Deceitful Game

Chapter 1 The Third Person Outside the Door

Click, click, click...

The ticking of the clock hands echoed in the void.

"My head hurts so much..."

"Hello, excuse me...where is this?"

"Sorry, I'm not sure either..."

Where am I?

Shouldn't I be dead?

When Lin Ya woke up in a daze, she immediately noticed the burning pain lingering in her chest.

"Cough cough...cough! Cough cough cough—"

It felt like she had inhaled scalding hot sand, and she couldn't help but cough violently.

The incessant coughing triggered an instinctive reaction, causing her to burst into tears. Each spasm was accompanied by a lingering sense of death, and tears instantly blurred her vision... It wasn't fear, but the body's most primal instinct.

She covered her mouth tightly, hunched her shoulders, and nervously and timidly looked around.

It looked somewhat like a luxurious hotel banquet hall, with dim, warm lighting. At first glance, it could easily accommodate more than forty tables.

Yet, in such a vast space, there was only a round table placed in the very center, making it look so empty that it made one feel somewhat uneasy.

Inside the room, there was only one black door, decorated with chain patterns.

It has no door handle; you can only push it outwards. And it looks unusually heavy.

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing else—no sofa, no sideboard, no window, and no second door.

Lin Ya was sitting in one of the seats at this round table.

The twelve people sat around the hands of a clock.

If we define the position closest to the black gate as the "bottom six o'clock position", then Lin Ya's position would be at the two o'clock position.

The thick, soft carpet radiated warmth, but this warmth could not dispel the chill spreading through her heart.

Around the round table, a dozen or so figures sat indistinctly, each with a different expression on their face. Some were blank, some helpless, some uneasy, and some silent.

The sound of the giant pointer still echoed in the void, cutting through everyone's reason.

"...I...Holy crap...What the hell is this?!"

A horrified, almost piercing scream suddenly rang out!

Everyone's eyes immediately turned to that direction, and some even reached out to stop them.

But he was still a step too slow—no one could see what he was looking at, and therefore no one knew what he had seen.

"Don't touch me!"

The short man screamed, his whole body trembling violently, and his throat making hoarse gasping sounds.

His gaze swept frantically across the table, then suddenly fixed on the four round, reddish-brown chips in front of him.

He turned back as if possessed, grabbed the chips, and stuffed them into the pocket of his hospital gown.

Then, they turned around and ran!

He mustered all his strength and rushed toward the only door in the room!

The door was heavy and cold, covered with chain reliefs, but had no handle. The short man braced himself against the door, his face flushed, and managed to pry it open a crack.

Outside the crevice, there was only a thick, impenetrable darkness.

Without hesitation, the short man slipped inside like an eel.

He melted into the darkness.

As the door slowly closed automatically, the chaotic footsteps vanished instantly.

He ran away.

After a brief silence, an even louder uproar ensued.

Extreme panic exploded like boiling water!

"...What happened? He...he went out?"

"Have we been kidnapped? No, we definitely have!"

"No, I remember... was it a dream?"

A jumble of whispers and screams mingled together.

People don't know the people around them, but at this moment, it seems that they can only share their confusion and anxiety with them.

Lin Ya's heart was pounding in her chest.

Suppressing her fear, she looked across the empty seat at the bespectacled man in a suit at table number four, who appeared remarkably calm, and her voice trembled almost imperceptibly: "Brother... how about we... give it a try?"

The man in the suit and glasses glanced at her but didn't say anything.

However, other voices of agreement arose from the side.

"Are we just going to stay here and wait to die? Let's rush out together! The door's unlocked!"

"What if there's someone guarding outside?"

"It's written in the novel that there are death traps outside; if you go out, you'll be killed by lasers..."

"Then I should have said the mechanism was inside the house! Stop reading so many online novels!"

The argument escalated, but no one left alone like the short man from before.

But just as the argument was about to reach a breaking point...

Boom, boom, boom.

Suddenly, a knock came from outside the heavy door.

As if a mute button had been pressed, the noise in the room came to an abrupt halt.

In the deathly silence, only the agonizing click of the clock hands remained.

Boom, boom, boom.

The intervals are precise, the force is steady, and the pace is neither too fast nor too slow.

