Life Game In Other World
Chapter 410: Solving the Puzzle, The True Game Rules (Long - Please Subscribe, Bookmark, and Vote for Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 410: Chapter 410: Solving the Puzzle, The True Game Rules (Long Chapter Please Subscribe, Bookmark, and Vote for Monthly Tickets)

Westlank International Airport

He Ao followed the Central Earth language signs and headed towards the outside of the airport.

After walking a short distance, he saw a cool black convertible sports car parked in the distance.

A middle-aged man with a neatly dressed jacket and a cigarette in his mouth stood by the roadside, leaning against the car door, lifted his wrist to reveal a pure gold watch, and glanced at the time, seemingly waiting for someone.

His face was as sharp as a knife, with eyebrows like swords and eyes like stars, and his movements naturally exuded an experienced and world-weary sense.

Passersby all cast special glances his way.

A girl with a striking figure ran over and stood in front of him, "Hello..."

"I’m sorry."

The man shook his head.

He shifted his gaze towards someone behind the girl, a youthful-looking man with a fair complexion, who slowly approached.

The girl, seeing his expression, also knew she had failed and awkwardly turned to leave.

"Minister Yang..." He Ao smiled and shrugged his shoulders, "You...seem quite popular."

Yang De looked at him, also slightly dazed, gave He Ao a once-over with some hesitation, and asked, "A mercenary?"

"Mhm," He Ao nodded, took out his phone to open the Research Institute’s app, showed his main interface and waved it lightly, "Just call me He Ao."

"Why did you take off your hood, kiddo?"

Yang De laughed and opened the car door, "Get in."

"After all, it’s my first assignment, isn’t wearing a hood a bit impolite?"

He Ao smiled and got into the car from the other side.

He revealed his identity for two reasons.

First, because his records were actually all stored at the Research Institute, and he was now interacting with the higher-ups there, it was highly probable that someone could access his information.

Yang De had requested to make him the deputy director of the overseas department, and the Research Institute certainly wouldn’t assign such an important position to someone with an unclear background, so his records had likely been examined by the higher decision-makers.

Secrecy is always relative.

Thus, hiding his identity now was not very meaningful; moreover, it would make him appear timid and not very forthcoming.

Rather than waiting for someone to uncover his identity in the future, it was better to take the initiative and control the pace himself, which could also earn him the goodwill of his ’new colleagues.’ His current strength also gave him some risk resistance.

Secondly, after this operation, ’Hao Yi’ was bound to be exposed to the public as the new rising C-level mercenary, especially since both had concealed their identities, it would be inevitable for observant people to link the two.

By making his identity clear here, he could create a definitive scenario with two distinct individuals present at the same event, which would dispel many unrelated speculations.

Although controlling a puppet was a possibility, few were currently aware of this ability, with no related information inside the Research Institute.

This allowed him much flexibility in his operations.

The clearer his openly known identity was, the more obscured his puppet’s identity could remain.

However, there was one thing he hadn’t anticipated: the serious and earnest Yang De from the cruise ship was dressed so flamboyantly in his daily life.

After such a makeover, He Ao felt Yang De looked much more handsome than before.

Indeed, clothes make the man.

"You’ve seen the document too; the next appearance location of the Velora is in the unmanned mountain area next to Westlank. Let’s head back to the hotel first; we’ll take a helicopter there later."

As Yang De drove, he gave He Ao a glance and said, "Although I expected you to be young, I didn’t expect you to be this young. If you go out looking like this, people might think I hired child labor, haha."

He seemed quite pleased, "Later, we’ll go back and you’ll meet the other two colleagues from the overseas department."

Before He Ao joined, there were a total of two deputy directors in the overseas department, one was the ’Ascetic’ Wu Lan, and the other was the ’Wanderer Hero’ Ji Po, both C-levels.

With He Ao, the overseas department now had a total of four C-levels, the most C-levels in any department within the entire Research Institute.

The two quickly returned to the hotel, where Yang De had booked a presidential suite on the top floor. As soon as he pushed the door open, a figure with red hair rushed over,

"Wow, this little brother can’t be our new deputy director, can he?! Come, let big sister give you a hug."

The woman reached out to press He Ao’s head into her embrace, but He Ao stepped back half a step, causing her to miss her mark.

He wasn’t used to socializing, especially with this kind of overly familiar interaction.

Long-term solitary living had made him resistant to unexpected enthusiasm, for it often came from child traffickers when he was young, or from swindlers and salespeople as he grew older.

As He Ao darted away, a huge fist came flying through the air from the direction he had dodged. He casually parried the fist, then took half a step forward, his legs slightly bent, leaning in front of the owner of the fist, and with a gentle bump, sent the assailant flying backward.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

The red-haired woman stumbled and nearly tumbled down the corridor, but was steadied by Yang De’s outstretched hand, while the man who had swung the punch hit the wall and collapsed onto the floor.

