Chapter 26: Order Cards (1)
Su Qiong raised his hand.
The deeply rooted colossal trees suddenly trembled, and the barrier surrounding the triangular area shattered into countless fragments, crashing downward like an avalanche.
The players who had previously been blocked outside watched the disaster-like scene unfold before their eyes. Although they had no idea what was happening, their instincts screamed danger, driving them to turn and flee.
After running only a few steps, they realized that the barren space around them had no direction.
There was nowhere to escape.
The triangular area, the space outside it, the survival base—even the entire beginner zone—was within Su Qiong’s control.
Only then did the players understand that a Circle Lord truly possessed the power to overturn the world with a wave of his hand.
They had no ability to fight him.
Realizing they were trapped in a hopeless situation, the players reluctantly turned around and looked toward the center of the triangular area.
Su Qiong slowly stood, stepped onto the edge of the coffin, and looked down at every player from above.
Once the crowd saw his appearance clearly, waves of admiration rose among them.
The players who had been trapped outside the barrier had no idea what had happened within and assumed Su Qiong had appeared out of thin air.
“My God, he’s gorgeous!”
“Ahhh! The Circle Lord isn’t wearing any clothes! Am I really allowed to see this for free?”
“We’re all going to die in IF sooner or later anyway. Dying at the hands of a beauty doesn’t seem like a bad deal.”
“Hey, wake up!”
“I admit the Circle Lord is much better-looking than the NPCs we encountered inside the instances. But he’s essentially a monster who sacrificed players to gain rebirth. He’s our enemy! Do none of you have principles?”
“Uh, isn’t there a saying? If the villain is attractive enough…”
“Your morals follow their features.”
“…”
Su Qiong had not yet adapted to his new body. He stood motionless for a while, carefully experiencing his current sensations.
After the barrier shattered, howling wind swept in from every direction.
The loosely wrapped bandages around his body fluttered wildly. Several strips lifted in the wind, revealing glimpses of Su Qiong’s creamy, flawless skin through the gaps.
Su Qiong pressed down the fabric slipping from his chest.
After obtaining a body, he finally experienced what “cold” meant.
It was chilly, his bandages felt as though they might fall off at any moment, and the sensation was uncomfortable.
The breathtaking figure with long hair and crimson eyes covered his chest and thought sluggishly for quite some time.
Suddenly remembering something, he slowly removed a cloak from his inventory and wrapped it around his extremely dangerous body—in every sense of the word.
—Much better.
Su Qiong was very satisfied.
“Ah…” A player released a disappointed sigh.
Despite being on the brink of death, he genuinely regretted being unable to see the boss’s body.
Yu Qimiao noticed that the cloak Su Qiong had taken out was the one he had given him earlier, and his tightly wound nerves relaxed slightly.
Even though his appearance had changed, the Circle Lord before them was still Su Qiong.
Once Yu Qimiao understood that, he suddenly felt there was nothing to regret.
So what if Su Qiong intended to kill him?
Yu Qimiao had known from the moment he was dragged into the game that he would die sooner or later.
Dying at Su Qiong’s hands might even be preferable.
Su Qiong put on the cloak and tied himself a crooked bow before finally raising his head to look around again.
“Mm,” he responded without context.
The surrounding players stared at him in confusion, unable to understand what Su Qiong had suddenly agreed to.
Only ERROR knew that he was answering the previous question.
The energy provided by their sacrifices alone had not been sufficient for Su Qiong.
The system had gathered every player in the beginner zone at the sacrificial grounds primarily so Su Qiong could obtain enough power to sustain an entire world.
The plan was nearly perfect.
It would annihilate the players while turning Su Qiong into a true Circle Lord.
If the system recruited a third group of players afterward, the beginner zone would only become more difficult, transforming into a true “death game.”
However, when this plan was designed, it had failed to account for two variables.
The first was ERROR.
By repeatedly clearing instances, he had obtained clues about the Circle Lord and discovered Su Qiong’s true identity. Before the sacrifice officially began, he awakened Su Qiong in advance.
The second variable was Su Qiong himself.
The system placed the sacrificial ritual directly before Su Qiong, attempting to tempt him into exchanging the lives of every player for the energy necessary to become the Circle Lord.
