Deceitful Game

Chapter 2 [The Death of the Minority]

Mingbo followed behind Lin Ya and slowly walked towards the only empty seat at the round table.

"--Wait a moment."

Just as Mingpo walked up to the bespectacled man, the man in the suit and glasses suddenly reached out and grabbed Mingpo's arm.

Lin Ya was startled and turned around to look.

She was well aware of how dangerous and insane the strange man following her was, but the people at the table had no idea.

The unease of things suddenly spiraling out of control made her heart leap into her throat—at least in Lin Ya's mind, Ming Po was already practically an ally. If they were to fight here, even if she wasn't directly involved, it would still make things complicated.

"that……"

Lin Ya subconsciously wanted to dissuade the dispute from happening.

But when her gaze fell on Mingpo's face, she was immediately stunned.

His face showed only the annoyance of being disturbed, as well as a humble, gentle, and vibrant smile.

Mingpo didn't struggle or resist; she simply bowed slightly, looked intently into the bespectacled man's eyes, and asked seriously, "Is there something you need?"

If Lin Ya hadn't seen the scene outside the door beforehand... even she would have assumed it was a kind-hearted pediatrician, elementary school teacher, or children's program host.

"You weren't the one who brought us in, were you?"

The bespectacled man asked calmly, "I mean, you're not an 'official' person."

"Of course," Mingpo replied.

"Did you see that person from earlier?"

The bespectacled man slowly asked, "I mean, why didn't he come back? And why did you come in?"

There is no doubt that he is suspicious of Mingpo.

This is only natural. Compared to the others who appeared at the round table together, Mingpa, who came in from outside, was "abnormal" from the very beginning.

If he is not a "host" or "examiner," then he could very well be the danger itself.

He stared intently at Mingpo, looking into his eyes.

Mingpo's smile faded slightly, and she even looked somewhat saddened.

"He's dead." Mingpo didn't mince words. "He turned to ashes... and now there's not even a body left."

"It's obvious that leaving here is not allowed."

"Then," the bespectacled man retorted, "why are you outside?"

"I don't know either. I'm just as confused as you are."

Mingpo shook his head and said sincerely, "Perhaps the organizers here already anticipated that a replacement would be needed?"

"But I don't recommend continuing to break the rules."

Mingpo said seriously, "I'm the only one waiting outside. If someone continues to break the rules, I don't know... whether the rest of us will not participate in this game and wait for new substitutes to come in, or..."

As he said this, the others at the table also showed signs of unease.

The bespectacled man frowned slightly.

He vaguely realized there was a problem.

In truth, he probably already knew their predicament—everyone present was likely already dead. Their gathering here was probably because someone wanted them to accomplish something, witness something, or prove something…

But he didn't know what the specific rules were in "this place" or what dangers they might face.

But in terms of motivation... he realized that this guy was implying to the others, "If we leave here, the others who stay might be in danger."

Apart from him, everyone else was basically in a state of confusion.

If they don't have enough resolve to escape directly, then during the "consulting others" phase, the strange man's hints will cause others to strongly reject this decision.

After all, they are already in a state of flux and are easily swayed by others.

Therefore, this man's motive is to want us to move the game forward.

Was what he just said credible? If he wasn't a host or an official, what else could he be...?

As he pondered, the bespectacled man glanced at Lin Ya.

Although the other person didn't know her, he knew the girl.

Rather, the reason he could guess where this place was was thanks to his acquaintance with Lin Ya.

Lin Ya holds a Master's degree in Applied Psychology from Tianjing University and is also a self-media blogger, making her somewhat of a colleague. Her main area of ​​expertise is relationship guidance—that is, she helps people analyze their situations via live stream, judging whether "he/she still loves you" or "he/she doesn't love you at all," and then provides her assessment.

She's a moderately popular internet celebrity, with nearly a million followers across all platforms.

Just a few months ago, she was caught in a media storm and, after being blacklisted, committed suicide by burning charcoal in her apartment. He had been following this incident, and even his fans had asked him about related legal issues during his live streams.

Therefore, he knew that Lin Ya was definitely not a simple person, and certainly not some naive girl who would fall for a handsome man at first sight. That's why Lin Ya suddenly became nervous when he had just started causing trouble for her… most likely because the two of them had secretly reached some kind of cooperation agreement.

Knowing that if he continued to press the matter, it would likely upset the other people at the table.

So, although the bespectacled man still had some doubts about Mingpo—and his doubts even intensified—he didn't press the matter further and instead let Mingpo go.

"Excuse me, sir."

The bespectacled man nodded, put on a smile, and apologized first: "Please sit down."

As he spoke, he said to the people around him, "Since we're just killing time anyway, why don't we introduce ourselves?"

