The Trial Game of Life – Chapter 168

Table of Contents | Character Guide

Chapter 168: City of Eden

Zheng Yingying’s dungeon was so cool that Mr. Crow fell in love with it at first sight.

The crow jumped happily on the red and blue neon lights. Wires and billboards of many sizes were scattered all over the space, cutting it into countless irregular blocks. For Mr. Crow, this felt like going to a colourful amusement park. As he looked up, many futuristic skyscrapers were pressing against each other in the distance. There were no stars amidst the thick clouds, but lights could be seen glimmering from many flying objects, all of which twirled into a brilliant, human-made starry sky.

Mr. Crow jumped ever so happily, but out of the blue, it started to drizzle. He looked up a few times, and a drop of rain fell into his eye socket. He let out of a shrill shriek and quickly find shelter under the eaves.

Right above the eaves was the electronic sign of a small clinic. As it rained, the gloomy, damp smell of a sewer drifted from the dark alley beside the clinic. The buildings here weren’t tall. They squeezed together like a stack of iron cages, exuding an inexplicably dark air, as if all their light had been swept away by the ubiquitous neon lights.

Clad in hoodies and clutching baseball bats, several young men dashed through the puddles on the ground to chase after a cat that was lost in the steel jungle.

The noble Mr. Crow stretched his neck to watch the show. He had an inkling that these little lambs were in trouble.

Sure enough, soon after the young men kicked over a trash can and rushed into the dark alley ahead, a few muffled noises could be heard. In the darkness, the sound was ruptured by the raindrops and couldn’t be heard clearly, but Mr. Crow could see that following the waves of rainwater, dark crimson blood was flowing out of the alley and into the underground pipes.

Soon, several bodies were dragged out and thrown into the kicked-over trash can. The person handling the bodies wore a baseball cap and a black mask, and the way he moved was skilful. It seemed that this wasn’t his first time.

Regardless of which group these humans belonged to, they all carried an electronic bracelet on their exposed wrists. The black bracelet had a simple shape, and the screen displayed numbers of varying degrees, which would abruptly jump the moment the body was tossed into the trash can.

Mr. Crow shook his head and suddenly, as if sensing something, he looked up at one of the iron cages in front of him. The window was lit, and the heavy curtains were open just a little. Very vaguely, a red figure could be seen standing behind the window.

Zheng Yingying was watching everything outside with cold eyes.

[City of Eden] was the name of the dungeon that she and Jiang He had triggered this time. It was a dystopian virtual world set against the backdrop of a futuristic society with a strict hierarchy and a huge gap between the rich and the poor.

She also carried the same electronic bracelet as those people just now. The number seen on the screen was the virtual currency of this world.

In [City of Eden], there was one fundamental rule: everything could be put up for sale.

From ordinary goods to human organs and even life, as long as you were willing to pay, a transaction could be made. If there was a place with some sort of so-called civilisation, it would be ‘Noah’, the center of City of Eden. It was the futuristic skyscrapers that Mr. Crow laid eyes on when he looked out just now.

Noah was a neighbourhood of the affluent, where they followed a different set of laws. As for the people outside Noah, they were simply commodities to those rich people.

The condition for clearing the dungeon was to save up one million within 30 days.

Inside the room, Jiang He was fiddling with the weapons he got from the black market. Although City of Eden was a futuristic society, its weapons were a mixture of old and new technologies.

Fantasy lightsabers might be displayed in the window, but ordinary pistols, guns and knives were also in use. Besides those, there were also remarkably creative yet peculiar items that would require careful consideration before they could be used without any issues.

In Jiang He’s words: “This dungeon lasts for a month. If the 3rd Movement is destined to be yours, it should be here.”

Yan Ye had done a divination for her and only said that she would obtain the 3rd Movement, however, there was no confirmation as to which dungeon and when it might happen. It could be that she couldn’t divine it, or she deliberately hid it. In short, nothing was certain.

This was the seventh day since they arrived here, and Zheng Yingying’s current number is 9658. At first, she had managed to save some, but it was soon spent by Jiang He in exchange for the pile of weapons on the ground.

Strictly speaking, they were just scrap metal. Zheng Yingying had no idea what else he could do with them.

“What time is it?” Jiang He suddenly asked.

“Half past six.” Zheng Yingying glanced at the clock on the wall.

Jiang He stopped what he was doing, stood up and went to the bathroom to tidy up. A moment later, he came out wearing a mask that looked very much similar to the one worn by V1Refers to the character V in the movie “V for Vendetta”..