But would Su Qiong cooperate?
The bat-shaped sub-system flew over from a distance but did not dare land. It hovered overhead, monitoring the situation.
—Su Qiong’s ability was far too domineering.
Even as a sub-system, while inside territory controlled by Su Qiong, it had believed he was merely a bottom-tier white-name NPC.
In truth, it should have realized long ago that a low-level NPC could never have a system avatar following him.
Now that Su Qiong had recovered his memories, the bat also remembered its true ultimate mission.
Assist in completing the sacrificial ritual and witness the birth of the new Circle Lord.
All Su Qiong needed to do was move a finger and begin the sacrifice.
Then he might skip several levels at once and become the most powerful Circle Lord in IF.
The bat itself would also complete its mission and retire with a flawless ending.
Under everyone’s watchful gazes, Su Qiong, now wrapped in his cloak, moved his finger.
Every player’s heart seemed to rise along with it.
Was it beginning?
They could not see Su Qiong’s level. They could see only his blood-red ID and the prefix Circle Lord NPC, which proclaimed his power.
The few high-level players remaining in the beginner zone had already been drained of their energy by Su Qiong.
If he truly attacked, no one in the vast beginner zone possessed the ability to resist him.
The outcome was obvious.
They could only lie down and wait for death.
“Su Qiong!”
“You’re going to…” Lu Shufan stared at him in disbelief, then surrendered midway through his sentence. “Forget it.”
He had played far too many games and understood their patterns perfectly.
In a game world, even companions who had fought through life and death together could betray one another.
How much more likely was betrayal from an NPC whose very existence depended upon the game?
The ridiculous part was that despite knowing the formula perfectly, he had still failed to avoid it.
Su Qiong slowly traced a semicircle counterclockwise through the air.
The players became even more panicked.
“Wait! I don’t want to die yet! Someone stop him!”
“ERROR, say something! You caused this entire situation!”
“That’s right! ERROR made the Circle Lord appear early. He has to take responsibility!”
ERROR glanced at them casually, his expression full of disdain, as though asking who they even were.
The watching players clenched their fists.
They desperately wanted to take advantage of his nearly empty health bar and rush over to cut him down.
Su Qiong heard their voices, and his circling motion became increasingly slow.
The players assumed he had developed a trace of sympathy. They hurriedly cast aside their dignity and pleaded desperately.
Some even offered to defect to Su Qiong and make enemies of every other player in exchange for being spared.
Su Qiong said nothing. His beautiful crimson eyes swept toward them.
Thinking they had a chance, the others rushed to declare their loyalty.
“Noble Circle Lord, I’m willing to become your most faithful servant!”
“Circle Lord, as long as you spare my life, I’ll help you complete the sacrifice!”
“From now on, I’ll obey only you and dedicate my soul to you!”
Su Qiong lowered his lashes, which trembled like dense fans.
No emotion could be seen on his exquisitely beautiful face, but the few people standing nearby could sense that he was somewhat displeased.
Although they did not understand why, Su Qiong disliked those people offering themselves as servants.
He moved his wrist and completed the circle.
Everyone vaguely guessed what that meant, and hopelessness appeared across their faces.
Su Qiong parted his lips and softly said, “Bonds of Falsehood.”
Bonds of Falsehood was Su Qiong’s ability.
Within an enormous area, it could manipulate the consciousness of every living creature and implant false memories into them.
It could even affect Su Qiong himself.
Put simply, the essence of the ability was deceiving everyone—including himself.
The players did not know the details of Su Qiong’s ability. They watched him in confusion, thinking it did not sound like an offensive skill.
Then they heard him whisper softly:
“Release.”
Rumble—!
The colossal trees supporting the triangular area and covering the entire beginner zone collapsed.
However, before they could strike the ground, they transformed into three slender vines.
The failed players imprisoned within the white fruits were spat out one after another. They collapsed onto the ground, weakly rolling and struggling.
Qiyi immediately threw herself toward Moi, hugged her tightly, and stroked her face.
Only after confirming that Moi was still breathing did she reveal an expression of immense relief.
The other players had no attention to spare for those who had been released. Their eyes remained fixed on Su Qiong.
The coffin beneath Su Qiong’s feet gradually shrank and elongated, eventually transforming into something resembling a long staff.
