regarding your first point, I’m not sure if it’ll work; I have to try.”

“Look at the trade box and remember to approve. My friend gave me the [Tick Tock Clock]. Then I’ll trade it to you. If I die, you can use it to revive me. Of course, this would mean my method isn’t viable. We might have to give up this side quest.”

“On the other hand, if my test is successful, then I can definitely dodge the bullets from the other two rooms in the same way. Don’t worry about my skill limitations. The Rib of God I have was awarded for an ultimate hidden achievement. It’s a rare gift from the gods and extremely powerful. It does consume mana, but just enough to use it three times in three rooms.”

Without wasting any more time, Zhou Qian walked towards Room 4.

Suddenly, a voice stopped him.

It was Yun Xiangrong, her voice shaky and tearful. “Zhou Qian, wait.”

Zhou Qian halted but didn’t turn around. In that moment, he seemed to guess what Yun Xiangrong would say. But with his back turned, no one could see his expression.

“If the ‘bullet hit rate is 100%’ is a compulsory setting for the level, then going into Room 4 now will be a waste of the Tick Tock Clock. This hidden achievement is optional. There are countless other levels waiting for you.”

“But Gao Shan only has one life!”

“I just tried contacting Qi Liuxing but couldn’t. Since he gave you the Tick Tock Clock…”

“I hope you use it to save Gao Shan. I beg you.”

As she spoke, Yun Xiangrong kneeled down, tears streaming down her youthful face. Her plea for her lost boyfriend touched everyone.

Especially He Xiaowei, who approached Zhou Qian. “Forget it. I can give up the hidden achievement. Just… save her boyfriend! And about that transaction, I haven’t—”

Zhou Qian cut him off, whispering in his ear, “Watch over Situ Qing and Yun Xiangrong for me.”

Without further delay, Zhou Qian was about to push the door open.

He Xiaowei reached out in a desperate attempt to stop him. “Wait, you—”

But his voice was drowned out by another piercing scream—

“Zhou Qian—!!!”

Yun Xiangrong, who had never raised her voice, shouted with all her might.

But it was in vain.

With tears in her eyes, she watched Zhou Qian, who seemed ready to push the door open. Her eyes, swollen from crying and filled with hope, hurt immensely. It seemed as if her vision was clouded by blood. As her anguish reached its peak, it appeared as though her eyes were bleeding.

The blood-red haze spread, painting everything in its hue, until her vision narrowed down to Zhou Qian’s resolute back.

He never looked back.

“Zhou Qian… I hate you. I’ll hate you for the rest of my life. You’d better kill me. Let me die with Shan Ge. Otherwise, I swear. I’ll never let you go in this life. I’ll kill you!”

“It’s a pity, Yun Xiangrong. You should know that in life, things often don’t go as planned.”

After Zhou Qian finished this sentence, in Yun Xiangrong’s eyes, his action of pushing the door became infinitely slow.

That was because he activated his skill, slowing down the flow of time.

At the same moment, outside the game, in front of a phone screen.

Yu Xian became very excited because Zhou Qian was incredibly strong. He found the sensation of effortlessly winning delightful.

However, Zhu Qiang’s face suddenly turned a bit pale.

His voice somewhat parched, he said, “Lao Yu… I can’t see the description of Qian Ge’s skill. What’s going on with that time skill of his?”

Yu Xian replied, “Ah, the mana consumption of his skill is related to how much power he wants to exert. The greater the power, the faster the mana is consumed. Like when Gao Shan died earlier, Qian Ge almost made time stop completely. At that level, his mana consumption was massive! But if he just slightly slows down time, then the mana consumed will be less.”

“This skill comes with his weapon and isn’t one of his personal skills, so there isn’t much of a cooldown limitation. But then again, if he wants to maximize the power of this skill, he’ll nearly deplete all his mana. Given that, there’s actually no need to limit the cooldown… After all, if he runs out of mana, he can’t use the skill… Oh shit—!!”

