The Deceiver

The chubby young man had never encountered such a situation; he appeared flustered, wishing he could just smash his phone.

He had been involved with the World of Weirdness for two months. In the game, relying on his starting attribute of "Trickster," he had always been invincible. He had deceived the followers of ancient gods, exploited beings of the Old Days, and even managed to snatch the opportunity for the chain quest of Archer, the Angel of Rest, after reincarnating as a denizen of the River of Death—a feat he had swindled from other players.

It had just turned past midnight today.

The chubby young man couldn't wait to enter the game to turn in the quest issued by Archer, the Angel of Rest, looking forward to the unfolding plot, but the text prompt that appeared was unexpected.

"The arrival of an undead has drawn the attention of an unknown and ancient existence within the river."

"Archer, the Angel of Rest, has sensed an anomaly. He says that the undead must possess an item of 'Primal Darkness,' and its status is likely higher than his own. Unfortunately, powerful gods have already taken notice of these things; that item is not something he can lay his hands on."

The chubby young man immediately took note.

He wasn't entirely sure what an item of "Primal Darkness" referred to, but for it to be something Archer, the Angel of Rest, couldn't stop thinking about, it was clearly an extraordinary treasure.

Once human greed is ignited, it is difficult to suppress.

As soon as the quest turn-in was finished, the chubby young man immediately chose the special item: Fellow Countryman's Communication. This was something he had spent a hefty 200 Old Sacrifices to purchase, and its effect was to allow interaction with players within a specified range.

Although his heart ached at the cost, for the sake of the "Primal Darkness" item, he couldn't care less. Gritting his teeth, he used this expensive item.

The process went even more smoothly than expected.

Since the River of Death was a forbidden place for the living, there weren't many players, and those appearing at the same time were even rarer. His character successfully made contact with the player who possessed the "Primal Darkness" item.

The "Trickster" effect was activated.

His game character disguised himself as Archer, the Angel of Rest, and bamboozled the other party. He presented the other player with two choices, both of which required handing over the "Primal Darkness" item. It looked like the treasure was about to be his.

But at the critical moment, the other party seemed to have a sudden epiphany and broke free from the "Deception" state.

They even launched a counterattack.

"You are affected by the Stone of Truth. For the next five minutes, you will answer any questions from the other party truthfully."

"You told the other party your identity as an adventurer from another world."

"You told the other party that every time an item of 'Primal Darkness' appears, the sleeping Old Gods in the River of Death inevitably react."

"You told the other party..."

The chubby young man's face turned green with regret. As expected, the player who could obtain an item of "Primal Darkness" was someone he couldn't afford to provoke; he had truly kicked an iron plate this time.

What exactly was this "Primal Darkness" item? He really wanted to see it.

Because the Doom-Bringing Raven had reset fate, the chubby young man had lost the memory of the previous timeline and no longer remembered the attributes of the Garment of the Hidden World.

"Wait, my real-world identity won't be exposed, will it..."

The chubby young man suddenly thought of a question and shuddered all over. "This is a big shot who obtained an item of 'Primal Darkness.' Their influence must be terrifyingly strong. They might even have items that can find me in the real world. Wouldn't I be finished then?"

At this moment, the effect of the Stone of Truth ended, and the text refreshed to show his character fleeing into the River of Death.

Thinking of the big shot holding the "Primal Darkness" item coming after him, the chubby young man was scared out of his wits. He had no heart to continue playing the game, so he closed the interface and opened a chat group.

He fell into a state of inner turmoil...

On the other side.

Yang Qizhou stared at the phone screen, his ferocious expression softening slightly as he read the text over and over.

"You asked about the effect of 'Trickster,' and the other party told you truthfully."

"Trickster: Deception is not just a simple trick, but one of the authorities of universal rules. As a Trickster, you can first establish an event you wish to achieve and use language as a tool to guide the situation toward your expected outcome. Note: Can be used once per day."

"Five minutes are up; the effect of the Stone of Truth has vanished..."

"The other party broke free from the effect of the Stone of Truth and jumped into the River of Death in a panic to escape. It seems they have been left with quite a shadow."

They certainly ran fast.

Yang Qizhou relaxed. The Garment of the Hidden World had been recovered, so the outcome was good after all.

However, this incident served as a reminder. It turned out that in the game, players were not isolated; they would collide with one another. He just didn't know what method that player, who had impersonated Archer, the Angel of Rest, had used to achieve this.

It was time for the resurrection phase again.

The Doom-Bringing Raven's charges for today were exhausted, and the Light of Protection still had one chance to change the fate of death. Yang Qizhou, of course, chose to resurrect normally.

"You opened your eyes once again within the borders of Dark Fog Town..."

Log off, work done.

Yang Qizhou flopped onto the sofa and stretched. He tossed his phone casually onto the coffee table. All three resurrection chances had been used up, so the game could only end here for today.

"Today's harvest: one 'Quasi-Excellent' grade item, one 'Super-Excellent' grade item, and two 'Quasi-Legendary' grade items."

"Not bad, not bad."

"If I keep up this frequency, beating the whole world in three months is not a dream."

Yang Qizhou calculated happily in his heart. He was in a great state, filled with motivation from head to toe. If it weren't for the "three resurrections per day" limit, he would have played all night.

It was already two o'clock. Sleep, sleep, sleep.

The next day.

As a player of the World of Weirdness, the owner of two "quasi-legendary" items, an A+ rated individual by the Bureau of Occult Investigation, and a powerful Lamp Bearer, he was off to work yet again.

There was no helping it.

No matter how strong his items were, they couldn't be eaten as meals. Unless he steeled his heart to turn dark and become a great villain, there was no other path to take but to work honestly.

By the time Yang Qizhou got off work and returned home, it was already six or seven in the evening.

Today, he had specifically bought a five-liter bottle of cola and picked up some duck snacks, just waiting for the clock to strike midnight so he could descend upon the Ancient Earth once more and fight to his heart's content.

"So boring."

Yang Qizhou lay on the sofa, bored to tears; the waiting was truly agonizing.

Right.

Yang Qizhou suddenly remembered something, and his body jolted upright. "Didn't the Secret Cultivator leave a group chat in his post? I should join it and take a look; perhaps there will be some unexpected gains."

Yang Qizhou had long since memorized the group number, but because the origins of the Secret Cultivator were unknown and it was hard to tell friend from foe, he had worried that joining the group might expose his identity, so he had never done it.

But things were different now.

He had obtained the Garment of the Hidden World last night, and the first effect of this "quasi-legendary" Old Day Item was... that without his permission, no one could peer into his identity.

There was no need to worry about the risk of exposure at all.

"Then I'll join."