Life Game In Other World
Chapter 403: The Game (Long - Please Subscribe, Bookmark, and Vote for Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 403: Chapter 403: The Game (Long Chapter Please Subscribe, Bookmark, and Vote for Monthly Tickets)

Hmm?

He Ao slowly lowered his head.

The first thing that caught his eyes was a black forehead, hmm, it seemed to have thinning hair.

Below the forehead was a round face with two small dimples, pink and puffy and adorable.

At the moment, the owner of the face was pouting, her cheeks flushed as she glared at He Ao, and from between her clenched teeth, two tiny canine teeth peeked out.

"You think being tall is impressive? Is the air up there fresher or something?!"

"Indeed,"

He Ao took a deep breath, "it does seem a bit fresher."

"Wow, you’re insufferable, you know someone’s gonna knock you out one day for talking like that!"

Standing in front of He Ao was a ’little girl’ not so tall, dressed in cool overalls—a meter fifty at most in shoes.

"Wow, this little sister is so cute."

At that moment Lin Chichi also walked over, crouched beside He Ao, trying to make eye contact with the little girl.

"You’re the little sister!" the ’little girl’ was so agitated her hair almost stood on end, "I’m almost thirty!!!"

With that, she pulled out an ID card from her jeans, "Look, I’m thirty."

Lin Chichi was taken aback; she didn’t expect the girl in front of her to produce an ID to prove her age.

Judging by the ’little girl’s’ adeptness, it seemed she was used to doing this.

She took the ID that the ’little girl’ handed over with both hands.

Right then, He Ao also glanced at the content on the ID.

Luo Luo, May 8, 2751, Pingle District, Beidu City.

"Born in ’51, and it’s ’80 this year, you’re only 20, sis."

Lin Chichi looked at the information on the ID and said sweetly.

"You have such a sweet mouth, little girl."

Luo Luo showed a cute smile and then gave He Ao a nasty look, naturally taking back her ID from Lin Chichi’s hand.

Although she spoke in a mature way, paired with her cute face, it felt more like she was playing ’house’ imitating adults.

While dimples and a round face are traits that make one look younger, it was impossible for a twenty-nine-year-old to have such delicate skin.

The last time He Ao saw such good skin was on Elijah.

That was a B-level Transcendent, about to become an Angel.

The ’Luo Luo’ in front of him maintaining such a physique probably was under the influence of a Transcendent item, and thus she could be a Transcendent herself.

Sure enough, just as He Ao thought this, he heard Luo Luo speak in an old-fashioned manner,

"This train is abnormal. Are you two from Central Earth? How did you get on board?"

She fumbled in her pocket, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, then glanced at Lin Chichi beside her, and put them back.

By this time, the train had started moving again, and the scenery outside the window slowly receded.

······

When Luo Luo asked this question, half a world away, the real He Ao pulled out his phone and searched for the name ’Luo Luo.’

Generally, formal researchers at the Research Institute are registered under their real names, while most Special Appointed Researchers opt for anonymity.

Of course, only a few people in the ministerial positions and above have the permission to search by real name, and He Ao was one of those few.

Soon, a profile card popped up.

Luo Luo, codename ’Sword Dancer,’ admitted to the Beidu branch, D-level, currently the captain of the Research Institute’s overseas subsidiary team 18, on leave.

······

Actually, He Ao wasn’t very clear about the organization structure of the Institute’s overseas branch, to be precise, he had never looked into it, as he had officially joined the overseas branch just a few days ago.

But the deputy minister seems to be one of the top officials of the overseas branch, right?

So, in some sense, this ’not so tall sister’ was his subordinate?

The girl was rather unfortunate to be forced to work overtime during her vacation.

It seemed that Minister Yang had not announced the details of this abnormal train to the researchers of the overseas branch. That made sense, since it was a B-level Transcendent item, which likely involved some secrecy regulations.

