Chapter 49

Gu Yi'an didn't react much to these words.
She had seen similar remarks in the notebook before.
It was just a joke.
But Tang Jiu's reaction was intense, she exploded.
"If you have a problem, take it up with me. Why are you targeting my friend? Just because I called you a lovestruck fool?"
The poet ignored Tang Jiu.
He looked at Gu Yi'an, his eyes serious.
He said, "I didn't say it because of her."
The poet's attitude of completely disregarding Tang Jiu only made her angrier.
Tang Jiu asked, "Are you looking to die?"
The poet said to Gu Yi'an, "She's not suitable to be your friend."
Tang Jiu sneered.
The student watched the unfolding drama in disbelief and timidly reminded them, "Um, we're here to play a game.""
Why did these three make it seem like some love triangle?
This wasn't the first time the student had witnessed players arguing at the start of a game.
But those arguments were usually about survival, while this one was over emotional issues.
The student was gaining new insights.
He cast an admiring glance at Gu Yi'an, who sat between Tang Jiu and the poet, not taking sides. She remained completely unfazed by the people around her, calmly staring at the display screen, likely seriously considering their next move.
Now this was a true veteran player, focused on the game.
In reality, Gu Yi'an, who appeared unaffected by the two people beside her, gazed at the display screen and sighed inwardly.
Caught between the two, she felt utterly helpless.
The poet’s earlier remark had been extremely pointed, knowing full well how much Tang Jiu valued her as a friend.
When Tang Jiu mocked him for being love-struck, he cleverly dragged Gu Yi'an into the conversation, successfully provoking Tang Jiu.
Tang Jiu already held a bias against the poet, believing he resembled Lu Zize, a smiling fraud who lured people into hell.
The moment she heard the poet’s infatuation was directed at her friend Gu Yi'an, her aggression skyrocketed.
Gu Yi'an felt both troubled and powerless.
The poet was very likely an alternate identity of the god, and it was best not to offend him if possible.
Tang Jiu was a friend, and she couldn’t let her down either.
Moreover, Tang Jiu’s impression that the poet resembled Lu Zize wasn’t entirely unfounded, the poet might very well be Lu Zize himself.
Tang Jiu’s targeting seemed unreasonable on the surface, but in reality, she had unconsciously stumbled upon the truth.
Who could tolerate seeing someone who looked exactly like the person who killed them sitting calmly right in front of them?
What could Gu Yi'an do?
She could only focus on the display screen.
The poet maintained his smile, ignoring Tang Jiu’s attitude.
Tang Jiu glared coldly at the poet but, perhaps out of consideration for Gu Yi'an, refrained from taking action.
With the two of them quieting down, the room fell into silence.
The male player who had remained expressionless all along paid no attention to the others’ actions.
Sitting in his chair and staring at the display screen, he said coldly, "Choose me."
Hearing his voice, everyone instinctively glanced at the screen.
They were quite curious about this male player’s identity.
"Character: Doctor. He only wants to perform craniotomies to examine others’ brains."
A craniotomy doctor?
No wonder he looked at them as if they were already dead.
The other players immediately understood why this cold-faced male player treated them so indifferently, he was that kind of doctor.
The atmosphere in the room eased slightly. With Gu Yi'an positioned between Tang Jiu and the poet, the two no longer interfered with each other.
The student who had observed the entire scene breathed a sigh of relief. With Miss Zhi Zhe keeping them in check, these two players probably wouldn’t come to blows.
Turning to the display screen, the student said, "Choose me, choose me. Let’s see what it says."
The student had no idea what kind of evaluation the display screen held for him.
The character on the screen changed once again.
"Character: Student. He has a brain, but he only wants to lie down and win."
The Student let out an awkward chuckle upon seeing the text on the screen.
The description of him was spot-on.
Noticing the gazes from the other players, the Student quickly explained, "I've been pretty lucky. I’ve basically always run into experts who carried me to victory. After it happened so many times, I just ended up wanting to lie down and win."
It dawned on the Student that if his description was true, then the other players' introductions must also be accurate.
That meant the Reckless Fighter was genuinely reckless, the Gambler was actually a gambler who loved taking risks, the Poet beside him was truly a love-struck romantic, and the Doctor might really be a physician who enjoyed performing craniotomies.
The Doctor’s icy gaze swept over the Student, who promptly averted his eyes.
