Both parties knew exactly who “that person” referred to.
Lu Qingjia smiled thinly, “Underestimating me, aren’t you? Otherwise, they wouldn’t have sent a fool like you.”
The other’s face immediately darkened, and his gaze towards Lu Qingjia was filled with murderous intent.
Objectively speaking, the other party was quite capable. There had been no unnecessary flaws in his actions, indicating careful planning. Moreover, his swift reaction during Lu Qingjia’s sudden attack showed that he was not at a disadvantage, suggesting that his strength surpassed Lu Qingjia’s.
Given Lu Qingjia’s current actual strength, being so comprehensively suppressed indicated that the other was undoubtedly an Advanced Player, and not a low-level one at that.
The surrounding Players had already retreated when the two began to fight, initially due to the instinctive reaction to danger.
Later, it became clear to everyone that this was not a battle they could intervene in.
The combat skills and the scale of Ability utilization of these two Players were beyond their comparison. Everyone suspected that both were Advanced Players.
Seeing the situation had calmed down, the extremist Player who had entered the village with Lu Qingjia asked, “What’s going on? Why did you two start fighting?”
After all, the three of them had entered the village together, faster than the other Players. Compared to the others, the extremist Player had thought their alliance was somewhat more stable.
Unexpectedly, without any warning, Lu Qingjia and the Infinite Player started fighting.
Lu Qingjia sneered, “I lied to you earlier. In this instance, there is no rule that allows the transfer of the curse through the Mountain God Flower.”
“It’s a matter of who is unlucky. Betraying each other to make someone else take your place won’t work.”
At least for now, there is no Item that can achieve that.
Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The difficulty of the instance was already high enough. If the rules forced Players to betray each other, it would truly be a hellish level of difficulty with no survivors.
Although the current situation isn’t much better, if the Players unite, the chances of survival are greater.
For example, when a Player’s Ability betrays them, if there happens to be a Player whose Ability counters theirs, then there is a possibility of getting through smoothly.
But everyone couldn’t understand why Lu Qingjia had lied about the rules and how that related to his attack on the Infinite Player.
Lu Qingjia said, “I won’t hide it from everyone. I have some old scores to settle with certain people, and the origin is in this Game.”
“That person doesn’t want me to live and can’t interfere in other areas, so it’s certain that he has set up a killing ground in this place I must pass through.”
The Trickster couldn’t possibly be unaware of his relationship with Zhong Liyu. With an administrator-level figure, and one known for his combat prowess in several major Games, always guarding him, if the Trickster tried to reach out from reality, the rules of Infinite City would heavily restrict him, even as an administrator.
In other Game instances, as the administrator of the Infinite Game, if he dared to meddle in other Games, the Horror Game would be the first to not let him off.
Only in the instance where he had been an exchange student, knowing the exact coordinates and rules, the instance was of a nature that allowed for borderline operations. Since it was an exchange student instance, naturally, Players from the Infinite Game could enter.
Moreover, knowing that Lu Qingjia would definitely enter to uncover his true face, the Trickster would absolutely make his move in this instance.
Not only to eliminate the threat of Lu Qingjia, who had not yet fully grown, but also to erase the traces he had left here.
When the Trickster had cleared this instance, he was only an Intermediate Level Player, far from having the power he has now.
At that time, neither his Ability nor his capital was enough to support him completely hiding behind the scenes, propping up a Player puppet with almost equal strength to bear the risks in the foreground.
In the Infinite Game, his own territory, the traces might have been cleaned up long ago, but in other Games, there might still be threads left.
Looking at the fake Trickster’s eagerness to have Lu Qingjia enter, it wasn’t entirely about wanting Lu Qingjia to step into a trap. Lu Qingjia could sense that the fake Trickster wasn’t entirely satisfied with being a puppet either.
Upon hearing this, the Infinite Player calmly smiled, “So that’s why you’re so sure about me? Because you believe that person has already set up an inescapable net here, so you wouldn’t trust any Player from the Infinite Game?”
Lu Qingjia smiled, “You could say that, but my initial suspicion wasn’t limited to the Infinite Players.”
“It’s just that you act too meticulously, not letting go of any opportunity to eliminate me. Even though some operations don’t have a high probability, you still don’t let go of that possibility, which actually confirmed to me that it’s not just a setup, but that there’s a high-level Player ready to act as the situation unfolds.”
“You probably planted Gu on all the Players here, right?” Lu Qingjia casually dropped another piece of information that turned everyone’s faces pale.
“Players other than me are all within the Intermediate Level range and wouldn’t be able to detect the handiwork of a powerful Advanced Player.”
“As long as they’re alive, it’s fine. Once they die, their bodies and Abilities become yours to use. As the Game progresses, more and more Players will die from the curse, so the enemies I need to face will only increase—and even if they don’t die from the curse, at the necessary moment, you can still manipulate the Players’ lives and deaths.”
