Multiplayer Games

The corridor was quiet when he reached the second floor. There were two doors, one bearing a sign that read "Object Hide-and-Seek," the other "Blindfolded Tag."

Farther in were two more rooms with their doors closed. One was labeled "Otherworld Survival · Not Yet Available," and the other "To Be Determined."

Xue Qinghe stood in the corridor for a while.

Qin Chuan emerged from the far end, and the two met in the middle.

"Have you tried everything downstairs?" Qin Chuan asked casually.

Xue Qinghe nodded. "The attractions downstairs are certainly interesting, but..." He paused. "After playing for a while, I noticed that my soul power seemed to be rising slowly. Is this the effect you mentioned in the arena that day?"

Qin Chuan said, "You noticed? Not bad. Most people have to play for half a day before they feel anything. You caught on quickly."

"What other games are up here?" Xue Qinghe glanced at the two doors.

Qin Chuan pointed. "Object Hide-and-Seek and Blindfolded Tag. Both are multiplayer games. You can't play them alone."

"Object Hide-and-Seek?"

"One person becomes the Seeker, while everyone else turns into an object and hides somewhere on the map. The Seeker has to find everyone within the time limit. The more people, the more fun. It's boring with too few."

After hearing his explanation, Xue Qinghe thought for a moment. "What about Blindfolded Tag?"

"At least four players."

"That has a player requirement too?"

"They're games. Playing alone is loneliness; playing with two is making do. You need a crowd to have fun."

Xue Qinghe fell silent for two seconds.

He lowered his head and sensed his soul power.

He had casually played downstairs for less than an hour, and his soul power was indeed rising.

The increase was slight, but after so many years of cultivation, he was keenly sensitive to changes in his own soul power. He couldn't fool himself.

He looked up at Qin Chuan. "Will these multiplayer games have a better cultivation effect than the ones downstairs?"

Qin Chuan nodded. "The deeper the interaction and the more emotionally invested you are, the better the effect. The second floor is better than the first, and in the future, the third will be better than the second."

Xue Qinghe made his decision.

"I'll gather some people," he said. "Once we have enough, we'll play Object Hide-and-Seek together. I'll cover the cost."

Qin Chuan raised an eyebrow. "Sure. The entry fee is one thousand Gold Soul Coins per person. If you've got enough money, I can join in too."

"No problem."

Xue Qinghe turned and went downstairs.

He walked into the first-floor hall, stood beside the counter, and cleared his throat.

"Everyone, there's a multiplayer game upstairs, and we need more players. I'll cover the cost. Anyone interested is welcome to join."

His voice wasn't loud, but it commanded the room.

Combined with his bearing, it soon drew the people nearby around him.

"A game upstairs? What game?"

"Object Hide-and-Seek! I saw the sign on the door!"

"It's free?"

"He said he'd pay."

Xiao Wu poked her head out from behind the counter. "Really? Your treat?"

Xue Qinghe glanced at her. "Yes. You should come too. The more people, the more fun."

Xiao Wu's eyes lit up, and she turned to call to Zhu Zhuqing. "Zhu Zhuqing! How about we go together?"

Zhu Zhuqing had been restocking the blind boxes. At those words, she set down the box in her hands.

Hu Liena emerged from the back room, still holding a stack of bills. "What's going on?"

"Someone's paying for us to play Object Hide-and-Seek upstairs." Xiao Wu took her hand and pulled her out.

Hu Liena glanced at Xue Qinghe, then at the two gray-clad attendants behind him, and thought, This man has quite a background.

Still, she didn't ask any questions.

Just moments earlier.

Chrysanthemum Douluo had sent several assistants over to help run the shop, so things downstairs could hold together for now.

Chrysanthemum Douluo said, "Go ahead and play. His Holiness the Pope heard that we were short-handed here and specifically sent people to help."

Hu Liena nodded. "All right, Elder Ju."

Xie Yue was called over too. When he put down his ledger, his fingers were still habitually tracing numbers.

Yan arrived last. Xie Yue had forcibly dragged him away from the fruit slot machine, and he looked thoroughly unwilling.

"I was just one round away from matching them!" Yan protested.

Xie Yue glanced at him. "You've said that nineteen times already."

Yan shut his mouth.

Everyone was there: Qin Chuan, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, Hu Liena, Yan, Xie Yue, and Xue Qinghe. Seven people.

Xue Qinghe readily paid seven thousand Gold Soul Coins.

Qin Chuan led the seven of them upstairs and pushed open the door marked "Object Hide-and-Seek."

Beyond the door was an ordinary, empty room, with a low table and two chairs in the middle. There was nothing special about it.

Yan looked around. "That's it?"

Hu Liena frowned too. "How are we supposed to play in an empty room?"

Xiao Wu, however, wasn't worried. She had played Blindfolded Tag with Qin Chuan before and knew that his domain could change things up.

Qin Chuan stood in the center of the room and looked around.

"Don't worry. Is everyone ready?"

"Ready," they answered over one another.

Xue Qinghe stood at the back of the group, watching quietly.

"In the future, you can swipe your cards here. Today, I'll take you through a game first." Qin Chuan pointed at the Soul Tool device on the wall, then activated his Game Domain.

Hummm...

A layer of light spread out from beneath Qin Chuan's feet at tremendous speed, covering the entire room in an instant.

Then the stone walls vanished.

The floor vanished.

The ceiling vanished.

The scenery beneath everyone's feet changed.

The stone tiles beneath the seven of them became blue-brick paving. Tiled eaves appeared overhead, and gray-walled courtyards sprang up all around them.

An old-fashioned Soul Master Courtyard.

The courtyard complex was vast, larger than any of them had imagined.

The main residence had more than a dozen rooms, densely packed with bookshelves, cupboards, vases, wooden tables, porcelain jars, screens, and potted plants.

The rear courtyard was even more spacious. Ancient trees towered overhead, huge rocks lay piled together, and clusters of spirit herbs grew beside ornamental rockeries. Stone lanterns stood on either side of the paths, their purple flames flickering gently.

The air smelled of flowers and grass, mingled with the aged fragrance of old wood.

When the wind blew, they could hear the leaves rustling.

Touch, sight, smell-it all felt real.

Yan reached out and touched a wooden pillar beside him, his fingertips brushing its rough grain. "Is this real?"

"Illusory simulation," Qin Chuan said. "The textures, sights, and smells are all just like the real thing. But attacks are only registered; they won't cause actual injuries. Neither your martial souls nor your Soul Rings will be damaged. It's purely for entertainment."

Xue Qinghe crouched down and touched the blue bricks underfoot, running his fingers over the moss between them. It felt cool and damp.

He stood and surveyed his surroundings. The scale and precision of this domain far exceeded his expectations.

For a rank-fifty-one Soul King to construct a domain of this caliber was incredible in itself.

Qin Chuan began explaining the rules.

"There are seven players. One is the [Seeker], and the other six are [Hiders]."

He plucked something out of thin air and held it up for everyone to see.

A gun.

Unlike the Destiny Roulette from before, this gun was short and thick, with an ammunition belt hanging from its barrel and a dark-gray metallic sheen across its body.