The Third Story: Lies

"A summoning item with no cost and no cooldown?"

Inside the Library, after Bai Zhi generously revealed the book's attributes, Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part's eyes immediately lit up.

"Don't overthink it. These kinds of Item often have some hidden Usage Condition."

Bai Zhi looked up at the other person, shook his head slightly, and spoke meaningfully.

"Furthermore, you'd better not have too high expectations for these things; they won't change anything."

"..."

With A Pure Smile, Shy Blushing Cheeks on her face, she suddenly looked up at Bai Zhi.

--The existence of Otherworld Player is no secret at the moment.

Previously, it was alright; it was difficult to distinguish Otherworld Player among common Player. However, now that the Title System has been revealed, those without Title are as conspicuous as fireflies in the Hei Ye.

Players had varying attitudes toward these Otherworld Player; some were hostile, some sympathetic, and some indifferent—a whole range of reactions.

Of course, since there are some Player who don't want to reveal their Title, it's not actually that easy to determine the identity of Otherworld Player. However, naturally, Players will be somewhat wary of these Player who don't reveal their Title.

After Bai Zhi announced the information about the Random Book, everyone else became interested. Apart from a few individuals who specifically wanted to accumulate Story Point to buy items, everyone else tried to purchase them.

However, they were clearly not as generous as Bai Zhi and had no intention of revealing the attributes of their books, which Bai Zhi didn't seem to mind.

Aside from close friends and family, Players generally find it difficult to Trust other Player they've just met. For example, even though there are only six of them, they've already been divided into three small groups.

The Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part, and A Pure Smile, Shy Blushing Cheeks— that pair of twin sisters from Otherworld, the Chronicler and the strange pair of Instant... plus Bai Zhi and Xia Wen.

--In fact, this is the norm for the Player community.

"What, you're not planning to buy any books?"

Bai Zhi glanced at Xia Wen, who was covering his head beside him, and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"A book like the Human Skin Book, also known as Corpse Bone, would generally carry some kind of Undead -like Skill."

"No, I want to save money to buy other things."

Watching the other person's hand warily, fearing another chop to the neck, Xia Wen covered his head and shook his head.

"And I also have Lucky Halo. Wouldn't it be better to accumulate more Story Point and then buy several books at once? Maybe I can even get the <Nail-Head Seven Arrows Book>..."

"You'd better not have too high expectations for this kind of thing."

Bai Zhi shook his head slightly and spoke meaningfully.

There's no such thing as a free Basket of Water to Fetch Water in Vain.

"... Well?"

Slightly taken aback, just as Xia Wen was about to ask about the matter, the third story arrived belatedly.

[Story 3: Lies]

[If sharp criticism disappears completely, mild criticism becomes harsh; if even mild criticism is not allowed, silence will be seen as malicious; if silence is no longer permitted, insufficient praise will be a crime. If only one voice is allowed to exist, then that Unique voice is a lie.]

Welcome to the World of Lies...

Just like the opening of the previous two stories, new words slowly emerge on the newly opened blank page.

At the same time, system notifications also appeared in front of everyone.

[The third story begins]

[Currently available number of participants: 5]

[List of current available participants for each story]

[Protagonist: None]

[Heroine: None]

[Main Supporting Character 1: None]

[Supporting Character Two: None]

[Supporting Character Three: None]

[Registration Countdown: 60s]

"A story involving five people..."

Bai Zhi tapped his forehead slightly with his finger, then looked up at the others, focusing his gaze on Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part, Instant, and the Chronicler.

"Who among you intends to stay here?"

A 30-minute rest period may seem like a long time, but for Player who have expended a lot of energy in the story, 30 minutes is definitely not enough to fully recover.

As for relaxing or taking a break within the story... that's downright suicidal.

" In that Instant, he was injured in the previous story."

Before anyone else could speak, the Chronicler quickly raised their hand on their behalf.

"..."

He frowned slightly, Instant glanced coldly at the Chronicler, who in turn made a face at him without backing down, looking completely self-righteous.

"Stop pretending. I saw everything. Do you think you can hide it from me? The story gets harder as it goes on, that's normal. If you don't rest and recover now, how are you going to protect me later?"

"..."

Instant didn't speak this time.

"In that case, let's stay here for Instant."

Bai Zhi's gaze swept subtly over the Chronicler and Instant, and he nodded.

"I don't make demands outside, and I won't force you to carry out my plans within the story, but I have only one request."

As he spoke, Bai Zhi held up a finger in front of him.

"You can question me, but please don't get in my way. I'll answer all your questions when I get back, but it's best not to cause me any trouble in the story. How about that? Can you do that?"

"No problem."

His lips twitched slightly, and Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part nodded.

"Alright, then let's hurry up and register. This time..."

Suddenly, Bai Zhi narrowed his eyes slightly and turned to look at the Chronicler.

--Before Xia Wen could take over, the other party snatched the Heroine role.

"Ahem... I accidentally clicked the wrong thing."

He coughed a few times, seemingly trying to avoid the gaze of the others, and then Chronicler up to pull down the hood of his head, obscuring most of his face in Shadow.

"That role is clearly mine..."

Muttering under his breath, clearly dissatisfied, Xia Wen chose another role... in reality, there weren't many other roles to choose from.

Judging from the previous two stories, these various role divisions are meaningless. In the First Story, the Protagonist and Heroine's scenes were completely overshadowed. Under Bai Zhi's planning, the supporting characters actually became the Protagonist.

As for the second story... ping-pong balls, blackboard erasers, and Trash Can —is there really some kind of Protagonist distinction?

However, what none of them expected was that this third story, which was about to begin, would far exceed their expectations...