Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

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Chapter 177

There was only one minute left before the official start of the King’s Game.

In one corner of the cage, Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou were staring at each other. Zhou Qian hadn’t even had the chance to answer him when suddenly, a commotion erupted not far away.

Both Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou instantly stood and looked toward the noise. In that split-second glance, they both realized what was happening and dashed toward it.

But it was already too late—

Two gunshots rang out!

As the gunfire subsided, Xu Feiyu bolted toward the Peach Blossom Legion’s camp and threw herself into her brother’s arms.

Behind her, the two people who had been guarding her lay on the ground, bleeding from gunshot wounds.

Not long before this, Zhou Qian, Bai Zhou, and others had been discussing their theories about the dungeon’s mechanics and how to solve the King’s Game.

Meanwhile, the rest of the players were also occupied, gathering in small groups to plan their strategies for the upcoming game.

The two guarding Xu Feiyu were no exception.

The more they thought about it, the more terrifying the King’s Game seemed—an outright massacre of players by murderers. Nervous, they began discussing tactics in earnest and let their guard down.

That was when it happened.

Taking advantage of their distraction, Xu Feiyu quietly pulled a knife from her bag and cut the ropes binding her feet and waist.

Then she accessed her system panel on her left wrist, entered the trading interface, and retrieved a gun her brother had sent her.

After that, she hid the gun in her sleeve and waited patiently.

She didn’t have to wait long.

Seizing her moment, she locked eyes with her brother across the crowd, then immediately raised the gun and fired at one of her guards. The man didn’t even have time to react before he fell.

Almost simultaneously, Xu Yang fired a second shot from afar, dropping the other guard.

Just like that, two of Zhou Qian’s teammates were dead, and Xu Feiyu had escaped back to her brother.

Now, the siblings stood side by side, guns trained on Zhou Qian’s group.

In response, Hidden Blade’s three disciples raised their guns at the siblings, but compared to the siblings’ cold, ruthless glares, the disciples’ arms trembled slightly, their eyes red with guilt.

Hidden Blade strode over, his face grim. “What happened? Weren’t the three of you watching her?”

At his words, their guilt deepened.

The eldest of his disciples rasped, “We thought her legs were tied up and she was being guarded, so we went aside to discuss the murderers… No excuses. It’s our fault. If not for us… they wouldn’t be dead…”

As he spoke, the only female disciple burst into tears. “Master, it’s my fault. I was the one who dragged them away to check on the murderers. I… I was careless!”

Seeing Hidden Blade’s increasingly displeased expression, He Xiaowei hurried over, frowned at the disciples, then tugged at Hidden Blade’s sleeve and whispered, “Master… what’s done is done. Shouldn’t we focus on—”

“I don’t know. Now’s not the time for that,” Hidden Blade cut him off. His face hardened further. Though he wanted to scold his disciples, he could only sigh heavily.

Nearby, Meng Bie’s eyes were bloodshot.

The two dead players had been with him since the start, newly promoted to S-rank. He’d protected them all this way, only for them to die like this.

“Give me a gun! I’ll kill them!”

He extended a trembling hand toward Hidden Blade’s disciples, fury written across his face. “This is the only way you can make it right!”

“Calm down, all of you!”

Zhou Qian’s voice cut through the tension, sharp and commanding.

He fixed Meng Bie with a steady gaze. “You’re smart. Don’t let anger cloud your judgment. They have far more bullets than we do. If you go in guns blazing, you’ll only die pointlessly.”

“But I—” Meng Bie exhaled sharply, clenching his fists in frustration.

Zhou Qian met his eyes and said quietly, “I’ll avenge them.”

He didn’t raise his voice or swear an oath, but somehow, those simple words calmed Meng Bie completely.

It was as if Zhou Qian’s casual statement carried an undeniable force.

If Zhou Qian said he would avenge them, he would.

Meng Bie believed him. Zhou Qian had the strength and conviction to back up his words. Empty promises were for other people, never Zhou Qian—no matter how impossible they sounded.

Without another glance at Meng Bie, Zhou Qian looked at Bai Zhou and sent him a private message:

“It seems Turtle Fairy’s prophecy was right. Since Feidu brings disaster to everyone and paired with Shan Sheng’s idea… we’ll take down the Xu siblings first.

“And finally… Ke Yuxiao. I’ll kill him myself.”

……

One minute later, the system announced: “The King’s Game has officially begun.”

A loud crash echoed from the cage’s entrance.

Everyone looked up to see a massive die fall from the sky.

The system broadcast:

[Each player’s card now displays a number. Please check your number.]

[The number shown on the die will determine this round’s ‘King’. Players should act according to the die result and subsequent system instructions.]

Zhou Qian glanced at his card. It showed “17”.

He then turned his eyes to the die, waiting calmly.

With so many players and murderers, a regular six-sided die wouldn’t suffice.

Instead, the face of the die turned into a massive electronic screen, flashing random numbers—or at least, so the system claimed.

Thirty seconds later, the screen displayed “59”.

The system announced:

[Player with card number 59, congratulations! You are this round’s King. You have two minutes to choose two numbers.]

Zhou Qian immediately turned to his group. “Who’s 59?”

As expected, a timid voice piped up from a corner.

“I… I am…”

It was a young girl, sounding like a squeaky mosquito out of fear. Zhou Qian moved quickly, reaching her before the system issued its next instruction, and whispered something into her ear.

Once finished, Zhou Qian walked along the bars of the cage and fixed his gaze on a murderer outside.

He rapped the bars loudly. The clanging sound drew the man’s attention. He turned, locking eyes with Zhou Qian.

Zhou Qian smiled. “Hey, want a gift?”

The murderer was tall and thin, dressed in a sleek black tuxedo, looking more like he belonged at an aristocratic ball than a killing field.

He radiated nobility, except for his eyes, sharp and lethal.

Zhou Qian grinned undeterred. “Tell me your number. I’ll give you a suspect.”

……

Inside the cage, everyone received the system’s message identifying the King.

A spotlight beamed down on the timid girl, making her face go deathly pale.

When prompted to pick two numbers, she froze, waiting for Zhou Qian’s signal.

The system’s reminders chimed relentlessly:

[Please make your choice quickly. You have…]

[50 seconds remaining.]

[30 seconds remaining.]

[10 seconds remaining.]

……

Her friends urged her desperately. Drenched in sweat, she panicked. Should she just blurt out random numbers? If she didn’t choose in time, she’d die for breaking the rules!

But if she picked blindly, she’d betray Zhou Qian and those two dead teammates…

What should she do?

She looked at Zhou Qian in despair.

At the final second, he turned and flashed her two fingers with a calm smile.

Relieved, she declared, “95 and 37! I choose those two!”

The system chimed:

[Murderer 95, congratulations. You may perform your ritual.]

[Player 37, leave the cage. Murderer 95 will retrieve you. Cooperate. You have three minutes.]

At the entrance, beside the die, a tall, elegant man in a black tuxedo appeared. His features were strikingly refined, like European royalty.

But his eyes were cold, fixed on the cage as he waited for his prey, a satisfied smile tugging at his lips.

Everyone saw who Murderer 95 was.

Now all eyes turned to see who unlucky Player 37 would be.

In the Peach Blossom camp, someone trembled violently.

Xu Feiyu, once sharp and commanding, now looked pitiful. Sweat drenched her clothes, her damp hair clung to her temples, and her face was ghostly pale.

Clutching her brother Xu Yang’s arm, she shook like a leaf. “H-How is this happening?”

Xu Feiyu had just returned to her brother’s side, finally feeling safe—only to be picked!

“Why… Why is this happening?” she stammered. “I get it now… I know how this King’s Game really works…

“The system gives the King two minutes to choose. That means it’s not random! It’s nothing like the real-life version! Zhou Qian uses that delay to talk to his Kings. He can control every King in his camp!”

She swallowed hard and went on, “Zhou Qian’s side has fifty people—about 62% of all players. The odds are in his favor. With more Kings and more information, he’s got an overwhelming edge! But—but…”

Xu Yang already knew the rest.

To weaponize this, Zhou Qian would need players’ numbers. But how could he know them?

Xu Yang had watched closely. Zhou Qian’s dragon hadn’t appeared once. As a god-tier player himself, he was confident he could counter a mere dragon tool.

Yet somehow… Zhou Qian knew Xu Feiyu’s number anyway!

Xu Yang trembled, throat tight. He hugged his sister and murmured, “It’s okay. You still have a chance. When you meet the murderer, talk to him. Find out who he is. Tell him everything we’ve learned!

“Ke Yuxiao gave me tons of dungeon info. I’ll stay at the gate and watch. If I spot anything about the murderer’s identity, I’ll tell you immediately! You’ll survive this!

“Zhou Qian only has 62%. His advantage isn’t absolute. We’ll beat him.

“We’ll both make it out alive!”

---

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

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

---

Chapter 176

Meng Bie had always been an extremely cautious person, but he had one big flaw: he loved to gamble. He met a group of players at a casino in Blue Harbor City who had just arrived in this semi-open dungeon. Unexpectedly, he ended up entering the collapsed city together with them.

Not long after the game began, Meng Bie noticed that certain colored wristbands were decreasing in a targeted way. He quickly deduced that killings were occurring. Using his investigative skills, he led his teammates on the path of escape.

It was during this escape that their group was rescued by Bai Zhou. They then joined Zhou Qian’s team and were now all members of the Invincible Legion.

Naturally cautious and suspicious, Meng Bie never fully trusted Bai Zhou from the start. Even after joining up with Zhou Qian, he remained guarded and didn’t share everything he knew.

But at this very moment, Meng Bie clearly trusted Zhou Qian’s abilities and character enough to step forward and confess what he had discovered.

After hearing Meng Bie’s words, Zhou Qian pulled him aside.

Once Bai Zhou, He Xiaowei, Hidden Blade, and Yin Jiujie had all gathered, Zhou Qian took out a soundproof airbag item and had everyone sit inside.

With this, their conversation would be completely inaudible to the Peach Blossom Legion.

Once everyone was settled, Zhou Qian turned to Meng Bie. “Tell me the specifics of what you found about the Saiya Hotel.”

Meng Bie: “There are especially many murderers connected to that hotel! We found one murderer who, after murdering someone, would cut off the tattooed part of their victim’s skin to make decorations, and then add a swastika symbol…”

Zhou Qian interrupted him. “Leave him aside for now. What about the others? The bodies with their heads covered, beaten to death. Did you find their murderer?”

Meng Bie answered immediately, “We did. This was actually the strangest case. Our team spent the most time on it before finally uncovering the truth.

“The corpses you mentioned actually fall into several categories. The first type was the earliest case, committed by a pair of murderers—a man and a woman.”

At this, Zhou Qian understood. Writer Luo Yu had drawn inspiration from this pair’s joint killing spree, using gathered information and his imagination to create his manuscript.

So, what about the other cases?

Meng Bie continued, “Another similar serial murder case happened many years later.

“We suspected the murderer was a writer named Luo Yu. We found many magazines mentioning him, saying he underwent a dramatic personality change.

“Luo Yu was a novelist. His works often exposed the darker sides of human nature, but his themes were always positive; his protagonists never had a negative outlook, and he himself was known as an upright person.

“But later, Luo Yu changed. He only ever produced one more work—the one he wrote while staying at the Saiya Hotel. Many readers felt… he empathized with the murderer in that story. He believed what the murderer did was justified and stopped expressing any criticism at all.”

After a short pause, Meng Bie went on, “Luo Yu checked into the Saiya Hotel, claiming he was seeking inspiration. But during his stay, many murders occurred. The murderers in those cases resembled the murderers in his novel and also resembled that man and woman from years ago.

“No one suspected Luo Yu at first. But once his book was published, police studied it closely and found it overlapped heavily with the real crimes. Investigating his behavior during his hotel stay confirmed he was the murderer, and he was arrested. Also…”

He Xiaowei, hooked on the story, quickly asked, “Also what?”

Meng Bie said, “Even scarier, before Luo Yu was caught, he held many lectures. He brainwashed a lot of people, who then began killing in the same way. They even changed their names, calling themselves Luo Yu.

“The name ‘Luo Yu’ became like a god worshipped by criminals.”

Zhou Qian grasped it. “So Luo Yu imitated that pair’s murders, and then many others imitated him. A chain reaction.”

“Yes.” Meng Bie nodded. “That’s what I mean. Among Luo Yu’s followers, one man was especially famous. His original name was Zhu Gao. He was tall, handsome, and seduced many beautiful housewives, telling them his name was Luo Yu. The strangest part was…”

Zhou Qian leaned in curiously. “What?”

