The Earth is Online - Chapter 173

Chapter 173

One hour pa.s.sed and Tang Mo gently closed the door. He turned and found that the remaining six people were already waiting in the room.

Tang Mo quietly walked to Fu Wenduo’s side. There was no furniture in the central room, only the clock. However, everyone’s rooms were fully furnished. He didn’t know who took the chairs out of the rooms but only the chair next to Fu Wenduo was empty. Tang Mo went over and sat down

The seven chairs were placed in a circle. The three returnees sat together while the four members of Tang Mo’s team sat together.

The game was just beginning and the players already had their own groups.

The seven people looked at each other before the returnee young man said, “Since we have entered the game, we are teammates. This isn’t a PK game and it is better to cooperate with each other to clear the instance. First of all, I am Du De, a returnee.” He pointed to the golden number on his neck.

The time leaderboard was no longer updated but the number on their necks didn’t disappear. Unless there was a ‘pig’ in the returnees, everyone would know that the other person was a returnee.

One returnee introduced himself so Tang Mo said, “I am Tang Mo.”

The female returnee said, “I am Xing Siqi.”

“I am Chen Shanshan.”

……

All seven people introduced themselves. Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo didn’t hide their names because it had been exposed at the beginning by the black tower. They were dealing with returnees, not Jack. The returnees had experienced many games so hiding had no meaning. The other party must know their ident.i.ties.  However, the returnees’ expressions still changed when they heard Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo’s names.

In Eve’s Game, eliminating Fu Wenduo and Tang Mo could directly allow them to open Eve’s Reward and gain the respect of the underground people and Strange Circus leader.

The young man took a deep breath and said, “Since everyone knows each other, I will talk first. I am at the top of my food chain. Does anyone have any doubts?” He pointed to the ‘4’ on his face. It was the highest level among the players present. “This game is actually very simple. Like w.a.n.g Xiaotian said, violence is forbidden and it actually isn’t necessary. We can win as long as we discover the complete food chain that belongs to us.”

Was it that simple?

Tang Mo asked, “How do we find out the food chain?”

The young man stared vigilantly at Tang Mo. “Everyone has a clue. We can make guessed about the food chain according to these clues.”

Tang Mo couldn’t make any guesses about the food chain since he didn’t have a clue at all. He pretended not to know anything and asked, “No one can eat you. Then what do you want to do?”

The young man replied, “The best way to verify the next level that belongs to my food chain is to eat them. My clue told me who the next level after me is. I can eat the person’s ball and confirm it.”

“Are you sure you know who the next level is?”

A weak female voice rang out and everyone turned to look at Chen Shanshan.

The young man didn’t notice Chen Shanshan at all. He was always watching Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo. He looked at this little girl and said, “There is a high percentage that I know who the next level is.”

“Percentage…” Chen Shanshan’s voice was calm. “Do you know what the food chain is?”

The young man didn’t understand Chen Shanshan’s words. “Of course I know. It is a predator chain. For example, a big fish eats a small fish and a small fish eats a shrimp.”

Chen Shanshan stated, “Eating the wrong person will make you die of food poisoning. The black tower and Cinderella didn’t explain what would happen to the wrong person but there is no doubt that you will die when eating the wrong person. I don’t know everyone’s clues but I have seen my own. I am sure that I can’t find my food chain through this simple clue. I’m not even sure who my next level is. At the beginning of the game, the clues given by the black tower shouldn’t be simple enough to let you discover the level below you.”

The young man’s face changed slightly. “What do you mean?”

Fu Wensheng whispered, “It means you’re stupid. Shanshan can’t find the food chain through the clues. How can you possibly find it?”

The child spoke in a very low voice and only Fu Wenduo heard it. Fu Wenduo glanced at his brother and Fu Wensheng immediately shut his mouth, not daring to speak.

Chen Shanshan replied, “I mean, it is a problem that you are so certain. Do you really know what the food chain is?”

The young man’s expression became ugly at being refuted by such a small child. He was about to shout when Chen Shanshan pulled out a small book. The cover of this book was a photo of w.a.n.g Xiaotian. Cinderella smiled sweetly at the camera. It was clear that this book had come from the little girl’s room.

Chen Shanshan opened the book and said, “A food chain consists of at least two levels, the producer and the consumer. In other words, A→B is a complete food chain. We have seven people and there are four numbers on the ball. If the seven people are cla.s.sified according to ABCD, there is A1, A2, B1, B2… and the last one, you are the only D.”

