Divination

"Damn it, what kind of bullshit design is this?!" Chekhov cursed.

Two gunshots answered him. The Russian fell at once, blood from his chest spraying everywhere.

At that moment, the cavalryman locked in combat with Naruko shouted several words—neither Chinese nor English, but a completely incomprehensible language.

But they were the only ones who could not understand it.

The newly arrived cavalrymen immediately reacted.

One remained on horseback to reload his musket, while the other drew a short pistol from his waist and rushed toward Naruko.

Clearly, among the four of them, only Asahara Naruko knew even a little about fighting with cold weapons.

For that very reason, the enemy treated her as the primary threat, completely ignoring Zhou Zhi.

Once she fell, their "pirate career" would clearly be over.

Zhou Zhi understood that as well. He kept muttering, "It's just a game... it's just a game..." as he gripped his axe with trembling hands. The instant the cavalryman swept past him, he let out a wild howl, sprang forward, and swung at him with all his strength.

Though he looked unsteady on his feet, at least he had not stayed where he was waiting to die.

The move seemed to catch the cavalryman by surprise.

The man was forced to withdraw his pistol and block the axe with his arm. Just as Naruko had said, what traveled up the axe handle was not the sticky sensation of cutting into flesh, but the vibration of metal striking stone. The enormous recoil sent the axe flying from Zhou Zhi's hands, while the cavalryman was knocked from his horse.

It worked!

Zhou Zhi stepped forward and pinned him down. Just as he was about to seize the pistol, he suddenly felt a chill in his abdomen.

Looking down, he saw a dagger had pierced straight through his stomach.

"Fuck... this monster... can switch weapons..."

Zhou Zhi said with the last of his strength.

His vision blurred rapidly.

He saw Asahara Naruko attacked from both front and back by the reinforcing cavalryman. One misstep, and her head was cut off, blood spurting high from her neck. The Russian had not died immediately after being shot, but his fate was even worse—having lost the ability to fight back, the villagers who had been hiding everywhere found their courage and joined the battle with pitchforks and clubs. By the time he died, there was scarcely an intact patch left on his body, with holes everywhere that let the light through.

Then white light swallowed everything.

Just as it had when they entered the game.

"Gasp—!"

A violent intake of breath.

Zhou Zhi yanked off his VR Goggles and gulped down air as though suffocating, but even that could not calm the pounding in his chest.

The others were no better off. There was almost no color left in their faces.

"Sukabliechi, you lied to me! You call that no pain?" Anthony Chekhov shouted. "Those shots felt like they were about to kill me!"

"For the sake of the customer's sensory experience, pain reduction is not set to zero," the Host replied in the same steady tone. "But I can guarantee that this level will have no effect on any of your physical or mental health."

The Russian glared at him for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter. "What I mean is... can you turn it up a little more? That was fucking exhilarating!"

"That's right. If I hadn't experienced it myself, I could hardly imagine a game like this existed!" Qiao James lit a cigarette—this time, a real one—and took a deep drag. "Guys, you're going to make a fortune!"

"This one million entry fee was the best one million I've ever spent." Chekhov was full of praise. "When is the next event? I imagine... it can't be cheap to run this every time, right? If you have any financial difficulties, I can sponsor it."

"What, you want to do it again?"

"I wouldn't mind doing it ten more times!" Anthony grabbed a bottle from the table and took a swig, his eyes full of fervor. "When exactly is next time? I'll definitely come better prepared. Of course... it would be even better if the difficulty could be adjusted."

Although Asahara Naruko did not loudly vent her emotions, it was clear from her expression that she had been deeply shaken. She still had not recovered from the experience.

Zhou Zhi's expression was complicated.

The masked Host showed no expression. "What you have asked concerns commercial secrets, so I'm afraid I cannot answer. However, I can tell you that this was merely an initial trial run. Paradise is an enormously ambitious project. When it opens next time, it will no longer be as simple as it was today."

"We will expand its scale and lower its threshold, so that more people can experience the joy Paradise brings. As for the exact opening date, please wait patiently. Once everything is ready, I will send out invitations again and guide you all to Paradise." He bowed slightly. "Finally... thank you all for participating."

Shi Dong passed through the gloomy old city wall and arrived in the western district—the edge of the city. Ragged beggars could be seen everywhere, along with gang thugs eyeing him with ill intent. But they only dared to look. Shi Dong knew the insignia on his shoulder was enough to deter such cowardly scum. Or rather, if they had the courage to openly attack a Glorious Fortress guard, they would not be acting as dogs for underground gangs.

At least during the day, this place was safe.

After walking more than a hundred meters down the damp street and making two turns, Shi Dong stopped at the entrance to a narrow alley.

There stood a crude wooden shack.

A sign hung above it—Wonderful Fortune Telling House.

This was the destination of his trip.

Shi Dong scanned his surroundings. Once he was sure no one had followed him, he lowered the brim of his hat and entered the shack.

Although there was nothing here worth concealing, he still did not want word of his actions reaching his colleagues.

"Welcome to Wonderful... oh, it's you."

There was only one person inside: a white-haired old man.

"It's me." Shi Dong hesitated, then decided to sit cross-legged. The cramped interior of the shack did not leave enough room to stand upright. Rather than remain bent over, he might as well make himself comfortable. "You remember me?"

"Of course. There aren't many people who come here seeking their fate." The old man nodded, then revealed a mouthful of brownish-yellow broken teeth. "There are even fewer who return. So... did the fortune telling come true?"

"How did you know pirates would appear there?" Shi Dong could not help asking. "In theory, they couldn't have crossed the patrol ships' defenses and approached Glorious Fortress without a sound—"

"What are you talking about? Pirates?" The other man looked slightly surprised. "This fortune telling didn't bring you any trouble, did it?"

Right... he did not know the details of what had happened.

Shi Dong stared at him for a long while before slowly leaning back. According to the old man, what he divined was only an opportunity—for instance, when and where one could resolve one's troubles. As for what exactly would happen, even the old man himself could not know.

That was precisely why it seemed even more unbelievable.

That was right, the fortune telling had come true.

Shi Dong would never have believed in such things if he had not been desperate. With the thought of giving it a try, he had taken several brothers to the fishing village in the southern outskirts. He had never expected to truly encounter a group of pirates coming ashore. With those men's heads, he received a bonus on top of his wages, then used the money to renew his younger sister's medical fees, finally stabilizing her condition once again.

There was even word that, because of this victory, he might be promoted from squad leader to unit leader. If that happened, his compensation would rise to another level.