Chapter 64

The game space still maintained its cylindrical shape.

The four of us were still sitting on swing boards, suspended in mid-air in a circular ring, but our positions had moved backward, and the distance between players had consequently increased.

The thin chains on both sides of the swing had been replaced with thick hemp ropes. Ultimately, hemp ropes couldn’t compare to iron chains, which made one feel a little less secure.

Many hemp ropes also hung down diagonally from above each person. Some had more, some had fewer. The ends of the ropes were positioned just a few centimeters diagonally above our heads, within reach of an outstretched hand.

The abyss-like void beneath our feet was gone, and we could finally see the ground. At this moment, we were about ten meters above the ground. A few wall lamps were embedded in the stone wall below, emitting a warm, bright yellow light that illuminated the very bottom of this ten-meter-deep pit—

Dense and long sharp metal spikes were embedded in the ground, at least a meter high.

Falling down would get a person pierced right through.

…This was worse than not being able to see what was below.

The four screens had turned into one giant square screen, lying in the middle of the four of us, about two meters away from everyone. It was at the same height as our swings, and by slightly lowering our gaze, we could clearly see what was displayed on it.

【Game Generated】

This large screen was quite thoughtful; this line of words appeared on the side facing each person, so those on the sides didn’t have to turn their heads to look, and those on the opposite side didn’t have to read it upside down.

Seeing this line of words, both Zhou Chenhao and Ling Feng couldn’t help but feel a little nervous, and Bai Xuechao was also a bit curious.

What kind of game would be generated?

【Encyclopedia Knowledge Quiz】

When these six words appeared on the screen, the four of us fell into a strange silence.

What the hell? Encyclopedia Knowledge Quiz?

Zhou Chenhao was the first to speak out and complain, raising his hands to clutch his head in frustration, “I’m not mistaken, am I? I said something like ‘this game should be simple, so that you can win by luck even without using your brain’, right? Is encyclopedia knowledge simple, or does it not require using your brain?”

Ling Feng said nothing. He felt that the game had become like this entirely because of his sentence, “Victory cannot be obtained through cheating.”

For a knowledge quiz, if you don’t know, you don’t know. Of course, you can’t cheat.

Bai Xuechao, however, laughed out loud. He felt this game was quite unexpected. Looking at the sharp spikes below, he could probably guess where the stimulation he had proposed lay.

Thinking of this, he looked up at the hemp ropes above him. Among the four people present, he had the most ropes, so dense they were packed together. It was very likely related to the number of his game coins.

Gong Ting was also quite dissatisfied with this game. Since childhood, he had been dragged around various casinos by his scumbag father and had never gone to school. An encyclopedia knowledge quiz was simply the death of him. But he couldn’t complain; this was his special ability, after all. He could only say, “Don’t be anxious, haven’t the game rules come out yet?”

As the last syllable of his words fell, the game rules slowly appeared on the screen, scrolling in a continuous loop.

The rules were even more deadly.

【This game is an encyclopedia knowledge quiz. It will randomly draw correct knowledge from the cognition of all players currently in Dream Game City (excluding the four players in this game) to generate questions. Current number of players in Dream Game City: 5547.】

【Each player in this game will contribute five rounds’ worth of game coins (250,000,000) to the prize pool.】

【The system has generated two ropes that control the player’s swing. For the four players on the field, a total of eight ropes have been generated.】

【The players’ remaining game coins have been automatically converted into ropes, one for every 50,000,000, and mixed with the two ropes generated by the system. Their appearance is indistinguishable.】

【Players will take turns answering questions, with a 30-second time limit for each question.】

【Answer a question correctly, and the player will receive 50,000,000 game coins from the prize pool; answer incorrectly or give up, and the player will need to pull off one of their own ropes. If the player does not pull off a rope within 10 seconds, the system will do it on their behalf in order, from left to right.】

【If a player pulls off a rope converted from game coins, they will be safe and will receive the 50,000,000 game coins that were converted into that rope; if a player pulls off a system-generated rope, one side of the rope of the swing they are sitting on will loosen.】

【If a player falls, they are eliminated from the game. All game coins held by the eliminated player will go into the prize pool. The remaining game-coin ropes of that player will also be converted back into game coins and go into the prize pool.】

【A question given up by a player will be passed on to the next player to answer.】

【This game has one and only one winner.】

【Players cannot help other players answer questions. Violators will have one rope pulled off by the system in order, from left to right.】

【Players can choose to voluntarily quit the game. The game coins they hold will be retained and will not go into the prize pool. Game coins already invested in the prize pool will not be returned.】

【Current Rope Count】

【City Lord: 12】

【Player A: 4】

【Player B: 6】

【Player C: 29】

【Player’s Remaining Game Coins】

【City Lord: 30,000,001】

【Player A: 29,999,998】

【Player B: 32,333,331】

【Player C: 41,666,670】

After reading the game rules, Bai Xuechao thought to himself that the number of hemp ropes was indeed related to the game coins.

Over there, Zhou Chenhao finished reading the game rules with a dumbfounded look on his face, his mind still a bit dazed. It took him a while to react, and he asked Ling Feng, “I have four safe ones here, right?”

Ling Feng let out an “Mm.”

Zhou Chenhao suddenly put on a woeful face and said, “I feel like even fourteen wouldn’t be enough for me to pull… Why is it an encyclopedia knowledge quiz? And it’s drawn from the cognition of all the players in Dream Game City, over five thousand five hundred people! Isn’t that a bit too ridiculous? Who knows what kind of weird knowledge they might have!”

