Chapter 73
There was dead silence in the narrow, dark hole.
The black tower’s malicious voice broadcasted three times in the ears of the 10 players, as if mocking their foolish and smug appearance. In the glasses man’s team, his four teammates were completely stunned. Even the glasses man couldn’t believe it. His mouth dropped open, his expression a bit funny. This was the first time he showed such a face in all the games he had been involved in after the earth went online.
Lin Yi saw her captain showing such an expression and felt unwillingness and anger fill her heart. Lin Yi cried out, “How is that possible? The monster is here and we successfully stole it. Where did the two new players come from and when did they steal the monster? Isn’t the monster right under our noses?”
It wasn’t just her. Several other players said, “What the hell is this? We successfully stole the monster, it is here. Isn’t that the monster? The two of you were tortured by this monster for three days and three nights until your spirits almost collapsed.”
Wang Yinggui was completely puzzled and couldn’t think of anything. “This is it.” He pulled his teammate and the two of them walked to the huge cage. Wang Yinggui pointed to the giant black mouse with a long tail in the cage. The mouse was tall and looked very strange. At this moment, it was blinking as it stared at Wang Yinggui.
“Old Niao, isn’t this it? It kept using our cages as a ball. I can never forget it in my life. Is this it or not?”
Old Niao also said, “Yes, this is the monster.” They tried to explain it to the other eight players.
In the cage, the black mouse cocked its head and made a confused sound.
The noisy tunnel gradually calmed down.
Even if they refused to admit it, the game was now a failure. This mouse wasn’t the monster and they had stolen the wrong target.
Lu Xing’s fingers tightened as he tried to calm down and analyze the current situation. “Now there are two possibilities. First, the monster was switched halfway and you stole a mouse that resembles the monster. As you said before, the monster is afraid of light and Mr. A and Mr. B always covered it with a black cloth during the day. Perhaps you didn’t see the appearance clearly and made a mistake.”
Wang Yinggui shouted, “That is impossible. I can’t forget its appearance in 100 years! Even the scream is the same.”
The mouse screamed again.
Lu Xing sighed and didn’t speak. By his side, the glasses man said coldly, “There is a second possibility. From beginning to end, this mouse isn’t the monster that the Strange Circus is showing tonight.” The confused Wang Yinggui and Old Niao looked at the glasses man. The glasses man had recovered his calm but his expression wasn’t very good. The game had failed so he could only force himself to think calmly about the reason why. “Mr. A and Mr. must know what the circus monster is. We only saw the monster at the dock and the cage was covered with a black cloth.”
Lin Yi suddenly understood. “Captain, you mean Mr. A and Mr. B thought from the beginning about misleading the players and hiding the real monster? They put the two men in a fake monster cage and made them think that the mouse is the real monster. When in fact, the mouse isn’t actually the monster?”
Lin Yi’s words caused the other eight players to have an epiphany.
Wang Yinggui also reacted after a while and furiously kicked the cage. “Mr. A and Mr. B are too sinister. They old Old Niao and I on the first day. In just a few hours, they thought of putting using the fake monster cage.” After a pause, he thought, “No, Mr. A and Mr. B can lie but the black tower can’t. The black tower gave us the coordinates of the monster so shouldn’t it be right?”
Brother Hao said, “Captain, when I dug out Mr. A on the fourth day, he was carrying a sack on his shoulder. The thing inside made a squeaking sound and the body shape was similar to this mouse.”
The glasses man understood Brother Hao’s meaning. He closed his eyes and pondered over everything that happened in the past seven days. Finally, he gave a long sigh and smiled bitterly. He said slowly, “The two greatest detectives in the Underground Kingdom, the Detectives’ Contempt… I finally get it. In fact, Mr. A and Mr. B gave us this monster under the cloth. They first tied up two players and mislead them into thinking this was the real big monster…”
The capital of the Underground Kingdom, the Strange Circus.
At six in the evening, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo carried the large earthworm in a sack and stepped into the circus. The same task notice that the other 10 players received rang in their ears. Once Tang Mo heard the black tower say that 10 players were left and the ‘Spooky Circus’ Thriller Night’ was opened, his expression changed. He realized that the black tower was likely to have told the other players about his and Fu Wenduo’s mission.