If this person enjoyed performing craniotomies, perhaps he should be called a serial killer instead. The Student didn’t dare provoke him.
The Doctor soon shifted his attention elsewhere.
There was still one female player who hadn’t checked her character introduction.
Seeing that everyone else had looked at their descriptions on the display, she said, "Let’s check mine. I choose myself."
As she spoke, the content on the screen changed.
The players all turned their attention to the text in the upper right corner of the screen.
"Character: Dancer. She can do without a brain."
Silence fell over the group.
The mockery was too direct, it was essentially calling the female player known as the Dancer brainless.
The elegant Dancer stared at the words on the screen. Perhaps due to her impeccable upbringing, she merely remarked after a moment, "Its descriptions of us are quite interesting."
No one else spoke, and they collectively set aside the Dancer’s introduction without further discussion.
After the six players had finished reading their respective character introductions, Tang Jiu spoke up, "Have you noticed there’s no time reminder on the screen?"
The display showed no time limit, as if they could take as long as they wanted on this character selection.
Gu Yi'an glanced at the Doctor, Dancer, Student, and Poet, who seemed unwilling to speak. After a moment’s thought, she asked, "Are any of you feeling hungry, tired, or anything like that?"
Tang Jiu responded, "An'an, are you saying that if we don’t play the game, we might starve to death?"
Gu Yi’an scanned the empty room and said, "There’s no water in this room. Our stamina will decrease over time, and we’ll need to replenish our energy. As for oxygen, this room isn’t small, and with just six of us, we probably don’t need to worry about running out of air for a while."
"So that means clearing the levels is urgent. Otherwise, we might starve or suffocate," Tang Jiu concluded.
She looked at the other players and said, "It seems the display can only select one character at a time. We probably can only send one person into this so-called level-clearing game at a time. If you’re hesitant, I’ll go first."
She volunteered to be the first, and no one objected.
Someone had to test the waters.
The Student gave Tang Jiu a thumbs-up.
This lady was truly reckless.
The Doctor and Dancer remained seated, lost in their own thoughts.
While Gu Yi’an was speaking, the Poet had been gazing at her with a smile in his eyes, as if he hadn’t even heard Tang Jiu’s words.
Gu Yi’an was used to being watched, as long as the attention wasn’t malicious, she paid it no mind.
Gu Yi'an cautioned Tang Jiu, "Be careful. Don't be careless."
She trusted Tang Jiu's abilities, but the words "reckless brute" on the display screen made her worry that Tang Jiu might let her guard down momentarily.
Tang Jiu waved her hand dismissively. "Got it. I'm not actually a reckless brute."
She called out to the display screen, "Select me. I'm entering the game."
Tang Jiu glanced at Gu Yi'an, then shot a look at the sly wolf beside her, the poet who appeared to be a harmless goody-two-shoes.
She said, "An'an, sit in my seat and stay away from this pretty boy."
Before Tang Jiu's words had fully faded, she vanished completely from her seat.
At the same time, a small character resembling Tang Jiu appeared running across the display screen, with a line of text above it:
"Game loading..."
Gu Yi'an's attention was immediately drawn to the screen.
She thought to herself, The way Tang Jiu just disappeared, vanished into thin air, suggests this game world might be full of bizarre occurrences.
She suspected this round wouldn't be as simple as the obstacle course shown on the display.
It wasn't just Gu Yi'an who noticed Tang Jiu's sudden disappearance from her seat.
The Doctor and the Dancer both looked toward Tang Jiu's empty spot.
The Doctor's expression remained icy, giving no hint of his thoughts.
The Dancer's face clearly revealed her confusion.
The Student scratched his head. "Another mystical-type game, huh?"
The Poet glanced at the unchanged screen still displaying "Loading..." but didn't look toward Gu Yi'an again. Instead, he asked the Student, "Mystical-type?"
The Student nodded. "Yeah, mystical-type. That's what I call it, any game world with weird, supernatural stuff, I label it a mystical-type world."
Suddenly, the Student realized something: Wait, I'm the experienced player here, and he's the newbie. Why am I answering his questions so readily?
The Poet seemed unaware of the Student's momentary confusion and gently inquired, "Could you tell me about The Game of the Gods? I'm new and don't know much about it yet."
"Sure. Of course."
The Student figured, Well, I was a newbie once too, helping him out can't hurt. He pushed his earlier unease aside and readily agreed.
