After Su Er said this, his eyes never left the Green Lotus Sage for a moment. The latter remained motionless, still standing not far away, watching the players have their afternoon tea with a smile.
"Maybe I'm worrying too much." He frowned, but there was indeed something wrong with this host. Even if he was a ghost, it would be impossible for him to blink at the same frequency.
Ji Heng: "It is indeed data, but it is not game data."
Because he always likes to compare games to sophisticated instruments, Soul expanded his imagination a little: "Artificial intelligence?"
Ji Heng nodded. "I once visited a dungeon where there were many intelligent beings. Compared to humans, they had a very striking characteristic...they had no anger."
Su Er was slightly startled.
"The original purpose of building artificial intelligence is to serve humanity," said Ji Heng. "Anger can sow hidden dangers."
However, when intelligence develops to a certain level, the absence of unnecessary emotions can actually help them conceal their true feelings. No one can know the true thoughts hidden behind a smile.
Su Er thought thoughtfully: "No wonder he never gets angry no matter what I do."
"But these are just speculations," Ji Heng smiled, "and they still need to be verified."
Su Er blinked: "Is it the verification method I thought of?"
Ji Heng nodded: "The simpler the better."
Sur then faced the host, raised his hand and stood up: "Excuse me, are you an intelligent person?"
"…"
Some players paused while eating their pastries, pretending not to hear anything and continued eating. Others thought that Sur was crazy. Even if they had any guesses, how could they question him openly?
The hall fell into a dead silence. The Green Lotus Sage slowly turned his head and nodded, "Yes."
Soul patted his chest and said, "I was so scared. I thought Yugi was coming to tear me apart."
The girl sitting on the right silently moved her stool to the side, trying to stay away. It was the first time she knew that people could be so outspoken.
The Blue Lotus Sage smiled and said, "The player is just a pebble, and the game is the towering mountains."
Even if a stone rolls in the wrong direction, even if it escapes along the river, it will not harm the mountains or rivers.
Su Er said hurriedly: "I just called the game a dog out of fear. Will I be retaliated against?"
There were sounds of people sucking in their breaths all around. The player on the opposite side was quite nice. He gave Ji Heng a look, signaling him to stop Suer from continuing.
Ji Heng shook his head to indicate that nothing was wrong.
The most taboo in the dungeon was to use human thinking to interpret the game. The game had no emotions; if it did, Sur would have been dead long ago. To it, there were only two kinds of things: threat and no threat.
As expected, the Blue Lotus Sage also conveyed a similar message: "The game will choose to listen to 'sexual', and abusive words are not within its scope of attention."
Suer curled his lips, keyword search?
"I'm full." Wan Yi suddenly stood up, apparently preparing to go back to the guest room to rest.
With him taking the lead, the others left one after another. The monsters outside had almost dispersed at this moment, and the braver ones were preparing to go to the supermarket to get some daily necessities.
Wanyi left to give Suer a way out, but Suer did not leave with him. He took the hot milk coffee with too much sugar content and drank it in small sips.
"After finishing this drink, go to the mall and find some clothes to change into," said Ji Heng.
Su Er nodded and prepared to leave. When he was about to reach the revolving door, he looked back and saw that the host still had a curved smile on his face.
·
After taking a shower and changing into clean clothes, it was already seven o'clock in the evening.
Su Er sat on the bed and summarized the existing information. When he encountered some doubts, he was about to communicate with Ji Heng, when he suddenly heard some movement outside the door.
A thin card was stuffed in through the crack in the door. Sur got up and picked it up. Looking through the peephole, he could still see the back of the rabbit waiter.
The card is quite retro, with "City of Hope" printed on the front and a short story on the back:
The young traveler was about to die of thirst in the desert. He prayed desperately, willing to pay any price to find an oasis.
God heard his call and came to the world: "Even life?"
The traveler's throat felt like it was on fire, and he endured the burning pain and replied, "I'm going to die anyway, so if I can drink a sip of water before I die, I won't regret it."