"I'll go first—my surname is Chen, and I'm a lawyer. In my last memory, I was hit by a large truck while trying to avoid it on the street..."

At this point, everyone's expressions changed. But no one else spoke.

But Mingper realized that at least half of them either had furrowed brows or pursed their lips.

—They don't want to introduce themselves?

Or perhaps they simply don't want to explain the cause of their deaths?

Mingpo sat calmly in the only empty seat and blinked slightly.

The problem is, he has no memory of how he died.

Even his memories of himself have become hazy... He can't even be completely sure what kind of work he does.

Am I the only one who's special?

Thinking of this, Mingpo had an idea.

He slightly raised his hand, a gentle and cheerful smile on his face, and said, "Then I'll be the second one—my name is Ai Shiping, and I'm a screenwriter. As for the cause of death... I don't remember it very clearly, but it seems like I fell from a height."

Of course, he couldn't reveal his real name.

So Mingpo casually uttered a pseudonym that vaguely existed in her memory—and the cause of death was used to explain why she was wearing a coat.

The moment he entered, he noticed... some people were wearing pajamas, some were wearing short sleeves, and some were wearing hospital gowns; clearly, these were the clothes they wore before they died.

His outfit, including a trench coat and scarf, already hinted at the likely cause of his death.

After Mingpo spoke, Lin Ya also smiled and said, "My name is Lin Xiaoyan, and I'm a university student. The cause of death should be... a gas leak?"

She's lying.

Mingpo glanced at the young girl beside her.

It wasn't logic, but intuition. He immediately knew she was lying.

What followed was an even deeper question—who am I, and why do I have this instinct?

After the three of them, the others also reluctantly revealed their identities.

"My name is Yang Shuang," said the middle-aged woman with round-framed glasses sitting at table number five. "An English teacher. As for the cause of my death... I'd rather not say, I'm sorry."

At this point, her expression turned somewhat somber.

"My name is Liu Jianguo, and I'm a farmer," the dark-skinned old man said with a smile. "So this is the underworld? I died of illness; I had intestinal cancer! But now I feel much better."

He was the player furthest from the door, sitting at the twelve o'clock position.

"I am……"

With them around, the others also started to loosen up a bit.

But just then, a sharp, arrogant, and energetic voice suddenly came from the center of the round table, interrupting their self-introductions.

"Sorry, sorry!"

"Hey, hey, hey, I'm late, not that I wasn't coming—wait a minute, listen to me!"

It wasn't anyone at the table who spoke, but a strange black cat.

There was absolutely nothing here just now; the table was completely empty.

It appeared out of thin air, unnoticed by anyone.

The cat wore three necklaces around its neck: a scarlet eyeball, a thick-lipped mouth, and a strong, rough right hand.

The black cat sat calmly in the center, while its eyeball orbited around it like a satellite, slowly gazing at everyone.

Meanwhile, the mouth was talking incessantly at an incredibly fast pace, like a TV host rapidly reciting an overly long string of jargon. The right hand was also making constant hand gestures in response, like someone with ADHD: "Shut up, shut up! I don't recommend you just casually reveal your real names like that. Opening a box is always dangerous! This is for your own good, darlings!"

"We're all dead, what danger could we possibly be in?"

A young man complained.

"Really?"

The cat—or rather, the mouth hanging around its neck—revealed a sinister smile: "What if I told you... you all have a chance to come back to life? Of course... not everyone has that chance."

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere at the table changed.

A silence washed over us like a wave, and the previous lively atmosphere vanished without a trace.

As if savoring the deathly silence, its eyes closed in ecstasy, while its right hand stretched out its fingers and glided through the air like a conductor, its lips humming a melodious tune: "Hmm..."

Suddenly, the hand went straight up, pointing to the ceiling.

People looked up in the direction of the hand, and Lin Ya couldn't help but scream.

—What you see hanging from the ceiling is not a crystal chandelier at all!

Those were twelve faintly glowing marble greatswords!

Or it could be said that it was not a "sword" at all, but a huge stone pillar in the shape of a cross!

The rooms here are extremely high, much higher than normal rooms, and with their domed ceilings, it's easy to lose track of distance. Therefore, a casual glance would only make it appear as if it were a crystal chandelier.

But if you look closely, you'll find that each one is at least seven or eight meters long and wider than your own shoulder.

Mingpo's gaze followed her upwards, and the corners of her mouth turned up.

Oh.

He suddenly understood why that kind person had gone out to offer him warmth.

He was so terrified because he saw the ceiling when he lay down!

Just by noticing them, everyone felt a chill run down their spines—as if they might fall at any moment and crush them to death!