Sure enough, the black tower never disappointed when it came to hitting the players. It was followed by news that Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo won the game. The black tower kindly exposed the names of the players who had been hiding for seven days.
Tang Mo didn’t know if he should laugh or cry while Fu Wenduo said calmly, “At least our faces aren’t seen. They only know our names and not our faces.”
Tang Mo turned to look at him and smiled. “Major Fu, you aren’t afraid because your name is already known to every player.” Tang Mo spoke very politely but his implication was that Fu Wenduo was already ‘notorious.’ Tang Mo was different. He didn’t want to be famous.
Fu Wenduo carried the big earthworm and looked meaningfully at Tang Mo. “Maybe they can’t guess that we are Mr. A and Mr. B.”
Tang Mo guessed, “Maybe… maybe the glasses wearing captain will guess? Forget it. Let’s go and turn this earthworm in.”
The two men carried on walking.
The big earthworm was stupidly moving its head in the sack, causing the sack to bulge out. As soon as the force was discharged, the sack bounced back. It felt like the earthworm was having fun as it arched for a long time. It forgot to cry out for its mother and didn’t pay attention to the two players carrying it.
In fact, from beginning to end, Tang Mo’s plan was very simple.
On the first day of the game, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo successfully captured the stupid Wang Yinggui and Old Niao. Tang Mo found a problem when catching these two people. On the first day of the game, the remaining 21 players didn’t join hands. They had their own groups.
This was the best news for Fu Wenduo and Tang Mo.
They were most afraid of players forming an alliance in this game. The game mission for the 21 players was conflict free. The biggest conflict was the two King’s Gold Coins. It was just like the Pinocchio game. The two gold coins tempted the player to knock out other people and enjoy the rewards alone.
If it was Tang Mo, he would find the right player to ally with when entering the game. The temptation of the gold coins was both a reward and a bomb. It made the game very difficult. The worse case was that the big monster wouldn’t be stolen and the players would hit each other. Tang Mo wouldn’t repeat Pinocchio’s game. He would give up the King’s Gold Coin from the beginning, not taking the initiative to fight and would put the game mission first.
Fortunately, none of the 21 players chose this path and there were even four stowaways who decided to slaughter the other players.
The situation suddenly became good for Tang Mo. Putting Wang Yinggui and Old Niao in the fake monster cake on the first day was a coincidence. The situation was so good and Tang Mo didn’t know that the black tower would give the Detectives’ Contempt. It was Fu Wenduo who said, “There is no problem with preparing. If they escape, they are the only players who have seen the monster. Misleading them might not be bad.”
Fu Wenduo seized a giant mouse in the sewers of the Underground Kingdom. He stuffed the mouse into the cage and shut Wang Yinggui and Old Niao in with it.
After that, the Detectives’ Contempt effect was announced. The moment the black tower announced the effect, Fu Wenduo looked at Tang Mo and immediately thought of a plan to deliberately give Wang Yinggui and Old Niao to the other players.
This was the gift they gave to the glasses man.
Fu Wenduo said that their winning percentage rose from 60% to 70% when the two players were rescued. It wasn’t because Wang Yinggui and Old Niao were very stupid and would drag their teammates down. It was because they would mislead the glasses man about the big monster.
In the dark tunnel, the glasses man speculated, “The Detectives’ Contempt has the black tower announce the monster’s coordinates to us. However, none of us saw the monster when position was announced. By the time we arrive at the coordinates, Mr. A and Mr. B could’ve removed the monster. In addition, they don’t need to transport it anywhere.”
The glasses man drew a rough map of the capital on the ground. “The map given to us by the black tower is on two plants, i.e. the XY axis. There is no height coordinates. Mr. A and Mr. B can dig a hole to hide the real monster in the ground, while hiding the fake monster above the real monster. This way, we will never know that we were looking for the wrong monster.”
Xiao Chen looked at the map. “…Shit! We have been cheated!”
The glasses man was very calm. “It isn’t just being cheated. They used the two players who have seen the ‘monster’ to mislead us. Then they intentionally cooperated with us and revealed flaws. On the fourth day, they let Mr. A act in front of us to mislead us about the real monster. These two things combined will make us think that the big mouse is definitely the real monster.”