God led him to an oasis. The traveler drank water and rediscovered the taste of life. He forgot his agreement with God and angrily cursed God's ugliness, accusing God of being a demon...
The story ends here, with a line of words written in red at the bottom:
--The game [People in the Story] will start at 10 o'clock tonight. Players who want to participate, please gather in the lobby on time.
After reading the contents of the card, Su Er laughed: "Is this considered brainwashing?"
No matter how you look at it, the stories above all satirize the relationship between players and games.
"But when I think about it, it's not wrong." He tossed the card aside and poured a glass of water. "With my personality, living in a town like Wudu would definitely be a living hell."
At this time, if a voice suddenly came to his ear, saying that it could help him escape from all this, but the price was to go through countless life and death tests in the future, he would most likely choose to agree.
When people reach the end of their lives, they will inevitably want to take a chance with fate.
Ji Heng's eyes became more profound, and he simply said, "Live on, no one owes anyone anything."
The game helps them escape the distorted world they originally lived in, and it must have its own motives. All they have to do is to try their best to live under the rules set by the game until one day they gain freedom.
Su Er was not a person who liked to feel sad about the passing of time. Seeing that there were more than two hours left, he took the time to catch up on his sleep.
The difficulty level is not clearly stated on the card, and I deliberately chose a later time point, so I guess it won't be too easy.
At ten o'clock in the evening, the hall was full of people.
Looking at the players with different expressions, the Green Lotus Sage first explained the game rewards.
"This round of games is designed to help you explore your 'true self.'"
Combined with the inevitable death situation, Su Er quickly deduced that the so-called "self" refers to what his true self was like in that forgotten past.
There were a few players present who were still confused and asked what this sentence meant.
The Qinglian Sage would just smile and ignore any questions that were not within the prescribed scope.
"In the past few years, the mortality rate in this game has been very high." He scanned everyone's face and offered a final act of mercy. "There's still a chance to quit."
In silence, Su Tangyi asked, "How high?"
Qinglian Sage: "The worst time, only one person survived."
Su Tangyi clutched her sleeves tightly. "You said that the survival rate of fraud is very high."
The Green Lotus Sage nodded: "Although many people died that time, ten people chose not to participate."
Not long after the words fell, one player took the lead in making a decision: "I quit."
After the first person backs out, the second and third soon follow.
Of the seventeen players, only six decided to stay, less than half.
As long as the mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood. This is what most people think.
Su Er suddenly spoke, just to confirm: "Can I participate?"
The Blue Lotus Sage nodded: "Everyone has the right to self-analysis."
After making sure that no one had quit, he nodded with satisfaction and distributed palm-sized mirrors to the remaining players one by one.
"Because it is a high-difficulty mini-game, the rewards are distributed in stages."
In the past, rewards could only be obtained after clearing the level. This method is obviously more humane.
Suer studied the small mirror. There was a bright red heart in the upper right corner.
"This peach heart represents your life," the Blue Lotus Sage said with a smile. "Every time it begins to beat, it proves you're on the brink of life and death. If you manage to survive, the mirror will reveal a passage about your true self... your true inner monologue."
A gust of wind blew in, and Sur's body seemed to be drained of water in an instant, and was absorbed into the mirror bit by bit.
There were several other players who had the same experience as him. The scene was so horrifying that those who backed out at the last minute felt a little relieved.
Trapped in the mirror, Su Er knocked lightly and found that he could still hear a clear sound: "How can I get out?"
"Three escapes."
Before Suer could think carefully, he found that his environment had changed again.
The scorching sun poured down from overhead, and the sand beneath him burned his skin, making it both painful and itchy. Suer vaguely saw some people lying around him, all in similar conditions, barely able to speak.
Trying to catch his breath, he managed to hold himself up, the red heart in the mirror in his hand flashing wildly. According to the host, this meant he was about to die.
It was unclear how much longer this dehydrated body could hold out, but there was only one way out. While Suer was thinking, someone else had already rushed ahead and prayed devoutly.
A small patch of dark clouds appeared in the sky, and under the rare shade, everyone regained a little strength.
God appeared, floating in the air, dazzling and bright, with a vague glimpse of his sad face.
