Chapter 297: Colosseum (V) “I’m Curious How Many Cards He Has”

In the room adorned with the Tiger Mask, Chu Xun sat on the straw bed, calmly looking at Ge Lin, who was rooted by the door.

“Ge Lin, next, I Will analyze the current situation with you. I hope you can listen until I finish.” His tone was gentle yet firm, easily calming people down and making them listen.

Ge Lin sat down on another straw bed and scratched his neck: “Fine, go ahead. Anyway, you have more points than me now.”

Chu Xun looked at him and continued calmly: “As you know, the resources we each currently possess are: three game coinss, one portion of Food, and a certain amount of points.

“The purpose of the game coinss is still unknown, but as the name suggests, they should be related to the Colosseum Game, perhaps corresponding to the qualification to participate. Food is a resource and can be converted into the number of survival days we have in this instance.

“As for the function of points, although it hasn’t been explicitly stated, I guess it corresponds to Power or Influence. Therefore, players with higher points can choose Teammates first.

“Currently, our total points are the highest among all teams. Although we don’t know what determines the initial points, I believe we still hold a considerable advantage in this game.”

Ge Lin pondered: “Judging by the name, this instance is supposed to make us fight, right? It’s probably because I’m a Fitness Coach in reality and can fight well, which is why my initial points are high.”

Chu Xun sighed: “Ge Lin, does Dong Xiwen look like he can fight? Does Chang Xu look like he can’t fight? One of them has higher points than you, and the other has lower points, which proves that Martial Prowess is not the only factor determining the ranking.”

“What else could decide it? Is it based on luck?”

“I don’t know. But when I saw the name of this instance, the first thing I thought of was animal chess.”

Chu Xun shook his head and looked at the Tiger Mask hanging on the wall: “The pieces in animal chess are ranked by combat Power: Elephant, Lion, Tiger, Leopard, Wolf, Dog, Cat, and Rat. Strong pieces can eat weaker pieces, but the Rat can eat the Elephant.

“The animal chess Board has Land and a River. Only the Rat can enter the River, and other pieces on Land cannot eat the Rat in the River. Although the Lion and Tiger can jump over the River, they are sometimes blocked by the Rat.

“In other words, this game has a mechanism where the weak can defeat the strong.”

Ge Lin thought for a moment and raised a question: “Wait, there are only six teams in total, but animal chess has eight types of pieces. The numbers don’t match.”

“So that’s just a guess.” Chu Xun adjusted his glasses and said, “Let me analyze our disadvantages. In my opinion, our team has probably already offended both Chang Xu’s team and Qi Si’s team…”

…”You have simultaneously offended both Chang Xu and Qi Si. No matter which side gains the advantage in the game, you have a high probability of being eliminated.”

On the other side, Fan Zhanwei leaned against the Stone Door and said weakly: “Starting with nine hundred points, one only needed to follow the course of nature to avoid elimination, yet you impulsively spoke first to declare a hostile stance. This is the first folly.

“After clearly establishing hostility with Qi Si, you still participated in the Bidding for him while simultaneously showing obvious enmity towards him, being fickle and indecisive. This is the second folly.

“Using Moral Blackmail to borrow points from Chang Xu, and failing to return them even when you no longer needed them, causing his points to fall behind. This is the third folly.”

Lin Ye interrupted him irritably: “Then what do you say I should do? I was practically dying back then, who could think of so much?”

Fan Zhanwei nodded in agreement: “So, in my opinion, your most foolish action was speaking up when you were not in a desperate situation. From that moment on, your survival probability began to plummet.”

“What can you do besides making sarcastic remarks? Do I need you to tell me something even an idiot knows?”

“Oh, I thought you didn’t know.” Fan Zhanwei lifted his eyelids, glanced at him, and continued, “I can formulate a plan for you to regain the advantage, but I hope you consult with me before making any decisions going forward, and follow my command.”

“Who the hell are you… Mmmph!” Lin Ye was about to curse, but his mouth was unexpectedly wrapped in a circle of translucent Tape.

【Name: Great Silence Spell】

【Type: Item】

【Effect: Prevents a specified player within one meter of the item holder from speaking for the next ten minutes (20% chance of successful activation, 24-hour cooldown)】

【Note: That’s right, it’s the Privilege Dog】

Fan Zhanwei reached out and pressed down on the jumping Lin Ye, saying indifferently, “I think you can quietly listen to me now.

“Currently, the total points between you and me is one thousand two hundred, ranking second among the six teams, only behind Ge Lin’s team.

“Ge Lin holds no grudge against you, and he has also had conflicts with both Chang Xu and Qi Si, making him a potential ally. If points mean Power, as I suspect, then by forming an Alliance, we can dominate the other teams based on our Point advantage.

