The Trial Game of Life – Chapter 154

Table of Contents | Character Guide

Chapter 154: Sword of Judgment (1)

In the living room, Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng sat face to face. The desire to live made Jin Cheng give up asking about the roses. As the words left his lips, they went back to the main business: “Just before we left, I stole a glance at the description of [The Pale Heart]. It was the heart that was pulled out of Louis XIV before he died.”

Tang Cuo: “He pulled it out himself.”

Jin Cheng nodded. He remembered that it was a long description, which roughly explained the specific origins of [The Pale Heart], just like Theodore’s [Nightingale] and the [Sword of Judgment].

“Louis XIV had peeked into the secret of eternal life and tried to set foot in the forbidden zone of ​​​​the gods, which provoked their wrath. He must’ve foreseen the punishment, so he pulled out his own heart before the punishment came to give himself a way out.” 　

Tang Cuo: “But why did Theodore eventually become the vessel?”

Jin Cheng spread his hands: “What is the crest of Theodore’s family?”

Tang Cuo: “A Chinese rose.”

Jin Cheng: “The Chinese rose and the common rose is actually from the same origin.”

If Theodore was also a rose, this would give rise to a very interesting theory.

Tang Cuo once again thought of the first round [Death of The Poet]. In the Kingdom Hidden In The Moonlight that was surrounded by golden sand, traces of Lancelot the bard could be found everywhere. Inside a book found at the magic school’s library, there was a bookmark written by Lancelot when he was young.

[When I grow up, I must find the most beautiful flower in the world and bring it back to the Kingdom Hidden In The Moonlight.]

Eventually, Lancelot brought back a Chinese rose.

Theodore was that Chinese rose. They died together by the Well of Time, and then the roses bloomed all over the city.

The Kingdom Hidden In The Moonlight was also the former capital of the Tucha Empire.

“Both Peter and Bazz gave a lot of blood. They are still the so-called candidates, yet such strong contenders still couldn’t defeat Theodore. This seems like a bloodline issue.” Tang Cuo said.

“Theodore must’ve had his doubts too. And if he wants to shed light on this problem, he’ll definitely return to the Kingdom of Hundred Flowers and seek answers from his family.” Stroking his chin, Jin Cheng said thoughtfully.

Theodore wanted to go back, and Lancelot, as his friend and the only person who knew everything, would definitely accompany him. Then the fifth round of [Kingdom Hidden In The Moonlight] would most likely take place at the Kingdom of Hundred Flowers.

It was useless to guess too much anyway.

Since they had already been in the dungeon for three or four days, the two of them decided to head out to have a meal and inquire about the situation in Yong Ye City first before starting the next round.

Half an hour later, at Shaxian Coffee Shop.

Tang Cuo didn’t know how Jin Cheng could locate such a small, traditional-style coffee shop hidden deep in the corner. In a daze, Tang Cuo even thought he was still in the world of the living: if he went further out, he would see many high-rise buildings and massive waves of traffic.

But when he turned around and saw the price of food, he realised that he was certainly dead.

A plate of chicken drumstick rice cost 8,000 yuan. Even in 2019, when prices were skyrocketing, it wasn’t this exorbitant.

Jin Cheng delivered the news to Wen Xiaoming through the post office. The post office was officially opened by Yong Ye City and was ridiculously expensive, but if they wanted a faster, more convenient and more private means of communication between different zones, this was the only way.

After all, there was no Internet in Yong Ye City, and there was also a lack of communication devices among the available equipment. Only the post office’s system could accurately deliver messages among players.

Wen Xiaoming was determined to invent a communication device for Yong Ye City. Even if it was no way as convenient as a smartphone, it could at least be B-grade equipment.

More than half an hour later, Wen Xiaoming arrived, and he even brought a plus one — Zhang San. Zhang San was Yu Yiyi’s teammate. Even though his name and appearance were commonplace, his whimsical presence definitely would leave a lasting impression.

The two were working together to investigate matters surrounding the Vaccine Research Institute.

Zhang San got straight to the point: “We found out that Ji Ning from the Vaccine Research Institute knows Yan Ye, and it’s not just the relationship between a fortune teller and a customer. They knew each other before this.”

“That’s right.” Wen Xiaoming nodded: “So it remains a question as to who Yan Ye is working for.”

Ji Ning or Lin Yandong?

Was Lin Yandong aware of the relationship between Yan Ye and Ji Ning?

Jin Cheng tapped his fingers on the table and asked: “Have you found anything else?”

Wen Xiaoming said: “Before this, the Vaccine Research Institute has always been very quiet. It houses a team of players who specialise in making medical equipment. We usually just sell potions to make some money and exchange equipment there; no one will go out of their way to get into trouble with this group. The members recruited in this research institute are also experts in their field. However, there were other teams who wanted to recruit these members but failed to do so, which caused some friction. That said, such conflicts are just an everyday thing in Yong Ye City.”

“It could be that Yan Ye acquainted Ji Ning because of her aging disease.” At this time, Tang Cuo spoke. Leaning against the wall with his arms folded, he explained his analysis matter-of-factly: “Since Yan Ye dares to attack Rong Yi to snatch the music movement, it proves that she’s not willing to lay low in the divination room forever. Looking at the whole Yong Ye City, the Vaccine Research Institute is the most promising place.”

Jin Cheng stroked his chin: “That makes sense. Yan Ye hates Lin Yandong, so it’s entirely possible that she joined forces with Ji Ning to set Scarlet free in order to take him down. In this case, both of them would get what they want.”

It was just that Jin Cheng still had no idea what Ji Ning’s motive was. He trapped Lilith and brought her into the dungeon with him. Was there anything special in that dungeon?

