The Side Effects of the Item, Gao Linzhi's Immunity

"No, this guy is too strong!"

"Damn it, they weren't this strong last time!"

The assassins immediately backed down.

Gao Linzhi also noticed this.

After several futile attacks, the assassins gave up.

After all, although they have various weaknesses and are tools trained by the imperial court, they are still human beings.

They still have a sliver of humanity left.

This isn't out of kindness from the imperial court, but rather because if one is completely devoid of humanity, one is easily corrupted by the bizarre.

Yes, bonds can combat the corruption of the strange.

This has already been proven.

One by one, the assassins chose to retreat.

But they did not leave immediately.

Because they all have constraints.

Even when retreating in the face of battle, one can still offer some excuses, claiming it's about finding an opportunity.

But there is no excuse for deserting in the face of battle.

The imperial court was very harsh on them.

After all, they knew their power.

Some of these people even had children outside of marriage and took mistresses.

They didn't want their children to become assassins.

Assassins are a great deterrent to others, but they themselves become tools.

They had children but couldn't raise them, so they had to secretly give them away to other people, leaving only a mark.

Because they are all tools.

Tools cannot have children.

Having children makes them think about their children, and on the battlefield, they want to save their lives.

What will happen to my children if I die?

These people will live to be in their 40s at most.

They will die from all kinds of exploitation.

The operation failed, and the news was quickly relayed back.

This made the high-ranking officials and princes of the court feel utterly ashamed.

Yes, that's the feeling.

"Damn it, we can't even defeat a bunch of rebels?"

"What are you people the imperial court is supporting?"

The Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Department angrily rebuked the assassins who had escaped.

Those people didn't explain anything.

After all, explaining is just covering up, just shirking responsibility, and it means losing sight of its function as a tool.

If a tool doesn't work well, replace it or destroy it.

He immediately reported to his superiors that the assassins should be executed.

However, it was rejected by the higher-ups.

Training an assassin is very expensive.

These are not the ordinary assassins of ancient times, who could be mass-produced.

Every assassin has an element of luck involved.

They were selected from tens of thousands of people.

Dying in the course of a mission is one thing, but being executed without cause is very rare.

However, there will still be punishments.

So the assassins' mistresses and sons were all executed.

Yes, the secrets they thought they were hiding were actually all under the control of the imperial court.

And at this time.

Inside the Fourth Prince's Mansion's Mansion.

The Fourth Prince was sitting in Secret Room discussing matters with his steward and three players.

"Gentlemen, we have encountered a troublesome one," the Fourth Prince said, then took out a portrait.

"It's the guy we ran into last time."

"His name is Can Xue Waves Across the Map, also known as Wuming."

"He is now working for the Daoist Academy as an accomplice to evil."

"We tried to win him over last time, but we failed."

"This guy has become incredibly difficult to deal with since he got that Dice of Fairness."

"He seems to possess many Revival Stones; assassinating him will grant entry into that strange space."

"Inside, he always manages to come out victorious, letting the monster kill the assassins we've painstakingly trained."

"If this continues, we'll be in big trouble."

"Now, everyone should think of a way to completely eliminate this problem."

The Fourth Prince swept his gaze across the crowd.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Player 1 said, "Your Highness is right."

"That guy is treacherous by nature; we must deal with him as soon as possible."

"But his dice are a real problem now," Player Two said, troubled.

"Heh, I don't believe there's no price to pay for using it," the Prince's steward shook his head. "Any item related to the supernatural has a price to pay: either it erodes your spirit, or you suffer physical damage, or you lose the affections of family and friends..."

"But according to intelligence, the other side doesn't seem to have paid any price," the Fourth Prince said, frowning.

"Do you know what the price is?" he asked the three players.

The three players looked at each other in bewilderment. How could they possibly know?

If they knew, wouldn't they be even better than the natives?

"Let's ask someone from the Imperial Observatory," Player Two suggested.

The Fourth Prince immediately frowned.

To be fair, he didn't want to question the people from the Imperial Observatory.

This meant that the imperial court was becoming increasingly reliant on the Imperial Observatory.

The Imperial Observatory, as the birthplace of the imperial court, was also feared by the court.

After all, the next dynasty might very well be born there.

But we can't remove it.

