1836: I Became a Literary Giant in Great Britain

Chapter 143 Even More Terrifying Games and New Works

The group had to admit that the game Michel had created truly possessed an extraordinary magic.

What makes it most fascinating is that it condenses the cruelest laws of the real world onto a single sheet of paper.

The accumulation of wealth, the annexation of land, the capriciousness of fate, and the greed and desires deep within human nature are all vividly depicted on this canvas...

The silence in the living room was finally broken by Dickens' heavy breathing.

His once bright blue eyes were now bloodshot.

"Michelle! Fifty pounds! Fifty pounds in real life!"

Dickens deliberately emphasized his words, as if the money could turn the tide.

"Charles, calm down."

Catherine, who had been watching the drama unfold, finally snapped out of her shock.

She stepped forward, gently pressed her husband's shoulder, her voice filled with worry and helplessness.

"It's just a game."

"game?"

Dickens's expressions were as exaggerated as those of the characters he created.

"No! Catherine, you don't understand! This isn't a game! This is war!"

"This is a challenge to my wisdom and dignity!"

"Pfft."

Michael, who was standing nearby, could no longer hold back and burst into a thunderous laugh.

He clutched his stomach, laughing so hard tears were almost streaming down his face.

He pointed at Dickens while laughing wildly.

"Wisdom? Dignity?"

"Charles, do you know?"

"The way you looked just now was like a gambler who'd lost his last penny and was about to throw his entire fortune at his debts!"

"you!"

Dickens blushed deeply at Michael's sarcasm.

He was furious, but he couldn't refute it.

The fastest way to kill is with a knife that can reveal the truth.

He himself knew that, for a moment just now, he had indeed lost his temper.

He watched helplessly as his business empire was about to collapse.

That kind of desperate madness made him completely forget the boundary between reality and illusion.

They treated the game like reality.

Michelle smiled and shook her head, then pushed Dickens' pocket watch back.

"Charles, the game is over."

He slowly gathered up his personal wealth from the table.

"You're bankrupt."

These three words shattered Dickens' last illusions.

He slumped back onto the sofa, accepting the reality of his failure.

He watched helplessly as Michelle took away all his wealth.

That feeling was a million times worse than losing a hundred shillings at the Whist poker table.

This absurd farce also marked the end of the game.

The ultimate victor, without a doubt, is the game's creator, Michelle.

He not only won all of his two friends' game coins, but also almost won Dickens' pocket watch.

Although the game was over, the atmosphere in the living room lingered for a long time.

Michael was still savoring the farce that had just happened, and the smile on his face lingered for a long time.

Catherine looked at her husband with lingering fear, afraid that he might really become addicted.

When Dickens got carried away, it really scared her.

"Michelle, this game of yours... is terrifying."

The first to speak was Dickens, who had just gone bankrupt.

He let out a long sigh of relief, as if he had just woken up from a nightmare.

His face still showed a mixture of excitement and lingering fear.

"Michelle's game is like a mirror, reflecting the things people least want to see in their hearts."

He looked at Michael, then at himself.

"Just now, I was so desperate for a few virtual plots of land that I almost wanted to kill my friend."

"To pay a non-existent rent payment, I even considered pawning my pocket watch..."

'

Upon hearing this, Michael's smile gradually faded.

He recalled the eagerness he felt in the game just now, when he was willing to pay a high price to exchange for a land deed from Michelle in order to collect all the plots of the same color.

He couldn't help but shiver.

"Yes, it's so true."

Michael exclaimed.

"Buy land, build houses, collect rent, and then watch others go bankrupt step by step."

"This feeling... damn, it's actually kind of addictive."

"This is more than just addiction."

Michelle tidied up the chessboard and poured everyone more black tea.

"The design of this game is itself a simulation of the era we live in."

"Think about it, isn't this exactly what's happening in London right now?"

"Wealthy businessmen buy land and factories at low prices, then build houses and factories, and rent them out at high prices to ordinary people like us."

"We work hard, but most of the money we earn goes to their rent."

"And they used those rents to acquire more land and build larger business empires."

Although limited by the times, Michel was unable to elaborate further.

As for the specifics, let's leave that to Karl ten years from now.

But the unspoken meaning in his words still made Michael and Dickens ponder deeply...

That's incredibly insightful; Michel's words pinpointed the deep-seated problems in British society.

But what can be done?

The atmosphere in the living room became somewhat heavy.

Dickens and Michael both fell silent.

They are all people with profound insights into social realities.

Dickens' novels are filled with sympathy for the lower classes and condemnation of social injustice.

He himself climbed up from the bottom step by step.

As a newspaper editor, Michael is exposed to all sorts of human tragedies every day.

They all understood that what Michel was saying was the stark reality of London today.

"Therefore, the name of this game is Monopoly."

Michelle said calmly.

"Its purpose is to allow one person to become the sole winner through monopoly and rules, while everyone else will have nothing."

"One man's victory is built on the defeat of all..."

"7

Dickens murmured to himself, his eyes growing deep.

He seemed to see the joys and sorrows of countless families in Michelle's seemingly simple game.

We have seen the cruel and ruthless core beneath the glamorous exterior of this era.

A simple game contains philosophical insights that are no less profound than a novel!

"Michelle."

Dickens looked at Michel with a serious expression.

"You are a genius. Not only a literary genius, but also... a wizard who can see into people's hearts."

This evaluation is undeniably high.

But Michelle just smiled.

He was just a porter standing on the shoulders of giants.

However, looking at Dickens's appearance, whose worldview had been completely changed by this game, one can only imagine...

A more profound and darker story suddenly flashed through Michelle's mind.

A story about games, about imprisonment, about how the human spirit is utterly destroyed and then rebuilt.

"Actually, compared to the plunder of wealth..."

Michelle picked up her teacup, gently blew on the steam, and her voice became somewhat ethereal.

"There's a game that's even more terrifying."

"It doesn't involve money or real estate."

"It's only about your mind, your soul."

"It can drive a person's spirit to the brink of despair, or even completely destroy it, in an environment of absolute emptiness."

Michelle's words immediately drew everyone's attention.

Hearing this, Dickens and Michael curiously came over.

"Is there a game more terrifying than Monopoly?"

Michael looked incredulous.

"Destroy the spirit?"

Dickens, however, was intrigued by this claim.

Michelle put down her teacup, stood up, and walked to a corner of the room.

There lay his treasured weapon.

A Michel Babbage Type 1 typewriter.

He stroked the cold metal fuselage and turned around.

He gave his friends a mysterious smile.

"I think I need to write this story down."

"Now?" Dickens was stunned.

"Right here?" Michael's eyes widened.

Michelle nodded.

He pulled up a chair and sat down right in front of the typewriter.

Yes, right here, now.

Michelle carefully placed a clean sheet of paper into the roller.

"Before the inspiration fades away."

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