Meng Bie said, “This guy really was good-looking and flirtatious. Not only did he seduce the wives, he also seduced their husbands… He was even sicker than the original Luo Yu.

“By exploiting this in vile ways, he destroyed marriages and eventually killed them all!”

Zhou Qian’s eyes narrowed. “I just saw a murderer who looked quite handsome earlier. He stood out immediately.”

He Xiaowei exclaimed in surprise, “Huh? Handsomer than Boss Long?”

Zhou Qian had no idea when He Xiaowei started calling Bai Zhou “Boss Long”, nor whether he was just stirring the pot or still socially clueless. He glared at He Xiaowei and turned toward Bai Zhou.

Meeting Bai Zhou’s gaze, Zhou Qian clapped his hands over Bai Zhou’s ears. “No, you heard wrong. I didn’t see anyone. What handsome guy?”

Everyone: “…”

“Ahem, well…” Meng Bie cleared his throat and continued, “Anyway, lots of people were brainwashed by Luo Yu and became his followers, but not everyone managed to become a successful serial murderer.

“Among those who stayed at the Saiya Hotel, carried out serial murders, and were connected to Luo Yu, there were only two: the handsome Zhu Gao I mentioned, and a woman named Liu Mei.

“As for the hotel’s other murderers…”

“We’ll leave the other murderers aside for now,” Zhou Qian said. “Knowing about Luo Yu is enough. This is crucial. It confirms one of my suspicions.”

He Xiaowei scratched his head anxiously and asked. “Qian’er, tell me already! I’m dying to know!”

The corpses in Exhibit C were divided into two categories: one matched the swastika murderer; the other’s murderer the players likely never encountered at all.

Now, with Meng Bie’s information, Zhou Qian was certain that Luo Yu was that second murderer.

But why was this so critical?

He Xiaowei couldn’t figure it out.

Then Zhou Qian said, “After we left the cell earlier, I deliberately walked slowly. I saw all 55 murderers.

“I looked at every face. But Luo Yu wasn’t among them.”

Everyone was shocked—

By rights, Luo Yu was also a serial murderer, part of the chain of events leading to collapse.

So why wasn’t he here?

Was Meng Bie wrong and Luo Yu wasn’t really the murderer? Or was there some deeper explanation?

“Luo Yu’s not here…” He Xiaowei muttered, frowning. “So, we’re missing a murderer. Why would one be missing?”

Zhou Qian asked him, “Remember when I asked Ruan Mei that question? I told her I knew how she committed her crime.”

He Xiaowei nodded. “Yeah! I thought that was weird! I worried she might lash out at you, but she just walked off looking pale. She even seemed… afraid of you?”

“Exactly. That’s important.” Zhou Qian nodded. “When I met the ‘World Spirit’, what it told me confirmed this further. Murderers won’t target people who are too smart or know too much, and one more key point—they won’t kill useless people. Together, this explains something.”

Sensing where this was headed, He Xiaowei gulped hard. “You mean…”

“I mean… maybe the real Blue Harbor City hasn’t actually collapsed yet,” Zhou Qian said.

He Xiaowei: “?”

Zhou Qian: “Luo Yu’s story must be meaningful. What if… just like in his novel, Blue Harbor City really does have a dual-world structure?”

He swept his gaze across everyone before continuing, “Previously, we guessed the collapse happened because someone freed criminals who should have been locked up or executed. They killed too many people, triggering a chain reaction that destroyed the city.

“But there’s a missing link in that logic. The exhibit’s other purpose hasn’t been addressed—how exactly did these murderers escape justice?”

He Xiaowei said, “Funny you bring that up. My master and I discussed it. Many of the exhibit’s corpses are from the moment of death. Like those babies—they’d just drowned when they appeared in your Exhibit A. When you examined the bodies, your fingerprints became clues back in the past…

“So logically, suspects would come from us. My master and I figured the murderers would visit us, pick one of us, and take us back in time to pin their crimes on us.

“That way, we’d be trapped in the past, unable to leave, maybe even executed in their place!

“That’s what we thought the exhibit was for. Except… except…”

“Except… that hasn’t happened yet,” Zhou Qian finished for him. “What you said is perfectly reasonable. The exhibit connects past and present. We left fingerprints on past evidence, and murderers have indeed come forward to the present. But this logic chain is still missing its most crucial link—

“Only if the real culprit picks someone, sends them back to become the suspect and take their punishment, can they walk free and trigger the collapse.

“But so far, all players are still here. None of us have been taken as suspects.

“The murderers haven’t chosen anyone yet. Why?”

Zhou Qian scanned their faces and said, “That’s why I suspect this so-called ‘King’s Game’ is actually how the murderers choose their scapegoats.”

“This world isn’t the real Blue Harbor City. It’s the shadow in a dual-world system. The real city still exists intact. And in truth, neither world has fully collapsed yet.”

Zhou Qian continued, “The ‘World Spirit’ I encountered is the embodiment of this shadow world.

“If the real world is the sunlit side, this one is the shadow side. It only survives by clinging to the real one, forever its reflection. That’s why the spirit wants to cross into the real Blue Harbor and make what happens here real.”

The scales, the gates, Luo Yu’s absence…

By now, Zhou Qian had formed a clear theory—

Blue Harbor City has two worlds.

The real world is the sunny side. Opposite it is a shadow world that mirrors it exactly. Everyone and everything here is merely a projection.

From another angle, this shadow world only exists because the real world does.

Normally, the two worlds don’t interfere. But sometimes, a shadow-self awakens and crosses over, replacing their sunny counterpart’s life.

Luo Yu was one such case.

Originally, he was a writer who spread positive values in his work.

But he was killed by his shadow self.

The shadow Luo Yu replaced him, drastically changed personality, became a serial murderer, and brainwashed countless followers.

Worse still, one day the shadow world’s spirit awoke. Its power was great enough to influence the sunny world.

For example, the Murder Exhibit might exist in both worlds. The last time they visited, the courtyard was still that of the sunny world.

But once they entered, they were already in the shadow version. All the murderers and corpses they saw were from this shadow world.

No one wants to stay a mere reflection forever.

This World Spirit wants to be unique.

Born in the shadow, it holds all this world’s negativity.

It plans to collapse this shadow world first, then drag the real Blue Harbor down with it.

Zhou Qian speculated that the scales they’d seen connected the two worlds.

They were tipping.

In about five hours, at midnight, the tipping would finish—

And then, yin and yang would invert. The shadow would replace the sunlit world, plunging the real Blue Harbor into ruin.

This was what the spirit meant by “going out”.

It and the murderers would cross into the sunny world.

Before the inversion in five hours, the spirit and murderers needed to finish one task: choosing “scapegoats” to send back in time within this world.

The world hasn’t truly collapsed yet.

What players saw as collapse was just a false chaotic space created by the powerful World Spirit, tricking them into thinking it had already happened, so they’d miss its true goal.

The logic chain still lacked its key piece.

Once players were chosen, sent back as suspects, executed in place of murderers—that missing link would be filled. Then the shadow world’s Blue Habor would collapse.

When the scales tipped fully, the collapsed shadow would overwrite the sunny world.

That would be the true apocalypse of Blue Harbor.

Luo Yu’s absence proved this.

His shadow-self had already crossed over, and in the sunny world he was arrested.

He wasn’t even part of the shadow’s collapse chain anymore.

He Xiaowei mulled this over for a long while before understanding. He was about to ask more when Meng Bie spoke first.

“Leaving aside the dual-world theory,” Meng Bie said, “just focusing on this world—we lack the historical event of scapegoats being caught and executed. That’s why this Blue Harbor hasn’t collapsed.

“The World Spirit can connect time, so creating this fake chaotic space isn’t hard for it…

“In short, it tricked us into thinking collapse already happened, but it hasn’t. They still need scapegoats from us to complete the chain.”

After thinking further, Meng Bie added, “So, can I say that right now, we’re in a fake, hypothetical timeline? The slaughter in the ‘King’s Game’ is also fake—it’s just ceremonial.

“Of course, the players killed will still die. But they won’t die here… They’ll actually…”

Zhou Qian confirmed. “They’ll actually be sent to the real shadow-world Blue Harbor, arrested as the culprits, and fill in the missing history. Once that happens, this shadow world collapses for real, and at midnight, it replaces the sunny world and wipes it out.

“The murderers could simply take us directly, but they slaughter us here because, like you said, it’s ceremonial. The spirit and its murderers are steeped in negativity. Killing delights them. Blood and flesh are their revelry and their ritual to herald the apocalypse.”

When Zhou Qian finished, He Xiaowei jumped in. “Hiss… so we just need to avoid dying in this game, right? Then we won’t be chosen!”

“Exactly. And those three rules the spirit mentioned fit perfectly. Murderers won’t choose someone too smart or too informed—it risks their chances of exoneration.

“That’s why when I told Ruan Mei I knew her methods, she stormed off. She wouldn’t dare pick me, especially after I won the game and proved I’m ‘smart’. I know her flaws and might get myself acquitted, letting her be caught instead.

“And the last rule’s key too. Murderers won’t kill useless people.

“That’s simple: if a case already narrowed the suspect’s age range, anyone outside it is useless to them. Those people won’t die in the game either.

“So—”

Zhou Qian concluded, “The game’s core isn’t wristbands or weapons. Just like we thought at first, the key is information from crime scenes.

“This city has countless crime scenes, scattered everywhere. Everyone has different intel. You can’t count on randomly meeting a murderer tied to your case. That’s why sharing info is critical.

“The bigger your group, the more info you can pool. To survive, everyone needs to share completely, not be misled by the system’s initial setup into infighting.”

“Encouraging infighting while the real win condition is teamwork…” He Xiaowei cursed. “This system’s twisted humor never disappoints!”

Zhou Qian ignored him, lost in thought.

Then he felt a hand squeeze his.

Turning his head, he met Bai Zhou’s gaze.

“The game starts in one minute.”

Bai Zhou didn’t ask how Zhou Qian planned to get info from Peach Blossom’s side.

Instead, through private chat, he asked, “How many from Peach Blossom do you plan to keep?”

---

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

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

---

Chapter 175

In real life, the rules of the King’s Game are very simple—

A dozen or so people form a circle and draw playing cards. Whoever draws the highest number becomes that round’s king, who can then call out two numbers and command those two people to do something. The two chosen must obey.

But this special version of the King’s Game was clearly very different.

According to the system, the king must select one murderer and one player. Its phrase “complete a one-on-one killing task” most likely referred to the murderer murdering the player.

It seemed probable that murderers and players would each be issued numbered cards: murderers numbered “1” through “55”, and players “1” through “81”.

As king, one would presumably select a number from each range.

But in that case… how would the king be chosen?

Moreover, if the murderers truly would kill players, how could the clues the players had gathered possibly help them survive this slaughter game?

After thinking the entire game through, Zhou Qian felt something didn’t add up.

He recalled Ruan Mei’s unusual reaction during his earlier probing and thought of the hidden lore buried in the Murder Exhibition Hall…

He had a vague sense of something but couldn’t fully pin it down yet.

Once the system finished reading part of the rules for the King’s Game, it urged the yellow faction to pick a representative who could receive extra, crucial information.

Unsurprisingly, Zhou Qian became the representative and, guided by the system, walked to a corner of the board.

Several iron pillars retracted into the ground, and a gate opened in the cage. Only Zhou Qian was allowed to step out.

Behind him were the hopeful gazes of his teammates and the hateful stares of Xu Yang, Ke Yuxiao, and others.

Ahead of him, separated by a barred gate, were murderers staring at him like a prized delicacy.

As soon as Zhou Qian stepped out, the murderers advanced several steps, nearly encircling him. They only refrained from rushing him because of some rule that barely restrained them from tearing him apart.

Even so, their hungry gazes were enough to unsettle anyone. Zhou Qian felt like prey surrounded by wolves.

“Zhou Qian—”

He heard Bai Zhou’s voice behind him.

Turning back, Zhou Qian met Bai Zhou’s focused, serious gaze, worry hidden deep in his eyes.

Zhou Qian smiled, waved lightly, then turned without hesitation and stepped fully into the encirclement of predators.

An unseen force parted the murderers just enough to form a path.

As Zhou Qian walked down it, he noticed a man with an axe.

Whether the man truly had a habit of butchering and eating human flesh was unclear, but after Zhou Qian passed him, the man dropped onto all fours like a dog, crawling and staring intently at Zhou Qian’s back, drool dripping from the corner of his mouth.

Bound by some rule, he couldn’t pounce forward to bite into Zhou Qian’s flesh.

Inside the cage, He Xiaowei shuddered with cold sweat.

He’d always been afraid of ghosts, but now he realized, these murderers were far more terrifying.

Zhou Qian strode forward unfazed, but He Xiaowei thought if it were him, he’d collapse halfway.

Ignoring their ravenous stares, Zhou Qian followed the system’s guidance and reached the end of the path.

To his surprise, he found a door. It was transparent, its material somewhere between glass and crystal, etched with intricate patterns that obscured what lay beyond.

On both sides of the door swirled dense miasma that hid the surrounding wilderness. The system warned: “Entering the misted region is forbidden. You will lose your way and die.”

Zhou Qian ignored the fog and approached the door.

Peering through the translucent surface, he eventually discerned what lay beyond: a massive set of scales.

At first glance, the scales were empty, but they were clearly tilted to one side.

If the scales tipped the other way, what would happen?

What actions could influence it?

What purpose did it serve?

Just then, a voice spoke.

To Zhou Qian’s surprise, it came directly from the translucent door.

“Hello, Zhou Qian.”

It was surprisingly a youthful voice.

“What are you? A door spirit?” Zhou Qian asked bluntly.

“I am this world’s spirit. I chose to appear as a door, so you’d understand better. I guard the boundary of this world.”

Zhou Qian asked, “World spirit? Did you make the world like this?”

The world spirit sighed. “Look, we just want to escape. Soon, our plan will succeed… and we’ll all get out.”

“Out? Out to where?” Zhou Qian pressed.

“To the real world, of course. Who wants to live as a shadow or cling to others to survive? We want to leave and become true masters of the world,” the youthful voice said innocently.

Zhou Qian asked, “What kind of game will we play with the murderers? Will they kill us?”

The door reflected a pair of sly eyes that winked mischievously. “They won’t kill clever ones. They won’t kill those who know too much. And they won’t kill… useless ones! Hahaha. Otherwise… the plan won’t work.”

“The plan won’t work? You mean… about ‘escaping’?”

“Haha, you’re sharp. You won the Chinese Checkers game. You get it immediately! Don’t worry. The murderers dislike overly clever people. You and your team should be safe. They’ll pick someone else to kill!”

Then it grinned and said, “That’s all!”

“Wait. I have more questions.” Zhou Qian pointed at the mysterious scales. “You’ve been there before, haven’t you? How do you activate it?”

“The scales require life sacrifices to move,” it replied casually. “To proceed, a sacrifice is needed. To stop it, a new sacrifice is needed.”

Zhou Qian frowned. “But I can’t cross?”

“I told you, I guard this boundary,” the world spirit said.

“When will you lead everyone to the other world you want?”

“Five hours from now, at midnight.”

“If I cross into that fog, can I reach the scales?”

“You’d be lost in dimensional rifts.”

As a theory formed in his mind, Zhou Qian asked, “Where do those who are killed go?”

This time, the world spirit stayed silent.

“What about survivors? Do they leave with you?” Zhou Qian pressed.

The spirit’s expression turned cryptic. “You don’t belong here, do you? You weren’t part of my plan. But thanks to someone’s ‘gift’, you were sent here.

“I think you’ll return where you belong… after five hours.”

This was key.

He had practically revealed the real condition for clearing the dungeon—survive the King’s Game for five hours.

At that point, the world spirit would lead the murderers away, while the players would clear the dungeon and return to reality.

But Zhou Qian suspected this wasn’t everything.

In Apple Paradise, there were standard clears, hidden clears, and ultimate clears.

From the world spirit’s words, this was likely only a basic hidden clear.

To achieve the ultimate clear, Zhou Qian would need to unravel the door, the world spirit, the Murder Exhibition, and the scales.

He stared at the door, about to ask more, but the world spirit vanished; its voice gone, its reflected eyes disappearing completely.

Zhou Qian examined the door closely, even touching it. It felt ordinary, like plain glass.

The system’s message chimed, urging him to return to the cage.

Before leaving, he glanced back one last time—the scales had tilted even further.

……

Back in the cage, the iron bars fell again.

This time, they stayed down, and a single door stood open between the cage and grass.

Seeing this, everyone knew—the King’s Game was about to begin.

Though the gate stood open, none dared leave under the game’s binding rules.

Entering, Zhou Qian met his teammates’ eager looks and Ke Yuxiao’s shadowed glare.

Xu Yang sidled up to Ke Yuxiao. “W-What’s going on? Why did Priest leave? Did he know we were doomed and abandon us?”

To Peach Blossom’s uninformed players, Priest’s exit seemed ominous. Did he lose the match and escape to avoid death?

Ke Yuxiao’s eyes briefly flickered with madness, but he hid it quickly. “Nonsense. You know how much Peach Blossom invested in me.”

“You?” Xu Yang sneered. “If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have lost! Why would they invest in you?”

“Of course, for my unique skill.”

“I don’t see it.”

Ke Yuxiao ignored him, glancing at Zhou Qian before retreating to a corner. “Exactly. If you can’t see it, it means it’s working. My skill is unmatched.”

…..

Ten minutes remained before the King’s Game began.

Inside the cage, 81 players found electronic cards in their hands.

Outside, each murderer held one too.

The cards would display numbers digitally each round, saving the hassle of physical decks.

The system added more rules:

Players were numbered “1” to “81”, murderers “82” to “136”. Each king would pick one number from each range.

Most importantly was the selection of the king—

A mechanical die would roll automatically, assigning the king by random number.

[Note: Round one’s king will be a player. Round two, a murderer. Due to the murderers being fewer, round three’s king will also be a murderer, then alternating from there…]

“What the hell? Doesn’t this system know math? That’s unfair!” He Xiaowei complained.

Then, quieter, he asked Zhou Qian, “Qian’er, what did you find over there?”

Through private chat, Zhou Qian told him: “Three hints for this game. First, the murderers may not kill clever people, especially those who have won the Chinese Checkers game. Second, the murderers won’t kill those who know too much. Third, the murderers won’t kill those utterly useless.”

He Xiaowei: “Uh, what kind of riddle is that?”

Zhou Qian: “I get it. I’ll explain soon. First, did you and Hidden Blade’s group gather everyone’s exploration info? Any leads on the Saiya Hotel?”

He Xiaowei: “The Saiya Hotel? The one tied to Exhibit C’s swastika murderer and the man-woman crime duo? Are you looking for those murderers?”

Zhou Qian shook his head. “Neither.”

“What?” He Xiaowei asked.

Zhou Qian explained, “Exhibit C had two sets of corpses. The swastika-linked murderer was easy. It was a hotel staff. We saw him in the hotel simulation.

“But the other corpses—their smashed heads, bound bodies—those didn’t match anything from the manuscript world, where all victims and murderers were just characters in novelist Luo Yu’s drafts. They weren’t real crimes.

“So who killed those bound, brutalized victims? Did we ever meet that murderer?”

Exhibit A’s infant corpses were tied to Ruan Mei.

Exhibit C’s swastika murderer was tied to the hotel employee.

But the other C Exhibit victims had no corresponding encounter.

Where was the real murderer hiding?

He Xiaowei: “We didn’t see anyone else. Except… the tour guide? But he was frail. Or… or Luo Yu? But he’s a writer! He just stayed there for inspiration, didn’t he? Would he really kill someone?”

Zhou Qian said, “Exactly. The Saiya Hotel info is crucial. Early on, the new recruits may’ve hidden details because they don’t trust me. Ask again. Get me everything.”

At this point, Zhou Qian thought for a moment and simply unliked the private chat tool and raised his voice.

“I’ll ask again. Has anyone here explored the Saiya Hotel in this dungeon?”

After a pause, someone finally replied…

It was Meng Bie.

---

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

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

---

Chapter 174

The sound of “beep, beep, beep” from the countdown continued, becoming faster and sharper.

[Friendly Reminder: The effect of “Rubber Good at Imitation” will expire in 30 seconds.]

[You only have 30 seconds left.]

[The system has launched Version 7.0 of the Deluxe Burial Package service. It’s only 998! Yes, only 998! Isn’t it tempting?]

……

At one corner of the board, six people weren’t frightened by the system’s morbid humor. Instead, they steadily continued their planned actions…

In the farthest corner, Liu Shui quickly removed his orange wristband, preparing to switch it for a blue one.

The other five people in the two rows beneath him were also quickly removing their rubber wristbands, ready to put on real orange ones.

But at that moment, an unexpected turn occurred—

Priest took out an item from his pack.

Zhou Qian’s pupils shrank sharply. Behind him, the sound of a blade rang out as Bai Zhou drew his Breaking Dawn and pointed it at Priest from afar.

At the same instant, every member of the Peach Blossom Legion around Priest raised their guns toward Bai Zhou.

In the next breath, Hidden Blade drew his scimitar. His three disciples moved at the same time.

They stood on three squares of the board, each facing a Peach Blossom Legion member. All three aimed their guns at those in front of them, forcing those three to redirect their guns away from Bai Zhou and toward Hidden Blade’s disciples.

The six of them were locked in a standoff.

Given the nature of the bullets, if anyone fired, all six would die together.

Meanwhile, not far away, Qi Liuxing suddenly drew his sword and aimed it at Priest’s back.

A cold gun barrel pressed against his forehead the next second—courtesy of Ke Yuxiao standing to his left.

The scene was on the brink of erupting, tension mounting dangerously.

Any reckless movement could spark an all-out chaotic slaughter that would claim many lives!

Yet at that critical moment, something unexpected happened—everyone suddenly froze, unable to move.

All were stunned, unable to even utter a sound.

The ones most terrified, naturally, were the six trapped in the corner of the board.

Because they couldn’t move, their wristband swap was left incomplete.

Realizing this, they knelt on the ground, tears streaming silently.

The same thought haunted all of them: They were doomed! They were dead! It was over! And the ones who killed them were Priest and Zhou Qian!

Before death, they memorized their enemies’ names. Would there even be a chance of resurrection afterward?

Thankfully, when the 30 seconds ran out, nothing happened. No one died from a rules violation.

They exhaled in relief, sweat dripping from their foreheads onto the board squares.

Now, the only person able to move or speak was Priest.

He seemed like a god holding the reins of everything. At this moment, all system rules failed. Even the system itself was gone. Everyone’s life or death hinged solely on Priest’s decision.

As Zhou Qian stared at him, he couldn’t help but think: Is there really such an OP item?

Zhou Qian had asked Bai Zhou before about the strongest items in this system.

According to Bai Zhou, there was no item that could completely break the game’s balance, especially not in the higher stages.

The last time Zhou Qian had seen something similar was when Situ Qing’s younger brother, Mu Sheng, used it in “Last Wish”—he entered the game himself and helped thousands of S-level soldiers revive.

But back then, there was still a rule allowing god-tier players to insert NPCs into the game.

God-tier players could help within the rules. So Mu Sheng’s item hadn’t truly broken the balance.

Now it was different.

In the high-stage games, there was no such NPC insertion mechanic. An item freezing everyone, including the murderers, shouldn’t even exist.

Just what was going on with this Priest?

Fortunately, things weren’t as bad as Zhou Qian had feared—

Before Priest, a door appeared out of thin air.

It was merely a self-preservation item. It offered no stat boosts or rewards but allowed players to leave the dungeon safely.

[Item Name: Anywhere Door]

[Effect: When activated, the dungeon pauses briefly. You may use this door to escape. No matter the danger, it guarantees your safe exit!]

[Note: Despite the name, it does not teleport you anywhere. It takes you to the nearest transfer zone. After resting there, you may exit to reality or, if you belong to a legion, return to its territory.]

Even after opening the door, Priest didn’t step through right away. He raised his head and met Zhou Qian’s gaze.

His eyes remained compassionate, as if he didn’t care about Zhou Qian’s harsh words or about losing.

Zhou Qian’s stare dripped with mockery. He was convinced Priest was acting.

How could he really be indifferent? This was just him saving face.

From beginning to end, he’d behaved like a detached bystander, almost as if he wanted to excuse his loss by claiming he hadn’t intervened—because his useless subordinates, like Ke Yuxiao, couldn’t even count the number of wristbands properly.

But thinking of Bai Zhou’s hints back at the church, Zhou Qian realized it wasn’t so simple.

Priest wasn’t just calculating. He had the same twisted humor as this game system. He watched everything Zhou Qian did as a spectator, just like the murderers beyond the cage watched the players now.

Even knowing this, Zhou Qian felt no urge to unravel the man’s mystery.

He simply continued to gaze mockingly at Priest.

Priest then finally spoke. “Zhou Qian, I was just a spectator all along. Entering as a player was only to meet you. This match thrilled me. You truly… exceeded my expectations.”