Old Li lamented, “It is unfair to lose like this.”
The glasses man pushed up his glasses. “There is one more thing. Perhaps Mr. A and Mr. B are cruel and planned a bit deeper…. Old Li, the three players we saw on the stone road might not have been killed by the four stowaways. They might’ve been killed by Mr. A and Mr. B.”
Old Li was shocked. “Mr. A and Mr. B killed the three players, but also cut open their bodies and hung them to show off?” There was a pause before he understood. “Is this to isolate us?”
The glasses man said, “I don’t know. This matter might have nothing to do with Mr. A and MR. B. I can’t judge because the boy who used insects looked very similar to the three dead players when he died. I can only say that whether Mr. A and Mr. B did it or not, it was a good move. Due to the brutal death of these three players, I determined that it was impossible to cooperate with the stowaways. Now we lost the game.”
Lu Xing asked from the side, “There are two players who finished the game. Fu Wenduo is a name that I know. He is the Chinese person who cleared the black tower’s first floor and second floor. He is a stowaway. But who is Tang Mo? I haven’t heard that name before.”
An Chu touched her chin. “I also have never heard it.”
Wang Yinggui felt a bit of remorse for misleading everyone. He spoke guiltily, “Yes, how did these two players complete the task? Could it be that after Old Niao and I stole this monster, they entered a bit later then we did and found the real monster buried in the ground?”
Even Wang Yinggui felt that his words were too incredible and laughed hollowly.
The two players who never appeared completed the mission. It felt like 10 people were fighting each other and were half dead. The two sides were about to die together, only for two players to suddenly emerge. The group of martial arts masters suffered from serious injuries and couldn’t move. They could only helplessly watch as the two nameless juniors effortlessly took away the rewards that belonged to them.
Lu Xing said, “I don’t know who Tang Mo is but if Fu Wenduo is really that Fu Wenduo, he wouldn’t be so stupid and cheap as to hide behind us.”
Lin Yi also felt that there was something wrong. “In these seven days, I never saw those two players. If we add the number of people, there are five of us and the four people on Mr. Lu’s team. On the third day, the three players were killed and the stowaways squad had four people. In addition, there is Wang Yinggui’s two people and the team I followed to the outskirts had three people. It is a total of 21 people. Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo’s additions are just right. But on the fourth day, I searched for a long time near the abandoned building and didn’t see them. Could their scouting ability be stronger than mine and they managed to hide their traces from me? Or did they never go to the monster?”
Everyone looked at each other and put forward various possible reasons.
Suddenly, the glasses man’s eyes widened. “…Our game mission failed because we didn’t save the real monster.” The group turned to look at him. The man’s glasses were fogged up and his brain was working quickly as he recalled every detail of the seven day game. “The game failed and we received the penalty of the ‘Spooky Circus’ Thriller Night’ opening. Before 10 in the evening, we have to sneak into the Strange Circus and destroy the Surprise Night.”
The crowd looked at him with confusion.
Lin Yi asked, “Captain, what’s wrong with that?”
The glasses man now completely understood. He had a hint of wildness in his eyes as he suppressed his excited and furious mood. He was excited because he discovered the truth and angry because of this truth.
“Why should we destroy the Surprise Night? If the real monster was stolen by players, the Surprise Night should’ve already been destroyed and we don’t need to destroy it. This means the Surprise Night has started smoothly and the big monster wasn’t stolen at all.”
Everyone was startled as they looked at the glasses man. He gritted his teeth and screamed out, “Mr. A and Mr. B successfully sent the big monster to the circus. They finished their task… they are Fu Wenduo and Tang Mo!”
On the other side, Tang Mo wasn’t panicked about the players probably finding out his identity. First of all, the 10 players might not they were Fu Wenduo and Tang Mo but they didn’t know which one was Fu Wenduo and which one was Tang Mo. Secondly, the players had never seen their faces.
