Chapter 189: Casual Chat

Diwu Zeyi smiled bitterly. There were many ways to avoid using dirty words in Hell. For example, being passive-aggressive or quoting classics.

But, things could easily go wrong. Since that was the case, why take the risk of cursing someone out?

Therefore, he didn't pay much attention to Chen Ran's vicious insult.

"Since we have some time right now, if you have anything else you want to know, go ahead and ask."

Chen Ran already knew most of what he needed to know. He mostly just wanted to ask about the 18th Level, and to Diwu Zeyi and Long Hui, there was nothing that couldn't be discussed about that.

"What Star Rating is the first Floor Master?"

"Whether it's the Liar-Slayer Alliance or the Deceiver Alliance, Floor Masters are all Five-Star and above. The first Floor Master has the lowest Star Rating at only Five-Star," Diwu Zeyi replied.

Chen Ran nodded. It was roughly what he expected. Since Diwu Zeyi was the first Floor Master's Reserve Teammate, it meant he could team up with the first Floor Master for Instances.

According to the team matchmaking mechanics, the first Floor Master was either a Four-Star or a Five-Star.

'I was originally thinking that when I go back this time, if I have enough Points, I'd upgrade straight to Three-Star.'

'Upgrading to Three-Star means I will directly face the first Floor Master and be tracked by him.'

'It seems I'll have to stall at Two-Star for a while. But if I do that, the first Floor Master will most likely dispatch a Hunter Team to track me...'

Thinking up to this point.

Chen Ran continued to ask, "Are Hunter Teams very formidable?"

Diwu Zeyi frowned, seemingly recalling unpleasant memories. "If you single out members of a regular Hunter Team, they're roughly at Dorje's level. However, their Skills can complement each other, making them incredibly disgusting to deal with. They can even wipe out Four-Star teams."

He took a deep look at Chen Ran. "If you encounter a Hunter Team, the best approach is to not let them use their Skills."

"However..."

"Under normal circumstances, among the five members of a Hunter Team, there will be one of the Floor Master's Slaves, who will provide an Unknown Lie."

"Therefore, the Hunter Team will almost always use their Skills in the first Secret Room right after entering the Instance, giving you absolutely no chance to identify the Slave."

"And don't even think about having Qiu Yinong wait for an opening to use the Wheel of Time. The members of a Hunter Team are highly experienced and won't give Qiu Yinong any opportunities to find an opening. Looking at it this way..."

"Although the effects of the Wheel of Time are broad, its applicable environments are terrible. Before undergoing Heart Cultivation, it's best not to casually use it in front of Three-Star players. However, upgrading it to Level Two might change this situation."

"Of course, I'm only talking about regular Hunter Teams here. If it's an elite Hunter Team, there are no Slaves. While they can't use their Skills right from the start, their individual strengths are extremely high—they are the most top-tier existences among Three-Star players."

Chen Ran just felt a headache coming on. He realized that the Floor Masters were treating this like playing a card game.

Drawing cards from a massive Newbie card pool.

Taking the drawn SSS cards, combining them to build an overpowered lineup, and then letting these teams farm Instances to develop themselves.

Upon reaching Three-Star, they would become a Hunter Team.

If their team was dismantled midway, the survivors would become the Floor Master's Reserve Teammates.

"I have a question. You guys don't seem to have targeted Lin Xuan much?" Qiu Yinong suddenly asked. This was her point of confusion. She and Lin Xuan were equally famous, so why were they only targeting her? As for Lin Xuan, not only were they not targeting him, but they even sent people to protect him.

"Lin Xuan is a Professional Lie-Slayer, highly likely to have been reserved by an Eight-Star, a Nine-Star, or even the Alliance Leader. In other words, he needs to upgrade to at least Six-Star or higher before he's useful to those big shots. Therefore, the Liar-Slayer Alliance not only won't target him, but they will actually protect him."

"After all, in terms of practical combat effectiveness, a Spatial Skill is stronger than a time-attribute one."

"Moreover, Professional Lie-Slayers are bound by certain Common Sense rules. To those Floor Masters, their risk factor is very low, so they won't place too many restrictions on Lin Xuan."

Qiu Yinong: "..."

'So, if I apply to become a Professional Lie-Slayer right now, is it still in time?'

Seemingly seeing through her thoughts, Diwu Zeyi smiled. "Professional and amateur are two completely different paths. Simply put, a Professional Lie-Slayer is like an official serving the imperial court; the maximum limit is becoming the Prime Minister. An Amateur Lie-Slayer is like a rogue in the martial world; they can be granted amnesty, or they can rebel. If they can truly carve out a bloody path, their upper limit is becoming the Emperor."

His words were very obscure.

To put it bluntly, the fate of a Professional Lie-Slayer was controlled by the "Emperor"—that is, the Alliance Leader.

Meanwhile, among Amateur Lie-Slayers, ordinary players wouldn't be targeted and could mess around freely, eventually...

Dying in some obscure corner of an Instance during endless confrontations with other players.

Amateur Lie-Slayers with strong talent, however, would be targeted and forcibly "granted amnesty."

Chen Ran pondered for a moment, then looked at Long Hui and frowned as he asked, "Is this also the situation in the Deceiver Alliance?"

"More or less the same."

"And some of their systems are even crueler. For example, the Hundred Ghost Feast forces Newbies to participate. Even players with Id Tier Skills are forced to join."

"However, the Hundred Ghost Feast only targets low-star Lie-Slayers. There are also events targeting Three-Star and higher Lie-Slayers, as well as events specifically aimed at the Floor Masters of the Liar-Slayer Alliance. After all, what Ghost Whisperers want are elites."

"Therefore, in the long-standing war between the two alliances, the Deceiver Alliance is often the instigator, while the Liar-Slayer Alliance is passively drawn into the conflict. If they don't purge the enemy and just watch the Deceiver Alliance grow stronger, the Liar-Slayer Alliance will sooner or later be annihilated."

"Ideology, stance, and survival. These three factors dictate that in Hell, whether it is an individual, a team, or an alliance, they will all continue to fight endlessly."

Listening to their answers, Chen Ran felt his head swell to twice its size. Adding Qiu Yinong, that made...

Two heads swollen to four times their size.

'The probability that such a cruel Hell is a virtual world is less than 1%.'

'But, I still need to prove it. I hope there will be answers when I exit this Instance.'

'Once I get the answers, the next steps are figuring out how to approach the truth, how to escape Hell, and how to deal with the two alliances.'

Chen Ran dispelled these distracting thoughts. It was still too early to consider these questions.

"I have a question. Do you know how to carve rules onto a stone pillar?"

In front of the Gatehouse, The Tenth Stone Pillar was born alongside a True Self Skill.

Chen Ran felt that, in all likelihood, only someone with a True Self Skill like him could carve rules on it.

However, despite being in Hell for so long and gathering so much information, the one thing he hadn't found was a method to carve rules onto a stone pillar.