Playing the Foolish Beauty in a Deadly Game - Chapter 56
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- Chapter 56 - Terrifying Possessiveness
More and more information and details crowded into Lin Qiao’s mind. With his back against the corridor railing, he began to sort through everything from the beginning.
Knowing that time was running out, Lin Qiao still insisted on asking, “Nelson, when did you form an alliance with this… sister ghost?”
Nelson was surprised by Lin Qiao’s bravery; he hadn’t been scared into tears?
He put his arm around the ghost’s shoulders and patiently replied, “From the start.”
“Is there a problem with a streamer meeting their number one fan? I didn’t break any game rules, and you don’t really think that just selling my looks could get me to the top of the likes, do you?”
Lin Qiao had heard in reality about female streamers secretly meeting their top fans, but those were all sensational and untrue news about unscrupulous streamers. Could it be that the news was true?
Lin Qiao’s gaze towards Nelson was filled with shock. It seemed reasonable that he had used his body to gain likes from the ghost. If Nelson stayed in this scenario any longer, he might even be able to get the streamer’s guild out.
Lin Qiao’s expression kept changing, and Nelson found it amusing: “It was also my idea to let you bring pets. You know, our pets are not just simple animals.”
“I subtly proposed a roundup plan in front of my own pets. I’m sure they would pass the message to the Church. The humans in the scenario and the Church wouldn’t let this opportunity for a roundup slip by.”
“My pets are traitors, passing messages, while your pets are hiding information from the Church for you. It will be very interesting when your cat and dog meet the Church.”
Lin Qiao closed his eyes: “The ghosts in this city can only watch the live-streams of players in this city. You had your number one enter my live-stream and guide the gamble to have us冒险 come to Dawn Middle School.”
Since there were quite a few evil spirits in the live-stream, and they all swore that they would sneak over as well, the school’s yellow-faced female ghost, or Nelson, came up with the “group slap” ruse to lure the other ghosts into Class 4. The goal was to have Lin Qiao and his group eliminate them, and if that didn’t work, the green ghost would come to feast.
In short, after getting rid of the unrelated ghosts, Nelson began the next phase of his plan, tricking Lin Qiao into going to the art and music classroom, a place where he could meet the Church.
It was easy to achieve this. The yellow-faced female ghost could casually enter any of the four people’s live-streams, give the highest likes, and then specify the location.
Lin Qiao had an epiphany: “When I was trying to understand the content of the reports, you told me to think outside the box and led me to associate the reports with the Church.”
“In fact, the teacher with the pink mask was trying to warn me that you had colluded with the school’s yellow-faced female ghost.”
“Those reports were probably about the female ghost, but unfortunately, I didn’t persist in looking them up.”
The female teacher and her students recreated the scenes of “beating in the restroom” and “class,” in which the teacher mistook Lin Qiao for Nelson based on the seating arrangement.
The teacher had been targeting Nelson from beginning to end, but under the pressure of the yellow-masked female ghost, she couldn’t say more.
When Nelson left the classroom, he specifically said something to the female teacher, which he claimed was to provoke her. In reality, Nelson was likely threatening the teacher not to meddle.
As a result, when Lin Qiao asked the teacher again, she was wary of Nelson and kept trying to drive Lin Qiao away.
“You orchestrated everything and knew the Church would come. The only uncertainty was the other players, which is why you sent Yatagarasu away just before entering the campus.”
“First, Yatagarasu has high combat value, and second, you wanted him to deal with the other players, the most unpredictable factor in the entire plan.”
“You said there was something wrong with the water, that someone had poisoned us. The truth is, there was nothing in the water. The so-called white particles should have been on your palm, creating a visual misdirection through the transparent mineral water bottle.”
“Bian Yi was thirsty and wanted to drink water. I stopped him, and you also spoke up to stop him. I was afraid the water was poisoned, but you were afraid that he would drink it and have no reaction at all.”
Lin Qiao pointed out everything, and suddenly felt a little sad: “You deceived me again, Nelson. I will never trust you again.”