In a way, Tang Mo felt that his acting was very good. He was around the same height as Bai Ruoyao. His hair and mouth was covered, with only his eyes being revealed. The difference with the real Bai Ruoyao shouldn’t be too big. The 10 players didn’t spend too much time with him apart from Lin Yi, who didn’t have a good impression of it. Maybe later, they might might Bai Ruoyao and see that he acts the same way. They would shout ‘Mr. B’ and rushed to get revenge. They might also think he was China’s enemy, Fu Wenduo. Of course, this was on the premise that Bai Ruoyao was still alive.
The two of them entered the circus. A few minutes later, a short and fat dwarf came running from a distance. As soon as they met, Sneeze let out a big sneeze and a snot bubble formed. Sneeze sucked the green snot back and rubbed his nose. “Where is the monster? Mr. A, Mr. B, the Surprise Night has already begun and it is currently an acrobatic show. If you can’t turn in the monster by 7 o’clock, you won’t receive the rest of your pay and you will also feel the wrath of our great circus leader!”
Tang Mo looked behind him. “You didn’t prepare a cage?”
Sneeze cried out, “What cage? Seven days ago, we gave you the big monster in a cage and even prepared a carriage!”
Tang Mo smiled. “Things happened. Let’s go out and speak.”
The three people went outside the circus. There was a huge iron cage on the ground outside the circus. Fu Wenduo put the sack on the floor. Sneeze opened it and said, “Ah, this is the damn monster!”
The big earthworm found that the sack was suddenly opened. It looked up at Tang Mo, Fu Wenduo and Sneeze. The next second, it burst into tears. “Where is my mother. I want my mother, I want my mother…”
It was still a false cry with no tears.
Sneeze muttered angrily, “Put it in the cage quickly! I will give it to the great circus leader and let the great circus leader cut it into pieces in front of more than 1,000 spectators!”
“Whooo…”
The screams of Sneeze and the big earthworm mixed together.
Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo looked at each other before Fu Wenduo grabbed the sack and threw the big earthworm into the cage. There was a loud bang as the fat earthworm was thrown into the cage. It was dizzy from the impact and didn’t react.
Afterwards, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo pushed the cage across the ground. The speed at which they pushed the cage was incredibly slow, like an ant crawling. It took them one minute to push it a distance of one metre.
Sneeze was stunned. “What are you doing? Hurry and send this monster inside!”
Fu Wenduo glanced at Sneeze. “It is too heavy.”
“What?”
Tang Mo looked at the bodyguards patrolling the circus. “Or do you want to push it? Wait, what about our money? Do you want to take our money again?”
Sneeze’s expression changed. “Who… who wants to take your money? Hurry and send the monster inside. Then I will give you the money!”
Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo slowly pushed the large earthworm’s cage into the circus. No one noticed that their actions of pushing the cage was a bit strange. Every time they pushed it, they would quietly kick the cage with the feet. When the big earthworm pushed back, the two people stopped. The big earthworm thought that this pushing cage game was very fun. It put its disgusting head in Fu Wenduo and Tang Mo’s direction. “Fun fun, push it again.”
Tang Mo said helplessly, “It is really naive.”
Fu Wenduo looked at him.
It was nearly 7 o’clock and the acrobatic performance was coming to an end. A low, magnetic voice rang from the stage. “Ladies and gentleman, underground people and monsters, this is the Strange Circus’ Surprise Night. Who am I? I have received Wang Xiaotian’s sweet kiss. I am your greatest… circus leader!”
Cheers rang through the circus and seemed to overturn the tent.
Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo were standing backstage and couldn’t see the circus leader. However, their hearts tightened the moment they heard his voice. The two people glanced at each other and quickly understood. This person was dangerous!
The voice alone was filled with a terrifying pressure that Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo couldn’t ignore.
The circus leader was definitely a black tower monster on the level of Grandmother Wolf and Santa Claus!
Tang Mo started sweating as he understood this point, but he didn’t shake. He looked calmly at the curtain in front of him. He knew that beyond this curtain, there were thousands of spectators and the terrible circus leader. He quietly waited for time to pass as the circus leader announced that he would perform himself and dissect this wonderful monster.
The underground people who performed the acrobatics got down from the stage while the circus staff started to prepare anatomical tools. The backstage was disorderly as people crowded around Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo. It could be said that this was the circus’ most chaotic time. The whole backstage was a mess and even Sneeze didn’t have time to watch Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo. He had his own things to do. Of course, before he left, he parted with three silver coins. This was the wage for Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo.
