It's a hell game, who can still be a human being?

Chapter 688 Liu Zheng: I invented the perpetual motion machine
Liu Zheng followed the sea woman to the second floor.

This time there was only one wooden door, with an inverted pentagram pattern carved on it, just like the one the Scarlet Witch had imprinted on his tentacles.

Are there any hints?

Liu Zheng asked the sea woman.

"Yes. Some board games give you the opportunity to choose an advantage. In this case, you must choose a specific advantage and not choose random, even if there are many random advantages."

The female diver said.

"Okay, I remember."

He nodded and pushed open the wooden door.

Inside the door was a huge, horizontally placed crucible filled with colorful liquids.

The fluids spun rapidly after he pushed open the door, forming a glowing vortex that sucked him in.

"Besides! Besides! Besides!"

Liu Zheng was plunged into darkness, but he could hear the sound of a train starting up and felt a strong vibration beneath his feet.

"Welcome to the Kill Train."

A young girl's voice rang in his ear.

"Please select one of the three advantages or randomly select three advantages."

"I choose to select one of the three advantages."

He followed the sea woman's advice.

Please choose one of the following three advantages.

"A: Randomly obtain a rare relic."

"B: Choose 10 cards from the 30 cards as the initial deck."

"C: The first three enemies we encountered only had one point of health."

"A card game."

Liu Zheng's spirits lifted.

If you let him play this, he won't be sleepy anymore.

Besides martial arts games, he plays card games the most.

Based on his experience, Liu Zheng immediately ruled out option A.

Generally speaking, a card game will have many different playstyles, and rare relics are usually the core of a certain playstyle.

If he gets a relic of a certain archetype but not the deck of that archetype, then that advantage is wasted.

Conversely, options B and C are both very practical advantages.

Option B allows Liu Zheng to have a powerful and well-functioning deck early on, making him more targeted in choosing cards and relics later on.

Option C is even simpler and more direct, allowing him to lie flat in the early stages.

After much deliberation, Liu Zheng made a decision.

"I choose B."

He said.

In card games, deck building is ultimately the most important thing.

Furthermore, he can roughly deduce the game's style from the 30 cards.

Please select 10 cards from the following decks as your starting deck.

As the girl's voice rang out, rows of cards appeared before Liu Zheng's eyes.

He looked at the first card, which depicted a person in a short robe with clenched fists at his waist, his face flushed, and boundless flames behind him.

Although her face is not clearly visible and she has no secondary sexual characteristics, judging from her figure and hair, she should be a woman.

"Rage: Lose 2 health points, gain 1 energy point, and enter a state of rage. Costs 1 energy point."

"Rage state: Attacks deal double damage, and attacks received deal double damage."

"take!"

He chose this card without hesitation.

As we all know, the best defense is a good offense.

If I can finish a round in one second, I don't need a defense.

Of course, the main reason is that you can change your selection before you've chosen all 10 cards.

The second card still features the same person in the short robe on the cover, but this time she is in a defensive stance with her hands raised, while the staff that serves as her weapon is stuck in the ground.

"Strike with all your might: Discard all attack cards in your hand. Each card discarded increases your defense by 6 points. Costs 1 energy."

Liu Zheng glanced at the card and then ignored it.

It's not that you can't take it, but let's check the stats of the other defensive cards first.

The third card has an incense burner on the cover, from which purple smoke is billowing out.

"Incense Burning: Randomly gain a skill card. This skill card costs 0 energy this turn and is removed from the battle after use. Costs 1 energy."

These kinds of cards are usually just icing on the cake, so we'll skip them.

The fourth card features a woman in a short robe holding a stick in front of her, while her head is turned to the other side.

"Defend: Gain 5 points of defense."

"Hmm, this should be the most basic defensive card."

Judging from this card, the previous "Resist with All Your Might" card was still worth taking.

The fifth card features a person in a short robe sitting cross-legged, their body suspended in mid-air.

"Meditation: Enter a state of tranquility. If already in a state of tranquility, draw two cards. Costs 1 energy."

"Tranquil state: Gain 2 energy points when exiting the tranquil state."

"Adding fees and license plate fees is not bad; it's on my shortlist."

Liu Zheng nodded and looked at the next page.

The sixth card features a figure in a short robe with her back to numerous attacks, all of which are blocked by the phantom of her hand.

