Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 622 Risk
Zhou You remained silent for a few seconds before asking the question.

What are the offerings?

The male voice answered very decisively.

"Human life."

"What murder?"

"Any human life—but in sufficient numbers."

It was a very brief conversation, but Zhou You already understood everything.

After a moment, he chuckled.

"You mean you want me to massacre innocent people?"

Unexpectedly, the male voice answered very decisively this time.

"That's right, but I hope players remember one thing: compared to the safety of a world, the lives of dozens or hundreds are just a drop in the ocean—not insignificant, but a necessary sacrifice."

Zhou You paused for a few seconds, revealing a mocking smile—but did not answer that question, instead starting another one.

"And what was that opportunity?"

"Regarding the traces of the Heavenly Demon's Familiar—that is, those corrupted beings—this path is too risky and not recommended for players to undertake."

"Okay, I understand."

Zhou You interrupted the other person, then waved and left the room.

The crowd outside had been waiting for a long time.

Upon seeing him emerge, the gang leader eagerly rushed to greet him.

"Brother, what's going on in there? What about the brothers we sent in before, and that treasure?"

Zhou You smiled.

"First of all, let me tell you something: there's absolutely no treasure in there."

"What!!!"

The other person suddenly raised their voice, then immediately realized their rudeness and quickly covered their mouth.

After a moment, he calmed himself down and asked again.

"What about my brothers? Were they all killed by Liu Ming too?"

"No, not at all."

Before the other party could even show any surprise, Zhou You continued speaking.

"But it was practically the same as being dead, so I just helped them get rid of it."

"Varied--"

This time, before the leader could even get angry, Zhou You had already spoken succinctly.

“A mimicry spider has emerged from inside. Everyone, including the three you sent out this morning, has been reduced to mere shells.”

"."

Silence fell.

The leader's angry expression froze on his face, but he couldn't continue—and not only him, but everyone else stared at Zhou You with blank eyes.

half an hour.

It was Luo Liangde who spoke first, muttering to himself.

"A mimicry spider?"

"Yes."

"The one in the wasteland?"

"really."

"How did Liu Ming get brought in?"

"How would I know? You're asking me, who am I supposed to ask?"

Luo Liangde finally shut up, and a moment later, he suddenly grabbed the still dazed leader.

Then, two slaps landed directly on his face.

After being provoked like this, the leader finally came to his senses and immediately roared in anger.

“What are you doing!

However, Luo Liangde, who was usually timid and submissive, acted out of character, grabbing the leader's collar and speaking anxiously.

"Bring Boss Yi over, something big has happened this time."

"Boss Yi, what the hell are you talking about? You're troubling him with such a small matter. Besides, I'll take responsibility if things aren't settled here."

"I mean, get Boss Yi over here!" Luo Liangde glared at the other man, enunciating each word clearly. "The monsters from the wasteland have already invaded the core area in their true forms, and you're still trying to shirk responsibility? When everyone's dead, who are you going to take the blame for???"

His face was so ferocious that even the leader couldn't help but shrink back—he looked at Zhou You again, and seeing that the man was standing there noncommittally, he gritted his teeth and said.

"Then let go first, I'll notify the boss right now—but if anything goes wrong, you'll have to share the responsibility with me!"

Seeing the leader run away in a flash, Zhou You walked up to Luo Liangde.

At this moment, the middle-aged man once again wore that worried and distressed expression.

He raised his eyes and uttered only one sentence to Zhou You.

Do you have a cigarette? Give me one.

"."

Zhou You silently took out a cigarette case—which Yi Jong-un had given him yesterday—and handed it over.

Luo Liangde didn't even glance at the obviously expensive tobacco; he simply took one out and lit it.

He took a long drag, exhaled a smoke ring, and then said in a bitter voice.

"You ate everything in there?"

"Pretty much, anyway, I don't think any of them were left alive."

"How did you do that? Even if dozens of people attacked that thing together, most of them would die. I don't think a cripple like you—even if you have a lineage—could have done something like that."