The three returnees looked at the contents of the book and then stared at Chen Shanshan with astonishment.

In one hour, the little girl had drawn this complicated image.

The three returnees didn’t dare look down on Chen Shanshan and stared at her cautiously.

Chen Shanshan paid no attention to the observation and continued, “There is no doubt that you are the highest level D. The first rule of the game is that the number on each person’s ball determines the maximum food chain level of the other person. So I and…” Chen Shanshan paused and looked at the middle-aged man. “Between me and Liao Feng, there must be a person who is below you. This doesn’t mean that you’re not in other food chains.’

Tang Mo had long thought of this but the expressions of the young man and middle-aged man among the returnees changed. Fu Wensheng also looked stunned.

Chen Shanshan said, “You are level D but you might be level C in another food chain. This way, your next level is Fu Wenduo or Xing Siqi. For example, it is Tang Mo → Fu Wenduo → You. You might also be the second level B in another food chain. Your next level is Tang Mo or Fu Wensheng, e.g. Tang Mo → You. It is possible that out of the six of us, everyone is your next level and you can eat all of us. This is a food chain game but the food chain is never just one chain. It is a network.”

The young man’s mouth parted as he understood Chen Shanshan’s meaning. He thought of his own clue again and his expression became unsightly. He didn’t expect a calm female voice to say, “I have an an example. Your clue is ‘the person below you is a woman.’”

Du De stared at Chen Shanshan with shock.

In the middle of the s.p.a.cious room, the little girl was sitting right next to the clock. It was unknown when she started but she kept staring silently at Du De. The young man looked at her with a startled expression. Chen Shanshan smiled, finally looking like a child. “This is just an example. I haven’t seen your clue and you didn’t tell me.”

Du De’s heart was beating very fast. He calmed his complicated emotions and heard himself saying, “…I know.”

Chen Shanshan smiled and continued, “This clue seems to tell you that I am your next level. It is because in the C level, I am the only girl. However, it doesn’t tell you if this person is in the second or third level. You might have two food chain. The first one is Tang Mo → Fu Wenduo → Liao Feng → You or the second one is Fu Wensheng → Xing Siqi → You.  At this point, your next level isn’t me but her.” The little girl pointed at the young woman. “She is also below you and a woman.” This way, you will die of food poisoning if you eat me. Now… are you sure you know who is below you?”

Du De opened his mouth and wanted to talk, but he couldn’t say anything.

Tang Mo quietly watched this scene, the corners of his mouth slightly raising.

The young woman looked around for a long time before speaking. “We all understand what you mean. I also thought about it. The number of everyone’s ball doesn’t mean you only belong to that level. Players over level three might have more ident.i.ties. I can’t see the way to clear the instance at the moment but there is no doubt that the clues are the key.”

The middle aged man interjected, “The black tower doesn’t allow us to tell people our clues. The speaker and the person who is told will be erased.”

The young woman glanced at you. “You don’t need to say the clues in the small ball but you can reveal something else. I will be first. My clue tells me that there is a high probability of this little boy being my next level.”

Fu Wenduo asked in a low voice, “Is this secondary reasoning?”

The young woman didn’t deny it.

Fu Wenduo raised his eyebrows. “My next level is Tang Mo.” After a moment, he added, “The odds are high.”

The middle-aged man honestly told them, I am the third level. According to what you said, four people are likely to be below me. I can’t determine it yet.”

Chen Shanshan said, “There is no point in saying the result of my clue.”

The young man didn’t speak.

Tang Mo directly said, “My clue also has no meaning.”

The three returnees glanced warily at Tang Mo. It was obvious that none of them believed his words.

It was finally Fu Wensheng’s turn.

The little boy glanced firmly at Fu Wenduo, his lips slightly pale. “I think the one above me is Big Brother.”

The next second, a female voice suddenly said, “You are lying! The one above you is me!” The young woman’s eyes were bright. Fu Wensheng was shocked by her words. HIs lips trembled as he directly retorted, “No, my superior is Big Brother. The clue told me this.”

The young woman licked her lips and laughed. “Child, do you know what my ability is?”

Tang Mo’s heart tensed.

The young woman laughed. “You are lying. I am certain about it. My clue didn’t accurately tell me that you are my subordinate. But obviously, your clue told you that your superior is probably me. This probability might be more than 70%. It is worth a try…”

The young woman smiled slightly. She took out the small ball from her pocket and the number 2 on the ball aimed at Fu Wensheng’s eyes.