The vines moved as though alive, winding around the top of the staff and forming an intricate, symmetrical design.
Everyone stared dumbfounded at the transformation.
Then several soft whooshing sounds rang out.
The white bandages were pulled from Su Qiong’s body, shrinking and wrapping around the base of the staff before hanging down as silver-white tassels.
The enormous triangular barrier that had once covered the sky had transformed into a special item resembling a magic wand.
Su Qiong extended his hand, and the wand obediently flew into his palm.
When Su Qiong descended to the ground, his appearance changed instantly.
The crimson faded from his eyes, leaving black irises overlaid with a layer of molten gold. His gaze became pure and clear.
At some point, his long hair had shortened to ear length. It curled slightly, soft as a lamb’s fleece.
His presence was gentle and harmless, making it impossible to associate him with the Circle Lord who had nearly sacrificed the entire beginner zone.
Su Qiong gripped the wand tightly in his right hand and wrapped his cloak around himself with his left. His voice returned to its original soft warmth.
“Go. I don’t need your lives.”
The players exchanged glances, wondering whether the Circle Lord’s words concealed a hidden threat.
The few people who knew Su Qiong understood perfectly that he meant nothing else.
The little NPC did not particularly care about levels, and he was an extreme clean freak.
If five million players were sacrificed at his birthplace, how difficult would it be to clean?
Having a body was enough.
He did not particularly need their lives.
“The Circle Realm is open. You may leave.” Su Qiong tapped a location with his wand and conscientiously explained, “Any player who has completed the beginner-zone objective by clearing one instance may enter the Circle.”
Before he even finished speaking, several players impatiently charged toward the boundary.
The others quickly reacted and rushed after them, terrified that moving too slowly would leave them trapped in the beginner zone.
Xi Huaiji still did not trust Su Qiong. Worried that he might change his mind, she secretly scanned his level with her bracelet.
The result shocked her.
[NPC (?)]Su Qiong
[Level]0
He had even lost his original single level.
Xi Huaiji shook her head and led the members of Extremity out of the beginner zone and into the Circle.
Seeing this, Everyone Survives hurriedly followed.
Within only ten minutes, merely a handful of players remained.
Apart from ERROR, all of them were people Su Qiong knew.
Yu Qimiao looked toward ERROR and was about to ask what he was truly planning.
Before he could speak, ERROR walked to Su Qiong’s side and rested his injured hand on Su Qiong’s shoulder. His uninjured hand naturally reached out and ruffled Su Qiong’s short curls.
“What are you doing?” Su Qiong had not fully adapted to his body yet. He stared at ERROR in confusion.
ERROR smiled. “Circle Lord, do you like the body I gave you?”
“You gave it to me?” Su Qiong examined him suspiciously.
When ERROR pressed him into the coffin, Su Qiong had been in such pain that he nearly died and had no idea what the man intended.
Although surrounded by overwhelming agony, Su Qiong’s consciousness had remained clear enough to hear the conversation outside.
He had concluded that ERROR had acted that way so Su Qiong could obtain a body and voluntarily release the Circle Realm.
But judging from ERROR’s words, perhaps that had not been his only intention.
“Wait. What do you mean by the body you gave Su Qiong?” Yu Qimiao asked.
“Isn’t that exactly what happened?” ERROR declared shamelessly. “I found the clues and devised the method that allowed you to obtain a real body.”
“You obviously did it so you could enter the Circle yourself,” Shi Yuntian scoffed.
“Correct.” ERROR carelessly ruffled Su Qiong’s hair again. “I heard you were excellent at pretending to be a guide NPC.”
“I wasn’t pretending!” Su Qiong corrected angrily.
While serving as a guide NPC, he had sincerely wanted to help the players clear their instances.
He had never imagined that he himself would turn out to be the final boss.
Su Qiong had been deceived for so long, yet he had no one to become angry with.
After all, the true culprit was himself.
“Fine.” ERROR did not care about such details. “Then bind yourself to me as my exclusive NPC and guide me from now on. Consider it payment for helping you recover your body.”
“Huh?” Su Qiong blinked.
“What?!” Shi Yuntian was shocked.
This terrible game actually allowed players to bind NPCs?
