Volume One, Chapter 30: Divine Punishment

"Yes, the real liar in the team is 'Green Grass by the River'."

"The first hint I received as a Trickster was that one of the six players had lied about their profession."

"The God's Path ID 'Green Grass by the River'—there was no such person in the team at all."

A moment later, Qin Shang's face darkened, and he said coldly:

"I initially suspected the Sheriff and the elderly Priest, but the Priest used his professional skills and didn't even shy away from using items right in front of me; he is definitely a player."

"If the Sheriff were the liar, the Priest would likely have already been killed. The liar must be an accomplice, and there is no reason for an accomplice not to kill the players."

"The status of these two as innocent civilians was proven."

"Finally, after ruling out the cross-dresser, the elderly Priest, and the Sheriff, I thought of the hooligan."

"Since the Priest and the Sheriff were always at peace, it meant the liar wasn't that they didn't want to kill the players, but that they couldn't..."

"Because they were already a corpse themselves."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Fen narrowed her beautiful, large eyes.

"As expected of a Trickster, truly a profession born to clear dungeons!"

Qin Shang did not accept the compliment.

In truth, if not for good luck and the fact that he had forcibly broken up the team later to part ways with the Sheriff and the others, he would likely be a corpse himself.

Two out of seven people died at the start. After Qin Shang feigned splitting the group and distanced himself from the main force, 'Grandpa Cow' could no longer move against him.

If Qin Shang had died, everyone would have been able to prioritize identifying 'Grandpa Cow' in the second round.

"You must have suspected my profession back then, which is why you wanted to follow me, right?"

Hearing this, Xiao Fen nodded.

"Yes. Most of the clues in this round of the dungeon were concentrated on the player with the Teacher profession, so the Teacher could not be allowed to survive the first round."

"But you chose to stay behind to explore."

"At the time, I suspected there might be a second player with the Teacher profession in the team."

"But then I thought, considering the unique nature of the Trickster profession and the [Inherit] skill, a Trickster could perfectly well inherit the clues of the Teacher player."

"Anyone who proactively stays behind to continue exploring the dungeon..."

"Aside from the Teacher, it would likely be a Trickster. Either way, it was a threat."

"Although I couldn't take action, I could watch you to prevent you from meeting up with them and exchanging clues."

"In the second round on the No. 3 train, there was a rule restricting speech. As long as you didn't communicate with them in the first round, I would basically have won by the second round."

The reason why the corpse of 'Green Grass by the River'—the hooligan—went missing was now obvious.

It was the Hypnotist's skill.

He must have been under an illusion when he returned to the second carriage after entering the first.

That was why, upon turning back, he found the two corpses missing.

Qin Shang frowned slightly.

"Then why did you wait so long to act while we were together for so long in the second round?"

This was the second biggest question in Qin Shang's mind.

Unable to speak, unable to move, they had spent so much time in the bedroom.

She didn't kill him in the first round because she needed him to survive to the second round to deflect suspicion.

But once the second round began, she could have killed him in an instant and blamed it on the monster 'Aier'.

After all, anyone who has explored the Death Train knows:

The real danger in the first round is just the God-Slayer hidden among the players.

The second round is the real crisis. As long as he arrived at the second round alive, it would clear her of suspicion.

If other players saw his corpse, they would suspect that... Qin Shang didn't die at the hands of the little girl.

"Because you saved me... twice!"

Xiao Fen was not as cold as before; her expression was indescribably complex.

"Although the NPCs in this dungeon don't attack each other, and I wouldn't have brought the 'monsters' upon us even if I spoke..."

"But when you figured out the rules, your first instinct wasn't self-preservation, but to jump out and cover my mouth..."

"That stirred compassion in me... I was once a player, a human. I remembered my brother."

At this point, the young girl's expression was strange, tears welling up in her eyes as she bit her lip and said:

"When my brother and I used to play games, he would subconsciously protect me. In reality, if other classmates bullied me, my brother would press my head into his chest to protect me, letting the attackers beat him while shielding me with his life."

"Even if there was a storm outside, as long as I stayed in my brother's arms, I felt safe. I..."

"I couldn't do it!"

***

When these words were spoken, the Sheriff and the elderly Priest nearby wore expressions of utter disbelief.

This guy is incredible—carrying an NPC around everywhere, and he actually survived until the end!

The Sheriff, in particular, had the most abstract expression imaginable.

This was the first time since becoming a God's Path player that he had ever seen such a maneuver.

And the fact that he was able to survive and clear this dungeon was actually thanks to this guy who had been running around with the big boss, the God-Slayer.

Is this even reasonable?

Running around with an NPC, and the NPC ends up feeling goodwill toward the player?

Qin Shang's eyes deepened.

For a moment, he didn't know whether he should thank the girl for sparing his life...

He could only silently marvel at how lucky he truly was.

However, Qin Shang himself had also had suspicions during the second round.

He had suspected that 'Grandpa Cow' was the God-Slayer!

But when he saw the little girl speak, the instinct of compassion had compelled him to jump out.

"You don't need to thank me. Phew! Just consider it repaying a favor. You won't be so lucky next time to run into an NPC as kind as me."

"And thanks to you, I've finally figured out the main quest I hadn't fully explored..."

An incompletely explored main quest?

Qin Shang was stunned.

So... the NPCs don't know the main quest either?

She only knew that a Teacher with decryption abilities could gain the most clues in the first round, which was why the Teacher had to be killed then?

A moment later, Qin Shang felt a slight sense of relief.

It made sense; the NPCs' tasks were different from the players'.

The NPC's goal was to kill players and prevent them from exploring. The God's Path game had no reason to tell the NPCs the contents of the main quest.

Furthermore, the God-Slayer group was very special.

