Chapter 2 : The Death of the Minority

Ming Po followed behind Lin Ya, walking slowly toward the only empty seat at the round table.

"Wait a moment."

Just as Ming Po walked past the glasses man, the suit-wearing glasses man suddenly reached out his hand and grabbed Ming Po’s arm firmly.

Lin Ya was instantly startled and looked back.

She knew very well how dangerous and crazy this eccentric person following behind her was, but the people around the table had no idea.

The anxiety of things suddenly spiraling out of control made her heart leap into her throat, at least in Lin Ya's mind, Ming Po was already half an ally to her. If they started a big fight here, even if it didn't drag her into it, it would make things incredibly troublesome.

"Um, well…"

Lin Ya subconsciously wanted to dissuade them from starting a conflict.

But when her gaze fell upon Ming Po’s face, she froze completely.

On his face, there was only the slight annoyance of being interrupted, along with a humble, gentle, and lively, warm smile.

Ming Po did not break away or resist; he merely leaned forward slightly, locked eyes with the man in the glasses, and asked earnestly, "Is there something wrong?"

If Lin Ya hadn't seen the scene outside the door earlier… even she would have thought he was a good-tempered pediatrician, a primary school teacher, or a children's television show host.

"You're not the one who put us in here, right?" the glasses man asked in a calm tone. "I mean, you're not one of the 'staff'."

"Of course not," Ming Po replied.

"Then did you see that guy just now?" The glasses man inquired slowly. "I mean, why didn't he come back? And why did you have to come in?"

Without a doubt, he was doubting Ming Po.

This was only natural. Compared to everyone else who had appeared around the round table at the exact same time, Ming Po, who had entered from the outside, was an "anomaly" from the very beginning.

If he wasn't a "host" or an "examiner," then it was entirely possible he was danger itself.

He stared intently at Ming Po, watching his eyes.

The smile on Ming Po's face faded slightly, and he actually looked a bit grieved.

"He is dead," Ming Po said, making no attempt to hide it. "Turned to flying ash… and now, not even a corpse is left behind. It is obvious that leaving this place is not permitted."

"Then," the glasses man refused to back down, "Why were you outside?"

"I don't know either. I am just as confused as you all are." Ming Po shook his head, saying sincerely, "Perhaps the organizer of this place anticipated long ago that this place would need a substitute? But I don't recommend continuing to break the rules."

Ming Po spoke seriously, "I was the only one waiting outside the door. If someone continues to break the rules, I don't know either… whether the rest of us simply won't have to participate in this game and wait for a new substitute to come in, or if…"

As he spoke up to this point, the other people at the table also revealed anxious expressions.

The glasses man, however, frowned slightly.

He vaguely sensed a few issues.

In truth, he probably already knew their situation, everyone sitting here should be someone who had already died. And they were gathered here presumably because someone wanted them to accomplish something, witness something, or prove something

But he didn't know the exact rules of "this place" or what dangers they would face.

However, from a motivational standpoint… he realized that this fellow had just subtly implied to everyone else that "if anyone leaves here again, everyone else left behind could be in danger."

Except for him, everyone else was basically in a state of confusion.

They lacked the necessary resolve to just escape this place outright. Therefore, during the stage of "seeking opinions from others," they would strongly veto such a course of action because of the psychological suggestion dropped by this strange man.

After all, they were already in a wavering state and were easily swayed by others.

Thus, this man's motive was to want us to push the game forward.

Is what he just said believable? If he isn't the host or a staff member, what other identity could he have

Pondering this, the glasses man glanced at Lin Ya.

Although the newcomer didn't know her, he recognized this girl.

Rather, the reason he could guess what kind of place this was was largely thanks to him recognizing Lin Ya.

Lin Ya, a Master's graduate in Applied Psychology from Tianjing University and a self-media blogger, was practically half a colleague to him. Her primary area of expertise was relationship coaching, specifically, hosting livestreams to help people analyze stories, judging situations like "does he/she still love you" or "he/she doesn't love you at all," and then giving a verdict.

