Chapter 217 - Who's The Gamemaster?

"One of us isn't a player..." Wang GuiYing suddenly muttered out loud as he finally understood what Li Ying was trying to tell him. 

Li Ying scoffed as she heard the man, "Why the hell does your brain work so slow?" 

"Wait..." Wang GuiYing gulped and looked to be in disbelief as he looked at everyone else, "You mean to say that one of us isn't a player... Then...." 

Li Ying rolled her eyes as she got impatient and straightaway completed the man's unfinished sentence, "The gamemaster. One of us isn't a player because that person is the gamemaster." 

Zhihao couldn't help but gulp as well when he heard Li Ying simply saying it so casually. He had also guessed it to be something like that, but he dare not believe his own self. He knew most of the players and to think that any one of them was the gamemaster... It was certainly impossible for him. 

The gamemaster had always been an anonymous man that had been an inspiration and a subject of admiration for Zhihao. To think that the gamemaster was someone he already knew... It was just not something that Zhihao was willing to casually even think about. 

"L-let's consider this first," Wang GuiYing stuttered and his eyebrows creased together as he spoke up, "It's definitely not me nor is it Xinyi. It can't be Mastermo either and his little lover is also an impossible candidate. Since you are his sister, I don't suspect you either. I've known Aunt Su for a really long time so I know that she would never be capable of creating a game like this." 

Li Ying frowned as she kept on listening to the man who was probably gonna guess wrong in the end. 

"That leaves us Jiangshi, Richlord, Andyzz, Kaze17, and T-Rex101," Wang GuiYing added as he looked at the said people." 

Li Ying sighed as she walked closer to the man and smacked his head without permission, "How long do you think ten minutes last? Why are you trying to waste our precious time?" 

Wang GuiYing rubbed his head as he looked at the girl with an expression that screamed: I have been wronged! 

"If the gamemaster is hiding among us, let him or her hide. I'm sure we'll all find out the truth by the end of this." Li Ying continued, making it clear in her tone of speech that she wasn't interested in trying to find the gamemaster this soon. 

"You know who it is, don't you?" Wang GuiYing squinted at the girl accusingly, "You know who it is so you're not as curious as the rest of us." 

Li Ying smirked and tilted her head as she responded, "So what of it?" 

"Eh?" 

"So what if I know who it is? Does it make a difference? Shouldn't you be focusing more on the chess competition you have in hand?" 

Wang GuiYing gulped and before he could say anything more, Liang Feng suddenly spoke up. 

"Nine minutes left," The man announced as he looked at his phone screen. 

"Damn it..." Zhihao cursed under his breath as he turned his smartphone on and looked at the new screen that had just been changed a minute ago. 

The new screen displayed a picture of a chess piece and above it was the timer while below the chess piece was the mission. 

The king. 

Zhihao really felt as if he was a bit too lucky as he saw the chess piece that he had got. 

[The King is powerful and important but at the same time, this piece is also the most vulnerable out of all. As the king, what would you do to ensure that nobody tries to overthrow you?] 

Zhihao read the mission twice and even after reading it twice, he still couldn't understand how something like this could be considered a mission. It was more like a question or a riddle. 

"Damn it..." He suddenly heard Li Ling curse. 

"What happened?" Zhihao asked as he looked up at the man, "What did you get?" 

"No," Li Ling suddenly responded. 

"Eh?" 

"Nobody say anything," Li Ling instructed and his eyebrows seemed to crease together in worry as he did, "Didn't you all hear the system?" 

Zhihao also frowned as he thought back to what the system had informed them earlier. 

"Players can't team up and help each other." Li Ling continued and he didn't sound to be too pleased as he did. 

"Wait..." Li Ying suddenly muttered out and she seemed to be thinking about something. 

"What happened?" Li Ling asked. 

"I think I know what we have to do," Li Ying responded as she looked at her brother with determination evident in her eyes. 

Li Ling nodded and waited for the girl to continue. 

