Thinking of what had happened between Bai Six and Queen of Hearts in other timelines, Tang Erda looked at Queen of Hearts with an indescribably complicated expression, one almost tinged with sympathy.
But he quickly restrained those unnecessary emotions and answered the question Queen of Hearts had asked earlier in a concise tone.
“It should be this Level 3 game. It’s a new game no one has entered before.”
Bai Six had always favored new games, especially when he had opponents.
In a new game, his advantages would be magnified to their fullest extent.
“Rose Factory?” Queen of Hearts lifted her eyelids, a lingering smile on her lips. “It sounds like a very romantic game, and somehow, it suits your skill identity perfectly, Mr. Hunter.”
Her smile deepened.
“I believe you will certainly be able to kill that newcomer who stole my Little Witch in this game.”
Then Queen of Hearts looked at Tang Erda with an unreadable gaze.
“Mr. Hunter, I will do everything in my power to assist you. I believe you can already feel the full extent of my sincerity. But I have only one condition.”
Her tone softened, but the warning beneath it was unmistakable.
“You absolutely must not harm the Little Witch, whether inside the game or outside it.”
Tang Erda fell into a strange silence for one second.
Liu Jiayi had taken a bullet for Bai Six, and at present, her life or death remained unknown.
Queen of Hearts tactfully shifted her gaze away from his face.
She did not press him on that silence, merely mentioning the matter in a tone that sounded almost casual.
“I heard that my Little Witch had a gunshot wound when she entered the game. I hope something like that does not happen again, Mr. Hunter.”
She bowed elegantly with a smile.
“She is a child I raised. She is very important to me. Any harm done to her is a condemnation of my failure to protect her properly, and a betrayal of the happy future I once promised her.”
Queen of Hearts straightened.
“I do not wish to see her pay the price for following someone she should never have followed.”
“I do not want her led astray by others.”
Her smile remained unchanged.
“So you may deal with the person who led her astray however you please.”
Tang Erda felt a familiar prickling sense of danger.
Queen of Hearts’ protectiveness toward her own people was truly... troublesome.
Liu Jiayi was still a member of her guild, and this woman seemed to have deep feelings for her. Even though Liu Jiayi had essentially defected in broad daylight, Queen of Hearts appeared not to care at all.
The league was about to begin, and Queen of Hearts clearly needed Liu Jiayi as a team member.
What she wanted was simple: Liu Jiayi had to come back alive.
Her attitude was equally clear.
As long as Liu Jiayi returned safely, she would not pursue anything else.
But if Tang Erda recklessly made a move against Liu Jiayi, Queen of Hearts would undoubtedly find a way to use her skill to dig out his background and retaliate against him.
In fact, she had already shown signs of doing exactly that.
“These three are all outstanding reserve members from our guild.” Queen of Hearts stepped aside, allowing the three guild members behind her to come forward, and introduced them briefly. “They have all trained with the Little Witch before. They understand her skillset and habitual attack methods very well, and they know how to restrain her without hurting her.”
Queen of Hearts lifted the brim of her hat.
At that moment, her pupils had turned the same light brown as Su Yang’s.
On that seductive face appeared a gentle gaze so familiar that Tang Erda’s heart suddenly clenched.
Even her voice had become seventy or eighty percent similar to Su Yang’s.
“Mr. Hunter,” she said softly, “I leave everything to you.”
She leaned forward slightly.
Her eyes looked more and more like Su Yang’s, and her voice gradually deepened into something masculine.
Queen of Hearts rose onto her toes and whispered intimately beside Tang Erda’s ear.
“Then, my Witch... I’ll leave her to you to bring back.”
“Captain.”
That single word—half-real, half-false, threaded with a drifting smile—made Tang Erda snap awake instantly.
By then, Queen of Hearts had already turned and walked away, leaving him only with a graceful feminine silhouette and a laughing complaint.
“Mr. Hunter is truly guarded against me. I didn’t even get to see the full face hidden in your heart...”
Tang Erda’s expression darkened for a moment.
He wasted no words with the members Queen of Hearts had brought. After carefully warning them to keep an eye on any money that passed through Bai Liu’s hands and never engage in any monetary transaction with him, the four of them entered the game together.
[System Notice: The game “Rose Factory” has gathered enough players. The game is about to begin...]
Bai Liu opened his eyes inside the game.