With only thirty seconds per question, he felt that in just a few minutes, he would become a meat skewer down below.

Ling Feng also felt it was a bit difficult, but not because of the quiz, but because of the rules. He had a question he wanted to ask, “City Lord Gong, if I pose a question to the system, will I get an explanation?”

Gong Ting was inwardly feeling gloomy because of this game.

His Dream Game City had only been established and risen in A Port in the last two years, and because the nature of the first two floors was more akin to an arcade, there were a lot of young people inside. The rule prohibiting minors from entering meant these young people had at least finished high school, which meant that if the system drew from these young people, he might encounter a lot of book knowledge he didn’t know.

After being asked by Ling Feng, Gong Ting pulled himself out of his thoughts, managed to force a composed smile, and replied, “You will.”

Ling Feng asked, “System, I want to know how you determine ‘correct knowledge’? What if their cognition is to firmly believe that a wrong answer is the correct one?”

A pulsating wavy line appeared on the large screen, and it took a while before it answered.

【Player A, please rest assured. The questions drawn by the system will be verified against the cognition of other players. If multiple players have different correct answers for the same question, that question will not be entered into the question bank.】

Ling Feng understood, “Alright.”

【If other players have any more questions, please raise them. If there are no more questions, the game will begin in ten seconds.】

Zhou Chenhao immediately raised his hand, “Me, me, me!”

He quickly asked, “You tell me, where in this game can one ‘win by luck without using your brain’? Did it make a mistake?”

He thought, if it made a mistake, it should hurry up and be rebuilt to change the game.

【Answering Player B, the questions in this game are multiple-choice, with only two options. If you do not know the answer to a question, you can randomly choose one. The accuracy rate is 50%.】

Zhou Chenhao couldn’t help but curse, “Fuck.”

Did it require using your brain?

No, if you didn’t know the answer, you could just mindlessly pick one.

Could you win by luck?

Yes, a 50% probability was quite high.

Zhou Chenhao was speechless.

【If there are no other questions, the game will begin in ten seconds.】

“Wait, I have a question.” Bai Xuechao raised his delicate eyebrows and eyes, looking at the numerous hemp ropes above his head, so many they could be used as a mop. “Before the game starts, can I pull off my ropes? Will the pulled-off ropes turn back into game coins and return to me?”

The wavy line on the large screen went straight, as if it had crashed from Bai Xuechao’s question.

Xiao 6 felt that there was something wrong with this question and couldn’t help but ask, “Host, what are you trying to do?”

At the same time, Zhou Chenhao also felt that this question was not right. Who would ask if they could pull off ropes before the game even started?

He couldn’t help but say, “Your question is so strange.”

Ling Feng and Gong Ting had turned their gazes to Bai Xuechao as soon as they heard the question. They both felt that Bai Xuechao wanted to pull off his own ropes in advance, otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked this.

A few more seconds passed before content appeared on the large screen.

【Answering Player C, you can pull off ropes before the game starts. If you are safe, you can get 50,000,000 for each rope. Player C can do this, but the system does not recommend it. After the game starts, the number of ropes will not be restored. May I ask if Player C has any doubts about the rules? If there is a problem with the rules, the system will revise and improve them.】

“No, there’s no problem with the rules.” Bai Xuechao smiled after getting an affirmative answer and pointed to his own head, “The problem is up here with me.”

After saying that, under everyone’s watchful eyes, he casually pulled off a hemp rope.

In the dead silence, he released the hemp rope in his hand. The rope fell into the deep pit under the force of gravity, and he was safe.

【Player C has obtained 50,000,000 game coins.】

【Player C’s current game coin count: 91,666,670】

Zhou Chenhao’s eyes widened in shock as he asked, “Why did you pull off the rope?”

“I have too many ropes.” Bai Xuechao’s hand touched the end of another hemp rope, his slender five fingers grasping it as he continued to smile, “So I wanted to pull off a few.”

“A few? How many are you thinking of pulling off?” Zhou Chenhao couldn’t understand his train of thought at all. Even though they weren’t deeply acquainted, because what Bai Xuechao was doing was quite dangerous, he couldn’t help but try to persuade him, “You’ll have to pull them off later if you get a question wrong. If you pull them off now, what will you do later?”

Bai Xuechao didn’t answer him, and once again pulled off a hemp rope.

【Player C’s current game coin count: 141,666,670】

“…Are you crazy,” Zhou Chenhao said.

Hearing this, Bai Xuechao’s ruby-like, clear and beautiful eyes curved slightly. He grabbed another rope and pulled it down, smiling as he replied, “Guess?”

Ling Feng also spoke up, “Do you know what you are doing?”

While pulling off the hemp rope, Bai Xuechao answered him, “I’m very clear-headed. I just think having too many ropes isn’t stimulating enough.”

Ling Feng said no more; he respected Bai Xuechao’s choice.

At that moment, the sudden sound of applause caught their attention. It turned out to be Gong Ting, who was clapping.

Gong Ting praised, “How wonderful. I hope you can pull off a few more. I also think you have too many ropes, which isn’t quite fair to the rest of us.”

Gong Ting couldn’t wait for Dongfang Bubai to pull off all the ropes and fall straight down to be pierced by the metal spikes.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking.” Bai Xuechao smiled faintly and pulled off another one.

As if feeling that pulling them down one by one was too slow, he directly raised his hand, gathered a large handful, and pulled them all down!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep