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

Chapter 738: A Heart-to-Heart with the Gambler

Li Hua looked at the suddenly appearing "May May", seeming equally surprised that the other had shown up here.

He pushed up his glasses.

"Since you're here, let's talk privately."

As he spoke, "May May" smiled.

"Alright."

Li Hua stood up and pushed his glasses back up.

"Everyone, excuse us for a moment."

He said that, then followed "May May" toward the outside.

Amid the group's shock and silence, the door to the Tycoon's office closed.

The second floor of the restaurant, aside from that office, remained abandoned, large expanses of concrete walls and floors covered in dust.

Li Hua and Lin Yu stood before the old frosted glass, looking through it at the river blurred further by the morning mist.

"Was it Old Yao who reported to you?" Lin Yu asked, slightly shaking his head. "No, he only told me that people from Order had been looking for him, asking if he knew any inside information… I pretty much guessed it was related to me."

"In fact, it was mainly related to Zhu Ming. Zhu Ming used his identity," Li Hua said calmly, "For emotional and logical reasons, he should be questioned."

"Also to ask me?" Lin Yu said with a smile.

Li Hua fell silent, then sighed, "Yes, May May… you are too unusual."

"Although you had a recommendation from the Grandmaster, and you are indeed an excellent, clever guy whom I admire, your performance has forced me to harbor doubts."

"So that's why you asked whether I should participate in the bets?"

Lin Yu countered.

"Yes. I arranged for you to participate in the Land of Certain Death partly as a test," Li Hua said softly, "In fact, the mere fact that you agreed already says something—because the last time I saw you, you weren't yet Second Tier… and now you are. Did you just promote to Second Tier?"

Lin Yu did not deny it: "Yes, just promoted."

"That means you actually leveled First-Tier after four dungeons, and got to Second Tier after eight dungeons," Li Hua tapped the windowsill, "That speed… unheard of."

"Before you, the fastest Player I knew had also needed five dungeons to reach First-Tier."

As he spoke, Lin Yu rubbed his nose.

"Maybe I really am a bit different, but why does that make you suspicious of me—Comrade Li Hua, don't suspect those you don't use, and don't use those you suspect."

"Extremely gifted people are always hard to grasp and control," Li Hua replied calmly, "At first I chose you simply because you were 'good enough' without feeling 'unexpected.'"

"But I was wrong… According to Paper Kite's report, Nian's death seems inseparable from you, and when I wanted to investigate what happened that day more deeply, I found people from the forum covering up your past."

"Although I badly want to root out the insider within Order, I could not help but start to wonder… whether I have introduced a monster I can't control."

"Although my awakened Class is Gambler, I am used to explaining things and deciding actions with 'data' and visible 'probabilities'. But the more I learned about you, the more I found… the effective data you give me is far too little."

Li Hua looked at Lin Yu. "To be frank, I fear you."

Hearing Li Hua's words, Lin Yu fell silent as well.

"You're flattering me, Comrade Li Hua. I, in truth, have only survived to today by doing my best and being extremely cautious."

"All my instinctive concealments… were not because I was scheming something; they were because I lacked a sense of security."

Lin Yu looked at Li Hua. "If you want me to be honest, I can be honest—but can I trust you, Your Excellency Li Hua?"

"I know you are a high-ranking member of Order, an administrator in Haicheng, but… you know better than I do that the title Order is not absolutely trustworthy—this was even an important reason you approached me, wasn't it?"

Li Hua stared at Lin Yu, and after a long while, slowly spoke.

"I swear in the name of the gods, as long as you have not committed acts that seriously endanger society and the player community, I will never take the initiative to harm you or act against you."

The weight of those words fell like a thousand jin, and even Lin Yu couldn't help showing a stunned expression.

It seemed he had not expected…

Li Hua would actually swear by the gods directly!

"I understand, Comrade Li Hua," Lin Yu's voice grew a few degrees more serious, "Since that is so, I have no reason to hide anything from you anymore."

"You want to investigate my connection with Zhu Ming, and your direction is indeed correct… because the reason she and I first knew each other was actually Fluoxetine."

Hearing Lin Yu's words, Li Hua was somewhat surprised.

"You mean… Fluoxetine?"

"Yes. Both of us were targets of Fluoxetine. The difference is… I was personally sent into the Death Game by Fluoxetine, while Zhu Ming, before Fluoxetine moved, had already become a Player because of an accident. When Fluoxetine came to her, she mistakenly thought someone had hired an assassin against her, so she chose to fake her death to escape."

Lin Yu calmly revealed that hidden "truth", then added, "So, although I have since severed contact with Zhu Ming, when she had just joined the Psychological Society I did contact her once—she told me that in the Psychological Society's potential evaluations, my rating was the highest… S+."

"That's also why I concealed the details of my Promotion and my true Class, and why I hid my information even from Order."

Even the well-traveled Li Hua was stunned for a moment upon hearing Lin Yu's words.

But then he immediately fully understood Lin Yu's position.

"I see… Before you even entered the Game, you had already drawn such attention from the Psychological Society. If they learned you were a genius who promoted after just four dungeons and had awakened a Unique Class, you would indeed never have peace."

Lin Yu nodded. "That's not all. I have more to say."

Li Hua's expression turned grave. "More?"

"Yes. Before, I was being watched by the Diviner and I didn't know why. Only after I completed my Promotion did I realize it was probably because I accidentally came into possession of a Fate Fragment."

"Before that, I didn't know what that item was or what it did, only that I could sense its divine and special nature—so even facing Order, I had to be cautious!"

Upon hearing this, Li Hua took off his glasses, pulled a piece of silk from his jacket pocket and wiped them, then slowly spoke.

"I understand… you really do have your hardships."

Lin Yu silently waited for Li Hua to put his glasses back on before speaking again.

"But today's events made me realize… Comrade Li Hua, you truly are someone who can be trusted."

"And now that I am Second Tier, I want to use this Land of Certain Death opportunity to do one thing—I hope to gain your assistance."