“What are you saying?” a Player exclaimed, “We’ve all been planted with Gu?”
“Yes, there’s nothing to be surprised about,” Lu Qingjia’s tone was as relaxed as if everyone had just gotten a thorn in their thumb.
He even directly said, “Three millimeters inside your brow, if your hands are steady, you can extract the Gu now. He probably doesn’t have the time to make your Gu hatch.”
Immediately, a Player touched his brow. One Player’s Ability was quite unique; he could directly pierce through flesh. His fingers quickly penetrated his own brow and, before the Gu worm could react, swiftly pulled something out.
Looking at it, it was indeed the same thing that Lu Qingjia had dissected out of the previous Player’s brain after his death.
Seeing this, the other Players naturally took out their own Gu if they had the Ability, and those without related Abilities took the risk to ask others for help.
After all, compared to a sneak attack from a Player who currently had no conflict with them, the Gu planted by the Infinite Player was more dangerous, at least it was certain that the Infinite Player was an enemy.
Sure enough, as Lu Qingjia had said, everyone was in a flurry extracting the Gu from their bodies, and he didn’t urge them on. After all, the simpler and less noticeable the conditions for planting Gu, the more stringent the conditions for activation.
Although he wasn’t afraid of Lu Qingjia, he also knew that Lu Qingjia was not an opponent to be taken lightly and didn’t dare to shift his attention away from him.
Lu Qingjia smiled at him, “See, if it weren’t for the sneak attack from the first Player who died, I might not have found you so quickly. You knew that the chance of success for that level of sneak attack wasn’t high, and even if it succeeded, it wouldn’t have a substantial impact on me, but you still wouldn’t let go of that slim possibility.”
“I guess it’s because you’re so meticulous and cautious that you caught the eye of that person and gained his trust. But what you pride yourself on, in my eyes, is a lack of strategic vision and insufficient grasp of the overall situation.”
“If you had discarded meaningless obstacles and patiently guided and waited, to personally act at the moment I lost my cool and revealed a flaw, with your strength, I would have had no chance of leaving alive.”
The other’s calm expression turned ugly, and a quiet murderous intent began to spread, clearly felt by the surrounding Players.
The pressure of an Advanced Player diffused, making people’s hearts palpitate and break out in cold sweat.
But it wasn’t over yet. Lu Qingjia continued, “What? Why are you so shaken? It’s difficult for ordinary people to make such a clear self-analysis.”
“Could it be that you agree with me just because I said a few words?”
Then, with a look of realization, he said, “Hmm, I get it. The Trickster gave you the same evaluation, didn’t he?”
The Infinite Player’s heel left the ground, and a powerful attack aimed at Lu Qingjia’s face clearly proved that every word Lu Qingjia had said hit his sore spot accurately.
Not only that, but only the Advanced Player himself knew how desperately he wanted to eliminate this guy now.
Before receiving the mission, even with that person’s reminder, he wasn’t particularly concerned. Of course, tactically, he maintained his usual meticulousness and caution, but strategically, he was extremely dismissive of Lu Qingjia.
Because as a Player, the difference in strength is a chasm. In the face of an absolute difference in strength, any conspiracy is fragile and pitiful.
But as the mission progressed, the Advanced Player couldn’t deny that his evaluation of Lu Qingjia was getting higher and higher. He had already recognized that if this guy were allowed to grow, he would soon surpass him and become a threat to the Trickster—
The Trickster’s prophecy wasn’t wrong; this guy had to be eliminated.
But just now, when everything was laid bare, the Advanced Player realized that perhaps his judgment was still too conservative.
In some aspects, this guy wasn’t just a rising star in his growth period.
What he lacked was only the time spent in the Game, but whether it was in intelligence, strategy, the art of deception, or the ability to see through the essence of things, this kid was a complete package.
For a moment, he seemed to see the shadow of the Trickster in the other.
And that gaze that left no place to hide.
So the Advanced Player lost control. He couldn’t let this kid leave the Game alive. Once he left the Game, the consequences would be unimaginable.
He wasn’t even sure now whether he had cleaned up the end as the Trickster had instructed. No matter how incredible or hidden the information was, it wouldn’t be surprising if this guy unraveled it or dug it out from unexpected places.
After all, in the few days they had almost explored the information with Lu Qingjia, if it weren’t for the instance process given by the Trickster in advance, the Advanced Player dared to say that he would still be as clueless as the other Players, yet Lu Qingjia had almost solved the mystery.
That’s right!
The Advanced Player finally realized how Lu Qingjia had tricked him into revealing that he was the Trickster’s man.
When everyone had only a partial understanding of the instance, he directly shared all the information, reasoning without any loopholes, and the confessions extracted from the priest after kidnapping him. All the Players’ thoughts had been led by him.
