The Bizarre Identity Card

There were many ways to play with a deck of cards, and their ranks varied from game to game. Leaving aside the two jokers, some rules ranked them 2 > A > K, some made the ace highest and the two lowest, and others ranked them A < 2 < 3...

Judging by the suit rankings and the classic card games popular in casinos, An Ying guessed that the cards might be ranked according to their values in bridge this time.

But that was only a guess. Bridge was a four-player game, and there were only two people here. Whatever the rules were, the entities were the ones who decided them.

He had originally considered Texas Hold'em, but ruled it out because suits had no ranking in that game.

The ace of spades was already the highest-ranking card of the highest-ranking suit known so far. By rights, it shouldn't have been played this early, unless its owner had no other cards left.

But when An Ying saw the player's confident gaze and smile, he ruled out that possibility.

Unless...

Unless he also had the second-highest card in his hand! The ace of hearts!

That was why he was so confident, and dared to play the ace of spades.

His purpose was obvious, too. He wanted to show off in the livestream and use An Ying's reputation to boost his own prestige. If he saved the ace of spades for last, it wouldn't make as much of an impression as it did now.

Having figured that out, An Ying was somewhat envious of the man's good luck. He had an excellent memory, and the card the man had played in the previous round hadn't been low either: the jack of spades.

No. 11's opponent, guest No. 16, clutched the card in his hand tightly, his face deathly pale. It was the ten of hearts.

That card's rank wasn't low, but he had come up against the ace of spades.

"The ace of spades against the ten of hearts. There's no doubt about it. Congratulations to guest No. 11 on your victory!"

The card in guest No. 16's hand was his last usable one. After losing, his whole body exploded into a cloud of bloody mist before he could even scream.

The bloodstained card fell, lying cold against the floor.

An Ying watched No. 11 choose to plunder and get up to pick up the card, and couldn't help doing a quick calculation in his head.

No. 11 had one card from the first round, one from the second, and possibly an ace of hearts as well.

But he hadn't chosen to plunder in the first round, and the number of cards he held put him in danger.

Anyone sitting here could be his opponent, and An Ying wasn't in the habit of sharing information with opponents for free. Besides, whether holding more than four cards would actually...

He looked up to see that guest No. 11 had already picked up the card. Before he could stand, the ten of hearts abruptly transformed into a black-dressed entity, the corners of its mouth curling up.

Caught completely off guard, guest No. 11 looked into its eyes.

Gentle, loving, kindly eyes, full of concern.

His mind went blank, and he stared fixedly into those eyes, motionless as the entity swallowed him whole, upside down.

The energy around the black-dressed entity grew a little denser, and it contentedly transformed back into the ten of hearts.

At that instant, everyone felt the cards in their hands grow a little too hot to hold.

"Why did he die? Wasn't he the winner?"

"That can't be right. Is there something wrong with the rules?"

"Those cards can turn back into entities?"

People erupted into frightened, uneasy discussion, but the host's smile never wavered as he continued to the next round.

"Could plundering someone else's card also have a chance of triggering an entity's rule?"

As the crowd's guesses grew increasingly chaotic, a player finally sneered and said, "Idiots. We can't have more than four cards in our hands, or we'll be sentenced to death. That's one of the rules."

An Ying looked at the speaker, who was a member of a pickup team. Though his tone was unpleasant, the information he gave was solid.

Realization dawned on everyone.

Some people who already had four cards but had still decided to plunder broke out in a cold sweat.

They couldn't have more than four cards. That was the sixth rule hidden in the rules of game two. It wasn't aimed at most people, but at powerful players like No. 11, who could obtain four cards.

The person with the highest card had died plundering another, and all the cards in his hand had vanished. It was a sobering sight.

An Ying made it to the third round of the game after some scares but no harm. This round, he played the ten of diamonds against the six of clubs.

He had once owned that six of clubs, but had discarded it for a higher card. He hadn't expected to come up against it now.

He won another round. This time, only six people were left when it ended.

It was no longer a matter of heavy casualties. This was a sign that they were about to be wiped out.

The six survivors silently looked at one another, the atmosphere oppressive.

An Ying closed his eyes briefly. Fortunately, his teammates hadn't come in with him.

Though it was wrong to think that way, he still couldn't bear to imagine how cruel it would be if his teammates were here and they had to decide a winner among themselves.

The fourth round began, and An Ying was up first again. He now had only one card left in his hand: the king of diamonds.

His matched opponent was a woman in a black leather jacket. Without waiting for the host to speak, the young woman opened her eyes, saw him, and immediately said, "My card is the ace of diamonds."

An Ying's fingers froze. The king of diamonds in his palm felt especially cold at that moment.

"...What time is it?"

"I think it's been over an hour already."

"What do we do now? Just sit here and wait?"

"Those weirdos tore off the roof and swallowed the moon just now. Could the instance end soon?"

Sheng Qingqiao took a deep breath. Usually cheerful, he now looked somewhat worried as he gazed at the numerous NPCs lying on the floor.

Not long ago, these NPCs had come to explain the game rules. Many people knew the rules of blackjack, but no one had expected the white-dressed entity named Flower Language to deal with the NPCs before the card game even began.

Only then had they learned that this woman really was an entity.

Only an entity could possess such strange rule-based abilities.

Whenever the thorns growing from this woman's body were damaged, her rule would be triggered.

The NPCs had carefully avoided those thorns, but the host in charge had barely stepped onto the stage and put on a brilliant, professional smile before Flower Language killed him.

Sheng Qingqiao had been standing beside Flower Language at the time. He wiped his face and suppressed the fake smile that had just begun to form at the corners of his mouth.

That was close. Could a smile trigger the rule too?

But it was also then, as his gaze moved, that he saw the red fox pattern on the back of Flower Language's hand.

It was exactly the same as the ones on Bai Yang and Moonlit Night.

This organization even recruited entities? Had they found a way to control living entities?

The discovery sent a chill down Sheng Qingqiao's spine.

Flower Language had dealt with the NPCs, leaving the game without a host. Unable to start the game or leave, everyone could only wait there, looking bewildered.

Sheng Qingqiao held back for a while, but finally couldn't resist asking her quietly, "Miss Flower Language, do you know Mr. Bai Yang and Moonlit Night?"

"I do." Flower Language's ever-sorrowful eyes shifted. Her voice was soft, and she looked extremely pale and weak, like a critically ill patient on the verge of collapse.

"Bai Yang... weak. Moonlit Night, strong, can't beat him."

Sheng Qingqiao asked, "Are you together?"

"Mm."

She answered every question he asked.

Realizing that this entity was actually fairly easy to talk to, Sheng Qingqiao grew much bolder. "Your... organization, entities and humans can coexist peacefully?"

He had actually put it much more tactfully. Flower Language's abilities as an entity were powerful, but the fatal limitation of entities was that, as long as their rules weren't triggered, they couldn't act.

Flower Language slowly fixed her gaze on him. "You already know the answer, so why ask? Aren't you the same?"

Sheng Qingqiao's smiling eyes instantly turned cold.