Deceitful Game

Chapter 15 The Palace of the Mind

"This is……?"

When Mingper opened his eyes, he found himself lying in bed.

He propped himself up, looking around in confusion.

This is a bedroom with a rather strange layout, yet it possesses a peculiar sense of life.

On the wall behind the headboard were several game posters, all from the game "Ouroboros," which Mingbo had helped develop. At the foot of the bed was a 75-inch smart screen.

One side of the room is a balcony with its windows closed and curtains drawn. A desk with a laptop is placed next to the curtains, and three books are stacked beside it. There is also leftover tea in a teacup. On the other side are a wardrobe and a rather huge six-tiered bookshelf.

The first and sixth shelves are filled with anime and game figurines, while the middle four shelves are filled with books. Both the figurines and books are arranged neatly and orderly according to a certain rule.

This is Mingpo's bedroom.

"...Was it a dream?"

Mingpo murmured.

But as soon as he got out of bed, he realized it was impossible.

With a flick of his right hand, a copper chip appeared between his fingers as if by magic.

It was a chip without a number. The chip's outer edge was wrapped in red and black, and both sides were etched with an hourglass pattern decorated with black stars.

As it appeared in his hand, the method of using the Time Chip also came to Mingpo's mind.

very simple.

— Make precise demands on it, and then destroy it.

The method of destruction is not limited; for example, it can be bitten, crushed, or smashed. Time will change from the moment it is destroyed.

If a demand can be met, it will immediately become fragile enough; conversely, if a demand cannot be met, it will still be harder than metal.

However, there is a taboo that is not easily triggered: after a claim is made but before the token is destroyed, it cannot be touched by another fraudster. Otherwise, it will immediately cease execution and revert to a hard metal token.

Mingpo played with it in his hand for a moment, then put it away.

Immediately afterwards, he took out the newly acquired "Sun Pseudo-Gold" chip.

It gleamed with a dull golden light, surrounded by rust and orange hues. The central design was a distorted sun.

Mingpo stared at it for a while before confirming that it was indeed not gold.

The color is somewhat like an old-style 50-cent coin. It's noticeably darker than gold.

Was it brass? But it could also be bronze or pyrite.

Mingper recalled that bronze, before it rusted, should have been a yellowish-brown color, not a bluish-green. Pyrite was also golden, somewhat resembling gold.

As Mingpa repeatedly rubbed the chip with her hand, the sun pattern on it gradually blurred, and the number "24" faintly appeared below. When Mingpa removed her hand again, it disappeared and turned back into a sun.

Does this mean... it can be broken down into 24 "Time Red Copper"?

However, chips can be split but not combined. Before it's clear what the higher-level chips can be used for, it's best not to split them.

but……

"Why here?"

Mingpo murmured softly as she paced around the room.

His memory has not yet fully returned.

Whenever Mingpo looks at every piece of furniture in this room, a memory vaguely emerges.

A subtle anxiety stemming from the unknown caused his brow to furrow slightly, while the sense of security he felt in a safe space made him relax.

As the lost memories slowly flowed back, Mingpo's heart gradually calmed down. It was as if his empty heart had been somewhat filled again... For a moment, he even felt like he was still that ordinary person living a peaceful and uneventful life.

Mingpo tried taking a book off the shelf and found that it was still readable.

He could also open the laptop on the bedside table, and the cell phone that was placed on the bedside table... They could even be charged, but they couldn't connect to the internet.

"Is this my 'spiritual palace'?"

Mingbo joked, then chuckled self-deprecatingly, "It seems to be... the safest place I feel?"

With that in mind, Mingpo tried to walk to the balcony and draw back the curtains.

To his surprise, he found that the outside world was still that gray world!

Just like the world outside the house in the game that Mingpo participated in before!

However, it wasn't frozen; time flowed on—the traffic below was clearly visible. There was some noise, but it had become much quieter. It was roughly like wearing noise-canceling headphones; you could still faintly hear intermittent horn sounds from outside. As for the sound of cars whizzing by, it was completely inaudible.

Apart from that, the only difference is the color tone.

It was as if the whole world was covered by a hazy black and white filter.

Mingpo tried it and found that the window could be opened. He threw down a crumpled piece of toilet paper and found that it could be thrown out... but it disappeared as soon as it hit the ground.

"Could it be...?"

A thought struck him, and he left his bedroom.

The living room also has colors, although they are still cool tones, but they are indeed different from the black and white outside.