Nelson nonchalantly shrugged. Many people had said this to him before.
Some he had tricked into their deaths, some who were deceived and harbored deep resentment and wanted to take revenge on him.
There were also those who, after being deceived, willingly faced death in an attempt to make him feel guilty and soft-hearted.
But how could that be possible?
He was Nelson after all. Wasn’t this what a scam was all about?
No matter how cautious the other party was, no matter how hesitant they were, no matter if they didn’t fully believe it, as long as they couldn’t see through the purpose of the Fraudster, they would eventually fall for it.
Nelson smiled and said, “How can that be called deception? Up until now, all the choices you’ve made were of your own free will. I fulfilled my promise and helped brother rise to the top position among players.”
Lin Qiao tightened his grip on the gun: “If a person is deceived, does that make them foolish?”
Nelson’s heart flickered with a moment of discomfort, but it was quickly suppressed: “Yes.”
Lin Qiao holstered his gun: “Then I really should thank you, Nelson, for helping me gain so many likes and protection values.”
Nelson still smiled: “You’re welcome.”
Lin Qiao didn’t ask about Nelson’s purpose. He could probably guess. There would be a big escape at the end of the scenario, and an escape needed a target.
Lin Qiao was the most suitable target. He was the NPC who could turn into a pet, and the Church would likely abandon other players with high protection values and focus on capturing him.
The sudden surge in likes also indicated that Nelson had already leaked the news. The ghosts would also try every means to kill Lin Qiao.
After all, if the Church got their hands on Lin Qiao, the future of the ghosts would be affected, and the balance between humans, ghosts, and pets would be disrupted.
Among the top five, everyone except Lin Qiao was strong. Only Lin Qiao was easy to bully and had high points. Other players would definitely take the risk to try.
Lin Qiao had foolishly told Nelson about the final escape, but Nelson didn’t need it. The other party had designed all this to prepare for the escape.
Lin Qiao glanced downstairs, where a group of tough men in hats stood there, all wearing special operations uniforms. Upon spotting Lin Qiao, they gestured.
A small team moved towards this location and then spotted the female ghost with the yellow mask. They discussed something among themselves. A few seconds later, several burly men used ropes to hook onto the wall and skillfully climbed up.
The female ghost with the yellow mask seemed restless. She lifted her mask to reveal her crimson lips and then eagerly stretched out her tongue downwards.
A burly man with a dog-like face on the rope twitched the corner of his mouth: “This lecherous ghost has gone mad. She doesn’t even spare the law enforcement team.”
Nelson somehow had a dagger in his hand. With a light slash, all the ropes were severed.
He grasped the chin of the yellow-masked female ghost and laughed, “You wanted to see them unable to move, didn’t you?”
The female ghost wiped her mouth and let out a shrill cry to the white-faced ghosts behind her. They seemed to be awakened and rushed towards Lin Qiao.
Nelson opened the live-stream and folded his arms to watch. The female ghost entwined herself around Nelson, her hand reaching inside his clothes: “Why won’t you let me taste Lin Qiao? I said, the three of us can make a sandwich.”
Nelson caressed the female ghost’s face: “Do as I say, and I’ll give you what you want.”
Lin Qiao fired bullets. His prop only had a hundred rounds, but he could continue to exchange for more if they ran out.
However, the white-faced ghosts were numerous, and white masks began to appear on the walls, like human faces painted with white paint.
The Doberman transformed into a human form, naked, and the yellow-masked female ghost’s eyes lit up.
The black cat couldn’t transform and was anxiously pacing in place. The calico cat hid under the Czech wolf dog’s belly, continuously providing protection value.
Every time a white face tried to approach Lin Qiao, it was repelled by the abundant protection value.
For a moment, there was a stalemate, but Nelson calmly patted the female ghost.
The yellow-masked female ghost, as if commanded, immediately lifted the state of the ghostly barrier.
The team downstairs noticed the anomaly first and began to approach.
Clearly a rescue team, but the Doberman and the black cat did not relax. The Doberman seemed even more uneasy.
