Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 471 The Mastermind
When Lin Chen returned to the villa, he was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

Several times he wanted to make a phone call to ask, but he was afraid of disturbing Zhou You's magical duel, so he paced back and forth, biting his lip, until the sun slowly moved westward and set again.

I do not know how long it has been.

There was a knock on the door suddenly.

".Come in!"

One of his men cautiously looked around before jogging in.

"Chairman Lin."

"Just say what you want!"

His eyes were bloodshot, as if he wanted to devour someone.

The subordinate was so frightened by the gaze that he took several steps back, but remembering his own salary, he still managed to speak.

"Chairman Lin, you instructed me before that you must be informed when Master Zhou returns. Now..."

Lin Chen suddenly tilted his head back and said, word by word.

"Where are the others?"
-
—When Zhou You got off the bus, the first thing he saw was Lin Chen's enthusiastic face.

"Master Zhou, thank you for your hard work. How did things go along the way?"

Zhou You glanced at him, then at the silent employees beside him, but still smiled and said.

"Well, I think the problem has been largely resolved."

"What about the sorcerer?"

"Dead, utterly dead."

Lin Chen was immediately overjoyed and exclaimed "Good!" several times before trying to welcome Zhou You into the house.

However, Zhou You waved his hand gently, declining the invitation.

"Excuse me, Mr. Lin, I have something I need to ask you."

Lin Chen replied immediately.

"Please speak, Master Zhou."

"What about that junior classmate Wang Ming? How is he doing now?"

Is this the first question they ask when they meet?

Lin Chen was clearly a little confused—after all, Wang Ming was just a nobody in his eyes—but since Zhou You had spoken, he asked the people around him before speaking.

"Master, he's fine now. He's woken up, and the hospital tests showed nothing wrong. He just has some recent memory loss. He's in the VIP ward of the city hospital. If you're really worried, why don't you go and see him?"

Zhou You nodded, but then immediately shook his head.

"Never mind, as long as he's safe and sound. I have a second matter, but it's not convenient to discuss it in public. May I ask if we can talk privately, Mr. Lin?"

Lin Chen hesitated for a moment, but considering Zhou You's abilities, he agreed.

"Yes, it's possible. Let's go to the conference room."

Zhou You laughed.

"There's no need for all that trouble. There are no cameras in your daughter's room, and it's heavily guarded anyway. It would be perfect for a private meeting there."

Lin Chen was clearly reluctant, but to be honest, he had no choice but to accept it, since their identities had been completely reversed. Now Lin Chen understood that with his small group of men, if Zhou You wanted to make a move, it probably wouldn't take more than half an hour to kill them all.

However, he wasn't too worried.

Zhou You didn't seem like an antisocial person. In private, the most he would do was raise the price and talk about money.

How do you say that?

If something can be solved with money, it's generally not a big deal.

Lin Chen dismissed his attendants and led Zhou You into the small building.

The girl remained the same, staring blankly ahead, unresponsive to anyone who entered, like a delicate doll.

Before Lin Chen could even speak, Zhou You casually pulled out a table, placed the bottle of wine he had taken earlier on it, and then put two glasses on it.

"Mr. Lin, shall we have a couple of drinks?"

Lin Chen glanced at his daughter with some concern, but still answered with a smile.

"Since Master Zhou has invited me, I can't refuse. I'll have a couple of drinks with you. But I'm not a good drinker, so I'm afraid I can't stay for long. Please forgive me."

Given Lin Chen's status, he was always the one being accompanied by others for drinks, and he rarely accompanied others, so he spoke very awkwardly about it.

Zhou You didn't mind, but smiled and filled both of their glasses, then raised his glass first and laughed.

"Then, Mr. Lin, I'll drink this first as a sign of respect."

After that, drink it all in one gulp.

Seeing this, Lin Chen could only raise his glass and drink with him—but because the alcohol content of the wine was quite high, he coughed involuntarily after only taking a sip.

However, when you look at Zhou You, his expression is still as if nothing happened.