Zhou You pondered for a few seconds, still feeling that the explanation was a mixture of truth and falsehood.

"It was nothing. That thing seemed to have been starving for a long time, and after laying a bunch of eggs, it was extremely weak. I used the terrain to my advantage and it took some effort to barely kill it."

Luo Liangde nodded, but didn't say anything more, instead continuing to smoke.

Seeing this, Zhou You couldn't help but speak up.

"Brother Luo, what's going on? Why are you so serious? We came here just to deal with a weirdo, so why are you looking so worried after we took it down?"

Luo Liangde hesitated, then let out a long sigh.

“Brother, you've lost your memory, so you probably don't know—the strange things around here are divided into corrupted strange things and external strange things. Corrupted strange things are strange items brought in that couldn't be controlled, or they were corrupted too much while exploring the wasteland. There might be some powerful ones among them, but it's not really a big deal.”

"—As for external anomalies, just understand them literally: monsters from the wasteland have invaded the residential area. Every time this happens, it means that an area is about to fall—but this time is different. No matter how neglected this place is, it is still one of the core areas, and if external anomalies appear here..."

He didn't say anything more, but the meaning was self-evident.

In just over thirty minutes, Ijon arrived.

As soon as he got out of the car, he spoke crisply and clearly.

"Where is the thing? Take me inside to see it."

The underling quickly led him into the house. A moment later, when they came out, Yi Zheng'en's face was ashen.

But he still quickly and efficiently gave instructions to those around him.

"First, get all the brothers out, then completely seal off this area."

The leader said hesitantly.

"Boss, is the area under lockdown this one house, an entire block, or something else?"

"Ijon Un only gave two words in response."

"The whole area."

The leader immediately turned into a sour face.

"Boss, but there are still so many residents here, and what about the government?"

“I’ll coordinate with the government. As for the rest, let them leave if they can, and let them die here if they can’t. Don’t make me say the same thing twice.”

The leader was speechless, but still left reluctantly.

Then, Ijonun walked toward Zhou You.

His attitude was much better towards this person. He completely ignored Luo Liangde, who was smiling obsequiously beside him, and just stared at Zhou You—as if trying to really see this person clearly—before speaking.

"You did a good job this time."

Zhou You seemed quite indifferent; he shrugged and said...

"So, I've now pledged my loyalty and, while I'm at it, repaid you for the medical expenses you advanced?"

Ijong snorted coldly and reverted to his absurd and nonsensical demeanor.

"You've certainly pledged your allegiance, but don't joke about the debt. Do you know how much it is? Besides, you've gotten me into a lot of trouble this time—not a small amount."

"So you mean the truth is what Brother Luo said, that the strange entity has invaded this area?"

Unexpectedly, Ijon shook his head.

"Not necessarily. One mimicry spider doesn't prove anything—maybe that guy brought back a spider egg, and it suddenly hatched midway."

"How could they have hatched to such a large size in just a few days?"

"It's rare, but you never know. After all, the bizarre can't be measured by common sense."

Having said all that, Zhou You could only say...

"So what are your plans to do next?"

Ijon frowned, pondered for a few seconds—then suddenly revealed a mocking expression.

"This problem is beyond the capabilities of a gang like ours. Naturally, it should be handed over to my capable brother—let him worry about it. Anyway, my core territory isn't here, so even if the monster does invade, it won't come after me anytime soon."

"And what about after a while—oh, I remember now, you've already prepared an escape route, never mind what I said."

Ijon smiled as if to say 'you know what I mean'—and then Zhou You pointed to himself.

"And what about me? What are your plans after this?"

"You should go back first." Unexpectedly, Yi Zheng'en let Zhou You go. "You have now proven your strength. You were able to take down a mimic spider all by yourself, even though it was on the verge of starvation. But that still proves your strength. I will send someone to find you in a while. Then we can discuss how to get the key items from the wasteland and escape from this ghost town."

At this moment, Luo Liangde, who had a worried look on his face, finally got a chance to speak, and he smiled ingratiatingly.

