Chapter 5

【Host body loading complete】

【Physiological functions, normal】

【Brainwave frequency, 7.36Hz】

【Frequency too high, starting correction】

……

I thought that surviving the night would bring dawn, but when Xiyu woke up from his nightmare, everything around him was still dim.

In his hazy consciousness, he seemed to hear a mechanical female voice saying something incomprehensible.

But after regaining his senses, he couldn't recall a single word.

With no way to check the time in the room, Xiyu just pulled down his mask and rubbed his stiff face. The door, which had been tightly shut, slowly creaked open.

A creepy doll stood outside, expressionless, and said, "Esteemed guest, please follow me."

No matter what kind of game world this was, it was undeniable that there were forces beyond human power in this world.

Xiyu obediently stood up, rubbed his shoulder, and asked, "Is everyone okay?"

The doll's pitch-black, terrifying eyes curved slightly, but it remained silent.

Soon, everyone was led to the courtyard, where Xiyu counted and found that not many were missing. It seemed they had all gone through similar experiences last night.

At this time, a faint light appeared outside the General's Manor, visible through the thick fog, signaling the arrival of the second day. Unfortunately, last night hadn't been so peaceful.

The low-profile girl, always following Zhugao and Tang Yanyan, had been injured. Her once clean blue dress was now stained with blood, and there were deep scratch marks on her arm.

Her eyes were red, and her lips had no color. She weakly explained, "I... I was sleeping well, and that snake suddenly rushed into the room and attacked me. Luckily, I hid in the cupboard, and the snake left..."

Zhugao observed the injury with concern, "No way, the door looks fine... How could the snake get into your room?"

Sun Xiulian, looking wronged, said, "It clearly broke the door, but after it left, the door was fine... I don't know what's going on, why did the snake attack me..."Ren Bo coldly sized her up: "Heh, the snake belongs to the black team. So, you're saying you're on the white team? Do you have any special identity?"

Sun Xiulian weakly replied, "I... I’m not..."

Zhu Ge asked, "So, you're on the black team?"

Sun Xiulian looked troubled, lowered her head, and whispered, "Why are you all pressuring me..."

"Alright, no one would stupidly reveal their identity." Wu Zhi spoke up, clearly frustrated, "Didn't they say they'd tell us all the rules today?"

The twelve doll-like figures stood neatly around the courtyard. Upon hearing this, they all bowed and withdrew.

Moments later, the eerie voice from last night echoed again: "Dear players, interesting rules are the soul of the game. Now, there are seven unchangeable rules hidden in this courtyard, and you only have one hour to find them."

Xiyu immediately asked, "Are the rules also written on the flower cards?"

But the voice did not respond further.

Fang Hao's expression was serious as he said, "Since time is limited, let's pair up and search separately. Not knowing the rules benefits no one, and we cannot hide anything from each other on this matter."

Yao Channa's face was swollen and red with the marks of her injuries, looking both pitiful and disgusting. She had obviously been crying for a long time and weakly walked over to Xiyu: "You... could you lend me your mask?"

Xiyu instinctively wanted to act gentlemanly, but Luo Xi, not far off, crossed his arms and said, "There's no need to give your things to others. Who knows what abilities she has?"

Yao Channa snapped, "I just want to cover my wounds, what's your problem?"

Luo Xi ignored her and turned back to watch the teams form up. His fierce and menacing look clearly had no charm, so he had no "market" for his personality.

But Xiyu immediately understood the terrifying part of it—if this woman obtained someone else's personal belongings, she could either cause harm or learn their identity, which would certainly spell trouble for him.

He sighed inwardly and softly said, "Sorry, I don't trust you."

The words surprised even Xiyu himself, as he had originally planned to make an excuse about worrying about catching a cold, but somehow his true thoughts slipped out without him realizing it.

It seemed that the "honesty" skill card wasn't joking.

But... what kind of power could control the true intentions of a living person?!

Xiyu's amber eyes widened, then quickly turned away to hide his reaction.Yao Channa was, of course, angry. She spat and said, "It's just a broken mask. I thought you were a good person, but don't expect me to help you in the future."

After saying that, she was about to pull her boyfriend to look for the rules.

However, Fang Hao stepped forward to stop her: "Hey, miss, you and your boyfriend are together. If you hide the rules, we wouldn't know... Also, the two brothers from the sports university, you guys are classmates, so separate for now. Otherwise, this whole strategy of monitoring each other in pairs won't be very meaningful."

This was a reasonable point, and no one could argue with it.

Trust among everyone was already fragile, and anyone who showed extreme resistance at this point would only be setting themselves on fire.

So, although Yao Channa pouted in dissatisfaction, she didn’t argue.

In contrast, the two close friends from the sports university were more generous. The slightly shorter one with thick eyebrows and big eyes, He Yingqi, smiled and said, "The teacher has a point. I’ll protect this lady."

"Nana, be safe." Huasheng could only bid farewell to his girlfriend.

Seeing that everyone now had half-formed partnerships, Xiyu thought for a moment, instinctively looking at the most lively and enthusiastic Wu Zhi, who was kindly staying with the injured girl. Then he turned to meet the cold gaze of Luo Xi.

Xiyu had expected Luo Xi to say something mocking, but surprisingly, he simply lowered his hands and said, "Let's go. It's just one hour. How long do you want to discuss?"

"But how do we keep time?" Xiyu asked, concerned.

Luo Xi was not very patient: "Keep time? Wait until the sun fully rises, and then we’ll gather for breakfast."

Fang Hao disagreed, stressing, "The food here might not be safe. Don’t eat anything casually."

However, Luo Xi didn’t seem like someone who would listen to anyone. He ignored Fang Hao completely and walked away with long strides.

