Infinite Weird Game

In the "Colosseum" copy where Chang Xu and others were, the goat announced new rules.

Outside of the beast fighting game, although players from different teams still cannot attack each other, there are no longer restrictions between players in the same team.

His plan was obvious. He wanted to force the players to kill each other and get enough food by killing their companions.

"The food you deserve has been placed in your respective rooms. I hope you enjoy your meal!" The goat said the same farewell words as on the first day, and walked out of the Colosseum together with the animals that gathered in groups like a tide.

The players stood on the platform and were not in a hurry to return to the room. Instead, they started discussing with each other.

"What does that goat mean?" Lin Ye spoke first, "Since we haven't lost enough people today, it wants us to kill our teammates?"

"No, killing teammates is not the goal." Chu Xun shook his head, "You should all remember the rule that 'teammates cannot lend points to each other'. Only when anyone in the team dies, the team's total points will be accumulated to the surviving person.

"It takes three thousand points to realize a wish, and among our six teams, except for the bottom-ranked Qisi and Nian Fu's team, and Dong Xiwen and Reina Anna's team who just spent their points to buy food, the total points of the other teams have reached more than three thousand."

He paused deliberately, allowing the other players to digest the information in his words and suddenly understand something.

Chu Xun had proposed auctioning off the extra food earlier because he had calculated that Dong Xiwen's team, which ranked second in points, would use up their points to bid for the food.

Regardless of whether Dong Xiwen was coerced into helping Qi Si in the beginning, we should weaken him first to avoid any further complications.

As a result, the forces of Qis's side were all suppressed below the baseline of 3,000 that could realize their wishes, and they were completely trapped in the passive position of life and death.

This is an open conspiracy. As long as Dong Xiwen's team ranks second in total points, they will inevitably fall into the trap.

Chu Xun smiled and continued, "The goat hopes that we can accumulate points by killing each other and realize our wishes. But most of our wishes are outside of the weird game and in reality. What does it have to do with him?

"The only wish in the copy is probably 'kill Zis'. I might as well guess that because Zis lifted the curse of the ratmen, he was afraid that Zis would incite the ratmen to harm him, so he hoped that Zis would really die."

Lenarian stroked his chin and sighed, "Then can I understand that Goat, as an NPC, agrees with us on the matter of killing Qis? If that's the case, then Qi is in dire straits."

No one responded to his compassion.

Although he had previously made it clear that he and Qi Si were not of the same kind, players still preferred to regard him as a Qi Si accomplice similar to Dong Xiwen.

First, it is always right to be cautious; second, in a zero-sum game, someone has to bear the negative benefits so that the interests of others can be guaranteed.

Green pondered, "How can we kill Qisi? He is a ghost who cannot die even if he is stabbed. He will not be judged dead even if his blood is drained. Maybe he can be resurrected."

"Well... I think the priority of the Sphinx's wish-fulfilling mechanism may be much higher than imagined." Lenaan reminded in a low voice, but still no one paid attention to him.

Liu Yuhan had been squatting nearby, bandaging Chang Xu's wound with a roll of bandage. Suddenly, she put down the bandage and walked towards the players who had gathered together.

She opened the notebook in her arms to one page and showed it to all the players: "This is my skill [Ghost Story Notes], which can deduce the answers to puzzles within the scope of the dungeon. Not long ago, it told me: [To kill Qisi, the only way is to make a wish to the Sphinx]."

The black handwriting on the yellowed paper is clear, and the route to pass the customs is already clear.

It was pretty much the same as what the players had previously deduced, that is, using the Sphinx's mechanism of fulfilling wishes to exchange three thousand points for Qis's true death.

Lin Ye looked at Chang Xu who was sitting on the ground not far away: "Among us, Chang Xu should be the only one who wants to 'kill Qi Si', right? Can't we each lend him some points?"

He looked at Chu Xun, then at Green: "Both of you have more than 3,000 points. One has 601 more points, and the other has 300 more points. There's no use for so many points anyway, so just lend them to Chang Xu."

"Not enough." Chu Xun smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Chang Xu's current points are only 1,500. Even if we add 901, it's still not enough for 3,000."