She was a minor internet celebrity with nearly a million followers across all platforms.

Just a few months ago, because she was caught up in a massive storm of public opinion, she committed suicide by charcoal burning in her apartment after being banned. He had followed this case, and his own followers had even asked related legal questions during his livestreams.

Therefore, he knew that Lin Ya was absolutely not a simple character, let alone some innocent little white flower who fell into a trance the moment she saw a handsome guy. Consequently, when he was causing trouble for him just now, Lin Ya suddenly became nervous… most likely because these two had secretly reached some sort of cooperation.

He knew that if he continued to press the issue right now, it would probably displease the other people at the table.

So, although the glasses man still harbored suspicions toward Ming Po, and his suspicions had actually deepened a bit, he did not press any further. Instead, he let go of Ming Po.

"My apologies, sir." The glasses man nodded, putting on a smile to apologize first. "Please, sit down."

With that, he said to the people around them, "Since we're just sitting around, why don't we introduce ourselves? I'll go first, my last name is Chen, and I'm a lawyer. In my last memory, I couldn't dodge in time on the street and was sent flying by a large cargo truck…"

As he reached this point, the expressions on everyone's faces instantly varied. Yet, not a second person spoke up.

But Ming Po noticed that at least half of them either knit their brows tightly or pursed their lips.

—They didn't want to introduce themselves?

Or was it that they didn't want to explain their cause of death?

Ming Po sat down calmly in the only empty seat and blinked slightly.

The problem was, he couldn't remember how he died at all.

Even his memories regarding himself had become incredibly blurry… he couldn't even fully confirm what his occupation was.

Could it be that only I am special?

Thinking up to this point, Ming Po's heart stirred, and a line of thought formed.

He raised his hand slightly, wearing a gentle and cheerful smile as he spoke up, "Then I'll go second, my name is Ai Shiping, and I'm a screenwriter. As for the cause of death… although I can't remember it very clearly, it seems to be a fall from a high place."

Of course, it was impossible for him to give his real name.

Thus, Ming Po casually threw out a fake name that existed vaguely in his memory, and that cause of death was used to explain why he was wearing a coat.

The moment he stepped through the door, he had already noticed… the people here were wearing pajamas, short sleeves, or hospital gowns. Clearly, these clothes were what they wore right before they died.

His outfit, consisting of a trench coat and a scarf, actually restricted his general cause of death already.

After Ming Po spoke up, Lin Ya also smiled and followed suit, saying, "My name is Lin Xiaoyan, and I'm a university student. My cause of death should be… a gas leak?"

—She was lying.

Ming Po shifted his gaze slightly toward the young girl beside him.

It wasn't logic, but intuition. He directly judged that she was lying.

Immediately following them, the others also somewhat reluctantly stated their identities.

"My name is Yang Shuang," the middle-aged woman wearing round glasses sitting at table five spoke. "An English teacher. As for my cause of death… I don't really want to talk about it, sorry." At this point, her expression looked a bit grieved.

"My name is Liu Jianguo, and I'm a farmer," the dark-skinned old man said with a chuckle. "So this is what the underworld looks like? I died of an illness, cancer in my gut! My body feels quite a bit lighter and faster now, though."

He was the player furthest from the door, sitting at the twelve o'clock position.

"I am…"

With them breaking the ice, the others' chatter loosened up slightly.

But right at this moment, a sharp, wild, and incredibly energetic voice suddenly came from the center of the round table, interrupting their introductions.

"Sorry, sorry!"

"Hey, hey, hey, I'm just late, not absent, hold on a second, listen to me!"

The one speaking was not anyone around the table, but a strange black cat.

There was clearly nothing there just now; the table had been completely empty.

It had just appeared out of thin air, without being noticed by anyone.

