Chapter 70

Gu Yi'an was completely at a loss with this notebook.
She didn't close it immediately, instead saying, "If you tormented the players a bit less, everyone would like you."
If the god would just refrain from displaying its mischievous tendencies and stop telling players that their purpose in playing the game was to amuse it...
Then many players would be grateful to the god for granting them a second life.
Alas, the god was simply that mischievous, insisting that everything was its gift, that players could only survive by pleasing it and keeping it entertained.
The notebook, upon hearing Gu Yi'an's words, began to display new text on its pages.
Gu Yi'an expressionlessly closed it.
Though she had already seen the line of text.
"Will you like me too?"
She didn’t seem to have ever disliked gods.
Perhaps she should.
Gu Yi'an closed the notebook.
She retrieved clothes from the wardrobe, rinsed herself clean, and changed into fresh attire.
Summer had arrived, and Gu Yi'an’s outfits shifted to long dresses.
She placed the notebook into her backpack.
The little fire dragon flapped its wings, wanting to fly out.
Gu Yi'an said, "Little Fire, I’m going to the library. Do you want to come along?"
She remembered she had an exam in a couple of days and planned to review her lessons at the library.
Hearing this, the fire dragon settled back down.
It did want to follow.
When Gu Yi'an arrived at the library, her usual seat remained unoccupied, as no one dared to take it.
She set down her backpack, first placing her phone on the table, then taking out the notebook and the little fire dragon from the backpack and arranging them in front of her. Finally, she removed the hanging ghost in the form of a sunny doll and placed it beside the small coffin on her phone.
As for the bracelet on her wrist, Gu Yi'an herself didn’t know why, but whenever she saw it, she felt an urge not to remove it.
With all the supernatural beings around her accounted for, Gu Yi'an didn’t have to worry about them causing trouble, nor did she need to worry about her own safety.
Thus, she immersed herself fully in her studies.
Over the past few months, the people around Gu Yi'an had changed in waves, with newcomers always curious about her.
They would catch glimpses of her study desk, intentionally or not.
They felt bewildered.
Why would she bring a small dinosaur figurine to the library to study?
Were their eyes playing tricks on them?
Did that dinosaur’s wings just move?
Those people only dared to steal glances, not approach Gu Yi'an to strike up a conversation. They could only keep their questions to themselves or dismiss what they saw as a trick of the eyes.
During her review sessions, Gu Yi'an would occasionally grow tired.
At such times, she would take a break, playing on her phone for a while or chatting with the notebook using a pen and paper.
She didn’t pay much attention to the activity in her class group chat, often only noticing new developments half a day later.
Scrolling through the group messages, Gu Yi'an saw that the new class advisor had announced that a student from the previous year, who had taken a leave of absence, would be joining their class. This student had started school at a young age and, after a year off, was now around the same age as Gu Yi'an and her classmates.
Other students in the class curiously asked the new advisor whether the new student was male or female, expressing hope for a female addition.
Due to the incident where Gu Yi'an’s former roommates played with a pen spirit, nearly half of the female students in her class had died, resulting in a male-dominated class. The boys were eager for a new female classmate.
Unfortunately, the new advisor informed them that the student on leave was male.
The enthusiasm in the group chat instantly waned, leaving only the new advisor asking if anyone still had contact with the previous class advisor.
Gu Yi'an saw that message.
She privately messaged the new advisor, asking why she needed the previous advisor’s contact information.
The new advisor wasn’t tight-lipped, and with some subtle probing from Gu Yi'an, she revealed the truth.
The previous advisor, Huang Ya’s uncle, had come to the school looking for her, but after Huang Ya resigned, the school couldn’t locate her.
Reading this, Gu Yi'an suddenly recalled the incident she encountered when she left school and hailed a taxi that day.
A man was manipulating the driver, intending to let the ghost he raised take over her body at an opportune moment.
That man had mistaken her for Huang Ya, who had seized the body. When he mentioned tricking her out, he was likely referring to Huang Ya’s uncle coming to find her.
As expected, it had nothing to do with her brother’s incident.
However, that man seemed to have disappeared afterward.
Gu Yi’an didn’t dwell on it any further.
If that man knew what was best for him, he wouldn’t come to the school to cause trouble for her again.
After all, the ghost by her side was far more powerful than the one he had raised.
Gu Yi’an shook off her thoughts and refocused on her revision.
On the day of the new subject’s exam, Gu Yi’an arrived at the examination hall arranged by the school fifteen minutes early.
The other students in her class had already arrived.
Taking advantage of the teachers’ absence, they were scribbling cheat notes on their desks with pencils.
Gu Yi’an had never been one to engage in such dishonest behavior.
She pretended not to see it and took her seat according to her student number.
A few minutes later, two invigilators entered the classroom with sealed exam papers.
The moment the invigilators appeared at the door, the entire examination hall immediately quieted down.
Gu Yi’an instinctively glanced toward the entrance.
She noticed a boy following behind the invigilators.
He appeared to be around eighteen or nineteen years old, handsome with a youthful aura.
Sensing the gazes from the classroom, he smiled politely at everyone, seeming to have an exceptionally good temperament.
The classroom immediately buzzed with whispers.
“Who’s that?”
“Could he be the one who took a leave of absence?”
Gu Yi’an’s gaze lingered on the boy’s face. Though he looked a few years younger, she was certain she couldn’t mistake his appearance.
The invigilator, who was also their course instructor and the exam’s question setter, announced, “This is a student from the previous year who took a leave of absence. Last year, he only missed this subject’s exam.”
