Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 242 Inducement (4000-word medium chapter)
Four or five hours later.

It was midnight.

Zhou You sat in the van, gazing up at the bright moon in the sky, and began to silently repent to his teachers.

—Master Uncle, I am an unworthy disciple, ashamed before our ancestors. Today… I’m afraid I’ll have to take on the role of a thief.

He glanced again at Han Ruiming, who was calmly driving beside him, and couldn't help but sigh softly.

This person seemed to be in a hurry. After briefly explaining the situation, he set off for his destination without even finishing his hotpot.

Meanwhile, the old man acted as if nothing had happened, methodically explaining the situation to Zhou You.

"Xu Xin is a native of this city. She started acting as a child star at a very young age, but she was never very popular until she met a benefactor in her thirties and starred in several popular TV series, which made her suddenly famous."

"—Of course, just take this with a grain of salt. It's just something that's circulating online. The truth is that she met that cult leader, who used secret techniques to help her maintain her youth and used his network to make her famous. Then, through her, he used various sexual transactions to build up more connections. In short, it's all about money, wealth, and power. Just get the general idea."

Zhou You shrugged, abandoning his feigned loneliness, and asked.

"And what does all this have to do with your plan?"

"It's very simple. According to my information, she and the cult leader are planning to open a 'silver parlor'. Is that what it's called? In short, it's a gathering of all the people with connections to chat and build relationships. Our goal is to infiltrate it—but their invitation is a bit special; it requires an item from their cult."

"Where did you get this item?"

"Her home."

Okay, that's a fucking awesome answer.

Also, I feel like this isn't the gentleman thief you initially described, but rather a home invasion robbery.
However, Zhou You, already on the wrong path, had no choice but to pat the sword beside him to see if it would approve of his actions.

Duan Xie trembled twice before giving his answer.

--agree.

Well, your moral standards are pretty high too.

However, now that there were no worries, Zhou You was eager to try it out—but just as he was about to say something, a sudden screech of brakes rang out.

The place has arrived.
-
As Zhou You got out of the car, he suddenly paused in surprise.

Wait a moment.

Why does this place feel so familiar?
Before he could speak, Han Ruiming tossed him a uniform and then explained.

"This is a high-end residential area in the area. Because it's not openly sold, most people don't know about it. Originally, the people who lived here were all rich and powerful. But after a while, a resident surnamed Peng died tragically, rumors of it being haunted spread. Most of the other residents felt that the place was not clean, so they all moved away. Only Xu Xin's property is still in use. What's wrong with you?"

"No, it's nothing." Zhou You withdrew his guilty 45-degree angled gaze from the moon and changed the subject. "But even if only one household is left, this is still considered a high-end residence. There will definitely be security cameras and guards. What are you planning to do?"

"You don't need to worry about that, I have a way."

After Zhou You changed into his uniform, Han Ruiming didn't waste any more words. He led him in a long, winding path before finally guiding him to a security booth.

Pushing open the unlocked iron gate, a tall young man was operating the surveillance camera screen. When he saw Zhou You and his companion suddenly barge in, he showed no surprise whatsoever. He even bowed slightly and respectfully greeted the old man.

"Uncle Han."

Han Ruiming nodded, then began to introduce Zhou You.

"This is Wang Li, the son of one of my old team members. I arranged for him to infiltrate this security company two months ago. This is Zhou You, my helper."

"Nice to meet you. My surname is Zhou, and I am unemployed. Oh, no, I'm a Taoist priest. You can call me Master Zhou."

Unexpectedly, before Zhou could finish his questioning, the old man interrupted him.

"Wang Li, have you finished what I asked you to do before?"

As if he had long been accustomed to the old man's rudeness and bluntness, the young man spoke gently.

"Uncle Han, it's all taken care of. Sure enough, the ghost story from before scared away all the guys on duty with me. And just as you predicted, they dumped all the work on me. I've been on duty alone these past few days. And when I received your call, I deliberately created an electrical fault."

Listening to the young man's introduction, Han Ruiming's expression remained calm, seemingly without any emotional fluctuation. However, Zhou You noticed that the young man unconsciously took out a cigarette from his pocket, but hesitated for some reason before putting it back down.

Then, Han Ruiming coughed a few times before speaking again.

