Deceitful Game

If you open the door without investing any chips, then that door won't lead to any game venue.

Mingpo tucked the phone with no internet access from the bedside table into her pocket, opened the door, and stepped back into this gray and silent world.

He was in a very good mood and even hummed the tune of "Singin' in the Rain".

Outside was the familiar old-fashioned elevator, which seemed rather outdated by today's standards. Mingpo tried pressing a button, but as expected, he couldn't interact with it.

However, for some reason, it's impossible to pass directly through a wall or jump down into an elevator shaft.

Just as Mingpo was contemplating whether she should go down to the second floor and jump out of the window to see if she would still die from the fall, the door across the hall suddenly opened.

A girl wearing a long black trench coat and carrying a musical instrument bag on her back walked out holding a mobile phone.

She was also dressed in greyish-white, and possessed an astonishingly tall stature—less than half a head shorter than Mingpo, who was 186cm, making her nearly 180cm. Even for a northern man, this height wouldn't be considered short. And as a southern girl, the number of heads she turned on the street was unimaginable.

She didn't see Mingpo at all, and instead stood directly in front of the elevator, her body almost overlapping with Mingpo's.

"..."

Mingpo didn't move; he just watched as the other person walked towards him.

Seemingly sensing the chill, the girl reached out and buttoned up the collar of her trench coat as well.

He stared blankly at the other person, his sealed memories gradually reviving.

Mingpo knows her; you could even say he watched her grow up.

Her given name or nickname is probably "Yueyue," or something similar. Her surname is unknown; all that's known is that her father is a very tall man from Inner Mongolia, but he hasn't inquired about his specific occupation. Mingpo only knows that her mother is very accomplished; she's a university professor who teaches viola, and reportedly won awards in her youth.

Sometimes her graduate students would come to her house to help out, and she would also give lectures there.

Yueyue was born when Mingpo was in the third or fourth grade of elementary school. At that time, she cried loudly at night, but Mingpo was introverted and shy. She was too embarrassed to ask the neighbors to be quiet or to tell the aunt about it, so she could only toss and turn and force herself to fall asleep.

As she grew older, the couple across the hall became busier, and the two families gradually became familiar with each other. Sometimes when she went on business trips or to competitions, she would entrust Yueyue to their housekeeper.

The saying goes, "It's the same whether you herd one sheep or two." The employer had no objections, the nanny had no objections, and Mingpo had no objections either. As a child, Mingpo wasn't as taciturn as she would become later, so they got along quite well.

Back then, Mingpo would watch anime at home, and she would watch along with him; when he played games, she would also watch from the side.

However, Mingpo preferred playing games like "Kids Beat Up," "Grand Theft Auto," and "Silent Hill," so she couldn't play with others. The only game she could play with others was the newly released "Samurai Warriors," but the little girl was too young to understand it.

When he moved away, she was still in kindergarten; and when he moved back, he never saw her again.

At her age, she should just be starting university.

Why did you come out from your front door?

And that instrument bag he's carrying... are they playing in a band?

Does playing in a band really have to come at the cost of one's education?

Mingpo was a little curious, so she stood still and looked at the messages on her phone screen.

"Yueyue" was clearly unaware that there was another ghost standing right next to her, and was just rapidly sending messages.

Sure enough, it was the band that was about to perform.

Mingpo shook her head, too lazy to meddle, and followed the other person into the elevator.

He stood in the elevator, somewhat bored, watching it descend.

The girl seemed quite perceptive, looking around anxiously. She seemed to sense something, but couldn't quite pinpoint the problem.

Just then, a message popped up on the phone screen, catching Mingpo's attention:

[I am Cucumber God of War!: Have you heard? Lawyer Chen was shot and killed yesterday!]

...Chen Lu?

Mingpo raised an eyebrow, realizing something.

Could it be a fox?

"Huh?"

Yueyue exclaimed in surprise, paused for a moment, and then quickly typed again.

The message she sent appeared on the right:

Is it even possible to be shot and killed in the country these days?

[I, Cucumber God of War!: Not in China, I heard he was shot and killed in France.]

[British detective Shirley Tachibana: Could she have been robbed? If you don't steal, you're not English; if you don't rob, you're not French!]

【I, Cucumber God of War! : I don't know, but the notes say he was assassinated! I heard he offended some big shot.】

"Shoot him..."

Mingbo chewed on the word.

There was no clear motive, no one was caught, all that was known was that he was shot... This seems suspicious no matter how you look at it.

The fox seems to be an information broker; could it have really offended someone?

Yueyue clicked her tongue and replied:

You believe the news online? And which lawyer Chen are you talking about?

【I'm Cucumber God of War! : You mean the one who streams?】

[British detective Shirley: Doesn't it feel a bit chaotic lately? Over a dozen celebrities and internet personalities have died this month! Should we reduce our performances? What if we become famous?]