Around this cat's neck hung three necklaces: a crimson eyeball, a mouth with thick lips, and a muscular, rough right hand.

The black cat sat securely right in the middle, while that eyeball orbited around it like a satellite, slowly scanning everyone.

Meanwhile, that mouth kept talking at an incredibly fast pace, like a host rapidly reciting excessively long

"We're already a bunch of dead people, what danger could there possibly be?" a young guy countered.

"Oh, really?" The cat, or rather, the mouth hanging from the cat's neck, revealed a bizarre smile. "Then what if I said… all of you have a chance to bring the dead back to life? Of course… not everyone gets the chance."

Hearing this, the atmosphere at the table shifted.

Silence washed over them like a tidal wave, and the previous lively atmosphere vanished without a trace.

As if enjoying this dead silence, that eyeball closed in ecstasy, while the right hand extended a finger to slide through the air like a conductor, and the mouth hummed a melodious tune: "Humph, humph…"

Suddenly, that hand pointed straight up toward the ceiling.

Everyone followed that hand and looked up intently, and Lin Ya couldn't help but let out a shriek.

—They saw that hanging from the ceiling was not some crystal chandelier at all!

Those were twelve faintly glowing marble giant swords!

Or, it could also be said that those weren't "swords," but massive stone stakes shaped like crosses!

The room here was very, very high, much higher than a normal room, and since it was a domed ceiling, it was easy to lose track of distance. Therefore, if one just glanced casually, they would only think it was a crystal chandelier.

But if one looked closely, they would discover that each and every one was at least seven or eight meters long, with a width wider than their own shoulders.

Ming Po's gaze followed upward as well, the corners of his mouth curving up.

Heh.

He suddenly understood why that kind-hearted fellow from earlier had gone out of his way to deliver warmth to him outside the door.

It was precisely when he lay down and saw the ceiling clearly that he became so terrified!

Just by noticing them, everyone couldn't help but feel their skin crawl, as if they could drop at any moment and crush them to death!

"Welcome to the Game of Deception, you who died wrongful deaths!"

That frantic voice came from the cat's back, sounding like an exceptionally hyper host, as if hosting the finals of a football match, horse racing, or an esports event: "Everyone, did you think of various inescapable death games?

But you all guessed wrong!

Our game has lenient and merciful rules… once you survive any single game, you can leave the venue!

You can leave the game at any time, and join the game at any time. As long as you have the entry fee ticket for the corresponding game, which is the corresponding chip… Yes, this is actually a game that 'requires a price to participate,' not a game that is 'mandatory to play'!

Our game offers abundant rewards, you only need to win at least one round to obtain the initial chips in your hands, which serve as your tickets for the qualifiers!

Each red-copper hourglass chip represents 'one hour' of time. You can insert this precious hour into your own past, modifying what you did during that hour, thereby achieving an incredible resurrection!

Our game possesses unbelievable power… look at the chips in your hands! With these chips of time, you can alter your destiny as you please!

Make a dead person come alive again, bring future knowledge to the past, skip the time spent learning to directly acquire a skill, kill anyone you dislike without leaving a trace

Altering the outcome of your own death? Piece of cake! Aside from that, don't you have other pasts that you regret and want to change? Think about it, things like 'if only I had done that back then,' 'if I had only known sooner'

There might be no medicine for regret in the mortal world, but what we sell here is precisely the medicine for regret!"

Hearing that voice, the expression on every single person's face changed.

Greed, jealousy, hatred, desire

Excitement, weeping, silence, sorrow

"…So that's how it is." Ming Po lowered his head, speaking in a low voice, "The chips… are used for this purpose."

It became so quiet here.

Ming Po's words were heard by everyone else as well.

It was like lighting kindling, the fire of desire was reflected in everyone's eyes.

Lin Ya pursed her lips tightly, her dark gaze scanning the table before looking up at the heavy crosses hanging above everyone's heads.

She stole another glance at Ming Po, but couldn't read any emotion from his face.