Moreover, knowing about this item’s existence would inadvertently associate the ordinary researchers with it.

Knowledge in itself carries contamination.

However, despite that, when Luo Luo discovered the special Transcendent item, she should have reported it to the Research Institute first, as per the protocol, and not acted recklessly.

While He Ao was pondering, Lin Chichi raised her head and looked at him, seeming to ask for his opinion in response to Luo Luo’s recent question.

He Ao nodded lightly, signaling his assent.

So Lin Chichi briefly shared her recent discovery with Luo Luo, and gave a simple introduction of herself and He Ao.

And just after Lin Chichi finished speaking, He Ao looked at Luo Luo and asked softly, "How did you discover this car, and why did you get on?"

"I was in the woods," Luo Luo shook her head, "I saw a car coming from afar, and I was so captivated that I walked up to it for no apparent reason."

"Me too," Lin Chichi added, "I was admiring the view, and then the car stopped in front of me, so I got on."

It seemed as though the car was inducing ’passengers’ to board.

Similar to how carnivorous plants emit a special fragrance to lure prey into their trap.

He Ao turned his head and asked Jin Ya in Tia language how she had gotten on the car.

"It seems the car stopped in front of me too, and the conductor invited me, so I just got on," Jin Ya paused, then slowly answered.

"I knew there was something wrong with this car,"

Luo Luo clapped her hands, looking at He Ao and Lin Chichi, "Are all of you from Central Earth? Don’t worry, I’ll get you out of here."

She tried to stand up straight, attempting to appear dependable.

"So cute!"

Jin Ya couldn’t understand Central Earth language. Seeing Luo Luo’s demeanor, she reached out to pinch Luo Luo’s plump cheeks, pulled her into her embrace, and began to knead them. While kneading, she also turned her head to look at He Ao,

"Hao Yi, what’s this little sister’s name? She’s so cute, how old is she? Is she in middle school yet?"

Luo Luo, caught off guard by the full-on facial impact, buried her head completely, struggling to get up, she looked at He Ao, "Quick, Hao Yi, I’m not good with Tia language, tell her to get off, or I might not control my strength and hurt her."

Her little face was flushed red as she tried to keep a straight face, only to have Jin Ya, muttering ’so cute,’ reach out and pinch her cheeks again.

Lin Chichi turned her head away, visibly, she too wanted to pinch Luo Luo’s cheeks.

"Her name is Luo Luo."

He Ao tried to stay serious, just about to tell Jin Ya that this ’little sister’ wasn’t quite comfortable with such ’warmth,’ when out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed the previously closed door of compartment number one had opened a crack.

Behind the door were bloodshot eyes, full of blood vessels.

The eyes looked at He Ao, retreated slightly, and closed the compartment door.

As the door of compartment one snapped shut, the shrill alarm sounded once more, followed by the conductor’s voice,

"The train is about to enter the tunnel; please return to your compartments."

After this announcement, Luo Luo finally was released from Jin Ya’s embrace, looking somewhat dazed at He Ao, "So, are we entering ’the tunnel’ now?"

"Yes,"

He Ao nodded gently, glancing at the number ’6’ on Luo Luo’s door plate. If the passenger count here was now complete, something special might happen,

"This time entering the tunnel could be different. Everyone be careful and search your rooms when we enter, and pay attention to your safety."

"Alright."

Lin Chichi nodded softly.

"Okay!"

Luo Luo, standing at the doorway of her room, also nodded her head.

As she was nodding, she suddenly noticed something was amiss, "Hey, aren’t you supposed to listen to me? I’m going to get us out of here!"

Looking up, the three people in front of her had already left.

As He Ao walked back to his own compartment, he repeated in Tia language to Jin Ya what he had said.

"Okay."

Jin Ya nodded, too.

After everyone had returned to their compartments, a staggering figure limped over from the dining car. Peeking around, he noticed everyone had gone in, then carefully entered the carriage.

