I am a player

Failed?

Impossible!

That made no sense!

In the side room, the woman who had watched the Female Gu burst and die was filled with shock. She carefully reviewed the entire plan in her mind, but could not work out why it had failed.

During its dormant phase, the Soul-Control Gu had no aura or vital signs. It was no different from an inanimate object, making it extremely difficult to detect.

The only person around Prince Huai who could be considered capable was Er Leng, but he was a crude brute. How had they discovered the Gu inside the hall?

Had something given us away beforehand?

That was unlikely, too. She had randomly chosen the person who planted the Gu. Before taking action, he had not even known what he was supposed to do. How could he have exposed anything?

After turning it over in her mind, she could think of only one possibility: that useless Prince Huai had some means of protecting his life that she had not anticipated.

Then... could he be a player?

Although the mechanics of the Startrace Gate were extremely fair, even story-based role-playing scenarios generally did not let players take roles such as princes or emperors, because those positions offered too lofty a perspective. Still, she could not dismiss the possibility so easily. This Star Gate had an immense setting, with strange and unpredictable content. Ordinary logic did not apply.

It looked like I would have to approach this "game" more carefully.

Once she finished her review, the woman changed into a loose, hooded black robe in the side room and departed with graceful steps.

She had an exquisite figure and breathtaking beauty, with a seductive air in every gesture. Even in the Capital Prefecture, where beauties abounded, she could have contended for the title of finest courtesan.

Around ten that evening, darkness enveloped Prince Huai's Residence, and all was quiet.

A file of armored soldiers on night watch passed the entrance to Liyuan Garden at Prince Huai's Residence, carrying lanterns.

Suddenly, the soldier leading the way stopped and cocked his ear. "Did... did you hear a woman moaning?"

At his words, the soldiers behind him stopped as well and listened closely.

A moment later, one of them answered with a lecherous expression, "I heard it. She's really letting loose."

"Some official must have gone to Liyuan Garden for another good time."

"Her voice carries this far?"

"Heh heh, when it feels that good, you just can't help yourself."

"...!"

They chattered among themselves, and before long they were clinging to the Liyuan Garden wall, hoping to sneak a peek.

Liyuan Garden had originally been Prince Huai's pleasure grounds, housing over a hundred singing girls and beauties with various talents. But now, with the prince struggling merely to stay alive and long since reduced to a caged bird of the court, the place had become a fitness club for those "treacherous ministers." Every midnight, someone came here to meet a lover.

While the soldiers peeped lecherously, the woman in the black robe left through a side gate. No one noticed her at all, as though she were invisible.

Around midnight, the black-robed woman left the residence under cover of darkness and reached a thatched cottage in the hills.

Inside, by the faint candlelight, she saw an old Taoist sitting on a bed and offered a graceful bow. "This servant greets Celestial Master Xu."

Old Taoist Xu was an adviser to the reigning emperor. He had arrived in Qingliang Prefecture yesterday because of the Heavenly Pardon-Blessed One, but had not shown himself at the prince's residence.

"Did you plant the Gu?" Old Taoist Xu asked expressionlessly.

"This servant planned the operation carefully, but I do not know what life-saving means that useless Prince Huai employed. He actually discovered the Gu Insects. Someone must have died in his place," the black-robed woman replied, neither servile nor overbearing.

Silence fell over the cottage. Old Taoist Xu did not angrily demand an explanation, nor did the woman display any fear over her failure to plant the Gu.

"A verbal decree from His Majesty."

Old Taoist Xu spoke abruptly.

"This servant receives the decree. Long live His Majesty, for ten thousand years!" The black-robed woman knelt and prostrated herself.

"The Heavenly Pardon-Blessed One has awakened. Opening the Former Dynasty Princess's Tomb is now urgent. I command Liu Ling'er to infiltrate Tranquil Heart Hall in secret and, within two days, find the Tomb Passage Map in Prince Huai's secret chamber and uncover the secrets hidden there." Old Taoist Xu paused, his expression indifferent, then asked, "Did you hear clearly?"

Liu Ling'er's delicate brows knitted as a notification from the Startrace Gate sounded in her ears.

[You have received a new mission: find the Tomb Passage Map hidden in Prince Huai's secret chamber and investigate the secrets concealed there. Time limit: before leaving the Star Gate. Failure penalty: the emperor will deem you useless and kill you.]

At this "reminder," Liu Ling'er's face darkened. Gritting her teeth, she replied, "This servant accepts the decree."

"I have other matters to attend to and cannot appear at the residence for now. Once you succeed, you may notify me with the Disc Order."

"Yes," Liu Ling'er replied as she rose.

"Go." Old Taoist Xu dismissed her indifferently, then closed his eyes and said no more.

Liu Ling'er turned without hesitation and left the cottage, her lovely face grim.

In an unremarkable, unused side room within Prince Huai's sleeping quarters, every light had been extinguished, leaving complete darkness.

Ren Ye lay on the rock-hard wooden bed, his eyes wide open, not remotely sleepy.

Cradling the Famous Blade Invite the Moon, Er Leng sat on a wooden chair to the right of the door. His breathing was steady as he listened to the sounds around them.

Ren Ye had not wanted Er Leng to "attend him in bed," but the Gu incident had genuinely rattled him. He had no choice but to share a room with the burly brute, and even felt tempted to invite him onto the bed for close protection.

"Er Leng, is there any movement nearby?" Ren Ye could not help asking.

"Nothing except two rats looking for food," Er Leng replied.

Ren Ye was a little surprised. "You can hear rats?!"

"Martial artists train their five senses before their bodies. Within fifty meters, no sound escapes my notice." Er Leng sounded rather pleased with himself, then slipped in some flattery. "But compared with the late prince, this is a mere parlor trick. On the Southern Border battlefield, I once saw him release such a powerful aura that he scared off an enemy general without even moving. That was the highest realm of martial arts."

Ren Ye ignored how awesome the late prince had been and instead asked a question from an unexpected angle. "So... if I had a late-night candlelit chat with one of my concubines, you could hear that too?"

"I couldn't," Er Leng said, shaking his head.

"Hm? Didn't you say nothing within fifty meters escaped your notice?"

"Your Highness doesn't take very long. Before I can listen, it's already over," Er Leng answered bluntly. "So I can't hear it."

"How dare you insult your prince? I'll chop your head off!" That remark shattered Ren Ye's composure.

"Ha ha!" Er Leng laughed heartily.

Ren Ye let out a small breath, then asked with meticulous care, "Did you scatter the incense ash in the corridors as I told you?"

"I did."

"Is someone guarding the entrance to the sleeping quarters?"

"Lian'er is there," Er Leng promptly replied. "I even rigged a simple trap in Your Highness's privy. If any intruder slips in, they will trigger it."

"Good."

Ren Ye nodded slowly.

The side room fell quiet again, but before long, Ren Ye suddenly sat up. "Right, there's gas too! These sleeping quarters are ventilated on every side. If someone releases poisonous smoke...!"

"Rest assured, Your Highness. I have ordered all the eunuchs and maids to stay beside the four corridors leading into the hall. Even if there is poisonous smoke, they will notice it first," Er Leng replied patiently. "If Your Highness is still worried, tomorrow I will select eight people specifically to breathe in poison and station them at the entrance."

Ren Ye was briefly speechless. "With you handling things, I can rest easy."

Er Leng looked toward Ren Ye in the darkness, sensing his master's anxiety and lingering fear. He volunteered, "Your Highness, get some sleep. As long as Er Leng is alive, no one can hurt you."

Ren Ye was deeply moved. What a good brother.

The full moon hung high, and the stars shone brightly.

Dressed in her black robe, Liu Ling'er quietly returned to Liyuan Garden. In her side room, she removed her disguise and changed into a set of pale pink undergarments.

She sat languidly before the bronze mirror and was about to pick up a comb to arrange her hair when a voice suddenly sounded in her ears.

[Death mission trait: last words triggered. Do you have regrets in your life? Do you have secrets you cannot reveal? Do you have pain and remorse you cannot express... You have experienced Liu Ling'er's story here. Now, please leave your own story behind.]

"Last words? Hah, what lunacy!"

Liu Ling'er froze for a moment, finding it terribly inauspicious.

After she failed the Gu mission, the Startrace Gate had informed her that she would be punished, but had not specified how. Immediately afterward, she had received Old Taoist Xu's investigation mission, with an explicit warning that failure meant death.

A little thought made it easy to guess that failing the preceding mission had increased the difficulty of the next.

Whoosh!

A sheet of white paper and a pen abruptly appeared on the dressing table.

"Hah!"

Liu Ling'er looked at the two items, a mocking smile curling her lips. What decent person writes down their secrets? Pah, how low!

Several minutes later, by the flickering candlelight, Liu Ling'er bent over the table with the pen in hand, her lovely face calm and peaceful as she wrote her story.

For some reason, the pen and paper seemed to possess a kind of magic, stirring an irresistible desire to confide...

"My name in the real world is Wang Hong. Inside Qingliang Town's Startrace Gate, I 'play' Liu Ling'er.

My identity card is: singing girl.

My entry token is a painting called the Spring Breeze Wish-Fulfilling Painting.

My special ability is connected to it, which also suits the way I do things.

In the real world, I spent many years working as a hostess. I've met countless people, countless men of every kind. Generous spenders, perverts with twisted tastes, broke losers pretending to be rich. In short, I understand men very well. That's experience accumulated on the job, and it's my advantage.

I'm different from those women who enter the sex trade and then constantly talk about how they had no choice.

I don't have a gambling father, a sick mother, or a younger brother waiting for someone to buy him a home so he can get married.

I got into this business purely because I'm lazy and didn't want a regular job.

When I was young, all I did was play around and date. Now I have no qualifications or connections. How much could I earn working for someone else?

Three or four thousand a month?

Pfft-that wouldn't even buy me a pair of shoes.

