Chapter 27: Deceiver

The chubby guy had never encountered such a situation before, and he looked so flustered that he almost wanted to smash his phone.

He had been playing [Deceit World] for two months now, relying on the 'Deceiver' as his starting attribute to always gain the upper hand. He had deceived Ancient God Favored, exploited ancient lives, and even when he reincarnated as a citizen of the River of Death and snatched the opportunity for the chain quest from 'Rest Angel' Archer, it was through tricking other players.

When the clock struck midnight,

The chubby guy excitedly logged into the game, hoping to hand over the task assigned by 'Rest Angel' and dive into the next part of the story. But then, he received an unexpected message.

"The arrival of an undead has attracted the attention of an ancient, unknown existence within the river."

"The 'Rest Angel' Archer sensed an anomaly and said that the undead must carry an 'Original Darkness' object of significance. Its rank might exceed his own, but unfortunately, a powerful deity has already noticed it. That item is beyond his reach."

The chubby guy immediately started scheming.

He wasn't entirely sure what the 'Original Darkness' object referred to, but anything that could make 'Rest Angel' Archer obsessed was clearly extraordinary.

Once greed begins to rise in a person, it becomes impossible to suppress.

After concluding the task, the chubby guy instantly selected the special item [Communion of Compatriots], which he had purchased for 200 Old Sacrifices—an exorbitant price. Its effect allowed interaction with players within a designated area.

His heart ached for the expense, but for the 'Original Darkness' object, he couldn't care less. Clenching his teeth, he used the costly item.

The process turned out smoother than expected.

Since the River of Death is a taboo for the living, there were very few players present, and encountering someone at the same time was even rarer. His character easily connected with a player who possessed the 'Original Darkness' object.

The 'Deceiver' ability was triggered,

His Game Character masqueraded as 'Rest Angel' Archer, successfully fooling the other player into a daze. He laid out two options for the player to hand over the 'Original Darkness' object, and the treasure seemed nearly within his grasp.

But just at the critical moment, the other player seemed to have an epiphany, breaking free of the 'Deceiver' status.

And they retaliated.

"You are influenced by the 'Stone of Truth.' For the next five minutes, you must answer every question from the opposing player truthfully."

"You revealed your identity as an Otherworld adventurer to the opposing player."

"You revealed to the opposing player that every time the 'Original Darkness' object appears, the slumbering Old Gods in the River of Death inevitably react."

"You revealed to the opposing player..."

The chubby guy's face turned green, filled with regret. It turned out that the player who possessed the 'Original Darkness' object was simply not someone to be trifled with. This time, he'd hit a brick wall.

What exactly was this 'Original Darkness' object? He desperately wanted to see it.

Due to the 'Dark Crow of Profane Fortune' restarting his destiny, the chubby guy had forgotten the attributes of the 'Hidden God's Clothes' from his previous fate line.

"Wait, could my real-world identity be exposed…?"

The thought suddenly struck him, sending chills down his spine. "This is a big shot who obtained the 'Original Darkness' object. Their resources must be absurdly powerful—perhaps they'd have items to locate me in real life. Wouldn't that be disastrous?"

At that moment, the effects of the 'Stone of Truth' conveniently ended, and the system text refreshed to show his character escaping into the River of Death.

Imagining the big shot onto whom he'd unwittingly stumbled, the chubby guy was scared out of his wits. He didn't even have the heart to continue playing the game and instead closed the interface, opening up a chat group.

He found himself caught in indecision...

...

Elsewhere.

Yang Qizhou stared at his phone screen, his initially grim expression easing slightly as he repeatedly reviewed the system's text.

"You asked about the 'Deceiver' ability, and the opposing player truthfully revealed it."

"Deceiver: Deception is not mere trickery but one of the universal powers. As a Deceiver, you may first set an event you wish to accomplish, then use language as a tool to steer circumstances towards your intended outcome. Note: Usable once per day."

"Five minutes passed, and the 'Stone of Truth' effect disappeared…"

"The opposing player broke free of the 'Stone of Truth,' panicked, and leaped into the River of Death to escape, seemingly leaving with quite a psychological scar."

Their escape was pretty quick.

Yang Qizhou relaxed a bit. He had retrieved the 'Hidden God's Clothes,' and the outcome was ultimately satisfactory.

However, this incident did serve as a reminder—players could indeed cross paths in the game and even collide with one another. He just wasn't sure how the player masquerading as 'Rest Angel' Archer managed to pull off that strategy.

Next came the resurrection phase.

Today, the 'Dark Crow of Profane Fortune' had exhausted its destiny-restart attempts, leaving him with just one more opportunity to alter the death outcome via Blessing Firelight. Yang Qizhou naturally chose the standard resurrection option.

"You open your eyes once again within the vicinity of Dark Mist Town…"

Log off, session concluded.

Yang Qizhou plopped onto his sofa, stretched lazily, and casually tossed his phone onto the coffee table. With his three resurrection attempts all used up, today's gaming session was done.

"Today's gains: one Quasi-Excellent item, one Ultra-Excellent item, two Quasi-Legend items."

"Not bad, not bad."

"At this rate, it's not a dream to dominate the entire world within three months."

Yang Qizhou chuckled to himself, his spirits high and his body brimming with motivation. If not for the rule of 'only three resurrections per day,' he would have kept playing all night.

It was already 2 AM. Sleep, sleep, sleep.

...

The next day.

As a [Deceit World] player and the owner of two Quasi-Legend items, evaluated as A+ by the Deceit Bureau, an immensely powerful 'lamp holder,' Yang Qizhou went off to work again.

No choice—

As strong as his items were, they couldn't be used as food. Unless he took the dark path to become a true villain, he had no other choice but to earn a living honestly.

By the time Yang Qizhou returned home, it was already six or seven in the evening.

Today, he had gone out of his way to buy a 5-liter bottle of cola and some duck snacks, all in preparation to dive back into the ancient land for an all-night battle after midnight.

"So boring."

Yang Qizhou lounged on the sofa, practically dying of boredom as he waited—the waiting was truly unbearable.

Wait.

Yang Qizhou suddenly remembered something, his body jolting upright. "Didn't the post by 'Secret Cultivator' leave a group link? Let's join and take a look—maybe there'll be some unexpected rewards."

Yang Qizhou had memorized the group link long ago, but because 'Secret Cultivator's' origins were unknown and their motives unclear, he'd been worried that joining might expose his identity. For this reason, he hadn't acted upon it.

But things were different now.

Last night, he gained the 'Hidden God's Clothes,' a Quasi-Legend ancient object. Its first effect was… without its wearer's explicit permission, no one could uncover their identity.

No risk of exposure at all.

"Alright then, let's join the group."