Deceitful Game

Chapter 16: Legacy from Last Week

Suddenly, the head opened its eyes and glared fiercely at Mingpo.

A tremendous force struck, and the refrigerator door suddenly slammed shut inwards with a loud bang!

Mingpo was completely unconvinced and showed no fear whatsoever.

Without hesitation, he immediately opened the refrigerator door again!

But this time, the head had disappeared.

It was like a power outage; the light bulb in the living room flickered a few times and then went out.

The light in the living room suddenly dimmed, turning a yellowish hue like that of an approaching storm. The sky outside the window turned a dusty, yellowish hue, and a strange chill permeated the air.

A cold wind howled through the room as the windows creaked.

Mingpo noticed that there was a black and white portrait of herself on the living room wall.

There are seven incense sticks stuck in the incense burner in front.

But what's amazing is that they didn't burn at the same time; two of them had already burned out before the third was lit.

Right behind that portrait, a line of large, blood-red characters appeared on the living room wall:

——167:53:23.

——167:53:22.

——167:53:21.

……

It wasn't a blood-written curse against someone, but a clock.

Or rather, it's a countdown.

A countdown accurate to the second.

Just looking at the countdown made Mingpo feel as if her heart was being gripped by something.

What does this countdown mean?

167... Seven days?

Suddenly, the floor-length mirror in the living room shattered with a loud, crisp sound.

But when Mingpo turned her head, she found that there were no fragments of the mirror on the ground.

Mingpo walked over.

Through the half-shattered mirror, he saw another version of himself emerge—completely different from his calm, casual self. He was dressed in a formal suit, his expression ferocious and terrifying.

"..."

Mingpo remained silent, only adjusting his glasses.

However, the reflection in the mirror did not make that movement.

It simply opened its mouth and raised a "Red Copper of Time".

It rests against the edge of the mirror, as if it were holding a chip against the mirror.

This seems to be hinting at something.

After looking for two seconds, Mingpo realized what was going on.

He didn't feel fear, but actually took out a "Red Copper of Time".

Just like using the gesture of playing Go, he picked up the chip and presented it to the broken mirror in a mirror-like manner.

"You want this?"

Mingpo asked softly.

The "Mingpo" in the mirror grinned and smiled silently.

As the two chips made contact, a bright light flashed.

The broken mirror seemed to have healed somewhat.

Looking through that mirror, Mingpo vaguely sensed that something was amiss.

Suddenly, he realized something was wrong—

—Why is there a wine cabinet reflected in this mirror?

Neither Mingpo nor Ai Shiping drinks alcohol. Mingpo is allergic to alcohol, and Ai Shiping prefers cola. There's no way there would be a liquor cabinet here!

He turned around abruptly and discovered that a wine cabinet had appeared between the refrigerator and the microwave oven.

The amber-colored wine cabinet looked like a giant piece of amber. In the dimly lit living room, it shone with a dazzling light, like a table lamp in the night.

There were only two bottles of wine, and one of them was completely cracked, with only the bottom of the bottle remaining.

What is this?

Mingpo opened the wine cabinet.

He picked up the full bottle of wine and examined it closely, only to find that the bottle did not have a name on it.

It was a square bottle of liquor, the amber liquid resembling some kind of whiskey.

Its front panel resembles Van Gogh's "Starry Night," a distorted and exaggerated painting. Blue-green, bright yellow, and black are interwoven. In addition to the distorted starry sky and moon, a silhouette of a werewolf howling at the sky can be seen in the lower left corner.

Mingpo spun the bottle around.

On the back of the bottle, where the name, ingredients, and manufacturer should have been listed, strange things were written instead:

【Werewolf (Slaughter - Red Copper)】

【Effects of Wearing: Increases stamina regeneration and grants the permanent status: Wound Healing (Slow)】

[Effect: Temporarily loses sanity and gains a significant boost to stamina regeneration, burst damage, and reaction speed for ten seconds. The effect rapidly decays during the duration; the duration is refreshed if a kill is achieved within the effect.]

—This is the title that Mingpo just received!