“I’ll leave you with this. You know full well, without those people helping you, you’d never have won.

“Your temperament is vile. I once believed you’d never make genuine friends in this game. People like you trade benefits for benefits, and only such people would stay near you.

“But now… your luck is obscene—enviable, even.

“Understand this: They follow you not because you are good, but because they are.”

“You were born rich yet disdain your family. Do you know that while you complain about stale caviar, there are countless people who can’t afford a meal?

“You’ve had people who truly care about you, yet you insist the world is malicious and spread your bitterness without restraint.

“You hate this world so much, but it still gave you love and family. So tell me, how do you see it now?

“Zhou Qian, someone like you don’t deserve this world’s gifts.”

Then, four words rang in Zhou Qian’s mind: Don’t listen to him.

He still saw Priest and the door before him, but he also saw a classroom, the one where he’d celebrated Bai Zhou’s birthday.

He instantly realized this was Bai Zhou’s mental domain.

Bai Zhou had heard Priest too. Zhou guessed he was forcefully connecting to him via mental power.

It wasn’t easy.

With their stats, forming a mental domain link without contact was impossible unless aided by the little dragon.

Even close together, without a scale as a medium, it was barely doable unless the god-tier player’s focus was at its peak, especially when Priest was using the Anywhere Door.

In the mental domain, the young Bai Zhou stepped down from the podium, concern written across his face. He walked up, gripped Zhou Qian’s hand tightly, and spoke with grave seriousness. “He has no idea what you’ve been through. Don’t listen to him.”

“Yeah, I won’t. I don’t care what they say,” Zhou Qian replied.

Bai Zhou suddenly asked, “Then are you afraid I might misunderstand you?”

Zhou Qian stared at him, lips curling slyly. “Misunderstand what? Didn’t you like me just as I am since we were kids? Besides—

“If you dare misunderstand me, I’ll tie you up.”

Bai Zhou firmly shook his head. “I’ve always said you’re not like that.”

“Why?” Zhou Qian asked.

Bai Zhou pointed at the classroom around them. The meaning was obvious.

Zhou Qian chuckled. “Tch. Buying my Zhou Ge for life with just a few cakes? What a bargain.”

Bai Zhou laughed softly too. Then, more seriously, he repeated, “You always act like you don’t care, Zhou Qian, but I know you do. Because you care, you—

“Anyway, don’t believe a single word from Priest.”

Zhou Qian nodded, smirking at the boyish Bai Zhou. “Tch. My earnest little boyfriend. Think I’ll listen to you?”

“Of course you will.”

Despite his youthful look, Bai Zhou’s stance was commanding, unlike the calm steadiness Zhou Qian knew now.

Amused, Zhou Qian teased. “Grow up before bossing me around. You’re too small now.”

“Zhou Qian—”

Sensing something, the young Bai Zhou frowned, his gaze darkening in disapproval.

Zhou Qian wanted to tease him further but snapped back to reality. He saw Priest step through the Anywhere Door.

The moment it closed, the frozen dungeon resumed.

The six in the corner were still dazed.

“Swap your wristbands, now!” Zhou Qian barked.

They jolted awake and fumbled to switch bands, finally saving their lives.

Afterward, they collapsed on the ground, panting hard, needing time to recover from their near-death terror.

Zhou Qian pressed on, directing the board until, half an hour later, they won.

The system declared victory and told them to wait for the next ruleset.

While waiting, the Peach Blossom side and Zhou Qian’s split the cage evenly.

Peach Blossom stayed silent, but Zhou Qian’s side erupted in cheers. They were now fully devoted to his Invincible Legion.

He Xiaowei shouted the loudest. “See?! Didn’t I tell you? Our Qian’er is unstoppable! Peach Blossom? Priest? All nothing!”

Yet Zhou Qian merely stood at the corner, observing the murderers outside.

The murderers pressed closer, smiling eerily like they were about to feast.

The contrast sobered Zhou Qian’s face.

Bai Zhou joined him, instantly sensing Zhou Qian’s focus wasn’t on the murderers but on pondering Priest.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, Bai Zhou asked, “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Zhou Qian replied. “Just thinking that you were right.”

He meant Bai Zhou’s kiss and its implication in the church.

“Hidden Blade saw Priest at the start of ‘Banquet of the Red God’, but Priest let him roam free to help me.

“He never needed to enter this dungeon and could’ve left long ago with that door.

“But he came anyway and left only now… like he’s been watching a circus act.”

“He’s telling me no matter how well I overturned the board, to him, it was always a predictable show.

“He caught Hidden Blade then freed him; ignored Ke Yuxiao’s obvious incompetence with wristbands; stayed hands-off in solving anything…

“He’s saying he’s been holding back since freeing Hidden Blade, leaving now because he believes I’ll die in the next stage.”

“Just trust me, and that candy,” Bai Zhou said.

“Yeah.” Zhou Qian’s eyes glinted sharply as he leaned closer. His voice was low, edged with threat. “If you dare lie to me, I’ll hunt you down even as a god of this game. No matter where you run, I’ll catch you and then…

“Zhou Ge, I will lock us away forever. That candy bought you for life. You’re not escaping.”

Moments later, as the murderers pressed closer, the system chimed:

[System evaluation complete: Player count is within capacity.]

[Special Edition: King’s Game is about to begin]

[Murderers count: 55. If players fall below this, you will be massacred.]

[Current surviving players: 81, exceeding the murderers count. The game continues…]

Many people’s faces undoubtedly changed upon hearing this, especially those led by Xu Yang. If they had stuck to the plan, they would have been slaughtered.

Xu Yang could help but glanced bitterly at Zhou Qian. Damn it, he was right!

This system existed to watch regret burn in people’s eyes.

The system went on:

[King’s Game rules: Each King selects two people for a one-on-one kill mission—one must be a murderer, the other a player.]

[Whether the player dies depends on the clues you’ve gathered.]

[Victory in the Chinese Checkers match went to Yellow. You may now send a representative to speak directly to the murderers and try to win a death exemption token. You have one minute to choose.]

[King’s Game begins in 20 minutes.]

[Enjoy your game!]

---

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

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

---

Chapter 173

Under the dark gray sky, more than eighty people were trapped inside a cold, hexagonal iron cage.

Surrounding these cages were assassins from different eras, each with distinct clothing and personalities.

They watched the struggle inside the cage with great interest, seemingly deriving immense pleasure from the spectacle.

Despite the large number of players inside and assassins outside, a surprising silence prevailed at the moment.

Amid the howling wind, one sound stood out distinctly…

“Beep, beep, beep…”

It was unmistakably a countdown of some sort.

It wasn’t hard to tell where the sound came from. Soon, everyone turned toward a single spot. The beeping came from five players wearing orange wristbands.

The five wristbands had originally been betrayal tools left behind by the Feidu Legion, but through a twist of fate, they ended up in the hands of the Peach Blossom faction and were distributed to a few lone players they had recruited.

Now, the five players looked completely bewildered as they all made the same motion…

They raised their left wrists and stared at the bands.

The countdown sound was actually coming from their wristbands.

[Item Name: Rubber Good at Imitation]

[Function: It’s just ordinary rubber at first glance, but it can transform 72 times! Grow, shrink, become pretty. It can change into anything you can imagine.]

[But the power of rubber is far more than that. Not only is it good at shapeshifting, but it can also perfectly disguise itself as a dungeon item. No one can see through its secret!]

[Note: Just like Cinderella must leave the ball before midnight, fake is fake. The rubber cannot maintain its disguise indefinitely. It only lasts for 3 hours. Manage your time wisely!]

[Grade: S, extremely rare. Occasionally dropped in god-level trial dungeons.]

This rubber was obtained by Hidden Blade during a trial dungeon he cleared long ago.

Inside the mansion where Bloody Mary once lived, he and his disciples spied on what Xu Yang had buried in the forest. Later, his first disciple dug up the five orange wristbands.

At that time, they were planning to coordinate with Zhou Qian from within. Of course, they couldn’t have foreseen everything that was happening now. But regardless, swapping the wristbands using the rubber as a disguise, having a backup plan, was never a bad idea.

So, Hidden Blade reluctantly spent all his rubber items and had his first disciple plant the five fake wristbands back.

Because of that, Xu Yang’s confidant was able to “dig up” those five wristbands and bring them back to him…

Not because he was skilled enough to escape from Hidden Blade and four of his disciples, but because they let him.

Later, after Gao Shan’s soul arrived at the mansion, he discussed strategy with them and conveyed Zhou Qian’s intentions.

During this time, Hidden Blade of course told him about the swapped wristbands.

When Gao Shan returned, he faithfully reported it all to Zhou Qian.

At that point, none of them could have imagined a chess match like this would emerge. But Zhou Qian just happened to use the “fake wristbands” to pull off a brilliant reversal.

In reality, six-color checkers means six factions compete against each other.

But not in this dungeon.

Too few pieces and you can’t win; too many pieces and it becomes harder to win. The ideal is just the right number. Choosing one well-sized group and guiding it to victory, with all other pieces serving as bridges. That was the winning formula.

When the orange faction had only two players on Zhou Qian’s side and five on the opponent’s, he had to give up his two and let them join the Peach Blossom-controlled orange team.

Thus, Zhou Qian fought using yellow and violet, against four colors controlled by the opponent.

Since Zhou Qian had absorbed many players, the yellow and violet pieces involved in the game numbered 21 each, filling up two triangular zones with a total of 42 people.

But among Peach Blossom’s four factions, apart from green, the other pieces were relatively few. Orange had the fewest, just five.

If Peach Blossom wanted to win, they would need far fewer moves than Zhou Qian.

And the easiest win lay in the orange faction.

After absorbing the two orange players from Zhou Qian’s side, Priest only had to move those seven orange pieces to the opposite corner according to checkers rules to win. It couldn’t be easier.

At this moment, six of Priest’s pieces were already in the target corner. With his turn approaching, he only needed to move the final orange piece to the fourth row to secure victory.

But…there was a condition.

That condition: all six orange pieces already in position had to be real.

Unfortunately for him, five of those six were fake.

The only one wearing a real orange wristband was a player Zhou Qian had inserted: Liu Shui.

Liu Shui appeared to be under coercion, being moved at gunpoint by Peach Blossom. But in truth, every step he took had been calculated by Zhou Qian.

And so, Zhou Qian’s genius lay in this: He had completely arranged the current formation of the six orange pieces. Once Liu Shui reached the far corner, he occupied the very first row, the grid with only one square.

Below him, in the second row, were two fake oranges; and in the third, three more fake oranges.

One real orange and five fakes, this was the current layout in the opposite corner.

According to system rules, if a player removes their wristband without cause, they are supposed to die immediately.

But thanks to the [Rubber Good at Imitation], which could mimic item traits, these fake wristbands weren’t flagged by the system as violations—so long as they were worn during the three-hour duration.

But that time was almost up. If those five didn’t switch out their wristbands soon, they would die.

Zhou Qian’s plan was simple: at the critical moment, have them remove the fake wristbands and put on others.

The system never stated you couldn’t switch wristbands mid-game.

While reviewing the rules, Zhou Qian had seized on this loophole.

And once he learned of the wristband swap by Hidden Blade’s disciple, the idea for this brilliant reversal was born.

Now, these five fake oranges completely occupied the second and third rows.

Once they switched bands, they would immediately transform into other colors, effectively trapping Liu Shui, the real orange, in the corner…

And simultaneously blocking Priest’s last real orange from entering.

The inside couldn’t get out, and the outside couldn’t get in.

That final orange could never reach the second row.

At that point, Priest would lose…

Once Priest’s orange lost, the remaining blue, indigo, and green factions stood no chance.

Their only role had been to serve as steppingstones for the orange.

Due to their low numbers, the three were scattered and mixed up. No single color could reach the far corner quickly enough to win.

But Zhou Qian was different. He needed fewer turns to win than Priest.

He was guaranteed to get yellow to the far side first.

At this moment, as the countdown beeped on, the five players wearing fake wristbands were terrified to see a message from the system…

[Friendly reminder: The duration of “Rubber Good at Imitation” is about to end. Please switch to new wristbands within 3 minutes. Failure to do so will result in death. Reminder: You only have 3 minutes.]

The five tried to run. But one, Ke Yuxiao already had his gun trained on them and the system forbade players from leaving the board before the game ended.

So they panicked and turned to Peach Blossom.

“Please, give us wristbands!”

“Give us new wristbands!”

“We still have value! We know tons of information!”

……

But their pleading earned no sympathy from Ke Yuxiao or Priest.