"Don't think about running away with the chips, okay?" The mouth gaped open mockingly, saying eerily, "Right now you're all still just 'wrongful dead,' you haven't become 'deceivers' yet, so you can't use the power of time."

As it spoke, the chips on everyone's bodies flew up automatically.

They each melted into clusters of red flames, condensing into various animal masks.

Lin Ya picked up the mask in her hands and examined it carefully.

I am a… rabbit? Why? Is it saying I'm weak?

Immediately after, she looked to her left and right.

What that "Lawyer Chen" held in his hand was a "fox," while that "Mr. Ai," who was as handsome as a celebrity yet completely unknown, seemed to have received a "gray wolf" in his hands.

Yang Shuang held a "sparrow," while Liu Jianguo had a "black bear."

At this moment, Lawyer Chen was also knitting his brows and thinking rapidly: Is the distribution of these masks random? Or is there some special underlying pattern

"If you are willing to participate in the game, then put on the mask." That frantic voice on the cat's back became gentle and patient, like coaxing children to open their textbooks. "Bet your very existence…

Remember, if you die here, no one will be able to remember you."

Not a single person left; one after another, everyone silently put on their animal masks.

This was only natural.

Everyone was already dead. If they didn't participate to change the outcome of their deaths, they would still end up dead.

Since it was death either way, they might as well give it a shot.

As for being remembered by the living… compared to life and death, that kind of thing didn't matter at all.

When Ming Po was the last one to put on his mask, that voice grew hyper once more, announcing loudly:

"The qualifiers officially begin!

The difficulty of this game is the lowest [Hour] tier game. The minimum completion reward is [one hour], and the maximum is [one day]. Furthermore, you will obtain the deceiver authority of the 'Red Copper of Time' level, enabling you to use time chips to alter history!

Then, welcome to…

"[The Death of the Minority]!!"

The mask seemed to be some sort of screen.

Every single person saw several lines of blood-red text surface before their eyes…

[The Death of the Minority]

[Multiplayer game, no faction restrictions, no intruders]

[Difficulty: 12 Hours]

[Maximum completion possibility: 11 people]

[This game contains no extra rules, hidden tasks, or special worldviews]

Immediately after, the game rules surfaced.

[Each round lasts ten minutes, including five minutes of narration time and five minutes of discussion time]

[During the narration phase, the narrator states their topic, presenting a question that 'can only have two answers,' and providing two different answers. Before the discussion phase ends, the others need to choose one of the two answers.]

[At this point, three possibilities exist:]

[1. If the answers given are different (i.e., the quantities of A and B are unequal), then the minority side will be executed]

[2. If the answers given are entirely identical (i.e., only A or only B), then the narrator will be executed]

[3. If the answers given are different but the quantities on both sides are equal (i.e., A=B), then no one will be executed]

[After that, in clockwise order, the next player becomes the new narrator]

[When all the survivors have been the narrator once, the game ends]

[The fewer the number of remaining people, the more abundant the completion rewards]

(End of Chapter)

This is basically a voting survival game where players try not to end up on the losing side.

Let's say there are 11 players.

How each round works

Step 1: One player becomes the Narrator

The narrator asks a question that has only two possible answers.

Example:

Question: "Tea or Coffee?"

A = Tea

B = Coffee

Step 2: Everyone else chooses A or B

The narrator provides the two options, and the other players pick one.

What happens after voting?

Case 1: One side is smaller (Minority dies)

Example:

A = 7 votes

B = 3 votes

The 3 people on B are the minority.

Those 3 people are executed.

Case 2: Everyone chooses the same answer (Narrator dies)

Example:

A = 10 votes

B = 0 votes

Everyone picked A.

The narrator is executed.

The game punishes the narrator if they fail to create disagreement.

Case 3: Perfect tie (Nobody dies)

Example:

A = 5 votes

B = 5 votes

Equal numbers on both sides.

Nobody dies.