Suddenly, Tang Jiu's voice echoed through the room where five players sat.
"What kind of hellhole is this?"
Tang Jiu's voice betrayed her irritation.
Upon hearing this, the players in the room mostly looked around, trying to locate where her voice was coming from.
The student said, "It seems to be coming from everywhere."
Only the poet didn’t bother searching for the source of the voice; he simply kept his eyes fixed on the display screen.
Gu Yi'an couldn’t find where Tang Jiu’s voice was coming from either. Eventually, her gaze settled on the "loading" screen displayed on the monitor.
The screen hadn’t changed yet.
After a moment’s thought, Gu Yi'an raised her voice in the room and said, "Xiao Jiu, can you hear me?"
"An'an?"
"Yes! An'an, I can hear you."
Hearing Gu Yi'an’s voice, Tang Jiu’s earlier irritation faded, and her tone calmed down.
She said, "An'an, I can hear you, but I don’t know which direction your voice is coming from. It feels like it’s echoing throughout this space, coming from everywhere. No wonder I thought I heard some voices earlier, it was all of you."
"Right now, I’m in a place that looks a lot like the pure white space we were in before. Hmm… it’s forming a sky and ground. I’m standing on grass now. Uh… I see that the ground under my feet is only one meter wide. Let me check the edge… It looks like a cliff below. The only way forward is this one-meter-wide path. I think I can see double doors far ahead, the finish line from the animation!"
"There’s something in the sky now too, like rocks. And there are strange floating stones ahead."
As Tang Jiu described her surroundings, the image on the display screen in front of the players in the room also changed.
"Level One."
These two words appeared on the screen briefly before vanishing.
Immediately after, the players saw a scene where a small character, somewhat resembling Tang Jiu, stood on a patch of grass on the far left. Obstacles filled the middle and right side of the screen.
It was a side-scrolling view, as if observing the character’s every move from the side.
The players in the room could see that directly in front of the character on the screen was a deep pit.
Gu Yi'an said, "Xiao Jiu, is there a pit in front of you?"
"Okay," Tang Jiu’s voice echoed in the room.
The players watched as the character on the left side of the screen began to move, walking to the edge of the pit.
"An'an, there’s a cliff ahead, and the bottom is too deep to see. If I want to get to the opposite cliff, I’ll have to jump across."
The players in the room saw the character on the screen take a few steps back, turn around, then suddenly accelerate into a sprint and leap forward.
The character successfully jumped over the pit on the screen, landing on the right side, and the map extended further to the right.
Gu Yi'an asked, "Xiao Jiu, did you make it across?"
Tang Jiu replied, "Yes. Can you all see my movements?"
Gu Yi'an said, "We can. What we’re seeing is a two-dimensional version of you. Be careful, there’s something like a protruding platform floating in the air ahead of you."
"I see it. It’s a thick stone slab suspended in mid-air. It’s quite wide and long. I don’t dare walk under it."
As Tang Jiu spoke, the players in the room could see the character on the screen hesitating near the area beneath the floating slab, unwilling to proceed further.
Gu Yi'an said, "Xiao Jiu, do you think you can jump onto the stone slab?"
"I can jump up, but I also want to pass underneath the slab to see what happens. Don't worry, An'an. I'll try walking under it."
Tang Jiu claimed to be afraid of passing beneath the stone slab, but in the end, she made up her mind.
Hearing her tone, Gu Yi'an knew she couldn't change Tang Jiu's mind.
She watched the little figure on the screen rush toward the right.
But faster than the figure was the stone slab above.
Just as the figure reached halfway under the slab, it dropped without warning, hitting the figure squarely.
Blood splattered across the screen.
Four crimson characters appeared:
"Level Failed."
At the same time, in the room, Tang Jiu's figure silently reappeared in her seat, as abruptly as when she had vanished.
Gu Yi'an sensed someone beside her and immediately looked at Tang Jiu.
"Xiao Jiu, are you okay?"
Tang Jiu's face was slightly pale. She seemed dazed for a second or two before snapping back to awareness.
"I'm fine. It felt like I just died."
Gu Yi'an gently patted Tang Jiu's back and said, "You're alive now."
The other players glanced over.
Their eyes held curiosity.
Tang Jiu quickly shook off her emotions and recalled, "The place I entered seemed to be an enclosed space. It's like a real-life obstacle course game. We just have to run from the start to the finish, I even saw the door at the end. But there are many traps along the way. I just got caught by one."
