Infinite spooky game

At 4 o'clock in the afternoon on April 20, Qi Si appeared at Sunset Ruins on time.

The flow of time in the weird game does not occupy real time. Real time corresponds to the concept of space in the weird game.

For example, in reality, players who enter the Sunset Ruins at 1:59:59 pm will appear in Space A; those who enter the Sunset Ruins between 2:00 pm and 3:59:59 pm will go to Space B.

Even if players in Space A and Space B are standing in the same position, they cannot see, hear, or touch each other. Only some business stores that spend points to register in the weird game can circumvent the isolation between spaces and manage businesses in multiple time tracks at the same time.

In order to avoid things like "predicting the future" from happening, there is another hidden timeline in the Ruins of Sunset that measures the time before and after.

No matter at what point in time the player enters the Sunset Ruins in reality, after entering the Sunset Ruins, the time will be calculated from the starting point of the timeline.

Correspondingly, the later the players arrive, the earlier their time in Sunset Ruins will be.

Although he could still see the players who had entered the Sunset Ruins before and interact with them, in theory, those players were not in the same timeline as him.

Just like the light emitted by stars billions of light years away, by the time people on Earth receive it, the corresponding star may have already turned into dust. What he saw was just a shadow simulated by a weird game.

However, the weird game allows for a margin of error of less than one minute. As long as you time it right, you can avoid paradoxes to the greatest extent possible and communicate normally with the target.

Because of the guild exchange meeting, at 4:20 p.m. on April , the world tree in Sunset Ruins was crowded with people.

Qi Si walked away from the crowd, holding the guild emblem on the way, and teleported back to the Frog Hospital. He also sent a message through the soul contract: "Lin Chen, come to the guild headquarters first."

In the blink of an eye, the surrounding scene turned into the damp and cramped corridor of the hospital.

Lin Chen stood in the middle of the aisle and asked a little uncomfortably: "Brother Qi, what should I do later?"

"Talk less and listen more. Keep in touch, and I will teach you if you encounter any unexpected situations." Qi Si looked at Lin Chen's face that had been modified with the [Camera Filter] prop. It was four or five points similar to the real face. It was easy to recognize it with suspicion.

He casually peeled off the [Human Skin Mask] from his face and threw it to Lin Chen: "Put it on and change your face."

The moment Lin Chen took the prop, he took in the entire effect and was stunned.

In the weird game, props that can change appearance are extremely precious, not to mention props that can change appearance at will according to one's wishes.

Is Qi Si willing to give him this kind of priceless prop?

Qi Si said calmly: "I have revealed my true identity to the Weird Investigation Bureau. I will probably be entangled by them. I won't be able to use these kinds of props for a long time.

“Whenever you appear in Sunset Ruins as ‘Lin Ya’ in the future, wear this prop and don’t take it off. If they recognize you as Lin Chen, I will be in trouble.

"Don't wear a mask when you enter the dungeon. Use your own face. Since you've been live streaming and have set up a display nickname, it's hard not to be known."

Lin Chen: “Oh!”

He did not hesitate any longer and put the [Human Skin Mask] on his face, controlling the shifting of facial features, skin color and pupil color. In just a few seconds, he created the image of a thin, pale, gloomy young man with dark eyes, which was particularly in line with the name "Lin Crow".

Qi Si nodded in satisfaction and let Lin Chen stand in front of him: "President Lin, it's getting late. Let's go to the venue as soon as possible and don't be late."

……

The venue for the exchange conference was a large auditorium. I don't know how many points the leading guilds spent, but in just a few seconds, this magnificent building rose up on the open ground, as if it had existed since ancient times.

Lin Chen forced himself to put on a stern face, took the invitation letter and went to the long table outside the auditorium to sign in, then returned after receiving two table tags with his identity information written on them.

Written on them are [Unnamed Guild President Lin Wuya] and [Unnamed Guild Vice President Si Qi] respectively.

Well, it looks pretty powerful, but it’s a pity that there are only two people in the Unnamed Guild.

Qi Si calmly played the role of a subordinate, took the ID card and went into the venue to take a seat.

Lin Chen tried to follow leisurely as possible, imitating the image of the big boss commonly seen in movies and TV dramas.

The two of them were delayed in returning to the guild headquarters and arrived a little late, so they could only sit in the back row.

Qi Si chose a seat near the aisle and put down the nameplate.

Lin Chen sat down with a paralyzed face, looking unfathomable. Only Qi Si could see his nervousness through his constantly trembling soul leaves.

"Brother Qi, Brother Qi, the person sitting next to me seems to be the president of the Fengyu Guild, the one who reached a cooperation agreement with Jiuzhou not long ago..."