“Eh?!! I just checked, and Qian Ge only has 30% of his mana left. That’s not enough to use his time-slowing skill three more times! What is he trying to do?”

Zhou Qian only had 30% mana, and it was still decreasing. If he wanted to clear the game using his stated method, he would have to enter three rooms and slow down time three times.

But given the rate at which his skill consumed mana, he simply couldn’t achieve that.

Yu Xian was stunned. “What the hell is Qian Ge trying to do? Is he tricking everyone again and pulling some strange move? This is so weird…”

“Eh, Qiang Ge? Why aren’t you speaking? Hey, why are you running to the bathroom? Do you also have diarrhea?!”

Zhu Qiang, while rushing to the bathroom, shouted back, “There was something wrong with today’s hot pot! I feel terrible… I need to go for a bit!”

Upon reaching the bathroom, Zhu Qiang quickly took out his phone and, with a trembling voice, reported Zhou Qian’s current situation to a mysterious man on the other end.

A few seconds later, inside the game, Situ Qing glanced downward and saw a message from the gambler.

But due to the slowed-down time, every word on the system panel appeared extremely slow.

So she watched the message appear, word by word: [Beware of Zhou Qian. He might be planning to kill Lu Mengmeng.]

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

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

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Chapter 23

Time resumed its flow, and the lingering frost in the air brought a cold chill.

Zhou Qian felt the fog in front of him thicken. He could see a silhouette weaving through the fog. Pushing him aside, it rushed directly towards the body on the ground.

It was Yun Xiangrong, tightly hugging Gao Shan’s body. She must be in utter despair and sadness now, but due to the fog, Zhou Qian couldn’t discern her expression.

Putting away the bone in his hand, Zhou Qian stood up and said to Yun Xiangrong in a very indifferent tone, “Time is of the essence. You can cry for five minutes. After that, please move aside. I need to extract the bullet from his body to see if there’s an ‘S’ engraved on it.”

He Xiaowei, standing nearby, found this comment utterly absurd. He couldn’t help but rush over and say, “Dude, are you out of your mind?”

“He’s already dead. The body is of no use now,” Zhou Qian responded. “For the smooth progress of our mission, I need to verify the bullet in his body.”

“It’s impossible.” Yun Xiangrong’s voice trembled. Crouching down, holding Gao Shan’s hand, she didn’t even look at Zhou Qian. “If you dare touch Shan Ge, I swear I’ll go all out against you. I’m contacting Qi Liuxing right now. He… He will bring the clock. Shan Ge will be revived; he’s not dead… He’ll wake up soon! Stay away from him! I won’t allow you to touch him!”

“Actually, you should be more rational. In this game, you can use gold coins to exchange for what you want, right? So you can totally revive him. Now that he’s dead and useless, if you clear the level faster, you can revive him sooner. You should make full use of his body.” Zhou Qian crouched next to Yun Xiangrong, unexpectedly pulling out a small knife and attempting to make an incision on Gao Shan’s body.

Yun Xiangrong swiftly pushed him away, angrily slapped him across the face, and then grabbed him by the collar, glaring fiercely. From this close proximity, Zhou Qian could clearly see the redness and bloodshot eyes. Her hands were shaking, and her voice was trembling to the extreme. “If you dare harm a hair on his body, I swear, I’ll make your life a living hell!”

The fog thickened so much that Zhou Qian couldn’t even clearly see Yun Xiangrong’s reddened eyes anymore. The hallway seemed to stretch endlessly. Room 6, which had witnessed Gao Shan’s death, was slowly drifting away from him.

At this moment, facing Yun Xiangrong, Zhou Qian turned his head slightly, constantly glancing behind. A swift shadow moved through the fog without making a sound. After being pushed away by Yun Xiangrong, Zhou Qian stepped back several paces, stopping only when his back hit the wall beside Room 6.

Pretending to glance unintentionally, he noticed that the room number had changed back to “6”.