The Dog Enforcement Team of the Woof Woof Church received orders to protect Lin Qiao, but as they approached Lin Qiao’s location, they were reprimanded through their earpieces: “Stop! Nelson has opened a live-stream. Do not be captured by the live-stream.”
The burly men of the enforcement team glanced at the 08 number by Lin Qiao’s side from a distance. The player’s pets could be on camera, and the task of protecting Lin Qiao from harm could only fall on 08.
The yellow-masked female ghost and the Doberman clashed. One side was reluctant to fight, while the other gave it their all.
The female ghost quickly became enraged. Her body expanded several times over, and her face became grotesque.
Her limbs elongated, and her body underwent a monstrous transformation. The entire corridor could no longer withstand the strain, with the floor cracking inch by inch.
Nelson took the opportunity to rummage through Lin Qiao’s live-streaming equipment bag and quickly put on the clothes he found.
Nelson got up and retreated to a safe place: “You’d better check the live-stream.”
Lin Qiao had a bad feeling. When he opened the live-stream screen on his phone, he saw in Dao Zhang’s live-stream that Dao Zhang was bitten on the arm by Bian Yi, who had turned into a ghost, and was being dragged across the ceiling. The white ghost faces in the dormitory building were gnawing on Dao Zhang.
At the same time, an explosion occurred in the direction of the experimental building. Blue flames burst from the green ghost guarding the door.
Lin Qiao had collected rumors about the haunting of Dawn Middle School before coming. The experimental building was indeed supposed to explode, but no one knew when or why.
Nelson’s ability to know so precisely was likely due to the yellow-faced female ghost.
The green ghost no longer guarded the door and began to run around the school. The tree that had broken through the second-floor floor in the teaching building was set on fire.
The entire teaching building was engulfed in ghostly flames and would soon reach the female teacher’s classroom and where Lin Qiao was.
Nelson smiled: “I had the female ghost lift the ghostly barrier. Brother can leave anytime now.”
Lin Qiao only needed to find the Woof Woof Church’s enforcement team, who would be more than happy to take him out.
However, Lin Qiao noticed the Doberman’s state. The Doberman clearly did not want Lin Qiao to have contact with the Church.
Nelson continued: “I don’t know why brother wants to stay here. Is it because you can’t bear to leave me?”
“With a player here, neither NPCs nor people from the Church can come over, right? Who knows how the fire will spread. It might burn half the city.”
Lin Qiao thought Nelson’s mind was not quite right. He deliberately asked, “What exactly do you want me to do?”
Nelson shook his head: “Brother can do whatever you want.”
This statement was truly despairing. Lin Qiao could not determine whether his choices were within Nelson’s plan.
The other party wanted Lin Qiao to reveal his identity, so they used evil spirits, the Church, and players to create three types of crises.
If Lin Qiao stayed here and did not make a choice or do anything, he could only watch as events unfolded and wait for the fire to spread.
If Lin Qiao left to put out the fire or save the players, it would clearly define his stance.
If he saved Dao Zhang and killed Bian Yi, Bian Yi’s likes would be added to Lin Qiao, exposing his player identity.
But he couldn’t explain why he arrived in the scenario world a day earlier without revealing his player status.
If he went to put out the fire, he would need to seek help from the Woof Woof Church on the scene, and contact with the Church could lead to the discovery of his cat ears and tail.
If he used props to put out the fire, it would even more clearly reveal his player identity to the Church, bringing the problem back to square one.
Wait, wait, there must be a solution.
Lin Qiao desperately tried to calm himself down. The solution lay in the information gap.
No matter how well Nelson could scheme, he could only calculate based on the information he already knew.
What was something Nelson could never possibly know? Nelson could find out through humans and evil spirits what the consequences of high likes were, and from Lin Qiao, what the consequences of high protection values were.
In short, almost everything Lin Qiao knew, Nelson knew as well, and even more so because he was an experienced player.
There must be something Nelson didn’t know. Lin Qiao suddenly looked up; the other party definitely didn’t know about the “smuggler” identity.
