The Trial Game of Life

Done with expressing his triumph, Wen Xiaoming ran away immediately.

Originally, he didn’t plan to ‘go berserk’ so quickly. If he kept lurking in the shadows, he might manage to take down more than just Yao Qing. But when he heard Lawless’s plan against Tang Cuo, thinking that bad things might happen, he could only choose to retreat.

If he ran at full speed, it would take about twenty minutes to reach the Ruby Bar.

Tang Cuo, whom many people were worried about, was now cooking up his Empty Fort Strategy空城计 [kong cheng ji] is the 32nd of the Chinese Thirty-Six Stratagems. The strategy involves using reverse psychology to deceive the enemy into thinking that an empty location is full of traps and ambushes, and therefore induce the enemy to retreat..

The door of the private room was now wide open, allowing everyone to see Tang Cuo sitting in it playing chess. They all knew that he was playing mysterious, but as to what mystery it actually was, they had no idea.

The vast majority of people here actually didn’t hold any hostility against Tang Cuo; they were simply watching. Many of them firmly believed that if Tang Cuo was here, Jin Cheng would come back eventually.

These two had almost never separated since they met in Zone F.

The atmosphere inside and outside the pub was strangely harmonious.

Tang Cuo chose the Empty Fort Strategy not because he wanted to completely scare away the enemies. In his guess, Scarlet must have other helpers apart from Chong Yanzhang. The players of Yong Ye City had always been capable enough to fight for the [Twelve Movements], not to mention they could always collude with Scarlet. How would they not be able to come up with a way to deal with Jin Cheng?

Regardless of whether Jin Cheng had the 2nd Movement or not, he must be a big stumbling block on the path to getting the movements, and what was the best way to take down Jin Cheng? Wasn’t it to start with the ‘weaknesses’ around him?

Tang Cuo was convinced that if he, a brilliant target to attack, stood right here, the enemies would certainly not stay still.

But after he waited and waited, to his surprise, what came forward was a discussion for cooperation.

In everyone’s full view, a tall, thin man and a strong, brawny man walked into the bar and into the private room, then they sat down and said to Tang Cuo: “Are you Tang Cuo? On behalf of Lawless, I’m here to discuss with you about our partnership.”

Seeing the other party sit down even before he invited them to, Tang Cuo knew that in their eyes, he was probably just a nobody not worth talking to. So he continued to fiddle with the chess pieces and said: “You should go to Jin Cheng.” 

Tall Man: “Isn’t he here? It’s the same thing if we talk to you.”

Saying so, Tall Man looked outside and said: “Can we close the door? I don’t think it’s ideal for our conversation to be leaked.”

Hearing this, Tang Cuo looked up, his remarkably bright eyes directly gazing at them without blinking, as though he could see through their hearts. Tall Man couldn’t help but feel a tad exposed, and right at the moment he thought his intention had been unmasked, Tang Cuo suddenly said: “We can.” 

Even with this, Tall Man didn’t dare to relax at all. He asked Pei Pei to close the door, while his attitude became a tad more cautious.

“You also know about Scarlet. It has now involved many parties. No one in Yong Ye City can just care about themselves. I apologise for Yao Qing’s action against you in Zone F last time and hope that you can overlook the grudge between us earlier. Yao Qing’s behaviour alone doesn’t represent the whole Lawless.”

“It’s Jin Cheng that he wants to fight with, not me. I have no right to accept your apology.”

Totally not expecting that Tang Cuo would be such a tough nut to crack, Tall Man was lost for words. He didn’t really want to apologise, but since Tang Cuo was like this, did he have any other choice?

“It was sudden of me. Next time I see Jin Cheng, I’ll definitely apologise to him in person.”

As for apologising about what, he wouldn’t say for now.

“Can we talk about our partnership now?” Tall Man asked again.

Tang Cuo only made a gesture of ‘please’, his attitude neither overly interested nor detached. Still trying to be patient, Tall Man knew that the angrier he was in his heart, the broader the smile on his face had to be. He said so very lightly: “You know a lot of news, while we Lawless have a lot of manpower. If you want to deal with Scarlet, there’ll be more secure chances if we work together.”