Why couldn’t he bind one?!
“But I’m no longer a white-name NPC,” Su Qiong said.
A, who had remained silent, slowly spoke.
“Actually…”
He activated his global scan, allowing Su Qiong to see the information above his head.
Su Qiong truly was no longer white-named.
But he was not red-named either.
His ID was a faint pink, halfway between red and white. Even the system could not determine which category he belonged to.
Logically, if Su Qiong had completed the sacrificial ritual, then even if he had originally been white-named, massacring an entire zone would have turned him completely red.
But the ritual had stopped midway.
Su Qiong had also completed the duty of a white-name NPC by guiding the players into the Circle.
Unable to determine his alignment, the system had simply assigned him an intermediate color for the time being.
“A pink-name NPC?” Based on Su Qiong’s knowledge of IN OFF, no pink-name NPC had ever appeared before.
He reached up and touched his ID in the air, then added, “My level is too low. I can’t enter the Circle.”
The moment he finished speaking, the bat that had been monitoring them overhead flew down, carrying an official system order.
“The system announces that Players ERROR, A, Yu Qimiao… and NPC Su Qiong have fulfilled the clearing conditions. Please enter the Circle before the beginner zone disintegrates.”
“I have to enter too?” Su Qiong pointed at himself, then looked over the entire beginner zone.
The players who had previously cleared their instances were already entering the Circle one after another.
The players who had finally escaped the white fruits and staggered toward the boundary were blocked outside and forced to wait for death.
They had fallen from one abyss of despair into another and were already emotionally and physically exhausted.
The newly constructed survival base within the beginner zone would also be destroyed when the zone disintegrated.
Perhaps having a body allowed Su Qiong to empathize more deeply and understand their situation.
“Can’t the beginner zone be preserved?” Su Qiong asked.
A looked toward him, entirely unsurprised that he would say such a thing.
After all, Su Qiong was someone who, even after obtaining the clues needed to clear an instance, still insisted on fulfilling his promise and delivering the medical chart to the young S.
The bat-system made an expression suggesting that its brain stem was missing, then sent a request to the main system.
The main system replied quickly through the bat.
“It can. After all, you are the Circle Lord of the beginner zone.”
“Then…” Su Qiong began.
“Provided you possess enough power to maintain it,” the main system added.
Hearing that, everyone simultaneously glanced above Su Qiong’s head.
Level: 0.
—The bastard system was deliberately making things difficult for the marshmallow!
Su Qiong alone remained optimistic and happily replied, “All right. I’ll work hard.”
Since the system was allowing him to enter the Circle, it meant Su Qiong could obtain energy there.
As long as he became powerful enough, he could maintain the beginner zone forever, and the players here would not die.
The bat came back to its senses and became so alarmed that it righted its upside-down body.
“Are you insane? To possess enough energy to support an entire Circle, you would at least have to defeat a Circle Lord! You’re Level 0! Level zero!”
Before Su Qiong could answer, Shi Yuntian impatiently snapped, “Shut up. Why are you shouting?”
“Little Pastry was already only Level 0~” Lu Shufan added. “Don’t demand too much from him.”
“Since Su Qiong needs to level up, let’s enter the Circle quickly,” Yu Qimiao said.
“All right!” everyone responded enthusiastically.
Su Qiong stepped forward, preparing to head toward the boundary.
The moment he moved, ERROR, who had been leaning against him, swayed and nearly collapsed.
Among the players who had contributed energy to Su Qiong, ERROR had suffered the most serious injuries. Having his energy drained by the Circle Lord counted as advanced damage and could not recover quickly.
Only then did Su Qiong notice that ERROR had nearly bled dry and that his face was as pale as paper.
It was astonishing that he had been speaking to Su Qiong as though nothing were wrong.
“Are you all right?” Su Qiong asked.
“Not particularly,” ERROR answered sincerely.
Yu Qimiao walked over and calmly analyzed, “Mr. ERROR, in my judgment, your condition is terrible. You have no abilities, and your health has nearly reached zero. Once we enter the Circle…”
The game contained far too many treacherous players who excelled at attacking others while they were weak.
Only the beginner zone provided the benefit of unlimited revivals.
Inside the Circle, there was a 99.9 percent chance that no revival opportunity existed.