These days, people mock poverty, not prostitution. As long as you have money, even your parents look at you differently.

Besides, I got married at eighteen, spent three years as someone's wife, and had a baby girl. That little brat spends even more than I do. She wants the best of everything.

At first, our three-year marriage went smoothly. My ex-husband made some money in the timber business and treated me well. But then he overextended himself and wound up buried in debt.

How could we keep living together without money?

Come on, man. I married you at eighteen. I had the looks and the figure. Surely you didn't expect me to shoulder your debts with you?

To avoid getting dragged into it, I decisively chose divorce. I got custody of the little brat. That way, he could legally take a portion of the assets frozen in the ongoing litigation and give us mother and daughter some support money.

The law should protect vulnerable people, shouldn't it?

After the divorce, I went to Golden Sea Entertainment City on Tainan Street. I worked as a waitress for three days first. Once I understood the situation and what the work involved, I told the floor manager what I wanted and officially entered the business.

Working as a hostess isn't difficult at all. To me, it's pretty much like managing a marriage. If a man has money in his pocket to support me, then I make him feel comfortable, make him look good, and give him pleasure in body and mind.

Some people call that selfish and shameless, but these days, aren't the people who aren't selfish and still care about shame the real fucking idiots?

When it comes to handling men, I have a talent for it, and I keep a clear head.

During those years, although I stayed up late and drank, my life was positive overall, and I made plenty of money. Nothing in this world comes without paying a price. I figured that out very early, too.

I worked twenty-something days a month. During my period, I took the little brat traveling and shopping, having fun wherever we went. Life was pretty comfortable.

I was very content back then...

More than a decade passed in a flash. As I grew older day by day, I stopped working the floor myself and moved behind the scenes, becoming a madam. But my income rose rather than fell. After all, what I was good at was never sleeping with people. It was using my brain and putting real effort into understanding what men wanted.

But the little brat grew up too. She went to college, and now she hasn't said a single word to me in over two years...

We had a terrible fight and smashed almost everything in the house that could be smashed. It started when she very tactfully asked me whether I could stop doing this kind of work.

A prefecture-level city is only so big, and there are only a few well-known entertainment clubs. You can't stop gossip from spreading. Maybe... she felt my line of work embarrassed her in front of her friends and classmates.

I don't care what other people say about me. Over the years, God knows how many people have pointed right at my nose and called me a whore. I got used to it long ago.

But the moment she said it, I exploded.

What?!

I raised you with the money I earned as a hostess, and now you think the food you ate was dirty?

Fuck you, I'll beat you to death, you ungrateful little bitch. I can't remember how many times I slapped her. Anyway, she left in a sorry state, and we never spoke again.

Later, I asked around and learned that she'd fought with me that day because she'd argued with a female teacher over some trivial matter. The teacher had insulted her in front of everyone: 'Keep skipping class and messing around outside, and you're guaranteed to end up just like your mother...'

I was furious when I found out. That very day, I called an old thug from out of town. He used to come to the club often, and we knew each other well.

About a week later, he brought four young punks into the city. They staked out that teacher's home for a whole day.

That evening, when the teacher came home from work, they slashed her twelve times. Four cuts were on her face, and three were across her tits. The four punks also shoved more than a dozen twigs into her down below...

I sat in the car and watched the whole thing. I was genuinely happy. I paid a certain price for it, too, spending two days playing with those four little thugs in a hotel, but I didn't spend a cent.

I didn't think there was anything shameful about me. In fact, when they fucked me, I felt happy in both body and mind...

I'm a whore, after all. Trading my body for things is only natural!

I dropped out in middle school and have no manners, but I think teachers ought to be educated people. They shouldn't be like me, turning into shrieking shrews at the drop of a hat. They deserve respect, and they should respect everyone struggling to get by.

But that teacher didn't understand, so I had to teach her.

All right, that's my story.

At thirty-five, I was selected by the Startrace Gate quite by chance and became a player.

I also learned that this world was far more complex than I'd understood.

I really like this strange world, because it doesn't care about morality or background, much less methods. In the end, there's only victory or defeat.

All beings are equal. Everyone has a chance to defy heaven and change their fate.

At thirty-six, I joined a player organization called the Bell Society.

The Bell Society gave me the opportunity and token to enter Qingliang Town's Star Gate this time, and... I must win in the end. I absolutely cannot lose!

But... is it for that little brat, that ungrateful little bitch?

How could it be? I'm an ex-treme-ly self-ish woman!

I am Wang Hong.

Now that I'm here, all you can do is lose and get eliminated."

The pen stopped. The white paper floated up and slowly burned, turning into sparks that dissipated in the air.

For some reason, when Liu Ling'er raised her head, her face was already streaked with tears.

In the side room of the sleeping quarters.

"Er Leng!"

Ren Ye, who had been lying quietly, abruptly sat up and shouted.

Shing!

Er Leng instinctively drew his saber and immediately answered, "What is it, Your Highness?"

"I've thought of a way to lure out whoever planted the Gu," Ren Ye said, sitting on the bed with excitement in his eyes.