Because the imperial court needs an institution dedicated to studying the supernatural, pollution, extraterrestrials, and combating extraterrestrials.

Even feudal dynasties were divided into progressive and stubbornly conservative types.

Some feudal dynasties allowed voyages to the Western Ocean, while others only imposed restrictions on border relocation and maritime trade.

However, at this point, they had no choice but to contact the Imperial Observatory again for further questioning.

The person who arrived was none other than the innate Old Daoist Tiansheng who had dealt with Gao Linzhi before.

After arriving at the Prince's residence, the Old Daoist Tiansheng did not take the Prince seriously.

He said calmly, "That so-called Dice of Fairness,"

"I do know the price he paid."

At this point, he began to feel around with his fingers.

"Master, please speak quickly," the steward of the Prince's mansion urged.

"I say, Steward, you're not a newcomer anymore, how come you don't even know these rules?" The Old Daoist Tiansheng continued rubbing his fingers.

Only three players figured it out.

Isn't this just demanding payment from personnel departments?

Asking for a gift.

So they took out a large gold ingot.

A large gold ingot weighing a full 50 kilograms.

They knew that gold was Hard Currency among the indigenous peoples.

Sure enough, the Old Daoist Tiansheng reluctantly nodded.

"If you use that stuff too much, you will permanently lose your courage."

"I became incredibly timid. Whenever I encountered anything, my first thought was to back down and find a fair place to reason with them, instead of relying on myself."

Upon hearing this, everyone felt that the price wasn't too serious.

After all, everyone is inherently timid and afraid of death.

"And it also reduces Mental Power."

"It makes people feel that there is a place in the world where everything can be judged fairly and reasonably."

"This is clearly very dangerous."

"For example, in many places you can't reason with people."

Everyone nodded.

They certainly know that the most important thing in the world is not reason.

The most important thing in the world is order.

Order is not about reasoning with you, but about maintaining it at the lowest possible cost.

The simplest and easiest way to maintain this order is to force honest people to make concessions.

Therefore, the more domineering a person is, the more benefits they will receive.

The more honest a person is, the more likely they are to suffer losses.

If this continues, maintaining order will become increasingly difficult.

There are fewer and fewer honest people, and more and more people who disrupt order.

This is also why feudal dynasties always had a rebellion.

Because the entire system is not designed for honest people to survive.

In feudal dynasties, honest people, who were initially numerous, gradually became few and far between.

This includes even seemingly simple, honest farmers.

The honest old farmer starved to death, leaving behind a cunning old farmer who would hunt down caravans and kill passersby.

In ancient times, seeking lodging in an unfamiliar village was practically tantamount to courting death.

Therefore, many people, rushing on their journeys, would rather spend the night in a dilapidated temple in the wild than venture into an unfamiliar village.

In unfamiliar villages, it's easy to become greedy for the wealth of strangers.

They would poison the food of passersby, or simply kill them, bury them, and then divide their belongings.

It's even possible that people have separated.

After all, meat and protein were scarce in ancient times.

Don't assume that people in ancient times would waste meat.

The many human flesh bun shops in Water Margin weren't just for show.

This isn't an exaggeration by the author of Water Margin; it's a realistic depiction. That's how it was in feudal dynasties—even human flesh was precious.

Many famous figures and powerful individuals have died because of this.

Now, this Dice of Fairness has such an effect; it's practically a death warrant.

"Very well, let him continue using it then. Sooner or later he'll kill himself." The Fourth Prince was relieved.

However, what the Old Daoist Tiansheng next made him even more unhappy.

"However, Your Highness, the workings of heaven and earth are truly wondrous."

"This item has this hidden danger, but if its power is strong enough, it can overcome this," the Old Daoist Tiansheng said, shaking his head.

"What's the meaning?"

"Because power determines everything," the Old Daoist Tiansheng said with a smile, "Including the heavens and earth."

"In the universe, the powerful dominate the weak."

"This is the simplest form of order and reason."

"Stars attract planets, and planets revolve around stars."

"If the opponent's power surpasses the strangeness behind that die, then he will not be affected by these hidden dangers."

"I see."

Everyone thought this was reasonable.

The player then pressed further, asking, "But how long does this side effect last?"

"This potential problem arises after the product has been used more than 10 times."