In the multiplayer game zone, a small TV with a pitch-black screen crackled with static before lighting up.
Bai Liu’s blood-stained profile appeared on the screen.
Immediately afterward, the five surrounding small TVs lit up at the same time.
The audience saw that the legendary newcomer, who had been the subject of endless forum discussion, had appeared again. After a brief moment of stunned silence, they swarmed wildly toward Bai Liu’s small TV.
“Holy shit!! He went straight into a Level 3 game. He’s skipping a level every single time—this is way too steep!”
“I just saw Queen of Hearts surrounding and intercepting players. Could it be because of him...”
“Haven’t you checked the forums yet?! They said Bai Liu carried the injured Little Witch into the game! He hurt the Little Witch, so of course Queen of Hearts is hunting him down! The Kings’ Guild built this year’s league team around the Little Witch’s skills!”
“I see a lot of reserve players from the Kings’ Guild, but Bai Liu beat the Carrion Zombies last time. Maybe he can do it again!”
Wang Shun’s face turned extremely grim as he looked at the person appearing on the small TV next to Bai Liu’s.
It was the Rose Hunter.
In terms of pure combat power, the Hunter was even harder to deal with than those three reserve guild members combined.
But most ordinary players were unfamiliar with the Hunter, a player who had remained hidden for a long time. And because the Hunter had concealed his panel, these ordinary viewers had no idea how strong he truly was.
They were still excitedly anticipating a spectacular battle.
Bai Liu’s previous reversals against overwhelming odds had given many viewers immense confidence and expectation in him.
But Wang Shun had seen the Rose Hunter’s league matches.
Why were so many guilds still willing to offer huge sums to recruit the Hunter for the league?
Because this man had never once lost a one-on-one arena match.
It was a brutal, almost heaven-gifted strength.
If this were two years ago, the audience would not be made up of people who had never witnessed the Hunter’s power. The moment the Rose Hunter fired his bullet, the crowd would have already begun cheering for his victory.
That was the combat power of a top-tier league player.
It was something the current Bai Liu simply could not contend with.
If this were the league, Bai Liu would undoubtedly die the moment he met the Hunter.
But inside a game, there was still one sliver of hope.
Because the game had a shop system.
Bai Liu could spend large amounts of points to cash out items, disrupting or restraining the Hunter’s attack rhythm while searching for a way to clear the game.
Although the cost would be enormous, it was the only path Bai Liu could take right now.
He just didn’t know whether Bai Liu’s meager points could hold out...
Wang Shun stood before Bai Liu’s small TV. Just as he was about to charge it, Queen of Hearts suddenly led a group of people into Bai Liu’s viewing area.
The crowd parted on their own, giving the space directly in front of Bai Liu’s small TV to the newly arrived Queen of Hearts.
Wang Shun immediately changed his appearance.
He pulled up his hood and retreated, shrinking into the rear of the crowd without leaving. From a distance, he frowned as he watched Queen of Hearts tilt her head up, propping her chin in one hand as though admiring Bai Liu’s small TV.
The Queen’s obvious interest in Bai Liu gave Wang Shun a familiar and deeply ominous feeling.
Queen of Hearts turned around and bowed slightly to all of Bai Liu’s viewers, smiling politely.
“Although I apologize for disturbing everyone’s viewing experience, from this moment on, Bai Liu is officially designated as the Kings’ Guild’s number one enemy.”
Her smile did not change.
“We forbid anyone from liking, charging, or bookmarking him. I hope everyone can understand.”
“We will have members of the Kings’ Guild stand guard by Bai Liu’s small TV until he falls into the Anonymous Area.”
Queen of Hearts’s tone remained gentle.
“I believe no one wishes to involve themselves in the conflict between us and him. So I hope everyone enjoys watching other players’ small TVs instead.”
Queen of Hearts smiled and lowered her hand.
The guild members behind her followed the motion instantly, lining up with terrifying efficiency. In the blink of an eye, they formed a human wall around the edge of Bai Liu’s viewing area.
The Kings’ Guild members stood there expressionlessly with their hands clasped behind their backs.
These middle- and high-level guild players were extremely intimidating to ordinary players.
Even though nobody could harm one another in the Central Lobby, ordinary viewers still found it difficult to gather the courage to cross that human wall and like or charge Bai Liu.