Xiyu smiled and quickly followed, leaving behind the swirling vortex of conflict.

At this point, no one would care about the authenticity of the General’s residence anymore. Though Xiyu couldn’t remember playing any game, his mind instinctively knew a lot about games, and he gradually accepted the current situation and reality. Thus, walking through the overgrown courtyard, which still showed traces of past grandeur, he remained calm.

Xiyu glanced around, not wanting to waste the brief opportunity to interact: "Mr. Luo, are you...?"

Luo Xi turned his head, coldly saying, "Don’t ask about my business."

This man had always had a playful bad-boy image, but when he suddenly became serious, he was far more intimidating than the others with bad tempers.

Xiyu looked at him with a pure, innocent expression.Luo Xi turned and gave a wicked smile: "Pretending to be pitiful is useless. I advise you one thing—when you don’t understand anything, silence is golden."

Xiyu nodded.

"Be careful. Someone will call us for breakfast. This kind of game always needs a way to gather the players to make it more interesting." Luo Xi turned and walked away, waving his hand over his shoulder: "I’ll wait for you near the dining hall. We’ll gather and go in together."

"Hey, we agreed to search together," Xiyu couldn't help but stop him.

Luo Xi glanced back: "Which naïve school did you graduate from? I have things to do, and you have things to do. It’s best if we don’t interfere with each other."

With that, he swiftly entered the fog, and it was too late to follow.

Although Xiyu always thought Luo Xi wasn't a good person, he couldn't deny the other’s cleverness and experience. Knowing that what Luo Xi said made sense, Xiyu carefully hid in the bushes, not wanting to be watched or followed. After all, he already had the ability to spy on other people's skills, so it was certain that other identities had even more powerful skills.

In the cursed General's residence, the air was filled with the cold stench of blood and decay, and the lifeless aura was overwhelming.

Among the withered trees and overgrown flower shrubs, there was not even the sound of insects, nor any trace of other life forms, making Xiyu feel extremely oppressed as he walked through.

He found a quiet spot and softly called out, "Hey, Spirit Cat!"

"Why call? If you’re thinking of me, I’ll come to you," the white cat’s voice instantly echoed above him.

Xiyu was startled for a moment, then stepped back and looked up, staring into the white cat's red eyes and asking, "Can you really help me find the skills of other identities?"

The white cat licked its paw. "Of course, but you can only find one per day."

Xiyu’s eyes were serious.

The white cat twitched its whiskers. "So, have you decided? Do you want the Black General’s, the White General’s, or your own duplicate?"

Xiyu said, "I want to know, what skills does an ordinary warrior have?"

The white cat pondered for a moment, then twisted its mouth into a distorted smile. "Interesting..."

Xiyu replied, "After all, there are six warriors, so understanding their abilities is also important."

"You don’t need to explain to me. You’re the heir of my family, and of course, I will follow your request." The white cat paced on the withered tree. "Follow the bushes ahead for about two hundred meters. There’s a collapsed pavilion, and in the rubble, you’ll find the flower card you need."

After giving this information, the white cat nimbly ran off.Xiyu took a deep breath and immediately followed the directions, running quickly in the pointed direction.

Sure enough, in less than twenty minutes, Xiyu found what he was looking for in the ruins of the pavilion.

【Chrysanthemum Cup Card / Samurai Privilege: Samurai identity players can choose either a poison or an antidote on the first night. The poison is colorless and tasteless, and will kill within two minutes. The antidote can neutralize the poison within those two minutes.】

He read it carefully several times and couldn’t help but sweat: it seems that it would be best to avoid eating the meal next.

Also... Fang Hao had just nervously said not to eat freely, could he be a samurai?

After standing up slowly, Xiyu absentmindedly recalled Luo Xi's words—"When you don’t understand anything, silence is golden."

The thing he was most worried about now was the issue of not being able to lie, wasn’t it?

Since there was poison and antidote, perhaps...

The risky thought took shape in Xiyu's mind. He immediately tucked the flower card away and turned to help search for the rules.

The game was designed around Japanese culture, and as the fog began to dissipate, Xiyu successfully found a rule item under a statue near the Qingming Hall. It was a traditional Japanese-style prayer talisman.

【Rule No. 6: The heir player holding the unique item, the Demon Sword, can slay the opposing general.】

He didn’t expect this information to be related to him.

Xiyu stood still, pondering: What is the Demon Sword? Where is it? Does he just need to get the Demon Sword and confirm the Black General's identity, then kill him to escape from here?

But killing... can he really do it?

"Hey. Sorry to keep you waiting."

Suddenly, a strong arm wrapped around Xiyu's shoulder, snapping him back to reality.

It was Luo Xi.

This guy, tall and burly, with a scarred face, had a calm expression.

Xiyu shrugged off Luo Xi’s grip, generously showing him the rule, and asked, "Did you find anything?"

Luo Xi's dark eyes narrowed into slits: "No."This person is most likely a fox spirit, no need for any more words. Xiyu smiled and said, "Then let's go eat breakfast? Someone just came by to remind me."

Luo Xi looked at him with interest.

Xiyu: "?"

Luo Xi: "Do you think I’m an asshole?"

Xiyu immediately replied, "Well, not exactly, but you're probably not a good person either."

The unusually blunt words were forced out, and naturally, there was a moment of regret.

Luckily, Luo Xi wasn’t angry. Instead, he smiled with interest: "You’re right. So, be more careful around me. Let’s go, it’s time to eat."

Before Xiyu could respond, he was forcefully pulled along.

A moment later, the noise and discussions of Wu Zhi, Fang Hao, and others could be heard from behind.

Taking advantage of the thick fog, Xiyu subtly dropped the samurai flower card he had just picked up on the ground, and quickly entered the familiar Qingming Hall.