Preparation

No matter when it was, having money always made people happy.

"Do you get a bonus every time you complete a Son of Heaven Game?" Yin Ge asked.

"That's right." The researcher nodded. "The amount of the bonus depends on the difficulty of the Son of Heaven Game."

Yin Ge nodded slightly, setting that matter aside for the moment before asking another question. "Can Sage contain a Godhead?"

"No." The researcher's expression turned solemn. "The power of a Godhead is beyond our imagination."

"Many people have wanted to obtain a Godhead as well, but as far as I know, no one has succeeded so far."

"Godheads are indeed powerful." Having experienced a Son of Heaven Game herself, Yin Ge understood that.

"I don't have any other questions. When can I enter a new Son of Heaven Game?"

"Now?" Gu Jin looked somewhat worried. "It hasn't been long since the last game ended. Are you really all right?"

"Of course." Yin Ge stood up. "Time waits for no one."

"Come with me." The researcher rose and headed outside. "I'll take you to collect Sage."

"As for the process of joining a Son of Heaven Game, your personal consultant will explain it to you."

"Okay." Yin Ge nodded.

Before long, she received the Sage wristband.

The wristband was entirely blue. Once she put it on, it immediately blended into her skin, making it feel as though she were wearing nothing at all.

Yin Ge shook her wrist. After confirming that it felt completely natural, she turned to leave.

"Wait." Gu Jin called out to her.

Yin Ge turned around. "Hm? What is it?"

"Be careful. Come back alive." Gu Jin's face was full of concern.

"I will," Yin Ge answered without hesitation.

She smiled at Gu Jin, then headed back the way she had come.

Qin Li had been waiting for her.

When he saw her emerge, he asked with concern, "How did it go? Did everything go smoothly?"

Yin Ge waved her wrist. "I got Sage. I want to join a Son of Heaven Game as soon as possible. What do I do next?"

Qin Li answered, "There are currently two Commoner-level Son of Heaven Games in the area under my responsibility."

"The researcher has already given me the information on the nearest Son of Heaven Game."

"I'll send it to you. Read through it first. The situation is urgent, so we need to get there as quickly as possible."

As her phone chimed, Yin Ge took it out and sat down in the lounge, carefully examining the materials for the Commoner-level Son of Heaven Game called Deadly Mall.

After reading for only a while, she realized that it was an extremely detailed, foolproof guide to clearing the Son of Heaven Game.

It included the entire game setting, every character, their personalities, and the relationships between them.

It even clearly marked who possessed Beasthood.

Beasthood was actually another variation of Personhood, and Godhead was as well.

Personhood, Beasthood, and Godhead formed a trinity. They were simply called different things because of the differing factions within Son of Heaven Games.

However, Personhood and Beasthood could be transferred between people.

The guide was already available, yet the Son of Heaven Game had not ended.

That meant the Night Faction had won.

In other words, the Personhood had already been transferred through the defeated members of the Daylight Faction.

Even if those who entered the Son of Heaven Game afterward identified the Beasthood, they would still have to identify the Beasthood transferred during the second game in order to end it.

If the second game also failed, there would be a third, then a fourth.

The more people failed, the more widely the Personhood spread, the larger the Son of Heaven Game's scope became, and the harder the game grew.

Using the Son of Heaven Game involving the Bride as an example, it would be like the child winning the game while the best man, bridesmaids, and everyone else died.

The Observation Persona and Control Persona on the bride and the child would transfer onto a dead bridesmaid.

Then the bridesmaid would trigger another new Son of Heaven Game.

At that point, after Yin Ge entered the Bride's Son of Heaven Game and identified the child as the Beasthood, she would immediately enter the second Son of Heaven Game involving the bridesmaid.

It was practically a vicious cycle.

That was why White Nighters like Yin Ge were needed to follow the guide, contain the Personhood, and end the game before the Personhood spread.

Thinking of this, Yin Ge once again felt how difficult it was to complete a Son of Heaven Game mission.

But she had no way back now.

Yin Ge organized the entire process by which White Nighters completed Son of Heaven Game in her mind.

After a Son of Heaven Game broke out, if the Beasthood survived and transferred, researchers from the Neutrino Persona Order Center would compile the game's information and hand it to the White Nighters.

After entering the game, White Nighters first had to identify the Beasthood in the first stage—the Original Beasthood.

Once the first-stage game ended, the White Nighters needed to compare the shared persona traits between the Beasthood and the dead members of the Daylight Faction to determine who the Beasthood had transferred to.

The second-stage game would unfold through the memories of the Beasthood's new host, and the White Nighters would once again need to determine the shared traits between that host and the new Daylight Faction to confirm the Beasthood.

After confirming the Beasthood, the White Nighters needed to use Sage to contain the Personhood—that was, the Beasthood—and end the game.

At that point, the White Nighters' Son of Heaven Game mission would be complete.

Of course, successfully identifying the Personhood within a Son of Heaven Game could also end the game even if they failed to contain it.

However, since that method did not contain the Personhood, it did not count as completing the mission, and no points would be awarded.

After hearing Yin Ge's explanation, Qin Li nodded with an approving expression. "Correct. That's exactly it."

"But I still need to remind you: if you are assigned to the Night Faction after entering the game and become the Beasthood, then you don't need to do any of the above."

"Instead, hide your identity as much as possible and stay alive."

"Understood." Yin Ge was no fool. Only by staying alive could she have hope.

That was also one reason White Nighters were not allowed to enter Son of Heaven Game as teams.

If two White Nighters who had read the information and knew who the Beasthood was in the Son of Heaven Game entered the game, and one of them was assigned as the Beasthood, that person would be facing certain death.

When it was a choice between your death and mine, who would willingly give up the chance to live?

Yin Ge also felt that acting alone was better.

After finishing the materials, she followed Qin Li to the site of the Son of Heaven Game known as Deadly Mall.

But the situation at the scene was far more chaotic and complicated than she had imagined.

"What? There are still people on the fourth and fifth floors?" After hearing the captain of the Security Office explain the situation, Qin Li realized how grave things were.

Although the Security Office had begun evacuating the crowd and preparing to seal off the mall as soon as the Son of Heaven Game erupted, the mall had an enormous flow of people, and it was impossible to get everyone out in such a short time.

And the Son of Heaven Game ended once every five seconds, which meant new victims would appear every five seconds.

"We can't wait any longer." Yin Ge frowned. "I'm going in now!"

Qin Li reminded her once more:

"Make sure you protect yourself. If you die in the game too, two Personhoods will appear in this Son of Heaven Game! At that point, no one will be able to leave alive!"

"I'll remember that!" Yin Ge said calmly. "See you soon!"

With that, she stepped into the mall without looking back.