They were transformed from former players and retained their subjective consciousness as humans.

Who knows? If they were kind-hearted, they might just tell the players all the main quest details, and that would be a disaster.

An exploration-type S-rank dungeon, cleared by players without any losses.

That would indirectly destroy the balance mechanism of the God's Path...

Although Qin Shang had only entered a dungeon once, he could clearly perceive that the God's Path was constantly enforcing a rule.

That rule was balance.

Just then, Qin Shang suddenly noticed that the little girl's expression had turned sad, her eyes tilted forty-five degrees toward the moon outside.

"The moon is beautiful, isn't it?"

"The game is over. You will stay in this space until the countdown ends. My mission failed; I can finally go see my brother."

Hearing this, Qin Shang froze.

"Wh... what do you mean?"

Why did he feel a sense of relief and a final farewell in the little girl's mutterings?

"The 'Divine Punishment'. If a God-Slayer fails their mission, as the Trickster clears the game, they will be erased by the God's Path!"

Xiao Fen looked at Qin Shang with a flat tone, then smiled brightly.

"Can I ask you a favor?"

'Divine Punishment'!

This was the first time Qin Shang had encountered this term.

If a God-Slayer fails their mission, they are erased by the God's Path?

The next moment, Qin Shang's heart jumped into his throat. His mind flashed back to the mechanism he had deduced since the first time he received [Inherit] upon entering the game.

Balance!

The God's Path was strictly adhering to this rule.

Any action taken by players and NPCs, while staying within the rules, was being guided to unconsciously maintain the game's balance.

And an NPC with self-awareness is not under the control of the God's Path.

So, if one day another player were to come in, the little girl, knowing all the main quest details and side quests, could simply tell the next batch of players the solution.

Wouldn't they be able to clear the dungeon easily without any losses!?

Is it precisely because the God's Path fears this disruption of balance that it purges God-Slayers who fail their missions?

***

God-Slayers are NPCs that only appear in Trickster dungeons.

And a God-Slayer's mission failure means the Trickster has cleared the game.

The girl didn't intend to explain further, her beautiful eyes looking at Qin Shang with a touch of depth.

Qin Shang felt a jolt in his mind, and a girl's voice, as faint as a mosquito's buzz, fell into his ears:

"'Lick Cockroach Jade Feet', you need to be careful of those two guys."

"You are a Trickster. Any other profession that kills a Trickster within a dungeon will receive an astronomical amount of points as a reward."

"That is why the Trickster is the universal enemy of all players, because the Trickster represents walking, tempting profit."

"If you manage to get out alive, I hope you go to Xiangya Villa in Yanjing to see someone..."

"His God's Path ID is 'Cardinal'. Tell him to pass a message to my brother."

"Tell him that I committed heinous crimes and fled abroad."

"Tell him not to think about finding me anymore, and to live his own life. If my brother is too sad, please ask 'Cardinal' to help erase his memory so he can forget that he ever had a sister..."

The next moment, before the little girl could say more, a sudden, intense prismatic light descended from the sky.

Yes, it descended from the sky.

The prismatic light pierced through the train's wall and, before Qin Shang's horrified eyes, pierced directly through the top of the little girl's head.

Then, visibly, the spark of life and clarity in the girl's eyes began to fade.

Her body rapidly turned to charcoal, as if ignited from within.

"Brother, we can finally meet..."

Her final whisper faded away.

Immediately, with a 'thud', she fell to the ground.

The pink skirt swayed; her pretty face was deathly still.

Her life force was gone!

[Ding! Congratulations on completing the side quest: Find the sole leader among the six players and follow the leader. As an assistant, you must help the leader clear this round of the game and protect the passengers' lives as much as possible. You must protect the leader, or it will be considered a mission failure (This quest comes from the Teacher; in this round, you will obtain the player's profession skill)]

[Ding! Congratulations on completing the side quest: Find the accomplice in the team. If the accomplice is already dead, find them as well (This quest comes from the Physician; in this round, you will obtain the player's profession skill)]

[Ding! Congratulations on completing the Trickster hidden profession quest: Find the God-Slayer in the team!]

[Ding! Congratulations on completing the main quest: Explore the mystery of the missing passengers on the Death Train]

[All missions for this dungeon have been completed]

No rewards...

Qin Shang didn't care about that, because his mind was filled with the little girl's final warning and request before she died.

At the same time, a ripple of water appeared before his eyes, and a bright white light enveloped his body. The surrounding scenery gradually changed. He didn't know how long it had been before the tide of light faded.

He wasn't teleported back to the bedroom. Looking around, it was still narrow, dark, and damp.

The stench of rot was everywhere...

Qin Shang steadied himself. It was still the train carriage, but the light was much stronger than in the No. 3 carriage.

It seemed he had been teleported back to the No. 1 carriage by the God's Path.

The next moment, Qin Shang's eyes immediately fell upon the Sheriff and the elderly Priest not far away, whom he had just carried to victory.

They had also returned to the No. 1 carriage. It seemed the exploration mission was over, and they just had to wait in the No. 1 carriage for the remaining time.

Those two hadn't heard Xiao Fen's final words.

Perhaps the girl had used a specific skill belonging to the Hypnotist in her final moments to block them out.

However, there was no sign of relief or joy on Qin Shang's face after clearing the dungeon; instead, there was a sense of vigilance.

He didn't have time to grieve the loss of a life...

Because at this moment, he realized that the way those two were looking at him was not right.

Qin Shang had very keen instincts and was extremely capable of reading people.

At this moment, he could clearly feel that the gazes of 'Eagle of Justice' and 'Buddha Favors the Predestined' revealed a touch of relief for having survived.

And...

A greed similar to that of a hunter seeing prey in a primeval forest.