"—Welcome to the game of deception, you unjustly killed!"

The frenzied voice came from the cat's back, like an unusually excited commentator—like someone hosting the finals of a football, horse race, or e-sports event: "Everyone, are you thinking about all sorts of inescapable death games?"

"But you're all wrong!"

"Our game has tolerant and merciful rules—you can leave the game if you survive in any game!"

"You can leave the game at any time, and you can join the game at any time. As long as you have the corresponding entry fee, which is the corresponding chips... Yes, this is actually a game that 'requires a price to participate in,' rather than a game that 'requires mandatory participation'!"

"Our game offers generous rewards—just win at least one game to receive your initial chips as a ticket to the qualifying tournament!"

"Each copper hourglass chip represents 'one hour.' You can insert this precious hour into your past, modify what you did in that hour, and thus achieve an incredible resurrection!"

"Our game has incredible power—look at the chips in your hands! With these chips of time, you can change your destiny at will!"

"To bring the dead back to life, to bring future knowledge to the past, to skip the learning process and directly acquire a skill, to kill anyone you hate without leaving a trace..."

"Change your own death? Easier said than done! Aside from that, don't you have any other regrets or things you want to change in the past? Think about it, 'If only I had done this,' 'If only I had known,' and things like that..."

"There may be no medicine for regret in this world, but what we sell here is precisely that medicine!"

Upon hearing that voice, everyone at the table changed their expression.

Greed, jealousy, hatred, desire...

Excitement, weeping, silence, sorrow...

"……I see."

Mingbo lowered her head and said softly, "So that's what the chips are for."

It became so quiet here.

Everyone else heard what Mingpo said.

It was like lighting firewood—the flames of desire were reflected in everyone's eyes.

Lin Ya pursed her lips, her dark eyes scanning the tables before looking at the heavy crosses hanging above everyone's heads.

She glanced at Mingpo again, but couldn't read any expression on his face.

"Don't even think about running away with the chips."

The mouth gaped open in a mocking tone, and it said in a low voice, "Right now you are only 'the unjustly killed,' not yet 'the deceivers,' and cannot use the power of time."

As he spoke, all the chips on everyone's bodies flew up automatically.

They each melted into clusters of red flames, coalescing into animal masks.

Lin Ya picked up the mask from her hand and examined it carefully.

I am... a rabbit? Why? Does it mean I'm weak?

She then looked to her left and right.

The "Attorney Chen" held a "fox," while the handsome, star-like, yet unknown "Mr. Ai" seemed to be holding a "gray wolf."

Yang Shuang has a "sparrow" in her hand, while Liu Jianguo has a "black bear".

At this moment, Attorney Chen was also quickly frowning and thinking: Was the distribution of these masks random? Or was there some special pattern...?

"If you'd like to participate in the game, then put on the mask."

The frenzied voice from the cat's back was as gentle and patient as coaxing children to open their textbooks: "I'll stake your existence on it—"

"Remember, if you die here, no one will remember you."

No one left; everyone silently put on their animal masks one after another.

That's right.

We are all already dead. If we don't participate in changing our fate of death, then we are still going to die anyway.

Since we're going to die anyway, we might as well give it a try.

As for being remembered by the living... that's insignificant compared to life and death.

When Mingpo was the last to put on the mask, the voice became excited again, proclaiming loudly:

"The selection process officially begins!"

"This game is the easiest [Time] level game, with a minimum completion reward of [One Hour] and a maximum of [One Day]. Players will also gain the 'Bronze of Time' level Deceiver privileges, allowing them to use the Chips of Time to alter history!"

"Well then, welcome to—"

"—The Death of the Minority!!"

The mask appeared to be some kind of screen.

Everyone saw several lines of blood-red text appear before their eyes—

The Death of the Minority

[Multiplayer game, no faction restrictions, no random players]

[Difficulty: 12 hour]

[Maximum number of people who can complete the level: 11]

This game does not have any additional rules, hidden quests, or a special world setting.

Next, the rules of the game came into being.

Each round lasts ten minutes, including five minutes for presentation and five minutes for discussion.

[During the narrative phase, the speaker presents their topic, posing a question with "only two answers," and offering two different answers. The other participants must choose one answer from the two before the discussion phase ends.]

There are three possibilities at this point:

1. If the given answers are different (i.e., the number of A and B are not equal), then the side with the minority will be punished.

2. If all the answers given are the same (i.e. only A or only B), then the person narrating will be executed.

3. If the answers given are different and the quantities given are equal (i.e., A=B), then no one will be executed.

[After that, in clockwise order, the next player becomes the new narrator.]

The game ends when all the survivors have become narrators.

The fewer players remaining, the greater the rewards for completing the level.