"Flawless (Ability): If you are in a calm state at the end of the turn, gain 5 block points. After use, you will be banished for the rest of the battle. Costs 1 energy."

"Ability cards: The effects of ability cards persist after the end of the turn."

It has the same stats as the basic defense cards, but with prerequisites, so even dogs won't take it.

He skipped over it and looked at the next one.

The seventh card features a short-robed figure unleashing countless punches on the left side of the cover, while on the right are various slime-like monsters being sent flying by her attacks.

"Random Punches: Deals 3 points of damage to the enemy 3 times. If the enemy is enraged, it becomes an area-of-effect attack. Costs 1 energy point."

Awesome!
It boasts impressive area-of-effect damage, even multi-hit attacks, and requires only 1 point of energy.

Liu Zheng knew without even looking at the cards behind him that this was definitely one of the core attack cards.

He made his selection and then looked at the next one.

The eighth card features a blood-soaked man in a short robe beating up a bird-like monster.

Although his face was still not clearly visible, the man in the short robe seemed to have a slight smile on his lips.

"Vent your anger: Deal 8 damage to the enemy. If you have taken damage this turn, enter a calm state. Costs 1 energy."

The damage buff is decent, and it can form a combo with the first card, "Rage of the Heart".

But if that's the case, wouldn't it mean that he hurt himself, got angry, and then vented his anger by beating others?
It's kind of weird when you think about it.

"I like."

Liu Zheng smiled the same way and looked at the next card.

The ninth card features a robed figure placing his hand on the head of a masked humanoid monster, whose eyes glow purple.

"Enchantment: Causes the enemy's next attack to deal damage to other enemies. Cannot be used when there is only one enemy, and cannot be used against boss enemies. Costs 2 energy points."

"This card"

He was lost in thought.

In some ways, this card is both offensive and defensive, and it is particularly effective against enemies with high attack and low health.

However, the usage conditions are quite demanding, and the energy consumption of 2 points is not low.

"Let's have a backup plan first."

Liu Zheng shook his head and looked at the next card.

The tenth card features a figure in a short robe covering their head with their hands, their body covered in wounds. "Endurance (Ability): Each time you take damage, inflict a stack of Vulnerability on the enemy who dealt the damage. This stack is then removed from the party for the remainder of the battle. Costs 2 Energy."

"Vulnerable: Takes double damage from attacks, and loses one stack at the end of each turn."

Purely humorous.

The quadruple damage in the enraged state seems appealing, but the problem is that if you go for a critical damage build, the enemy won't have a chance to deal any damage, and if you go for a defensive counter-attack build, the enemy still won't be able to deal any damage.

Even if you intentionally get injured, it won't take effect until the second round, and it costs 2 energy points, making it a card that purely slows down the game.

He skipped over it and looked at the next one.

The eleventh card features a man in a short robe reading a book while hitting a giant slime with a stick.

"Diligent Practice: Deals 10 damage to the enemy. If the enemy is killed, randomly upgrades one card in your deck. After use, it is banished for the remainder of the battle. Costs 2 energy."
"Great hand!"

Liu Zheng's eyes lit up.

Getting a free upgrade is already pretty good, but getting it right at the start of the game is simply divine.

The effect of being banished after use is actually a positive thing in a way, because it can clean up the deck.

"I've taken it."

He made his choice without hesitation and then looked at the next one.

The twelfth card is another one called "Random Punches."

Should we take it or not?

Liu Zheng hesitated for a while.

Theoretically, he could take two more of these low-cost, high-damage area-of-effect cards, but he personally doesn't like taking duplicates.

"Let's have a backup plan first."

He looked at the next one.

The thirteenth card is also a duplicate, a basic defensive card called "Block".

There's no need to hesitate about this debt; let's skip it.

Liu Zheng looked at seven more cards in a row, but they were either duplicates or useless, so he skipped them all.

On the twenty-first cover, a person in a short robe stands holding a stick, half of his face red and half blue.

The scene is half fire and half ice.

"Two-in-One: If in a state of anger, enter a state of calm; if in a state of calm, enter a state of anger. Costs 1 energy point."

"Good cards."

Seeing this, he roughly figured out that this deck was based on the two states of "rage" and "calm".

"Rage" deals damage, while "Calm" increases mana cost and reduces damage.

If the state switching cannot keep up, not only will the output not be able to be achieved, but the player will also face huge damage.

