The Trial Game of Life

"Lin Yandong saved him once."

The proprietress continued to puff, her eyes looked through the misty smoke, as if she saw the past again, "It was a large copy of dozens of people, I didn't go, and I don't know the specific situation. But in the end, only a few people survived." Personally, all of Black Hat’s teammates died, and he opened a grocery store after clearing the level. A few years have passed, and the people in Evernight City have changed, so no one remembers what happened back then.”

Jin Cheng: "Did he mention it to you?"

The proprietress smiled sarcastically, "I'm just his lover, why did he tell me these things? If you want to ask, why don't you ask Lin Yandong, how can he go in alone, and his temperament will change drastically when he comes out. He and his teammates They usually called brothers and sisters, but after the person died, I never saw him mention it again."

Tang Cuo was thoughtful and asked, "Do you think the death of his teammate has something to do with his change of temperament?"

"Who knows." The proprietress smiled again at Tang Cuo, "I broke up with him anyway, and it doesn't matter to me what he does. But my sister also reminds you, be careful of Lin Yandong. What's wrong with black hats? Plan, he is making up players, there is no way to directly attack players, Lin Yandong is different."

Tang Cuo smiled: "Thank you."

Jin Cheng couldn't stand it any longer, put the lemonade on hand in front of Tang Cuo, and took up the conversation again, "The last question, besides Lin Yandong and the black hat, who else survived back then?"

The proprietress: "A fortuneteller in Area B, but this guy has been hiding in Area B all year round. It's not easy for you to meet him."

This is a surprising answer.

After a while, Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng left the izakaya and returned to Area E.On the way back, the two stopped by the black hat grocery store and stood across the street looking at it for a while.

The two of them didn't hide anything, they just looked at it openly.One is standing with arms folded, the other is leaning on the lamppost. The light from the lamp overlaps their shadows, making them appear a little closer.

"There are a lot of people here." Jin Cheng said.

Three consecutive movements were released, and players committed suicide and triggered mandatory tasks. Eternal Night City was completely empty, but many people gathered around the deserted black hat grocery store in the past.Most of these people wandered around, few of them tentatively walked in, and many of them hid in the buildings on both sides, peeping quietly.

Jin Cheng didn't know if An Ning's people had arrived, and they were hiding in the dark when they arrived.He and Tang Cuo were people in the open, and they appeared so openly to let the black hat see them.

Tang Cuo: "Do you think Lin Yandong is involved in this incident?"

Jin Cheng: "If there is, he will not give me the sixth movement. But the copy back then is very important. Lin Yandong may not tell us all about what happened in it. We have to bypass K and check it out. Check the past."

"Worried about him tipping off the black hat?"

"Defenses can not do without."

Originally, K was a good source of information. Although the asking price was a bit high, it was well used.This time, not only have to abandon it, but also bypass him, and things will be much more troublesome.

It was the first time for Jin Cheng to feel so restrained. After three years in Eternal Night City, his foundation was still too shallow. Once these old players and past events were involved, he quickly fell into a disadvantage.

Seeing the players wandering outside the grocery store, but no one went in for a long time, Jin Cheng said, "The black hat is probably in Area A now."

Tang Cuo: "How to say?"

Jin Cheng: "You are so bold. If the black hat comes out like this, the elites in District A will definitely not be able to sit still. If you can't mess with me, Jin Cheng, don't you dare to enter a grocery store? District A is so lively , how could the black hat who is the owner of the grocery store not check the results?"

What's more, the identity of the compiled player is the black hat's gold medal for avoiding death. No matter how powerful the player is, unless special means are used, he cannot be attacked.

Tang Cuo nodded, basically agreeing.

But the two of them guessed wrong this time. The grocery store in Area A was really lively, and many people were blown out, but they didn't find out until they arrived—the black hat wasn't here at all.

Time went back to an hour ago, Area F.

In a kaleidoscope-like colorful space, there are irregular, infinitely repeating colorful geometric patterns on the walls above the head, under the feet, and around.Moreover, this space is not a normal hexahedron, but a dodecahedron, with bells hanging on each side, and all the bells hang down naturally, completely violating the law of gravity.

"Ding!"

"Welcome to the Dream Infinite Market."

Twelve bells trembled together, and the twelve walls looked like LED screens. Those irregular geometric patterns began to rotate and switch, and they were all replaced by white screens in the next second.