"Brother Qi, why are they all looking at me? Did they see that I'm wearing a [human skin mask]?"

"Brother Qi, that person seems to want to chat with me, what should I do?"

Countless thoughts were bombarding around the scarlet soul leaf, and Qis silently set a unilateral mute.

A representative of a little-known guild sitting in the front row turned around and said with a smile, "President Lin, I've heard a lot about you. You permanently closed two dungeons in less than two months. You're simply outshining Master Fu."

Lin Chen had read the outrageous speculations in the forum and naturally knew what this person was testing.

He was sweating in his heart, and read the lines with a half-smile on his face: "This friend's imagination is a little too rich. There are so many people with the last name Lin in the world. It's not safe to use unrealistic speculation to make a fuss, right?"

"After the record of "Ghost" appeared, the guild whose ranking rose happened to include an unnamed member. This is too coincidental." The man insisted, "It caused the entire guild to rise by 2,000 in one go. I'm afraid Fu Jue's hidden score is not that high, right?"

"I actually hope that the famous Lin Chen is one of ours. I wonder if he is willing to join our guild for the sake of being a family member." Lin Chen felt that his lines were much smoother. He probably got into the right state.

He gradually relaxed, his attitude becoming more calm and composed: "I have been in the game for many years, and although I have climbed to a high position on the list, I have always admired Fu Jue's ability.

"You started by spreading false information in public, saying that I was better than Fu Jue. I don't know what you were thinking, but that doesn't stop me from not liking your words.

"My tone was a little stiff at first, please forgive me."

The lines were given by Qi Si, but Lin Chen performed well and quickly shifted the focus of the conversation to the attitude towards Fu Jue.

The other party's probing and attacking suddenly seemed to be an attempt to sow discord, and their intentions were despicable.

The player noticed something and said in a bad tone: "As far as we know, Jiuzhou does not admit that it has any connection with your Unnamed Guild."

"Fu Jue was forced to withdraw from Jiuzhou by you guys not long ago, wasn't he?" Lin Chen asked with a smile, "Is it not okay for me to unilaterally admire Fu Jue as an individual? Even if there is no connection, isn't someone like Fu Jue worthy of respect?"

"Yes, although I am already the president of a guild, I am also a fan of Fu Jue in private." Meng Wenfei, the president of Fengyu Guild, interrupted the conversation at the right time and tried to smooth things over.

She was wearing a brown-red dress and had long hair tied into a ponytail. Although she was in her thirties, she looked as young as early twenties. She was sitting next to Lin Chen and had been quietly watching the argument between the two. Now she smiled and said, "Speaking of the last name Lin, the former president of 'Ark', Lin Jue, also had the last name 'Lin'.

"President Xiaolin looks very young, is he still in college? Thirty-six years ago, Lin Jue was also a college student."

At this point, Meng Wenfei pointed to the big screen on the rostrum that was playing video clips of previous conferences.

Those images were probably played in sequence starting from the first exchange conference, and the faces that appeared so far were all strangers who had long since disappeared in the long river of time.

Some were passionate and gave idealistic speeches; others were down-to-earth and pragmatic, reading out data and making plans for the future.

Standing in the picture at this moment is a young man wearing a white T-shirt and glasses. He has a young and tender face and looks like he has just graduated from high school and is about to enter college.

He clenched his fists, and his clear voice echoed throughout the venue:
[We are all human beings, connected by fate, emotions, and common positions and pursuits. In the fight against the weirdness, we can only achieve the final victory by working together and helping each other! ]

[One day, we will be able to clear the final instance and close the weird game. The dusty past will see the light of day again, contributions and sacrifices will not be buried, memories are still there, souls are immortal, and we will look forward to a future without weirdness together! ]

It’s a very familiar slogan, and it’s almost ear-deep after Kyushu’s propaganda, but the young man in the picture seems to be the initiator.

Meng Wenfei said: "That's Lin Jue."

The player who was causing trouble in the front row had already turned his head back.

He was not a fool. He knew that Lin Chen had already firmly pinned the topic on Fu Jue, and further discussion would only make things more confusing.

It is better to swallow this loss in silence than to openly offend the people of Kyushu on Kyushu’s grounds.

Lin Chen maintained his standard smile, his face a little stiff: "President Meng put me together with such a person, I really don't deserve it. I just look young, but I have been working for many years."

"Age doesn't matter," Meng Wenfei said. "I'm already 37, and I can still run, jump, fight and kill."

Lin Chen: "You look only in your twenties."

"Hahaha, just think of it as President Kobayashi praising my youth."

Qi Si sat quietly beside Lin Chen from beginning to end, looking as if he was concentrating on receiving instructions.