Seeing that neither moved, the five dropped to their knees.

At death’s door, pride meant nothing.

They knelt and kowtowed to the Peach Blossom leaders, begging for a sliver of mercy.

Meanwhile, Zhou Qian placed his hand behind his back and signaled a “five” to Hidden Blade out of Priest’s sight.

Then he looked calmly at Priest.

Priest’s irises were pale. Under the gray sky, they almost looked ghostly gray.

Smiling, Priest said to Zhou Qian, “You’ve recruited a lot of people. That’s impressive. But most of them are solo tourists or non-core members of Feidu and Peach Blossom. That means…

“They don’t carry spare wristbands. The ones on their wrists are all they’ve got.

“Those five with fake orange bands don’t have extras. And you can’t give them any. Not even one.

“You swapped out the real ones, which means you’ve got only five orange wristbands total. So, Zhou Qian, now you face a hard choice.”

Priest’s eyes glinted with amusement.

“I’m not giving them five multi-colored wristbands. Why would I save them? Their fate now lies in your hands.

“If you want to save them, give them the five real orange wristbands. But then they stay orange, and when it’s my turn, my orange pieces will still reach the destination. One move, and you lose.”

“If you don’t give them the real wristbands… they’ll die.

“That’s five pieces gone. I’ll have fewer bridges, but I might still reach the second row before you do… I’ll probably win faster.

“But I’ll make a deal. If you let them die, I promise I’ll let you win. So Zhou Qian…”

“I’m dying to know, what kind of person are you?

“Will you sacrifice five to win? Or will you save them?”

He grinned. “They’re in this mess because of you. If they die, it’s on you. You’re messed up. Your sense of guilt is very small, or maybe you have none at all for those five. But I feel that… This game has changed you? Maybe you’ll save them?”

Zhou Qian lifted his left wrist and glanced at the panel: Hidden Blade had just traded him the five real orange bands.

And a message from Hidden Blade’s eldest disciple came in too.

At that moment, the five with orange bands were terrified to the brink of collapse.

And then Zhou Qian’s next words made them crumble completely:

He said to Priest, lightly, “What to do? I really don’t want to lose this match.

“Silly me. I assumed you’d protect your people. Even if you were heartless, I thought you’d keep using them.

“I didn’t think Peach Blossom would be this cold-blooded. Didn’t you promise these people victory if they joined your team?”

“Tell me your answer,” Priest said, his eerie gray pupils flickering for the first time. “You have to decide soon. Time’s running out.”

Zhou Qian spread his hands and made a helpless gesture.

“No choice. Maybe I’ll let them die. After all… If I lose this match and don’t get the killers’ info, everyone with me dies.

“But if I win… I save most of them.

“Sacrificing five to save the majority. What would you choose? We have no choice. Don’t be silly, Priest. I won’t feel guilty.”

At that moment, the five fell apart.

They turned to Zhou Qian, kneeling and begging incoherently.

They’d all survived so much by now.

They might’ve accepted death if the situation were hopeless.

But it wasn’t. It all came down to one person’s whim.

Meng Bie stepped forward, unable to bear it. “Zhou Qian, save them! Priest is bluffing. He won’t honor that promise!

“Look at the board! If they die, Priest can still win in three rounds! That’s not enough time for you to win with yellow!

“He verbally promised he would let you, but does he really mean it?

“You’ll lose even if you sacrifice them. You’ll never get the killers’ clue! You… You can’t save all of us by sacrificing those five! Don’t fall for it!”

Meng Bie had once distrusted everyone. She didn’t believe Zhou Qian or Bai Zhou, so Zhou Qian hadn’t expected her to be the voice of reason now.

Under Meng Bie’s urge, many people started speaking up…

“Yeah, save them!”

“If you don’t, we’ll lose faith in you!”

“He Xiaowei, you’re a liar! Zhou Qian will send us all to die! This incident shows us his true nature.”

…

Amid pleading, kowtowing, and scolding, Zhou Qian looked at Priest with an unchanged expression and a smile on his face.

Then he said, seemingly helpless, “I’d love to let them die. But listen to the others. If I start sacrificing people at random, who’ll still stand with me?

“Whether I have a conscience is none of your business. But for my own benefit, I’m afraid I’ll have to save them. Shame, really.

“As for your little ‘test question’…”

His smile vanished.

His face hardened and his gaze turned razor sharp.

With scorn, he said, “Why should I answer your question? Who do you think you are? I choose neither.”

“Priest, right? Listen well…

“I’ll save them. And I’ll win this match.”

After saying that, he turned to the five. “Open your packs. Time’s almost up.”

Only 30 seconds remained.

The five all received real orange wristbands Zhou Qian had sent. And one more person received a blue wristband, Liu Shui in the corner.

That blue wristband? Credit went again to Hidden Blade’s disciples. They found four blue bands in the mansion hub. Three they wore, one they didn’t.

These three had never appeared in public so no one knew about the bands.

Peach Blossom had counted all wristbands and noticed the missing blue.

But they hadn’t searched the entire dungeon and assumed the missing bands were just system tweaks, so they never reported it to Priest.

Thus, the blue became an untracked wild card.

No one thought that Zhou Qian would bring it out.

With this wristband, Zhou Qian could save all five and stay unbeatable.

Once the five changed into real orange, the second and third rows were sealed with orange.

The blue in the corner couldn’t exit, which meant Priest’s last piece couldn’t get in.

Even with guns, he couldn’t force Liu Shui who was wearing the blue wristband out from the inner corner fast enough.

Meanwhile, Zhou Qian could maneuver yellow and violet freely, and using the white piece’s swap ability, completely block Priest’s final orange.

In this way, Priest was doomed to lose.

“The system says we have to keep playing a few more turns. But you can see… I’ve already won.”

Zhou Qian stared coldly at Priest, lips curled in a mocking smile.

“So tell me, who the hell do you think you are, giving me test questions?”

---

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

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

---

Chapter 172

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet; seven colors. These were the parameters the Peach Blossom Corps designed for this instance.

Now, while the red-colored killers observed the players’ duel from outside, only the remaining six colors would truly participate in the checker match.

Excluding red and white, each of the remaining six colors had 25 wristbands, totaling 150. But with only 100 players, the surplus wristbands meant that some people could hold multiple colors, giving them greater freedom to choose which faction to join during the game.

Six colors, six factions.
But due to previous confrontations, the actual chessboard was split into just two sides: Zhou Qian’s side and the Peach Blossom Legion.

Originally, Zhou Qian’s faction only had yellow, but after collaborating with Hidden Blade and absorbing most of Feidu’s members, he now controlled a large number of violet. Additionally, orange had been used by Xu Yang for a “betrayal” strategy. They had initially controlled violet, then moved to the orange region, and after using up green bands, managed to recruit two players with orange bands as well.

So Zhou Qian’s team had violet, yellow, and orange.

The Peach Blossom side, on the other hand, had green, blue, indigo, violet, and orange.

Violet was sparse on their end. There was only two bands. Violet originally belonged to Feidu. Xu Yang and his follower, now with Peach Blossom, brought over two violet bands.

Next sparsest was orange. Xu Yang had buried five orange bands behind the estate. Later, when his sister Xu Feiyu was captured, a loyal follower retrieved them at great risk and delivered them back to him. Those five bands then entered the Peach Blossom faction.

Before the match began, players were given time to move to starting positions according to their band color.

Zhou Qian’s team hadn’t moved yet; they were awaiting his command. The newly joined members trusted him because He Xiaowei had hyped him up relentlessly. 

As for older followers like Meng Bie, they had witnessed firsthand how Zhou Qian could tip the scales with minimal effort.

He Xiaowei couldn’t resist asking, “In regular life, when we play Chinese checkers, there are usually 6, 10, or 15 pieces per color, right?”

“Mhm.” Zhou Qian nodded. “Six would be arranged in three rows: 1, 2, 3. Ten is 1 through 4, and so on.”

“Tsk, this instance has 21 tiles per faction, more than the real-life version with 15. The system is so sly. It must’ve known lots of people would die. Also, Qian’er, are you sure we can win this?”

Looking at He Xiaowei, Zhou Qian smiled. “Actually, it’s all thanks to you guys.”

He Xiaowei blinked. “Us? I don’t get it.”

“Just wait and see.” Zhou Qian tilted his chin upward. “We’re definitely going to win.”

“Then… mind if I analyze a bit?” He Xiaowei asked.

Zhou Qian nodded. “Go ahead. You seem to have something on your mind.”

He Xiaowei said, “This game is very different from traditional checkers. In real checkers, each color has the same number of pieces. Ours doesn’t.”

“Correct. That’s a crucial point,” Zhou Qian said.

“Also, it’s not six factions competing. It’s just two. That simplifies things. We might have three colors, but we only need one to win. The other two? They’re just support pieces. Used to build bridges or block enemies.”

He scratched his head. “Right? Did I understand it correctly? The key to checkers is laying paths for yourself and blocking the enemy!

“All three colors are yours. So whichever wins, you’ll gain the killers’ info. So just focus on one color and let the other two assist!”

Zhou Qian gave him a sincere look of approval. “I completely agree.”

He Xiaowei beamed when he got Zhou Qian’s approval.

He rubbed his hands together and added, “Then here’s more! Our orange has only two pieces. Moving just two to the opposite end should be easy than 21 pieces… This is how it looks like at face value, but the reality is, it’s not…

“If the system forces them to start at the first and second rows—just the single tile and two-tile rows—they can only leap over each other. That wastes many rounds. Meanwhile, enemy pieces with more coverage can already rush forward!

“And with four enemy colors, Peach Blossom can easily block those two oranges. So, we can’t use orange.”

“Mhm. And another reason not to choose orange is that most of it is in their hands. If orange wins, the crucial points are controlled by them. So orange is out,” Zhou Qian said.

“Right. So we’re left with just two colors against their four?”

“But even though Peach Blossom has green, blue, indigo, violet, and orange… their violet is also weak. There’s only two, like our orange. So they won’t choose violet either.

“The main color must not be too many or too few. Something in the middle is best. So they’ll likely go for… Oh crap, Qian’er! I get it now!

“Are they thinking…”

“Fuck! I gotta praise myself! I’ve improved. I’m catching up to you!”

“Shh.” Zhou Qian made a hush gesture and walked toward the board. “Let’s see if the system announces entry order and who plays first. That matters.”

……

On the other side, Priest sat calmly in a corner.

Ke Yuxiao walked up and said in a reporting tone, “I talked with Shan Sheng and Ren Yi. Zhou Qian can’t use orange. It’s a dead end. We can use our remaining four to block him. We’re going to win.

“He thinks having more people gives him the edge? It’s actually a disadvantage in this game. Think how much effort it’ll take to move all of them across the board.”

Sneering a bit, Ke Yuxiao continued, “We’ll use three colors as support to protect a main force. The main color should be small. Our violet only has two, from Xu Yang and his man. It’s not good enough. But we have five oranges. That’s just right. I’ve told five of ours to equip orange bands. If we move them to the opposite corner, we win.”

After Ke Yuxiao finished talking about his tactics, Priest nodded. “Good.”

Ke Yuxiao hesitated. “But what if Zhou Qian sees through this? Should we change our tactics”

“Then let him. There is no difference. If you pick a different main color, he’ll still figure it out. May as well use orange and cut violet out from the start. The rest depends on how your performance goes.”

Ke Yuxiao looked at the green wristband on Priest’s hand. “You’ll command personally?”

“I will. I’ll go meet with Zhou Qian. It’s my first direct confrontation with him. I’ve been looking forward to it. I want to see him when he thinks he’s about to win.”

Priest, who had been sitting the entire time, finally stood. “He’s cute when he smiles smugly at the end. Don’t you think so?”

Ke Yuxiao: “……”

“I always felt he had a strange innocence. Maybe others don’t think so, but I do.”

As he said this, Priest glanced across the field toward Zhou Qian

At this moment, Zhou Qian was already arranging his troops, dispersing the crowd so his line of sight was less obstructed. With the obstruction removed, Priest didn’t see Zhou Qian, but met Bai Zhou’s indifferent, but cold eyes.

What kind of eyes were those?

It was eyes forged through countless bloodbaths and darkness that had been removed from the world for countless years.

There was little warmth in them that only showed when they were looking at Zhou Qian.

But even then, it seemed like that was just an illusion.

More often, it was like frost and snow that could freeze for thousands of miles.

At this moment, those eyes that looked over felt like the God of Death passing through the crowd, giving him a warning.

Priest’s eyes didn’t change, and even a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He turned around and patted the iron pillar with a meaningful look.