“But variables still exist: first, the controlling Power of points might not be as strong as I imagine; second, Ge Lin has too great an advantage and won’t be willing to ally with you, whose advantage is not obvious. The former cannot be interfered with by human effort. What you need to do is incite other teams to prioritize dealing with Ge Lin, at least to appropriately reduce his points.

“As a Rationalist, Qi Si can judge that the situation is unfavorable to him, so he Will not easily trust your goodwill, which has been clearly expressed as hostility. The antagonism is already a fact, unless you die or he perishes.

“Chang Xu’s team has the lowest points. If we don’t consider his strength outside the instance, there’s a high chance he’ll be eliminated. However, because the effect of his Identity Card is tied to his life status, players attempting to achieve te clearance by killing Qi Si Will definitely try their best to protect him.

“Chang Xu knows he is at a disadvantage and Will certainly not refuse to cooperate with you and push you to the opposite side simply because of your words and actions. His team is also an object we can win over.

“As long as we first ally with Ge Lin and Chang Xu to form a Three-Team Alliance, all unfavorable factors Will be easily resolved.”

Ten minutes later, Lin Ye calmed down and asked: “So, our ultimate goal is still to kill Qi Si? Then what was the meaning of those things you said to Qi Si earlier? Didn’t you just offend Chang Xu and end up pleasing no one?”

“My analysis above is a feasible suggestion based on your current situation, and does not represent my personal choice.” Fan Zhanwei looked up at the ceiling. “I’m curious about how many Cards Qi Si actually holds.”

…”I’m curious, how many Identity Cards do you need in total?”

In the room where the Fox Mask was hanging, Qi Si smiled as he looked at Nian Fu.

He knew Nian Fu wasn’t telling the truth, but that didn’t matter. In collaborations where resources are unequal, knowing each other’s apparent needs is enough.

Nian Fu knew she couldn’t deceive Qi Si, so she merely feigned ignorance and returned the same smile: “The Forum says a person can only bind one Identity Card.”

Qi Si asked: “Doesn’t your Teammate need an Identity Card?”

Nian Fu countered: “Why are you certain I have a Teammate?”

Qi Si tilted his head and said: “Merely risking one’s life on an extremely high-stakes Gambling Table just to obtain an Identity Card for te clearance is not rational in my view. Based on this, I am inclined to believe you possess other Chips that can reduce the risk of the Gamble to an acceptable level.

“To gain an advantage in the game among the six teams, the safest plan is to form a Three-Team Alliance. Currently, only my team and Dong Xiwen’s team are openly visible, which is clearly not enough.

“Therefore, I speculate that you can sway another team to our side, meaning you have a powerful Teammate.”

“You are right, I do have a Teammate, but I don’t plan to expose his existence until he gains an absolute advantage.” Nian Fu smiled, changing the subject, “Even if I have a Teammate, so what? Can one instance yield multiple Identity Cards?”

Qi Si remained silent, slowly raising his right hand. A red-and-black Identity Card quietly materialized between his fingers.

The Magician, dressed in a red-and-black embroidered Suit, bowed. Several pure white Cards accidentally spilled from the Top Hat he removed.

【Identity Card: Jester Trickster】

【Effect: When Upright, all your words Will be trusted; when Reversed, all your lies Will be exposed】

This was a Relic plundered from Cynthia in the Grand Performance instance. Qi Si had never bound it because he found the negative effects too severe.

He didn’t take out the Identity Card at this moment truly for Nian Fu’s Teammate’s sake. In his view, that Teammate might have already bound an Identity Card.

All he needed to do was demonstrate his value and leverage more resources from the other party.

A player who can casually give away an Identity Card is surely worth betting larger Chips on, isn’t that right?

At this moment, Qi Si quickly passed the Identity Card in front of Nian Fu, then closed his five fingers and crushed it, smiling as he said: “If we can achieve te clearance in this instance, I can give you another Identity Card. And I hope to gain more information about this instance.”

From the perspective of information quantity, Nian Fu was clearly the primary Leader of their two-person team. Qi Si needed to gain absolute Leadership to ensure the smooth execution of the plan.

“Deal.” Nian Fu sat down on the straw bed and began to narrate: “As far as I know, the Colosseum Game has already been held three times, and ours is the Fourth Session.

“In the earliest Golden Age, humans lived carefree lives alongside the Old Gods, devoutly following their Will. They learned to domesticate animals, had abundant Food, were self-sufficient, and could even sacrifice surplus animals to the Old Gods.

“The first Colosseum Game was organized by humans. They were inspired by the Old Gods to sacrifice enough death and sin. The Old Gods wanted humans to fight each other, but the King felt compassion and used a game to replace war, making human Slaves fight Beasts.