At that moment, Lu Qingjia’s judgment of the Game rules was almost unquestioned by everyone.
But when he said the curse could be transferred through the Mountain God Flower, he himself didn’t show any vigilance towards the other Players but was puzzled by this rule.
This was clearly not the correct reaction. The only explanation was that he already knew the rules, so he would suspect whether Lu Qingjia’s judgment was wrong.
But in fact, when the other said this, he was leading everyone into his authority of speech, using false information to trick the insider he had already identified during the corpse sneak attack.
He couldn’t keep up with his thoughts at all, nor did he have the ability to deal with his cunning, so the only option was to complete the task practically.
Lu Qingjia held out for a few moves and quickly fell into a disadvantage.
He fought and retreated until he was forced into a corner of the courtyard. If it weren’t for the strength of the Celestial Bloodline and the sturdiness of the defense bubble, Lu Qingjia would have been seriously injured by now.
The Advanced Player’s attacks were fundamentally different from those of an Intermediate Player. Lu Qingjia could feel his Spiritual power draining away like a flood.
The Advanced Player sneered, “What a pity, I almost feel sorry for you. You had a bright future, unlimited potential to develop, but you had to challenge someone you shouldn’t have, so you can only die here with regrets.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve already cleaned up the end. You won’t find any clues about the Trickster before you die, so just go to your reincarnation with regrets.”
As soon as the words fell, a pair of golden gloves appeared in the Advanced Player’s hands, and his fist came at Lu Qingjia with an unstoppable force. At close range, Lu Qingjia could feel the overwhelming pressure. The gloves broke through Lu Qingjia’s defense bubble, the wind from the fist lifting his hair and even cutting his cheek.
But at this critical moment, Lu Qingjia showed a strange smile.
“Clues? Aren’t you the best clue?”
“What?” The Advanced Player was shocked, and a sharp pain came from the sole of his foot. He didn’t have time to think about how he was sneak-attacked.
Lu Qingjia’s Abilities were complex and diverse, so it wasn’t strange that he had found a loophole. The Advanced Player hadn’t expected to take him down without any loss from the start.
But as long as he took the first step—
The fist was almost about to hit Lu Qingjia, but it was too late.
The Advanced Player only felt his body rapidly changing, his Spiritual power and physical strength shrinking rapidly. The dizziness brought by this shrinkage, along with the sneak attack under his feet, made his originally decisive strike ultimately fail to land on Lu Qingjia.
Instead, Lu Qingjia activated several Abilities and controlled him before his body could adapt.
The Advanced Player then discovered that his feet, almost below the calves, had started to melt, and his entire center of gravity could no longer be supported.
Several strands of black shadow leaped out from behind, some entwining his limbs and body, others directly piercing into his body, threatening his organs.
These two things didn’t require specific environments or setups to be effective. It seemed that Lu Qingjia had been fighting and retreating to lure him here.
But as long as his strength was in the state, these were not problems. Whether it was the melting of his legs or the sneak attack of the shadows, they would bring him some damage, but far from losing his combat power. Even if he only had a head left, an Advanced Player would still have an absolute advantage against an ordinary Intermediate Player.
However, the biggest problem came from his body.
He had clearly dropped out of the Advanced Player level, and he was still weakening.
It wasn’t just the exhaustion of Spiritual power or the limit of combat, but his capacity had changed from a pool of water back to a cup.
The Advanced Player said in horror, “Impossible, that Item can’t manipulate the human body.”
But at this moment, he was already restrained by Lu Qingjia’s hair. Lu Qingjia cut off the excess hair, and with his current Ability, as long as he prevented him from using Items, there was no possibility of a comeback.
Lu Qingjia sneered, “So I’m lucky.”
He squatted beside the Advanced Player, “How many tails have you tied up for the Trickster? Let me count—”
“Wiped out all NPCs’ memories about the Trickster, cleared all possible audio and video records, set up restrictions in all places where the Trickster had appeared. After all, there are Abilities that can restore past events just by standing in place, making it easy to catch him.”
“Then, you had to give me some wrong guidance. Everyone had no impression of the Trickster, but the priest seemed to retain some memory. Given the priest’s special existence, I guess you implanted a fake image of the Trickster in his mind, right?”
“If I used my mental power to investigate, at best, I would be deceived; if it was more sinister, a mental counterattack would be set up in his mind, and I would either die or become a fool.”
“Oh, right, although my relatives had come to this instance, logically, the curse could be inherited through bloodline. But the Game is still the Game; there’s no saying that it would extend to real-life relatives. However, I was cursed as soon as I arrived and was even excluded from the team. What do you think the reason is?”
The Advanced Player looked at Lu Qingjia, his heart in turmoil. The words didn’t need to be said, but he knew that Lu Qingjia had probably guessed it, only needing the final confirmation.