The remaining 0.1 percent was reserved for the system’s favored children.
ERROR had previously been ranked first across the entire server. He posed an enormous threat, and his behavior was highly unconventional.
There were undoubtedly players who wanted to eliminate him early.
“In my opinion, you should join our guild first and allow us to protect you.” Yu Qimiao spoke with impressive righteousness. “I maintain excellent trading relationships with several other guilds. Out of respect for me, they probably won’t attack you.”
Before ERROR could answer, Lu Shufan moved closer to Su Qiong and whispered, “Su Su, you didn’t know because you were inside the instance, but Yuyu is extremely cunning. Every one of his trades is forced buying and selling. Now that ERROR’s level is low, he wants to pull him into the guild so he can never escape later.”
Su Qiong was standing tightly against ERROR. Lu Shufan had not deliberately lowered his voice, so ERROR heard every word clearly.
“Ahem.” Yu Qimiao cleared his throat. “I had no such intention.”
“I understand.” ERROR exposed him with a smile. “Guild Leader Yu is probably interested in the NPC bound to me, isn’t he?”
“…”
Yu Qimiao fell silent.
—He had been seen through completely.
“Fine.” ERROR agreed to Yu Qimiao’s proposal without much hesitation. “I can join your guild, but there is one condition everyone must follow.”
“What condition?”
ERROR wore a mysterious expression. “Don’t rush. You’ll know when the time comes.”
Yu Qimiao sent ERROR a guild invitation, then looked toward A with hesitation.
He had invited ERROR because he possessed a certain degree of confidence and could offer him protection until he recovered.
As for A, Yu Qimiao truly lacked confidence.
A spoke little, had a vicious personality, and his thoughts were impossible to predict.
Yu Qimiao could sense that, in a certain sense, A was the same type of person as himself.
He did not fear death.
He feared nothing.
“A,” Su Qiong suddenly called. “It seems you don’t have parents either. Do you want to join the Orphan Alliance?”
Yu Qimiao: “…”
Lu Shufan: “???”
Shi Yuntian: Damn, this kid really knows how to talk.
Who greeted someone by saying they had no parents?
There was no way A would agree!
“All right,” A answered calmly.
Su Qiong instantly became happy. “Then I can guide you again!”
Everyone fell into a deathly silence.
A had actually agreed.
Completely absurd.
Recruiting the former first- and second-ranked players into the guild and sending the invitations delayed Yu Qimiao by several minutes.
By the time Su Qiong approached the Circle boundary, the other players had already entered some time ago.
He extended a hand and felt a transparent membrane envelop him. An unfamiliar system voice sounded beside his ears.
[System: Verifying eligibility to enter the Circle. Please wait.]
Curiously, Su Qiong poked the bubble but failed to break it.
He crouched, and the bubble crouched with him, resembling some kind of game for trapping cats.
[System: Verification successful. Welcome to Circle One of IN OFF: The World of Order.]
[Main Quest: Collect Order Cards, challenge the Order Staircase, and win as many steps as possible. The player who obtains the most steps will be victorious.]
“What?” Su Qiong had heard far too many incomprehensible terms and became completely bewildered.
He could not help wondering whether obtaining a human body had lowered his intelligence.
The system provided no explanation and continued issuing supplementary hints.
[Hint One: The number of cards each player may carry is limited. The more cards you possess and the higher their levels, the greater your chance of winning confrontations. Please collect cards diligently.]
[Hint Two: The World of Order permits teams of up to ten players. However, please note that whether participating individually or as a team, each player or team receives only one opportunity to challenge the staircase.]
[Hint Three: The World of Order has no revival mechanism. Players, please treasure your lives. This is True Order.]
Although Su Qiong did not fully understand the rules, he understood the hints.
Put simply, Circle One was a competitive game that permitted teams but offered no revivals.
Participating as a team allowed them to use more cards, but ten people shared only one opportunity. Divided among them, each person effectively received only one-tenth of a chance.
If they encountered an incompetent teammate, everyone could be dragged down.
Playing alone granted a player the full opportunity, but they would possess fewer cards and face a much higher probability of failure.
Whether to form a team or fight individually was the players’ first decision.
Yu Qimiao posted a message through the guild channel.
[Yu Qimiao: Let’s vote. Type 1 for teaming up and 2 for going solo. Majority rules. Any objections?]
[Lu Shufan: 111111!]
[Qiyi: My sister and I choose 1.]
[Shi Yuntian: 2. I’m not good at team battles.]
[ERROR: Regarding this matter, please consult my exclusive NPC.]
[Shi Yuntian: Damn it! Is having an exclusive NPC really that impressive?!]
[ERROR: Yes. It is.]
[Blank ID: I abstain. You decide.]
[Yu Qimiao: Su Qiong cannot participate in the player chat. He chooses 1. Therefore, we’ll team up for this round and decide the captain according to the circumstances.]
The group happily reached a consensus and selected the team option.
A choice box also appeared in front of Su Qiong.
He did not understand why an NPC was required to choose.
After thinking about it, he followed the group’s decision and selected the team option.
[System: Congratulations to Shi Yuntian, [Blank ID], Yu Qimiao, Lu Shufan, Moi, Qiyi, ERROR, and Su Qiong. The eight participants have successfully formed a team. The World of Order will match you with an instance world based on the characteristics of the core member.]
[Qiyi: Core member? Does that mean the guild leader?]
[Yu Qimiao: My data is quite ordinary. It should be A or ERROR.]
[Lu Shufan: Why couldn’t it be me? A world matched to me would definitely be interesting.]
[Shi Yuntian: Shut up! If we get matched to your world, I’ll immediately report this terrible game for obscene content!]
Before the system announced its judgment, the team discussed it and concluded that ERROR was the most likely candidate.
Even though he had fallen to Level 1 and was currently extremely weak, his game data remained the most exceptional.
The result was—
[System: Core member locked: Su Qiong.]
What?!
The system had selected an NPC?
[System: Instance world matched to Su Qiong: Amusement Park. Transportation will now begin.]
Blinding white light flashed before their eyes.
When it faded, noisy chatter and the sounds of enormous machines operating filled the surroundings.
“Holy shit, it really is an amusement park?!”
“And it’s actually running. Is the world inside the Circle this peaceful?”
“An amusement park! Hahaha! It suits Little Pastry perfectly~”
“What are we supposed to do now?”
The transported group stood at the amusement park entrance. They could immediately see the wide-open gates and the players who had already entered.
Players who had entered the Circle earlier were lining up before various attractions and had not yet displayed anything unusual.
Using the little KPI he had left, Su Qiong exchanged for a set of ordinary clothes. He hid in a corner to put them on before emerging to regroup with everyone.
He had taken only a few steps when a ticket seller wearing rabbit ears approached them.
[NPC—White Name]Ticket Seller
[Level]18
The Circle and the beginner zone truly were two different worlds.
Even a guide NPC inside the Circle could reach Level 18, equivalent to an instance NPC in the beginner zone.
Before even entering the amusement park, everyone had already sensed the terror of the Circle.
“Welcome to the Order Amusement Park.”
The rabbit-eared ticket seller handed them a transparent card. Words were written across its surface:
[Within the World of Order, True Order must be obeyed.]
The ticket seller did not explain the card and instead introduced the classifications within the World of Order.
“The World of Order contains eight types of order: four True Orders and four False Orders. True Orders must be followed, while False Orders must be violated. Otherwise, you will receive the corresponding punishment. The severity of the punishment depends on the order’s tier.”
“The instance you have been matched with is the amusement park. Various Order Cards will be triggered inside, but their tiers will not be revealed.”
“The amusement park is divided into eight venues, each containing one NPC who governs an order. By completing an attraction correctly, you may obtain one opportunity to ask the instance NPC to verify an Order Card’s tier.”
“Before entering the instance, the system will add five card slots to your item inventory. Cards you obtain may be placed inside, but each person can hold no more than five. Only cards placed within the slots may be used during the final confrontation.”
After explaining everything in one breath, the rabbit-eared ticket seller projected a map before them.
The map was circular, with eight locations evenly distributed around its circumference.
A crown was drawn at the center with the words Order Staircase above it and Locked written in parentheses below.
According to the system and the white-name NPC, that staircase was their ultimate challenge.
“Please select your first attraction,” the rabbit-eared ticket seller said.