The conductor stood by his side, smiling gently, "Hello, please return to your compartment quickly. The train is about to enter the tunnel."

The man looked up at him.

Smack—

He raised his hand and slapped the conductor, "Why the hell do you think you need to teach me? I’ll enter if I want to."

The conductor didn’t say anything but maintained his gentle smile and repeated softly, "Hello, please return to your compartment quickly. The train is about to enter the tunnel."

"Damn dog,"

Seeing the conductor unchanged, the man spat and slowly made his way to the compartment door, swiping it open with a beep, "What a junk train, full of trash people. I’m getting off at the next stop."

Just then, he felt the floor beneath him seemed to squirm, and a rustling sound came from above.

He looked up, only to see the originally tidy ceiling slowly undulating irregularly.

Noticing the man’s gaze, the undulations began to coalesce, slowly forming a large ’face’ with only a mouth and eyes.

Then the "human face" slowly cracked a smile at the man.

"Ghosts!!!"

The man’s legs trembled, and he pushed open the compartment door in front of him, tumbling into the compartment.

Squeak—

The bright compartment door slowly swayed, inching shut until it finally closed with a ’click’.

The view outside the window quickly dimmed, plunging the entire corridor into darkness.

Click—

A soft sound emanated from the writhing darkness of the corridor, seemingly the noise of a compartment door being opened.

—

He Ao turned on the compartment light and glanced back at the countdown on the compartment door.

This time, the shortest hand pointed at 4, marking 4 hours left.

The previous two times it had been half an hour,

He Ao lifted his head, his gaze sweeping over the entire compartment.

Something seemed to have changed.

He first went over to the small tea table, opened the drawer, took out the folded card, and slowly unfolded it.

What was once blank now displayed a line of blood-red text.

[A murderer is among us.]

[I must find him, or we will all die.]

A murderer?

’We’ refers to the passengers, doesn’t it?

So is this card, in a sense, an identity card?

’I’ am the one being chased by the murderer.

’My’ task is to find this murderer?

More precisely, to find the murderer before being killed by them.

What is this, a game?

Is this train forcing the lured passengers to complete some kind of ’murder game’?

Is this murderer an ’NPC’ created by the train, or a player chosen from the lured passengers?

He Ao’s gaze returned to the card.

The ’murderer’ has infiltrated ’our’ ranks.

This means that, whether an NPC or a living person, the murderer is now among the passengers on this train.

This is the ’game’ for the last two carriages of this train.

Does this imply that only the winner of the game can move on to the carriages ahead?

And then, is the murderer truly killing people, or just symbolically eliminating people from the game?

Considering the situation on this train, the former is likely more probable.

There are Transcendents on this train, yet the murderer might not be one, which means they must have a Prop capable of ’killing.’

What about ’me’? Do I possess any Prop to protect myself?

He Ao put down the card in his hand.

In a Transcendent world, if it’s about playing a game, there must be some sort of Prop with Transcendent powers on this train to maintain fairness.

To give ordinary people the ability to ’resist’ Transcendents.

He Ao pondered for a moment, then walked over to the shelf next to him.

Since the blank card had already changed, the blank notebook on the shelf should also show some changes.

He Ao flipped through the notebook.

As he suspected, contents had already appeared within.

It seemed to be someone’s diary.

The diary detailed how a man’s family had suffered from a curse for generations, cursing every member to die violently upon reaching the age of thirty-five.

In an attempt to change his own fate and that of his children’s, the man traveled thousands of miles, sought out every Taoist Temple and monastery he could find, pleaded with countless individuals, tried innumerable methods, but was ultimately unable to break the Curse.

Finally, as he neared thirty-five years old, the man took shelter in a dilapidated Taoist Temple, where he met a blind Taoist.

The Taoist said the man was carrying a curse from a demon god,

and taught him a life-saving Array, but this Array had to be inscribed upon the leaves of silver mulberry trees that grew by the edge of the Sea of Tao End.

