Chapter 188: What a Vicious Insult

The wealthy man played the banker, while the four of them shorted.

The wealthy man shorted, while the four of them played the banker.

Four against one. With the five of them depleting their funds against each other, it was only a matter of time before the wealthy man went bankrupt.

Chen Ran lit a Cigarette.

"As you can see, the fact that Qiu Yinong and I have both survived until now proves that ordinary lies cannot deceive us..."

Long Hui interrupted, "There's no need for so much buildup. Just get to the point."

"When I was in the Novice Tutorial Instance, I asked a young Veteran Player, 'Does deduction count as lying?' His answer was, 'Your kind doesn't count.'"

"This is the third Instance I've experienced since coming to Hell. The first two Instances didn't involve the judgment of an Unknown Lie much, but in this Instance, I've found the judgment of an Unknown Lie to be very confusing."

"Earlier, I tried to deduce the judgment mechanics of an Unknown Lie, but I felt that there were problems with my deductions."

Simply put, Instances randomly matched teams. Between several teams, there was a high probability that they wouldn't know each other.

For example, Li Zhitong. She could randomly spout a name, and if the others followed along and said the name she fabricated...

If everyone called out the fabricated name, it would generate Deceiver's Tongue. That in itself wasn't a big deal.

The crux was, what if out of 20 people, only 15 called out her name, while her teammates intentionally did not? The Deceiver's Tongue couldn't be generated.

Wouldn't that mean her team could, while everyone else was completely off guard, successfully Judge all 15 remaining people to death?

This obviously defied logic.

Therefore, Qiu Yinong also didn't dare to agree with her own deductions regarding Unknown Lies.

...

"Two questions. One, how is an Unknown Lie judged? Two, Three-Star players can undergo Heart Cultivation. Does this mean that Infighting among Three-Star players or higher is no longer suited for ordinary lies, but is instead primarily based on Unknown Information Deception?"

Chen Ran's words had a basis. He had previously attempted Emotional Deception, but Three-Star players could suppress their emotions at any time. The probability of tricking them into a lie was essentially zero.

At the same time, since Three-Star players were immune to Emotional Deception, they would pay special attention to Common Sense Deception. Thus, it was also very difficult to trick them into a lie using common sense, unless they lost their memories in the Wheel of Time, like Dorje.

Therefore, since the success rate of Emotional Deception was zero, and Common Sense Deception was also very difficult to pull off.

Furthermore, severing the second corpse would grant immunity to Common Sense Deception, and severing the third corpse would grant immunity to Emotional Deception.

Wouldn't that mean players who have severed the third corpse are basically invincible?

Hence, Chen Ran felt that at the Three-Star rank or higher, there existed a...

Universal method for Lie-Judgment!

This universal method for Lie-Judgment couldn't be completely immunized against by players, regardless of whether their Mental State was Ego, Id, or Superego.

He faintly felt that this universal method for Lie-Judgment was the Unknown Lie!

Diwu Zeyi lit a Cigarette, his gaze darting back and forth between Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong.

'Have they already touched the threshold of judging an Unknown Lie so quickly?'

'Originally, the mechanisms of the 18th Level were designed to induce despair.'

'Any genius who comes to Hell will never see the light of day, simply because...'

'Aside from the vicious matchmaking mechanics, the higher-ups of the two alliances continuously capture genius players to serve as Reserve Teammates... well, Cannon Fodder would be a more fitting term.'

'However!'

'The second of the two rumored schemers seemed to have deduced that the dragon-slaying youth would eventually become a dragon, so...'

'He intercepted a sliver of hope for all living beings, making an agreement with the first schemer to erect a stele in the top-floor Secret Rooms of the two alliances:'

'Heart Cultivation shall not be passed to One-Star and Two-Star players.'

'This provided space for One-Star and Two-Star players to grow, allowing them to familiarize themselves with various Lie-Judgments through Infighting in Instances, adapting to the rhythm of Lie-Judgment in Hell as quickly as possible.'

'If Heart Cultivation could be passed to One-Star and Two-Star players, a genius like Chen Ran probably wouldn't even survive the Novice Tutorial Instance before being toyed to death by a Veteran Player.'