As she spoke, the other players didn't point out that she had deliberately walked under the slab and brought the mishap upon herself.
Tang Jiu looked at the Poet and said, "Now I believe the beginner's tip you gave is true. Patience, we really do need patience. There's no telling where the traps are."
The Poet smiled faintly but said nothing.
He didn't care about Tang Jiu's opinion of him.
Nor did Tang Jiu change her view of the Poet because of this; she merely acknowledged that the beginner's tip he provided was correct.
Tang Jiu said to the others, "There are definitely more traps on the path than just that falling slab. The further we go, the more there will be. If we want to clear the level, we must patiently avoid every trap. I suspect we might die more than once or twice in the process."
The Student remarked, "I just saw a minus one symbol flash by on the screen. Look at the top right, there's a string of numbers: 999. Could that be the number of times we're allowed to die?"
Gu Yi'an had been focused on Tang Jiu earlier and missed the appearance of the minus one symbol the student mentioned.
She turned her gaze to the display screen.
The screen had returned to the character selection interface.
The only difference from before was probably the three dark red numbers, 999, in the upper right corner.
The dancer looked at the numbers and said, "How could we possibly die that many times?"
She didn't believe players could die so many times.
Tang Jiu asked, "Who's going next? I just died and can't go back in for a while."
Gu Yi'an calmly said, "I'll go."
In her previous games, her teammates had always charged ahead, and she had been too well-protected to truly encounter danger.
Her previous suicide was the most painful experience she had ever faced, and even that was by her own hand.
This time, Gu Yi'an intended to take the lead herself.
Tang Jiu looked at Gu Yi'an in surprise.
She knew Gu Yi'an wasn't particularly skilled in physical activities.
Tang Jiu tactfully reminded her, "An'an, you'll need to run in there."
Gu Yi'an replied, "This tracksuit I'm wearing is for running. I have the cards you gave me, which are perfect for traps. Besides, I also have items."
Thinking of the items, Gu Yi'an turned serious and said to Tang Jiu, "Next time, even if you want to test your theories, don't gamble with your life. Use your items when you need to."
Tang Jiu knew Gu Yi'an was concerned about her and said sheepishly, "I just wanted to see if I could return to this room after dying."
The dancer, listening to their conversation, looked at Tang Jiu with a newfound brightness in her eyes.
If Gu Yi'an hadn't pointed it out, the dancer wouldn't have realized there was so much thought behind Tang Jiu's actions.
She had assumed Tang Jiu was reckless, deliberately walking under the falling stone slab to see what would happen. Little did she know that while Tang Jiu had indeed intended to die, it was also to verify her own hypothesis.
Tang Jiu didn't notice the dancer's gaze and said to Gu Yi'an, "I think we can call this room the respawn point. If we die in that obstacle course game, we should be able to revive here."
Gu Yi'an nodded in agreement. "That makes sense. It's a respawn point."
Tang Jiu had died in the obstacle course game but revived in this room, calling it a respawn point was fitting.
The poet, hearing that Gu Yi'an intended to enter the game, spoke up after she finished talking with Tang Jiu. "Gambler, perhaps I should go instead."
Gu Yi'an hadn't expected the poet to address her.
She looked at the poet, whose handsome face showed no trace of insincerity.
Gu Yi'an said, "You don't have any items. It's dangerous to go in."
She assumed the poet was truly a novice player with no items.
If that were the case, entering the trap-filled game would be extremely perilous for him.
Upon hearing this, the poet smiled delightedly.
He said, "It's an honor to have Gambler worry about me.
I only hope that my death can provide you with some clues to clear the game. That would make my death worthwhile."
Gu Yi'an was left speechless.
She had only started by warning him of the danger.
The poet had already made his impending death a certainty, even claiming that he only hoped his death could provide her with clues.
Why was her teammate like this?
Was he really just a lovesick fool?
Tang Jiu looked at the poet with displeasure. "Hah, lovesick fool."
She wasn’t as resistant to the poet as before, though.
Tang Jiu said to Gu Yi'an, "An'an, let him go. As a man, he has a physiological advantage over women. If you go in, it’ll just be a waste of a death count."
To stop Gu Yi'an, Tang Jiu even resorted to the excuse of wasting death counts.
