Li Tao: "!!!"
Li Tao's lefts went soft. He almost collapsed from the sofa and fell to the ground.
At the same time, the familiar task panel was displayed in front of everyone's eyes.
[Task name: Warm game time.
Task introduction: Yue Ren finally has a vacation. For a person with social fear, the skill of social interaction is too difficult. He lacks companionship and hopes to have someone to play a game that makes people feel happy. As his new friend, are you willing to fulfill the simple wish of an ordinary corporate drone?
Task reward: Yue Ren's favorability +100.
Hidden effect: Unknown (???).
Do you want to accept the mission? Yes or no.]
Social fear?
It was more like a social 'terrorist.'
From any point of view, this 'pleasant game' didn't look like the 'simple' wish of an 'ordinary corporate drone.'
Li Tao could feel an unprecedented alarm from his personal skill. His intuition told him that the NPC in front of him was more dangerous than anyone he had encountered before.
Li Tao's first reaction was to remind the others not to agree easily. Then before he could speak, he heard that Chi Ting had already answered, "Okay, I haven't played games with so many friends before. But this time, it is mainly for you to get acquainted with each other. I will be a companion at most. How about it?"
From such a tone of expectant emotions, this person's eagerness could be felt even without looking over.
Fortunately, Chi Ting didn't forget the rules of the game in this instance. He was still uncertain about the degree to which the assimilation judgment could be affected by external force. Therefore, he still maintained a trump card. He said that he would play with them, but he didn't directly choose to accept the task.
Yue Ren looked up when he heard this and glanced over., but he behaved very well and said, "Of course."
The other two heard Chi Ting saying this and decided to participate in the game without hesitation. Then they found that Li Tao was frozen there without moving and turned their heads doubtfully. "What's wrong with you?"
Yue Ren also smiled slightly and looked straight at him. "Yes, what's wrong?"
The sudden feeling of being restrained by the god of death made Li Tao inexplicably recalled what Chi Ting said. [You will die if you can't increase his favorability and go downstairs. Since you will die anyway…]
Yes, he was going to die anyway!
For the sake of gaining enough favorability points by completing one task, Li Tao closed his eyes and directly went all out. "Isn't it just a game? Tell me, what are we playing? I will play!"
In the midst of his crazily beating heartbeat, he heard Yue Ren laugh. Then a deck of playing cards was placed on the table.
Okay, wasn't it just playing cards?
Li Tao sighed with relief.
Chi Ting knew cards. He had seen it in books, but he couldn't play it.
He thought for a moment after seeing Yue Ren take out the cards. Then he asked, "I don't know this thing. Can I learn it now?"
"Don't worry, it isn't difficult." Yue Ren glanced at him with a smile. Then Yue Ren pulled out a Joker and the 1, 2, 3, and 4 of Hearts in turn.
Seeing that he put the other cards back. Xiang Xianwan made a strange 'huh' sound. "Is it enough to use these five cards? The others aren't needed."
"It is enough." Yue Ren smiled very gently. Then after briefly shuffling the cards, he spread them out one by one in front of everyone. "I will say it all. The rules of the game we will play are very simple. Have you heard of the King's Game?"
There was a crack. Li Tao, who had just calmed down, vaguely heard the sound of his expression cracking.
Sure enough, his intuition wasn't wrong. Playing games with this man was really going to kill them…
Chi Ting stared at the slightly wrong expression on the other people's faces.
However, his knowledge of playing cards was limited to recognizing all suits. He couldn't realize where the problem was for a while, so he could only put on a very modest attitude and ask shamelessly, "I haven't heard of it. How to play?"
Yue Ren glanced at him and said very patiently, "Come, I'll teach you."
Chi Ting leaned over very naturally. "Huh?"
Listening to the simple teaching carried out here, Li Tao had already put on a mask of pain. He covered his face and stopped looking at the two figures who seemed to be putting together a jigsaw puzzle like the eight trigrams.
The rules of the King's Game were indeed very simple. The players of the game only needed to draw a card. The player who drew the Joker got the 'king' status and could issue any instructions to the other players who drew the numbers '1~4.' They could only obey unconditionally, or they would be punished.
In this game, the 'king' had absolute rights. All players except the 'king' hid their cards, so the process of releasing tasks was actually a blind selection. This also made this type of game where friends usually gathered together to make it more interesting and exciting.
However, the most important thing now was that it was too exciting once this seemingly ordinary game was put into the current unlimited world, plus there was a real 'ghost' among them!
After listening to Yue Ren introducing the rules of the game, Chi Ting let out an 'oh' sound and smiled slightly. "It should be."
"Then we will begin."
The two of them had moved slightly closer when the rules were introduced just now. At this time, Chi Ting sat back in his seat in an upright manner. Yue Ren glanced at him slightly when the distance was opened. Then he pushed the cards on the tablet to the others. Such an attitude and behavior was particularly gentlemanly. "You guys choose first."