"Not bad!"

The man raised a thumbs up as he slowly stood up.

"Old Yang, you’ve found yourself a gem."

The red-haired woman also came back chuckling, walked up to He Ao, and extended her hand, "Wu Lan."

"He Ao."

He Ao shook her hand.

Both of them had been gentle with their moves; they were just testing He Ao’s skills. So, the retaliation He Ao gave them was also light, stopping just short of causing any harm; neither of them were injured.

"Ji Po."

The man who had been sent flying came over as well.

At this moment, He Ao suddenly noticed that Wu Lan had been holding onto his hand for quite a while without letting go.

His fingers slightly stirred, and like a silent serpent, he quietly freed his hand from Wu Lan’s grip, and then very naturally shook hands with Ji Po.

"Let’s go inside."

Yang De closed the door behind them.

"Rejected by a handsome young man, huh."

Wu Lan waved her hand dismissively and walked into the living room.

Ji Po, standing next to He Ao, chuckled, "That’s just how she is. She’s not a bad person. Over thirty, sitting on the ground to absorb Qi; it’s like this, you’ll get used to it."

He Ao nodded in understanding.

The leading Wu Lan suddenly turned around, her expression cold, "Muscle man, who did you say is thirty?"

Wu Lan was well-maintained; her skin was smooth and fair, and her features were refined and beautiful, the kind that could play the lead role in a movie.

Although her demeanor had matured, her mature and charming allure was even more captivating.

Facing Wu Lan’s interrogation, Ji Po shrank his head, ready to pretend nothing had happened.

At that moment, Wu Lan’s gaze turned to He Ao, revealing a seductive smile, "Little brother He Ao, how old do you think I look?"

He Ao, expressionless, "Eighteen."

The leading Yang De turned his head back with a hint of surprise.

This kid, he’s kind of sneakily bad.

"Ji Po, look at how our young brother He Ao here talks... even at his age, he speaks better than you..."

Wu Lan angrily rolled up her sleeves.

Seeing the situation turning sour, Ji Po decisively ran off.

Wu Lan chased after him.

He Ao quietly watched their playful banter.

These new colleagues... seem not too bad?

...

Their playfight didn’t last long, and soon Yang De took them in a helicopter to the mountains in the suburbs.

Westlank was close to Central Earth and within the sphere of influence of the Research Institute. The mission this time involved a higher level of operation. To avoid casualties, Yang De had not arranged for regular staff to come.

"This is the Ring of Deception," Yang De took out a bracelet, "If you stand within twenty meters of this bracelet, any Qi below C-level will be concealed and made to appear like a common person’s. C-level will be concealed by half. That should be enough for us."

"This is called the Void Tent," he then took out four tent pegs and distributed them among everyone,

"If you nail these into fixed positions, they will create an enclosed space in the shape of a tent between the four pegs. It should be able to hold the Velora, but the stronger the energy inside, the more physical and mental effort required to nail them down. So there could be danger when we do this, be careful. We just have to hold out until the council arrives."

The position, it seems, is that of a C-level executive at the Research Institute.

He Ao took over the tent pegs from the Void Tent, the Research Institute really did have a lot of good stuff.

Yang De had arranged positions for them, then handed each person a miniature walkie-talkie earpiece.

He Ao was amidst a clump of grass, and he also got a pair of binoculars.

The place they were ambushing was very far from where the Velora might emerge from the tunnel; it would take some time to walk there.

But the terrain here was most suitable for an ambush.

"The car is coming."

Yang De’s voice came through the earpiece.

He Ao raised the binoculars to look into the distance, this was his first time seeing Velora emerge from the "tunnel."

The front of the car slowly protruded from void, followed by the rest of the vehicle, as though it truly was emerging from some "tunnel."

----

Inside the Velora.

He Ao reached his hand out to slide the compartment door open.

The sunlight outside the windows was extremely intense, the mountains beneath the burning sun looked exceptionally beautiful.

It had to be said, this car really knew how to pick its spots.

This time driving, He Ao didn’t see the little head popping out next to him, door number 6 slowly opened, Luo Luo stepped out from the compartment, hesitantly peeked out, and looked towards the neighboring compartment.

Door number 4 was open, but no one came out from inside.

He Ao walked over, slowly pushing the door open.

Lin Chichi lay on the small bed, clutching a drawing board without any writing on it.

Her eyes were closed tight, her body bore no wounds, as though she had fallen into a deep sleep.

"You..."

Luo Luo stood by He Ao’s side, staring blankly at Lin Chichi, unable to utter a word at that moment.

Jin Ya also came over at that moment, looking at Lin Chichi, she too briefly fell silent.

Lin Chichi’s body gradually sank down.

Now, only three passengers were left.

"Chichi, she..."

Luo Luo looked at He Ao, hesitated for a moment, and parted her lips slightly.

"Call the steward, the game is over,"

He Ao said slowly.