In situations like these, the "Two-in-One" card, which allows for flexible switching of states, becomes extremely important.

"Selected, selected."

Liu Zheng looked at the next card.

The twenty-second card features a figure in a short robe flying into the air, radiating purple light, while countless purple lightning bolts erupt from the sky.

"Ultimate Ascension: Enters demigod state; if the battle is not won by the end of the round, the player dies."

"Demigod state: Gain 3 energy points, attacks deal 3 times the damage."

"wild!"

The attack deals 3 times the damage, and if you add the vulnerability debuff, it's 6 times the damage. I doubt even this boss could withstand that.
As for the instant death side effect, it's really not a big deal. You can just not use it if you can't kill the enemy in one turn.

Unfortunately, this card cannot be comboed with "Random Fists," otherwise the 3x damage area-of-effect attack would be unstoppable.

"Take it first and we'll talk about it later."

Liu Zheng looked at the next page.

The twenty-third card features a short-robed figure sitting on the corpse of an ugly little monster, holding a stick in one hand and resting his chin on his other hand in a thoughtful pose, with a golden question mark above his head.

"Thoughtful: Exit the current state, draw two cards, and consume 1 energy point."

"Another pass."

It's not that we can't take it; let's keep it as a backup option for now.

He looked at the next one.

The twenty-fourth card features a short-robed figure plunging a broken club into the body of a crowned, armored figure, with the broken part piercing through her own chest.

"Heaven and Earth Together: Deals 30 damage to the enemy and 10 damage to yourself, costs 3 energy."

Pure numerical values, ultimate output.

In the enraged state, one can deal 60 damage in one hit; if in the demigod state with vulnerability added, one hit can deal 120 damage.

Judging from the stats of the other cards, they should be able to kill any boss instantly.

It's a bit harsh to deal 10 points of damage to yourself. If you're in a rage state, you can deal 20 points of damage to yourself in one hit, while your base defense card only adds 5 points of defense.

"Let's have an alternative."

Liu Zheng looked at the next card.

The twenty-fifth card features an enraged woman in a short robe throwing a stick around her feet, surrounded by a mountain of sticks, while in the distance lie mountains of monsters impaled on the sticks.

"Unending Rage (Ability): Draw two cards each time you enter a rage state. These cards are then banished for the remainder of the battle. Costs 1 energy."

"take!"

After reviewing the card's effects, Liu Zheng made his selection without hesitation.

A permanent presence on the road speaks volumes about its greatness.

The twenty-sixth card features a figure in a short robe standing in a library, holding a pile of books.

"Learned Knowledge: Draw cards until your hand reaches its limit. Once used, it is removed from the hand for the remainder of the battle. Costs 1 energy point."

"The maximum number of cards in a hand is 10."

"take!"

He chose it again without hesitation.

Other cards can only be drawn a maximum of 2 times, but this card can be drawn a maximum of 10 times. Its greatness needs no further explanation.

The twenty-seventh card has a cover image of a stick falling down on your head.

"Strike with a stick: Deals 6 damage to the enemy and consumes 1 energy point."

The basic attack card is here, costing 1 mana and dealing 6 damage. Its only purpose is to demonstrate the power of "wild punches".

The twenty-eighth card is another one called "Unending Rage".

Should we take it or not?

Liu Zheng hesitated.

While card draw is good, he doesn't seem to lack card draw anymore; what he really lacks is defense.

While offense is the best defense, you can't have any defensive cards at all.

While the "All-Out Defense" card was decent, it wouldn't be very effective given the limited number of attack cards he had selected so far.

"Let's look at the last two pictures first."

He looked at the next card.

The twenty-ninth card features a short-robed figure placing his finger on a mirror, in which a short-robed figure with gray hair is reflected.

Their fingers touched, emitting a faint purple light.

"Seek Help from the Future: Gain 3 energy points, lose 3 energy points in the next round, and be excluded from this battle after use. Costs 1 energy point."

"This card"

Liu Zheng was a little unsure.

Theoretically speaking, it's worthwhile to use the explosive power of "anger" to pre-emptively unleash energy for the next round.

But if you don't kill the enemy in this round, you're basically doomed in the next round.

"what?"

Just as he was about to look at the last card, a sudden inspiration struck him.

etc.
Has he become a perpetual motion machine?

(End of this chapter)