Bai Zhou, Bai Zhou. No matter how powerful you are, what’s the use? You’ve been trapped in a cage all your life. Can you really accept that?

……
Moments later, the match began.

The system updated the rules:

First of all, if the number of pieces of a certain color exceeds 21, the extras may be left out; aside from this situation, no one is allowed to refuse to go on the board.

Under this rule, the two orange-band players in Zhou Qian’s hand had no choice but to join the five-member orange team on Peach Blossom’s side. Thus, the orange pieces composed of people wearing orange wristbands totaled seven.

As soon as these two orange-band players stood on the enemy’s grid, guns were already pressed to their heads. They were ordered to act strictly according to Priest’s commands and were unable to help Zhou Qian by bridging gaps or blocking paths.

Secondly, the board consisted of six rows, with each row containing 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 grid spaces, respectively. The system stipulated that movement must begin from the first row. That is, the row with only one space.

This rule meant that trying to secure a quick victory using only a few pieces wasn’t very feasible.

As a result, Zhou Qian could only opt for the yellow pieces, which had relatively fewer members.

Bai Zhou, Hidden Blade, and He Xiaowei, on the other hand, remained within the violet faction, which had the most members on the opposing side, serving to assist Zhou Qian.

This was clearly not a fair match.

Priest’s side only needed to move the seven orange pieces to the opposite corner.

But Zhou Qian’s yellow faction, including himself, had as many as 21 people. In comparison, the difficulty level was far higher.

Before the “pieces” of each color took their positions, the system announced one final rule.

When choosing which corner to move toward, each color’s choice order would be determined by a random drawing conducted by the system.

At first glance, a random draw sounds fair, but only in a balanced 3-versus-3 setting.

Zhou Qian only had control over two colors from the start, placing him at a natural disadvantage.

How the six colors were distributed across the six corners was ultimately up to Priest.

In the end, the corner assigned to Priest’s seven orange pieces happened to be the one occupied by his own faction’s violet pieces. And there were only two violet pieces, Xu Yang and his confidant. This setup minimized the risk of the orange pieces being blocked.

Every aspect of this game board favored Priest.

He could easily move all seven orange pieces to the opposite corner.

Compared to Go or Chinese chess, checkers wasn’t nearly as complex and didn’t require a high level of skill.

So, although Zhou Qian made some beautiful moves, Priest’s advantage was simply overwhelming. By the time he had moved six of the orange pieces to the opposite corner, 30 minutes still remained in the game.

As for the seventh piece, Priest didn’t need to give further instructions. Anyone with eyes could see that one more round was all it would take for Priest to win.

When it was Priest’s turn to “move”, the grid he stood on happened to be very close to Zhou Qian’s position, close enough for the two to clearly see each other’s expressions.

Priest looked at Zhou Qian with some regret. “It seems you’ve lost.”

“Is that so?”

Amid the rising murmurs of alarm and doubt from his teammates, Zhou Qian narrowed his eyes and smiled. “Not necessarily.”

Surprisingly, Priest’s expression showed a hint of appreciation. “Oh? You’ve got a reversal move? I thought I wouldn’t get to see any brilliance from you this time. That would’ve been such a shame.”

Zhou Qian merely raised a hand and pointed to his ear, smiling as he asked, “Do you hear something that sounds like a countdown?”

---

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

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.

---

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

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

---

Chapter 170

Green faction, Peach Blossom Legion base, inside a small country cabin.

Ke Yuxiao was inspecting the clues Qi Liuxing had found during his investigation there.

After some time, someone knocked at the door.

The messenger had just rushed back from Liuguang Street. Upon seeing Ke Yuxiao, he quickly relayed Feidu Legion’s message: Xu Yang and his group wished to fully defect to the Peach Blossom Legion, just to secure a chance at survival.

Ke Yuxiao smiled.

He didn’t answer Xu Yang’s request immediately. Instead, he turned with interest to Qi Liuxing beside him.

“I invited you to join Peach Blossom earlier and you refused. But did you hear what he said? So many people want to join Peach Blossom but can’t. Don’t you think you were a bit ungrateful?”

Qi Liuxing kept his head down, examining clues, not even looking up. His face was completely calm. “No need to ask such pointless questions. I won’t join, and you won’t let me. What’s the point of me joining the Peach Blossom Legion? So you can kill me again? Or do you just really want me to kill you this time?”

Ke Yuxiao laughed, as if he’d heard something amusing. He looked at Qi Liuxing and said, “Xiao Qi, you can’t kill me. You know why?”

There was a twisted, morbid edge in his eyes and tone, but Qi Liuxing’s mind had already begun blocking out everything related to Ke Yuxiao. He didn’t pick up the implied meaning and just remained silent.

Ke Yuxiao looked at him with fascination. “I suddenly think killing you might not be as fun. Maybe it would be better to make you willingly join Peach Blossom and serve us. The more unwilling you are, the more I want you to stay. What do you say?”

Qi Liuxing ignored him. The subordinate at the door, however, prompted, “Uh, Captain…”

Perhaps due to Qi Liuxing’s silence, or something else entirely, Ke Yuxiao’s expression darkened. He said with a sneer, “Someone like Xu Yang thinks Peach Blossom is some place he can just stroll into? He and his trash subordinates… Peach Blossom doesn’t need them. And a man who serves three masters… who would ever trust that? He’ll get what he deserves.”

At the door, the subordinate hesitated before adding, “But Xu Yang claims they’ve destroyed all their wristbands. Also, they’re willing to hand over their weapons on the spot for inspection. If we don’t want the weapons, he’ll shoot out all his bullets right there.

“He says Zhou Qian firing blanks made both factions think he wasn’t a threat and start fighting each other… and that made him realize something: if he gives all his bullets to you, he becomes no threat. If neither he nor Zhou Qian threatens you, then obviously, you’ll choose to kill Zhou Qian first. Lastly…”

The subordinate paused, then added, “They’re also willing to hand over Hidden Blade and He Xiaowei.”

This finally sparked Ke Yuxiao’s interest. He looked at Qi Liuxing and said, “Then I’ll just take your friends. If you won’t join Peach Blossom, I’ll kill you again.

“And not just you, I’ll kill Hidden Blade and He Xiaowei too. That way you’ll have company on the road to hell. Right, Xiao Qi?

“Looks like Zhou Qian’s finally stumbled. In other instances… Sure, he could flip the whole game on his own. But now? How can he compete with two whole legions? He’s too naïve. All of you are too naïve. This time, I’ll wipe out every last one of his people!”

……

Meanwhile, Xu Yang sat on a barren patch of land.

After sending his subordinate, he’d been waiting for news.

During the wait, he looked up at the gray-blue sky, then down at the gun in his hand, his expression briefly dazed.

But soon, his gaze hardened into one of grim determination.

It was the kind of look someone has when they’ve hit rock bottom and must survive at any cost.

He had to hang on. If he collapsed, the whole legion would fall.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Yang tightened his grip on the gun.

Originally, when planning with his subordinates, he’d wanted to bury the extra wristbands and weapons to leave himself a way out.

But in the end, he decided to keep the weapons on him, just in case.

He could always claim the extra wristbands had been destroyed.

Even if Peach Blossom wanted to investigate the matter and find them, it wouldn’t matter much…

Wristbands can’t kill. Peach Blossom would realize Feidu just wanted a safety net. And even then, the wristbands might be useless unless their colors matched Peach Blossom’s core members.

But if Peach Blossom found he had no weapons, they would definitely question his sincerity.

Now that he needed their protection, Xu Yang had to either hand over the guns or shoot out every bullet in front of them.

“Thank you, Zhou Qian…” Xu Yang muttered to his gun, “You taught me: sometimes, having nothing at all can turn weakness into strength. A barefoot man isn’t afraid of someone wearing shoes. So this move… I learned it from you.

“Now, just like Peach Blossom, I only want you dead.”

……

Soon after, Xu Yang saw Shan Sheng, Zhang Datie, Yun Xiangrong, and another Peach Blossom team captain named Ren Yi arrive with their men.

Xu Yang and his remaining subordinate handed over five guns and their spare green wristbands.

Xu Yang said, “My sister still has three more guns. When she gets here, we’ll give those too. Together, that’s everything Feidu has left.

“If you’re willing to let us join Peach Blossom, we’ll transfer over now. If not… it’s fine. We’re out of weapons. I’ll still help you and share all the intel we have.”

“Not everyone qualifies for Peach Blossom. You do. Your subordinates… we’ll see. But this matter isn’t urgent, we’ll return to it later. Let’s get back to now…”

Shan Sheng looked at Xu Yang and said, “You say that’s everything. That’s just your word. I’ll need to verify. How about gathering everyone? Shouldn’t take long. You’ve probably explored this whole area, right?”

“Sure. I was planning on that anyway. Already told everyone.” Xu Yang sent his subordinate to round them up. “Bring them all here.”

“Thanks for cooperating,” Shan Sheng said.

After the subordinate left, Xu Yang asked, “That guy Yu Huang… what happened to him?”

“Yu Huang? He’s dead. All his men too. He’s the one who leaked secrets to you, right? You two were working together?” Shan Sheng added, “Our captain executed him personally.”

“But…”

Xu Yang glanced at Shan Sheng, then at Ren Yi, and suddenly wondered…

Was one of them the real source of the intel? He couldn’t be sure.

Zhou Qian’s logic made sense.

Yu Huang gave him fake info, tricked him into entering the instance recklessly. Xu Yang, in turn, had framed Yu Huang as a traitor and sowed chaos in Peach Blossom. Then Zhou Qian leaked his movements, causing Zhang Datie to hunt him down. It all lined up.

Either way, Xu Yang couldn’t afford to offend Shan Sheng or Ren Yi now.

Even if he had doubts, he had to swallow them.

At this moment, Xu Yang didn’t expect that the real blow had yet to come.

……

The meeting point between Xu Yang and Shan Sheng was Liuguang Street. It was a place where both sides could retreat if needed.

After the subordinate left to gather everyone, he rushed all over calling them to the meeting. By the time he reached the manor where Xu Feiyu was, it was nearly too late.

While waiting, Xu Yang kept glancing around anxiously. Slowly, his team began arriving, along with many of the players they’d recruited. The narrow old street soon filled with people.

With everyone except Xu Feiyu and two guards present, Xu Yang turned to Shan Sheng. “There are a lot of us. Why don’t you start inspecting now? Maybe we’ll have time to explore more areas later.”

“Alright. Thank you for your cooperation, Commander Xu. Let’s go one by one,” Shan Sheng said.

But then something unexpected happened. Xu Yang’s subordinate came sprinting back, drenched in sweat and panic all over his face. He looked like he’d seen a ghost.

He reached Xu Yang and whispered through a private chat device. “I dug the wristbands back up… all five. But things have gone really wrong!”

Before Xu Yang could ask how, he saw something that made his stomach twist in agony…

Hidden Blade walked out in front, leading a line of captives. Behind him were He Xiaowei and four others.

Xu Feiyu and her two guards were all tied up, strung together like fish, the rope held by He Xiaowei.

Behind him stood three unfamiliar players holding three guns; guns that should have been Xu Feiyu’s.

Where did these people come from? Why were they holding her guns?

Then he saw Hidden Blade glance toward the Peach Blossom team and lock eyes with someone.

He pulled out a scroll.

It unfurled in midair and hovered above everyone.

Xu Yang instinctively looked up and was stunned by what he saw.

The image first showed scenes of him and Xu Feiyu recruiting for the Feidu Legion, gathering players and searching for clues, everything exactly as it had happened.

Then the story raced forward with the plot progressing rapidly, soon reaching the final ending…

Xu Yang, Xu Feiyu, and three subordinates suddenly switched from purple wristbands to orange.

Then they pulled out five guns and massacred everyone else.

Blood, corpses, laughter—the five celebrated their victory, drunk on power.

The image was so vivid that Xu Yang almost believed it. It felt real, like he’d already won.

But he knew it was fake. Two of those subordinates were already dead.

What was that scene just now?

Wait…!

What about the others? Had everyone else seen it?

What would they think?

Cold sweat poured down his back making him look like he’d been caught in a downpour.

And just then, he heard Hidden Blade speak loudly to the crowd. “You see? This is what the Feidu Legion brought you in for. Once they get your info, they’ll kill you. They’ve done it before to set an example.”

“Most of you don’t even have legions. Join our Invincible Legion—we welcome you!

“If you do have a legion, I’ll buy you a transfer card. Even Peach Blossom and Feidu members, we welcome all who want to come over!

“I believe many of you were forced into this. It’s not too late to turn back!”

