Deceitful Game

When Mingpo stepped into the pitch-black darkness outside the door, his consciousness was immediately overwhelmed.

In a daze, Mingpo seemed to be dreaming about something.

He dreamt that he seemed to be arguing with someone, and he was so agitated that he didn't seem like himself.

He dreamt that he was manipulating one illusion after another, wantonly blurring the five senses of others.

He dreamt that he was walking through the vast starry sky, while a huge, blurry-faced figure looked down at him from afar.

The next moment, Mingpo suddenly woke up.

Splash splash ...

It's like leaving the tap running while the sink's refill button is pressed.

I don't know when it started, but suddenly I can hear the sound of rushing water in the silence.

My head hurts so much.

A throbbing pain shot through the back of my head, the pain spreading rhythmically like a heartbeat. It felt like I'd been knocked unconscious.

Mingpo slowly opened her eyes.

The surroundings were dim, with only a faint outline of a bright red sky visible. It resembled the glow of sunset, but was far redder—even reflecting a crimson hue onto my skin.

His body was unusually cold, and a chill permeated his limbs and bones.

A few seconds later, Mingpo slowly realized that she was lying in the water.

After Mingpo woke up, her numb and sluggish mind gradually cleared. It was like slowly turning on a computer after being groggy from low blood pressure while sitting on the bed.

Mingpo stood up slightly and reached into the water, groping for something.

With a clanging sound, Mingpo's right hand suddenly felt a dragging sensation.

He looked down and saw a cold metal chain locked around his right wrist.

It was a right hand that felt somewhat unfamiliar to him. The muscles were similar, but the skin was much rougher. Especially the fingers, which clearly showed the marks of time. On the ring finger of his right hand, he wore a gold ring.

He was wearing a brown sweater with thermal underwear underneath. His lower body was covered in thick work pants, which were now soaked with water and had become heavy and cold.

Mingpo had no idea how long she had been soaking in the icy water.

Skin soaked in extreme cold is already fragile. This unconscious, forceful tug almost tore his skin apart, turning a large patch of his pale skin red, burning with pain, and causing many blood spots to seep out; it would probably bleed out very soon.

But Mingpo seemed oblivious and plunged her hand directly into the icy water.

Soon, Mingpo finally retrieved the item he was looking for.

A pair of half-rimmed glasses with a crack.

Clearly, that wasn't Mingpo's own.

But Mingpo calmly flicked his glasses and put them on with his other, unhandled left hand.

Although there were still blurry black lines and water droplets in my field of vision, at least I could see things in the distance.

The deep red color outside wasn't from the sunset or the evening glow, but from rows of large lights. These deep red lights projected their light, turning the originally clear, transparent water surface into a dark reddish-black.

At that moment, crimson text appeared before Mingpo's eyes.

They penetrated his blurred vision through his glasses, appearing as clear letters in his eyes.

Promotion: Crime and Punishment

[Single-player mode, restricted faction: Druid, no intruders]

[Difficulty: 1-3 days]

[This game is limited to the initial state; no external abilities or statuses other than "titles" can be transferred.]

[There is no need to play as a character in this game, but playing as a character can still help advance the story.]

[WARNING: This game contains additional rules, hidden quests, and a unique world setting]

[You should know: If you fail in the promotion game, you can transform into a "Host" to avoid death; you will be resurrected when your Contract Deceiver completes this game.]

……I see.

So that's how hosts came to be...

Mingpo seemed lost in thought.

He remembered that "Mo" had mentioned that if they were promoted to the level of "Zhou Zhi Qingqian", they would come uninvited.

It now seems that he probably died during the process of advancing to "Silver". Therefore, he needs someone to help him go through the advancement ceremony again.

"Looking at it this way, the promotion ceremony is actually quite gentle."

Mingpo's lips curled up slightly.

In ordinary games of deception, failure means death. But in the promotion ceremony, it's not like that... there's even a second chance.

The price to pay is having to mentor newcomers for a period of time.

The higher the rank of promotion, the more severe the punishment. This is because it means a lower chance of reverting to the original state, and a longer period of unpaid work... but at least it's a second life.

Once Mingpo had read the basic introduction to the game, the text disappeared.

Immediately following, a very brief plot introduction appears:

You are Gu Tao, a swimming coach.

When you wake up, you find yourself locked in this huge swimming pool, which has already started to fill with water.

The last image you remember is opening your front door after get off work...

The three short lines vanished like a phantom after Mingpo finished reading them.

Unlike "Death of the Minority," it did not reveal the rules of the game or the requirements of the mission.

Because the situation before us is already very clear—

If he can't find a way to escape, he will drown.

When Mingpo woke up, his clothes were soaked with water.

The water had only just touched the soles of his shoes, not yet completely submerging his ankles. However, the water had already seeped into his sneakers. The intense cold was already making his body shiver uncontrollably; he feared he might suffer hypothermia at any moment.

And at this time.

A voice, deliberately altered to sound rough, hoarse, and eerie, rang out from the sky.

"Hello, Gu Tao!"

It sounded almost like an AI-generated voice: "I want to play a game with you."

For a moment, Mingpo thought this was a host who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere—as if he was about to jump out and shout, "Welcome to the game of deception, you unjustly killed ones!"

"...Saw, right?"

Mingpo frowned in disdain: "Do you own the copyright?"

"Hmph... You still have the energy to joke around? Looks like you're still got plenty of energy, that's good..."

The voice, however, only chuckled coldly: "This way, we might be able to play for a long time."

Mingpo raised an eyebrow but did not reply.

The purpose of his comment was to see whether it was a recording or a conversation.

Now it seems that dialogue is much more likely.

In other words, it means there's some kind of camera watching you, and there's also a recording device around you.

"I heard you're a good swimmer."

The voice said, "I want to see how long you can swim."

"This pool is 2.2 meters high and takes three hours to fill with water."

"But unfortunately, the chain is only 70 centimeters long. This means that if the water were to fill the entire area, you would drown here."

"And behind you, above the pool, is a key. It can unlock your handcuffs."

The strange, deep, and hoarse synthesized voice chuckled: "But if you want to get it, you'll have to wait until it floats high enough on the surface."

"At that time, with the help of the water's buoyancy, you would have a chance to reach it."

This chain is so uncomfortable.

It spread out from the floor, but was too low. It locked Mingpo's wrist, making his position very awkward.

The chain was about the distance from the fingertips of a slightly shorter adult to the ground. Gu Tao wasn't particularly short, and the handcuffs were on his wrists... which meant he couldn't even stand up.

If you absolutely have to stand up, it's practically like doing a horse stance.

But it takes three hours for the water to rise.

If you maintain this bent-over posture, you'll be too exhausted to move by the time the water rises.

Does that mean I should squat down to rest?

That's even more impossible.

The water was incredibly cold, almost like tap water in winter.

Or rather, it's a mixture of ice and water.

Mingpo's right hand is now locked, and he can't take off his clothes.

If he just squats like that, his shirt will quickly become soaked with ice water. If he stays in that position for several hours, it won't just be a matter of catching a cold—it could even lead to widespread hypothermia and death.

Furthermore, squatting like this for a long time can cause poor blood circulation in the legs, which are submerged in icy water. If the water level rises, it is very easy to cramp or fall. In addition, being submerged in icy water is extremely physically demanding; if one's strength is exhausted, one can only drown there.

—This is the deadly water prison!