Chapter 1: Trial Game of Life

Chapter 1: Trial Game of Life

Player K27216, Tang Cuo, at 23:05 on April 1, 2019 of the Solar Calendar, confirmed dead.

Failed to clear the Trial Game of Life.

Survival duration: 24 years, 4 hours, 8 minutes and 6 seconds, Rating: A, Initial character score: -5.

Ding please collect your Survival Assessment Report.

Standing amid a hazy white mist, Tang Cuo heard an announcement spoken in a male voice that came from nowhere, his face devoid of any expression. He felt that he must be dead.

Five minutes ago, he died on the main road, where, beside a drunk man lying unconscious by the roadside, there was only a stray dog. The dog quietly stood there waiting for him to become colder. In the blink of an eye, he arrived here the blood was still on his body but the injuries had disappeared. His belongings were also gone.

He looked around. There was nothing but white mist in this place, and his naked eyes could only see up to 5 meters away.

Ding please collect your Survival Assessment Report. The announcement didnt sound like an electronic voice. It was clear and transparent, like one coming from a young man.

As a private investigator, albeit third-rate, Tang Cuo never lacked the ability to judge the situation. He felt that he must be dreaming and everything in front of him was a fantasy in his dying moments.

Also, the dead wouldnt need a report.

Ding please collect your Survival Assessment Report. The announcement continued to urge him, totally ignoring Tang Cuos complete failure to pay attention.

Tang Cuo simply sat down because he was tired of standing. After a while, the announcements content finally changed.

Player K27216, negative will to survive, first warning: deduct 1 point. Current character score: -6. Please collect your Survival Assessment Report immediately.

As the voice faded, a book of a size comparable to the English-Chinese dictionary fell crudely in front of Tang Cuos face. It had a thick, black hard cover, with the name of Tang Cuo stamped in golden curly letters.

Tang Cuo opened the book to look at one page and his face turned black. The book was densely filled with records of his life, and one entry even wrote

Tang Cuo, 7 years old, at 9pm on February 27, 2002, fought with fierce dogs at the Eunuch Lane in Gusu District, Suzhou City. Frightened many pedestrians who passed by: deduct 0.5 points. Refused to receive rabies vaccine: deduct 5 points.

Tsk. Tang Cuo knew his eight charactersRefers to the eight Chinese characters that record the exact timing of a persons birth. The time, day, month and year of the persons birth each represents two characters, forming a total of eight. were not compatible with dogs, but what is going on with this stupid deduction system? Refusing to receive the rabies vaccine deducted 5 points from him, but eventually, he still got injected!

He turned directly to the last part and read the reports comment on his short life A true rebel, negative and lazy, always takes extreme actions and recklessly dances with death. Suggest to cherish life and live past 25.

Tang Cuos face turned even blacker and he snapped the book shut, not wanting to give it any other glances. But the moment he closed the book, the scene before him suddenly changed.

A faint golden light emerged from the white mist and Tang Cuo looked up to see its real appearance it was a golden bell the size of a toddlers hand.

The bell rang and the mist thickened.

Ding

If survival is a game, are you ready for it?

Please bear in mind the first rule of Yong Ye City: Survival is justice.

Happy surviving!

The voice faded and Tang Cuo suddenly saw his surroundings turn completely black, then a whirlwind swept by. The whole process lasted for about 5 seconds. When Tang Cuo regained his vision, he found himself standing in a circular arena, surrounded by a bursting crowd of at least several thousand people.

There were men and women of all ages. Right next to Tang Cuo was a frail, skinny girl in a hospital gown. The bald girl of 11 or 12 years old was crouching on the ground and desperately trying to cover her head.

A little further away, there was a grey-haired old man with his face shrouded in wrinkles, a nervous middle-aged man covered in blood constantly checking if his limbs were still intact, a dejected-looking woman in red clothes and many, many more.

The arena was very large, entirely paved with 1-square-meter tiles made of black granite, all of which shinily polished. It was deep into the night now, but the arena remained well-lit because there was a huge golden bell floating right above. The bell seemed to house a miniature sun that illuminated the whole place, making it as bright as daytime.

Another bell. Tang Cuo somehow felt that this bell was the same as the bell he saw in the mist just now.

As Tang Cuo continued to look around, he caught sight of 49 black stone pillars circling the whole arena. These were some strange pillars each had a body so thick that at least three people were needed to hug it, and its height must be at least 30 meters. The stone pillars reflected the images of the center of the arena, giving off a huge sense of oppression.

It was a feeling of being peeped from above by the gods, as though ones soul would be pressed into a tiny space, squeezing and shrinking until it turned into mere dust.

Tang Cuo didnt like this feeling very much.

The surroundings were still noisy, and there were spots where desperate cries and held-back whispers kept coming endlessly like 10,000 ducks yelling wildly in his ears.

The woman in red snorted but didnt give any opinion. Unexpectedly, the old man who seemed to already have one foot in his grave came to say hello to Tang Cuo.

Boy, where did you come from? He asked.

Tang Cuo didnt answer immediately. From the corner of his eye, a flash of white light appeared, leaving behind a dazed young man who was wet from head to toe. Then he looked at the old man and said: Car accident.

The old man was stunned and immediately touched the wrinkles on his forehead, as if he wanted to smooth them out, then he smiled helplessly: It seems that youre an understanding person and much stronger than us. I was old and didnt have much time left. It was a long life and I pretty much passed on in my own home with natural death. But who would have thought that I would end up here after just a blink?

