Death Game: Starting as a Trickster, Pretending to Be a God

”Could it be... you’re a player of the ’Death Game’?”

Shen Bingmiao’s words felt like an ice cube suddenly pressed against the back of Lin Yu’s neck, sending an involuntary shiver down his spine.

Is she a player?

No... he had tested this before. He clearly couldn’t discuss such matters with Shen Bingmiao previously.

Has senior become a player recently then?

When? Yesterday? The day before? Last week? The week before last?

Did the Psychological Society do this?

No... just minutes ago, he had even considered testing the club president again!

Yet until Shen Bingmiao spoke those words—he couldn’t confirm she was a player at all.

Looking at Shen Bingmiao before him, Lin Yu’s thoughts tangled chaotically.

He instinctively stepped back until his back pressed against the hotel’s floor-to-ceiling window, the cool glass helping him regain some clarity.

”Senior... when did you...?”

Lin Yu suppressed his turbulent emotions and asked calmly.

”About two weeks ago. You seemed distracted, so I grew suspicious.”

”Then when you asked me to investigate those people, it confirmed my doubts.”

Shen Bingmiao stepped back and sighed. ”I just couldn’t believe it—that you’re really a player.”

Seeing Shen Bingmiao’s regretful expression, Lin Yu froze momentarily before shaking his head.

”No, senior, you misunderstand.”

”What I mean is... when did you become a player?”

Shen Bingmiao chuckled softly, her tone suddenly turning gentle. ”A-Yu, do you know it’s very rude to ask a girl about her age?”

”I’m not asking your age.”

Lin Yu responded seriously.

Shen Bingmiao pursed her lips. ”The ’Death Game’ gives people a second life. Asking when I became a player is like asking my age after rebirth.” This content belongs to n0velfire.net

Lin Yu sighed in exasperation. ”What kind of twisted logic is that, President? Fine, don’t tell me if you don’t want to... But what puzzles me is why I couldn’t discuss ’Death Game’ matters with you before.”

”Until now, I even thought you weren’t a player.”

Lin Yu remarked thoughtfully.

”Oh, you read that ’forum’ guide about identifying players, didn’t you?”

Shen Bingmiao realized suddenly.

Lin Yu nodded.

”Exactly, senior.”

Shen Bingmiao plopped onto the bed, stretching lazily like a cat.

”Don’t believe everything on the forum. The operators deliberately filter content—some things apply to regular players but not to ’high-tier’ ones.”

”After all, the forum isn’t completely neutral—it leans toward ’Order’.”

”That quick player identification method you mentioned doesn’t work on high-tier players.”

Lin Yu pondered Shen Bingmiao’s words.

”So high-tier players can ’avoid’ such simple player detection tests?”

”Which means... President, you’re a high-tier player. In other words, you’ve at least experienced...”

”Hey, if you keep counting weeks trying to deduce when I joined the game, I’ll throw you out this window right now.”

Shen Bingmiao threatened bluntly.

Though Lin Yu knew she was joking, seeing her genuine discomfort made him drop the subject.

After all...

The moment one joins the ’Death Game’ is when they’ve ”died once.”

Some unwillingness to recall those shadows is perfectly understandable.

”Leaving time aside, senior... what tier are you? Which organization did you join?”

Hearing this, Shen Bingmiao didn’t evade.

”Third Tier. As for organization... you could say ’Order,’ though I’m not an official member—more like outsourced.”

She said nonchalantly.

”Third Tier?!”

Lin Yu was shocked.

Though he suspected Shen Bingmiao might be strong, he never imagined she was Third Tier!

He’d assumed she was just an experienced Second Tier at most.

This meant she was on par with those elite players he encountered in the last dungeon!

And...

She was actually affiliated with ’Order’!

Even as an ”outsourced” member, that was incredibly impressive.

Being accepted as a non-official member might even carry more weight than being a regular one!

Yet Lin Yu found this reasonable.

Given Shen Bingmiao’s talent and drive, of course she wouldn’t be ordinary in the ’Death Game.’

”So what method do high-tier players use to avoid detection during conversations?”

Shen Bingmiao hesitated before answering.

”This relates to the nature of ’Promotion’... Honestly, I agree with the forum’s approach.”

”Letting new players learn too much about ’Promotion’ and high-tier players isn’t beneficial.”

Then she changed tack.

”But since you’re my junior whom I know well, I can share a little.”

”Your question touches on the essence of ’Promotion.’”

Lin Yu looked puzzled. ”Essence?”

”Yes... how many dungeons have you completed? Have you promoted yet?”

Lin Yu hesitated at her question.

He debated whether to lie about his dungeon count or promotion status.

But considering his established identity as ”Lin Yu—a new ’Soldier’ who’s completed four dungeons,” he decided to maintain consistency.

”I’ve done four dungeons. Haven’t promoted yet.”

Shen Bingmiao nodded. ”No wonder you’re so weak—a genuine rookie.”

”Getting serious now.”

She continued: ”When you eventually see the First-Tier promotion mission after more dungeons, you’ll realize...”

”First-Tier promotion missions are fundamentally different from all previous dungeon clearance tasks.”

”Dungeon tasks are usually things like ’survive X time,’ ’complete Y requirement,’ or ’investigate Z truth.’”

”They rarely require deep ’interaction’ with the dungeon world.”

”But ’Promotion’ missions are different—even First-Tier missions specifically target something critically important within that world.”

”In other words, unless deliberately causing trouble, a player could complete dozens of dungeons while barely affecting those worlds.”

”But completing just one ’Promotion’ mission—”

”Leaves an indelible mark so profound that the world will remember that player forever!”

Pausing briefly, Shen Bingmiao concluded:

”This is the essence of ’Promotion.’ Actually, it shares something with your beloved performances—”

”Promotion is the process of making another world remember you permanently.”