Li Tao thought that the only breakthrough point of this game was that they couldn't let Yue Ren get the Joker card.
Obviously, the others thought the same. They instinctively exchanged glances with each other.
Li Tao frantically prayed in his heart, "Namo Amitabha Buddha, Bodhisattva's blessing. Act quickly and efficiently. Amen." Then he closed his eyes and quickly drew one. He took a deep breath before daring to open his eyes bit by bit.
Then he saw that the suit of the playing card in his hand was the 2 of Hearts.
It wasn't the Joker.
Li Tao felt his heart suddenly becoming cold. He could only look at the others for help, but…
Half of his heart was completely cold.
"Didn't any of you draw the Joker? You aren't very lucky."
The suit in Chi Ting's hand was the A of Hearts. He realized that no one was making a sound. Then when he looked back, he found that Yue Ren had already picked up the last remaining card and displayed it in front of everyone.
The red Joker card stimulates everyone's vision.
The corners of Yue Ren's mouth were still slightly curved up. Laughter emerged clearly in the silence. "It seems that my luck isn't bad. In this round, I am the 'king.' If you are ready, can I issue orders already?"
At this time, he didn't forget to ask for other people's opinions. He seemed quite polite.
"I will ask first. What is the punishment if we fail to complete the order?" Xiang Xianwan asked in a low voice.
"Punishment…" Yue Ren looked serious for a moment before laughing silently, "I don't know. I haven't thought about it yet."
Sometimes, the unknown was the scariest.
Xiang Xianwan inexplicably felt numb and was completely silenced.
Finally, after thinking about it, Yue Ren drew today's first lucky audience member. "First of all, let 3 of Hearts go back to their home alone to find a comb and come back."
Before the cards were revealed, no one knew who the 3 of Hearts was.
In the silence, Xiang Xianwan slowly stood up from her position. In just a minute, her face was already a bit whiter than before.
Go home and grab a comb.
In reality, it was a requirement that wasn't considered a big dare, but now they weren't in reality. At this point in time, the sounds of various NPCs wandering back and forth in the apartment building could still be heard.
In addition, next door to Xiang Xianwan was Gloria, the girl who almost turned her into a doll.
It felt like Xiang Xianwan had exhausted all her strength just standing up from her position.
She didn't dare to go, but she also didn't dare to not go. After all, she had no idea what type of punishment would be waiting for her if she couldn't complete the order.
She was just a newcomer and didn't have the personal skill that Li Tao had acquired after clearing the instance many times.
Then she remembered Li Tao saying that this man was very dangerous. Someone who could make Li Tao afraid like this definitely wasn't someone she could afford to offend. Yes, she had to go. It was just that she still clearly remembered the sensation of Gloria's fingers on her body… The moment she thought about it, her body couldn't help trembling.
One step, two steps.
In addition to trembling with every step, Xiang Xianwan forgot to breathe for a while.
This was until there was a hand on her shoulder.
The gentle warmth seemed to ignite a fire on his skin. Xiang Xianwan's mind returned, and she noticed the ups and downs of her chest. She looked down just in time to meet a pair of slightly smiling eyes.
At this moment, it seemed to completely withdraw her from an icy abyss.
Chi Ting saw that Xiang Xianwan had finally come back to her senses. Chi Ting patted her slightly to show relaxation. At the same time, he slowly stood up from his seat. "It's okay. You can go without any worries. I will watch at the door. Call me at any time if there is any situation."
Xiang Xianwan looked at Chi Ting and instinctively looked at Yue Ren.
The man on the sofa had changed to a very relaxed and comfortable sitting position.
He had been tilting his head slightly to observe Xiang Xianwan's feelings when she was deeply frightened.
He had crooked eyebrows and a shallow smile. He seemed to be really immersed in such a game atmosphere.
Once their eyes met, the smile on Yue Ren's face remained unchanged. Then he glanced at Chi Ting out of the corner of his eyes and gave a kind reminder, "Of course, there is no problem. I'm just an ordinary giver of orders."
Such an answer made Xiang Xianwan regain her composure a bit. She opened the door and looked at the dark green light leaking in from outside. Then she gritted her teeth and ran toward the safe passage.
The sound of footsteps gradually faded away. Yue Ren withdrew his gaze from the staircase and glanced to the side slightly. It fell on the figure who had reached the door at some point.
Under the dark green light leaking in from outside, half of Chi Ting's body seemed to be engulfed in darkness at any moment. Still, it could clearly be seen that the corners of his mouth were raised as usual, embedded with the bright light and shadow in the room. This was inexplicably dazzling.
Chi Ting leaned against the door in a very relaxed manner and waited patiently.
He turned slightly sideways and looked out into the corridor. Yue Ren sat on the sofa and watched him from a distance.
Obviously, he liked to watch the players look extremely frightened while pretending to be calm, but for some reason, he suddenly felt that the man in front of him seemed to be more interesting.