They didn’t know that even if he turned into a cat, he wouldn’t stay in the scenario. What Lin Qiao was afraid of was never turning into a cat, but being discovered by the Church.
Lin Qiao remembered the Doberman’s words: “Only the top five can win. If there are players with excessively high protection values that cause mutations, the Church will determine how they obtained those protection values.”
“Those who give love to pets will be accepted by the Church and become pets. Players who abuse pets will be ignored by the Church.”
Lin Qiao had asked at that time, if a player didn’t live-stream from the beginning and spent all day with their pets, not only being kind to their own pets but also to other pets, would there be a possibility of becoming a pet due to reaching the protection value threshold early?
The Doberman’s answer was: “No.”
So far, there have only been players who mutated early by killing animals to gain protection values.
Lin Qiao inquired in his mind: “System, is it true that players like me, who directly turn into cats, will stay in the scenario, even if they are in the top five?”
System:【Yes, complete mutation will stay in the scenario, even if in the top five.】
【In the final escape, evil spirits can go to any city, and the Church will deliberately increase the emotional value of mutated players.】
Lin Qiao discovered that pets could not generate protection values for their owners from a distance; they had to be by their side.
A certain thought emerged in Lin Qiao’s mind, and he became so excited that he lowered his eyes and breathed lightly.
Lin Qiao was well aware that in the eyes of the Church, he should be seen as: “an NPC pretending to be a player,” with fake ears and no ability to turn the black cat into a human.
Mixing with players was merely to obtain the prize money.
Lin Qiao took the initiative to walk towards Nelson, still holding the black cat.
The cat, wary, pricked up its ears and extended its claws. Nelson didn’t expect Lin Qiao to approach him and became alert instantly.
However, his defensive posture wasn’t very obvious. Although every cell in his body was ready to counterattack, he appeared relaxed.
When Lin Qiao reached a certain distance, he hesitated, “Kitty, no matter what I say or what he does, you must not turn into a human.
Otherwise, I will never speak to you again.” Lin Qiao’s beautiful cheeks flushed pink, as if he found it hard to ask Nelson a question, and his eyes turned red with grievance.
“Nelson…” Lin Qiao seemed to have difficulty speaking, his entire face turning from pink to red, “Are all the things you said about liking me just lies?”
Lin Qiao tried hard to recall what he had seen on TV in reality: “Have you ever truly liked me, even a little bit?”
Black Cat: “????”
Nelson sneered and said, “Are you trying to play the emotional card with me? You are indeed tempting, brother, I must admit that.”
Nelson’s phone suddenly “dinged”: “Protection value increased by two hundred…”
Nelson frowned at the Czech wolf dog, and Lin Qiao continued, “Nelson, actually I have seen you before.”
“This… is not some clichéd way of starting a conversation.”
“It may not be the right time to say this, but if I don’t say it now, I might never have the chance again.”
Nelson, aware of many things about the Fraudster from the game forums, didn’t think of anything else for the moment.
The system seemed to realize what Lin Qiao was trying to do, and its cold voice carried a hint of displeasure: 【Compliment his muscles.】
【Be a bit coquettish, like in the last scenario.】
Lin Qiao’s ears turned red as the flames spread through the corridor, and the white-faced ghosts began to howl when they were burned.
Lin Qiao seemed to be daydreaming, but in fact, he was recalling the comments from the live-stream.
Lin Qiao’s eyelashes trembled: “Your… your abs are very nice, and your pecs feel great too.”
Nelson’s phone “dinged” again: “Protection value increased by three hundred…”
“I will find a boyfriend with a physique like yours in the future, someone who can lift me up with one hand and do things.”
“Protection value increased by eight hundred…”
“What would it take for you to let me go? I don’t know how to do anything else. My mouth is very soft. Would you like to taste it?”
“Protection value increased by two thousand…”
“I’ll let you touch my tail. Didn’t you say it was something you personally inserted? Do you want to use your fingers to feel what’s inside?”
