“They may not believe it.” Yan Mingguang said.
Yan Wei naturally understood.
To have come this far, and to have ruthlessly abandoned a player from their own organization to secure the first point in the shortest time since the Benevolent Automaton appeared, this group could be considered the most troublesome players they had encountered so far.
Words without substantial evidence would not compel them to act immediately.
But what Yan Wei wanted was not for them to believe right away; he only needed these four to abandon the thought of attacking—confronting four players head-on was not worth it.
At that moment, the voice of Lin Zhen came through the earpiece hidden in Yan Mingguang’s ear. It seemed that Yu Feizhou had turned off the intercom on his end, as there had been no communication from him. Lin Zhen, who had been waiting for Yan Wei and Yan Mingguang, suddenly seemed to spring into action, running quickly, with the sound of rushing wind continuously coming through the intercom.
In front of Yan Wei, the expressions of the four varied. In that brief moment, they unconsciously scrutinized the refined-looking man, even beginning to observe the other three teammates. Yan Wei’s words did not provoke any impulsive actions from them immediately, but they planted a seed of doubt in their hearts.
Whether it was the refined-looking man Yan Wei mentioned or the other three, they would inevitably entertain the thought.
Who could tell who was real and who was fake?
Could one of them actually be a Benevolent Automaton, unbeknownst to the others? Or could someone have been posing as a player from the start, planning to eliminate everyone after using them?
The refined-looking man’s gaze grew increasingly somber. He looked at Yan Wei and said fiercely, “Do you remember where ‘I’ walked from? Lead the way.”
“Why should I tell you where you walked from? That’s just strange,” Yan Wei replied.
“That wasn’t me,” the man slowly raised his weapon, aiming it at Yan Mingguang and Yan Wei, and said, “That was a Puppet. We need to find him now.”
Yan Wei was taken aback, and after a moment of reflection, he seemed to finally grasp the meaning behind the man’s words and the danger posed by these individuals. He quickly shook his head and said, “I—I don’t know. My teammate and I will leave first…”
“Anyone who doesn’t know any information is worthless in this instance,” the other party said with a forced smile, “So why don’t we send you to that castle master? He never said we couldn’t send players to him. If you two are Puppets in disguise, then we would score two points.”
“How could we possibly be Puppets!? They have blank expressions and no ability to think—”
“Why ask so much? Get down, lead the way! If we can’t find ‘him’, how do we know you’re not lying? If you are lying, we’ll throw you both into the meat grinder.”
Yan Wei gritted his teeth and after a moment said, “…Fine, I’ll lead the way.”
Yan Mingguang did not move.
Yan Wei immediately pretended to be earnest, “Don’t be stubborn now; we can’t win against them… Just let me down, I only hurt my shoulder, not my legs.”
Yan Mingguang’s expression remained unchanged. He paused for a moment and slowly set Yan Wei down from his back.
In that instant, Yan Wei suddenly felt a faint killing intent emanating from Yan Mingguang. This killing intent burst forth suddenly, slightly masked by Yan Mingguang’s already cold demeanor, making it less obvious, only perceptible to Yan Wei, who was beside him.
Was he more dangerous now than when he had just seen these people?
Strange.
Yan Wei blinked, suppressing the pain in his wound, and walked ahead, saying, “This direction.”
The four exchanged glances, the seed of doubt in their hearts growing larger, yet they followed Yan Wei without showing any signs on the surface.
Every time Yan Wei led the way, he not only pointed in the direction but also seemed to fear that these people would get lost, so he specified the exact direction and roughly how many meters to go.
Meanwhile, the sound of Lin Zhen moving quickly continued in the intercom.
Yan Wei led the group toward the location Lin Zhen had sent, constantly glancing at the leaderboard.
Aside from the first point scored by these four, there was no movement on the leaderboard. Given the strength and quality of this group of players, it was impossible for others not to have guessed what was happening; it was just that there was still time left, and no one had found a way to differentiate, so no one had acted yet.
Yan Wei speculated that as time progressed, the changes on the leaderboard would accelerate, and then it would drop back down to the ground. At first, players could harvest points from those sent in after failing at the betting tower, but later, it would be only the players who had fought their way through, making each point harder to earn.
But if that were the case, players might slow down their actions out of mutual caution.
This did not align with the instance’s intention of escalating self-inflicted violence.
So… was there a potential scoring method he had not discovered?
The breakthrough point was definitely not in the most superficial things. Just like in a maze, using players’ blood to pave the way seemed like a method players could deduce through observation, but it was actually the most crude and direct method, which also increased the number of Malevolent Automatons and decreased the number of Benevolent Automatons.
Once inside the castle, capturing all the players they saw to send to the Man in Black Robe would give them a fifty percent chance of scoring, which was essentially the same principle as using players to pave the way in the maze. The only difference was that the probability decreased while the rewards increased.
However, the final solution to the Jungle Maze was actually self-harm.
Thus, Yan Wei did not believe that the solution to Puppet Castle was only this one. He needed to quickly discern the intricacies within. This time, he not only had to break the deadlock but also had to secure first place, as only first place would grant him the instance’s extra reward—the last Moon Wheel Fragment.
And these players were his entry point.
They quickly turned a few corners, getting closer to Lin Zhen’s location.
Yan Mingguang suddenly said: 【…What are you thinking?】
Maintaining a Perception Burst skill at close range with someone was not too difficult; Yan Wei had been keeping in touch with the two of them.