The two didn’t waste a word and headed out in silence, just like what they did in the previous few days.

Zheng Yingying was still wearing a red cape, with a black eye mask covering her missing eye. Her slender arms looked like they would break the moment someone bent it a little. Jiang He held up a transparent umbrella, which was made of an unknown material that looked like an electronic display. On the display, the weather conditions were shown in detail.

Today: Light rain, 23℃, humidity 70%.

Mr. Crow followed them from a distance. Through many dark alleys, they finally arrived at an iron door that looked like the entrance to a shady Internet cafe. A bald, fierce and burly man opened the door for them. Inside was a staircase leading down, and down there was a completely different world.

It was a noisy crowd with the smell of tobacco and alcohol lingering everywhere. Bunny girls with scanty clothes and muscular men with tattoos all over their bodies were doing the business, and on the stage in the center, a battle of the most primitive kind was taking place.

This was an underground fighting arena under the control of Noah’s biggest syndicate, where people could find the fastest way to make money.

With much eagerness, Zheng Yingying held out [The Nameless Blade].

Jiang He gave her another reminder: “I didn’t bring you here to give in to your bloodthirst. Your goal is on the second floor. Remember, other than that, you must restrain yourself. Don’t be controlled by a dagger or anyone else. Stick to your heart and don’t randomly attack other people.”

The second floor was full of VIPs, and Jiang He chose to pass through it by — assassination.

In the dungeons created by Yong Ye City, killing was inevitable. They had been made to go through such dungeons over and over again. Since Jiang He didn’t want Zheng Yingying to become the second Scarlet, he took Rong Yi’s words to heart. With its curse, [The Nameless Blade] might destroy Zheng Yingying, but asking Zheng Yingying to give it up at this moment was nothing but a pipe dream.

Jiang He felt a little regretful for bringing her to the Infinite Market of Dreams, but in this world, there was no potion that could heal regrets. He could only hope to be the one who kept Zheng Yingying in check and prevented her from losing her way.

Not saying a word, Zheng Yingying stole a glance at a tall, slender man across the stage. He was a player that lost all his money yesterday and had to sell a kidney.

City of Eden had excellent medical technology. Even if one was to go under surgery now, he could get out of bed very soon.

In total, 12 players entered the dungeon, but most of them weren’t doing very well. However, there were exceptions, like that man who took an unconventional approach and became Noah’s guest by relying on his good looks.

Some people opened up a black market selling new medicine brought from Yong Ye City and made huge profits. They all had different ways to play this game.

Thinking of this, for some reason, Zheng Yingying felt a little excited. As though [The Nameless Blade] could sense its owner’s emotions, a cold, guarded glimmer of light flashed on its unadorned blade.

Suddenly, a warm, big hand gently pressed on Zheng Yingying’s shoulder.

Zheng Yingying woke up from this strange state and lifted her head to meet Jiang He’s eyes. A moment later, she said: “I understand.”

Jiang He patted her head through the cloak and said: “Don’t worry, I’m here.”

At the same time, Leng Miao also entered a dungeon. The Great Mage, who was famous for his ruthlessness, was wearing a deadly look on his face at this moment. With just one glare, he might stop a child from crying at night.

Opposite him, an 18-year-old pretty boy, whose hair was dyed grey and tied up in a man bun, was sobbing to him: “I had no other way! He said he would treat me to a cookie, so I ate a small piece. Who knew that I would gain weight after taking a bite of a cookie? But the cookie was really yummy. There was nothing I could do, hur hur hur hur, I’m such a poor thing…”

In the dungeon [‘Everyone Is A Star’ Movement], 100 contestants had to PK for a week such that the final ten would debut as a group. Needless to say, the players weren’t the contestants, rather, they were the agents.

The way to clear the game was also very simple: just make sure their contestants entered the top ten.

Leng Miao was a doctor during when he was alive and a wizard when he passed on. He never imagined that he would have a third career and become an agent for a little kid whose body hair hadn’t even grown fully yet.

This brat not only loved to eat and cry, but was also extremely chatty. He talked so much that in the first ten minutes of the job, Leng Miao already wanted to finish him off.

“Shut up.”

“How can you say that?! I just ate a cookie. What’s wrong with a cookie?… You said you would always support me and be with me all the way. You even said I was a cutie. The end is nowhere in sight and yet you told me to shut up!”

“……”

“Hur hur hur hur, my little cookie, my dream —”

F**king hell.

Leng Miao couldn’t help but curse in his heart. His head was so full of cookies and dreams that he felt his brain would be washed off soon. In just a short while, this ‘cutie’ had gained weight like a balloon.

