Chapter 1

Gu Yi'an, female, eighteen years old, just started her first year of university, appearing to be an ordinary female college student.
But she had a secret.
She was actually a transmigrator.
In the eighteen years since Gu Yi'an transmigrated to this world, she had discovered something strange about it.
It harbored many unspeakable phenomena.
Gu Yi'an had personally experienced two such incidents.
The first incident occurred after her college entrance exams. Her classmates planned a graduation trip to a mountain rumored to be inhabited by deities.
Gu Yi'an was originally part of the group, but coincidentally, she caught a cold from staying up late binge-watching dramas and forgetting to turn off the air conditioner, landing her in the hospital for an IV drip, causing her to miss the trip.
A few days later, Gu Yi'an saw news of her classmates' deaths. The cause of death was unknown, but villagers claimed they had offended the mountain deity and were punished by it.
Out of the entire class, only Gu Yi'an remained alive.
The second incident involved her university roommates wanting to play with a Ouija board out of boredom.
Having experienced the mountain deity incident, Gu Yi'an firmly stopped her roommates from engaging in such dangerous activities.
Due to her strong opposition, they didn't play that day, but a few days later, they secretly played in the next dorm room without telling Gu Yi'an.
A week later, out of both girls' dorm rooms, only Gu Yi'an was still alive.
After these two incidents, especially the latter, Gu Yi'an became even more convinced that this world was peculiar.
These strange events greatly impacted Gu Yi'an's life.
People around her viewed her as a jinx and avoided coming within two meters of her.
Gu Yi'an didn't see this as a bad thing.
First, her previous persistent suitors finally disappeared.
Also, perhaps out of fear of incurring her bad luck, her scholarships and awards were obtained smoothly, with no one daring to interfere.
An additional unexpected benefit was that the seats she reserved in the library were never taken by anyone.
Gu Yi'an considered this a pretty good university life.
However, a minor mishap occurred along the way.
On one of Gu Yi'an's routine days of visiting the library to leech Wi-Fi and watch videos, her vision suddenly went black.
When Gu Yi'an opened her eyes again, she found herself in a pure white space.
A line of black text floated in mid-air.
[Welcome to the Game of the Gods.]
As if confirming that Gu Yi'an had seen the text, the black characters dissolved into wisps of black mist, intertwining to form two new lines.
[This is the grace bestowed upon you mortals on the brink of death by the gods.]
[Delight the gods, praise the gods, and the gods shall grant you eternal life.]
Gu Yi'an glanced around the pure white space she was in, moved her body, and realized all her senses were intact.
She understood that this "god" was no ordinary existence.
In mid-air, the text changed once more.
[This is your first game. The gods are merciful, They have given you a hint.]
[Kindness is a sin.]
Kindness is a sin?
What did that mean?
Gu Yi'an was momentarily stunned, only to find the pure white space around her tearing apart like paper.
In an instant, she appeared in a moss-covered alley.
She had been transported to another world.
Along with Gu Yi'an, several strangers had also appeared.
They stood in a semicircle.
It was broad daylight in this world, thus, everyone could clearly see the line of text floating in mid-air.
[Shh! The gods are watching you.]
The black characters drifted away like smoke, leaving no trace.
Silence fell over the group.
After a few seconds, a man with a composed expression broke the silence. "Judging by your expressions, some of you are new, right? You haven't played this game of the gods before."
Gu Yi'an nodded and was the first to respond, "I'm a newbie."
The man who asked the question gave her a deliberate look. "I thought you might be an experienced player. You've got good mental fortitude."
After complimenting Gu Yi'an, he turned to the others. "My surname is Zhang. You can call me Brother Zhang or Uncle Zhang. I'll briefly explain the game rules to you so you don't feel lost."
"First, let me explain the origin of the game. This game is a chance at life given to us mortals on the brink of death by the gods. If we hadn't entered the game, we would have soon died from various accidents or illnesses. But since we're in the game now, every time we complete a round, we'll earn a certain amount of lifespan."
Gu Yi'an listened to the explanation from Brother Zhang, an experienced player, while scanning the people present.
Including herself, there were six people in total, three men and three women.
Apart from Brother Zhang, who was the only veteran player, the rest were all newcomers. Most of them looked flustered and bewildered.
Brother Zhang said, "If we’re talking about game rules, there really aren’t any strict ones. We’re playing a low-tier game, and the default win condition is surviving in this world for seven days. I’ve heard that in high-tier games, players’ tasks vary more, but the corresponding lifespan rewards are greater."
Brother Zhang paused and spoke seriously, "This is a game of the gods. The gods are always watching us, and it’s best if we can please them in the game. If the gods are in a good mood, our next game will still be a low-tier one. Do you understand what I mean?"
A young man nodded, "Got it. If the gods are happy, they’ll grant us extra lifespan for free."
Brother Zhang smiled, "Exactly. It’s just that, so far, we haven’t found a reliable way to please the gods. We don’t know what kind of performance would make them happy. So, let’s try to help each other in the game and show some kindness. The gods are forgiving, so we should be forgiving too, right?"