In the silence, footsteps were heard upstairs again, followed by a scream.
Xiang Xianwan rushed all the way back to her home. She rummaged through boxes and cabinets before finally finding a comb in the drawer of her dressing table. She didn't dare to stay there any longer. She immediately turned around and was about to run back. Then she noticed something as soon as she stepped out the door. She turned her head stiffly, just in time to see Gloria standing there with a doll.
She screamed uncontrollably.
"Sister, let's play together…" Gloria smiled harmlessly like before. However, before she could finish her words, she froze completely at the warning cough coming from downstairs.
The cough obviously came from Chi Ting.
It was as if hearing some fatal signal. The smile on Gloria's face instantly disappeared. She instinctively protected her butt and even closed the door before Xiang Xianwan could react.
This scene was too funny. Even the barrage in the live stream room couldn't hold back.
[Hahahahaha, this is definitely a childhood shadow.]
[But at least the childhood is complete. It isn't a loss, right]
[Suddenly, I feel a bit envious. If only I could have the strength to make NPCs so afraid.]
[I would dare to rush if there was such a person to protect me!]
Xiang Xianwan was stunned for a moment before she realized what was going on. She immediately gripped the comb and ran downstairs in a panic.
Seeing Chi Ting standing at the door, she thanked him crazily for a while. Then she put the comb respectfully on the table. "In this way, it should be okay, right?"
"Of course." Yue Ren had witnessed the whole process just now. It was obviously smooth and a bit unexpected. This made his gaze on Chi Ting become more inquiring.
He recalled the scene where they first met. He was very curious about what happened between this Mr Chi and Gloria.
This guy was really interesting.
The smile on Yue Ren's face became more and more distinct. "Then let's move onto the next round."
The moment these words came out, the other two, who had just sighed with relief for Xiang Xianwan, suddenly straightened their backs. They looked at the cards that were once again spread out on the table with renewed hope.
However, the Joker card still fell into Yue Ren's hands this time.
Everyone almost cried the moment the cards were revealed.
Chi Ting was the only one who sat back at the table with a relaxed expression. He didn't speak, but he couldn't hide the expectations in his eyes.
Yue Ren's gaze lightly swept around the room. "A of Hearts. This time, go to your neighbor downstairs and ask for a cup of warm water."
Gong Jing was originally holding his card while his whole body was tensed up. Once he heard that it wasn't him, he instinctively let out a long breath.
Then once he raised his head, he happened to meet Yue Ren's gaze and inexplicably became cold.
A smile appeared on Yue Ren's face. "You can sigh with relief as long as it isn't you, right?"
He seemed to be casually chatting, but the ridicule in his words made Gong Jing's expression slightly stiff.
In the rules of this small game, the king's order couldn't be rejected. Once it was issued, someone must do it. If it wasn't him, it meant someone else needed to take the risk.
This was doomed. Once he didn't want it to be him, he subconsciously hoped to pass this danger onto others.
This was undoubtedly a very shameless idea.
But in this absolutely dangerous situation, who could manage that meager sense of morality without being overwhelmed by overwhelming fear?
After all, he was just an ordinary person!
The smile on Yue Ren's face grew even wider like he captured the thoughts in Gong Jing's heart.
On the side, Li Tao couldn't laugh at all when he heard the conversation between the two of them.
It wasn't just because he vaguely felt that this man seemed to know the card number of each of them very clearly. It was also because the person who received this order was…
"It looks like it has finally come to me."
In sharp contrast to Xiang Xianwan's performance, Chi Ting's expression was very relaxed.
His previous job required him to work continuously for a long time. He faced either his own team members or the alien species who couldn't communicate at all. He almost never dared to think about playing games around the table with a few friends like this.
This was a new experience and a rare opportunity. It was natural to enjoy it.
Before leaving, he didn't forget to ask Yue Ren another question. "Is it enough to just get a glass of water?"
Under such an inquiry that seemed to want to exceed the task, Yue Ren smiled and nodded. "Yes, it should be warm. Freshly boiled is better."
Chi Ting also smiled. "I guarantee to complete the task."
As he pushed open the door, he didn't forget to carefully change his shoes at the door.
After closing the door, his footsteps faded away, and the surroundings became quiet again.
At this time, the other two people, except for Li Tao, finally reacted.
For them, the safe place had never been the apartment. It was the place where Chi Ting was.
Now Chi Ting took the task and left. There were only the three of them left sitting on the sofa without daring to move. They were like lambs to the slaughter in front of the NPC.
The surroundings seemed to fall into a terrifying, deathly silence the moment Chi Ting stopped leaving.
Then everyone saw Yue Ren showing a very kind smile toward them. "Mr Chi will probably take a while before coming back. Since everyone wants to become friends, why not have a deep exchange of feelings?"
The three people left behind: "…QAQ!"
Being selected was playing with them, and not being selected was also playing with them.
In any case, the ultimate goal of this game was to play with them to death, right?