As for the league players who were truly interested in Bai Liu, with Queen of Hearts present and only two months left before the league, offending the largest guild in the game just to like Bai Liu was clearly not a rational choice.
Wang Shun, who had been pushed out of Bai Liu’s viewing area by the human wall, stood outside with a dark expression.
He pulled down the hood hiding his face and stared from afar at Bai Liu’s small TV, now guarded by Queen of Hearts like treasure hoarded by an evil dragon.
No one could approach it.
This was truly bad.
Not having enough points was only secondary.
Queen of Hearts wanted Bai Liu to fall directly into the [Anonymous Area].
She was trying to strangle Bai Liu’s gaming life at the root.
Once a player fell into the [Anonymous Area], all the small TVs there were broken.
Their screens were filled with static and noise. When players broadcast from that area, their images could not be seen clearly, so naturally, viewers could not tell who was who.
Because of this, the [Anonymous Area] had zero viewers.
No one cared about the players inside those TVs.
That was why it was called the [Anonymous Area].
Once you fell there, you lost your name and became one of thousands of nameless ordinary players struggling in obscurity.
If Bai Liu’s small TV fell into that heap of discarded televisions, then even viewers who wanted to like or charge him would be unable to find his specific screen among the thousands of broken ones.
Without likes, bookmarks, and charges, Bai Liu’s small TV would be unable to leave the Anonymous Area.
That created a dead loop.
Once a player fell into the Anonymous Area, even the next time they entered a new game, their small TV would still begin broadcasting from the Anonymous Area.
In other words, as long as a player fell into that place, they could only struggle forever inside those noise-filled discarded screens, unseen by anyone, until they either turned into a monster or died.
For a large guild, using its resources to block the upward path of a powerful newcomer was far too simple.
Otherwise, there would not be so many powerful newcomers choosing to join guilds and accept invisible exploitation instead of developing independently.
As a middle-level member who had always helped the Kings’ Guild screen information and newcomers, Wang Shun was actually repulsed by this kind of exploitation and monopoly.
Because this was how he himself had joined.
After his skill was discovered, he had entered the Kings’ Guild under a mixture of threats and temptation.
But no matter how much Wang Shun hated this behavior, he had to admit that the current situation was nearly unsolvable.
Unless another guild of comparable level was willing to step forward and clash with the Kings’ Guild for Bai Liu’s sake, Bai Liu would undoubtedly be forced into the Anonymous Area under the Kings’ Guild’s strict blockade, entering a dead loop of obscurity.
Unfortunately, Bai Liu’s own guild, the Carrion Guild, was still at least one league championship away from developing into an organization on the same level as the Kings’ Guild.
Wang Shun changed his appearance again.
Putting on a mask, he walked with a heavy gaze toward a certain place behind the Lobby.
He knew one guild leader who might be interested in Bai Liu under these circumstances.
The wealthiest guild in the game—
The Fifth Guild, the Gamblers’ Alliance.
But before he could bring back reinforcements, Bai Liu had to survive the Hunter first.
—
Meanwhile, at R’lyeh Temple.
It was a small island by the sea.
Or perhaps it would be more accurate to call it one exposed corner of a vast, abandoned ancient structure that had floated up from the depths of the seabed.
The place was both orderly and filthy.
Towering gray-white stone pillars leaned crookedly over the deep blue water. Beneath the swaying waves, fish could be seen devouring rotting vines clinging to dark green stone steps.
At the top of the temple’s magnificent steps, a person wearing a black hood and a mask patterned with a spiraling cross suddenly moved after sitting motionless for a very long time.
That slight movement disturbed the thick dust that had accumulated on his old black hood, as well as an unknown species of seabird nesting on his shoulder.
He leisurely removed the nest from his shoulder and placed it on the old, dust-covered stone table in front of him.
A small bird hopped out of the nest and absentmindedly pecked at his fingertip before jumping onto a face-down card lying on the stone table.
The bird tilted its head, its tiny eyes looking at the statues seated around the table.
Eight strange, slippery-looking statues of deities sat around the masked figure.
Their upper bodies resembled ordinary humans, but their lower bodies took on bizarre forms that provoked instinctive fear—tentacles, thick fish tails, mottled bird feathers, plant stalks overgrown with parasites.
Their sacred eyes remained closed.
Though they were merely statues, they appeared inviolable and holy.
An ancient, divine luster flowed across their weather-eroded surfaces, making one afraid to look directly at them.
