Chapter 43: Positive Identification
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The man fell to the ground as Liang Dan advanced with her broadsword raised.
“I’m not going to kill you,” Liang Dan said. “I just have one more question to ask.”
The man said nothing.
The broadsword in Liang Dan’s hand shifted lightly through the air before slowly coming to a stop. “Even if you don’t say anything, I know you’re here.”
The man shouted, “Ask!”
Liang Dan laughed. “Are all you new players this hot-tempered?”
“How did you know I was new—”
“I didn’t know before, but now I do.”
Liang Dan tilted her head, thinking. “You’re a new player entering a dungeon for the first time, so why do you have two skills?”
“What two skills? I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
“That skill that slowed time on the staircase—wasn’t it yours?”
The man fell silent.
Liang Dan asked, “A new player having two skills must mean your attributes are exceptional. Did you get a very high score on the test?”
“Your score was excellent, but you aren’t some peerless saint. That means you can only be a peerless villain.”
The man exploded in frustration. “What exactly do you want?”
“You know that everyone’s mission is the same, which means you received the beginner’s guide. But since everyone’s mission is to identify another player, why did you try to kill me?”
Liang Dan took another step forward and stepped on something.
She continued onward, and the man let out a heart-wrenching howl.
“Oh dear,” Liang Dan said. “You’re invisible, and I can’t see you. That makes it very easy for me to hurt you by accident.”
The next second, a man in his thirties appeared out of thin air. He was curled up in the corner, his eyes wary.
Liang Dan took a step back. “So I stepped on your ankle just now. I’m terribly sorry.”
The man gritted his teeth. “It’s—”
Liang Dan cut him off. “Don’t rush to forgive me. I still have one more question.”
The man glared at her. “Why do you have so many questions?!”
“Because I’m very curious.”
Liang Dan’s voice turned distant. “This is the question you refused to answer earlier. Why did you try to kill me?”
“I received the beginner’s guide. I know that everyone’s mission is to identify another player, and I also know that anyone who fails to identify someone will die.”
Liang Dan asked, “So what does that have to do with your trying to kill me?”
The man looked deeply reluctant. “There are two ways to identify someone. One is to use the system. If you fail, you die. The other is to identify someone by killing another player. Even if you fail, nothing will happen to you.”
Liang Dan asked, “Then what happens to the player who is successfully identified?”
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The man shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Liang Dan pressed the broadsword against his neck and swiped open her screen.
The man’s body trembled. He dropped to his knees at once. “Don’t identify me! Please spare me!”
With a thud, Liang Dan knelt down as well. “I’m neither your grandmother nor your maternal grandmother, and I’m certainly not your mother. There’s no need to humble yourself so excessively before me.”
The man clasped his hands and bowed repeatedly toward Liang Dan. “Please, I’m begging you, please let me go! As long as you don’t identify me, I’ll do anything you ask!”
Liang Dan raised an eyebrow. “I think you may be making this more serious than it is. Perhaps nothing happens to a player who’s identified.”
As she spoke, Liang Dan swiped open her screen and asked, “What’s your identification number?”
The man’s face was full of terror. His voice trembled. “Vice Dean.”
“Wow,” Liang Dan said, her face filled with envy. “Your randomly assigned identity is quite impressive.”
She pressed her finger on the button labeled “Vice Dean.” The screen lit up before her eyes:
“Peerless saint Liang Dan failed to identify the player. You are dead!”
*
Liang Dan sighed helplessly and slowly rose to her feet. “You lied to me?”
The man stood up as well, shrinking into the corner. “I didn’t lie to you. I really am the Vice Dean.”
Liang Dan said helplessly, “If you don’t want to tell me, I won’t force you.”
With that, Liang Dan turned and walked away.
The fact was, she had already proved that exploiting a bug was possible, so there was no need to keep wasting time on this player. She only had to test everyone one by one.
The man shouted after her, “I’m 403-1!”
Liang Dan looked back. “You tried to kill me just now, but you changed your ways so quickly. That’s truly rare.”
Liang Dan swiped open her screen and pressed the button marked “403-1.”
“Peerless saint Liang Dan failed to identify the player. You are dead!”
*
Even Liang Dan, who usually had an easygoing temper, was somewhat angry now.
She crouched down and studied the utterly ordinary face before her.
“You lied to me again.”
“I didn’t—”
“You didn’t?”
The man nodded repeatedly. “Truly, I really didn’t lie to you!”
Liang Dan curled her lips into a smile. “If I hadn’t died here twice because of you, I might actually have believed you.”
The man’s pupils widened.
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Liang Dan looked at him. “Even a beginner like you has two skills. Do you really think an experienced player would have only one life?”
Her tone calm, Liang Dan said, “I’ll give you one last chance. What’s your identification number?”
The man’s voice trembled. “525-1.”
Liang Dan swiped her screen hard and pressed “525-1.”
“Peerless saint Liang Dan successfully identified the player!”
The man’s body began to shake violently, and Liang Dan grew somewhat nervous as well.
Several seconds passed, but nothing happened.
Liang Dan let out a sigh of relief. “See? I told you nothing would happen to a player who was successfully identified.”
The man stared at her wide-eyed, unable to believe it.
Liang Dan continued, “There are already enough ways to die here. If successfully identified players died as well, every player in this place would eventually be wiped out. And if all the players died, how could the game continue?”
The man suddenly understood. “Thank you for enlightening me.”
Liang Dan’s heart jolted.
The man’s pupils suddenly widened. He stuck out his tongue, and blood began pouring continuously from his mouth.
With a wet slap, his tongue fell to the ground. His neck lolled to one side, and all signs of life left him.
“Peerless villain Deng Liuhai thanked someone. He is dead!”
Liang Dan’s heart pounded wildly, and for a moment she was at a loss for words. “You… I… You’re a peerless villain, so why are you being so polite?”
“Peerless saint Liang Dan questioned a corpse. You are dead!”
*
Liang Dan pressed a hand to her forehead. Even talking to a corpse was forbidden.
Standing before the body, she bowed deeply. “I’m very sorry. Thank you for helping me with my mission. May you rest in peace.”
With that, Liang Dan turned and left.
Although this passerby had caused her to die several times, he had given her two extremely important pieces of information:
Every player received the same mission.
A player who was successfully identified would not die.
A bold idea suddenly occurred to Liang Dan.
If she could find every player and have them identify one another, would that mean every player who entered the dungeon could complete their mission and leave?
That way, no one would have to die because of a failed mission, and everyone could receive the reward for completing it.
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