"Master Zhou, you really have a high tolerance for alcohol! This wine of mine is quite a vintage spirit, and you downed it in one gulp without even turning red or panting."

Zhou You poured himself another cup and smiled upon hearing this.

"It's alright. I'm not a big drinker to begin with, but after my training, I can easily handle any alcohol, no matter how strong it is. I haven't been drunk in a long time. Now, this stuff is just like soda to me, a simple drink to relieve boredom."

After the words were spoken, both sides fell silent again.

However, Lin Chen quickly put on a smile and said to Zhou You.

"You've truly worked hard this time, Daoist Master, running around for my child for so long. Daoist Master, please feel free to ask for anything. I, Lin Chen, will absolutely do my best if it's within my power."

However, Zhou You suddenly raised his head and glanced at it.

A very ordinary glance.

However, for some reason, Lin Chen swallowed all his polite words and couldn't utter another one.

Zhou You, on the other hand, slowly drank one cup after another until the bottle was empty, and only then did he exhale a breath of alcohol.

Then, he said.

"Hey Mr. Lin, it's come to this point, can't you just give me the bottom line?"

Lin Chen stared at that enigmatic smile for a moment, then continued.

"What bottom?"

"The truth you've been hiding all along."

Lin Chen's polite expression froze for a moment, but he quickly recovered and continued speaking.

"Master, you've confused me. What am I hiding from you? I've done everything you instructed, and moreover, I've met all your requests."

He still hadn't finished speaking.

A photograph slid across the table and bounced in front of him.

Lin Chen lowered his head, looking at the photo with a puzzled expression.

"Mr. Zhou, when did you get your hands on my daughter's photos? And why are they black and white?"

Zhou You glanced at him, his gaze seemingly piercing straight to the heart. "I didn't get this."

Where is that?

"It was found among the relics of that sorcerer."

Silence again.

After a long while, Lin Chen managed to force a smile.

"Master Zhou, my daughter was, after all, his target, so it's quite normal that her photos ended up in his hands, but that has nothing to do with me."

Instead of refuting or questioning, he fiddled with the empty wine glass and casually remarked as if chatting.

“Mr. Lin, I actually felt something was off when I took this job.”

Lin Chen wanted to say something more, but he was stopped by being waved away.

"Compared to others, that sorcerer targeted your family far too much—you know, sorcery is a curse-killing technique, usually appearing and disappearing without a trace. Normal people don't even know how they were cursed, but you were able to bring your daughter home in advance and even hired a bunch of people to make arrangements. It's as if you had anticipated this situation."

"That is."

"Secondly."

Zhou You's voice rose slightly as he interrupted again.

"The 'Physical Ability to See the Netherworld' is extremely rare. Before it is activated, the person is no different from an ordinary person. Even the masters of the divination school among the three religions and nine schools of thought would find it difficult to deduce. How could that sorcerer, an outsider, be so accurate in finding your daughter and even cast a curse on her?"

"."

"Finally, the sorcerer clearly stated that he came to China to collect a debt, and then he precisely included a photo of your daughter. You can't say that all of this is just a coincidence, can you?"

Lin Chen lowered his head and sat there for a while, then suddenly smiled.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Zhou, I really don't know what you're talking about."

"Playing dumb to the end? Heh, that's one way to do it."

Zhou You shook his head, then said softly.

"However, there's one thing I forgot to tell you, Mr. Lin: although the sorcerer is dead, the matter is not actually resolved."

"Master, what do you mean by this?"

Zhou You's smile remained perfectly calm.

"It's very simple. That sorcerer was nothing more than a puppet being manipulated. Although he is dead, the thing behind him hasn't given up. Well, if Boss Lin doesn't want to talk about it, then you'd better watch yourself from now on."

Lin Chen immediately became anxious.

"Mr. Zhou, that's not what we agreed on back then."

However, Zhou You simply got up and tilted his head.

"Boss Lin, back then we only said we'd help you deal with that sorcerer, right?"

".Yes."