"I can send you to the oasis, but in three days, you must give me your life."
The player said the same words as written on the small card, agreeing to the deal. The moment he nodded, he disappeared from the desert.
The yellow sand was endless, the sun was blazing, and continuing to struggle was a gamble with one's life. Everyone chose the same solution: pray to the gods.
This includes Su Er and Ji Heng.
With God's help, Sur was successfully sent to a meadow and drank several gulps of water happily.
The red heart stopped beating temporarily, which meant that the first escape and ascension was successful.
"It's an easy start, but it's a trade of life." A hoarse voice came, and Suer turned his head and saw Li Zicang.
The latter was treating a sunburn on his body with a bitter smile.
Sur's deepest impression of Li Zicang was his rabbit simulator that loved to snatch food. It was unique among all the rabbit people at that time.
Li Zicang walked over and generously showed the words on the mirror: [I'm so hungry, I want to have a full meal.]
Sur did not hide his message: [When will this world, imprisoned by old rules, be destroyed?]
"This was my true inner thought at a certain stage," Li Zicang said with lowered eyes. "Back then, we were still living in a distorted world."
Suer was slightly surprised. The other party might have also guessed that the player was originally a person living in a copy.
Li Zicang sighed deeply, "I'm different from others. I've had an uncontrollable addiction to collecting food and weapons since I was a child."
After entering the game, this desire becomes even stronger.
"I've gotten some scattered clues by chance, and combined with the rewards from winning the daytime game, they're enough to prove something."
That's why he was so determined to participate in the game that night.
Su Er: "Are you the reincarnation of a starving ghost?"
Li Zicang said with a smile: "The clue we got in the first round of the exploration game was 'disaster'."
Everyone has different hopes, so there is no need to hide them.
"Disasters, hunger, collecting addiction..." Su Er raised an eyebrow: "Apocalypse?"
Li Zicang spread his hands: "Who knows?"
While speaking, Suer vaguely saw two people among the trees on the other side of the river, and was about to go over to see if there was any sign of Ji Heng.
Li Zicang joined him temporarily and pointed to a place far ahead: "There is a bridge there."
When they were almost there, they saw a familiar figure standing on the bridge.
Su Er breathed a sigh of relief and waved his arms.
Ji Heng walked towards this side.
When I got closer to Suer, I realized that his brows were still furrowed.
"Isn't the tip... not very good?"
Li Zicang, standing nearby, felt a thirst for knowledge. In fact, he was quite curious about what the inner desires of someone like Ji Heng were.
Ji Heng handed the mirror directly to Su Er. The words on it were densely packed: [Everything is tiring. I see entitlement in those people's eyes. They enjoy the blessings, but never try to share the burden. Darkness is approaching. I long to see a young, lively soul. They may be weak, incompetent, or even a drag, but there will be an unfading vitality in their eyes. They know gratitude, are motivated, and can march forward with me. Now the peach tree in the yard is about to wither. I know this means...]
"What does it represent?" Suer and Li Zicang asked almost in unison.
How come it disappeared at the critical moment!
Su Er's mouth twitched: "Could it be that the mirror has a word limit?"
He and Li Zicang both gave a one-sentence self-analysis, but they had no idea that Ji Heng would have a long inner monologue.
Now, when the two of them looked up, there was something strange in their expressions.
"Young, grateful, shoulder to shoulder..." Su Er picked out the key words, his expression indescribably complicated: "Brother, you entered the game just to post a marriage advertisement?"
The air fell silent.
Li Zicang was also speechless. Although he didn't know about his past experiences, he was trying his best to escape from a cruel world where he couldn't even get food to eat. From Sur's hint, he could also guess that the other party should have lived in a place with strict rules.
They are like the young traveler in this story, who is in desperate situation and willing to make a deal with God.
One to have a good meal and enjoy peace.
One who wants to break free from bondage has laws to follow.
As for Ji Heng, his original intention was to find a companion after being lonely for a long time.
Thinking of this, Li Zicang couldn't help but sigh: "What a simple dream!"