Star Trace Gate

Outside the Peach Courtyard, Fatty Li lay on the ground, angrily saying, "Not only does he not get the dangerous Bluestone Illusion, he's also apparently getting a very lucky move. When we were sorting the rows, he immediately rolled a six and got a number one. Then, when the game started, he immediately rolled a one. I thought his luck had run out, but who would have thought that Bluestone Illusion Number One wouldn't be dangerous at all the entire time, and he even got an attack token, right?"

"Yes, that token is called Ten Thousand Arrows. It can even shoot at your crotch. You can't dodge it." The storyteller nodded heavily.

"That's right, this is totally unfair. We can't possibly win." Fat Li slowly sat up. "That old lunatic is the one who created the chess game. He probably already knows what this player will experience every move... How can you and I fight him?!"

"Don't be too discouraged!" The storyteller wanted to comfort her.

"I was so cold that my eyelids were all wet. Have you ever had that happen? I drank urine in the snow. Have you ever had that happen? I was punched by a sand and gravel giant and my overnight poop came out. Have you ever had that happen?!..." Fatty Li asked tearfully, "You don't understand. You don't understand my grievances at all..."

The storyteller looked at him with pity, then analyzed, "Attack and kill tokens can be given to others. In other words... if three people joined forces and entered the chess game together, they could siege Zhou Taozhi. So, it's reasonable for him to have an advantage in certain rules."

"He is your father, and you are still speaking for him?!" Fat Li no longer has any fear of the storyteller, only resentment.

"Then again, if we were three instead of two, we'd get a full one-third more attack and defense tokens each round. Don't underestimate this one-third; accumulated over several rounds, it could definitely determine victory or defeat," the storyteller pondered. "So, entering the game with only two of us is clearly a disadvantage."

In a very short time, he summed up two very important points. First, Zhou Taozhi had some initiative and advantages in understanding the rules of the chess game. Second, if two people joined forces in this game, their chances of winning were obviously slim.

So, he thought of the blind man first.

As Fatty Li listened to the storyteller's words, a cunning look appeared in his eyes. He then followed up with a reply, "You're right. If there were three of us, the situation would probably be much better... However, it's almost dark now. Where can we find a companion?"

"If that mysterious and powerful leader could send someone to help us right now, then perhaps there's still a chance."

He added seemingly unintentionally.

The storyteller's experience and knowledge were beyond the comprehension of a 13 or 14-year-old Xiao Pang, so he instantly understood that the little bastard wanted to take the opportunity to let him call for a helper so that he could guess the identity of the mysterious leader by observing the other party.

"Haha, it's not difficult to call someone over." The storyteller thought carefully and whispered, "In fact, we have an accomplice who is in the Wudao Temple."

"what?!"

Xiaopang asked in shock: "There's another person?!"

"Yes, that person was sent by the leader to help us. He originally didn't plan to show up, but now we are short of help, so we can only ask him to come out to assist you and me." The storyteller turned his head to look at Xiaopang and asked with a smile: "If there is another person to help, would you still be willing to join the game?"

"That's fine. If I can have one more helper, I'm willing to withstand the iron fist of the Sand Giant again." When Xiaopang heard that he could meet another accomplice, his heart suddenly became lively, because he really wanted to guess the identity of the leader.

At the same time, he also felt that the mysterious leader's gang was quite powerful. In addition to the storyteller, they could actually arrange for another person to enter the Wudao Temple to provide support.

Well, my previous guess was correct. This mysterious leader is most likely a powerful figure in the Illusion Group. I just hope he's not really Second Uncle... Xiaopang sighed inwardly, "If it's Second Uncle, once the case is exposed... then the two most promising generations of the Li family will be wiped out by the three major halls...!"

"Then I'll ask him to come out and try?!" the storyteller asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hurry up and yell, hurry up!" Fatty Li sat cross-legged and said softly, "I'm taking this opportunity to recover my physical body."

"Ah."

The storyteller slowly stood up and said softly, "Then you wait here, I'll go call that person!"

"it is good."

After he finished speaking, the storyteller walked along the path in front of the peach garden and headed towards the library.

Not long after, Ren Ye, who was sitting at the window of the library, sensed the storyteller's presence and immediately asked, "How is it?! Did it work?!"

"What the hell!"

The storyteller replied in a gloomy voice, "That Zhou Taozhi has no moral principles and has been cheating in the chess game. He even managed to get ten thousand people to shoot at me...!"

"Ah?! Is there such a plot?" Ren Ye pouted in surprise: "Come over and tell me in detail."

The storyteller walked into the library, sat opposite Ren Ye, and used the method of telepathy to describe in detail everything that had happened between him and Xiaopang.

After hearing this, Ren Ye was completely bewildered and couldn't help but mutter, "Fuck, the rules of this Jubao chess game... aren't they just the common Monopoly board game on Blue Planet? There are just some changes in the format and gameplay, but the general idea is the same."

He sensed the essence of the treasure game and felt that its presence in the illusory village was somewhat out of place. However, upon closer reflection, it seemed perfectly reasonable. As everyone knows, this migration area, while vast and boundless, possesses a similar civilizational heritage and historical richness to Blue Star.

Therefore, it is not difficult to imagine that some scene settings similar to those on Blue Star appear in the Tian'en-level secret realm of Tiandu City.

