Chapter 129
Energy saving?
A somewhat strange code name. Yuki deliberately suppressed his guesses and avoided eye contact with the other party. He only raised his head when he heard the murmur of "[Contract established]".
"This turns a four-way game into a three-way free-for-all."
With himself, the Black Sword, and the Church all in place, the dungeons finally became easier, like the sun breaking through the clouds.
"But we're still the weakest. Those two 'ordinary people' can at most survive the dungeon without needing a mission rating," the Phantom Thief reminded them.
The identity prompt is related to the task evaluation, but it is not a required option.
Yuki already knew this, but he didn't want to spend an entire dungeon only to get a B or C rating.
Those two are the same; veteran players won't be content to just coast along.
"They will definitely try to kill us. Now it's four of us against the entire Yadu Town. The advantage is theirs," Yuki replied confidently, then suddenly changed the subject:
"Whether we can turn the tide depends on how much substance you have."
Originally, Yuki wasn't very confident and was even prepared to do everything he could to survive, but now things are different. The Phantom Thief had been in the church for a whole day and night and had the information he desperately needed.
This is precisely why the Phantom Thief dared to seek his cooperation; there was so much information that he didn't even know where to begin.
"Then here's the first piece of information: Black Sword and Pan Zi aren't the ones participating in the baptism."
"I guessed it, who could it be?"
"That Pinto newcomer."
"This is impossible! The system says he's dead!" Rick jumped out as soon as he finished speaking. Even Moon Bow was a little confused; how could a dead person be resurrected?
Yuki raised his hand to tell them to calm down. He had seen Pan Zi's abilities and knew that the latter could herd Soul Hound and possess dogs after losing his physical body. Since it was a soul-based ability, it was reasonable for him to control the dead.
"A very useful ability, beyond my expectations." Yuki accepted it readily, eliciting a wry smile from the Phantom Thief.
How could it not be useful? He even got caught in the crossfire and had to take the risk of seeking refuge with this group of vulnerable people. Fortunately, Yuki was very wise and didn't just shout "kill" at every 'cult member' he saw.
The thought of believers and Judge cooperating made the game seem utterly absurd to him.
Having gained trust with the first piece of information, the Phantom Thief no longer needed to hide anything. The second piece of information was equally important; he directly revealed the 'cultist's' hint:
[A Tip from a Believer]
[1. They can serve as servants and help the church, but they cannot influence decisions.]
[2. Every so often, players must find a way to please the gods.]
[3. Players who are also believers must not be killed.]
[4. Try to play a role in the church and gain God's attention.]
[5. Only by receiving baptism can one become a true believer.]
Yuki listened attentively, nodding occasionally. He had already verified points 2 and 3 with Pinto and the Clown, which was enough to prove that there was no hidden agenda in it.
The first point is the method the Phantom Thief focuses on, no wonder he had the opportunity to investigate the factory last night; the fifth point is the reason the Phantom Thief had to escape, staying in the church meant accepting the risks.
Article 4 forms the basis for task evaluation, and its contradiction with the Judge is irreconcilable.
The Judge want to kill all the fanatics, while the believers want to be valued—these are diametrically opposed statements.
What would happen if I drew the cultist's name?
Yuki pondered for a moment, then quickly came to an answer:
He would kill all the players, make a huge commotion, and exploit the characters' will to survive to force everyone in Yadu Town to undergo baptism, thus gaining the attention of the gods.
As for receiving baptism? Sorry, I can exchange it for the KPI of developing downlines. When I return, there won't be a single heretic in Yadu Town, which is definitely a super high rating.
"If you don't complete the fourth task, your mission evaluation won't be high," Yuki reminded him, then carefully observed the other person's eyes.
"Whatever, I wasn't planning on completing it anyway, it's none of your business." The boy took a light breath, a clear look of disgust in his eyes. "I saw something in the church, something too evil. I'm not willing to waste my energy on a few enhancement points. I'll just focus on completing the main quests that I absolutely have to do."
If something can be avoided, then don't do it; if something absolutely must be done, simplify everything.
The thought flashed through Yuki's mind. He glanced at the boy's messy black hair and asked with interest, "What did you see?"
"Disorderly living, hoarding wealth, self-harm, and wantonly indulging in desires—they're more like a pack of beasts in human skin." The young man didn't want to say more, thinking that if the other person had enough experience, they should understand what he was saying.
Oh? So you're playing with contrast, huh?
Yuki raised an eyebrow. The Yadu Town gave an excellent impression on the surface—quiet, peaceful, and polite—which was completely different from the description the boy had given it.