Meng Wenfei exchanged greetings with Lin Chen and her eyes fell on him: "This guy must be Si Qi, right? I've heard of you. You are the only player who has escaped the control of the puppeteer. How did you do it?"

Qi Si smiled: "Thanks to our president for rescuing us."

When Lin Chen heard this, his heart, which had finally been put at ease, was lifted up again.

Boss, listen to what you are saying? Do you really want to put me on such a high pedestal?
Meng Wenfei looked at Lin Chen with a questioning look.

Lin Chen had a blank expression on his face, and his already stiff face felt even stiffer.

Fortunately, as the image on the big screen was replaced by a PPT with red background and gold letters reading "The 36th Weird Game Guild Joint Exchange Conference", the exchange conference officially began.

The sounds of idle chatter in the conference hall died down, leaving only whispers between acquaintances.

A young man with medium-length hair and dressed in a suit walked up to the podium and said into the microphone, "Good afternoon, friends! Let me introduce myself first. I am the vice president and acting president of the Tingfeng Guild, Yu Jinsheng. It is my honor to host this exchange conference."

His appearance is unremarkable and his voice is rather neutral. If I turn around and try to recall his appearance after a while, the most I can remember is his clothes and hairstyle.

The players were not paying attention to his appearance, and were whispering to each other:
"Why is the person who listens to the wind presiding over it? Is he reliable? Shouldn't he be the host of the guild ranked first?"

"I heard that something went wrong in Jiuzhou. A lot of people were purged. I guess they were fighting among themselves and couldn't find anyone to take charge."

"With something like this happening at this critical moment and Fu Jue gone, will the guild ranking change again?"

"It's about time. The Ark Guild only existed for fourteen years before it fell apart. The Jiuzhou Guild has been around for twenty-two years."

Qi Si moved his eyes and looked around, and sure enough, he did not see Fu Jue.

Wow, did he really not come, or is he hiding in some corner?
Yu Jinsheng on the rostrum seemed to have not heard the discussion below at all, and continued to speak on his own: "Everyone's time is precious, I will not waste time here, and just get to the point.

"First, according to the joint prediction of our guild and Jiuzhou, the final instance will definitely be opened this year. The form may not be a specific randomly generated instance as you think, but it is very likely to be related to the black tower in the Ruins of Sunset.

"Everyone should have played the tower climbing game, right? I won't go into details. I will publish the basis for my speculation and related data in the forum later, so I won't take up your time here.

"Of course, the above information is not 100% certain, and we are not responsible if we guess wrong."

There was an uproar below. Whether it was the prediction of the opening time of the final copy or the judgment of its form, any one of them was explosive news.

Yu Jinsheng continued, “Secondly, the identity card mechanism is indeed related to the authority of God as you have guessed, but it is not a selection, it is just a self-rescue, I cannot explain the details.

"Those who bind their identity cards are eligible to open the final instance. Friends who don't have identity cards don't have to worry. Each main card has several small cards. It is also allowed by the rules to temporarily bind a small card and enter the final instance for sightseeing by relying on the main card holder.

"I'll still add a disclaimer. This is just speculation, not certain. By the way, I'd also like to clarify for Jiuzhou that they have never forced anyone to give up their ID cards."

Yu Jinsheng paused for a moment and said, "I believe there must be identity card holders among you. It is not realistic to ask you to reveal your identity in public. But I still give you a suggestion here:

"While there is still time, find a few trustworthy people to form a team, and go through a few dungeons to get used to each other, as preparation for the final dungeon. Ask Jiuzhou for the team building props."

The players looked at each other.

Asking Jiuzhou Guild for team props is equivalent to walking into a trap, isn't it?
It sounds like he has bad intentions!
Yu Jinsheng remained calm and turned the page of the manuscript in his hand: "Third, the strange invasion does exist. We have been fighting against the strange pollution on the secret front in reality for many years. In this process, thousands of people have sacrificed their lives in obscurity.

"We blocked the news earlier because we didn't want to cause too much panic. But now we all agree that it is better to die with understanding than to live in confusion.

"I might as well tell you that many of the dungeons we have experienced were once normal worlds, but they were polluted by strange tentacles and became rampant with evil spirits. If you don't want our world to become like that, then do your best to clear the final dungeon."

He put down the manuscript, turned around and walked down the podium, and halfway down the platform, he suddenly turned back and said, "Oh, I just remembered one more thing.

"Recently, many new talents with great potential have emerged. Those who are willing to enter the final dungeon and contribute but do not have an ID card can come on stage and introduce themselves.

"Those who have ID cards should also take a look at those people. You can consider recruiting a few that you like to form a team."

After saying the last sentence, Yu Jinsheng did not stay and walked straight to the backstage.

Qi Si watched him hurriedly leave and narrowed his eyes. (End of this chapter)