If it's Monopoly, then I have to mention the great nickname my classmates gave me when I was little - the Little Prince of Board Games... Ren Ye recalled some experiences from his youth and suddenly said with a burst of confidence, "It sounds like it will be quite simple, not a big problem...!"

"Easy as a s--!" The storyteller shook his head. "That Zhou Taozhi has the upper hand. Every time he rolls the dice, he avoids danger and obtains a favorable treasure token. He...he's essentially cheating against us. It's really hard to win. So, you have to join the game. That way, we have a one-third chance of drawing a good token, and then the three of us can attack him together."

"Well, if he can really gain the upper hand at every step, then we have to use our accumulation more rationally to create trouble for him. If we get the favorable treasure token, we must not use it casually, not even for ourselves..." Ren Ye analyzed it seriously.

"That's exactly what I was talking about," the storyteller said speechlessly. "But the clever Li brat didn't understand this. He clearly had a very good Frost Order, but he chose to use it at the critical moment when he couldn't turn the tide. In the end, he played a blank card and was eliminated. If he had used it on me, the 3,000 bandits might have stopped burning, killing, and looting because of the frost, and I could have passed that stage safely...!"

"He's only thirteen or fourteen. You can't demand things of him as an adult. How is that any different from child abuse?" Ren also argued on behalf of the fat boy. "He's quite smart, but he's a little impulsive right now. He doesn't think that far ahead..."

"Aren't you about the same age as him? Why do you act so cunning?" the storyteller asked back.

Ren also sneered: "Experience makes people grow. What kind of life do I usually live, and what kind of life does he live? If I don't think more about things when I encounter them, I don't know how many times I will die...!"

The storyteller was slightly taken aback, then agreed, "That makes sense. Okay, then hurry up and follow me, and we'll go back to the Peach Courtyard together."

"No rush, wait here for a while, I'm going to take a shit first." Ren Ye slowly stood up.

"Alas, when I ask you to do something, it's either shitting or peeing. It's so annoying." The storyteller was speechless.

……

Not long after, Ren also found an unused dry toilet, and then squatted over the pit, enduring the stench, and entered into a state of meditation, saying: "Lead me to three thousand secret treasures and awaken the supreme divine law."

Although he is a nobody and doesn't have any strong trump cards, he is a person who is very good at preparation.

He didn't know whether this "gift from heaven" that he could get at this critical moment would be useful, but as long as he could get it for free, he would definitely not waste it.

"Ong!"

After chanting, starlight surged in the abdomen, full of mysteries.

Three dazzling rays of light surged up, and the voice of heaven's announcement also resounded in his ears.

[Congratulations! After going through countless dangers and trials, you have finally found one of the important clues to your identity - "Survivor of Taoyuan."]

[You have almost perfectly completed the first chapter of the Illusion Village Secret Realm, "Wild Dog," and successfully activated the second chapter of the Illusion Village Illusion Realm—"Old Things."]

You arrive at the gates of Taoyuan, only to be blocked by a treasure-filled chess game, unable to reach the survivor, Zhou Taozhi. Amidst this difficult situation, you experience a sudden enlightenment, discovering three magical techniques from the Three Thousand Secret Treasures that could help break this chess game. You can choose one of these techniques to counter Zhou Taozhi's "Wish Come True" strategy in the game.

[The first secret technique—Divine Glory of Heaven and Earth: In the Treasure Chess game, you can use Divine Glory of Heaven and Earth's amplification on any token, doubling its power. This amplification applies to both favorable opportunity tokens and unfavorable disaster tokens. However, it can only be used twice in a full game.]

[Second Secret Technique - Human-Ghost Bond: You have discovered a unique secret technique within the Three Thousand Secret Treasures that allows you to temporarily control ghosts. There are many wronged souls within the Enlightenment Temple. You can summon one of them and temporarily control it. This ghost can take some of the damage from calamities in the Treasure Chess game, but cannot completely prevent them. This lasts for six hours.]

[Third Secret Technique—Gambler's Ghost Hand: You discovered a unique secret technique of a veteran gambler among the Three Thousand Secret Treasures. This technique allows you to use your Ghost Hand to steal treasure tokens or other "results" from others during the Treasure Chess game. Of course, Zhou Taozhi's level is too strong, so you can't specifically steal his tokens, relying on luck. This means you might steal a token that benefits you, or something that disgusts you... Note: This technique can be used once every other round.]

[Three secret methods, choose one, it will be effective for a quarter of an hour, if you don't choose one, it will be considered as giving up.]

Ren Ye squatted in the dry toilet, carefully listening to the proclamation of the Heavenly Dao. He thought to himself, "Damn it, I can't just sit back and watch this Taoyuan stage. I have to participate in person!! Otherwise, the Heavenly Dao wouldn't have had to set up this secret mechanism of choosing one out of three. This is obviously to counter Zhou Taozhi's almost cheating wish fulfillment...!"

"Damn, it turns out I'm the protagonist."

He had a clear mind and instantly realized that the stage of the Lucky Man of Taoyuan might be the most important part of the second chapter of the entire Illusion Village, and he had no way to avoid it.

In other words, this storyteller was really smart. After only one game of Jubao chess, he realized that this job was not something that two people could do. He did not continue to try stubbornly, but came to me as soon as possible.

If that's the case, then it further proves that... Zhou Taozhi's constant lead in the Jubao chess game wasn't just luck, but rather that he truly mastered the ability to "take the initiative at every step." This is indeed difficult to deal with...