It's like hitting someone's skull.

There's someone outside!

"A ghost...a ghost knocking on the door?" an elderly man with dark skin exclaimed in dialect.

"...Was that the young man who just came back?"

A middle-aged woman wearing round-framed gold-rimmed glasses, who looked like a teacher, couldn't help but ask, as if she were trying to comfort herself.

No, absolutely not!

Lin Ya's heart sank suddenly.

Although it was only a brief encounter, she had already roughly figured out that person's psychology.

His escape from the room was rather abrupt and lacked planning, typical of his highly impulsive nature.

If he were to knock on the door, it would likely be more urgent, less regular, and the intervals between knocks would be shorter.

Is this some kind of opportunity...?

Those who have died once may indeed be braver.

Lin Ya hesitated for a moment, then got up and went to open the door.

Just before opening the door, a carefully practiced, most deceptive smile instantly appeared on her face—sweet, harmless, and carrying the innocence and naivety of a young girl.

She has a pretty face, the kind of cute, doll-like face that gives off the air of a good child.

Judging people by their appearance is human nature, and it is also the source of her invincible sword of lies.

"Hello--"

She deliberately softened her voice, with just the right amount of naivety and doubt—and used all her strength to push open the heavy, cold black door.

Surprisingly, the door didn't seem to be too heavy.

As the resistance suddenly lessened, her eyes were suddenly filled with light.

Unlike before—when she stood in the doorway, the scene outside suddenly became clear.

As the scene outside came into view, Lin Ya's smile froze instantly.

Outside the door, a world has completely faded.

It's like turning the saturation down to the lowest setting and then turning off the sound.

The torrential rain poured down like diluted ink, and the lightning flashing through the dark clouds was as pale as bone, yet no thunder could be heard. The desolate, deserted streets were lined with withered, gray willow trees with black leaves.

Dead silence. Silence. Black and white.

—The normal world of living is long gone.

And what they were in didn't seem to be a hotel banquet hall... but rather an empty manor villa.

In the entire world, only this manor possessed vibrant and bright colors—green grass, clear fountains, marble cherubs, and bright yellow walls. It was eerily warm, and jarringly suffocating.

And the person who knocked on the door stood calmly in front of this hellish backdrop.

NPC, boss? Or... the kind of nasty host common in these kinds of death games?

Lin Ya's heart pounded wildly in her chest. She forced herself to lift her head and look at this "suspicious person".

He had slightly messy black curly hair and wore black-rimmed glasses. He was quite tall, at least 1.85 meters. At that moment, he wore a... indescribable smile, tinged with a strange sense of pleasure.

Although both wore glasses, his demeanor was completely different from that of the other bespectacled man in the room.

His age was ambiguous; his handsome face had a star-like profile, and his skin was taut. But the eyes behind his glasses and the invisible aura emanating from him were dangerous, profound, and carried a condescending scrutiny.

Sensing that their eyes were about to meet, Lin Ya's gaze unconsciously shifted downwards, sweeping over the dark gray scarf around his neck and the beige fitted double-breasted trench coat...

Suddenly, she held her breath.

Generally speaking, the condition of a person's shoes—the type, wear and tear, and dirt—contains a lot of information. Therefore, when Lin Ya meets strangers, she glances down at her shoes, and this behavior of avoiding eye contact reduces her aggressiveness.

but……

At this moment, Lin Ya could clearly see that the body of the short man who had just run away was lying quietly at her feet, like a bag of garbage.

The blood covering his head and face had congealed into a dark red color, and his body was disintegrating and weathering at a visible speed, turning into countless black ashes.

On the tip of the knocker's leather shoes were a few glaring, still-drying drops of scarlet blood!

It's like some kind of artistic pattern.

A chill instantly shot from the soles of Lin Ya's feet to the top of her head.

She was breathing rapidly, as if she were having an asthma attack, and her fingers were trembling uncontrollably.

She looked up abruptly and met the face hidden behind the glasses again, and saw a hint of ferocity, like that of a hungry wolf.

"Shh..."

The man gently placed a long, slender finger to his lips, making a shushing gesture.

The silent warning, like a cold, venomous snake, instantly coiled around Lin Ya's neck.