Green also sneered at Lin Ye: "I remember you borrowed points from Chang Xu, right? You can return them to him now, right?"

Players all have selfish motives. After realizing the role of points, peacefully lending points has become a fantasy.

Whether it is to realize their wishes or to maintain a high ranking, each team must ensure that they get as many points as possible.

Nian Fu stood aside with her hands hanging down, listening idly to the players' discussions with their own thoughts.

Qis cannot be judged as dead, so the resources she carries on her body will naturally not be accumulated on her.

She now only has 100 points, a food and three game coins. Even if she uses all the game coins, she still can't get 3,000 points.

In other words, the mechanism of this copy itself is unfair.

On the first day, those who participated in the game as "old players" had to spend points to bid for "new players" as teammates. No matter how many initial points they had, they would become scarce after the auction, less than or equal to one thousand.

The points for "new players" are always one thousand.

Three game coins can only provide 1,500 points. No one can collect 3,000 points through conventional means.

Nian Fu understood that it was inevitable to kill her companions, and the animals were happy to see it happen.

The only breaking point - or "variable" - is Qis, who leaves for a short time and carries the faith of the rat people.

See if he can introduce factors beyond the rules and break these unfair rules.

Therefore, after the other players had conflicts, Nian Fu watched the fun with peace of mind and even breathed a sigh of relief——

“That person” was right, the balance of victory was tilting towards her.

It seems that Qis has really kept a lot of tricks up his sleeve, and the players' current penny-pinching behavior may be within his expectations.

"Let's not rush to make a decision today." Chu Xun raised his hand slightly, attracting all the players to look at him, "The more anxious you are, the easier it is to make mistakes.

"Except for Chang Xu and Lin Ye, no one else among us was injured, and their injuries are not fatal in the short term. We have not yet reached the point where we have to make a choice in order to leave the dungeon as soon as possible." "What do you mean?" Lin Ye spat on the ground at Chu Xun's feet, "You don't feel the pain if the injury is not on you, right?"

He raised his wrist which had been bitten by a snake during his previous fight with the rat man.

There was a circle of purple-black festering around the two blood holes deep enough to see the bones, and grayish-white marble-like lines spread out from the wound, clearly a precursor to petrification.

Perhaps it was because Lin Ye was too excited. Just as he was speaking, the lime spread outward again, completely covering his entire forearm. From a distance, it looked like a plaster cast after an injury.

"Chu Xun and the others don't have to worry. They have enough food and points and can escape at any time. But what about the others?" Lin Ye turned around and pointed at the players around him, "Who among you can guarantee that nothing will go wrong if we are short of food? Maybe everyone who doesn't have enough food will starve to death tonight!"

The players glanced at each other and remained silent.

This is a dead end. Helping Chang Xu collect 3,000 points and fulfilling his desire to kill Qis can certainly help him complete the dungeon before things become irreversible, but this means that everyone else will not be able to find Sphinx to fulfill their desires - the benefits are too low.

What's more, Liu Yuhan and Chang Xu have the same interests, and the information they provide may not be true. Who knows if they will turn against them after getting the points raised for them by the players.

After all, once the points are lent out, they can never be taken back.

Fan Zhanwei suddenly reached out and grabbed Lin Ye's injured hand, squeezed it hard, and made a "crack" sound.

Lin Ye stared at him in confusion: "Dead face, are you sick?"

Fan Zhanwei looked away and made a serious judgment: "I understand. The petrified limbs will lose consciousness. The damage received from the ratmen is different from ordinary damage. It is more in the form of 'pollution' and 'curse'.

"The ratmen are cursed. Other creatures they injure will also be 'infected with the curse'. Once they have strong desires, they will be petrified. It is very simple to fight against such a curse. You just need to suppress your desires."

He pointed at the wounded Chang Xu from afar and said, "Chang Xu's injuries are much more serious than Lin Ye's, but he doesn't show obvious signs of petrification. This is probably because his desires are less than Lin Ye's."

Lin Ye's attention was successfully diverted, and he frowned and said, "Then I just need to think less about my desires from now on? It's that simple?"