“Since this world was triggered by Su Qiong, let him choose,” Yu Qimiao suggested.
“But I don’t know anything about amusement parks.” With his memories completely blank, Su Qiong had encountered a gap in his knowledge.
“We have to experience all of them anyway. Just choose one at random~” Lu Shufan said.
“All right.” Relying on common sense, Su Qiong chose the carousel, which theoretically should not be difficult.
The rabbit-eared ticket seller activated transportation and sent them to the carousel boarding area.
Many players were waiting in line ahead, but they did not immediately mount the horses.
As Su Qiong wondered why, two Order Cards appeared in the air. Both had deep-black backs.
Two different orders were written on their fronts.
The card on the left read:
[Male players must ride tall horses. Female players must ride short horses.]
The card on the right read:
[All players may ride short horses.]
The first group of test subjects contained only five players: two men and three women.
Faced with two orders whose truth or falsehood they could not determine, they were obviously at a loss.
Two of the female players analyzed the clues and chose short horses.
Since both orders stated that women could ride short horses, they assumed that choosing one would be safe.
The three male players disagreed and argued for several minutes. In the end, two selected short horses, while one chose a tall horse.
The moment all five players were seated, a piercing alarm sounded.
It first rang for two of the female players, followed by a loud mechanical announcement:
[Female players riding short horses have triggered a Tier-One False Order. Punishment will be administered.]
“I-I was wrong! Don’t punish me!” The two women paled in terror and hurriedly attempted to stand from their horses.
Before they could rise, the system spoke again:
[Players riding short horses have triggered a Tier-Two True Order. Punishment canceled.]
The two women remained completely confused, still trembling from the fright.
The watching players heard the system announcement but could not understand the situation either.
At the very back of the crowd, the Orphan Alliance gathered to analyze it.
“According to that announcement, the order on the left is false, so we have to do the opposite,” someone said.
Su Qiong nodded. “Correct. The proper choice is for men to ride short horses and women to ride tall horses.”
“But those two women rode short horses and weren’t punished.”
“Because orders possess tiers,” Su Qiong analyzed. “Just as high-level NPCs can suppress lower-level NPCs, higher-tier orders can override lower-tier ones. Therefore, the Tier-Two True Order takes precedence over the Tier-One False Order. We’ll need more clues before determining the complete hierarchy.”
The two women had been fortunate.
The male player clearly was not.
The man who had chosen the tall horse triggered the False Order and had no True Order to cancel the punishment.
After the system announced his penalty, the player vanished into thin air.
Several minutes later, he reappeared on the horse, covered in injuries. More than half his remaining experience had disappeared, leaving him in an extremely miserable state.
Seeing this, the other players became even more anxious, terrified that punishment might fall upon them next.
“Don’t choose me. Please, don’t choose me!”
“Amitabha. Amitabha.”
They naively believed that as long as it was not their turn to ride the carousel, they could remain within their comfort zone and temporarily escape disaster.
Clearly, gods and Buddhas offered no protection within the game world.
Before the breathing of the players on the horses had even settled, two new cards appeared.
[Visitors riding the carousel must have their tickets checked thirty minutes in advance.]
[Carousel staff will check tickets within five minutes before the ride begins.]
Compared with the first two orders, these conditions overlapped and appeared to contain a loophole.
The two statements contradicted one another, meaning one was clearly true and the other false.
Holding their carousel tickets, the players could not determine when they should have them checked and began pushing the responsibility onto their teammates.
“Hey, you go have your ticket checked.”
“Why should I go? Why don’t you?”
“You have slightly more points than me. You can probably survive one punishment.”
“Heh. Your item is stronger than mine.”
“What do we do?” Qiyi and Moi held hands and looked toward their teammates in confusion.
The group carefully studied the cards but saw no meaningful difference between them.
The players ahead continued pushing and shoving. Clearly, no one wanted to volunteer as the first test subject.
After all, testing the rule might mean testing their way straight into the grave.
Everyone stared helplessly at the ticket attendant, and the situation reached a stalemate.
Su Qiong picked up his ticket and looked at the attendant, then lowered his gaze toward the ticket in his hand.
After thinking seriously for a long time, his eyes suddenly brightened.
“I think I understand!”