“How do we split the 2nd Movement?”

This one sentence from Tang Cuo had Tall Man choked once again.

Pei Pei, who had remained silent till now, said: “We just want to stop Scarlet, you don’t have to think too much about it. It’s indeed not correct to say that we don’t have our eyes on the 2nd Movement, but now the most important thing is to stop Scarlet, isn’t it? No matter who the 2nd Movement finally falls into, no matter how we fight for it or rob it from each other later, as long as we don’t give it to Scarlet, everything else will become secondary.”

Tall Man nodded: “Yes, we won’t ask you to share all the information with us, but if you need enough manpower to stop Scarlet, you shouldn’t exclude us.”

Tang Cuo caressed the chess piece, looking as though he was in deep thought. A long time later, he said: “What you say really makes a lot of sense.”

Pei Pei and Tall Man finally could feel relieved, and Tall Man immediately asked Pei Pei to open the door to call the waiter in and order the most expensive bottle on the menu..

Tang Cuo and Tall Man sat opposite each other, while Pei Pei stood on the side and poured a glass of wine for each of them.

Tall Man raised his wine glass: “Let’s wish for our happy cooperation. No matter what, we must stop Scarlet.”

Very casually, Tang Cuo picked up the wine glass and shook it, but stopped when the glass reached his lips. Though Tall Man’s heart thumped heavily, his expression stayed unflinching: “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing, I just remember that I don’t like to drink whisky.” Tang Cuo said.

 “Are you changing your mind?” Tall Man finally showed a hint of impatience and put the wine glass back on the table: “Where is Jin Cheng? I should just talk to him.”

Tang Cuo smiled and didn’t say anything. He simply grabbed the glass and drank it bottom-up. And just as he was gulping down the wine, Qian Wei rushed past the bar’s main door, hurriedly asking where Jin Cheng and Tang Cuo were.

The startled player pointed at the private room’s door. Not wasting his attention on anything else, Qian Wei ran over to open the door. As soon as the door flicked open, he and Pei Pei, who was guarding the door, stared straight at each other.

“F**k.” As though thrown into a bucket of ice water, Qian Wei felt coldness piercing through his chest, his heart almost flying out.

“Attack now!” Tall Man slapped his palm on the table, and with a wave of his other hand, a fire whip flapped in Tang Cuo’s direction, while Pei Pei also tried to grab Qian Wei. At such a close distance, those rough hands could cover Qian Wei’s entire face. As if possessed by some other being, Qian Wei squatted down and rolled forward until he slipped under the table.

Pei Pei ended up grasping thin air, yet he didn’t try to catch Qian Wei under the table. Instead, he sternly looked at Tang Cuo.

Tang Cuo had just escaped the fire whip, but in such a small room, his dodging range was limited. Coupled with the double attacks from both sides, the situation was very unfavourable for him.

Instantly, Tall Man caught on this opening. Even if the players outside the room had already started moving, with things happening in a flash, those outside wouldn’t be able to react fast enough.

And even if they reacted fast enough, would they help Tang Cuo? After all, indifference and selfishness had been carved into the bones of each player in Yong Ye City.

“Pop!” Pei Pei’s black [Spider Vines] were now replacing the fire whip, hitting until cracks started forming on the wall. In order to block Tang Cuo, he stood close to the door. Since Tang Cuo couldn’t escape via the door, he was eventually hit by the [Spider Vines] in his right arm.

Tall Man withdrew his arm and stood on the side to snobbishly watch him like a circus tamer, ready to block Qian Wei if necessary.

“Don’t resist, [Spider Vines] have been planted in your body. If you don’t want to suffer any agony, obey us.”

“What [Spider Vines]?” Qian Wei exclaimed. He had no idea what these [Spider Vines] were, but it certainly sounded bad. He could only watch Tang Cuo get hurt, wanting to help but unable to.

