White Nighters

"Very simple." Qin Li gave Yin Ge a deep look. "Become a White Nighter."

"To be honest, the purpose of my trip was to invite you to become a White Nighter."

Yin Ge was puzzled. "A White Nighter?"

"Those who walk between day and night, traverse Godhead and Beasthood, yet still uphold their Personhood are called White Nighters."

Qin Li's expression carried reverence. "Of course, simply put, White Nighters are people who specifically enter Son of Heaven Games to complete missions."

"Through our observation and analysis, if you come into contact with some trait similar to Personhood during a game, there is a certain chance that you'll gain that Personhood."

"For example, if the Bride is arrogant, and you happen to encounter a scene or object through which the Bride expresses arrogance, part of the Bride's arrogant Personhood may transfer to you."

"If your group fails your first Son of Heaven Game, then the scenes triggered by the second group to enter will no longer be related to the Bride, but to you."

"The game fails, you die, and then you become the next person to trigger a Son of Heaven Game. The next group to enter will no longer experience scenes of the Bride getting married, but scenes from your experiences and memories related to arrogance."

"And so on."

At this point, Qin Li sighed. "So, if a Son of Heaven Game appears somewhere, the best approach is to seal off the area, then gather and investigate information on everyone who entered it."

"Only after making thorough preparations should White Nighters be sent in to resolve the game."

Yin Ge fell into thought at his words.

She immediately thought of the Bride's desire for Peeping, and of how she had used the bridesmaid's eyes to look at others through a reflective window.

That meant that if Yin Ge's group failed to find the Killer this time, they would all die.

After their deaths, the Son of Heaven Game's scenes would no longer be about the Bride's wedding, but about Yin Ge's memories or scenes related to Peeping.

If the next group failed again, the Peeping Personhood on Yin Ge would transfer to the next person, triggering a Son of Heaven Game centered on that person's memories and scenes.

If this continued, those who entered would keep dying, and this Son of Heaven Game would continue without end.

Qin Li said, "Of course, sometimes we also send in ordinary people, such as those who are relatively intelligent."

"But White Nighters can use their abilities on those without Godhead or Beasthood within Son of Heaven Games, so it's still best to send White Nighters."

"The high-ranking member I mentioned before, the one who completed three Son of Heaven Game missions, is the highest-level White Nighter I know of."

"He has already become a Grand Physician-level White Nighter."

"A Grand Physician-level White Nighter?" Yin Ge sharply caught the key point. "Are game mission levels divided according to Godhead?"

"That's right." Qin Li spoke slowly. "Game missions are ranked from highest to lowest as Son of Heaven, Feudal Lord, Court Minister, Scholar, Grand Physician, and Commoner. Son of Heaven level is the highest, while Commoner level is the lowest."

"What is the basis for the division?" Yin Ge immediately asked.

Qin Li answered at once, "The number of people pulled into the game."

"Commoner-level Son of Heaven Games have the smallest scope. Usually, fewer than ten people are pulled into them. The Bride Game you experienced was a Commoner-level game."

"Grand Physician-level games usually involve ten to one hundred people."

"Scholar-level games involve one hundred to one thousand people."

"Court Minister-level games involve one thousand to ten thousand people."

"Feudal Lord-level games involve between ten thousand and five hundred thousand people."

"Son of Heaven-level games involve... more than five hundred thousand people."

"Of course, I mean the affected range."

"Generally speaking, at most a dozen or twenty people possess Godhead or Beasthood. Most of the others are ordinary people dragged in against their will."

"For example, in the Commoner-level Son of Heaven Game you entered, the photographer, makeup artist, and others were affected. Fortunately, you won. Otherwise, they would all have died."

Five hundred thousand? Even if the White Night Faction won, they would still die? The scope of a Son of Heaven-level game could practically cover an entire city... Even though she had been mentally prepared, Yin Ge was still shaken.

But beyond the shock, Yin Ge was also puzzled. If there had been a Son of Heaven-level game in the country, how could no news of it have leaked out?

After all, that was five hundred thousand people, not five people. No matter how tightly the news was locked down, it could not be completely contained.

Seeing Yin Ge's puzzled expression, Qin Li explained:

"I believe you've noticed that the Godhead of Son of Heaven Games is divided according to the social hierarchy of ancient times."

"It is said that in ancient times, there were saints, Sages, and similar figures who used powerful methods of will and spirit to classify and organize the streams of information that emerged from unknown places—information capable of destroying all humanity—and formed them into Law."

"The ancients guessed it was a great calamity or divine punishment, while we suspect aliens, unknown civilizations, or perhaps natural phenomena."

"But no matter what it was, thanks to the work of our predecessors, those streams of information were contained under titles such as Son of Heaven and Commoner, becoming Godhead, Personhood, and Beasthood. That was what ultimately protected civilization."

"Even the name Son of Heaven Game and the names of the Godheads have been passed down through ancient historical records and texts."

"So, although the highest-level Son of Heaven Game we've discovered so far has only reached Grand Physician level—"

"There were actually precedents for Son of Heaven-level games in ancient times. It's just that this part was never made public, or it was distorted."

"No wonder..." Yin Ge had indeed wondered where the Godhead names came from before. Now, she finally had an answer.

Qin Li was not finished yet.

"Looking at the current world, Son of Heaven Games have not been appearing for very long."

"In fact, not only Godhead—even our White Nighter system, game-level classifications, and the standards for those classifications were all defined based on historical records."

"People cannot imagine things they have never experienced. Just as people in ancient times did not know the term 'mobile phone,' while people thousands of years later do."

"I see." Yin Ge nodded slightly, and historical events involving large-scale casualties in ancient times immediately surfaced in her mind.

But since Son of Heaven-level games had appeared in ancient times and humanity had not yet been wiped out, there had to be a way to curb the spread of Son of Heaven Games.

It was just that no one knew what it was now.

If there was a way, then there was hope of survival—as long as Yin Ge lived long enough to find it.

With that thought, Yin Ge's mind returned to the immediate problem. She continued, "As long as one reaches Grand Physician-level White Nighter, they can become a high-ranking member and obtain a way to slow it down?"

"For now, that's how it is." Qin Li nodded.

"For now?" Yin Ge questioned him again. "Does that mean the requirements for becoming a high-ranking member will change in the future?"

"I don't know, but I suspect they will." Qin Li explained:

"Son of Heaven Games have not spread on a large scale yet, so most of them are low-level, and there are few White Nighters. Naturally, the requirements are not high."

"It's like scoring ninety points among ten people and ranking third, but among fifty people, you might only rank in the top twenty; among a hundred people, the top fifty. It keeps changing."

"So if you want to become a high-ranking member, you'd better seize the time."