'After all, one can stall their Star Rating. For example, a One-Star Player stalls their Star Rating, meets the four prerequisites for Heart Cultivation, exchanges for the Mental Cultivation Method directly at the alliance, and infinitely farms the Novice Tutorial Instance. Who could kill them?'

'Therefore, as long as One-Star and Two-Star players don't encounter Three-Star players exercising Downward Compatibility, or a team consisting of One-Star and Three-Star players, they can enjoy relatively good space for growth.'

'But it's only relative. The overall mechanisms of Hell remain extremely vicious.'

'Simply put.'

'Without the stele, the mortality rate for a Newbie in the Novice Tutorial Instance is almost 100%.'

'With the stele, the mortality rate for a Newbie in the Novice Tutorial Instance, Novice Instance, and One-Star/Two-Star Instances is around 70%.'

'Only then did Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong, these two Newbies, manage to counter-kill a Three-Star player after growing through two Instances.'

'If they had encountered a One-Star player who had completely severed one corpse in the Novice Tutorial Instance, just thinking about it shows how despair-inducing that would be.'

'Therefore, the rule that Heart Cultivation is only passed to Three-Star or higher players is absolutely a measure that benefits Newbies. All Newbies should kowtow to that legendary schemer.'

'And so, this rule of passing Heart Cultivation only to Three-Stars allowed freaks of Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong's caliber to grow enough to touch the threshold of the Unknown Lie while only at One-Star.'

"Give me a reason to tell you," Diwu Zeyi said in a deep voice.

Chen Ran didn't speak.

But...

[Stock Market]: Due to Company No. 8 purchasing a large amount of Company No. 5 stock, Company No. 5's stock price soared.

This maneuver allowed the wealthy man, who was originally on the brink of bankruptcy, to hang on.

"There are four of us left now. If Qiu Yinong and I fund the wealthy man, and if the two of us die because of it, do you think just the two of you could defeat him?"

It was that same principle again.

The essence of deterrence is mutual destruction.

Chen Ran had shown his hand:I know you plan to use an Unknown Lie to kill us in the Third Secret Chamber. If you don't tell us how the Unknown Lie is judged, we will die together with you in this Secret Room.

Diwu Zeyi and Long Hui's expressions were extremely ugly. They realized that this also involved the Law of the Dark Forest.

For instance, if Diwu Zeyi explained the judgment of an Unknown Lie and included a lie, Long Hui would definitely Judge him to death.

By the same logic, if there was a lie in Long Hui's explanation of the Unknown Lie judgment, Diwu Zeyi would not hesitate to Judge him to death either.

In other words.

Regardless of who answered the two Newbies' questions, they would tell the truth. There would be no lies.

After all, there were only the two of them left as Three-Star players, and they were competitors. Compared to killing Chen Ran, they wanted to kill each other first even more.

Diwu Zeyi took a fierce drag of his Cigarette. "In the Wheel of Time, Chen Ran tricked Dorje into an Unknown Lie. That was a lie, there is no second possibility. The reason is because you stated earlier that you didn't violate the Criminal Law when you were alive."

"In other words, 'knowing the truth' isn't bound by time. In any timeline—past, present, or future—as long as you said you didn't violate the Criminal Law when you were alive, and Dorje heard it, he should be able to deduce that you wouldn't turn into an Instance after you died."

"But since he still said something like 'Wait until you turn into an Instance after you die,' then there definitely existed a lie."

"Of course, Judgment is restricted to the timeline in which Dorje told the Unknown Lie."

"That is the first scenario."

"The second scenario: Chen Ran didn't violate the Criminal Law when he was alive, but he says he did. This splits into two cases."

"Case One: We don't know that Chen Ran is a True Self Player, and we follow along, saying Chen Ran violated the Criminal Law when he was alive. There is no lie."

"Case Two: We know that Chen Ran is a True Self Player, and we follow along, saying Chen Ran violated the Criminal Law when he was alive. We lied."

"In other words, a player who follows along with an Unknown Lie is lying if they know the truth or possess objective clues that allow them to deduce the truth."