So it wasn’t strange that all the tail-tied traps and setups had been seen through.
The Advanced Player took a deep breath, “Kill me. I failed the mission and have let down the Trickster’s expectations.”
Lu Qingjia coldly curled his lips, “How could that be?”
“The world still retains clues that can track down the Trickster. Even if he didn’t want me to investigate him, he wouldn’t easily let a small pawn in his hands discover his true appearance.”
“Those he could arrange here with confidence are either pawns that can be killed after use or confidants who already knew his true face, so they wouldn’t have other thoughts about the information here.”
“Which one are you?”
Lu Qingjia’s malicious smile made the Advanced Player’s pupils shrink.
Although the other had given two possibilities, everyone knew which one he belonged to.
That’s why Lu Qingjia said that the biggest clue was himself. If he himself knew the Trickster’s true face, what was the use of tying up the tail?
He had been too arrogant, never thinking of the possibility of being trapped by Lu Qingjia, and thought he had already made everything foolproof.
Thinking of this, the Advanced Player’s tongue moved, but before he could achieve his goal, Lu Qingjia dislocated his jaw.
He smiled, “Don’t be in a hurry to commit suicide. You feel loyal, but you should also see how your boss has arranged it.”
“Do you believe that if I now use my mental power to investigate your brain about the Trickster, I would definitely die without a burial place?”
The Advanced Player immediately understood what he meant, his eyes wide with disbelief, his face full of incredulity.
Lu Qingjia, however, said, “Don’t worry, I won’t prove it to you by seeking death, but you will know sooner or later.”
“After all, if he truly lives up to his reputation, a mere bit of insurance like this would have to be done.”
With that, Lu Qingjia knocked out the Advanced Player and swept him into his space, even directly reverting his body to the time before he became a Player, so there was no possibility of escape or suicide.
Everyone was dumbfounded. They had just hugged Lu Qingjia’s thigh and barely understood the entire Game structure, and yet he had already engaged in a high-dimensional battle and won.
Wasn’t Lu Qingjia at a disadvantage? Why did the Infinite Player suddenly become as weak as a fluttering chicken?
However, with half of his goal achieved and seeing that the curse was still on him, Lu Qingjia decided to speed up the process.
He kicked the big man, who was the priest of this term.
“Come on, let’s get back to the Game.”
“Huh? Oh, oh!” The others were somewhat unable to keep up with his rhythm.
At this moment, they obediently gathered around, behaving very meekly, even the other Infinite Player, fearing to be implicated, acted particularly docile.
Lu Qingjia had no interest in him and got straight to the point, “Earlier, to trick that guy, I wasn’t entirely straightforward, so I apologize to everyone.”
“According to the information I found earlier and confirmed with the priest, although I didn’t dare to rashly investigate his mental state, many things didn’t need to go that far to pry open his mouth.”
After all, Old Uncle and the others had reached the point of marriage, indicating that the truth had been sorted out by Players before, so saying it again, with their lives threatened, wasn’t such a big deal.
As mentioned earlier, although because of Old Uncle, Lu Qingjia entered this Game with every step a crisis, the progress through the instance was also twice as effective through his clues.
Lu Qingjia had no intention of letting others pry into his Old Uncle’s affairs, so he directly stated the results.
“As previously speculated, the truth of the matter is that two men, whose love was not accepted by society, chose to seclude themselves in the mountains.”
“However, they didn’t anticipate that even in a picturesque setting, people might not be pure-hearted. One of the men was noticed by a wealthy family in the village, who schemed to have him marry their daughter under pressure.”
“On the wedding day, the man’s lover committed suicide at the ceremony, staining the mountain god’s flowers with blood. Since then, the flowers in that area have taken on a different hue.”
“Devastated by his lover’s death, the man resolved to take revenge on his wife’s family. He killed his own daughter and used a drought as a pretext to sacrifice the family’s children, driving the family to death and madness, ultimately leading to their ruin.”
“But what the man didn’t expect was that the sacrifice actually had an effect, giving him a glimmer of hope. He began to believe in the so-called mountain god he had constructed. From the subtle hints in the poems he occasionally wrote during his lifetime, it’s clear that the priest had two main wishes: one, for his lover to be resurrected, and two, that he had never made the temporary compromise but had instead married the person he truly loved.”
“Following the usual logic of an instance, tracing back to the root and fulfilling one of these wishes should lift the curse and allow for a successful clearance.”
However, Lu Qingjia knew this wasn’t possible, because Old Uncle and the others had already tried.
Others also noticed Lu Qingjia’s choice of words, and their previously joyful expressions turned to confusion: “If that’s the case under normal circumstances, does this instance fall under normal circumstances?”
Lu Qingjia shook his head: “This instance has a BUG.”