Using this Array, one could deceive the demon god and avoid death at thirty-five.

However, even though one would not die, they would fall into a deep slumber.

As time passed, the slumbering body would age, and unless his descendants could break the curse before his body completely perished, he could awaken from the slumber.

The man who left the notes never found the Sea of Tao End; he died abruptly at the age of thirty-five.

At the end of the notes, there appeared handwriting that was completely different from the beginning.

The person making the marks claimed to be the grandson of the original note-taker, and he had found the Sea of Tao End, bringing back a seed of the silver elm.

Silver elm...

He Ao thought for a moment, then took out the golden mulberry leaf he had found earlier in a pocket of his pajamas.

At this moment, vivid red patterns were slowly emerging on the leaf.

Eventually, these patterns intertwined, forming a twisted and complex Array.

This must be the silver elm leaf mentioned in the notes, along with the Array inscribed on it.

So, this was the prop he had acquired?

He Ao gazed at the mulberry leaf.

From the content of the notes, the function of this leaf seemed to be that of a charm for protection.

He Ao briefly allowed his main consciousness to descend upon this clone, then activated Super Memory to memorize the Array.

He didn’t know whether the Array would be useful, but memorizing it couldn’t hurt.

——

After memorizing the Array, He Ao’s consciousness returned to his main body in Xidu.

He took out his phone, summarized what he had seen and heard on the Velora, and then selected some information he could share, sending it to Minister Yang under the guise of ’speculation’.

——

On a tranquil sea surface stood an island shaped like a crescent moon, and at the very center of this Crescent Moon Island there was a tarn, also shaped like a crescent moon.

The brilliant moonlight and the glow of stars intermingled, reflecting on the surface of the tarn, creating a breathtaking sight.

"This car really knows how to find a place."

A woman with burgundy hair and a curvy figure squatted by the tarn, took out her phone, and prepared to take a photo.

"Indeed,"

not far from her, a muscular man bulging with muscles and wearing a plain white tank top looked around, "If it wasn’t for the premonition indicating this island, I wouldn’t have known of such a place."

"Stay alert, according to the schedule, that car is about to arrive soon."

Standing across the tarn, a man in a black leather jacket spoke lowly and softly.

"Old Yang, are you sure that the three of us can stop that B-level car?"

The brawny man asked in a lowered voice, his tone serious.

"We’re just testing how many people can entangle the car; a Director will take action when the time comes."

The man in black leather was none other than Minister Yang, and as his words fell, the phone in his pocket vibrated.

He took out the phone; it displayed a message.

[Mercenary: Minister Yang, based on the data, it seems that the Velora can sense life forces, and if it detects a particularly strong Qi, it might flee directly. If you have a Transcendent Prop that can suppress your Qi, try using it; it may fool it.]

"Who sent it?"

The redhead flashed to Minister Yang’s side in an instant, peeked at the phone, "Isn’t that our new Deputy Minister? I heard he took down a C-level and repelled another C-level one against two. When can you introduce him to us?"

"The kid is wary and doesn’t like showing his face,"

Minister Yang laughed and shook his head.

"Ah, why are the little brothers nowadays so not cute? Am I going to eat him up or something?"

The redhead yawned.

"Old Yang, honestly, you need to communicate more with him. We’re going to fight together in the future. If we don’t even know his true face, it’s hard to trust each other."

The muscular man also spoke up seriously.

"The kid is smart," Minister Yang shook his head, "He’ll reveal himself when he thinks it’s time. Just wait and see."

"Old Yang, do you think his guess is right?"

The redhead asked suddenly, looking at the dark sea in the distance.

"Don’t know," Minister Yang’s expression turned serious, "Theoretically, it makes sense, but a B-level train shouldn’t be scared off by three C-levels like us. The Directors up top also think our person-power should be sufficient."

"Oh."

The redhead suddenly lifted her phone, "Then do you think the time has already passed?"