With that said, he stretched out three fingers at Tang Cuo: Ive been here for about three hours.

He carefully pointed to the others: That poor girl, she had cancer and couldnt be saved. The one with blood on his body only came here about half an hour ago. He still cant manage to calm down until now. Seems like he was also in a car accident.

All of them died just today.

As for the woman, the old man shook his head, looking as though he had no words to say. But when Tang Cuo looked back at her, she turned over impatiently and said: Were all dead anyway. Just wait for Yama Refers to the King of Hell in Chinese belief. to judge us. If we have to reincarnate, we reincarnate; if we have to go to Hell, then we go to Hell. What is there to talk about?

The old man didnt agree with her. The wrinkles on his forehead piled up like a dry bark as he said: Which Yama receives us just like that? What you said doesnt follow our ancestors wisdom since ancient times. Havent you heard that voice? It mentioned some games

Before the old man even finished his sentence, he abruptly closed his mouth. It was because his gaze finally landed on Tang Cuos Survival Assessment Report, his muddy eyes filled with astonishment.

You sir He even used an honourific title without knowing.

The woman was also shocked as she held the report in her hands. She was young and her life of fewer than 30 years resulted in the thickness of this book, but then it was mostly because of her rebellious teenage years. She had seen the old mans report too, but even with his much longer lifetime, his book was only a little thicker than her.

But this one? He seemed even younger than her. What has he done in just 20 odd years?

The two didnt speak anymore and for some time, they failed to comprehend the situation. The sudden silence made both the car accident man and the sick girl look over, then everyone turned completely quiet.

The atmosphere became a bit awkward.

Tang Cuo remained expressionless and didnt want to clarify, rather, he just had the urge to beat up someone. At this moment, a loud, clear voice suddenly interrupted them, breaking the silence instantly.

Mahhhhhhhhhhhh! This voice was not only abrupt but also very energetic, just like its owner a big boy clad in one-piece green dinosaur pyjamas. He looked about 16 or 17 years old, with a ruddy complexion and loads of energy.

But the reality was that whatever you feared the most would always come. With a ding, the turntable suddenly stopped, and the red pointer pointed at the piece that Chi Yan saw Bad luck for 13 points.

Hee hee! The crow was extremely happy and looked across the crowd. I hate 13, 13 is not a good number. I declare that all people with a score of 13 will die, ha!

The next moment, screams were heard from everywhere.

At many spots, a pure black hole appeared under peoples feet without any warning, like a monster opening its mouth to swallow people alive. In a flash, dozens of people disappeared right in front of everyones eyes.

Many didnt even see how those people were devoured. They only saw a dark hole opened with no bottom in sight, and then there were piercing screams.

As his life was hanging by a thread, one person managed to grab the edge of the hole, his face turning as white as a sheet after hearing the others screams. He struggled to climb up while frantically asking for help: Save me, please save me! Save me!

As the people nearby saw him, they reacted, some quickly and some slowly, but they all boldly rushed forward to pull him up. But before they could get close, the man started screaming even more helplessly, his expression petrified and twisting into desperation.

Who is pulling me?! Let go of me! Help meeee

The people who rushed to rescue him froze. The next second, the person seemed to be dragged down by something, his horrified scream travelling further away with the speed of light and leaving only an echo behind.

Ahhhhh! The weak-hearted people began to shriek as the fear in their hearts made their brains start imagining countless brutal and terrifying images.

Sometimes the invisible was the most frightening.

Chi Yan also fell into a stupefied state, his body stiff and his mouth dropping open but no words could come out. Tang Cuos face was still, his brows furrowing but his eyes showing no fear. He stared intensely at the crow.

The crow laughed, and he once again began to jump from this stone pillar to that stone pillar, then from that stone pillar to the next. Like a naughty evil boy, he shook his head and said: You are all cowards, cowardly people cant survive in Yong Ye City. So, let the great and benevolent Mr. Crow sing a song for you. With a song, you wont be afraid, ha!

The turntable continued to rotate. Like a scream that could pierce an entire ocean, a song came down.

God, lambs and crow,

Had fun playing on the cliff together.

They sang and danced,

Flowers bloomed in the stone.

The god said, look

It was my flower.

One lamb ate the flower,

Let it go die quickly.

God, lambs and crow,

There were no more flowers in the world.

One lamb fell off the cliff,

Two lambs fell off the cliff,

Three lambs fell off the cliff,

Four lambs fell off the cliff,

Five lambs fell off the cliff,

Six lambs fell off the cliff,

Seven lambs fell off the cliff,

All dead,

They were all dead, ha.

The crow said,

The disobedient children would all die, ha!

The song wasnt long, but after being sung over and over, it seemed to never stop. The cheerful tone mixed with the eerie lyrics made ones soul tremble.

Then everyone went mad.

What the hell is this place?!

What should we do? We will all die, we will die!

I am afraid

Stop singing!

Dont sing anymore!

But the singing continued.

One lamb ate the flower,

Let it go die quickly.

One lamb ate the flower,

Let it go die quickly

Ding! The turntable finally stopped again, and the red pointer pointed to a small blue grid marked as -2. The crow looked up and shook his feathers in pity: Regretfully, everyones points are reduced by 2.

But soon he was happy again, tilting his head and claiming: It doesnt matter, we have another round!

The author has something to say: The [Song of God, Lambs and Crow]: Source of inspiration Agatha Christies [And Then There Was None].