She was opening her mouth to say something else when a cold dagger arrived at her neck. The young woman turned to look at the man in black. She didn’t see when Fu Wenduo had come behind her and the dagger was right against her neck. It would slit her throat with the slightest movement.

The young woman exclaimed, “What are you doing?”

Chen Shanshan stood up, “You want to eat him?”

The young woman’s face changed. “I don’t.”

Chen Shanshan stated, “You want to do this.”

“…”

After a while, the young woman angrily said, “If I don’t eat him then how can I be sure he isn’t my next level? Do you want me to directly state my food chain? I will fail as long as it is the wrong food chain. Don’t you intend to eat the next level after figuring it out to determine if it is true or not? There are many uncertainties so I naturally have to verify it first. Otherwise why would this game have the ‘eating’ rule! I just want to eat his ball to verify the answer. I didn’t want to do anything to him.” Then she said to Fu Wenduo, “You want to kill me? The game prohibits violence. You will be directly wiped out by the black tower!”

There were few people who weren’t afraid of death. Fu Wenduo seemed to sense something and smiled.

The young woman sneered, “If you aren’t afraid of death then come on. The black tower will erase you the moment you use violence against me.”

Tang Mo suddenly understood. “Do you think he can’t kill you before he is wiped out by the black tower?”

The young woman’s eyes narrowed and she didn’t speak.

“I can kill you instantly in at least 19 ways.” The dagger was at the woman’s neck and Fu Wenduo had great control. The woman felt that the dagger would cut her with every breath but it didn’t scratch her. She nervously held her breath as she heard the man whisper, “Do you want to try it?”

The young woman was still frightened when the dagger was removed. She watched as Fu Wenduo stepped back towards Tang Mo.

The moment that Fu Wenduo pulled out the dagger, some things were determined.

The four Earth players wouldn’t let the returnees eat them and the returnees wouldn’t let the Earth players eat them.

They split into two teams and were on guard against each other.

The situation was at a deadlock. There were too few clues that even Chen Shanshan couldn’t find the right food chain. Fu Wenduo bent down and whispered in Tang Mo’s ear, “It has no meaning?”

He was asking about Tang Mo’s previous words that the clue was meaningless.

Tang Mo couldn’t tell Fu Wenduo the contents of his clue and wasn’t sure how much he could say. He thought for a moment before replying, “G.o.d is very discriminatory. It is 3NT so the direct deduction is unknown.”

Fu Wenduo was slightly startled. He recovered and understood Tang Mo’s meaning.

“We rarely do 3NT.”

This time it was Tang Mo’s turn to be startled. He had used the Bridge game as an a.n.a.logy to briefly explain the clue he G.o.d.

Tang Mo recalled, “We seem to have done 3NT three or four times… was it three times?”

Fu Wenduo was certain. “No, it was two times and you were the one who did it both times.”

Tang Mo smiled helplessly.

In the rules of Bridge, 3NT was generally the smallest contract. Even if they won the game, the 3NT contract meant they would get fewer points. Fu Wenduo had a lot of ambition and never did 3NT. He liked to do the 4S which gave the most points and he sometimes pursued a grand slam. Tang Mo was more steady in his wins. The two people often played cards today and were famous on a certain Bridge website in China. However, their points weren’t particularly high because Fu Wenduo either won with a lot of points or lost a lot of points.

At the time, Tang Mo felt that the person sitting on the other side of the computer was an impulsive and prideful person. That’s why he never thought Fu Wenduo was Victor despite them teaming up for a long time.

Fu Wenduo wasn’t a person with big ambitions.

…Or did he not see this person clearly?

Tang Mo quietly watched Fu Wenduo. This man might really be ambitious.

…He was ambitious? Then what was his ambition?

As Tang Mo recalled the scene of them playing cards, Fu Wenduo was thinking about something as well. The par tacitly decided to put this matter aside for a while. The players had clearly been divided into two teams and Tang Mo didn’t hide it. The four of them got together and spoke their clues in a roundabout way.

Fu Wensheng was about to open his mouth when Chen Shanshan interrupted, “Xiao Sheng, you don’t have to say it. We can probably guess what your clue is and this will prevent  you from accidentally saying too much.” Fu Wensheng nodded.