The whistles and cheers of the crowd echoed in the tent, the horrible laughed and music making the stage behind the curtain a strange world. The circus leader shouted, “Let’s bring out the VIP guests.” The acrobatic performances backstage hadn’t been removed and they ran quickly as soon as they heard these words.
“This is the time!” Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo cried out simultaneously.
Boom!
One second before the curtain opened, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo kicked the iron cage. To be precise, they kicked the bottom of the iron cage. The huge cage flew out of the curtain, causing the surprised circus leader to jump and avoid it. The cage continued to roll forward and was about to reach the audience.
Grandmother Wolf sitting in the first row opened her parasol. Once the cage hit her parasol, there was a bang and it landed on the ground. Grandmother Wolf smiled gracefully, like a lady. “Ah, what is this? It scared me.” She patted her heart with her big furry hands and made a frightened expression.
On the other side, Sneeze exclaimed, “What do you want to do?”
Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo’s kicking action was too sudden and none of the circus members could react. Even the big earthworms didn’t respond.
Tang Mo asked quickly, “Aren’t you running away?”
The big earthworm was stunned before twisted its body and digging a hole. It dug a hole quickly because it wasn’t blocked by the iron cage. Once it touched soil, it dug a big hole and disappeared into the deep tunnel. Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo immediately turned and fled.
The circus was a mess. The staff members wanted to catch them but they were too chaotic. One man moving caused another to fall down. People crowded together. Tang Mo took advantage of this crowd and ran out of the circus. The next moment, the glasses man and the other 10 players arrived.
When they arrived at the circus, it was already a sea of people and finding a path was hard.
The circus members were like ants in a hot pot. You step on me than I have to kick you. Their funny performance made the audience laugh. Meanwhile, the circus leader reacted. The glasses man only saw a gaudy figure madly step on the crowd as he chased after Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo.
The glasses man looked at the scene with amazement.
Lu Xing was stunned. “…This is the Surprise Night? Aren’t we supposed to ruin it now?”
The Strange Circus’ Surprise Night entered in a chicken and dog chase. Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo smoothly finished the game. The circus leader couldn’t catch up with them. After all, everything happened too suddenly. The members of the circus also fell down and tripped up the leader.
Once they left the circus, a child’s voice rang in Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo’s ears.
“Ding dong! Players Fu Wenduo and Tang Mo have cleared the extra instance, ‘Spooky Circus’ Thriller Night’ and have rescued the poor monster, destroying the Surprise Night. They have obtained the ‘earthworm’s goodwill’ as a reward.”
Tang Mo didn’t have time to think about what the ‘earthworm’s goodwill’ was as he and Fu Wenduo were transported out of the game. When they opened their eyes, they had returned to Nanpu Bridge. There was no time to think. They quietly left Nanpu Bridge and found an empty room to settle in.
Tang Mo closed the door, leaned against the door panel and sat on the ground to rest.
They weren’t chased by the circus leader to the end but the two of them had used all their strength to escape. Tang Mo panted heavily as he leaned against the door then he took out a moon flower that was about to wither from his backpack. The last silver petal fell down. The flower was completely withered and turned to ashes in Tang Mo’s hand. A silver light flashed on Tang Mo’s forehead. The silver light weakened and soon disappeared, returning Tang Mo’s forehead to normal.
[Prop: Queen of Hearts’ Moon Flower]
[Owner: Tang Mo]
[Game Clearance Instructions: At 6 o’clock in the evening, send the big earthworm to the circus and you will be able to pass the instance ‘Strange Circus’ Surprise Night.’ The assembly instance is a double game. The hidden game ‘Spooky Circus’ Thriller Night’ will take place at 7 in the evening. Help the earthworm escape from the Strange Circus and destroy the Surprise Night.
Yes, after entering the game, Tang Mo used the moon flower to get the method of clearing the game. He used the moon flower to determine the instance clearance conditions for himself and Fu Wenduo. Originally, he was worried about how they would send the big earthworm to the circus in seven days. He needed more information. Later, the Detectives’ Contempt effect was triggered and the difficulty of the game greatly increased. This made the use of the moon flower more appropriate.