—Escape, escape back!

But at that moment—

She saw the man slowly pull something out of his trench coat pocket with his left hand.

A red chip, seemingly cast from flowing magma, with wisps of visible, scorching white smoke rising from its surface.

He smiled and slowly handed the hot chip to Lin Ya.

Aren't you going to invite me in?

A deep, magnetic voice rang out: "This 'game' is... just missing one person?"

Lin Ya's heart suddenly started pounding.

—Take it!

The thought popped into her head.

Because she suddenly realized what the deathly silence behind her meant.

The others certainly couldn't see the hellish scene outside the door, nor could they see the corpse turning to ashes, otherwise it wouldn't be so quiet!

If she were to lock the other person out—regardless of whether she could actually keep them out—such an unusual act would certainly cause those who hadn't seen the truth to lose trust in her. Once she becomes the center of attention, she's more likely to become a target of public criticism.

Conversely, the information outside the door gave her some "bargaining chips" that she might be able to exchange with others.

At this moment, she and this person already shared a "secret." With this initial tacit understanding, it is easier to form a secret alliance, which may not be a bad thing.

opportunity!

So Lin Ya's heart stirred, and she subtly reached out and carefully touched the scalding hot chip.

Before Lin Ya could fully grasp it, the hot, molten chip quickly solidified.

Lin Ya calmly hid the cold chips in the sleeve of her pajamas.

"...Indeed, sir."

Lin Ya didn't look at the corpse on the ground again, her voice returned to its obedient sweetness, and she obediently stepped back: "Please come in."

She used a more distant yet respectful form of address cautiously.

Perhaps the man in front of her will develop a certain understanding with her because of this? Who knows?

What Lin Ya didn't know was...

The moment she opened her mouth to invite her.

The invisible and transparent solid barrier that separated "players" from "non-players" in front of Mingpo suddenly crumbled like shattered glass!

The thick darkness that had blocked their view vanished instantly, revealing the luxurious interior and the eleven terrified figures inside.

Ah, finally...

Mingpo's lips curled up slightly, and the corners of her eyes curved upwards.

—I see you.

The look of astonishment that suddenly appeared on their faces proved that they had finally "seen" themselves.

At the same time, the abnormal heat from the three chips in his pocket, which were as hot as burning coals and would cause excruciating pain upon contact, vanished instantly, leaving them cold and ordinary.

...Just as I expected.

Is it only by receiving a personal invitation from a "player" that one can be recognized by this "game"?

Mingpo's mind raced, his gaze sweeping over Lin Ya's uneasy yet obsequious face without betraying any emotion.

Ha, am I the only one who doesn't qualify?

All twelve people were inside the room, except for Mingpo, who was assigned to stand outside the door.

If no one accidentally opens this door, he has no right to participate in this game at all; Mingper doesn't even have an initial stake...

Fortunately, the idiot who tried to kill him right away gave him a gift.

What a pitiful and weak fellow, he even got his shoes dirty.

Mingpo glanced at the only empty seat at the round table and nodded politely.

We express our gratitude to this unknown gentleman for his selfless dedication.

Tap, tap.

His hard-soled shoes made a clear sound on the wooden floor, just as he had when he knocked earlier, with even and unhurried intervals.

"This is it, sir..."

Lin Ya led the way, and subconsciously turned her head to look into Ming Po's eyes.

But at that time...

She suddenly noticed that... Mingpo's originally bright and cheerful expression, which she had not concealed at all, had somehow turned into a gentle smile that was exactly the same as her own.

It's as if... he was always so gentle and harmless.

"Those who enter this door must abandon all hope..." Mingpo said in a voice so faint that only this woman, dressed in a fluffy nightgown and looking like a little white rabbit, could hear it, "These words are written on the wall outside the door. Do you know where they come from?"

The woman didn't speak, but Mingpo noticed—her eyes held a mixture of fear, disbelief… and a hint of excitement.

Was it the fear brought on by unease... and the excitement of confirming an alliance?

That's really great.

Mingbo stroked the patterned chips in his pocket, glanced at the closing door, and smiled enigmatically.

Although he hadn't yet remembered who he was or why he was there, everyone in the room—including himself—did probably not be any good.

This is really... great.