Everything he said to provoke Yun Xiangrong was deliberate. Their argument, combined with He Xiaowei’s intervention, provided the perfect opportunity for Lu Mengmeng to switch back the room number.

Zhou Qian quickly looked away, acting as if he knew nothing, his attention seemingly still on Gao Shan’s body. His tone was cold and mocking. “Honestly, Yun Xiangrong, there’s no need for you to be so upset. Why did Gao Shan go to Room 6? The game’s clues clearly indicated one thing—the safe room isn’t constant. If he couldn’t figure that out, it’s his own foolishness to blame.”

As Zhou Qian continued, He Xiaowei couldn’t bear it any longer. “Dude, are you messed up? It’s a life we’re talking about. Why are you saying such things, especially in front of his girlfriend—”

Interrupting Zhou Qian, Situ Qing stepped forward, her voice raised due to the fog, “Interesting. I think you’re the one who got Gao Shan killed. And now you even want to touch his body.”

This statement made He Xiaowei recoil in fear. He immediately stepped back, distancing himself from Zhou Qian. “What do you mean? Why is Zhou Qian responsible for Gao Shan’s death?”

Situ Qing said, “Because Zhou Qian came out of room 7 very early, but he has been hiding and not making any sound. I guess he indeed found some patterns, confirming that room 7 is safe. However, he’s not sure if his pattern is valid, so he needed someone to test it.”

“After he came out of Room 7… No, we don’t even know if he ever went into Room 7. He might have pretended to enter Room 7, but he never did. We can’t confirm this. This thick fog makes it really convenient for him to hide.”

“Anyway, when we called him, we didn’t hear his voice. We thought he was in Room 7, but he wasn’t. He was hiding in the corridor, watching us like a lurking killer. But he couldn’t escape my sight. So I used my skill on him.”

He Xiaowei immediately said, “Hiss! No wonder I felt like it was snowing.”

Situ Qing continued, “When I found out he wasn’t in Room 7 but in the corridor, I guessed his malicious intentions.”

“That’s why I used my skill on him—to force him out of hiding. Once he ran, he would definitely be exposed, and he couldn’t continue lying in front of everyone.”

“I used my skill only to expose him, but… I don’t know why Gao Shan ran into Room 6. Anyway… He might have been influenced by Zhou Qian, thinking that if 7 is safe, then 6 is definitely too.”

What Situ Qing said didn’t deceive Yun Xiangrong. She probably didn’t intend to deceive her.

She revealed her murderous intent early on, even deliberately attracting Yun Xiangrong’s attention. From the beginning, her plan was to attract all the guards and hatred, letting Lu Mengmeng deceive them in the dark.

They just didn’t succeed and changed their strategy halfway through.

Since Situ Qing couldn’t deceive Yun Xiangrong, she had two main reasons for saying such things:

First, she wanted He Xiaowei to doubt Zhou Qian and not form an alliance with him.

Second, she bore all the hatred, not exposing Lu Mengmeng and letting Zhou Qian believe that she was his only enemy.

So, on one side were Situ Qing, Lu Mengmeng, and He Xiaowei; on the other side were Zhou Qian and Yun Xiangrong.

In her eyes, it was at least a three against two situation.

Of course, through Zhou Qian’s deliberate creation of conflicts, Situ Qing now believed that Zhou Qian and Yun Xiangrong probably wouldn’t form an alliance.

Zhou Qian was happy to let her continue thinking this way, hoping she would think even Yun Xiangrong would turn against her, making it four against one.

Zhou Qian pretended not to know that Lu Mengmeng had exchanged the numbers. He didn’t seem to mind being accused by Situ Qing at all. He didn’t even bother to defend himself and just stood there arrogantly.

He walked up to Situ Qing and looked at her contemptuously. “There are only 35 minutes left for this level. Do you want to waste time playing murder mystery, pointing fingers at each other over who killed Gao Shan, or focus on clearing the level?”