Thinking of this, Mingpo suddenly paused for a moment.

He took the bottle out and placed it on the table. Then he carefully took another broken bottle out of the wine cabinet.

The bottle of liquor looked like a ceramic jar, with a simple appearance that didn't fit the luxurious wine cabinet at all.

Its front is painted with a mound of yellow earth and a broken tombstone.

The text on its back became unusually blurry, like an old photograph scorched by a lighter, covered in charred and blackened curls.

Despite his best efforts, Mingbo was unable to fully decipher the objects on it.

[Wilderness and desolation (Germany - Gold)]

[Wearing effect: When (cannot see clearly), you can (cannot see clearly)]

The rest of the way down was completely unrecognizable.

—It's practically the same as not seeing anything at all.

Whose title is this?

Mingpo was puzzled, but a sense of realization seemed to dawn on her.

...This might be mine.

If this is his "spiritual palace"—that's the name for now—then it should be a place only he can come to, so it's unlikely to belong to a stranger.

Moreover, a sentence was written under his newly acquired title.

"—Mingpo, welcome back."

Does this mean that... Mingpo actually participated in a game of deception once, and even climbed to the gold position?

But because of something, his title was shattered, and he lost his memory as well...

Mingpo looked at the cracked wine bottle and suddenly had a brilliant idea!

He remembered the mirror that he had partially repaired.

This wine cabinet only appeared in the house after Mingpo repaired the mirror!

He turned around and found that his reflection in the mirror had been replaced with a different chip.

That was not "the red copper of time," but became "the pseudo gold of the sun."

His meaning was clear—if he exchanged the next chip for the fake gold of the sun, he could repair another part of the mirror.

If this pattern continues...

"Would repairing this require gold-level tokens?"

Mingpo reached up and covered her forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

Now he only has "one day and two hours" left.

According to the information Mingpo already possesses, Zhou Zhiqing is at the third level. Following this pattern, the fourth level should be "Month," and the fifth level should be "Year."

Gold is at least a "monthly" and, more likely, a "yearly" medium of exchange!

Where did he get such a large amount of time?

—Want to join the new game?

Such a thought popped into Mingpo's mind.

But then he felt resistance—there's no rush, we can play a little longer.

I still don't know what that countdown is... Could it mean I have to play the next game within seven days? But didn't the host say that there's nothing mandatory in this game and I can leave at any time?

As for resurrection... Minper hadn't thought about that.

Putting aside the fact that Mingpo still hasn't remembered how or when he died... and even if he did, he might not leave the game.

Judging from his roommate's mental state, Mingpo should not have been dead for long... Could it be that he just died at this moment?

It's quite important to figure these things out, Mingpo thought to himself.

His phone is unusable now, and it doesn't seem like a good idea to call home rashly.

His company should know the cause of his death; they should go and ask him.

However, Mingpo did not directly use the chips to materialize himself. Instead, he planned to remain a ghost for now, floating to the company before manifesting, thus saving time in the process.

Save money wherever possible!

However, when Mingpo reached the front door, she found that it had been renovated to look somewhat unfamiliar.

This door seems to have become a prop to start the next game.

It's like one of those old-fashioned rocking cars, with several holes where you can insert chips.

As Mingpo touched each of the holes in turn, information was transmitted into his mind:

[Promotion, Cost: 1 Pseudo-Gold of the Sun]

[Adventure, Cost: 1 Time Copper / 1 Sun Pseudo-Gold]

[Confrontation, Cost: 1 Time Copper / 1 Sun Pseudo-Gold]

Departure, cost: None

Once you've placed the corresponding bets, the door opens, and you'll enter the next game.

So that's how it works... Does the promotion ceremony require investing a stake one level higher than your current rank?

"No wonder they emphasized that the chips can be split but not combined..."

Mingpo sighed softly, "So this is what makes high-level chips so prestigious."

Instead of betting, he simply opened the door with his chips in hand.

Mingpo planned to go out and explore the world of the living.

Looking at this world with its chaotic timeline, is everything still as he remembers it?