The teacher scanned the examination hall and said, “Lu Zize, take the last row.”
It was indeed Lu Zize.
With that face and that name, Gu Yi’an knew without a doubt, it was the god she recognized.
Lu Zize had likely directly altered everyone’s memories to give himself a plausible identity in this world.
After the invigilator pointed out Lu Zize’s seat, he thanked the teacher and walked over.
The student seats in the classroom were divided into three sections, left, right, and center, with two aisles in between.
Lu Zize's seat was in the last row on the left side. Logically, he should have taken the left aisle to reach his spot.
But he deliberately chose the right aisle instead.
Gu Yi'an was seated in the middle of the right side.
She happened to watch Lu Zize descend from the podium.
His gaze seemed to unintentionally drift toward her, and he gave her a gentle smile.
The others in the classroom were particularly curious about Lu Zize's new face, observing his every move.
When Lu Zize looked at Gu Yi'an, the others' eyes followed.
Gu Yi'an averted her gaze.
Pretending she didn't know this guy.
Seeing this, Lu Zize withdrew his gaze without any unusual behavior and passed by Gu Yi'an's side.
He crossed through the open space at the back of the classroom and reached his seat.
With everyone present, the proctor checked the time and distributed the exam papers.
Gu Yi'an began answering the questions.
While she was taking the exam, at the foot of a mountain somewhere in this world.
Eight figures suddenly appeared on the mountain path.
Among them were men and women, young and middle-aged.
Almost in unison, they looked up at the black characters floating in mid-air.
[Shh! God is watching you.]
A gentle breeze drifted by, causing the weeds on the ground to sway.
The black characters in the air dissipated like smoke.
The eight people glanced at each other.
One young woman with a slightly harsh appearance stepped forward and said, "Stop staring. Hurry up and introduce yourselves, so we can recognize each other and be done with it."
At her words, someone retorted, "You're telling us to speak, why don't you go first?"
The woman replied, "Fine. My surname is Cheng. You can call me Sister Cheng."
After her introduction, an older person wasn't pleased.
"Little girl, are you asking me to call you 'Sister'?"
Sister Cheng glanced at the speaker and said, "If you want to call me 'Sister,' I won't stop you."
"Stop arguing. Can't you see there are newcomers here?"
A man with an honest and sincere appearance stepped in to mediate.
He stopped Sister Cheng and the other person, then addressed the group, "Is anyone here for the first time in the game? The mortality rate for newcomers in The Game of the Gods is very high. If you step forward, we can protect you when danger arises."
Sister Cheng added, "Newcomers, be aware. If you don't tell us you're new players, how are we supposed to protect you later?"
After they spoke, three players from the remaining group stepped forward, two men and one woman, all looking confused.
Sister Cheng eyed them and asked, "What did your newbie prompt say?"
The three newcomers hesitated.
Being pressured by veteran players, they instinctively felt they shouldn't reveal the prompt.
Sister Cheng frowned, displeased. "I hate newcomers like you the most. Do I have to kill one of you before you'll talk?"
She uttered these words so casually.
The other veteran players looked at her with changed expressions.
The three newcomers also reacted differently, mostly with fear.
Sister Cheng now held a dagger in her hand, no one had seen when she drew it.
The dagger gleamed coldly, making the newcomers gasp.
They remained silent for a long moment.
Sister Cheng impatiently said, "Forget it, I'll kill one first."
As soon as she finished speaking, the dagger flew from her hand and plunged directly into the neck of the nearest male newcomer.
The novice male player widened his eyes and collapsed with a "thud," startling the other two novice players into taking a step back.
This scene was beyond everyone's expectations, including the veteran players.
Everyone silently distanced themselves from Sister Cheng, afraid that she might suddenly go berserk and kill them.
Sister Cheng paid no mind to this. She turned to the other two newcomers and said impatiently, "Tell me your beginner hints."
This time, the two newcomers didn't dare hesitate. They scrambled to share the beginner hints they had received.
"A wish. The wish from the dream."
"It's a wish. The wish people want to fulfill."
After sharing their hints, they retreated fearfully, terrified that Sister Cheng might suddenly kill them.
Upon hearing the hint, Sister Cheng frowned and took out a pocket watch with its dial exposed.
A veteran player nearby noticed her action and asked in astonishment, "Can your item reverse time?"
"Yes. An item I obtained in the Despair Dungeon."
Sister Cheng basked in the attention as she openly adjusted the minute hand on the dial.
The scene before her shifted rapidly, and when the minute hand stopped,
Sister Cheng saw black characters floating in the air.
[Shh! God is watching you.]
She had returned to the very beginning of the game.
Glancing at the men and women around her who hadn't noticed anything unusual, Sister Cheng put the pocket watch back in her pocket and feigned confusion.
The eight of them stood in the middle of the mountain path, exchanging glances.
Finally, a man who looked honest and straightforward stepped forward. He briefly introduced himself and asked the others who the novice players were.
Sister Cheng pretended to be bewildered and stepped forward proactively.
"I am. Big brother, if I tell you the beginner hint I know, will you protect me?"
In the examination hall.
Gu Yi'an was working on her test paper when she felt something was off.
This question, why did it feel like she had already answered it once before?
The feeling came out of nowhere, but Gu Yi'an was certain she had encountered this question before.
She stopped writing and shifted her gaze away from the test paper.
The draft paper beside her came into view.
Gu Yi'an noticed writing on it and pulled the draft paper to the center.
[Welcome to the Game of the Gods.]
[This is your eighth game. No hints are needed. Wishing you a pleasant game.]
Her eighth game had begun?