The student nearby asked, "Huh? Is it really as I guessed? Is that 999 our remaining death count?"
Tang Jiu shot a glare at the student.
No one had entered the game and died again yet, so what the number 999 represented was still uncertain.
She had only said that to persuade Gu Yi'an not to go in.
A cold male voice suddenly cut in.
"I’ll go this time." It was the doctor who spoke.
The doctor’s expression was icy, but anyone could see the impatience in his demeanor.
No one had expected the seemingly calm doctor to actually have such a short temper.
Tang Jiu and Gu Yi'an exchanged a glance.
Tang Jiu coughed and quickly said, "Doctor, then you go ahead."
Gu Yi'an was a step too late. She tugged at Tang Jiu’s hand.
"An'an, just give it up. If you go in there, it really would be a waste," Tang Jiu said, unwavering.
The poet looked at the doctor, full of admiration for his actions. He said, "Doctor, you’re a highly skilled veteran player. Everyone will feel reassured with you going."
"Doctor, please rest assured, we’ll be outside to provide you with assistance."
The poet’s words were as soothing as a spring breeze.
But the doctor, upon hearing this, showed no mercy. "The three of you talking less would be the greatest help to me."
The dancer couldn’t help but laugh at this.
She lightly covered her face with her hand, revealing only a pair of smiling eyes.
The student was also snickering.
He agreed with the doctor’s words.
When those three got together, it was nothing short of a spectacle.
Even the perpetually stern doctor had strong complaints about them, which showed just how chaotic they were when gathered.
The student, who had been standing nearby earlier, nearly cringed his teeth out listening to the poet’s words to Gu Yi’an.
Things like "It’s my honor that the Sage cares about me," or "If I can find clues for the Sage, then my death would be worthwhile."
This is definitely not something a normal person would say.
The student was quite impressed that Sage could listen with a straight face.
It couldn’t have been easy for her to hold back from hitting someone whose head was completely filled with romantic nonsense.
If the student were in Sage’s place, he would have slapped the speaker out of the room long ago.
The student patted the poet’s shoulder.
The poet glanced over.
The student said sympathetically, "Judging by the quality of your words, I doubt your poetry sells for much."
Who would enjoy such cringeworthy remarks?
Unless they were drawn to the poet’s looks and physique.
The poet wasn’t bad-looking, and his figure seemed decent enough. For the sake of his face and body, women might still be willing to listen to him.
A hint of confusion flickered in the poet’s eyes.
But the student didn’t plan to explain. He added, "No wonder you’re a wandering poet. Your poetry… well, it doesn’t earn much, so you have no choice but to wander."
If the poet’s sweet talk was this mediocre, the student didn’t even dare imagine the level of his poetry.
He guessed it was the kind that would be tossed into the trash right after being written.
The poet had already sensed the student’s disdain from his words.
He discreetly sized up the student and suddenly asked, "Do you always win by doing nothing?"
The student didn’t mind the poet changing the subject, assuming he had touched a sore spot, prompting the poet to steer the conversation elsewhere.
The student replied, "Not always. If you manage to survive this round, you’ll understand why. The gods give us tools."
"Did you win by relying on tools too?"
The student glanced warily at the other players.
The doctor had already disappeared from the room.
The three female players were all focused on the screen ahead, not eavesdropping on their conversation.
Only then did the student say, "Tools are just superficial. I used to have a luck-boosting item… but never mind. My luck can’t be taken by others. It was a gift from someone I met in a game. I usually just keep it as a decoration."
After speaking, the student himself felt bewildered, why had he so unreservedly revealed such a crucial secret to the poet?
He looked at the poet in alarm.
Could this be a hidden veteran player using some kind of truth-compelling tool to extract his secrets?
But at that moment, the poet only looked even more confused, as if he couldn’t understand why the student was staring at him like that.
He asked, "What’s wrong with you?"
The poet’s reaction was so normal that the student began to doubt himself.
Had he been overthinking it? Was the poet just a newbie player after all?
The student pondered, his luck couldn’t be stolen anyway. Maybe today, he’d just taken a liking to the poet and let it slip. He’d always been bad at keeping his mouth shut.
Once he reasoned it through, he said, "It’s nothing, nothing. Let’s watch the doctor tackle the challenge."
As soon as the student finished speaking, he noticed the poet, who had just been chatting with him, turning his gaze toward Sage.