The white screen flickered, and a black wizard hat appeared on every wall. Under the hat was a strange smiling face wearing a pure white mask, without a body.

One of the masks opened, and he looked at the two people, one big and one small, in the space, smiling almost to the ears.

"I didn't expect my first customer to be born in District F. What do you two want to order? There is a discount for the first order."

"I want the dagger hidden in the book of gods." The younger one said.She was wrapped in a red cloak made of linen, her exposed bare feet were slender and weak, and her small face hidden in the hood was also sickly pale.

If Chi Yan and Tang Cuo were here, they would definitely recognize her as the little girl from back then, Zheng Yingying.Standing next to her was naturally Jiang He.

"The Nameless Blade." The one who spoke this time changed into another wizard hat.The wizard's hat twirled comically, tipped down, looked at them upside down, and said, "It's not cheap."

Zheng Yingying: "How much?"

Wizard hat: "This is not a price that can be measured, but since you are my first customer, I can reluctantly offer you a price."

Zheng Yingying: "Say it."

Wizard hat: "I want half your heart, one eye, and one pinky finger, and it can never be regenerated."

Hearing this, Zheng Yingying frowned delicately, showing hesitation and suspicion for the first time.Jiang He next to him also showed vigilance, and immediately interrupted: "What will happen if you lose your heart?"

Wizard hat: "Don't worry, this is Eternal Night City, and the soul is above everything else. The body is just a container for storing the soul. It can become infinitely stronger. Of course, if you cut off half of your heart, you won't die. But what will happen to her in the end? It’s out of my control.”

Jiang He: "Since it's a sale, we should make it clear."

The wizard hat Jiejie smiled strangely, and when he spoke again, it was the one standing under Jiang He who spoke, "You are really interesting, don't you know, Evernight City never includes after-sales service."

Jiang He subconsciously pulled Zheng Yingying back, and the moment he backed away, the wizard hat on his head also said, "That's the Nameless Blade. You're very courageous to ask for it as soon as you come. If you don't want to buy it, you can buy it now." gone."

After the words fell, those irregular geometric patterns began to appear on the wall again, and the brilliant colors surrounded the twelve wizard hats, like blooming flowers and fluttering butterfly wings, constantly changing and endless.

The expression on the mask under the wizard hat is also changing, changing every second, the expression is like a freeze frame, full of weirdness.A simplified version of "Song of Gods, Lambs and Crows" came out of the swaying bells. There were no lyrics, only the sound of jingle bells.

Hearing the sound of the bell, Zheng Yingying's body hidden in the cloak trembled, but her eyes became more determined because of it, "I'll buy it."

The ringing of the bell stopped suddenly, and the changing colorful patterns were also stuck. The wizard hat in front of him grinned, "I have to remind you that the Dream Infinity Market is a gambler of fate, and what you buy is just a chance to own."

With a flash of light, two light clusters appeared in front of Zheng Yingying.

"One represents yes, and one represents no. Once a choice is made, the transaction is immediately concluded."

Jiang He's face was solemn, and he wanted to stop him, but his eyes swept over Zheng Yingying's face, and he was stopped by her resolute gaze.Zheng Yingying gritted her teeth, fixed her gaze on the two balls of light, and could not see anything else.

After a while, she finally stretched out her hand, bent her heart, and clicked on the one on the right.

"Ding! The deal is concluded!"

The moment the broadcast sounded, Zheng Yingying immediately knelt down on the ground clutching her heart, curled up in pain.Jiang He hurriedly supported her, and saw that the hand covering his heart was bleeding, and one of his little fingers was gone.

Looking at her eyes again, they seemed to have been dug out, leaving only a bleeding hole.

Jiang He quietly clenched his fists, and at this moment, a figure wearing a wizard hat finally appeared in front of the two of them.He held a tray in his left hand, and on the tray was Zheng Yingying's missing finger, eye, and half of a beating heart.

His wide-brimmed hat shaded his eyes, revealing only his grinning mouth.He immediately took out a dagger and threw it at Zheng Yingying's feet, "Congratulations, you made the right bet."

But Zheng Yingying was in too much pain, the blood almost stained half of her body red.

Jiang He wanted to pick it up for her, but he was reminded by the black hat with a sinister smile, "It's a dagger cursed by God. If you're not afraid of death, you can touch it."