Without more information, they couldn’t deduce further for the time being. But then, Zhang San gave them a piece of unexpected news. He looked at Tang Cuo and said: “Do you remember the last time the divination room opened? Yan Ye received three guests, one was you and the other was Yu’er, but do you know who the last person was?”

Tang Cuo: “Zheng Yingying”

Zhang San was slightly taken aback: “So you all know.”

Tang Cuo: “I was just making a guess.”

Zhang San: “…”

Tang Cuo: “How did you get to know that?”

According to the intel given by K, there were two people in the third group, one of whom was the actual guest and the other was just a companion, just like him and Jin Cheng. Those two people’s appearance didn’t sound like Zheng Yingying and Jiang He’s, but Zheng Yingying had [Infinite Forms], and Jiang He was the Mist Assassin who was especially good at disguise.

If there was anyone else in Yong Ye City who could be worthy enough for Yan Ye to open her door to, it must be these two.

“Of course we have our ways.” Zhang San stopped at this point. It was something he couldn’t just expose.

Tang Cuo didn’t pursue the question further, instead, he asked: “Do you know the content of their divination?”

Zhang San: “I don’t know. Aren’t you more familiar with her? I just thought this information might be helpful to you.”

Jin Cheng asked Wen Xiaoming: “Have you seen her again?”

“No.” Wen Xiaoming shook his head: “She disappeared without a trace. I think she’s likely inside a dungeon already. Rong Yi also went to look for her and it seemed he wanted to persuade her to give up the [Nameless Dagger], but I guess the little girl won’t listen to him.”

Wen Xiaoming’s age had already reached that point, so when he talked about Zheng Yingying, his fatherly instinct took over, and it made him really worried about her. It was just that he looked very young, which made his whole presence seem more like an adult-wannabe.

“Miao Qi also hasn’t been found yet” Jin Cheng raised his eyebrows.

“Yes, I haven’t seen him in Yong Ye City nor the prison. His name is still on the Red List, which means that he’s still alive, but he has completely vanished into thin air. He could’ve entered a dungeon, but no one has seen him at the game hall, unless what he enters is a hidden dungeon. But surely he knows that hidden dungeons are messy affairs? He was by himself, all brawn and no brain. By right he should be trying to save his ‘mister’. There’s no way he would just hide in a dungeon.”

Wen Xiaoming was truly puzzled. He could only express his deepest sympathy for this fellow amateur actor who was kidnapped together with him by Lawless. He felt that Miao Qi could probably have been kidnapped again.

And that was indeed the case.

Miao Qi was very angry and very upset. His hands were tied and his eyes were blindfolded, and most of his skills had been sealed. He felt like a soft-legged prawn that was thrown into an unknown room. He was so upset that he felt the urge to throw curses.

But energy had to be consumed for him to curse too, so a short while later, he decided to stop.

He didn’t catch anyone’s attention.

He planned to wait until someone came to continue cursing.

A long time later, footsteps finally reverberated in the room. Miao Qi turned around at once: “Who are you? Let me out!”

The person who came here seemed to carry a voice changer, and the electronically synthesised sound made it impossible to tell whether it belonged to a male or female. Although Miao Qi wasn’t very smart, he could guess that this person was someone he might know. That was why the person deliberately covered his eyes and disguised their own voice.

“Don’t worry. When Lin Yandong comes out, you’ll also have a chance to get out of here.”

Miao Qi’s heart tightened. He struggled: “What is it that you want?”

The person laughed: “You get all excited the moment Lin Yandong’s name is mentioned. Such a good dog. Make a guess, will Lin Yandong come to save you when the time comes?”

“You want to use me to threaten him.”

“Hm.”

“What do you think you can do with me? The mister won’t be fooled by you. This is Yong Ye City. Even if you catch me and kill me, I’ll only go to jail.” Miao Qi said. 

Suddenly he was grasped by his throat.

The other party said: “You don’t have to worry about that.”

Miao Qi’s eyes widened. As his breathing became increasingly difficult, the colour before his eyes slowly turned black. Just when he was about to pass out, the hand on his neck finally let go. Miao Qi was so irate that he bit hard on the tip of his tongue to wake himself up, then charged forward without a care in the world.

Before the person could take a step back, they were caught off-guard and knocked down by Miao Qi. As they were still engulfed in shock, Miao Qi bit them on the ear and half of the ear was almost gnawed off.

“What a lunatic.”

Miao Qi was kicked over, and his back hit the wall with a dull thud. When he raised his head again, his mouth was so full of blood that he had no idea if it was his own or the other person’s.

“Bah.” He tilted his head and spit out the blood that was foaming in his mouth, sneering: “If you dare to set the mister up, I’ll bite you to death.”

As he spoke, a thought flashed through his mind.

Just now when he ran over, he had made physical contact with that person. Their figure seemed a bit small.

Inside and outside this room were two different worlds.

While Miao Qi’s tongue started to taste the bitterness, Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng were busy going on yet another date.

“Ding!”

“Congratulations to the players for starting the hidden mission [Kingdom Hidden In The Moonlight]. This is a serial mission. The fifth round is: [Sword of Judgment]. Current number of players: 2, triggering two-player mode.”

“Players are required to check the Mission panel at all times and follow the instructions to complete the mission.”

“Happy surviving!”

As they opened their eyes, before them was a fairytale-like kingdom.

It was a large Western-style avenue, with colourful glazed tiles and tall chimneys gracing the blue sky above. On both sides of the road as well as atop the roofs, flowers and green vines were blooming all over, which made the place seem unusually breathtaking. The lampposts here looked especially plump and pristine. People were gently walking by, their faces adorned with beautiful smiles. And even the most well-dressed old nobles would stop to talk to the gardener on the roadside.

This was the Kingdom of Hundred Flowers.