Death Game: Starting as a Trickster, Pretending to Be a God

"So that's it... that camera-like symbol wasn't surveillance at all, it was a damn independently-targeting turret..."

"Good thing Old Yao reacted quickly and dragged us all underground to bypass them... and thank goodness those turrets don't have the ability to attack underground like the guards do."

"Anyway, now I know about this, there shouldn't be any more problems going forward!"

...

"Careful, careful, careful, careful, careful - it's about to release that mental shockwave again!"

"Holy crap, Old Yao, get out of the way, what are you doing, are you crazy... oh, Old Yao, you're a beast! Beautifully done! It fell down!"

"Hahaha, I didn't even notice there was a broken hole in that panel... anyway, you're amazing! We really owe you one!"

"I'm really sorry, everyone... this 'guard puppet' seems to have completely lost control due to mutation and ended up wandering here, so it wasn't shown on the map at all."

"There shouldn't be any more danger going forward."

...

"Holy shit, holy shit, that was close!"

"This thing is too insidious, it actually made us subconsciously want to kill ourselves... that's terrifying!"

"Thank goodness Old Yao had sharp eyes and spotted that loach-like thing hidden in Kitty's pants pocket..."

"Don't be modest! Don't be embarrassed! No matter what circumstances you developed this 'occupational habit' under, you objectively saved all of us!"

"Anyway, this thing must have slipped out from the laboratory next door... I was careless. While having the security system completely disabled means no guards or turrets will bother us, the experimental subjects contained here can also escape..."

"I really didn't think this thing could survive this long, that was indeed my mistake... but I'll keep an eye out for this kind of thing from now on."

...

"I... holy shit!"

"We were just in an illusion?!"

"The area near the main building really is dangerous... what caused it?"

"It was actually that instrument... damn, this thing wasn't recorded on the map at all!"

"Thank goodness for you, Old Yao - if it weren't for you, we really would've been done for!"

...

After enduring countless perils, the group finally arrived before the main building.

Just as shown on the map, this main building was indeed the tallest structure.

And Lin Yu's group was now showing clear signs of exhaustion.

Kitty, who was already injured, and Wang Jiu, who had expended a great deal of energy, were now just about at their limits.

Although they hadn't encountered any trouble as major as the "starfish invasion" from earlier, crisis after crisis, one narrow escape after another, kept coming at them relentlessly, making it hard to keep up.

Even worse... because it felt like boiling a frog in lukewarm water or cutting meat with a dull knife, the mental pressure it brought was actually even greater.

And throughout this journey...

Without Old Yao, it wouldn't have just been a matter of "narrow escapes" for them!

After all, without Old Yao, even though each of these crises wasn't particularly big on its own, they really wouldn't have been easy to handle - there was a real chance they would have capsized in the gutter.

So...

After this stretch of travel, the evaluation of "Old Yao" had risen to an extremely high level.

Granted, his frontal combat ability was clearly lacking - he could barely defend against enemy attacks and could only flee in disarray.

But...

As a 『Player』, his abilities outside of frontal combat were far too solid!

Alert and keen-witted by nature, willing to memorize massive amounts of information, bold yet careful when facing real crises, and most importantly, his stealth and escape abilities were top-notch!

This guy as a "teammate" was simply too comfortable to have.

As long as it wasn't a particularly brutal 【Slaughter】 type dungeon, any Survival, Puzzle, or Competition dungeon would become incredibly easy with Old Yao along.

Even for Slaughter dungeons, having him as support wasn't a bad choice either.

Initially, they had thought this skinny, dark-skinned kid had only gotten in through 『Tycoon』's trust and that his actual abilities might not be much to speak of.

But...

Old Yao had already proven through this journey the statement that most players on the forum had only seen in "theory."

"Combat ability is certainly important, but the criteria for evaluating a player absolutely cannot be limited to combat ability alone."

The origin of this quote could no longer be verified, but it was said to have come from...

『General』 of 『Order』!

Especially Kitty - she vaguely felt reminded of some of the top experts of the 『Player Mutual Aid Association』 when she looked at Old Yao.

"This guy gives me a feeling... almost like Old Man 『Radish』..."

Kitty mused, but ultimately didn't voice this high praise out loud.

And as Old Yao's standing and influence rose steadily, it naturally meant that Fu Luo's command authority declined once again.

Although everyone might have more or less felt it was Fu Luo's fault the first or second time, when the same problems repeated themselves over and over, nobody really thought Fu Luo was choosing routes poorly or commanding ineffectively anymore.

Wang Jiu and Kitty were more inclined toward the two possibilities of "this ruin is just too cursed" and "we're really just unlucky."

But one thing was one thing - even though they knew this wasn't Furbollo's fault...

Since Old Yao was indeed far more in his element within this ruin, they naturally had to listen to the "specialist."

The more dangerous the environment, the more important the specialist's opinion - that was an unshakable truth!

"Old Yao, should we go straight through the main entrance?"

Wang Jiu crouched behind a section of collapsed wall and asked in a low voice.

At the moment, Lin Yu's group was hiding in a ruin outside the main building of this facility - after getting closer to the main building, quite a few structures in the complex had collapsed.

After confirming this ruin was safe, it truly was an excellent hiding spot.

And the reason Wang Jiu asked this...

was because the main entrance of the main building was indeed wide open.

The two heavy metal partition doors stood open just like that... but the surveillance and security systems above them were clearly still operational.

So Wang Jiu was somewhat uncertain whether barging through that main entrance would bring any danger.

"Should we try going underground again?"

Kitty suggested in a low voice.

Lin Yu shook his head. "No, going underground earlier was a matter of expediency... and thank goodness the security system inside that building was completely shut down, or we would've been in trouble."

"This main building is different... it's the most important building here, so it might have some independently running power system - even if it wasn't fully preserved, if only part of it is active, crawling in there would be plenty miserable for us."

"Besides... whether there's even a suitable opening underground is still up in the air."

Kitty nodded, then said with some worry, "Then... surely we're not really going through the main entrance?"

After a moment of deliberation, Fu Luo spoke up, "Why not? I think since the main entrance is already open, it shouldn't be a problem!"

And after hearing Fu Luo's statement...

Wang Jiu and Kitty instantly came to a judgment.

"Alright, let's look for a small door or side entrance!"