Jiang He's hand immediately stopped, and in a flash, he remembered the legend about this dagger.This is a god-killing dagger. It is said that someone hid it in a book in an attempt to assassinate the gods.

Where this story came from, whether it exists in the dungeon world or elsewhere, cannot be tested, but only the dagger is real.The god killed the godslayer and put a curse on the dagger. Since then, the dagger has a special ability-to devour.

Anyone who is stabbed by the dagger will have part of their souls swallowed up as the owner of the dagger.Unless the owner is dead, whoever touches this dagger will be unlucky.

"I'll do it myself." Zheng Yingying finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although she was still too painful to straighten her body, she still raised her head and stretched out her hand full of longing, and then——

He gripped the dagger firmly.

Fate was finally in her hands.

In various districts of Eternal Night City, the Infinite Dream Market opened one after another, ushering in their own guests.But apart from Zheng Yingying from Area F, no one saw the black hat himself.

Half an hour later, when Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng had just left the izakaya, the black hat was actually in the central area, in a private club one street away from the izakaya.

He even sat by the window and watched Jin Cheng and Tang Cuo leave.

"Is this your chosen ally?" He turned his head to look at Lin Yandong who was sitting across from him.

"Not good?" Lin Yandong asked back.

"Eternal Night City has existed for so long, and there are tens of thousands of people who can climb to the top, not just Jin Cheng. Most of these people are short-lived, or too conservative, and they will reincarnate when the time comes. You can be sure that Jin Cheng is a special one ?”

"Just add Tang Cuo."

The black hat tilted his head and thought for a while, shrugged again, and said nothing.

Lin Yandong twirled the Buddhist beads with his left hand, and said, "Will you explain to me about the twelve movements?"

Black hat: "I'm going to open the Unlimited Dream Market. You didn't know about it a long time ago. What's more, we are not on the same boat. Those who are on the same boat as you have just passed here, so you are not afraid that I will tell you about the Unlimited Dream Market. tell them something?"

"You can talk about it." Lin Yandong calmly said.

"Hey." The black hat chuckled, "Don't shoot yourself in the foot with a rock. Jin Cheng is not easy to fool, be careful he will kill you in the end."

"You don't have to worry about it, tell me, how do you want to end this matter?"

"I don't think you have the position to collect debts from me."

Lin Yandong raised his eyes, paused while twisting the prayer beads, and said with a smile, "Have you forgotten what happened back then? I even saved your life."

"You'd better not even mention it." The black hat instantly became violent and vicious, "Mr. Lin, I never asked you to save me."

"Then you may be able to die."

"..."

Lin Yandong's light words successfully blocked the black hat's words.If it was in that dungeon back then, the black hat might choose to die and never come back, but after a few years, his thoughts have long since changed.

After a long time, the black hat regained its composure, smiled sullenly, and said, "Well then, I can give you a clue to another movement for free, how about it? Jin Cheng asked K to warn me, and I don't want to I will tear myself apart with you now."

Another half an hour later, Chi Yan approached Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng's residence in District E.He was carrying a small bag, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he handed the things over to Tang Cuo.

"Brother Xiao Ming asked me to deliver it. He said it was given by a man named Lin Yandong. You will know after reading it. Sister An Ning and the others are watching at the grocery store. He has gone back to Area A first."

Tang Cuo opened the package and found that it was two passports for Area B.

Jin Cheng saw it, leaned on the sofa, and said, "Lin Yandong didn't want to tell the truth himself, so he sent two passports to send us to find another client. From this point of view, he won't see us for the time being."

"He should know about our going to the izakaya." Tang Cuo thought about it, and then asked: "You said that fortune teller sees customers every three months. When is the next time?"

Jin Cheng calculated the time, "Coincidentally, it's tomorrow."

After finishing speaking, Jin Cheng looked at the bewildered Chi Yan, and caught a glimpse of the open door from the corner of his eye. He thought about it suddenly, and asked with a smile, "Chi Yan, I haven't seen you for a long time. Brother Tang moved to a new house. Do you want to stay?"

Chi Yan scratched his head, "Huh? Can I live?"

Tang Cuo: "..."

The author has something to say:

Brother Jin: My intention is very obvious, but I still want to do it.