Playing the Foolish Beauty in a Deadly Game - Chapter 42

Kofi Link

Lin Qiao had never seen such well-behaved pets. Both the Doberman and the black cat were extremely cooperative during the wiping and drying process.

After finishing, Lin Qiao yawned and prepared to sleep. The movement of his mouth was not large, very delicate, but the tears caused by the yawn hung at the corners of his eyes, threatening to fall.

In a childish manner, Lin Qiao rubbed his eyes and fulfilled his promise by bringing the pets to bed.

“Good night, kitty. Good night, doggy,” Lin Qiao said, then turned over, hugging a plush toy and burying his face in it. Soon, his breathing became even, and he fell into a deep sleep.

Because he was scared, Lin Qiao didn’t turn off the light. He didn’t even dare to stick his feet out of the blanket, curling up miserably.

The black cat stared at Lin Qiao’s sleeping face for a while, then approached to sniff and couldn’t resist licking Lin Qiao’s ear. Realizing what it was doing, the black cat retreated a few steps, its tail flicking restlessly. In the end, it still took the plush toy from Lin Qiao’s arms and nestled inside.

The Doberman guarded the bedside, its erect ears seemingly catching some sound. It glanced at the cat and the boy sleeping together on the bed…

The black cat wasn’t asleep at all; its tail kept tapping the boy’s body.

The Doberman let out a deep bark, as if discussing something. Then it stood up, turned off the light with its paw, and went downstairs to patrol.

The silent night was fraught with danger. The television downstairs in the villa suddenly turned on, emitting a “zzz” sound of electric current.

The kitchen knives began to seep blood, and the surveillance outside the door, though empty, kept beeping with a “drip” sound, indicating a visitor.

The cabinet in the changing room creaked open, and a pair of eyes seemed to be staring out from the dark gap. The villa’s swing began to sway, and the faint sound of children’s laughter could be heard.

The Doberman walked past, and the television clicked off. The knives gleamed coldly, the “drip” surveillance stopped beeping, the cabinet slowly closed, and even the swing outside stopped moving.

Lin Qiao in the bedroom was unaware of all this. A pair of withered hands slowly stretched out from under the bed, but before they could do anything, the black cat opened its eyes and meowed.

The hands under the bed paused, then reluctantly retreated back under the bed.

On the third floor of the villa, where the sleeping area was on the second floor, a pale face was pressed against the glass window of Lin Qiao’s bedroom, peering in.

It was the taxi driver from earlier in the day. After seeing the black cat, he could only slink away, looking back with a venomous gaze.

Lin Qiao just turned over and hugged the black cat tighter.

The next morning, Lin Qiao woke up refreshed. However, something seemed off today. The Doberman had somehow moved to the sofa downstairs to sleep.

There were also several red marks on his neck. Lin Qiao touched them and winced; they were a bit painful. Could it be mosquitoes? Lin Qiao couldn’t figure it out. It couldn’t possibly be from a person’s kiss, could it…

In the places Lin Qiao couldn’t see, the Doberman looked thoughtfully at the black cat, which boldly returned the gaze and even meowed provocatively.

As the countdown to the start of the game drew closer, Lin Qiao noticed a huge change in the dungeon world when he went out to buy breakfast.

All advertisements related to pet toys, pet food, and pet grooming have vanished, replaced by the frenzied promotion of the “Best Streamer Competition.”

Posters for this contest are everywhere you can see, and there are even numerous bot armies flooding social media platforms.

“I’m really looking forward to this live-streaming show! Can’t it start already?”

“Anyone can join, whether experienced or not! The barrier to entry is so low. Why not give it a try?”

“I’m in the live-streaming show. I’m going to be the next popular streamer.”

Lin Qiao frowned, feeling that the NPCs seemed to be up to something.

Just then, a hundred-yuan bill fell at Lin Qiao’s feet. If it were a normal world with normal humans, they would definitely pick it up to see if it was real.

Lin Qiao, remembering the ghost knowledge he had hastily reviewed the day before, whispered to the bill, “No can do, we all use mobile payment now.” With that, he chose to go around it. At the next intersection, a new smartphone reappeared at his feet.

Lin Qiao: “…”
Lin Qiao refused, “No, that’s not going to work, you’re being way too obvious.”
Lin Qiao stepped over the phone and went to the breakfast shop, politely saying, “Boss, please give me two buns.”
While waiting, Lin Qiao sat at a table inside the shop, feeling something brushing against his lower leg.

Having been brushed by a leather shoe in the previous dungeon, Lin Qiao easily recognized the texture.

He forcibly stopped himself from looking down. Besides him, there were no other diners at this table.

So, who or what was brushing against his leg under the table? Unable to stay in the breakfast shop any longer, Lin Qiao got up to leave and was slapped hard on the butt by something as he went out the door.

Lin Qiao didn’t dare to look back, walking out with eyes red from anger.

Finally encountering some stray cats on the street, Lin Qiao went over to pet them, and the uncomfortable feeling on his body disappeared.

Lin Qiao finally understood why everyone in this dungeon carried their pets with them all the time—who could bear such discomfort? It hadn’t been this bad yesterday; today, the ghosts seemed to have gone mad.