"Then I'll go with my brother too."

Unexpectedly, Ijon glanced at him.

"Old Luo, come back with me first. You used to work in the defense force, and I happen to have something I want to ask you."

Luo Liangde's smile froze instantly, and he repeatedly declined.

"No, no, no, I was just loafing around there back then, how would I know anything about it? Boss Yi, you're better off."

Ijon didn't want to waste words with him, so he simply gestured to the people around him with his eyes.

Several burly men, with menacing smiles, forcibly grabbed Luo Liangde and shoved him into the back seat. Then they invited Yi Zheng'en into the car, and with a thud, they drove straight to the main road to urinate.

Zhou You was left standing there all alone, as if he had been abandoned.

He glanced around and saw everyone busy with their own things—blocking roads, putting up yellow signs—no one paying attention to him. He shrugged, turned, and walked in the opposite direction.
Walking on the dirty roads, only the overhead lights kept me company.

This settlement consists of several air-raid shelters connected by some underground facilities. Due to energy shortages, the lights in most places are dim, except for some key locations.

However, after living in this environment for a long time, coupled with the influence of the blood moon, most of them have evolved a certain level of night vision, so they are not completely unable to see things.

Without Luo Liangde's chatterbox company, the surroundings became much quieter, but at the same time, many ill-intentioned eyes were secretly watching.

In the end, someone couldn't resist and made the first move.

Just as he turned a corner, Zhou You suddenly felt a lightness around his waist.

Something snatched his wallet and tried to escape at an extremely fast speed.

Just kidding, didn't you know I was also the head of the Thieves' Guild?
Zhou You rolled his eyes, then reached out and pinned down the audacious fellow.

The other person tried to struggle, but Zhou You's hand was as heavy as a thousand pounds, gripping him tightly and preventing him from breaking free even a little.

"You think you've stole from the ancestor of thieves? I'm in a bad mood today, so let me vent."

However, when he turned his head, he was stunned.

That was a child.

Of course, he'd seen plenty of petty thieves in the script; at most, he'd give them a light beating. But...
He had seen twelve or thirteen-year-olds before, and seven or eight-year-olds before, but this was the first time he had seen one like this.
They started doing this job when they were four or five years old.

Right before him was a mud-covered child, no more than four or five years old. His body was emaciated due to severe malnutrition, with only his belly swollen to an enormous size. This was not because he had eaten a lot recently; on the contrary, it was because he had not eaten for a long time that he had developed this symptom.

That face looked like it hadn't been washed in ages; it was covered in streaks of black and grime. Its hair was a mess, and in many places, the scalp was exposed due to infection, with large patches of sores on it, some even oozing pus.

With just one glance, even though he wasn't a professional doctor, Zhou You made a diagnosis.

This child is already near death; even if we try to save him now, it will be too late.

However, the starving child starved into death with a fierce look in his eyes at Zhou You—if someone hadn't been wearing gloves and hadn't been held down so he couldn't move, he probably would have already taken a bite.

After a moment of silence, Zhou You asked.

"Where are your parents?"

He immediately shook his head, realizing he had asked a stupid question.

If the parents were here, this child would never have fallen to this state.

However, he soon noticed a metal plaque around the child's neck—the style was familiar, just like his own, exactly the same as the one he had seen before.

"An orphan of a scavenger, no wonder."

A sigh.

Then he raised his head again and looked at those malicious eyes hiding in the corner.

Sure enough, there were many others among them, just like the little guy in front of them, innocent and young, yet with eyes as mad as wolves.

That's how the scavenging industry works. Although the rewards are decent, the risks are also high. Even those who scavenge for scraps can encounter risks.

And when they die, their children will be left to roam the sewers like rats, rummaging for food in garbage cans, and eventually die of illness in some unknown corner.

Moreover, this is only one area.

In this underground city, how many people like this, struggling between life and death, are alive?

In the end, Zhou You could only utter one sentence.

"This damned world."

(End of this chapter)