Hearing this, the prince was completely relieved.

These strange things are indeed ruthless.

They won't give humans the chance to use them gradually.

"Hazards will emerge after just 10 uses."

"Very good, we'll send another 10 men to assassinate him now."

"Including the previous assassinations, he'll definitely use it more than ten times!"

The other side acted very quickly.

Gao Linzhi was subsequently assassinated 10 times.

The die did indeed roll ten times.

What puzzled them was that Gao Linzhi hadn't caused any problems.

Gao Linzhi did not lose his Mental Power, nor did he become mentally disabled.

They did not lose their courage.

They were puzzled.

Was the Imperial Observatory deceiving them?

They then used other people as subjects for their experiments.

The results showed that the side effects were quite significant.

Several players who also used dice have indeed become brain-dead.

They just laugh it off, and at the slightest sign of danger, they immediately retreat into their houses.

They usually stay hidden within the Safe Zone.

They even hire others to feed them.

They were worried they would choke to death while eating.

It's actually more dangerous to let someone else feed you.

However, there are advantages as well. In case of danger, someone nearby can see the situation, make a phone call in time, and provide emergency rescue.

For example, the Heimlich maneuver can be used to help a patient with choking expel the foreign object.

If it works for everyone else, why doesn't it work for Gao Linzhi?

The Fourth Prince then summoned the old Daoist priest and inquired about this question.

"It seems that his mental attributes are quite high."

"And there are certain treasures that protect the spirit."

"I know, it's the Heaven's Heart Stone!" the player exclaimed in surprise.

"That's right, it should be the Heaven's Heart Stone. This thing has the wonderful effect of protecting the spirit," the Old Daoist Tiansheng affirmed.

"It was that thing! Damn it, he really made a profit," Player Two chimed in.

"I see."

"I knew it! No wonder he was alright. Looks like he stole our Heaven's Heart Stone last time!" Player Three said angrily.

At this moment, the Fourth Prince sighed.

The group began to discuss it.

"In that case, killing him will be extremely difficult."

"We can seal him away, capture him, instead of killing him."

"But until the Dice of Fairness is resolved, any actions taken against him will not be effective."

And at this time...

Someone else also told Gao Linzhi that using the Dice of Fairness would turn a person into a brain-damaged person.

Someone else mentioned it in the event channel as well.

"Tell everyone, the reward given by that NPC, the Dice of Fairness, cannot be abused."

"You can only use it a maximum of 10 times. After 10 times, you will undergo a mental change. You will lose your previous state, become timid and fearful, and dare not go out or leave the Safe Zone of the ancestral hall."

Gao Linzhi was not surprised after reading it.

The die he used was for use on the Game Character.

His Game Character is an ordinary, normal player.

Protected by the game's agreement, they are naturally immune to personality changes.

In other words, a game cannot turn an ordinary, normal player into a madman or cause a drastic personality change.

Wouldn't that be punishable by death?

A game can drive people crazy? Which player would dare to play it?

Even if players dare to play it, the platform wouldn't dare to support its release.

This game was destined to become something that could only be circulated privately, played by a small circle of people.

The reason is actually quite simple.

This is because Gao Linzhi himself did not use that thing.

His true self avoids using items associated with the supernatural.

Fortunately, after testing, it was discovered that the Heavenly Clear Talisman that Gao Linzhi purchased from the system store could solve this brain-dead problem.

Of course, after the problem is solved, the person will become innocent and pure, like a child.

Although I'm no longer brain-dead, I'm also no longer timid or afraid of trouble.

But the brain's hardware was almost completely formatted.

Only have the heart of a child.

This outcome isn't good either.

It's still much better than completely becoming stupid.

However, even though Gao Linzhi was unharmed, he still wanted to find someone to ask about this matter.

Gao Linzhi then went to find the headmaster of the Daoist Academy.

He asked directly, "Headmaster, this thing clearly has side effects, why didn't you say so?"

The headmaster immediately laughed and said, "Haha, compared to the side effects, isn't life more important?"

"Besides, how could such a treasure be used multiple times?"

"It should only be used at the most critical moments, not wasted on every little thing."

Gao Linzhi was speechless for a moment.

The other party is right.

Are the side effects more important, or is my life more important?

Obviously, life is more important.