“Protection value increased by seven thousand…”
Nelson looked down, frowning, “Do you know what you’re saying?”
Nelson should have been unmoved, but he found himself affected by Lin Qiao’s words.
The black cat was furious, its fur standing on end.
Nelson’s phone kept reporting like it was broken: “Protection value increased by eight thousand, protection value increased by five thousand, protection value increased by ten thousand…”
“Protection value reached seventy thousand, mutation has begun…”
“Mutation deepened, please be aware of protection value consumption…”
“Protection value reached one hundred thousand, mutation intensified, please consume protection value as soon as possible.”
Nelson was momentarily stunned, but quickly realized what was happening and cursed, “Bian Yi was right, you really are a troublemaker. I didn’t expect you to come up with such a desperate move.”
“Do you really think I can’t do anything about you?” Nelson approached, grabbing Lin Qiao’s neck with one hand. The black cat lunged at him.
Nelson’s movement was faster; he pushed half of Lin Qiao’s body over the railing. The black cat hissed menacingly, its golden eyes glowing.
Lin Qiao’s eyes were red-rimmed, and he shook his head at the black cat.
Then his gaze turned cold, and he spoke with difficulty: “Emotional value also includes hatred. Let us go.”
Nelson’s expression was not pleasant. Lin Qiao’s move was something Nelson hadn’t anticipated. Mainly because the increase in emotional value was too outrageous. How could the black cat’s jealousy be so intense? Or was it a terrifying possessiveness?
“What exactly are you?” Even in his rage, Nelson’s face was smiling, probably amused by Lin Qiao’s actions: “Admitting you’re a cat wouldn’t have killed you. But now you insist on being strangled to death by me.”
Nelson tightened his grip, puzzled but unable to stay in this scenario. The abnormal increase in protection value made Nelson feel things slipping out of control.
Lin Qiao was choked into tears. Before Nelson could do anything, a gust of wind struck, sending Nelson flying.
Nelson’s live-streaming equipment was smashed, and his phone was shattered into pieces.
Lin Qiao’s body instantly relaxed and fell, with the black cat following the jump.
The Doberman decapitated the yellow-masked female ghost, and upon seeing this, without a second thought, it anxiously followed the jump.
Lin Qiao felt like he was done for. The Church’s dog enforcement team was still there. How could he use props? Maybe he could say it was a gift from a friend?
Before Lin Qiao could exchange anything, he suddenly felt a weight on his waist and was held in someone’s arms.
At first, Lin Qiao thought it was the black cat, but soon realized it wasn’t.
A giant python coiled around Lin Qiao, catching the black cat, while the Doberman landed safely in human form, unscathed.
The calico cat under the Czech wolf dog’s belly saw this and boldly jumped down, causing the Czech wolf dog to panic and quickly hold it back.
Soon, the giant python also landed and transformed into a young boy, naked.
Princess Yatagarasu held Lin Qiao and, after realizing what had happened, gently placed him on the ground.
Lin Qiao coughed, covering his neck, which had purple handprints on it.
Yatagarasu didn’t want to see Lin Qiao in distress and got up, saying: “I’ll go get my cat.”
With that, he rushed into the corridor filled with ghostly flames, picked up the cat, and gave Nelson a tail slap: “【Fraudster】, you really have a grudge against Lin Qiao because of the ‘Airplane Escape’ scenario.”
“Non-level props belong to whoever grabs them first. Now that the black shadow has already bound itself to Lin Qiao, it’s useless for you to try to take it.”
Nelson was confused by what he heard, but after listening to Yatagarasu’s words, his expression changed dramatically. He seemed both incredulous and so angry that his veins bulged.
“Is that so? How do you know if you haven’t seen it?”
Yatagarasu proudly said: “Who says I haven’t seen it? Haven’t you seen it too? The black shadow from Lin Qiao’s last live-stream accident is the prop he brought out from the ‘Airplane Crash’ scenario.”
After saying this, Yatagarasu noticed a strange expression on Nelson’s face: “You, you’re crying? Why are you crying?”