"What about those people next to Xu Xin's house? They still haven't left, right?"

The young man hesitated for a few seconds before speaking.

"Yes, and for some reason, these people have been getting increasingly agitated lately, inexplicably smashing and destroying things around them. I remembered your instructions, Uncle Han, and didn't interfere, but I heard that a villager from the area has gone missing."

"Thank you for your hard work. Now, leave the rest to me and this person."

Han Ruiming nodded again, then swiftly prepared to lead Zhou You away. However, before leaving, the young man suddenly hesitated and spoke.

"Uncle Han, this time... are we really going to get our revenge?"

The old man didn't answer, but simply waved his hand, making an affirmative gesture.

After stepping outside, Zhou You spoke to Han Ruiming.

"Hey old man, you've got some serious connections! It feels like you have teammates everywhere."

But Han Ruiming's only response was a sneer.

“Kid, forget it. I’ll just call you Taoist Zhou, as you said. — I mean, Taoist, you need to know that the Ascension Sect has killed more than just my daughter. Take Wang Li from earlier, for example. His father died while investigating this sect, and even the gun I’m holding is his father’s keepsake. So it’s not that I have many connections; it’s just that they’ve made too many enemies.”

"But there's no use talking about this now. The key part of the plan is coming up next, so let's prepare first..."

Perhaps he spoke too hastily, because Han Ruiming suddenly started coughing again. At first it was just a slight cough, but it quickly turned into a heart-wrenching cough, as if he was coughing up his internal organs.

Zhou You frowned, took the wine gourd out of Diancang Ring, untied the lid, and stuffed it into Han Ruiming's hand.

The old man didn't care what it was, he just tilted his head back and gulped it down.

After a moment, his face grew even paler, but his coughing finally stopped, and he managed to recover.

Zhou You frowned and said.

"Hey old man, I don't really have the right to criticize you, but given your behavior, you should probably quit smoking first."

But Han Ruiming simply shook his head slightly.

"I added something extra to that cigarette, otherwise my body wouldn't be able to move so freely—and I only smoke three a day, so it won't be too much of a problem."

Before Zhou You could say anything, Han Ruiming coughed a few more times and tossed the wine pot back.

"Let's stop wasting time. Time is of the essence. Let me tell you about the plan for this trip."
-
Right now, on the other side.

In front of a magnificent villa.

Four young people with brightly colored hair were playing cards idly.

The once exquisite little garden has been ravaged beyond recognition, with cigarette butts and trash scattered everywhere. The green plants and shrubs look as if they have been swept away by a typhoon, full of scars and pits.

The young men were sitting in the only relatively intact pavilion, playing the simplest form of Dou Dizhu (a popular Chinese card game).

"Three-in-one"

"I'll take it."

I passed.

"."

"Wang Zha, I'm done, hahaha, give me the money, give me the money, give me the money!!" The faces of the others immediately fell, but they still pulled out a few red banknotes and threw them over with dissatisfaction.

The winner, oblivious to the sour looks around him, quickly stuffed the money into his lap and then tossed the cards aside again.

"Shall we play again?"

Unexpectedly, one of them threw the bottle in his hand away with a loud 'bang', and said with a smirk.

"I'm not playing anymore, my luck has been ridiculously bad lately. If I keep playing, I'll probably lose all my money this month. By the way, the leader and the eldest sister have left us here for so long, when are they finally letting us go back?"

A red-haired man, who seemed to be the leader, raised his head and glanced at the man.

"Didn't I already say we could go back after the ceremony? Besides, you haven't been shortchanged in terms of money during this time, so why are you in such a hurry?"

"The money isn't less, but what about the sacrificial offerings?"

Suddenly, everyone fell silent.

Followers like them, although they have gained superhuman abilities by consuming 'elixirs', still need to consume human flesh and blood regularly. If they fast for a long time, they will either lose their minds and go completely insane, or struggle and wail in pain as they turn into dust.

After a while, the red-haired man frowned and spoke.

"Didn't we already hire a clueless thief? That should be enough, right?"

Unexpectedly, a green-haired guy next to him immediately burst out laughing.

"Hey boss, who can eat just one old man? Besides, his meat is dry and lean, how can it compare to those delicate women?"

The moment I heard this.

Everyone swallowed hard.

At this moment, the youngest-looking person suddenly spoke up.