A soft leather sofa, and a rather old LCD TV... Mingpo can't remember how old he is this year, but he bought this TV when he was in high school.

Next to him were his game consoles—PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and NS. All the games he played from elementary school until after graduating from university were here. On the other side, a plastic box was filled with game discs, as well as some rulebooks and maps for board games.

Unlike his roommate, who preferred MMOs and FPS games, Mingpo was a console gamer. Sometimes he would play board games—but hardly anyone played with him. Back then, he would set up the table and arrange the pieces all by himself. He would simultaneously play the host and the player, constantly switching roles, walking around the table and talking to himself.

Although it may sound a bit pitiful, Mingper actually thinks he can also be considered to be enjoying himself.

Mingpo's family is well-off; at least when he was in elementary school, his family would buy him genuine game consoles.

He's not a native Shanghainese; his parents moved here when he was very young because they did business here. This apartment in the XH district was in his elementary school's catchment area—back then, apartments weren't expensive, costing less than 5,000 yuan per square meter. After high school, he moved to Baoshan District. He's moved roughly every two or three years.

After graduating with his master's degree, Mingpo returned and renovated the house.

After all, this place is relatively close to his company, only a 20-minute walk away, so he can treat it as a form of exercise.

However, upon thinking of this, Mingpo hesitated slightly.

If my memory serves me right, my parents should still be alive... right?

His memory of the two people in his family was very faint.

The two workaholics rarely went home. They would occasionally come back when Mingpo was in elementary school, but from middle school onwards, they were completely taken care of by their nanny until he went to college.

Although they are family, they are not very familiar with each other.

As he grew up, Mingpo learned to take care of himself, and he has lived in the house alone ever since. The two of them would only come back for a few days during the Chinese New Year. Otherwise, he was basically traveling all over the world.

Until three years ago, one of Mingpo's few friends moved in after losing his job.

He is the name Mingpo used in the game, Ai Shiping.

Because they had a really good relationship. Even though they were brothers, they still had to keep clear accounts, but Mingpo was too lazy to ask him for rent. It was nice to have another person in the house, and to have a little more human presence. So Mingpo tidied up the guest room for him—it was his old children's room, perfect for this "son".

And the other party is really shameless; it would be really difficult not to give it to them.

This tenant, in a sense, does have a job, albeit a rather informal one. He does some boosting or gaming services, and his income is quite good.

With his excellent gaming skills and his smooth talk, especially his ability to make girls happy, he can earn about 20,000 to 30,000 yuan a month—of course, part of which is extra "pocket money" from the other party.

Actually, if he were willing to become a streamer, he could earn far more money than this... but he doesn't seem to like making a living based on his looks, so he's quite reluctant.

Although he didn't pay rent, that guy was a loyal friend. He liked to order a whole table of takeout and eat together with Mingpo when she got off work.

That guy is quite cheerful. Having a boisterous fellow at home, at least Mingpo feels her mental state has improved a lot.

Living alone for too long can really make you sick. Mingpo thought to herself.

He opened the other person's door with a touch of nostalgia, wanting to see if he was inside.

At this moment, Mingpo was stunned.

Because it was just a door away—the room turned black and white.

The interior decor was largely unchanged: two connected ultrawide monitors, a microphone with a suspension arm, a computer host with cool RGB lighting, two expensive speakers, and two different headphones hanging on the headphone stand next to them.

Instead of using an ergonomic chair, Ai Shiping opted for a futuristic RGB computer chair and a Coca-Cola mini-fridge filled with canned iced cola.

The bed was completely different from Mingpo's; it was rather messy. Pajamas were scattered on the blankets, and the computer was still on, automatically playing a walkthrough video for a dungeon in Ouroboros. Judging from the fact that the video wasn't turned off, he must have just left not long ago.

Mingper tried to open the refrigerator to get a can of Coke—but he failed.

Unlike the colorful world, his hand went straight through the refrigerator.

"Could it be... that I'm a ghost now?"

Mingpo frowned and returned to the colorful living room.

Although the light here isn't very bright, it looks like a cloudy afternoon, even a bit dim. But at least it looks much more vibrant than a black and white filter.

Mingpo tried to open the refrigerator in the living room.

This time it worked.

However, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his gaze became cold and sharp.

Because inside the empty refrigerator, there was a human head!

A thin layer of frost covered her skin, and her eyes were tightly closed.

That was Mingpo's own head!