Love-struck fools are truly terrifying, the student sighed inwardly.
Gu Yi’an, the one being watched, immediately noticed the poet’s gaze.
Let him look if he wants, Gu Yi’an remained unruffled.
Her attention was fixed on the screen.
The background in the screen hadn’t changed, but the character had, it now resembled the doctor somewhat.
The little figure effortlessly leaped over a deep pit and reached a thick stone slab suspended in midair.
The doctor was a man of few words.
So far, there had been no sound from the doctor in the room.
Gu Yi'an spoke up, "Doctor, can you hear me? Don't jump onto that thick stone slab. Try using a tool to check if there's anything hidden in the air above your current position."
The character on the screen paused.
A long stick, resembling a cane, appeared in the character's hand.
Then, the character raised the stick and probed the air near the thick stone slab.
Suddenly, the character seemed to hit something solid.
A hidden stone slab, identical to the previous one, revealed itself.
For now, two stone slabs could be seen side by side, suspended in mid-air.
Tang Jiu couldn't help but exclaim, "That's so sneaky?"
After uncovering the hidden slab, the character on the screen seemed to freeze for a moment.
The character stood still for a second or two, then took a step back, moving out of the area obscured by the hidden slab.
Gu Yi'an said, "Doctor, you can jump onto this newly triggered slab."
The character didn't respond, but the players in the room could see the character on the screen jump onto the newly revealed slab.
Once the character had landed on the slab, the doctor's cold voice echoed from various parts of the room as he asked, "What next?"
It seemed the doctor had placed his trust in Gu Yi'an.
Gu Yi'an watched as the character stood alone on the slab, with no visible footholds ahead.
After a moment's thought, Gu Yi'an said, "Doctor, continue checking the air above you for hidden slabs like the one you're standing on. If you don't find any, see if you can jump over the slab in front of you. But don't jump too far."
The character on the screen spent a considerable amount of time poking around with the stick, even jumping up to probe the air above. This time, no new slabs were discovered.
In the end, the character decided to make the jump.
The players watched as the character on the screen dashed forward and leaped a great distance.
Seeing this, Gu Yi'an knew it was going to end badly.
The doctor had jumped too far.
The players watched as the character traced a parabolic arc through the air and landed on the ground ahead.
The moment the character touched down, the ground gave way, and the character instantly vanished from the screen.
Four crimson words appeared, dominating the entire display:
"Challenge Failed."
Tang Jiu turned to Gu Yi'an, clearly remembering her earlier warning to the doctor not to jump too far.
Tang Jiu praised, "An'an, you're amazing. You actually guessed it right."
Gu Yi'an replied, "It's not that I'm amazing, it's just that there must be a trap here. Being cautious is never wrong."
The doctor silently returned to his seat.
Seeing him, Tang Jiu questioned, "Doctor, what happened? An'an told you not to jump too far, why did you leap so far all of a sudden?"
Gu Yi'an pulled Tang Jiu back and asked, "Doctor, was there something wrong with that stone slab?"
The doctor didn't even glance at Tang Jiu and nodded at Gu Yi'an, saying, "When I intended to jump farther, something pushed me from behind."
Gu Yi'an asked, "Was it during your sprint?"
The doctor gave a slight nod.
The student cheerfully announced to everyone, "Look, the number in the upper right corner has changed to 998. It seems this number indicates how many times we can die. The six of us can die a thousand times in total."
He was delighted by his discovery.
The other players watched the student laugh but couldn't share his joy.
Tang Jiu remarked coolly, "Why don't you try dying a thousand times? Can you endure that kind of pain?"
The student was immediately dampened.
He, too, knew the agony of death.
Gu Yi'an said, "This might be why the beginner's prompt advises us to be patient. We need not only patience but also perseverance."
She glanced around at everyone.
The student was gazing at her eagerly.
After the doctor's death and return, he was resting and recuperating in his seat.
The dancer sat in her spot, her gaze toward Gu Yi'an clear and untainted.
The poet looked at Gu Yi'an with a smile in his eyes, as if he had been waiting for her to assign him a task.
Tang Jiu, standing beside Gu Yi'an, said, "Then this time, let me go again. I have experience now."
Gu Yi'an shook her head; she couldn't let Tang Jiu go.
In the previous game Gu Yi'an had just finished, she had used death as a means to escape the game.
Death was too painful.