However, the moon flower really was a broken version of a game strategy. It only told Tang Mo how to complete the final game and didn’t give any tips.
The two of them rested against the door for a while and Tang Mo looked up at the dark ceiling. He smiled as he recalled what happened in the past seven days and Fu Wenduo turned to look at him.
Tang Mo said, “I knew that the game difficulty would increase when we teamed up but this difficulty… it seems that the increase is too big.”
Fu Wenduo bent his right leg and leaned on his knee, speaking in a low voice, “The difficulty isn’t small, 2v21.”
“Yes, it is 2v21.”
Fu Wenduo asked, “How do you feel?”
Tang Mo thought for a moment. “…Happy!”
He was happy. He played many games but it was the first time Tang Mo felt so happy after winning a game. The greater the difficulty of the game, the more he put into it. It felt so cool to play against 21 enemies and to take away the rewards of the thrilling night.
He had to be careful every moment when playing the game. After the game, his scalp became numb.
However, it was one thing to feel cool when playing the game. Once he teamed up with Fu Wenduo, the difficulty of the game was really too much. If the four stowaways hadn’t helped them this time, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo would find it impossible to complete the game so easily. Of course, they didn’t win that easily.
After a break, Tang Mo pulled a white gem out of his pocket and Fu Wenduo was the same.
“The free customizable prop upgrade package. Are you going to upgrade the King’s Gold Coin?” Fu Wenduo asked in a certain tone.
Tang Mo looked at him and didn’t deny it. “What are you going to upgrade?”
“A weapon.”
The answer was normal. Fu Wenduo didn’t have the rare prop of the King’s Gold Coin so it was natural to upgrade a weapon. Tang Mo thought. “Have you considered upgrading Mo… upgrading the turkey egg?”
Fu Wenduo replied, “It can be used once in seven days and can only save one hour. That is enough for now. It is easy to slack off with this prop.”
Tang Mo nodded. He had thought about it and decided not to upgrade the turkey egg. The current turkey egg was enough for them.
Fu Wenduo looked at him. “Do you really want to upgrade the gold coin?”
“Why?”
“The gold coin is a chance to abstain from a black tower game. The best result from upgrading it is a chance to waive the game multiple times, but it can’t be more than three times. The black tower won’t let you have too many chances to abstain. It is possible that the upgrade won’t give you extra chances to abstain from a game.” Fu Wenduo said, “Upgrading a weapon is more suitable for you.”
The thing that Tang Mo needed the most was the ability to fight.
This time, Tang Mo safely completed the game because of Fu Wenduo. In the previous black tower game, Tang Mo met Bai Ruoyao who was stronger than him and almost died. Now Tang Mo met the bald man. Tang Mo wasn’t a match for the bald man who could transform into the brown bear. If it wasn’t for Fu Wenduo, Tang Mo would’ve likely become a gold coin in this assembly instance.
Players who cleared the second floor weren’t necessarily better than players on the black tower’s first floor. The black tower game was judged by not just force, but also intelligence, judgment, determination… even luck.
Fu Wenduo said, “Abstaining from a game is just winning one game. Upgrading your weapon will allow you to cope with many games.
Tang Mo was silent. After a moment, he whispered, “Thank you.”
Fu Wenduo’s lips curved.
Tang Mo soon upgraded the big match. The big match and small parasol were the weapons he used most at the moment. The small parasol was powerful and could be used for attack and defense, but it couldn’t be placed in the tattoo. It was a bit of a hassle to open it and surprise attacks weren’t possible. He also had to say shameful words before using it.
Tang Mo didn’t hesitate to upgrade the big match.
[Prop: Mosaic’s Match]
[Owner: Tang Mo]
[Quality: Excellent]
[Level: 3]
[Function: Flames that can’t be extinguished. You can ignite the match at will. Once the match’s flames burn an object, the causality effect means the object will be burned up. Extinguishing the flames is hard beyond imagination.]
[Restrictions: Multiple users of the flames will reduce the life of the match. Can be used up to 50 times.]
[Note: ‘Although I set fire to kill, I am still a good girl,’ Mosaic said.]