"Ah?"

Luo Luo was startled, but she ultimately followed He Ao’s instruction and called the steward.

"Hello, can I help you with anything?"

The steward came over with a smile.

"Could you please open the door to compartment number seven?"

Luo Luo glanced at He Ao and said softly.

The steward walked over slowly and opened the door to the seventh compartment, revealing the dark vortex to everyone.

Luo Luo looked towards He Ao.

This time, they had to vote someone off.

With only three passengers left, if the murderer was among them, they had to find the murderer this time, or the next time they emerged from the tunnel, there would be only two people left. Two people can’t vote, and then the next time the tunnel is reached, the murderer could kill the last person and win.

Of course, if they voted wrong this time, the game would also be over.

"So, is it time to vote?"

Jin Ya glanced at He Ao and asked in a low voice.

"Mm."

He Ao nodded lightly.

The flight attendant stepped aside, seemingly waiting for the three of them to vote.

"Where should I start?"

He Ao looked at Luo Luo and Jin Ya and began to speak slowly in two languages, "Let’s start with the hidden game rules of this car."

"This car tells us, ’There is a murderer among us.’ This sentence implies that there is only one murderer. It’s a ’manhunt’ game—we just need to find the murderer hiding among us."

As he said this, He Ao laughed,

"But this game is actually not a ’manhunt’ game, it’s a faction confrontation game. In the beginning, all the ’good people’ fell into a logical trap, that is, ’there is only one enemy.’ Aside from that one enemy, the rest of us are good people.

However, the game doesn’t tell us whether the murderer has ’accomplices’."

Hearing this, Luo Luo was startled, she stared at He Ao blankly, "Is the car deceiving us?"

"It’s a slaughter game prepared by the car in the first place. Getting a bunch of bad people to kill is much easier than making a bunch of good people break through their psychological defenses."

He Ao shrugged, "The car’s selection of ’good people’ and ’bad people’ might not be random. It might indeed have chosen some real ’bad people’ and then gave them the identities of the bad."

He continued, "I couldn’t understand Ruoti’s actions before, why he targeted me, why he hinted that he knew who the ’killer’ was, why he was so confident to leave the compartment, walk to the dining car, until I got through this layer."

Luo Luo: "You mean, Ruoti is an accomplice? He has been covering for the murderer this whole time? But why would the murderer..."

"Why would the murderer kill him?" He Ao laughed and continued her sentence, "I think the murderer might have killed the wrong person."

"Ah?"

Luo Luo was startled.

He Ao didn’t delve further into this topic and instead continued,

"After realizing this, many questions actually became clear. The confrontation between two different factions means the ’props’ distributed are naturally different.

"The ’good people’ faction got more protective props and props for guessing because their victory condition is to find the murderer.

"The murderer’s faction, on the other hand, is more oriented towards actions in the tunnels, so why did passenger number five die in the corridor? He wasn’t dragged out, but walked out on his own."

Jin Ya seemed to immerse herself in He Ao’s analysis and whispered, "But knowing these doesn’t seem to help find out who the murderer is."

"Yes,"

He Ao nodded, "Knowing these still can’t deduce the specific identity of the murderer, but it changed the way I think about this game. In the murderer’s faction, not everyone can leave their compartment.

"Take Ruoti, for instance, before his death, we never heard him leaving his compartment. So, I’m leaning towards him not lying—his ability was to guess who the ’killer’ was to some extent."

Luo Luo: "But if he is an accomplice, why doesn’t he know who the killer is?"

"That’s what’s fascinating about this game," He Ao laughed,

"It’s fair in a sense. If the killer and accomplice knew each other, it would lead to a one-sided massacre. The good people would quickly be killed or voted out by them, and it wouldn’t tempt the ’good people’ to join in this crazy game of slaughter.

"So the accomplice knows of the murderer’s existence, and the murderer may also have some knowledge of the accomplice’s existence, but they don’t know who each other are. Of course, this leads to interesting results like now, the murderer killed the ’accomplice’."

"Ah?!!!"

Luo Luo felt herself getting more and more confused.

Jin Ya also opened her mouth slightly in shock.

"Now let’s get back to the main point," He Ao smiled as he looked at Luo Luo, "If Ruoti didn’t have the ability to walk in the hallway, but he left his compartment on the occasion of his death, it indicates that he received a ’prop’ that allowed him to walk in the hallway.

This suggests two points. First, props can be transferred to others, and second, this prop came from someone who could move in the hallway."

Luo Luo: "The first passenger to be killed, number five?"

"That’s possible, but more likely, it’s another deceased we haven’t discovered."

He Ao smiled at Luo Luo, "When we passed through the tunnel the second time, it wasn’t without deceased; it’s just that the deceased was not discovered."

Luo Luo looked around in confusion, everyone was alive, and all the deceased had been seen.

He Ao paused, then said slowly, "The Chef"