Tall man chuckled, not bothering to pay any attention to a small fry. His eyes remained fixed on Tang Cuo: “Really, Tang Cuo, I thought you wouldn’t drink that glass of wine, but I didn’t expect you to fall for the trick. It seems that you’re nothing more than this. I really don’t know what Jin Cheng sees in you.”

Saying so, he seriously gave it a thought, then asked sincerely: “Is it your face?”

Hearing this, Tang Cuo’s face darkened, and he grabbed the vines with his bare hands despite the wound. When the blood slipped from his palm, he tilted his head to look at Tall Man: “You’re right.” 

Not expecting Tang Cuo to talk back so readily, Tall Man’s face turned almost as unsightly as Forgettable Face’s. He glared at Pei Pei and Pei Pei understood at once. He raised his hand and snapped.

“Pop!” This crisp sound instantly sent an alert to Qian Wei’s heart.

Something must have happened!

Once again, his wits rose amidst adversity. Seeing that Pei Pei and Tall Man weren’t paying attention to a small fry like him, he rushed to the door and shouted: “Lawless has joined forces with Scarlet! This motherf**k Lawless has joined forces with Scarlet! With Scarlet!”

That loud voice and that wonderful rhythm could rival [Jiangnan Tannery Has Closed Down]江南皮革廠倒閉了, a tune that surged to popularity in China in 2015, which basically mocked the closure of a place called Jiangnan Tannery. You can listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMO5fQv8FPc.

The other players were merely waiting and watching. Now that the big guys were fighting, was there any reason for them to make a move? But Qian Wei had completely turned the situation around with his mouth. Lawless had turned to Scarlet and was now trying to kill Tang Cuo in broad daylight. This was ironclad proof!

All of a sudden, everyone’s emotions erupted.

But when they rushed to the private room’s door, what was happening inside had them gape in sheer shock.

A fidget cube was spinning in the air, its six sides brightly lit up.

The [Spider Vines] that Pei Pei threw out and the fire dragon that Tall Man summoned had both turned against them, hitting each of them like a bolt from the blue, slamming them into the air and banging them against the wall.

The sound of bones cracking was accompanied by the sound of blood spurting out, mixed with the horrifying smell of burning hair.

Tall Man stood up despite the pain and looked at Tang Cuo with utter disbelief: “How is it possible? How could you not suffer from the [Spider Vines]?!”

Tang Cuo, like an icy-cold, unsympathetic killer, raised his hand to recall the fidget cube and immediately drew his sword.

Pei Pei quickly blocked him. With his muscular body and a very high Strength value, he could have stopped Tang Cuo’s sword, but the moment he came close to Tang Cuo and their four eyes locked into each other’s, Pei Pei’s brain felt as though it had been punctured.

“Ah!” He cried out with pain, unable to grasp the [Spider Vines] in his hands.

Tang Cuo simply stepped past him. He didn’t deal a killing blow to Tall Man, rather, he kicked him hard and turned around to thrust his sword into Pei Pei’s back.

One man was knocked out, and the other one fell down. Double kill.

As he pulled the sword out, blood slowly dripped on his trousers. When he turned around and looked back, the players outside all took a step back, their gazes drenched in shock and stupefaction.

Only Qian Wei was clearly happy. He really couldn’t wait to clap his hands and cheer.

“Tang ge, how did you do it?!” 

It was actually very simple.

Since the moment these two men made their appearance, Tang Cuo had been skeptical. All the doubts and distrust he put up during the conversation were just an act. The exact factor where those two were really exposed wasn’t the glass of wine, but their apology on behalf of Yao Qing.

Which players in Yong Ye City were every kind enough to apologise to their ex-enemies in order to eliminate a current common enemy? Or to apologise on behalf of someone else?

When the glass of wine made its appearance, Tang Cuo pretended to hesitate, but in fact, he secretly used a skill. 

[Time pause: Stop time for one second. During this second, the player can move freely. The cooldown time is one hour.]

Within this second, Tang Cuo casually poured out the wine, then casually pretended to have drunk it in front of them.