【I am the Cucumber God of War! :?】

[The cats can sing "Gong Xi Fa Cai" (Wishing you prosperity): ?]

【? 】

If you're really afraid of dying, then don't ride that secondhand motorcycle.

【I am the Cucumber God of War! : Indeed】

[British detective Shirley Tachibana: I'm only not surprised to hear about the motorcycle section anchor's accident]

[British detective Shirley Tachibana: Last week's Jasmine-chan has also turned into Jasmine-chan after a lucky break. I quite like her.]

Her boyfriend was in the same car accident as her, do you really want to like her?

[British detective Shirley Tachibana: Well, there's no need to attack the dump truck too aggressively.]

...This looks like a raccoon.

Mingpo suddenly realized something.

More than a dozen celebrities and internet influencers...

Could it be that these deceptive games arrest people based on some kind of pattern or commonality?

But the "rabbits" that died a few months ago have also been captured. What use are these suddenly dying batches then?

Or is someone using quantity to compensate for probability, trying to send a certain person or groups of people into the game?

How did I get arrested?

I'm not some kind of internet celebrity... I don't even have a public personal account.

[Nyarlathotep: I do have some mysterious information]

[Nyarlathotep: It's said that this group of internet celebrities isn't actually dead, and is currently elbowing Kobe in some mysterious place to compete for a spot in the revival competition.]

[British detective Shirley Tachibana: ...To be honest, this hellish joke is a bit despicable, isn't it?]

[Nyarlathotep: How should I put it...]

[Nyarlathotep: Never mind, never mind]

Immediately afterwards, both messages were retracted. Subsequently, all the messages he posted were also retracted.

"……Um?"

Mingpo made a sound of surprise.

There was an unexpected bonus?

Does the person posing this riddle... know something?

Isn't "Deceitful Game" like those infinite flow novels, where it needs to be kept secret from outsiders? How could someone have information about a small roadside band?

Or is the problem actually with this person, who has been in contact with a con artist... or is there a con artist organization in the real world?

But after following them all the way here, they had already left the residential area.

Seeing Yueyue walk in the opposite direction from him, Mingpo shrugged and didn't follow.

Anyway, she can't run away. If we really want to ask anything, we might as well wait until she comes back and investigate.

You can't just go out and perform and then die, can you?

Rather than that, I'd rather go to the company first.

The Faceless God Studio is not very large, so it does not have a separate company building.

The company is located on the thirteenth floor of a relatively remote office building.

Mingpo remained hidden, instead taking advantage of the elevator ride—he went in first, saw someone press the button for the thirteenth floor, nodded in satisfaction, and stayed there.

If no one is there, Mingpo plans to go outside and wait for the next round. Or she can go through the emergency exits on the twelfth or fourteenth floors.

Climbing fourteen floors... He would never do something so stupid unless there was some benefit to it.

but……

Mingpo glanced at the guy next to her who had pressed the button for the thirteenth floor, and felt that he looked somewhat unfamiliar.

By the way, are you an employee of our company?

Why does it look so ordinary?

Mingpo knew that their company's boss might be a bit of a looks-obsessed person. Employees, regardless of gender, were definitely not allowed to be unattractive. Moreover, most employees possessed considerable talent and some quirks; even someone as eccentric as Mingpo wasn't particularly outstanding among them.

When the elevator reached the thirteenth floor, Mingpo eagerly followed the young man out, only to find that the surrounding layout was somewhat unfamiliar.

Looking around, Mingpo's memories began to return.

In his vague recollection, there should have been road signs and a lot of merchandise and posters at the company's main entrance.

There should be two life-size standees of "Aivas" and "Isabel" here—these are two important and popular characters in the games he was in charge of, arguably the two most popular characters in the main cast.

Next to it is a merchandise wall filled with all sorts of official game merchandise—figures, cotton dolls, badges, standees, art books, trading cards, and a bunch of ornate statues that were made but not sold.

There was nothing there.

There were only about twenty cases of Coca-Cola piled together. The plastic covering on the top layer of Coca-Cola had been torn off, and half of it had been taken away.

—Is the company collaborating with Coca-Cola? How come there's suddenly so much free Coke?

Mingpo was somewhat curious.

Although the company provides various drinks, they are all from vending machines and purchased by scanning a code or employee ID. Of course, their boss is quite generous, and everyone receives a daily allowance for free drinks and snacks.

He leaned forward slightly, then frowned in disgust.

...Why is it still cherry flavored?

Is this something for humans to drink?

Just as Mingpo was about to go to the bathroom to transform, he suddenly saw the company name on the wall.

——【pikopiko Cat Studio】.

A studio that Mingpa had never heard of before.

"...?"

Mingpo was stunned for a moment.

He wondered whether the company had changed its name or moved.

He then rushed to the restroom and retrieved a time-honored token.

"Appearance [one hour]."

He gave the order in a low voice, biting the copper-colored chip in his mouth.