Gu Yi'an raised an eyebrow but neither agreed nor disagreed with Brother Zhang’s words.
Brother Zhang glanced at both ends of the alley and said to the group, "The first ten minutes of the game are a safe period for players. Nothing will happen during this time. Why don’t we introduce ourselves and get familiar with each other’s names? We’ll be surviving together for seven days, we should at least know what to call each other, right?"
His words sounded perfectly reasonable.
Gu Yi'an was the first to respond, "You can call me Little Gu. Older folks can call me Little Gu, younger ones can call me Sister Gu. Either is fine."
Brother Zhang chuckled, "Little Gu, you’re straightforward."
He then looked at the others.
Following Gu Yi'an’s lead, the rest followed suit and only gave their surnames. Fortunately, none of their surnames overlapped.
After everyone finished introducing themselves, the distance between them seemed to shrink a little.
Brother Zhang said, "Time’s almost up. Let’s find a place to stay first. Oh, by the way, I just remembered, in my first game as a newcomer, the gods gave a hint. Did any of you get one?"
"Yes. Kind-"
Just as a new player was about to reveal the hint, Gu Yi'an quickly raised her voice to interrupt, "Don’t say it!"
The interrupted newcomer froze, looking at Gu Yi'an in confusion.
The other three newcomers sensed something was off and glanced back and forth between Gu Yi'an and Brother Zhang.
Brother Zhang looked baffled and said, "I was just asking. Since we all have the same task, having a hint would make it easier to survive."
Gu Yi'an took a step back, putting distance between herself and Brother Zhang.
She asked, "Then why didn’t you ask earlier?"
Brother Zhang sighed helplessly, "I just thought of it now."
As if suddenly realizing something, he looked at Gu Yi'an in surprise and asked, "You don’t suspect I have ill intentions, do you? What would an experienced player like me want from you newcomers?"
The other four newcomers noticed the tension but didn’t dare speak up at that moment.
After all, this game was about their lifespans, what if Brother Zhang really had ulterior motives?
Gu Yi'an smiled faintly and uttered three words:
"Please the gods."
That was what she had seen in the pure white space.
Please the gods, praise the gods, and the gods shall grant you eternal life.
She only believed the words from the pure white space.
Since the task wasn't explicitly stated there, the task content could only be hidden within those words.
Brother Zhang's expression shifted slightly, but he quickly masked it and said, "This is the game of the gods. Of course, our purpose in playing the game is to please the gods. What's the issue with that?"
Gu Yi'an nodded. "You're right. The purpose of playing the game is to please the gods. So, our only task is to please the gods."
Gu Yi'an looked at the bewildered faces of the other four novice players and smiled. "We are five novices, and only Brother Zhang is an experienced player. He stepped forward and said a lot, and because he's experienced, we could only believe that everything he said was true, things like low-level games, high-level games, surviving for seven days, and the first ten minutes being safe. Please note, we are already in the game."
Brother Zhang wore an expression of helplessness. "Go on. I'll watch your performance."
Gu Yi'an paid no mind to his subtle sarcasm. "Do you remember that line of text? 'Shh! The gods are watching you.' The gods have been watching us all along. From the perspective of the gods, They see an experienced player successfully manipulating five novices with words. How amusing, how pleasing to Them."
Brother Zhang sighed. "Fine. Think whatever you want. You young people always overthink things. I've been there too; I know how confused and uneasy novice players are in their first game. Whether you believe me or not is up to you. I won't force you to trust me."
He turned slightly as if about to leave. "I'm going to find a place to stay now. We all need a place to live in this world. If you want to come with me, feel free."
The four novice players glanced at Gu Yi'an, young, beautiful, and fragile, she didn't seem particularly reliable.
Then they looked at the steady, experienced Brother Zhang.
One of the male players was the first to make a choice. Scratching his head, he looked apologetically at Gu Yi'an and said, "Little Gu, your reasoning is a bit strange. Our only task is to please the gods, it lacks direction and doesn't feel like a game. Brother Zhang seems sincere; we'd better trust the guidance of an experienced player."
Hearing their companion's words, the remaining two female players no longer hesitated and walked over to Brother Zhang.
The last remaining male player looked at Brother Zhang and the others, then back at Gu Yi'an.
He asked, "Little Gu, how do you think this game will end?"
Gu Yi'an replied, "The gods are most merciful. As long as They are pleased, the game will end."
The male player was a stranger to Gu Yi'an, so she couldn't share her speculations in detail. She guessed that as long as they were in this world, they would inevitably encounter certain events. Only by handling these events would the gods be entertained, and only then could they clear the game.
The male player looked utterly bewildered, but in the end, he chose to follow Brother Zhang.
Gu Yi'an watched as the five of them left the alley. Without hesitation, she turned and prepared to exit from the other side.
Since the experienced players had all chosen to leave, staying put alone would only lead to trouble sooner or later.
Gu Yi'an abruptly halted her steps.
Hovering in the air before her was a line of black text.
[Continue to amuse me.]
This god must be a lunatic.