Chapter 139: The Lonely King

Officer Li glanced at Jin Yuanxun and Xiao Yanjing beside him, then looked at Zhang Chenze on the other side, feeling a bit uneasy.

Although he had briefly teamed up with Lawyer Zhang before, truthfully, he wasn't very familiar with any of these three people.

In such a strange place, forming a team with unfamiliar people to play the game—did that really make sense?

What was Chu Tianqiu's intention in arranging it this way?

"Mr. Li, I heard you're an officer?" Xiao Yanjing asked.

"Yes." Officer Li nodded. "Meeting an officer here—isn't it ironic?"

"Not at all." Xiao Yanjing politely shook his head. "In this place, we're all the same."

"So, what do you do?" Officer Li asked.

"I'm in education," Xiao Yanjing said. "We're both in demanding fields, so I understand you well."

Officer Li nodded after hearing that. He looked at Xiao Yanjing's appearance—the man was lean, with sharp, bright eyes that made his age hard to guess.

"So, you're a teacher?"

"Yes." Xiao Yanjing nodded, and the two fell silent.

Officer Li sighed helplessly. If it weren't for Chu Tianqiu arranging the teams like this, he would have preferred to act with Han Yimo.

If he didn't keep an eye on that guy, he might end up harming the people around him.

At that moment, Zhang Chenze glanced at Jin Yuanxun. The young boy seemed to be spacing out while walking, which looked a bit funny.

"Are you a student?" she asked.

"Ah... me?" Jin Yuanxun gave an awkward smile. "Sis, I really am a student."

Zhang Chenze noticed that this thirteen- or fourteen-year-old boy had a depth in his eyes that seemed more like that of an adult.

The four of them chatted awkwardly and soon arrived at a game area.

At the entrance stood a monster wearing a stitched mask.

Officer Li stared at the monstrous face in front of him and couldn't help scratching his head.

Similar to the Ren Long he had seen before, this person also wore a mask made from pieced-together animal skins, but it looked different from the previous one.

The mask of the earlier Ren Long had been made from cow and crocodile parts.

This one, however, was made from a horse head and snake skin. The figure was very slender and also had large deer antlers attached to the mask.

"Hello, everyone." The person spoke, and surprisingly, it was a woman's voice. "Do you want to join my game?"

Officer Li had been killed by the rabbit person last time, so hearing the female referee's voice made him a bit wary.

Xiao Yanjing looked at the person in front of him, then pulled out the map from his pocket and examined it, his expression hesitant.

They were following Chu Tianqiu's arrangement, but why was the destination this monster?

"Jin Yuanxun, did we take the wrong path?" Xiao Yanjing held the map up to Jin Yuanxun. "Take a look for me."

Jin Yuanxun took the map and checked it, feeling that the direction was correct.

But the location on the map clearly said "Ren Hu," with a strategy of several dozen words attached.

How did this monster look anything like a tiger?

"I'm Ren Long." The woman said. "It's a free game. Anyone want to play?"

The four exchanged glances.

She was actually Ren Long.

It's just that her mask style was different from the Ren Long they had seen before.

"No wonder..." Xiao Yanjing nodded. "Mr. Chu said the games here are categorized by the twelve zodiac animals, so encountering Long isn't strange—it's all within the twelve zodiac."

The other three nodded. Except for Officer Li, the rest hadn't retained their memories, so they were just following Chu Tianqiu's instructions.

Even Officer Li, who had retained his memories, was seeing a Long-type game for the first time.

Now that the map was wrong, should they participate?

"I think it's not worth the risk." Officer Li said. "If the map's wrong, then Chu Tianqiu's strategy won't work either. Let's just go back."

"But Dao is free." Jin Yuanxun said.

"What?"

"Bro, Dao one is free." Jin Yuanxun explained. "The entry fee is free, so it's not a loss."

Xiao Yanjing furrowed his brow, understanding Jin Yuanxun's meaning.

It was a free game, so the worst case was breaking even.

If they won, they could contribute something to the group. After all, as Chu had said, most "Ren"-level games were safe.

But what was the content of the Long game?

Xiao Yanjing suddenly thought of something: "That's right, Officer, Mr. Chu said you're a Hui Xiang Zhe?"

Zhang Chenze was stunned upon hearing that. She and Jin Yuanxun exchanged looks: "Hui Xiang Zhe...? What's that?"

"I am indeed a Hui Xiang Zhe." Officer Li nodded. "But I'm afraid I'll disappoint you—I was eliminated early, so I know very little and have no idea what Long is."

"So that's how it is..." Xiao Yanjing nodded and said to the three, "Now we have two choices: either turn back, get another map, and set out again. Or take a gamble here. But this isn't just my decision, so we need to discuss it together."

Officer Li thought for a moment and said, "Let's vote. Anyone want to go back?"

Seeing no one raise their hand, Officer Li raised his own: "I personally suggest we think this through. Joining an unknown game rashly is risky."

After waiting a few seconds and getting no response, he lowered his hand and asked, "So, anyone want to join this game?"

Jin Yuanxun raised his hand.

Xiao Yanjing thought for a moment and also raised his hand.

Two to one.

Everyone turned to Zhang Chenze, who hadn't said anything.

"I'll abstain." Zhang Chenze said. "Without detailed information, I won't make any hasty choices."

"That's fine, we have a result." Officer Li nodded. "Since we're a team, the minority follows the majority. Let's try the Ren Long game. Even if we fail, we'll try to bring back a strategy."

The three nodded and walked toward Ren Long.

As they entered the building, Ren Long closed the door behind them.

But in the next second, the entire building vanished from the street.

It was as if this spot had always been an empty square, with nothing there.

At Tian Tang Kou.

Chu Tianqiu sat in a dim room, surrounded by shelves full of animal masks stained with blood.

He hummed a classical tune softly, tapping his fingers to the beat, looking quite pleased.

After a while, he opened his eyes and glanced at the chessboard on the table.

It had black pieces and some worn plastic toys on it.

He picked up four "pawns" and gently placed them in front of a large monster toy, muttering to himself, "Tu Long Zhe, the opportunity is right here. How do you choose to die?"

After saying that, he chuckled and looked behind the monster toy.

There were another four pieces there: a "king," a "queen," a "knight," and a "bishop."

These four pieces, along with the earlier four "pawns," surrounded the plastic monster on both sides, forming a siege.

"Qi Xia, why is that?" Chu Tianqiu closed his eyes and continued humming the classical music.

"Why is there always only one 'king' on the chessboard?"