After buying some things at random, Lin Qiao rushed back to the villa.

As soon as he entered, the cats and dogs surrounded him, rubbing discontentedly against him. “I’m so scared,” Lin Qiao said, hugging the Doberman. “It was fine at first, but then I got slapped on the butt by a ghost.”

The dog “whined” twice as if to comfort him, while the black cat got up, jumped onto the windowsill, and then went outside.

In the afternoon, Lin Qiao nervously watched the time as the countdown reached zero. At the same time, two hundred people appeared out of thin air, and the sound of the game system echoed in their minds.

[Welcome, players, to the “Meow Meow Religion and Woof Woof Religion” dungeon. This is a city filled with evil spirits. Only by joining the Meow Meow Religion or the Woof Woof Religion can you survive. Unfortunately, the two factions are hostile to each other.]

[Your player identity is a follower of the Meow Meow Religion! Please quickly claim your kitty!]

[The number of participants in this dungeon is 200, with 100 in the Meow Meow Religion and 100 in the Woof Woof Religion.]

[The game rules are as follows: First, collect the affection value from the live-stream viewers and the emotional value of your pet. Second, killing members of the opposing faction will earn you their affection and emotional values. Third, the number of survivors in this dungeon is five, based on the top five rankings combined from the live-stream viewers’ affection values and the pets’ emotional values.]

[The duration of the game task is 30 days.]

[What are you waiting for now? Hurry up and join the “Best Streamer Competition,” and quickly claim your cute pet!]

[Other hidden information must be explored on your own. Good luck to the players.]

The two hundred players were scattered across various cities in the dungeon world.

They were not dropped together, so they had no idea what the other players looked like.

Among these 200 people were both experienced players and newcomers.

The quick-thinking experienced players, after listening to the game system’s introduction of the rules, knew they had to hide themselves and not casually reveal their faction.

They also realized that the difficulty level of this dungeon was not low. However, compared to dungeons where only one person could survive, at least five could make it this time.

Additionally, those who were thrown into this dungeon without the guidance of experienced players were truly unfortunate.

Without the help of experienced players, it was likely that the newcomers would be completely wiped out.

This was indeed the case. In different corners of various cities, groups of people with panicked expressions appeared.

They had no pets with them and spoke in strange ways. The new players, looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar streets, were at a loss. They had just been in another place, and in the blink of an eye, they were here.

Polite and cautious players at least managed to steady their nerves and began to ask, “Excuse me, which city is this?”

Passersby holding cats smiled and said, “Hello there, this is Petropolis. We are all believers in pets. Why don’t you go and claim your own pet?”

More irritable players even started to hit passersby, shouting, “What the hell are you talking about? What’s this Petropolis? I’ve never heard of it!”

Some players were luckier and were dropped near experienced players. When they panicked and wanted to call the police, the experienced players stopped them in time.

“Who are you? Why are you stopping me from calling the police? Are you in league with them?” “Shut up!”

The experienced player had a bad temper. “Now you listen and I’ll talk. Don’t ask so many questions. I’m only going to say this once. Consider it a stroke of kindness on my part. Believe it or not is up to you! Now get lost after listening.”

In the garden of a standalone villa, Lin Qiao was seeing players suddenly appear outside his villa for the first time as an NPC.

The player was a tall boy, dressed in a Z-country school uniform, with a clean and fresh appearance, delicate features, and a bit of cuteness.

Because the boy had a youthful face that was between a teenager and a young adult, Lin Qiao thought he looked a bit like a puppy. Well, except this puppy could probably kill him with one punch.

The puppy player went from shock to confusion, and then from confusion to curiosity, looking around and squatting down to suspiciously touch the ground.

When he saw Lin Qiao, he was startled and then came over to ask pitifully, “Little brother, where am I?”

Lin Qiao propped his chin up and looked at the boy’s high school uniform.

“I’m older than you.” The puppy didn’t quite believe it but still changed his words.

“Then, big brother, where am I?”

“Why did I just hear strange noises? What are the Meow Meow Religion and the Woof Woof Religion? And what’s the task to pass through?” Lin Qiao pursed his lips and sighed inwardly.

This gay game was really bad, not even sparing the country’s young buds.

Since Lin Qiao had already planned to join the player faction, he stretched lazily and said, “You’ve entered the dungeon. Have you ever read novels?”

The puppy scratched his head. “No, Mom doesn’t allow it. She says it will affect my studies.”

Lin Qiao was taken aback. He explained through the villa fence what a game was, what a dungeon was, and what it meant to pass through. The puppy seemed to understand but then his stomach growled loudly.

The puppy’s cheeks turned red, and he said embarrassedly, “Big brother, do you have any food? I’m really hungry. Please give me something to eat.”

Lin Qiao waved his hand. “Sure, sure, sure!”

No matter how poor, one must not neglect education; no matter how hungry, one must not neglect children. It’s just food, right?

Lin Qiao decisively invited the boy into the house to eat. He didn’t realize that so far he didn’t even know the other person’s name, yet he had already given away a lot of information about this dungeon.