After the previous conversation, the clue of two out of seven players was obvious. The young man thought his next level was Chen Shanshan and there was a good chance his clue was ‘the next level is a woman.’ Fu Wensheng’s clue meant that the level above him should be the young woman. In other words, it was Fu Wensheng → Xing Siqi. Of course, he might be in two food chains so it might be Fu Wensheng → Fu Wenduo as well.

Chen Shanshan speculated, “Out of the seven players, the four players in the first and second level can determine their position. There are a total of nine orders. However, the people in the third or fourth level can’t determine their position.  Based on the situation, apart from the female returnee…” The child quietly watched Xing Siqi. “The other two returnees can’t determine who the next level is.”

Tang Mo nodded. “Based on the information we got so far, it is impossible to clear the game.”

There was too little information and too many possible orders.

The food chain wasn’t a single food chain. The seven people were divided into the four levels of ABCD. The three people at the CD level might have multiple positions.  For example, Chen Shanshan had the number 3 on her face but this didn’t mean she was only on the third level. She might also be on the second level.

Tang Mo thought about it. “The food chain will become very complicated when it is a network of chains. The thing we need most is to get clues from other people.”

Fu Wensheng said, “However, the black tower told us that we can’t tell other people our clues.”

Tang Mo’s brow tightened.

This game shouldn’t be like this. If this was the case, there was almost no way to clear the game. If it really got to that point, he was afraid there was only one way to clear it. But that method…

Tang Mo raised his head and found that Fu Wenduo was looking at him. He turned his head and met Chen Shanshan’s gaze.

The three people were silent.

Tang Mo sighed softly. He held the small parasol and stood up. He was just about to get up when a bell rang.

There were 12 rings and the seven players were immediately on guard.

There was the sound of the carriage outside the door. Tang Mo looked at the clock in the room with astonishment. He didn’t know when but it was already pointing at the number 12.

Chen Shanshan was shocked. “How can it be so fast?”

Yes, how could it be so fast? All of them had been conscious of the time. Everyone knew that Cinderella meant midnight so Chen Shanshan had been paying attention to the clock from the beginning. However, only a few minutes pa.s.sed since she last looked and it reached 12 o’clock in the blink of an eye.

Fu Wenduo stared coldly at the huge door.

There was a creak and the door slowly opened. The gorgeous pumpkin carriage drove slowly through the door. Tang Mo was prepared when the door opened and a beautiful crystal shot caught everyone’s eyes. Tang Mo subconsciously perceived that something was wrong while everyone had a moment of surprise when the beautiful girl got out.

w.a.n.g Xiaotian wore a beautiful blue dress and covered her lips as she laughed. “Wow, look at your expressions. Do you think I would meet you in ragged clothes? That is just a fairy tale! I’m the most popular female host in the Underground Kingdom, w.a.n.g Xiaotian!” Cinderella walked to the middle of the group and reached out, setting the clock back to  8 o’clock.

Once she did this, she glanced around and smiled sweetly. “Stinky humans, do you know your food chain yet? It is the first night and you have two more nights. Then I will become a princess and have no time to play this childish game with you. You will be left in the room to fend for yourselves.”

Chen Shanshan directly told her, “It is impossible to clear this game.”

w.a.n.g Xiaotian glared. “What did you say?”

Chen Shanshan calmly replied, “I’m saying that based on the clues we got, it is impossible to pa.s.s the game unless I am lucky.”

w.a.n.g Xiaotian retorted angrily, “You humans, you are stupid yet you blame my game! Of course my game can be cleared. The whole kingdom knows that w.a.n.g Xiaotian never lies.”

Fu Wensheng whispered, “Who knows that you never lie?”

Tang Mo suddenly said, “How do we clear the game?”

w.a.n.g Xiaotian reflexively replied, “Find the food chain you are in according to the clues and you can pa.s.s the game…” She suddenly covered her mouth and blinked. “Hey, what did I just say?”

Fu Wenduo added, “We only know our own clue and can’t know other people’s clues. It is impossible to clear the game.”

w.a.n.g Xiaotian replied bluntly, “Don’t think so simply. If you pa.s.s Darwin’s Test then you can get clues about other food chain positions!”

Tang Mo’s eyes widened. “Darwin’s Test?”

w.a.n.g Xiaotian laughed, revealing her two small tiger’s teeth. “Oh, did I forget to tell you?” Every night, you can take Darwin’s Test and improve your food chain position. The food chains have been set up and can’t change. However, the positions can change. The mouse can become a tiger and the tiger can become a mouse. If you get first in Darwin’s Test…” w.a.n.g Xiaotian pointed at Tang Mo. “You can evolve to the highest level and get a clue ball. Didn’t I say this? Ah, I must’ve been too busy and forgot.”