It felt as though a single glance at their ugly and terrifying lower bodies would drive a person uncontrollably into madness, compelling them to offer their soul to these ancient gods and commit suicide.
The only fortunate thing was that these gods were still sleeping.
The unfortunate thing was that they seemed as though they might wake at any moment.
As those statues sat with closed eyes upon the stone platform, the masked person’s lower body had also begun to petrify.
His toes were covered in spiral shells, moss, and dense clusters of grass-green nodules from unknown plant roots.
They all sat around a massive stone table.
The table was heavy and ancient, its surface pitted and hollowed by wind and rain.
The giant octopus-tentacled monster carved into it was strangely identical to the logo of the Dangerous Heretic Management Bureau.
Opposite the masked figure sat another hooded person, though this one appeared far more leisurely and neat.
His face was hidden beneath a pure black hood, revealing only a neck so pale {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} it was almost transparent.
He reached one well-defined hand out from beneath the hood and touched the damp face-down cards lying on the table.
“Prophet,” he said with a hint of a smile, “this is already the fourth night of the Werewolf game you insisted on playing with me.”
His fingers brushed over the cards.
“Whose identity do you want to verify tonight?”
The Prophet sitting opposite him remained silent.
Only the arrogant roar of the surging waves crashing against the ancient temple could be heard.
“Would you like me to help you review the entire process of this Werewolf game?” the hooded man asked unhurriedly.
His finger lightly tapped several cards that had already been flipped over.
“On the first night, you verified nothing. I released a merman.”
His fingertip slowly touched a card depicting the Siren King with closed eyes.
“No one died that night. It was a peaceful night.”
“On the second night, you verified a thief. I released a mirror.”
“That night, under your guidance, the Werewolf killed one guilty Puppet Master and one villager burdened with crimes. Two [Criminals] were sanctioned. That counts as your victory.”
“On the third night, you released a [Witch] and a [Cupid]. I released [Blood Lingzhi].”
“That night, you guided [Cupid], Liu Huai, to connect the [Werewolf] and the [Witch]. The Werewolf sanctioned two [Criminals], but [Cupid], an innocent, also died because of the Werewolf.”
“So that night was a draw.”
The man smiled faintly.
“You played a very beautiful defensive match.”
His fingertip wandered across the cards on the table.
In front of him lay a card depicting a wildly grinning Joker.
The inverted cross drawn beneath the Joker’s right eye was identical to the pattern on the back of this person’s clothing.
Finally, his fingertip stopped on a Hunter card entwined with rose vines.
He looked at the person across from him. The sea wind blew his black, tent-like hood until it billowed outward.
“This Hunter card is the last God card you can verify, Prophet.”
“Do you want to verify him tonight?”
The Prophet, whose lower body had already petrified, remained silent for a moment before answering softly.
“I want to verify him.”
Then he asked, “Is he human, god, or monster?”
The person opposite the Prophet smiled ambiguously.
“This Hunter was originally meant to become a god. But after you chose him as the Hunter, he became human.”
“And now, in the endless cycles of reincarnation, he is about to become a monster.”
“Prophet, are you certain you want to release this card?”
His voice remained light.
“In this round, whether the Werewolf kills someone or the Hunter kills someone, you will lose. By the next night, you will have only your own God card left to play.”
“And if the God is also contaminated, the Werewolf will massacre the entire side.”
The Prophet closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
“Then I shall release a rose.”
The person opposite the Prophet flipped over one of his own cards and spoke softly.
“I quite like its scent. I think it suits this Hunter you are releasing very well.”
“It carries the desperate aura of something about to wither.”
“Just like the scent of a monster.”
On the flipped card was a single rose sealed inside a long cylindrical glass vessel, its flower bud drooping as though it were on the verge of decay.
—
Author’s Note:
The Werewolf game mentioned here is a game being played between two high-level beings. It is essentially part of the overarching background plot.
The merman = Siren Town, which Bai Liu cleared.
The mirror = The Last Train to Blast Off, which Bai Liu cleared.
Blood Lingzhi = Love Welfare Home, which Bai Liu cleared.
The rose = Rose Factory, beginning now.
The card-release logic is basically this: the “God” side, the Prophet, releases a “God card,” meaning a player, to save people and clear the game. The “Werewolf” side, the person with the inverted cross, releases a “Monster card” to kill people or contaminate players.