Could a small cookie have such powers?

Leng Miao couldn’t stand it any further, so he grabbed the cutie by the back of his collar and brought him to the electronic scale to weigh him. The cutie looked down to see that he weighed 58kg, and he almost fainted on the spot.

He completely collapsed, clutching his head as he squatted on the electronic scale: “I should’ve participated in a shape-shifting programme instead of a talent show. I’ve become a fat man. If my weight shoots to 120 jin2A Chinese measuring unit that is equivalent to 0.45 kg., how can I be here? Even if I’m really a fairy, I’ll fall from the sky because I’m too fat. I’m such a poor thing. My cookie, my dream —”

Leng Miao decisively stuffed his mouth with a macaron.

He finally understood the way of this dungeon.

The cookies must’ve been spiked with something, and eating them would make one fat, which would likely lead to elimination. The contestants were all fighting in secret. Today, cookies might’ve been spiked with something, and tomorrow, drinks might be poisoned, or even clothes and shoes might have needles placed inside them. If one wanted to ensure that his contestant made it into the top ten, pure talent wasn’t enough. Staying alive was necessary.

“Who gave you the cookie?” Having figured it out, Leng Miao lowered his head to ask the impacted contestant. The fairy who claimed he would fall from the sky after hitting 120 jin had already gulped down the whole macaron.

Leng Miao directly pulled him off the scale, lifted him, and weighed him again. The number stopped at a shocking — 59.9kg.

The cutie was so scared that he held his breath and didn’t even dare to move the little bun on his head.

Leng Miao wanted to flush him down the toilet, but he had to endure it for the sake of clearing the game. Catching sight of a treadmill in the lounge from the corner of his eye, he immediately sent the cutie there for some exercise. He picked up the contestant’s data on the coffee table and started to look through it.

Name: Lin Ouer

Sex: Male

Height: 178cm (net height: 171cm, heels: 3cm, insole: 2cm, hair: 2cm)

Talent: Emitting ‘cutie’ light waves

Secret technique: After eating a whole hairy crab, he can use the shell to revive the crab

Preliminary ranking: 88

I declare you are eliminated immediately.

Rong Yi, the last one to enter a dungeon, arrived at a single-player game.

It was a Zone G dungeon triggered by The Warden himself, so naturally, there were no other players. That said, plenty of NPCs were already here.

In this [Suicide Permit] dungeon, everything in life relied on having a permit, so even killing oneself called for a permit. The way to clear the game was very simple: when he obtained the permit, the game would be over; there was no time limit.

But the most absurd thing about this dungeon is that if he wanted to kill himself, he must first take a test. But during the test, he had to dodge various murder attempts and desperately struggle for survival in order to get the permit to kill himself.

In the bustling ID card issuance hall, Rong Yi sat on a bench in the waiting area gripping his queue number and thinking about life. In front of him was a middle-aged woman wearing very normal-looking clothes and a very normal-looking knockoff bag, with semi-permanent tattooed eyebrows. Holding a locally-produced mobile phone that was 80% new, she was participating in probably 88 chat groups full of elderly people.

The person at the back of the line was a young man with four words seemingly written on his face — Don’t come near me.

After waiting for a long time, the staff finally called Rong Yi’s number: “44!”

Rong Yi walked forward, followed the unamicable staff out of the hall and walked through a long corridor. This corridor had no windows, and the light was very dim, with only a few tiny lamps on both sides of the wall, barely illuminating the way ahead.

Many phrases were written on the wall.

[If you are planning to die, die far away to not bring trouble to others.]

[People who kill themselves are selfish.]

[She was clearly living a good life, why would she end it?]

[His mental endurance is simply not there.]

[A good death is one that does not stand in the way.]

[If you have mental issues, go see a doctor.]

[So pretentious.]

[What a burden.]

[Think about your parents.]

[Such a wimp.]

[Weakling.]

[If you aren’t afraid of death, why are you afraid of living? That’s weird.]

……

Perhaps it was because the light was too dim, those big, black phrases looked like some ghosts that sent chills down one’s spine. Rong Yi calmly walked through the seemingly endless corridor without batting an eye and finally saw the light.

At the end of the corridor was a black ocean, where a small boat was quietly moored. The staff pointed at the boat and said: “Get on it. Row the boat to the other side and you’ll clear the game.”

The other side of the river seemed close, for a vague outline could be seen through the thick fog.

Yet the other side also seemed far away, for it was on the other side of the fog.