“Later, the Old Gods seemed to run into trouble, or perhaps were devoured by some higher-level existence, and the Silver Age arrived. The Newly Descended Deity granted Beasts intelligence, allowing them and humans to compete using the entire world as their game venue. The winner became a god. Humans lost the game and have since been ruled by animals.

“In the Bronze Age, animals began organizing the Colosseum Game at the command of the New God, making humans fight each other. Most records of this history have disappeared. We only know that the deity seemed dissatisfied and did not accept their sacrifice. Meanwhile, the status of humans increased somewhat, and the King could negotiate with animals on equal terms.

“The era we are in is the Heroic Age, where more and more individuals whose Martial Prowess rivals animals have emerged. These people are considered heroes qualified to become gods. They hope to gain the attention of the deities through the Colosseum Game and achieve godhood in one stroke.”

Nian Fu handed the Parchment Scroll covered in strange writing to Qi Si: “I found this on me after entering the instance. I’m not sure if it’s unique to my character or if all ‘Veterans’ have it. It might not have much to do with the specific clearance method of this instance, but rather points to the Worldview Background.”

Qi Si took the Parchment Scroll. Large amounts of text content refreshed on the system interface in time, which was largely consistent with what Nian Fu had described, proving the authenticity of the clue.

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

There is a logical problem with this background: Since animals have already become deities, establishing substantial oppression and Exploitation, why would they give the exploited humans a chance to become gods?

Even if they wanted to demand something from humans—be it lives or anything else—they could obtain it entirely through force. Even if they wanted to grab a few people for hot pot, humans probably couldn’t stop them.

Unless the supreme Evil God had other instructions.

Qi Si returned the Parchment Scroll to Nian Fu, got up, walked toward the wall, and took down the Fox Mask.

【Name: Fox】

【Type: Item (Cannot be taken out of the instance)】

【Effect: Makes you look more like a fox】

【Note: Humans are also animals】

Qi Si held the Fox Mask, sat down on the straw bed, and analyzed in a casual tone: “Judging by the Worldview Background, whether we can meet the Evil God is an unknown. However, dying while participating in the Colosseum Game is known information.

“I don’t think the Indigenous People of this instance would fail to realize this. As ‘Heroes of Humanity,’ they have both fame and fortune, yet they willingly participate in the Colosseum Game merely for a vague, illusory vision. This, in my opinion, goes against common sense.”

“Great minds think alike.” Nian Fu nodded. “So I speculate that they were likely forced by some Power, and might die even if they don’t participate in the Colosseum Game.

“The Evil God and the animals need humans to participate in the Colosseum Game to help them achieve some goal, so they deliberately created a situation where participating in the Colosseum Game is the optimal solution. Humans, unaware, think they are driven by their own desires to make such a decision…”

【Please everyone complete your Meal as soon as possible】

A cold Electronic Voice sounded abruptly, and a Countdown appeared in the upper left corner of the system interface.

【00:09:59】

This undoubtedly meant for the players to finish the Food within ten minutes.

And the Food was the Meat, whose raw material was unknown, placed in the bowl next to the straw bed.

The scarlet Meat Chunks were wetly stuck together, the edges dotted with fragmented Meat Crumbs and Bone Fragments, as if an entire corpse had been ground inch by inch, and the resulting Meat Paste scooped into the container.

The future was vague, but the Food was right in front of them. The two timely stopped the discussion about the worldview.

Nian Fu looked at Qi Si and asked with a strange expression, “Qi Si, are you going to eat?”

“Currently, we don’t know if not eating Will trigger a Penalty. If you don’t want to eat, you can try it.” Qi Si lowered his eyes to the ground.

Scarlet Blood Beads seeped out from the cracks in the Mud Floor, wriggled and crawled on the ground for a while, and then tremblingly wove a line of text:

【Cherish the opportunity to Consume Blood and Carnivore; the Grace of the Deity resides within.】

Nian Fu agreed: “Indeed, they won’t arrange overly harsh death points on the first day. Eating something unclean probably won’t cause trouble. At worst, we die together.”

She bent down, picked up the bowl from the floor, used two fingers to pick up a piece of Meat, and put it into her mouth.

Qi Si also picked up the bowl and used his hand to push the Meat inside into his mouth.

He methodically went through the process of chewing and swallowing, and soon the bowl of Meat was empty. No abnormalities occurred during this time; the previous tension seemed like making a mountain out of a molehill.

The Meat shouldn’t be Human Flesh. Based on the texture and taste, it was impossible to determine which animal it belonged to; at least, Qi Si had never eaten anything similar in reality.

Nian Fu suddenly swallowed heavily and slightly raised her eyes to look at the Void in front of her.

The girl looked stunned, her brows tightly furrowed: “This all seems to be Rat Meat. I’ve eaten it before…”