He replied: 【I was thinking that as we move forward, players with slightly lower skills will inevitably be eliminated. Once they are gone, what kind of interests will keep the remaining players fighting? Dealing with a player who failed at a betting tower on the tenth or twentieth floor to earn a point and ten Gold Coins in the castle is worth it. But dealing with a seed player on the forty-eighth floor, who has the ability to elevate the tower, is not worth the effort. It would be better to avoid it. Each group has twenty-eight coins, and they can also snatch coins from Lone Wolf Players; coins won’t be a problem at all. So what exactly will they rely on?】
What could compel the last surviving players to act?
【I have an idea, but I need to experiment with someone who has already scored. Just now, I looked at the leaderboard, and the person who scored for their organization is that refined-looking man. As for how I will experiment… just wait and see.】
As he spoke, their location coincided with Lin Zhen’s location in an instant.
Behind Yan Wei, one of the players from that organization said irritably, “I think you’re just lying. We’ve turned so many corners and still haven’t arrived?”
“I really haven’t! The place where I encountered people is quite far because I was being chased by Puppets the whole way; it was never close…”
As he spoke, his voice suddenly halted.
A figure appeared ahead.
The person was wearing a hoodie, the hood pulled up, obscuring most of his face, making it hard to discern his features. He had an outgoing demeanor, and it was clear he was a player on the thirty or forty floors, obviously a tough opponent.
The four did not want to stir up trouble and planned to pass by, but unexpectedly, this player suddenly stopped and turned to the refined-looking player.
In a low, somewhat hoarse voice, he said, “Hey? What are you doing here? You just said you couldn’t find your teammates, and now they’re all here, six of them… Tsk, and you even asked me, wasting time.”
After saying that, he didn’t seem to care much and walked away, leaving the four staring at each other in confusion.
Yan Wei: “…”
Fortunately, these people did not recognize Lin Zhen; this person’s acting skills were truly terrible!
On the other side, Lin Zhen’s figure had already disappeared around the corner. Only then did Yan Wei mutter, “I told you he was looking for teammates… You seemed quite anxious back then; look, you even went to ask others, not just me…”
The refined-looking man’s expression darkened significantly.
He frowned in thought, his back straightening, and he unconsciously became alert.
Yan Mingguang supported Yan Wei, merely watching these people with a calm expression, his eyes unfathomable. Yan Wei then paused, confused, and asked, “Why aren’t we moving?”
Silence followed.
Yan Wei’s gaze shifted slightly, and this time he stopped speaking.
His words alone were indeed not credible, and Yan Mingguang’s similar statements were also likely to raise suspicion.
But rumors have a way of becoming truth in groups; all disbelief and doubt can turn into unwavering belief after a matter is repeatedly mentioned. Even if someone were to say something absurd like “the sky is falling,” the first person might not be believed, the second might be dismissed as nonsense, but by the time the third person says it, the listener might momentarily waver, thinking, “Could the sky really be falling?”
As these individuals had already become somewhat wary, continuously deepening the words Yan Wei had said would lead them to believe, even if they initially did not.
After a moment, one of them finally broke the silence: “Are you a player or a Benevolent Automaton?”
The refined-looking man was taken aback, then laughed in anger, “Are you crazy to ask me this? We’ve known each other for so long; can’t you tell I’m not a Benevolent Automaton?”
Another person suddenly interjected, “We just observed that there is no difference between Benevolent Automatons and players—including cognition. You say you’re not; how do you prove it?”
“Don’t you find that ridiculous? I’m not one; why should I prove it?” The refined-looking man sneered, “Even if I were, shouldn’t we first deal with others? You come at me with accusations, and now I suspect you might be a Benevolent Automaton infiltrating our group.”
One person sarcastically remarked, “Even if you are? What does that mean?”
Yan Wei raised his hand, lightly nudging Yan Mingguang with his elbow, and in his mind said: 【Teacher Yan, use that skill you got from elevating the tower.】
Short-distance instant movement.
Yan Mingguang gave the group a deep look, grabbed Yan Wei’s hand, carefully avoiding Yan Wei’s wound.
In the next moment, the two suddenly vanished from in front of the group. And the group had already stopped paying attention to Yan Wei and Yan Mingguang—they had begun to act.
Yan Wei’s vision flashed, and he saw Lin Zhen in a black hoodie. Not far away, the sounds of a fierce fight erupted; it was the four of them engaging in combat.
Lin Zhen took a bite of a nut and said leisurely, “Aren’t we going to intervene?”
“No need, just wait for them to determine a winner. The loser will definitely be captured and sent to the Man in Black Robe—most likely that fake refined man. We’ll follow behind; I need to observe something.”
It would take a while for these people to finish fighting.
Yan Wei slowly leaned against Yan Mingguang, gently closing his eyes to rest.
The cool yet warm voice of the man reached his ears: “What’s wrong?”
Yan Wei shook his head, “It’s nothing, I was just thinking… since Benevolent Automatons and players have the same cognition, the most fundamental question—am I really me?”
He looked at the mutual suspicion and even self-doubt among the players just now, and a terrifying thought suddenly arose in his heart.
He began to question himself.
He started to ponder whether he was truly real, whether he was a player or a Benevolent Automaton.
Was he really… Yan Wei?
Such a realization was almost terrifying—this was only the first day. After spending a few days in such an environment, would they completely lose their sense of self?
