Deceitful Game

Mingpo has certainly played both games—they are both well-known Japanese rhythm games.

However, if it's Gu Tao, he probably hasn't played it before.

Sure enough, the voice explained to him, "Next, a song will be played for you. And in rhythm with the music, the balloons on both sides will fall in time."

"Most of the time, the balloons fall alternately. But occasionally they may fall together. And the color of the balloons is completely random."

"And the window in front of you is directly above their heads. You have at most two chances to make your move: once when the balloon falls and once when it bounces up."

"But similarly, if you shoot the wrong arrow and the fire touches the oil... or, even more unfortunately—"

"For example, what if you accidentally slipped and shot an arrow through the head of your loved one? That would be a really bad situation!"

The voice trembled involuntarily as it spoke.

It seems that just thinking about that scene makes him feel excited.

"I see……"

Mingpo remained unmoved, simply nodding: "So that's what makes you jealous."

If Mingpo had followed the normal procedure, how would he have gotten here?

His physical strength will be exhausted to the limit, and his life will be as fragile as a candle in the wind.

Or perhaps both hands are disabled, and the right thumb has been lost.

And under these circumstances, he would drink seven or even fifteen cups of strong liquor on an empty stomach—each cup being counted as one liang (50 grams), which would amount to seven liang to one and a half jin (250 grams) of liquor.

And then, he will suddenly fall, which could very well result in a fracture or abrasion.

—In this situation, he needs to engage in a deadly game that demands precise shooting skills, physical strength, eyesight, and judgment.

If the balloons cannot be intercepted before they fall, then balloons of different colors will be mixed together.

While it's not necessarily true that "any balloon of a different color will necessarily die," it can generally be assumed that the more different colors there are, the higher the mortality rate. The other party even explicitly stated the possibility that "balloons from both sides might fall simultaneously."

So, there are really only two choices left—

Firstly, he completely abandoned one side.

Focus on doing only one side of the task.

With twelve arrows, you can easily eliminate the balloons on one side. Out of the eighteen balloons, you only need to eliminate six of the same color to finish the level.

However, if you want to use both hands simultaneously, the difficulty will increase significantly.

If one balloon is accidentally missed, the other one may also be missed. Furthermore, if it's not possible to instantly determine which side to eliminate first when both balloons fall simultaneously, balloons of different colors may accumulate on the ground.

Moreover, drawing a bow is a physically demanding activity. The accuracy of an arrow also heavily relies on the thumb's assistance. Whether the shot is off-target or the force is lost, the arrow could fall prematurely and hit someone below!

Whether Mingpo chooses to swim in icy water or cut off his thumb to escape in the first level, it will result in a significant loss of his durability or accuracy. And being drunk will significantly increase the effects of these two.

From this perspective, it seems that Gu Tao's glasses being smashed was intentional!

This is to interfere with his vision and make it impossible for him to see clearly!

"Friendly reminder, Gu Tao. Don't think about stupid things like, 'Even if they both die, it has nothing to do with you.'"

The voice said, "Left red, left yellow, right red, right yellow—each of these four groups of balloons contains an elevator card that allows you to escape. These elevator cards are very fragile; they will lose their function if hit by an arrow. The cards will only be effective when the balloons are frozen in place on the ground and burst at the end of the game."

"Therefore, if you fail to save any of them, you will have to stay here forever."

"And when the game ends, the platform in front of you will be removed. At that time, you will be able to leave here with your loved one."

"To be, or not to be, that is the question."

"That's not a problem, child."

Mingpo sighed: "That's just childish."

After he finished speaking, the other person remained silent for a while, and their face turned red.

Before he could speak, Mingpo delivered another blow—

"No, buddy?"

He spoke up, asking with considerable curiosity, "Are you that afraid of your brother Tao?"

"Break my glasses, exhaust my strength, cripple my hands, make me fall, get me drunk. Only then will you dare let me participate in this final game."

At this point, Mingpo sighed with some regret: "Actually, I really think a transparent pier or a log bridge would be quite nice. After getting soaked in ice water and drinking alcohol, it's perfect to have the cold evening breeze blowing on you. That way, you can truly feel the fear of death approaching."

"Or are you so obsessed with my hands? It would be more oppressive to cripple my legs than to cripple my hands."

"Gu Tao!"

The voice turned sinister: "I admit, I underestimated you... The game I tailored for you was circumvented by you using a detour. But don't get too cocky!"

"Even if you enter this level in a better state, so what? Let's just have a fair fight—do you really think you can win?"

"How about we make a bet?"

Mingpo spoke up: "I don't find your rules very interesting... How about we add fuel to the fire?"

Why should I bet with you?

The other party retorted, "Gu Tao, don't forget—if you fail to complete my game, you'll die here! Your life isn't in your own hands; it's a mortgaged property, and you want to put it back on my gambling table?"

"Of course it's not that simple."

Mingpo smiled and said, "Didn't you want me to participate in your game in a disabled state?"

"But clearly, the traps you've prepared don't seem quite right. If I were to enter the game like this, you probably wouldn't be happy."

With that, Mingpo stretched out her right hand and drew a line on her left index finger: "How about I bet my finger? Right here in the game."

"Once the game starts, I'll ask you a question and give you a guess."

"If I'm right, you let me continue asking questions; if I'm wrong, I'll cut off one of my fingers. Then it's your turn to ask questions and give an answer you guessed."

As Mingpo spoke, he picked up the heavy bow and arrows and weighed them in his hand. Then a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Then he continued, "If you're wrong—I don't want your finger, I want you to kneel down and kowtow to me three times, how about that?"

"Are you willing to gamble? Are you prepared to accept the consequences? Can you swear that you will guarantee your impartiality?"

This is an utterly absurd betting game.

Because Mingpo simply doesn't have any means to verify the other party's answer.

If he says it's right, then it's right; if he says it's wrong, then it's wrong.

Despite this, Mingpo was still willing to gamble with the other party.

The reason is quite simple... because Mingpo judged that the reason why the other party made such a complicated and redundant design was because he wanted to "defeat Gu Tao".

However, he didn't want to force Gu Tao into an unfair fighting environment, so he designed one dilemma after another. It was to put the responsibility in Gu Tao's hands—to make him take responsibility for his own "choices".

Behind such a strong sense of self-esteem lies the shadow cast by inferiority complex.

Seemingly intimidated by Mingpo's imposing presence, the other party remained silent for a long time.

"……good."

This time, the man answered quite seriously: "I swear, I never lie."

"Then give me a knife first, at least a knife that can cut off my finger."

Mingpo said with a smile, "Or are you saying you don't dare to give it to me?"

"What's there to be afraid of?"

The other party chuckled and clearly became serious.

Just then, a sharp knife suddenly fell in front of Mingpo.

Mingpo looked up and realized that it was neither a passage nor a logistics channel. It had simply formed from the void and fallen down.

"Alright, let the game begin."

Mingpo raised his bow and arrow, carefully aiming at the center between the two, glancing to both sides out of the corner of his eye. The skill flowing through Gu Tao's body surged into his limbs and bones, and he instinctively mastered how to shoot arrows.

At that moment, music began to play—

It's the wedding march!

As solemn music played, a red balloon fell from Cai Jingyi's head on the left.

Five seconds later, a yellow balloon fell.

"—Let me ask you the first question."

Mingpo spoke softly, "You're not my child, are you?"

An arrow was shot.

Amid Cai Jingyi's screams, the arrow burst the yellow balloon, and thick, pungent-smelling oil splattered onto her clothes.

"--correct."

The other party responded seriously.

I don't know when it started.

This place seems to have turned into... a game designed by Mingpa.