"And what about the sorcerer?"

"...Dead."

"That settles it then." Zhou You spread his hands. "I've taken care of everything I needed to. What's the rest to me? Mr. Lin, you should find someone else."

Just as Zhou You stood up, dusted himself off, and was about to leave, Lin Chen's expression changed several times, and he finally couldn't help but speak.

"Master Zhou—"

Someone stopped, turned around, and looked at him with a half-smile.

Lin Chen closed his eyes, and after a while, as if he had lost all his strength, he collapsed into his seat.

"Please wait, these things..."

"It is indeed related to me."
-
Ten minutes later.

Another bottle of wine was placed on the table, but this time it wasn't Zhou You drinking it; instead, Lin Chen was chugging it down.

Only when he was quite drunk did he slowly speak, fueled by the alcohol.

"This story goes back thirty years—back then I was just an ordinary person. Although I had some skills, I didn't have much capital, so I could only do some business on a regular basis."

"Of course, the business wasn't big, but it was enough to make a living. Back then, I didn't have any grand ambitions. At most, I just wanted to earn more money so I could bring my parents from the countryside and, as a son, properly fulfill my filial duties."

"—But as the saying goes, a rope always breaks at its weakest point, and bad luck always finds its way to the unfortunate. Suddenly, bad luck struck—first, my business was swindled by my partner, leaving me with hundreds of thousands in debt overnight, and then my mother was diagnosed with cancer and urgently needed a large sum of money for treatment."

At this point, Lin Chen raised his head and said with a wry smile.

“Master Zhou, I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced that feeling—the hospital called several times in an hour, frantically demanding payment for treatment, and I emptied my pockets but couldn’t even find five yuan. To be honest, I really wanted to die then.”

Zhou You's expression remained unchanged; he simply looked at him calmly.

Lin Chen continued speaking.

"Or rather, at that time I was on the verge of death, and several times I walked to the riverbank, just short of jumping in. But at that moment, something approached me and said it wanted to make a deal with me."

"what?"

Lin Chen shook his head.

"I don't know. Daoist, I'm not lying to you, I really don't know. That thing has only ever appeared in my dreams. I do remember its form at the time, but I forget it when I wake up. Only the contract between it and me is clear in my memory."

"And what were the terms of the transaction?"

Lin Chen turned his head, looked at his daughter, and sighed deeply.

"As you guessed, it's Lin Huan—the deal was like this: he'd help me out of my predicament and even give me money to start a business, but I had to sacrifice my first child to him to help him break free from his cage."

"You promised."

It was a very calm sentence, neither a question nor a criticism, just an ordinary statement, yet Lin Chen's reaction was extremely agitated.

"—Taoist Master, who wouldn't agree to this? Do you think I'd just stand by and watch my mother die? Watch myself be driven to a dead end?"

However, Zhou You continued his story as usual.

"But then you changed your mind."

A single sentence, however, was like a sharp dagger, piercing through all of Lin Chen's strength.

"Yes, at the time I thought it was just a child, so I gave it to it. But when Huan'er was actually born, I realized I was wrong, terribly wrong."

"I watched her grow up little by little, from taking her first steps to babbling, and then calling out 'Dad' for the first time. It was only then that I realized how ridiculous it was to sever ties with family. After that, I could even distance myself from her for a while, but in the end, I still failed."

“After that, I kept fantasizing that the thing would forget me, that it was all just my imagination—but then one day, I received a token, and that thing told me it was ready to receive the goods.”

At this point, Zhou You seemed to suddenly remember something and frowned as he asked again.

"This whole thing started because of you, so why are you blaming those college students?"

Unexpectedly, Lin Chen suddenly stood up and roared angrily.

"That's because Huan'er was implicated by them. I had already taken strict precautions and invited many masters to ensure that Huan'er would never be found. In the end, it would only be others who died. Who would have thought—"

Zhou You's eyes suddenly turned cold.

"—You mean you already knew in advance that these students would be used as sacrifices?"

(End of this chapter)