"By the same logic, a player who follows along with an Unknown Lie is not lying if they do not know the truth or do not have the objective clues to deduce the truth."

"That is the judgment logic for players who follow along with an Unknown Lie. As for the creator of an Unknown Lie, as long as they don't turn the Unknown Lie into Deceiver's Tongue, they are categorically lying."

"To summarize with an example: Chen Ran is a man. He is wearing a black robe, the kind that covers his entire body. You say you are a woman."

"If we don't have any evidence—like an ID Card, masculine traits, etc.—to prove you are a man, then our judgment result for saying you are a woman is..."

"You lied, we didn't lie."

"If we discover clues proving you are a man, yet still say you are a woman..."

"You lied, and we also lied."

"Therefore, the most important aspect of Unknown Information Deception is providing a clue. If we overlook that clue, then it's very easy for you to trick us into an Unknown Lie."

"However, Unknown Lies carry a very high risk factor. If the person who creates an Unknown Lie cannot form Deceiver's Tongue, then the creator of that Unknown Lie has definitely lied."

"This is also the fundamental reason why the higher-ups of the two alliances need Reserve Teammates. In Instances, the higher-ups have their Reserve Teammates create Unknown Lies for them. Even if it's seen through, the higher-ups are fine. The only one lying is the Reserve Teammate."

"So, when higher-ups encounter each other in an Instance, it's actually just the Reserve Teammates of the higher-ups in both teams exhausting each other. They see who can trick out whose Unknown Lie, and who can see through whose Unknown Lie first."

"Why is Qiu Yinong's value so immense? The reason also lies in this."

"Although the higher-ups still don't know the effects of her Skill, just knowing that it belongs to the time attribute is enough."

"And in fact, Qiu Yinong's Skill has already exceeded the higher-ups' expectations."

"It can ignore Unknown Lies, Judge everyone one by one, and reset time. No matter who the creator of the Unknown Lie is, they have no possibility of surviving in front of her."

"Do you know what this means?"

At this point, a hint of madness surfaced in Diwu Zeyi's eyes.

"It means that if I kill you and bring her out, reporting to the first Floor Master, I will gain my freedom and massive rewards, no longer serving as Cannon Fodder-like Reserve Teammate!"

"Chen Ran!!!"

"Do you know? I used to be even more arrogant than you. Killing Two-Stars while at One-Star, killing Three-Stars while at Two-Star, and even escaping from the hands of a Four-Star player while at Two-Star."

"But the first Floor Master merely sent out a Three-Star Hunter Team, and it let me experience what true despair is!"

"You think that by killing us, making a name for yourselves in the 18th Level, and catching the eye of numerous higher-ups, you can make them compete against each other for Qiu Yinong, and thus gain a chance to catch your breath?"

"Don't be foolish. Do you truly not understand the cruelty of Hell?"

"Don't you know that the higher-ups have always been executing the Cradle Project?"

"The Cradle Project aims to strangle geniuses like you in the cradle. You either submit or die—there is no third possibility!"

"They will first make you submit, and only then will they play their games with each other."

"You played this move wrong; it was absurdly wrong from the very beginning!"

Diwu Zeyi realized that his Mental State was somewhat unstable at the moment, and hastily took a deep breath to suppress his emotions.

Long Hui felt the same. Being able to survive to Three-Star in such a cruel environment meant that he had once been no less impressive than Diwu Zeyi.

But it was useless. The growth space for players had essentially been cut off by the higher-ups in order to maintain their rule.

The outcome for players newly arrived in Hell was already predestined: either submit or die.

The higher their profile, the faster they died.

The two looked at Chen Ran. Diwu Zeyi's words were both an explanation of Hell's cruel mechanisms and an attempt to break Chen Ran's spirit, laying the groundwork for a Lie-Judgment in the Third Secret Chamber.

Chen Ran lit a Cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled thick smoke. He suddenly revealed two rows of white teeth and sneered, "I just thought of what Zhuge Liang said when cursing out Wang Lang in the TV drama Romance of the Three Kingdoms: A Spineless Dog Daring to Bark Before the Ranks."

The three of them: "..."

'Damn bro, what a vicious insult!'