Gu Yi'an had observed the reactions of Tang Jiu and the doctor after returning from the challenge game.
Even Tang Jiu, who was usually full of energy, said she couldn't bring herself to go back in again after dying once in the challenge game.
Although the doctor didn't say anything, he had been sitting in his seat with his eyes closed, recuperating.
From their respective behaviors, it was clear that their memories of death and the pain were real.
Both of them were masking the physical discomfort they felt after experiencing death.
Gu Yi'an stated, "I'll go this time. I need to see for myself what this challenge game really looks like."
Her tone was firm.
Hearing this, Tang Jiu glanced at the poet.
"That so-called wandering poet, ahem, it's time to prove yourself. If you want to pursue An'an, you go this time. An'an can't."
Gu Yi'an called out lightly, "Xiao Jiu."
This wasn't the time for joking around.
Tang Jiu turned her face away.
Upon hearing Tang Jiu's words, the poet smiled. It wasn't the infatuated expression from before but a serious attempt to dissuade her, saying, "Gambler, you're better suited for directing from outside. Going in would be unnecessary."
Tang Jiu added, "Right. Look how well you directed the doctor just now."
"It wasn't that great."
Gu Yi'an said, "I need to go in and test it out myself, to see the true situation of this challenge game."
Tang Jiu interjected, "The true situation is just as I described. You really don't need to go in. Let the poet go."
The poet, however, said, "I don’t plan on going in."
Tang Jiu was taken aback. "Hey, hey, didn’t you just say you were willing to enter the game to find clues for An’an? Why did you change your mind as soon as the doctor came out? You’re switching sides way too fast! Can’t you at least pretend a little longer? What happened to liking An’an?"
Gu Yi’an gently patted Tang Jiu’s arm.
She had always believed the poet’s earlier words were just a joke.
He wasn’t truly love-struck, nor did he genuinely like her.
Gu Yi’an hadn’t expected Tang Jiu to take it seriously when she herself hadn’t.
Wait, maybe Tang Jiu hadn’t taken it seriously either, but she was using it as an excuse to make the poet go out in her place.
The poet ignored Tang Jiu and said, "I recommend the dancer go in."
The dancer, who had been quietly observing on the sidelines, heard the poet suggest she enter.
She didn’t resist but instead asked softly, "If I go in, could Gambler guide me from outside?"
Gu Yi’an’s gaze fell on the dancer.
Dancer had a classical air about her, with graceful movements, she must have studied dance.
Gu Yi’an pondered for a moment, recalling scenes from the challenge game.
She looked at the poet and asked, "Is it because Dancer has a dance background, making her agile and suited for jumping?"
The poet nodded slightly. "From the two times the brute and the doctor went in, the key step was jumping."
Gu Yi’an understood his implication: in that challenge game, the most crucial ability for the character was jumping.
If Dancer was truly skilled at jumping, then she would be the best candidate for the challenge.
Gu Yi’an didn’t make a decision right away.
The poet said meaningfully, "Gambler, being too kind isn’t a good thing."
Gu Yi’an didn’t respond to that.
In this challenge game, a single misstep could mean death.
She couldn’t bring herself to send someone else to face death just because they were suitable.
She would rather face death herself.
Tang Jiu shot the poet a glare, she had caught the underlying meaning in his words too.
She leaned closer to Gu Yi’an and said, "Well, it’s because you’re kind, An’an, that I’m willing to be friends with you."
Gu Yi’an said, "I want to go in."
"No way," Tang Jiu flatly refused.
The poet smiled at Gu Yi’an but remained silent.
Gu Yi’an glanced at the other players.
The doctor closed his eyes to rest.
When the student noticed Gu Yi'an looking over, he volunteered, "Sage, if you don't want Dancer to go, you can send me instead. I can jump too, my leaping ability is quite good."
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt someone's icy gaze upon him.
Could it be the doctor looking at him?
The student guessed this in his heart.
Following the direction of the gaze, he saw the poet's cold eyes.
The student rubbed his eyes and noticed the poet had shifted his gaze, now looking tenderly at Sage.
But the student was certain his earlier feeling wasn't wrong.
That icy stare had definitely come from the poet, who now appeared gentle!
The student remembered, this guy was a love-struck fool.
Perhaps his earlier initiative to approach Sage had provoked the poet's displeasure.
The student retracted what he had just said to Gu Yi'an.