As they saw him gulp it down, Qian Wei also happened to break into the room, and the two men flipped their attitude immediately.

Tang Cuo threw the [Fidget Cube of Dooms], and the one-in-six probability landed on ‘Skill blockade’, which showed that those two men’s luck was really not good today. As for the trick to stop Pei Pei, it was ‘Soul Intimidation’.

However, Tang Cuo couldn’t explain that to Qian Wei, so he only avoided the topic: “I got lucky.”

“Strong people always say they got lucky.” Qian Wei shook his head in admiration, then looked at Tall Man and Pei Pei on the ground. Tall Man had become unconscious, but Pei Pei was still struggling on the ground, clutching his spinning head and trying to get up, but he could only sway and stumble.

“What do we do with them now?” Qian Wei asked.

Tang Cuo hadn’t thought about it. At this point, the sight of Qian Wei reminded him of Chi Yan, so an idea suddenly gleamed in his mind. He took out the black iron cage and threw it on Pei Pei. With a flash of light, the black iron cage automatically magnified, shutting Pei Pei inside.

Qian Wei gaped with his mouth wide open, while Tang Cuo nodded with satisfaction. It seemed that the gift Xiao Tong gave them was really good.

“You, you two, what do we do now? Did Lawless really join forces with Scarlet?” At this time, the players outside the room finally had enough guts to step inside. They were nervous on their face and even more nervous in their heart.

Tang Cuo looked at them and narrowed his eyes slightly, quietly thinking of Jin Cheng.

He wondered if things were going on smoothly on his side.

At this point, in a dark alley about two blocks away from the Ruby Bar, Wen Xiaoming, with a solemn expression, was gazing at a woman clad in a red dress and standing in front of the exit.

He looked back, and a young man was blocking the way with a blade.

If Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng were here, they could tell right away that this person was Meng Yufei after his face was distorted, but Wen Xiaoming himself had never seen this face.

“It must be such a small world that I run into you here.” Scarlet Smiled. She felt it really was a coincidence that she ran into Wen Xiaoming when she just barely came from Zone F. She had to thank Meng Yufei for this. If it weren’t for Meng Yufei’s sharp eyes, Scarlet wouldn’t be able to spot him.

After all, she hadn’t seen him in a year, and she couldn’t remember very clearly about a minor character like Wen Xiaoming.

Wen Xiaoming’s heart sank deeper and deeper. He looked at Jiang He standing behind Scarlet and asked: “Are you on the same side as her? Are you the one behind all this mess?”

Jiang He frowned but didn’t speak. As an assassin, he discovered Wen Xiaoming way earlier than Meng Yufei. If Meng Yufei hadn’t intervened, Wen Xiaoming would have simply passed them by.

One time after another, it was always Meng Yufei.

With Scarlet beside him, the fire of revenge in Meng Yufei’s heart was once again ignited, burning bigger and bigger. Even if Zheng Yingying was here now, she might not be able to suppress him.

Where was Zheng Yingying?

Jiang He couldn’t help but think of her and Qian Wei, wondering if they had smoothly met with Jin Cheng and Tang Cuo. If Scarlet met Zheng Yingying, Jiang He found it impossible to predict the consequences.

“Do we kill him?” Jiang He said, his tone icy cold tone, carrying not the slightest bit of hesitation.

These words made Meng Yufei opposite him very happy, but Scarlet turned her head to look at him and thoughtfully raised an eyebrow. In the end, she curled her lips and smiled: “No, I’ve agreed to give Jin Cheng and Rong Yi 24 hours. The time hasn’t come yet, let’s ask him to come back with us as a guest.”

Jiang He: “Do you have a place you can go to?”

Scarlet: “It just so happens that I’ve taken in a bunch of little friends. Let them play with each other.”

Hearing this, Wen Xiaoming suddenly thought of a possibility and his face turned extremely pale.

F**king hell.

He just came out from that place. Would he have to go back again?

The author has something to say:

Wen Xiaoming: Poor me.