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

"What a successful performance! Absolutely fantastic!"

"Senior, your acting is already at a professional level... No, even among professionals, you'd be considered quite outstanding."

"Lin Yu, you're terrifying. Every time I think your acting can't get any more exaggerated, after a while you manage to push it even further."

"That monologue just now was so compelling... Even though I've seen it many times during rehearsals, it still moved me."

"I almost forgot we were performing."

Backstage, after the curtain call, Lin Yu was surrounded by the other drama club members as he stepped off the stage, listening to everyone's excited remarks and praise.

These compliments weren't mere mutual flattery, but genuine, heartfelt reactions without exaggeration. The applause that could still be heard even backstage was proof enough of the performance's tremendous success.

Lin Yu didn't feign excessive modesty either. "I have been in good form lately. Everyone's been in great form too. Once the club president wakes up, I'll have her treat everyone to a meal."

"Awesome! Long live the club president! Long live Brother Lin too!"

Lin Yu smiled.

His acting had indeed improved considerably... The biggest perk of the Death Game was probably how much faster it made his acting improve.

After all, improvising under life-and-death pressure boosted efficiency far more than daily practice ever could.

"Alright everyone, disperse, do whatever you want. Go stroll around, anywhere is fine, just make sure you're back before nightfall."

Lin Yu said, then left the theater where the performance had taken place.

He took out his phone, picked a nearby restaurant, and sent Li Hua his location.

"I'm done with my stuff. I'm here now."

It was a Western restaurant that had opened not long ago. It seemed to bank on its elegant ambiance and photogenic decor as gimmicks, attracting many elaborately made-up young women and couples to dine.

Lin Yu ordered a light meal and sat down by the window. Before long, the meal was brought over. The plating was indeed exquisite, but the taste was very ordinary.

If one considered the price, it was completely unacceptable.

"Really not worth it."

Lin Yu drank a glass of lemon water to wash down the somewhat overly greasy sauce flavor in his mouth, then took out his phone and snapped a photo too.

Though the taste was mediocre, it was passable enough for filling his stomach.

As Lin Yu leisurely savored the food on his plate, before long, the restaurant's lovely glass door, resembling a florist's entrance, was pushed open.

Li Hua, wearing sunglasses, was dressed in a refined cyan Tang Suit. Though the style was archaic, it didn't appear heavy or burdensome. Instead, it gave off a novel, fashionable feeling.

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He supported himself with a wood-carved walking cane in one hand. His left leg didn't seem to be working very well. After pushing the door open, he slowly walked into the shop, glanced around, found Lin Yu's direction, and shuffled over to sit down at Lin Yu's table.

"What's wrong with your leg? And why are you wearing sunglasses?"

Lin Yu put down his knife and fork, speaking in surprise.

"Last night I went to clean up the Psychological Society's stronghold. Ran into their experts and took a bit of a loss," Li Hua said lightly. "My eyes can't handle stimulation right now. Light makes them tear up easily... The leg is fine, just a broken bone. But because a curse has eroded into the bone, I can't use recovery items to fix it."

"That brutal, huh," Lin Yu said in surprise. "From what I gathered on the forum, I thought it was a total victory."

"The propaganda has to spin it that way, and it was indeed a total victory. The Psychological Society's casualty ratio was far worse than ours. Their most critical Psyche Recorder was destroyed too," Li Hua picked up the water glass on the table and moistened his lips. "My little injuries are nothing."

"So, you came to find me not because you got hurt and feel unstable entering a dungeon, wanting me to carry you through a run?"

Lin Yu asked in return.

Li Hua straightened the sunglasses on his face and said seriously, "My minor injuries won't affect my performance, and the organization has already compensated for my losses. So I shouldn't need your help. Besides, I'm Third Tier... If I take you into a dungeon, it would only increase your difficulty."

Lin Yu looked at the serious Li Hua and couldn't help but laugh. "I was joking, Comrade Li Hua."

Li Hua maintained his serious expression. "I know. I'm pretending not to know, and using that to joke back at you."

Lin Yu was a bit surprised. "I thought you didn't joke around?"

"I'm not a robot. It's true that because I don't have many expressions, people always assume I lack a sense of humor," Li Hua said with feeling. "But actually, I listen to crosstalk and watch stand-up comedy quite often."

"Though I never took you for a robot, the crosstalk and stand-up comedy part really caught me off guard," Lin Yu quipped, then pulled the drifting topic back on track. "Alright, back to business... What exactly did you come to find me for?"

"There are some gains we got from the Psychological Society, trophy essentially," Li Hua said, producing a phone from his coat. "I can't open this thing. The encryption level is very high, and the technicians said forcefully cracking it carries huge risks. I originally planned to hand it to the Professor or ask the Game Master to crack it, but... I used my items and abilities to run a calculation. All the data indicated that handing this to you is the optimal solution."

"Though I'm puzzled as to why, I'll choose to trust the results of my deductions."

He placed the phone on the table and gently pushed it forward.

Lin Yu glanced at the phone. It was a common FruitPhone, but a model from two years ago.

After lightly tapping the screen, what popped up wasn't the normal phone unlock button, but a pure black background with a stretch of red garbled text. In the center of the garbled text were a few blank spaces, waiting for characters to be filled in.

Clearly, this was the method used to encrypt the phone.

"Since you put it that way, I'll hold onto it for now... But you didn't have to hand it to me in person."

Lin Yu said, looking at Li Hua.

Li Hua lightly tapped the table, and a round chip appeared and spun between his fingers.

"Anyway, I'm not far from here. I have an intuition that this thing is important. Since it's not an item, it can't be traded, and the... client doesn't have any trustworthy experts right now."

"After this big battle, a lot of people need to recuperate... So, it's more reassuring to make the trip myself."

Li Hua said. Lin Yu's expression didn't change, but his thoughts were churning.

No, what Li Hua said wasn't "complete." He clearly hadn't told the full truth, and he was deliberately hinting that Lin Yu should think about his words and behavior.

Soon...

Lin Yu spoke. "Alright, in any case, I'll carry this thing for now. If I find anything, I'll let you know... But this operation should have gone smoothly, right?"

"Overall, some things didn't match the plan, but I can sense that this was, after all, a hastily devised plan. There was nothing too abnormal. A mission involving only one organization, the Psychological Society, definitely wouldn't have anything unexpected."

Li Hua nodded and said.