“I’ve said it, I’m not interested in the side quests.” Situ Qing replied coldly.

“Really? But I don’t believe…” Zhou Qian stared into her eyes, trying to peer into her soul. “Everyone here has a wish, but who could fulfill it? Have you ever doubted that a god created this game? Have you thought that only by digging through the hidden achievements of each instance can you get closer to him? For instance…”

Lifting his hand, Zhou Qian showed off the Rib of God he had.

Flaunting the bone, Zhou Qian said, “Even if we don’t talk about such mysterious things. You shouldn’t ignore side quests and hidden achievements. Just for the experience points, what you can get from hidden achievements is not comparable to quickly completing the main quest. You might not match one hidden achievement even after completing 20 normal instances. Not to mention the special rare skills, items, and lots of gold that can be obtained through side quests. So, if someone suggests you only play the main quest…”

With malicious intent in his eyes, Zhou Qian sneered at Situ Qing, “Have you ever thought that the person giving you this advice might just not want you to become stronger?”

“I once raised a cat. I wanted it to be smarter—even learn to use the toilet. But I didn’t want it to be too smart. Because if it was too smart, it might have its own thoughts, become disobedient, and not be controlled by me.”

When Zhou Qian finished saying this, Situ Qing’s face turned pale.

Seeing her expression, Zhou Qian laughed. He knew he had probably guessed right.

From the moment they entered Room 701, when they tried to talk to Jiang Yuqing, Situ Qing stood by the window without speaking, just occasionally glancing at her watch. When they tried to find clues from the photos, Situ Qing stood outside the door, still occasionally glancing at her watch, then suddenly said she didn’t care about the side quest at all…

Furthermore, looking at her personal situation, she had a strong ability to act, but her intelligence and strategies were clearly average. Under these circumstances, if she wanted to kill and took the smart approach, it could only be because she was being instructed by someone. She was like a gun, firing whenever she was pointed at.

Lastly, her seamless coordination with Lu Mengmeng was so perfect that even if they communicated privately through the system, it would be hard to achieve this effect. Because communication and discussion actually take time.

Judging from the incident of trying to kill Gao Shan, when their initial plan failed, they immediately switched strategies and collaborated on a second plan. One immediately used a bell to interfere with Gao Shan’s judgment of distance and pretended to target Zhou Qian, while the other stealthily swapped the room signs at the perfect moment…

It seemed more like they were both under the command of a third party, executing the orders without hesitation.

Since there were gamblers in this game who could send messages to the players, the one directing Situ Qing was likely her gambler.

Through probing, Zhou Qian realized that, unlike his relationship with Yu Xian, the relationship between Situ Qing and her gambler seemed unusual. The only thing Zhou Qian didn’t know was why Situ Qing’s gambler could also direct Lu Mengmeng simultaneously.

Due to the thick fog, Zhou Qian bent down, getting closer to Situ Qing. As she looked up, she saw his mesmerizing eyes. Zhou Qian whispered, “Birds in cages usually don’t end up well. He doesn’t want you to get stronger; why don’t you resist? Don’t you want to know what rewards we could get if we solve this side quest?”

Situ Qing took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again, her expression was back to normal. “Zhou Qian, you might be too full of yourself and have misunderstood something. Things aren’t what you think.”

“Is that so?” Without saying anything more, Zhou Qian walked away, passing He Xiaowei and Lu Mengmeng.

Pretending to be oblivious to Lu Mengmeng’s actions, Zhou Qian said, “I don’t accept Situ Qing’s accusations. I also think she has no reason to kill Gao Shan or me. Perhaps the fog blurred her vision, causing her to mistake someone else’s shadow for mine and creating a misunderstanding. But I don’t have time to clear my name right now. I’ll prove it with my actions.”

“I wanted to examine the bullet in Gao Shan’s chest to understand the story behind this level and prepare for future ones. But that has nothing to do with the current puzzle. I’ve already found the solution and have the evidence from Room 7. I don’t need others to test it for me. So next, I’ll personally open another safe door.”

