Death Game: Starting as a Trickster, Pretending to Be a God

Chapter 721: Rush to Reinforcements

Tonight in Jiangcheng, the sky was exceptionally clear, the night high and distant. Since the hot spring inn was located on the outskirts of town, light pollution wasn’t so severe. Looking up, one could faintly see a few strands of clouds, like gauze ribbons illuminated by light, drifting among the stars.

Inside the garden, Good Night and Paper Kite occupied opposite corners of the terrace, staring at Li Nian, who had slowly risen from the bench with a leisurely air.

Her relaxed attitude left them puzzled.

And that confusion spelled trouble...

Neither the grinning Good Night nor the repeatedly demoted Paper Kite were people who couldn’t read a serious situation.

Was the Master Thief in front of them possibly bluffing?

Of course, it was possible... but what if she wasn’t?

So even with two Third-Tier players facing a single Second-Tier, neither of them took any chances.

"Master Thief, did you hear me? Give up resistance, stay right where you are, and slowly raise your hands above your head."

Good Night spoke in a perfectly standard procedure, his tone even carrying that crisp broadcast announcer’s cadence with no trace of an accent.

And Li Nian, who had just gotten up from the bench, wasn’t entirely uncooperative.

She raised her hands high, her phone slipping into her wide sleeve.

But she wasn’t fully compliant either.

She took a step back and stood on the bench.

Good Night frowned. "Shit, damn low-quality behavior..."

Paper Kite, however, grew more solemn. "No, Team Leader—she’s too relaxed."

"We can’t keep testing the waters."

As Paper Kite’s words fell, Good Night nodded in agreement.

"You’re right, Paper Kite."

Still clinging to the air conditioner’s external unit, Lin Yu watched as, after their brief exchange, they charged straight toward Li Nian without any hesitation whatsoever.

No wind-up, no second thoughts.

Paper Kite pulled the trigger from one side, the muzzle flashing with dense flames as bullets rained down, precisely covering the spot where Li Nian stood.

And Good Night was even a bit faster than Paper Kite’s gunfire. As he rushed toward Li Nian, he pulled out a fishing net and hurled it in her direction.

The two had already been decisive enough—from receiving the order to come out and persuade her to surrender, to realizing their opponent seemed unexpectedly confident and opening fire, the entire process took less than five minutes.

As the captain of Order’s branch and Paper Kite, a former inspector of the East China Region, both had their own personality flaws, but their professional competence and judgment were beyond reproach.

Too bad...

Sometimes, even doing everything right doesn’t guarantee things go your way.

"Whoosh—!"

Both the bullets and the fishing net landed precisely where Li Nian had been standing.

But...

The sound of bullets piercing bone or the net landing on flesh never came.

Instead, a crisp "cracking sound" rang out.

"Craaack!"

In the air, cracks appeared—the net and bullets embedded themselves in what seemed like an invisible, transparent mirror.

As the fissures spread and the dense cracking grew louder, light refracted between the gaps, creating countless reflections of varying sizes, each one mirroring the stunned faces of Order’s two Jiangcheng captains.

"Crash!"

Crystalline, glass-like fragments scattered on the ground, dragging the net and bullets with a clatter as they fell, revealing the real bench behind them.

Li Nian’s figure had vanished. In her place sat a fair-skinned, clean-faced young man with peach-blossom eyes, dressed in a violet-red tailcoat and a top hat, an ebony-wood cane with a silver inlay resting horizontally across his knees.

On either side of the bench, an unknown mist began to rise from nowhere.

"Honored guests, it’s now showtime for the Great Magician, Phantom—our first act is the Vanishing Act. How do you like it, you two?"

Good Night and Paper Kite stared at the suddenly appearing young man, both on high alert.

Behind them, Lin Yu’s startled voice rang out.

"Is that the Magician from the Free Alliance?! How did he get here so fast?!"

Good Night laughed bitterly. "He sure as hell didn’t just arrive—he was probably lying in wait all along... The Free Alliance really pulled out all the stops, seeing through the Professor’s arrangements!"

"This damn thing is a trap aimed right at us!"

Phantom chuckled at that, gently lifting the cane from his knee as he stood. "A trap? Aimed at you? Ha... I’m just here to make sure our dearest little Master Thief sister doesn’t get bullied by the big shots outnumbering her."

Phantom’s peach-blossom eyes glimmered with amusement. "She’s the youngest and least experienced one in our Free Alliance, yet Order sends out two captains, and even an inspector—isn’t that making a mountain out of a molehill?"

As Phantom spoke, Good Night looked at him. "Since that’s the case, how about we leave the Master Thief alone? Let’s pretend tonight never happened, yeah?"

Before Phantom could answer, Li Nian’s cheerful voice rang out from above them.

"Ha, so you were just gonna let me off tonight? You guys already shot at me! Brother Lotus, they shot at me!"

Paper Kite clarified again, "Those were tranquilizer darts!"

"Bullshit. Since when are tranquilizer darts made of brass? I saw the shell casings on the ground. Why don’t you say they were Frega bullets?"

Li Nian pointed at the brass-colored bullet remnants on the ground.

"This is from Night Valley, what do you know about it?"

Paper Kite said helplessly.

Phantom naturally wasn’t buying Paper Kite’s explanation either. "Look here, you two... I’m a reasonable man."

"I have no intention of burning bridges with you, but... our Free Alliance’s party in this incident doesn’t agree with that."

As Phantom spoke, Good Night sighed.

"Shit, so there’s no room for negotiation?"

Phantom silently raised his cane, holding it horizontally before him.

The atmosphere between the two sides grew increasingly tense, and at that moment...

"Thump!"

Lin Yu jumped in from the air conditioner unit and landed behind Paper Kite and Good Night.

"What are you coming in here for now?" Paper Kite immediately turned back, speaking sternly. "Since you know who this guy is, you should understand... the Magician is dangerous!"

"This isn’t a battlefield you should be stepping into!"

As Paper Kite spoke, Phantom laughed as well.

"Oh, I remember you... You’re that gutsy Order kid."

Lin Yu met Phantom’s gaze.

"Thank you for letting me go last time, but... Lord Phantom, this time I have no choice but to stand against you."

He positioned himself beside Good Night and Paper Kite.

Phantom’s expression remained unchanged, his smile intact as he spoke.

"I understand. Different sides and all..."

With that, he casually took off his hat and set it on the bench.

"And it’s not like I can’t call for backup."

At Phantom’s words, Paper Kite and Good Night’s faces shifted slightly.

"What?!"

They instinctively went on guard for a third Free Alliance member.

But Lin Yu vaguely realized that what Phantom meant definitely wasn’t any other member of the Free Alliance.

He recalled seeing Phantom make a move during the earlier Mad Banquet Beyond Heaven, and it clicked immediately.

"Watch the hat!"

Lin Yu called out, hearing a rustling sound behind him.

Turning his head, he saw the hat from the bench had somehow ended up behind them.

No... there was still a mirror on the bench, and the hat had been behind them the whole time when he set it down!

Then, a snow-white rabbit, also dressed in a tailcoat, hopped out of the hat.

"Bingo! I am the BEST MAGIC-BUNNY!"