"Hey boss, we haven't had anything fresh in ages. I think the guards at the gate look pretty good, how about we eat tonight?"

Before he could finish speaking, the red-haired man smacked him on the head.

"Bullshit! You think you can manipulate those surveillance cameras after he's dead? You wouldn't even know how! Since the leader has allowed us to transcend the mortal realm and even hope to become immortals, then don't cause trouble. At worst, I'll take you down the mountain in a few days to hunt someone else!"

The younger brother covered his head and apologized repeatedly.

"Okay, okay, I got it. And as expected of the boss, someone who only graduated from junior high school is different; he speaks so eloquently."

But before he could finish flattering her, another voice suddenly rang out from not far away.

Moreover, it doesn't belong to any of them.

"—Excuse me, I'm the company's electrician. Did you report a fault here?"

Which one is blind?

Everyone turned to look and saw a young man dressed in an electrician's uniform standing outside the door, peering into the house. He seemed hesitant about whether to come in, looking at the group of thugs.

"Fault?"

The red-haired man scratched his head and looked around at his underlings.

Has anyone reported a malfunction?

Everyone looked completely bewildered.

However, just as the red-haired man's expression grew increasingly grim, the green-haired man next to him suddenly slapped his forehead and exclaimed in realization.

"I remember now, the security guard from upstairs called earlier and said there was a minor malfunction around here, and they might need to come into the yard to check it. He asked if I agreed, and I just casually answered because I was having fun gambling. Who would have thought he would actually send someone over?"

Red Hair slapped him across the face.

"Damn it, why didn't you say so sooner? Get this guy out of here right now, so we don't have to worry about this later!"

He stopped abruptly before he could finish speaking.

...He swallowed again.

The underling quickly understood his boss's intentions and approached him with a fawning smile.

"Boss, look, the cult leader's ceremony will be over in a couple of days anyway, and we can make a smooth exit. What ordinary police officers could possibly catch us? We're all starving, so why not?"

Red Hair remained silent for a while, but finally nodded reluctantly.

The younger brother immediately looked up and greeted him with a smile.

“Hey you, this is definitely our place. The front door isn’t locked, so just come in.”

The young electrician hesitated for a moment, but after looking at the bright surroundings, he probably felt there was no danger, so he carefully pushed open the front door and went inside.

Then, the four brightly colored guards all smiled at the same time.

—That was a smile full of appetite.

The young electrician, still unaware that he had entered hell, continued to speak in a daze.

"If you don't mind, could you please move aside? I need to check which ground wire is faulty."

however.

The green-haired man walked up and, as if they were old friends, put his arm around the electrician's shoulder and then laughed.

"No need, no need, we know which part is broken. Just come with us."

"Wait a minute, that thing is buried in the ground, how could you possibly know?"

Before he could finish speaking, the electrician was pulled away by an inhuman force, while the other three exchanged glances, smiled, and followed.
-
Not long after.

The group then went to a secluded corner.

This place is behind the house, where the shadows of the trees are deep and the moonlight is barely visible—and of course, this is the main reason why.
No monitoring.

As they went deeper, the electrician's face grew increasingly terrified, and he even began to struggle and scream.

"What are you trying to do? I'm here to fix the circuits, where are you taking me? Let me go, I won't fix it anymore!"

The sound grew louder and louder, almost turning into a scream.

But the smiles on their faces grew increasingly sarcastic. They looked at the struggling electrician as if he were a mouse being watched by a cat trying to escape, their expressions filled with nothing but mockery.

Finally, the green-haired guy couldn't help but speak up and mock.

"Stop struggling. The other residents around here have already moved away. Even if you scream your lungs out, no one will save you. Just accept being a piece of meat in our mouths. And don't worry, we'll treat you to a good meal, bit by bit, in the longest possible way, just like that old man back then."

Russian qing.

"--Really? Then I'm relieved."

Just as Green Hair was about to make another sarcastic remark, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

Wait, why did this person's voice suddenly become so calm?

He turned his head, only to see a smile even brighter than theirs, and
A pair of ordinary eyes, yet as bright as the morning star.

　There should be one more chapter added, but it will probably take until 2 or 3 AM to finish. If I can't finish it, there will be three chapters tomorrow, so please don't wait up, sorry.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)