He thought of something and touched his cold forearm: "By the way, is there any way to lift this curse? Qisi's blood can lift the curse, so does that mean anyone of you can just give me some blood?"

"That's what I thought, too." Fan Zhanwei nodded, his tone surprisingly gentle, "Let's go back to the room first. I'll try to see if my blood can lift the curse."

As an "accomplice of Qi Si", Dong Xiwen had no right to speak and remained silent from beginning to end out of tact.

Listening to the conversation between Fan Zhanwei and Lin Ye, he felt for no reason that Fan Zhanwei, who was fooling people like this, looked familiar. He seemed to have been fooled by someone like this before...

Well, intellectual players are basically all old perverts, so let’s just observe a moment of silence for Lin Ye.

As the sky gradually darkened, the white temple hanging high above the Colosseum was swallowed up by the darkness, and its shadow merged with the even wider darkness.

Chu Xun said calmly, "It's getting late, let me make it short. It is known that even if all of our game coins are exchanged for points, it will not be able to meet the total demand. Once we fall into the trap of the rules of the beast fighting game, the total income will inevitably be negative.

“Negative returns cannot motivate players, and Goat should be able to think of this. So I guess that tomorrow, a new batch of game coins will be provided to us, and the rules will also change to a certain extent.

"So, my advice is to hold off and make a decision tomorrow based on the specific rules and circumstances. What do you think?"

The players responded one after another, reaching a consensus on the general direction.

Everything that needed to be discussed had been discussed, and saying anything more would only be a waste of time. Everyone gradually dispersed and returned to their respective rooms.

The last stone door closed heavily, and the high platform of the Colosseum finally fell into silence. The last ray of light was swallowed up by the horizon, and darkness completely enveloped the earth.

The second day of the beast fighting game officially ended.

……

"They won't believe Liu Yuhan and Chang Xu."

In a dark space, Qis sat slouched, looking down at his pale fingers.

“They will not believe Liu Yuhan’s deduction in [Strange Stories Notes], but tend to think that it is exaggerating the role of the Sphinx to cheat them of points.

"They also don't believe that Chang Xu will fulfill his wish to kill me as agreed after getting the points. Not everyone can understand why someone would not waver in the face of huge temptations, and why they could obviously get more, but would use the precious opportunity to kill someone who has already left.

"Among a group of selfish idealists, a stubborn fool emerged, and this fool actually thought he could stay out of the situation and only pitifully get the small and insignificant piece of cake he wanted - what a humorous absurd comedy."

Qi Si found it funny and laughed sincerely. But the laughter could not be heard far away and was soon swallowed up by the darkness, with the lingering sound lingering around him.

Qi sat opposite Qisi and pushed the black chess piece two squares diagonally forward: "It seems that you are not completely unsure of winning this game."

"You said, 'Gods are carriers of desires', and I carry their desires. Once I die, they will leave this copy, and all preparations will be destroyed - they don't want me to die."

Qi Si held the white horse chess piece and was not in a hurry to put it down: "The promise of the Sphinx has brought them infinitely close to their desires. They will not be willing to give up this opportunity. Similarly, they do not believe that Chang Xu and Liu Yuhan will give up this opportunity.

"This is a game that requires trust. As long as one person cannot trust Chang Xu, the others will continue to wait and see. If Chang Xu and Liu Yuhan want to kill me, they can only rely on their own strength."

Qi's expression was half-smile: "So, you have arranged everything."

Qisi ignored him and continued to talk to himself: "The goats and the animals who are the audience want me to die. They don't want the rat people who have been the 'tail wolf' for a long time to have a god. They will definitely do their best to strangle the root of the trouble before a bigger turmoil occurs.

"Those who make the rules have the potential to gain the greatest benefits. Chang Xu will be favored by them, and I am destined to die."

"So—are you waiting to die?"

"Yes." Qi Si smiled brightly, "I just hope that the goat can cheat more blatantly and Chang Xu can act faster. After all, what I bet on is never 'immortality', but 'resurrection'." (End of this chapter)