Her mouth said this but her gloating smile showed that w.a.n.g Xiaotian hadn’t forgotten. She deliberately didn’t say it to see the humans’ expressions of surprise.

The young woman asked, “What is Darwin’s Test?”

w.a.n.g Xiaotian wondered, “Are you sure you want to partic.i.p.ate?”

The seven people nodded without hesitation.

The game had hit a deadlock. If they didn’t take part in Darwin’s Test then they couldn’t get other clues and clear the game.

w.a.n.g Xiaotian smiled strangely. She was clearly very excited. This familiar smile made Fu Wenduo’s eyelids twitch. He saw w.a.n.g Xiaotian clap her hands and a huge camera fell from the ceiling. No one knew when it showed up. Then dazzling spotlights shone on the seven players in the middle of the room.

w.a.n.g Xiaotian’s right hand moved and a diamond microphone appeared in her hand. She jumped to the roof of the pumpkin carriage. Instead of looking at the seven players, she looked up at the huge camera.

“What are the top nine unsolved mysteries of the Underground Kingdom?”

“Is the circus leader really broke?”

“Is the Eve that the black tower monsters looking for among the returnees or Earth survivors?”

“Thump thump thump, everything exists in the Happy Question and Answer! h.e.l.lo everybody, I am your favorite Underground Kingdom TV host, w.a.n.g Xiaotian. Today is another happy question and answer time. This is the 8,314th Happy Question and Answer show! We are playing Cinderella’s Food Chain game. Let’s see who are the lucky people who have entered the game today?”

w.a.n.g Xiaotian smiled sweetly at the camera. In the Happy Question and Answer, there are 12 questions. The correct answer will give points while the wrong answer won’t give points.”

w.a.n.g Xiaotian waved her fingers and the camera pointed to the seven players in the centre of the room.

Apart from Fu Wenduo, the remaining six people were stunned. Tang Mo quickly recovered and his eyes narrowed. He saw a red answer b.u.t.ton rising from the floor in front of every player. There were a total of seven answer b.u.t.tons side by side.

w.a.n.g Xiaotian smiled slyly. She sat on the roof of the pumpkin carriage and waved her legs. “This is a special Happy Question and Answer Show. I am w.a.n.g Xiaotian, the gold medal host. I think my lovely audience will see that this is a show where I earn my salary. There were two players among the seven whom the audience in front of the TV must know. Their fame isn’t small. As for who they are…”

“I won’t tell you. Figure it out yourself.”

w.a.n.g Xiaotian wanted to speak more nonsense but she saw the clock and regretfully said, “The time is limited. Then we will officially start~”

It all happened suddenly. w.a.n.g Xiaotian inexplicably appeared, the camera fell from the sky and there was the Happy Question and Answer show they had never heard of. However, w.a.n.g Xiaotian didn’t give them time to recover. The players were still stunned when w.a.n.g Xiaotian cried out, “Dang dang dang, listen to the question! The first question, the underground…”

“Buzz!”

w.a.n.g Xiaotian jerked with fright. “So fast!” She looked at Tang Mo with amazement.

Even Fu Wenduo hadn’t responded. Tang Mo actually pressed the answer b.u.t.ton before w.a.n.g Xiaotian said the question.

w.a.n.g Xiaotian was a bit embarra.s.sed. “Guest Tang Mo, I haven’t asked the question yet. How can you press the b.u.t.ton? Do you know the question I’m going to ask?”

Tang Mo replied reasonably, “I don’t know.”

“Hah?”

Tang Mo explained, “You just said that the right answer will give points and the wrong answer won’t give points. You didn’t say there was a punishment for giving the wrong answer. Is there a punishment?”

w.a.n.g Xiaotian, “…No.”

Tang Mo replied lightly, “Then I will grab the right to answer first.”

The three returnees who just reacted, “…”

There was still this?

The author has something to say:

Xiao Fu: Wait, I don’t know what you mean. I don’t understand at all. Brother, don’t just make eye contact with sister-in-law and Sister Shanshan. Tell me!

#Why am I like a fool in this team of four. I’m asking other stupid teammates to go online QAQ!#

The other three teammates: We’re not stupid. [Smiles]

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