"We can't form a group and help each other, but if I'm guessing right, we can't solve this game without working together. We need to cheat in a way that the system doesn't realize that we are cheating." 

"You're right," Li Ling spoke up as he confirmed, "The system is trying to trick us."

"Then let's just trick the system," Zhihao suddenly interjected. 

"Eh?" Li Ling turned to face the man as he questioned, "Do you have a plan?" 

Zhihao bit his lower lip lightly and nodded as he replied, "I might have an idea. Are you all willing to believe me?"

"..." Everyone was suddenly silent as they simply looked at Zhihao and waited for him to continue. 

"If it works, we all win together and if it fails, we all lose together," Zhihao added as he looked back at everyone. 

"I'm in," Li Ling sighed, "I'll trust you with anything." 

"If it's Mastermo then I'll also agree," Wang GuiYing spoke up before adding, "And Hulk too." 

Zhou Xinyi simply nodded as he agreed with Wang GuiYing. 

Zhihao looked over at Li Ying who shrugged her shoulder as she spoke up, "I have nothing in mind so I guess I'll go with your plan." 

"Can we hear the plan first?" Tian Xifeng questioned as she folded her hands and looked back at Zhihao. 

"We first show each other our phones by mistake," Zhihao answered. 

"Huh?" Tian Xifeng frowned and didn't look to be convinced. 

Zhihao sighed as he dropped his phone to the ground. 

Luckily enough, the screen didn't break and everyone could see the chess piece and the mission that Zhihao was given. 

Everyone glanced at the phone on the ground for a mere few seconds before looking back up at Zhihao. 

"My mistake," Zhihao shrugged his shoulder as he picked his phone back up. 

Tian Xifeng blinked and her expression seemed to turn more and more twisted as she finally spoke up, "I'm not throwing my phone to the ground! It's expensive!" 

Zhihao, "It's your choice. I'm not forcing anyone." 

Tian Xifeng shook her head as she strongly rejected the idea, "This is stupid! Can't we just show each other our screens the normal way?" 

Zhihao sighed as he commented, "I hope that was possible." 

"If we show it openly then it would be the same as helping each other out," Li Ling explained as he looked at Tian Xifeng, "If we drop our phones, it's seen as nothing more than just a mistake but if we show your screen to each other than that would mean we are straightaway trying to help each other out."

"I don't care!" Tian Xifeng stated as she hugged her phone close to her chest, "I spent my three months' worth of salary on this." 

"Richlord, just throw it. It's not that hard. Why the hell are you being so annoying?" Li Ying rolled her eyes as she spoke up. 

"Why don't you throw your own phone?!" Tian Xifeng frowned as she added, "This baby is brand new."

Li Ying scoffed as she threw her phone to the floor and the phone landed with the screen faced downwards to the ground. 

"There. I did it," Li Ying exclaimed with a smirk. 

Zhihao bent down and turned the phone over, letting everyone see the screen before he picked it up and handed it back to Li Ying. 

"Richlord, you're being really immature right now," Li Ying openly mocked and teased Tian Xifeng. 

"I don't care! Say whatever you want to say. I would never let my baby touch the dirty-" Her words were cut short as Liang Feng suddenly bumped into her shoulder and the phone that was clutched in her hand fell down with a loud thud.

"Floor..." Tian Xifeng completed her sentence and her eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at her phone that was pitifully lying on the ground. 

"Next," Liang Feng exclaimed as he looked over at Wang GuiYing. 

"Liang Feng!!" Tian Xifeng immediately cried out as she bent down and took her phone, "You stupid pig!" 

Liang Feng smirked in satisfaction as he retorted, "I'm not stupid nor am I a pig." 

"You broke my marble case!!" Two big fat drops of tears trailed down Tian Xifeng's face as she showed the man her broken phone case. 

Liang Feng's face cringed up as he saw the broken glass, "Why the hell would you buy a phone case made out of glass? Isn't a phone case made to protect your phone? Since when has it been the other way around?"

"I don't know! I don't care!" Tian Xifeng pouted and whined.