“Our leader wears the white wristband, the true symbol of victory!

“Follow us if you want to win! Green, violet, any other color will just kill you.

“But white—white can redeem you!”

As his words ended, everyone heard a loud retching sound. It was Xu Yang, coughing up blood from sheer fury.

…….

Elsewhere, on the peak of Purple Mist Mountain.

Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou sat together atop a towering tree, gazing into the distance.

Zhou Qian had been watching through binoculars for a while.

“This sky’s too dim to see clearly,” he said, “but that dark cloud… that should be the ‘You Start with a Picture, Everything Else You Make Up’ I gave Hidden Blade. Looks like they pulled it off.”

He’d anticipated Xu Yang would gather everyone. If not, Shan Sheng would force him to.

Once gathered, Hidden Blade would use the item to tell a damning story and absorb Xu Yang’s followers.

It was a dirty trick.

And the dirtier it was, the more Zhou Qian grinned.

Putting down the binoculars, he looked at Bai Zhou with bright eyes. “Zhou Ge, do you think Xu Yang’s coughing blood right now?”

“I’d bet on it,” Bai Zhou replied. “He’s not the first you’ve done that to. Remember Zhu Qiang? He died horribly.”

Hearing this, Zhou Qian laughed. “That instance where you were Sarah one moment, then Ryan the next… I thought you were just playing your character. But you were watching me the whole time?”

Just then, the system issued a message…

[The 10-hour timer is almost up. All players must gather at Purple Mist Mountain within 1 hour. Anyone who fails to arrive will die immediately!]

The mountaintop wasn’t steep. It was broad, with a huge flat area.

One hour later, players from all across the instance gathered there.

This was the area marked by the system.

Zhou Qian specifically glanced at Xu Yang, and saw a huge bloodstain on his chest.

Yep. He really had coughed up blood.

Then the ground rumbled with thunderous noise. The entire mountain shook.

No one knew what was coming.

Bai Zhou gripped Zhou Qian’s hand tightly.

And then…they watched as two massive iron pillars erupted from the earth, rapidly enclosing them. Above them, the pillars stretched and fused together, as if they were alive, forming a massive iron prison.

All remaining players were trapped inside this iron prison!

Above, below, front, back, left right, they were surrounded by the indestructible iron pillars. They had no escape!

Then came the sound of dense footsteps, as if there was an army marching…

A horde of dark figures approached.

At the front of the crowd, Zhou Qian spotted an old acquaintance: Ruan Mei.

[System Announcement: The exhibition has officially begun.]

---

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

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

---

Chapter 169

Beneath the gray-blue sky, Xu Yang stumbled back to the territory of the purple faction.

Two of his three trusted subordinates were dead. Only one remained. When that man saw Xu Yang’s expression, his heart sank hard. “Boss… don’t tell me… Zhou Qian tricked you? The others…?”

“They’re all dead. I barely made it out.” Xu Yang spat out the words bitterly. “Damn it… how many of us are left?”

The subordinate replied, “If those five brothers are all gone… we only have 26 people left in the purple-orange alliance. We brought 16 men in, and now just 11 of our own are left. The other 15 are outsiders.”

“Those outsiders include Hidden Blade and He Xiaowei? Where are they?” Xu Yang’s expression sharpened, concern in his eyes. “Feiyu’s with them?”

“They’re at the manor. I’ll take you there.”

The subordinate led Xu Yang toward the manor and added, “I heard that place is haunted. The deputy commander didn’t go inside, just waited outside with two of our men. They should be fine. But… what do we do now?”

“I let Zhou Qian trick me… and it’s my own greed to blame. I actually thought I could beat the Peach Blossom Legion here. But I forgot. Even if I beat them in this instance, what happens after we get out?”

Xu Yang nearly coughed up blood in regret. “Liuguang Street has both our people and theirs posted. It’s our dividing line. Go negotiate with them. Tell them… tell them we’re willing to cooperate.”

The subordinate hesitated. “But there’s that ‘maximum value’, right? What if they make us change wristbands and then kill us later? They probably still have spare green ones.”

“Zhou Qian said the ‘maximum value’ would be large. That part was probably true. We won’t necessarily die. Besides, if we keep our original wristbands hidden, we’ll have a fallback.”

Xu Yang thought for a moment and added, “They’ll probably use scan tools to check if we’ve hidden wristbands, so… I’ll hide all the spares. Weapons too. The manor is our base. We’ll stash everything behind it.

“I remember the manor’s surrounded by trees. With this kind of sky, you can’t see anything clearly from the building. We can use the trees and dim light for cover to sneak around back.”

“Let’s stash everything first. You memorize the location. If we need them later, you’ll know where to get them. After that, you go negotiate with Peach Blossom.”

“Wow… you really think of everything for us!”

The subordinate was moved by Xu Yang’s care, unaware that just earlier, Xu Yang had used two other loyal subordinates as human shields.

Right now, he was only too happy to help Xu Yang hide the wristbands.

As soon as the Feidu Legion entered the game, they seized 25 violet wristbands and some weapons.

Because they had intel on the orange wristbands’ location, they quickly moved with weapons into the orange area, killed some players wearing orange wristbands, and forced others to join the violet faction.

They then found eight more orange wristbands. One member switched to orange to build up that faction, but he had died shielding Xu Yang.

The remaining orange wristbands were split between Xu Yang, Xu Feiyu, and three others.

These were reserved for a “rebellion” at the end.

If they switched to Peach Blossom, the orange wristbands could become a backup for betraying them later.

Xu Yang still had five orange wristbands, now potential tools for betraying Peach Blossom.

As they walked to the manor, his subordinate thought through the plan but was still uneasy.

He voiced his concern. “Commander, we did kill some of Peach Blossom’s people. Will they even believe us now? I mean, if I go negotiate…”

Hearing this, Xu Yang felt even more stifled, but he swallowed it.

“Survival is everything. As long as the green mountain remains, there will always be firewood*.

*Idiom referring to as long as the fundamental thing is still there, you don’t have to worry about not achieving anything in the future.

“If it comes to it… we’ll spend big money to buy ‘Switch Legion’ cards. We’ll tell Peach Blossom we want to join them. We’re the fastest-growing faction right now. They’ll want to absorb us. Everything else, we’ll deal with later.

“For now, just test the waters. We still have leverage.

“Peach Blossom has always wanted Zhou Qian dead. I thought he really wanted to work with us, but now I see, he just wanted to watch us fight each other.

“We have to work with Peach Blossom now.

“This manor and the surrounding zones… They haven’t been explored by Peach Blossom. They’ll want our intel.”

While planning their next steps, Xu Yang and his subordinate quickly reached the manor.

Seeing Xu Feiyu standing guard with two Feidu soldiers, Xu Yang finally relaxed a little.

He walked up to her and asked, “What’s the situation inside?”

Xu Feiyu said, “It’s haunted. Something to do with Bloody Mary. I had Hidden Blade and He Xiaowei investigate. I checked in earlier. They’re still exploring. Nothing else suspicious.”

“Alright. Come with me.”

Xu Yang dismissed Xu Feiyu, taking her and the subordinate to the back of the manor.

They found a strangely shaped tree to use as a landmark, dug a hole next to it, and Xu Yang personally buried the wristbands.

Then he looked at his sister and said, “Letting Hidden Blade and He Xiaowei explore is fine. Once they’re done, tie them up and use them as bargaining chips. No need to send them anywhere else. They’ll just cause trouble.”

“What? But that’s such a waste! We risked contacting god-level players so they could help us—”

Xu Feiyu’s protest was cut off sharply. “Do as I say!”

“I… Got it.” Realizing something must’ve gone very wrong, she didn’t ask further and just followed orders.

Exhaling his frustration, Xu Yang turned to his subordinate again and reminded him, “Go now. Make contact and negotiate. Tell Peach Blossom: If they ally with us, we’ll hand over Hidden Blade and He Xiaowei.

“They want Zhou Qian dead. Those two can be the bait. They won’t refuse.”

Xu Yang thought himself a brilliant tactician.

What he didn’t know was that everything he was doing had already been seen by Hidden Blade’s group.

Moments earlier, after Xu Feiyu entered the house to check on things, Hidden Blade and He Xiaowei had moved from the control hub back to the main hall, pretending to investigate like nothing was wrong.

After seeing her off, they began planning how to use the manor to deceive Peach Blossom.

That’s when Hidden Blade remembered a special item Zhou Qian had given him:

[You Start With a Picture, Everything Else You Make Up].

After some thinking, Hidden Blade and He Xiaowei received a new system announcement:

[Orange – 7; Yellow – 21; Green – 24; Blue – 10; Indigo – 9; Violet – 21]

Hmm?

Green and violet had never dropped before, and now they had.

What did that mean?

Just as Hidden Blade was about to discuss it with his disciples, his sharp hearing caught the sound of footsteps.

Xu Yang, being a god-level player, had deliberately masked his movements.

But his sister and subordinate were ordinary players so they couldn’t hide their tracks.

So Hidden Blade heard one set of steps come near, followed by two others heading toward the back of the manor.

He immediately sent everyone back to the control hub.

Using a special device there, Hidden Blade saw a group moving into the forest behind the building.

Xu Yang had carefully avoided visible areas from the windows, but never imagined a hidden camera was still operational, placed there long ago by the magician who once lived here to monitor girls who might escape.

Because of that, Hidden Blade saw everything, clearly watching them bury something.

After Xu Yang and his men left and Xu Feiyu returned to the gate, Hidden Blade sent his fastest disciple, who also had a talent for finding objects, to investigate.

Soon after, the disciple returned with five orange wristbands.

Staring at the wristbands, Hidden Blade and his disciples had one question:

Why bury these five?

Back in the control hub, Hidden Blade kept monitoring the gate while summoning his four disciples for a brainstorming session.

He said, “Green and violet hadn’t decreased before. This means they’re Peach Blossom and Feidu’s factions.

“Now that we know Feidu is violet, then Peach Blossom must be green.

“If both dropped in number… Zhou Qian probably made a move.

“They found weapons early; Zhou Qian didn’t. So Peach Blossom and Feidu likely fought due to his manipulation. That would explain the losses.”

“So here’s the real question: Why is Feidu burying extra wristbands? What exactly is going on outside?

“Everyone, brainstorm. Think logically. The system’s severed contact between players. There were no private messages at this distance.

“We can’t talk to Zhou Qian. We can only try to reconstruct his thinking. That way, we can coordinate and win.

“Hey… He Xiaowei?”

Hidden Blade frowned, noticing He Xiaowei sitting cross-legged, palms together as if he had suddenly converted to Buddhism and was chanting prayers.

Hidden Blade couldn’t help but asked, “What the hell are you doing?”

He Xiaowei: “Don’t disturb me, Master. I’m attempting long-distance brainwave resonance with Qian’er, to guess what he’s done.”

Hidden Blade: “……”

He Xiaowei closed his eyes and continued, “Qian’er! My wise, flawless, all-seeing Qian’er! Let me read your mind just this once!”

Hidden Blade: “So… is it working?”

He Xiaowei: “Still trying, Master. You all continue brainstorming.”

Hidden Blade muttered, “This is so weird. I’m telling Qian’er you’re cursing him. Who even can protect you? When I need blessings, I go visit our ancestors’ graves.”

He Xiaowei’s eyes widened immediately. “Fuck! I didn’t mean it that way, Master! I swear I didn’t!”

Hidden Blade raised a brow. “Then think seriously. Out of all of us, you understand him best.”

……

Meanwhile.

After a period of rest, Gao Shan regained some strength.

Zhou Qian sent him to meet with Shan Sheng in the Peach Blossom Legion to gather intel.

When Gao Shan brought the information back, Zhou Qian confirmed: His plan had succeeded.

Though Xu Yang, being a god-level player, had narrowly escaped death.

Currently, Zhou Qian, Bai Zhou, Gao Shan, and Yin Jiujiu were all midway up the mountain.

Yin Jiujiu asked Zhou Qian,

“But… we’ve basically provoked Xu Yang, right? He’ll… he’ll probably try to work with Peach Blossom now!”

“True,” Zhou Qian said calmly.

“But… Xu Yang killed Peach Blossom members. Whether they’ll trust him is uncertain. Unless he convinces them, he has no way to betray them—meaning, no spare wristbands.

“But a guy like Xu Yang… would he really destroy all his wristbands? Of course not. Peach Blossom won’t trust him, and he won’t trust them.

“If I were him, I’d stash them and leave myself a way out.”

Hearing this, Gao Shan immediately said, “I’ll go look with the little dragon!”