He added, "Sage, I think it's fine for Dancer to enter the game. I'm afraid of dying, I'll go next time."
What was the point of being chivalrous when his own life was at stake?
To avoid earning the poet's resentment, the student quickly labeled himself as cowardly and pushed Dancer forward instead.
Wait, why was he so afraid of the poet?
Wasn't the poet just a love-struck fool?
After speaking, the student felt confused about his own fear of the poet.
Dancer, unaware of the student's inner turmoil, was willing to give it a try herself.
Thus, she had no particular opinion about the poet's or the student's remarks.
Dancer said, "Then I'll leave it to you, Gambler."
Gu Yi'an nodded and promised, "Alright."
Since Dancer was willing to trust her, she would do her utmost to help her clear the game.
As Dancer suddenly vanished from the room, the display screen changed.
A familiar scene appeared before the players.
The figure on the screen bore some resemblance to Dancer.
Dancer's voice echoed from all around the room.
"Gambler, should I jump over first?"
"Yes."
Gu Yi'an watched as the figure in the screen cautiously approached the edge of a deep pit ahead, peering down.
Then the figure retreated a short distance, accelerated, dashed forward, and leaped, all three movements executed seamlessly.
The figure landed smoothly, appearing quite agile.
Gu Yi'an said, "Dancer, you can use your props to test the stone slab above now." If you don't have a suitable prop on hand, you can try jumping up to touch it yourself."
The figure on the screen raised its hands and began jumping in place.
She successfully triggered the hidden stone slab in mid-air.
The figure used a prop to climb onto the hidden slab.
Seeing this, Tang Jiu turned to the poet and said, "You didn't push Dancer out to scout on purpose, did you? Is this what you call good jumping ability? It took her forever just to climb onto that slab."
The poet ignored the reproach in Tang Jiu's tone and replied amiably, "Dancer is the most suitable candidate. She's willing to follow directions."
"Are you saying I didn't follow An'an's directions before?" Tang Jiu stood up.
Gu Yi'an's full attention was on the figure in the screen.
She said, "Dancer, don't dash, just use your full strength to jump over the stone slab in front of you. Be careful not to touch that slab."
"Okay." Dancer accepted Gu Yi'an's suggestion without hesitation.
The tiny figure on the screen stood at the far right of the triggered stone slab, gathering strength before leaping.
Gu Yi'an watched as the figure cleared the stone slab ahead and landed steadily on the ground below.
Gu Yi'an asked, "Dancer, are you hurt?"
"No, I study dance. I've jumped from heights even greater than this, though never this far."
The dancer's voice remained unchanged, clearly indicating she was in good condition and unharmed.
Gu Yi'an glanced at the screen. Ahead of the figure was a long stretch of flat ground.
She said, "Dancer, the doctor already tested it last time, there's a fake trap ahead. If you step on it, you'll fall through. Be careful and take small steps forward. Keep your weight on your back foot. Use your front foot only to test the ground, don't put too much pressure on it."
The dancer's voice echoed in the room, "...Alright. Gambler, could you ask Poet and Miss Warrior to lower their voices a bit? I'm having trouble hearing clearly."
Upon hearing the dancer's request, Gu Yi'an froze for a moment.
When she was focused, she tended to ignore unimportant noises around her.
With the dancer's reminder, Gu Yi'an noticed the conversation between Tang Jiu and the poet.
Tang Jiu's tone was filled with displeasure, "...Me, reckless? Hah, you're a wandering poet, right? Then recite a couple of lines for us. Can't do it, can you? I think you're just a monster who snuck in."
The poet faced Tang Jiu's provocation with composure and replied, "I can compose poetry, but not for you."
Tang Jiu said, "Oh. I don't want to hear it anyway."
The poet stated, "I'm writing it for Gambler."
Hearing this, Gu Yi'an realized she had once again been dragged into the conflict between Tang Jiu and the poet.
She silently watched the screen as the tiny figure representing the dancer cautiously tested the path ahead.
Gu Yi'an decided to pretend she hadn't heard anything.
But some things couldn't be avoided just because Gu Yi'an wanted to.
Tang Jiu scornfully said to the poet, "Give it up. An'an would never want to listen to your weird, pretentious poetry."
Upon hearing this, the poet didn't argue. Instead, he directly approached Gu Yi'an herself.
He asked gently, "Gambler, would you listen to the poem I wrote for you?"