Chapter 412: 386 The Insect King

"Old thief!"

Emerging from the room, Tang Zhao gave his assessment.

Truly an old thief, an old thief with sinister intentions!

An old thief who doesn't forget to commit evil even when death is imminent!

When that row of keys was displayed before Black Widow, Tang Zhao felt a malice even more intense than the Yin Calamity emanating continuously from this decrepit old thing.

In this villa, everyone has a room, and only one's own key can open the door, so spending the night inside is absolutely safe and one can sleep with peace of mind. However, those who answer excellently can choose the keys to others' rooms.

What a joke, they aren't having an affair, why would they need the keys to someone else's room?

Isn't it just left with sneak attacks?

This is clearly encouraging mutual slaughter under the cover of night!

And this is a slaughter game with a game-theoretic nature.

You can choose not to pick a key and just guard your own room, but others might not choose the same.

What, you say these keys aren't possessed by everyone, but are rewards only for those who answer well—ghosts wouldn't even believe that lie!

Tang Zhao could be certain that everyone must have these keys. It is very likely that everyone has grasped the vital weaknesses of others. In this situation, if you don't choose, wouldn't you just be passively waiting to be beaten? No one would refuse.

Therefore, everyone has been passively pushed onto this stage.

Moreover, what is even more malicious is that no one knows whose room the key they hold belongs to, nor does anyone know who holds the key to their own room. No one can make a targeted choice of an enemy or ally's room; it all depends on gambling. Once the door is opened, even if it wasn't a target one intended to hunt at first, there is no turning back.

Everyone has been reduced to an indiscriminate murderer.

If the person who designed this game isn't an old thief, then what is he?

Hearing Tang Zhao's assessment, Black Widow smiled slightly and said nothing. The two continued walking forward, not returning to the main hall according to the rules, but instead entering the corridor and arriving in front of the room they had chosen.

The rooms the two chose faced each other; they were the two outermost rooms, guarding the outer wall of the villa like a pair of door gods. They were at a distance from the nearest rooms, which could be considered somewhat isolated. This position is strategically very good, but it is inevitably remote, with poor access to information, making it difficult to grasp the overall situation.

Black Widow opened a door and beckoned to Tang Zhao, saying, "Let's go in."

Tang Zhao knew she wanted to communicate with him, so he followed her into the same room.

Before entering, Tang Zhao examined the door.

The door was thick and heavy, not a wooden door but a metal one. Ordinary blades could not damage it, and Internal Energy could not penetrate it. The door and frame fit together tightly, and the soundproofing was likely quite good. It was more than enough to guard against thieves, but for a Loose Practitioner with Qi, if not entirely useless, it was at least better than nothing.

But Meng's claim that only the key could open it wasn't Alie; this door was also connected to mechanisms capable of triggering several hidden weapons. Most importantly, Tang Zhao discovered a Rune Array by the door.

This door actually counted as an Art Tool, and the investment was not small, as all the room doors were the same. Although it was only a simple Art Tool, it could make the door weigh over a thousand catties, making it difficult to break open by force, and it ensured that opening the door would emit a loud sound, acting like an alarm bell to warn those inside, which was enough to guard against most sneak attacks.

If not for this business with the spare keys, it might have truly guaranteed a peaceful night.

This made it even more evident that Meng Tiansheng was deliberately stirring up trouble.

Tang Zhao couldn't help but curse again: "Old thief."

Black Widow closed the door at this moment, leaving only the two of them, and since the sound couldn't travel out, she said, "Calling him an old thief might not be accurate; he is the old Insect King. This scent is correct. Insect fighting, after all—do you think 'a hundred insects become one king' is just a saying? Mutual devouring and mutual slaughter are the essence of raising insects. There were similar games in previous years, and Meng Tiansheng also killed his way out like this. He is continuing this tradition; it's a case of a long-suffering daughter-in-law finally becoming a mother-in-law."

Tang Zhao said, "But his son clearly said he wanted to use people..."

Halfway through, Tang Zhao suddenly realized: what kind of topic Meng Huazhou wanted to set, what did that have to do with Meng Tiansheng? Meng Huazhou was somewhat of a literary youth with dreams of poetry and distant places, while Meng Tiansheng was an old poison-worm who had headed the Five Poisons Society for many years with the five poisons deep in his heart. Why would he consider his son's need for more helpers to find the Xiancheng?

Meng Huazhou had also said that his father was his "small obstacle," and perhaps he still was. The topic Meng Tiansheng set was partly due to his own habits and interests, and partly, it might not be without the intention of cutting off his son's path.

You want to find people to help you explore, did you ask your father?

Tang Zhao still didn't quite understand and said, "Isn't this kind of aimless slaughter a waste of one's own talent? Everyone who can come here is an elite of the Five Poisons Society; wouldn't it be a waste if they died for no reason?"

Black Widow gently tucked a lock of hair behind her ear with her finger and said, "What makes you think that those who fail the insect fight don't have to die?"

Tang Zhao let out an "Ah?" and Black Widow said, "In an insect fight, only one lives, and that is the Insect King; the others must all die. Even if they don't die in the insect fight, once the Insect King becomes the Manor Master and becomes a Sword Guest, he will execute them when he holds the power of life and death. The leaders from the same batch as the old Manor Master are already dead, and their forces have been destroyed or dismantled, almost completely disappeared. The Five Poisons Society is still the Five Poisons Society, and it is still flourishing."

Tang Zhao said, "Then if the Manor Master doesn't execute his competitors, wouldn't that better demonstrate his magnanimity and win over people's hearts?"