Zhou Qian smiled. “Good. After getting played by me, Xu Yang will definitely worry about his sister, whether she’s in Hidden Blade’s hands.

“That kind of psychological pattern is common. Once he’s safely back at base, he’ll likely check on her first.

“Chances are, he stashed the wristbands right after seeing her. That way she knows where they are too and can go back to doing her own thing after.

“So, Shan Ge, when you get to Feidu, start your search with that logic. You might find them faster that way.”

“You really are sharp.” Gao Shan admired Zhou Qian for thinking of such details.

Zhou Qian looked at him and said, “While you’re there, try to get an accurate headcount of Feidu. Also, see if you can meet Hidden Blade and learn how they’re doing.

“Xu Yang’s lost five men. We’ve basically succeeded. Ideally, we’ll coordinate with Hidden Blade from within and completely turn the tables!”

---

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

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

---

Chapter 168

Blue Harbor City, Qingfeng Pavilion.

This was originally a teahouse, but now, no customers remained.

No one knew how Priest had found such a place in this apocalyptic world. Of course, it was possible he had someone design it just for him.

Ever since entering the instance, he had essentially stayed here, not intervening in any of the conflicts in the instance, as if none of it concerned him.

At this moment, Ke Yuxiao walked up to the door, knocked three times, and waited for Priest’s permission to enter. His expression was somewhat grave. He had come to discuss matters related to the traitor and Yu Huang.

Originally, at Priest’s instruction, the Peach Blossom Legion had selected a few high-ranking members to use capsules to activate this instance.

These elites then faced a harsh trial. They had to pass through a series of testing instances to complete the mission and fully realize the capsule’s power.

The scope of Blue Harbor City was enormous, and the difficulty of the trial instances was high. Only the most elite of the Peach Blossom Legion had been selected.

In the end, only three survived and successfully converted Blue Harbor City into a closed instance.

Among them, two god-level players served as the main forces of the operation and participated in the core design.

According to the original design under Ke Yuxiao’s direction, a large number of weapons were concentrated in the area with green wristbands, with smaller amounts stored in the blue and indigo zones.

But someone had tampered with the design, placing a significant amount of weapons in the purple area instead and passing that information to the Feidu Legion, luring them into the instance.

Those two god-level players were Yu Huang and Shan Sheng, so one of them had to be the traitor.

In truth, both Ke Yuxiao and Priest had already suspected this.

As soon as they entered the instance, they noticed discrepancies between what they saw and the original design.

At that time, Priest told Ke Yuxiao: Do not address the traitor for now.

So Ke Yuxiao continued with business as usual and didn’t mention the matter.

The other members of the legion hadn’t been informed of the instance’s details beforehand, and some didn’t even know that their own people had designed it.

Unaware of any betrayal, they simply followed Ke Yuxiao’s orders and worked together.

But now, the situation had changed drastically.

On the church rooftop, Zhou Qian publicly mentioned the word “mole” in front of the Peach Blossom Legion, planting a seed of doubt in everyone’s mind.

Afterward, the Feidu Legion committed murder, and Yu Huang was suspected of helping them escape. That seed of doubt had grown into wildfire.

In an instance about mutual slaughter, people no longer dared to trust their teammates, especially when the team already had several high-level factions.

Shan Sheng and Yu Huang were god-level players of similar strength, and they’d never gotten along.

They managed surface civility, but their subordinates were constantly clashing behind the scenes. Neither side would concede.

With Zhou Qian fanning the flames and Xu Yang taking action, both groups had reached their limits and now wanted the other dead.

As a result, Ke Yuxiao wasn’t sure how to deal with Yu Huang. Should they investigate who the real traitor was between him and Shan Sheng? That’s why he had come to see Priest.

After Ke Yuxiao knocked three times, a few seconds later, Priest allowed him in.

He was sitting on the ground reading a book, with a glass of plain water beside him.

Ke Yuxiao gave him a glance but didn’t waste time and succinctly explained the situation.

Without even lifting his head, Priest said mildly, “Observe and wait. Do nothing. There are only three hours left until the ‘maximum value’ is revealed, and key clues haven’t been fully explored.

“Right now, what’s most important is gathering information. Remember, now is not the time to deal with a traitor. We cannot afford internal strife.

“Even beyond that, don’t forget. Whoever opened the capsule carries a vital mission. Only if he survives and clears the instance will Blue Harbor City belong to our legion.”

Ke Yuxiao thought for a moment and understood. “Got it.”

“Then why ask me again?” Priest said.

Before Ke Yuxiao could answer, Priest looked up at him, seeming to figure it out himself. “Ah. Zhou Qian said something in front of everyone today?”

Ke Yuxiao replied, “Yes. Our team’s morale is now unstable.”

Priest didn’t seem surprised at all, as if Zhou Qian’s actions were expected.

He gave a faint smile and looked at Ke Yuxiao. “You still can’t keep your cool. That’s where you fall short of Zhou Qian.”

“I do fall short of Zhou Qian. I fall short of many. As the main personality, I’m not even as good as the other personalities in my own body…” Ke Yuxiao pressed his lips together, then smiled.

There was a trace of madness in his eyes, and his tone took on an unhinged edge. “So… I’ll just stop being human! I already promised you. I won’t be human anymore. Hahaha…”

Priest looked at him, a touch of compassion in his gaze.

He said, “Many mental patients are under treatment, but sometimes I wonder… why treat them?”

Ke Yuxiao clapped lightly, matching his tone. “Yeah! Why treat them? Let them go mad!”

“Exactly. Why force them to wake up and return to reality?” Priest smiled. “Isn’t it better to live in fantasy? I think many people in the asylum were happier.

“In the eyes of ‘normal’ people, they’re abnormal. But maybe in their eyes, it’s the normal people who are insane. Don’t you think?”

“Absolutely! Living in illusion is great! The real world is what makes people miserable! Like my brother… He only ever liked a personality I created. He never loved the real me!”

Ke Yuxiao looked at Priest like he was a spiritual guru, eyes full of fanaticism and reverence.

“So, I sent him to hell. Will he go to the hell you created?”

“He will.” Priest gave him a profound look and patted his shoulder.

“But now, you need to calm down. You’re in command. Didn’t you say you wanted to prove your worth to me?”

“Yes! That’s exactly what I want!” Ke Yuxiao said. “I understand. I’ll do it your way!”

“Good. Remember…” Priest emphasized, “Keep them alive. If something goes wrong, even saving one is enough. I don’t care who the traitor is. Don’t waste effort investigating it.

“What matters is that one of them clears the instance and claims Blue Harbor City. All debts will be settled after we leave the instance. If needed, neither of them has to live.”

Ideally, both would survive. But if that wasn’t possible, saving just one would do.

With those instructions, Ke Yuxiao left Qingfeng Pavilion and headed toward the White Spire area.

For some reason, he brought Qi Liuxing along.

The atmosphere in the White Spire zone was incredibly tense.

Inside the hall, Shan Sheng and Yu Huang were facing off, each with three subordinates.

Shan Sheng’s team all wore green wristbands, while Yu Huang’s team wore indigo, making it convenient for both sides to kill each other.

Originally, Shan Sheng hadn’t planned to come, but when his subordinates got into an argument with Yu Huang’s people, accusing each other of being the traitor.

Shan Sheng rushed over with the rest of his team upon hearing his men might be surrounded. That led to the current standoff.

Ke Yuxiao brought two of his own people and climbed the tower steps with Qi Liuxing, silently listening to the arguments below.

“Yu Huang, just admit it! I’ve always thought you guys were shady. You’re all traitors!”

“Calling the kettle black, huh? I don’t even know Xu Yang! Who the hell said I helped him? You planted that rumor yourselves!”

“Captain Ke is here. Let’s hear what he says!”

……

Upon hearing this, Ke Yuxiao received several gazes but simply watched the scene in the hall and said with a smile, “Go ahead and argue. I need to hear both sides to make a decision.”

He let them keep quarreling, then turned his eyes to Qi Liuxing beside him.

Qi Liuxing was clearly observing the scene, and there was Yun Xiangrong, who had joined Shan Sheng’s side in the Peach Blossom Legion.

“Worried about her?” Ke Yuxiao asked after noticing his gaze. His voice had a slightly deranged edge.

Qi Liuxing’s expression was grim, and he didn’t even look at him. “Someone like you would never understand.”

“Is that so…”

Ke Yuxiao grew angry, reached out, and grabbed Qi Liuxing by the neck, forcing him to look at him.

Qi Liuxing’s body radiated killing intent, and his longsword instantly appeared in his hand.

At the critical moment, Ke Yuxiao raised his right hand and pressed a gun to Qi Liuxing’s forehead.

“What, want to die with me? Not yet. I won’t give you that chance.”

With a vicious grip of his left hand, Ke Yuxiao watched the veins bulge on Qi Liuxing’s neck and smiled. But upon seeing the deep hatred in Qi Liuxing’s eyes, that smile disappeared.

Ke Yuxiao had a unique skill. He could feel what his sub-personalities felt. So he had once felt the warmth of being cared for by Wu Ren as a “younger sister”, and remembered clearly the way Qi Liuxing had once looked at… another Ke Yuxiao.

The young man’s admiration, respect, joy, even dependence was all laid bare.

But now, Qi Liuxing looked at him with only loathing and killing intent.

Worse, there was unmistakable disappointment.

Why disappointed?

Because he now believed he’d been wrong about him or had seen his fall.

“You were amazing, Yuxiao. You don’t know. I recently met a guy named Zhou Qian. He’s impossible to read. I feel like if I blink, he’ll trick me. But you were different. I could always relax around you. No pressure.”

That was something Qi Liuxing had once said.

But now, he only trusted Zhou Qian, never him again.

So what now?

Break that belief completely.

Make him understand: that person never existed.

When Ke Yuxiao let go, Qi Liuxing instinctively clutched his neck, coughing hard.

When he looked up, he saw Ke Yuxiao’s deranged expression.

What’s he planning?

“Xiao Qi… seeing the hate and disappointment in your eyes irritates me. Because… the ‘Ke Yuxiao’ you knew never existed. He was an act I put on. Didn’t he say even in a death game, he wouldn’t harm teammates? So he took a support class, only to boost you?

“That version of him… How hypocritical.

“Now let me show you the real me. Last time I killed you, you were too deep in the game to see clearly. This time, open your eyes—”

Ke Yuxiao smiled and suddenly turned his gun on the hall below, firing four shots!

Gunshots rang out.

Qi Liuxing shouted instinctively, “Yun Xiangrong, look out!”

Then he remembered, Ke Yuxiao wore a green wristband.

So he’d targeted the indigo faction.

Sure enough, Yu Huang and his three men fell right in front of Qi Liuxing’s eyes.

Ke Yuxiao’s voice rang out again.

He looked at the stone-faced Shan Sheng and said, “Captain Shan, I trust you. In a critical moment like this, traitors must be dealt with immediately. Don’t you agree?”

Then he turned with a smile to Qi Liuxing.

“Good. I hope I don’t see disappointment in your eyes again. Hate me if you want. Kill me if you want. Just don’t be disappointed in me. Okay, Xiao Qi?”

……

Meanwhile, Xu Yang, with two lieutenants and three teammates, was fleeing back to his purple base with Zhang Datie’s help.

Along the way, Xu Yang asked, “You said you’re a subordinate of someone named Shan Sheng?”

“Yeah. Yu Huang always targets us. I’m happy to help. Got a problem?” said Zhang Datie.

“Wait a second…” Xu Yang’s pupils shrank. “How did you know we were coming? Knew to guard the White Tower and help us dodge Peach Blossom’s defenses? You—”

Xu Yang sensed something was wrong and went to draw his gun on Zhang Datie.

But his instincts as a god-level player warned him of even greater danger behind.

In a flash, he yanked one lieutenant behind him as a shield and dove to the ground.

At the same time, he swept his leg, kicking another lieutenant to the front.

Thus, the sniper aiming from behind, and Zhang Datie’s shot from ahead, both hit Xu Yang’s subordinates instead.

Bang!

Bang!

Xu Yang lost two men and fled with his remaining three teammates.

His teammates, shocked by how casually Xu Yang had used people as shields, ran with confusion in their steps.

They hesitated and lagged behind.

Zhang Datie and another of Shan Sheng’s men seized the chance, quickly gunning down all three.

Zhang Datie tried to fire one last shot at Xu Yang, but the system signaled that the target couldn’t be identified. Xu Yang had escaped with incredible speed.

Still, he had lost far too much from this.

Zhang Datie turned to his teammate and said, “Let’s go claim our credit.”

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