But upon closer reflection, he realized that there had been signs all along.
For example, it sounds strange that the old man wants his daughter-in-law to go to church to receive some kind of blessing. Also, the people here are too obsessed with their faith. Those fanatical believers disregard life and death, and even residents who are not interested in the church are trapped in the instance and cannot resist or question it.
As for the players, the first step of joining the church, baptism, has been confirmed to involve supernatural powers; as for the second point, surrendering one's entire being to the gods, it seems like there's a hidden agenda.
"It sounds like you really hate this town?"
"To be precise, it's disgust. I never intended to be a good believer from the beginning. My identity was assigned in the game, so I can only protect myself." The boy said casually, and then he saw Yuki raise his hand.
"What a coincidence, me too." Yuki reached out for the second time tonight, his eyes brimming with eagerness, and added with a smile, "Don't worry about the mission evaluation. The Judge and the Cultists arrive at the same destination, so we can get extremely high rewards by doing the opposite."
Judge and the believer arriving at the same destination through different paths? What is he talking about in his sleep?
The boy raised an eyebrow slightly, silently repeating the hint to himself several times, when suddenly his eyes lit up.
Conversely? Wait, there's even this solution?
He gripped Yuki's hand slightly tighter, his languid tone tinged with pleasure, finally showing a bit more initiative.
"It's difficult, but I'm full of anticipation."
Chapter Twenty-Four: The Advantage Lies With Me! (4K)
Black Sword's plan was undeniably ingenious, but unfortunately, Yuki remained patient, not only failing to lure him out but also pushing another player who just wanted to peacefully survive the dungeon to the opposite side.
Such is the nature of confrontation, filled with various coincidences, but for them, it was a victory. Now, the mystery of their identities has finally been dispelled, and the composition of their forces has become clear.
On one side are Yuki, Moon Bow, Rick; on the other side are Black Sword, Pan Zi, and the entire church. On the surface, it doesn't matter which side the Phantom Thief is on.
With 1000 against 4, the advantage is in my hands.
Yuki won as well, of course. He confirmed crucial information, allowing his plan to gradually take shape.
A win-win outcome, congratulations!
"At this point, the battle has entered its final stage."
Yuki slightly raised his head and muttered to himself, "The situation is now very clear:"
Black Sword and Pan Zi need to use the church's power to kill all the players and complete the 'ordinary people' side quest.
If Moon Bow and Rick want to survive, based on the information they currently have, their mission evaluation will definitely not be low.
The Phantom Thief just wanted to survive the last dozen or so hours; the mission evaluation was no longer important to him.
Yuki stood atop the hill, but unfortunately, the fog blocked his view, rendering his vantage point useless. He could only see that Yadu Town remained brightly lit, its former flames transformed into a sky full of stars.
A large number of town residents are moving around; is a search indeed underway?
Yuki watched silently, slowly clenching his fist. "As for me, I still want to complete the 'Judge' side quest and try to push my Limit."
"To break through the Limit, you need to eliminate all the fanatics, which is impossible." The Phantom Thief thought he had misheard. The fanatics also included church priests, and he had clearly told them how powerful and bizarre they were.
"It can be done. The more fanatics are eliminated, the weaker the evil god becomes, the less power He bestows, and the weaker that invincible church becomes."
Yuki's explanation was quite detailed and convincing, but the three players remained completely bewildered.
That's the premise, but the townspeople aren't stupid; why would they line up to deliver themselves to their deaths?
"You want to massacre the entire village?"
"I can't do that. I can only kill fanatics. Killing ordinary people will be punished."
Oh, game restrictions. Wait a minute, this means that even identifying the killer will be a huge problem, let alone killing them.
The Phantom Thief suddenly realized that his judgment of this man was flawed. He was not only calm, but also quite insane. Was he really that eager for challenges? This was troublesome.
He lazily rubbed his hair, finding the other person's performance quite enjoyable, so he didn't press further and instead analyzed the situation:
"It's 2 a. m. now. The rally ended five hours ago, and no pursuers have arrived yet. We can breathe a little easier."
The answer is obvious. If there were really a problem, the enemy would have come knocking on our door long ago. In the end, it's just that those two players didn't have enough courage to risk their lives.
The second bell likely signifies the failure of the baptism. Using a dog's soul as a substitute would be too risky; Pan Zi was probably afraid the evil god would follow the clues and Divine Punishment him, so he simply abandoned the 'puppet' beforehand.