Black Widow said, "Win over whose hearts? In the Five Poisons Society, sparing an enemy is the benevolence of a woman; it will only be seen as weak and easy to bully, and others won't submit to you."

After finishing, she said softly, "So, after staying in the Five Poisons Society for a long time, it's hard to remain like a person. To be able to sit in the position of Jingzhe Manor Master, that is even more poisonous than poison."

Tang Zhao suddenly remembered something and said, "If he is this kind of person, it would be hard for him to agree with your philosophy, like dismantling the Five Poisons Society, right? In his heart, you might be ranked low, and he might even deliberately sabotage you."

Black Widow said, "I don't know what he thinks either. I only state my strategy. I planned it this way from the start, so why bother deceiving this old coffin-board? Whether he appreciates it or not, the keys are here, and he gave me the admission ticket to the insect fight. I don't know if he would give four keys to someone he truly favors?" As she spoke, she hung the two keys on her finger to show Tang Zhao.

When choosing the keys just now, Black Widow had chosen them herself, and Tang Zhao hadn't interfered. Although he wasn't stupid, Black Widow had more experience in these games of human heart. She had dared to plot for the position of Manor Master even before securing Tang Zhao as a powerful external aid; her martial arts, schemes, and methods were not weak, and she had long been prepared.

Tang Zhao looked at the tags on the two keys; one was written "Bing-Zi" and the other "Ding-Wu."

"Bing-Zi... could it be..."

Black Widow smiled and said, "That's right, it's this room I'm in now. Both the main key and the spare key for this room are in my hands, so others shouldn't be able to open it. Theoretically, this room is absolutely safe."

Tang Zhao praised, "Not bad. If one were to get all the keys to both rooms, would that mean closing the door and guarding it, opting out of the game?"

Black Widow said, "I did have that thought, but firstly, pure defense like this is too passive. Who can guarantee that every room really only has one spare key? If there are others, then if you let your guard down and sleep soundly, you're dead for sure."

Tang Zhao said, "Given the poisonous ways of Jingzhe Villa, I think it's highly likely there are. I wouldn't even be surprised if they had other ways to play. For example... actually, the old guy... it's unlikely the old guy himself would, but his other Protectors might have more spare keys. While we are guarding against each other, they enter from outside the game; wouldn't they be able to kill whoever they want?"

After finishing this sudden inspiration of a guess, Tang Zhao felt it seemed unreasonable—why would the Protectors enter the game? This was, after all, an insect fight, intended to kill until a result was reached, not to purge the sect.

Black Widow nodded and said, "It's not impossible; Jingzhe Villa is a night of slaughter tonight, anything can happen. Secondly—the spare key to the room 'Bing-Chou' has already been taken by someone."

Tang Zhao's heart skipped a beat—this meant that the room belonging to him had already been targeted by other hunters.

Black Widow said, "So we won't stay in that room; why don't we just make do in here for the night, Brother Tang?" After saying this, she blinked.

Tang Zhao let out a "Ha" and said, "That's fine. We won't really be using it to sleep anyway. That... is it possible that there is no spare key for that room at all, and it's just there to confuse people?"

Black Widow smiled lightly. Because she had watched Tang Zhao grow up since he was a child, she had somewhat of an elder's air, so her teasing of Tang Zhao was a bit like teasing a child. She stopped at the right moment and didn't use the methods she used to traverse the world, saying, "It's possible. But one cannot gamble on it, can one?"

"I don't know whose this second spare key is, but when I first chose the room, its number wasn't there, so its main key had already been chosen by someone at that time. Therefore, it is valid."

She counted on her fingers: "Ahead of us are Beigong Qi, Qin Jiujiu, and Jin Fusheng and his helpers. It's a pity that none of these are the people I most want to eliminate."

Tang Zhao said, "Are you going to take the initiative and participate in this hunting game?"

Black Widow said lazily, "I don't know yet. But the night is long, and we can't sleep soundly and must guard against attacks from outsiders; rather than being on edge, why not do something?"

Tang Zhao's eyes flashed, and he said, "Then I have a proposal—why not kill the old Insect King, ignore whatever topic Meng Gongzi set, and you ascend to the throne directly?"

Honestly, he rarely felt murderous intent toward someone, even if he disliked or even hated that person. But a place like Jingzhe Villa seemed particularly prone to generating violent energy. Not to mention that there were hateful and dangerous people here.

If his killing intent in the living room had been just a fleeting thought that he felt was absurd, after this incident, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that drawing the firewood from under the cauldron would be better for everyone.

Black Widow was stunned at first, but then her face lit up with joy, and she asked, "Can it be done?"

Tang Zhao said, "One-on-one, it should be no problem."

Black Widow was excited for a moment; after all, such a decisive step was very tempting, but she quickly calmed down and said, "I'm afraid it's difficult. The old guy won't go one-on-one with us. He certainly won't stay in the villa at night; he will live in his old lair, which is full of mechanisms. And the villa will definitely be locked."

Tang Zhao said, "Opening a lock is not difficult."

Black Widow said, "Getting out isn't hard, but finding his core area is. I've never been to his residence, and in the middle of the night, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be able to find the direction. Even if I found it, who knows what kind of mechanisms there are? Or how many men he has? He has lived here for more than thirty years; he is both a powerful dragon and a local tyrant, and there is no telling how many hidden resources he holds. It's hard, hard, hard."

She said the word "hard" three times in a row, and Tang Zhao also calmed down, knowing that he was fighting on enemy territory and could not rely on a moment of courage, but he did not give up on this idea and said, "I will first test the depth of the mechanisms in this villa. I imagine the construction style of Jingzhe Villa is consistent; if there is an opportunity, it might not be impossible to try."