“It’s not easy to get into an instance with hidden achievements. So even if you have many judgments against me, why not wait until the end of the side quest?”

“Hey you…. You…” He Xiaowei pointed at Zhou Qian speechlessly. To him, both Situ Qing and Zhou Qian seemed to have valid points. Even if Zhou Qian was wrong and intentionally or unintentionally harmed Gao Shan, currently, only he knew how to clear the level.

He asked Situ Qing, “Do you know the pattern?”

Situ Qing didn’t answer. It seemed she didn’t know.

With a mocking tone, Zhou Qian laughed. “See, Situ Qing. Your clever gambler didn’t tell you the solution. He truly doesn’t want to see you grow stronger.”

Having said that, Zhou Qian headed towards a corridor. He Xiaowei quickly followed but kept his distance, as if fearing Zhou Qian might push him into a room.

However, Zhou Qian didn’t. He Xiaowei followed him to Room 8, watching as he swiftly entered. The door opened and closed, and Zhou Qian’s figure vanished. Three seconds later, no gunshot was heard.

At that moment, He Xiaowei, who had been nervously waiting outside, almost jumped in excitement. Zhou Qian seemed to have really found the pattern. With such a difficult level, there seemed to be hope, making He Xiaowei quite thrilled.

About three minutes later, Zhou Qian came out.

He said, “Both Room 7 and Room 8 hide a bullet with the number ‘7’ on it. This is the evidence we are looking for.”

“If I’ve guessed correctly, there are 12 rooms and 12 bullets with the number ‘7’ on them. If we gather them all, we’ll pass this level.”

“Which room should we go to next?” He Xiaowei couldn’t help but ask.

Lu Mengmeng followed closely behind, and his constant innocent act apparently didn’t arouse He Xiaowei’s suspicion.

He Xiaowei pulled Lu Mengmeng closer and said to Zhou Qian, “Bro, I now fully believe that you have figured out the pattern. We can help you. If we all search for the evidence together, it will be easier!”

“Do you really want to help me?” Zhou Qian looked at He Xiaowei and Lu Mengmeng as if he wanted confirmation.

“Of course!” He Xiaowei nodded emphatically.

Lu Mengmeng also nodded. “Who doesn’t want to clear the level? I’m willing.”

“Good. Because this level requires cooperation to complete. I can’t do it alone,” Zhou Qian said.

“How can we help? Which room is safe now?” He Xiaowei asked.

“At the moment, except for rooms 7 and 8, no room is safe,” Zhou Qian said. “But we’ve already found the bullets marked ‘7’ in these two rooms.”

He Xiaowei was taken aback. “What…?”

Zhou Qian suddenly said something that stunned He Xiaowei. “If we want to find other safe rooms, someone must first enter an unsafe room and let the gunman shoot.”

On the other side.

After watching the three men leave, Situ Qing remained still for a long time. A moment later, her gaze landed on Yun Xiangrong.

With a cold and ruthless expression, Situ Qing seemed to feel no remorse and wasn’t afraid of Yun Xiangrong seeking revenge.

However, Yun Xiangrong’s next move intrigued her.

In Situ Qing’s eyes, Yun Xiangrong was a gentle girl. She chose to practice healing arts for her boyfriend without considering any backup plan. In a situation like this, where she had lost her boyfriend, she should have been devastated, probably crying beside Gao Shan’s body until she passed out…

But to Situ Qing’s surprise, Yun Xiangrong stood up and headed in the direction Zhou Qian and the others had left.

As she watched Yun Xiangrong’s figure disappear into the fog, Situ Qing received another message from that person.

[Sister, don’t trust Zhou Qian’s divisive words.]

[You can’t handle this side quest. To clear it, you need to sacrifice players—at least three of them.]

[I’m stopping you for the sake of your main quest later.]

[Be careful and don’t fall for Zhou Qian’s tricks.]

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