"Why 'a little relieved'? Isn't this safe enough?" Rick asked, puzzled. After confirming the Phantom Thief's stance, he had relaxed to the point of almost falling asleep.
"Because one of the baptists died and the other escaped, the Church has lost all its dignity and will definitely react," Moon Bow explained for him, glancing nervously at Yuki. "Moreover, those two players won't let it go easily; they will definitely add fuel to the fire."
Very smart, but as always, overly nervous.
Yuki knew, of course, that the church would react; otherwise, why would they ring the bell? But during the hours of waiting, he had already made all the plans for what was to come. He glanced at the few people among the scattered gravestones:
"We're all in the same boat, and you're all willing to follow my arrangements, right?"
"No problem, Brother Li."
"Let me hear what you want to do first, and then I'll make a judgment."
"I am willing to abide by the contract."
Everyone gave a different answer, among whom Rick and Moon Bow were convinced, after all, they had safely spent a day and a night with Yuki.
The Phantom Thief, however, became somewhat interested. He had originally planned to play it safe, but now he was eager to see just how far this player could go.
The four were all straightforward people. Since they had decided to tackle the dungeon together, they explained their skills and characteristics. Even if they held back some information, they didn't lie to mislead their teammates.
The Moon Bow is the simplest, as all its abilities are focused on archery, making it a ranged damage dealer.
As a newcomer, Rick wasn't as monstrous as Yuki then, and he didn't have many trump cards. He possessed an Alienated Grade- level pistol with a trait called 'Righteous Execution'.
The former is not very useful, but the latter is somewhat interesting. As long as he does what he considers Justice, he can tolerate the negative state. Of course, he is currently at LV.1, so the time and degree are both very low.
As Yuki predicted, the Phantom Thief is a highly experienced player with the special ability of 'Inference Reconstruction,' which indirectly explains why he dared to take such unconventional approaches and uncover so much information.
He didn't reveal the Chaos Item or attack skills, only saying that there was a Chaos Item called 'Hidden Domain' that had been enhanced to the Transcendental Grade level, Limit, it could cover a fixed area of about three thousand square meters.
Within the area's coverage, no light, sound, or breath can escape, and this effect lasts for three hours.
'A player who focuses on development across all areas.'
Yuki sideways slightly. He didn't believe the other party didn't have offensive capabilities, but he didn't press the matter, as that would be impolite.
They've basically achieved mutual understanding; this battle is going to be tough.
Yuki closed his eyes, his mind like a multi-functional synthesizer, throwing in the current situation, dungeon information, and the skills of both friendly and enemy players, like adding color to a black and white painting that already had a rough outline, gradually making the whole plan more complete.
The medicinal herbs were laid out in front of him; it was up to the doctor to prescribe a formula.
The first step is to deal with tonight's search.
The enemy's likely search pattern, the individual combat strengths of our players, and which core ability they focus on.
The second step is to determine the location after daybreak.
The third step is to lure the players away, giving me an opportunity to confront the church directly.
Step 4...
No one spoke; all eyes were fixed on the pensive man, as if he were a deep-thinking chess player, standing silently before the chessboard for a long time, until several minutes later, he raised his hand and grasped a chess piece.
Yuki opened his eyes and said in a calm tone, "The first step, if I'm not mistaken, is for the Church to hunt down outsiders and find out the truth."
"Why? Wasn't the baptism a failure?"
"It's because the baptism failed that the church's dignity was damaged," the Phantom Thief explained for Yuki, pointing outside. "Don't you think the flickering firelight is too dense?"
Rick turned his head to look, but he couldn't see anything clearly through the thick fog. He only felt that the Yadu Town was very bright and lively tonight.
"The Phantom Thief's idea aligns with mine, no need to question it." Yuki slowly revealed his plan, holding up one finger. "First, we'll split up. Rick, you take these two items."
Yuki tossed out three items, which Rick caught and saw were a gas mask, a military overcoat, and Chainsaw Sword. He wasn't stupid; he immediately understood what he was about to do.
"I'll be the bait?"
This is Li Dan's 'classic' equipment; the Chainsaw Sword still has traces of the Clown's blood on it.
"Okay, you'll be the bait. Hide at the edge of the cemetery, then head straight back to town. If you can't hide any longer, activate your disguise. That should be enough to last until noon." Yuki didn't explain much, but Rick, being above average, understood what he meant.
The church's search wasn't just targeting them; at least tonight, there was no threat from the players. On the contrary, those two were trying to shift the blame onto them.
Rick thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and nodded. "And then?"