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

As Lin Yu and Phoenix locked eyes with the other party, the person also looked back at them.

The other party sported a very neat orange short haircut and dressed quite androgynously, so Lin Yu couldn’t immediately tell if they were a handsome girl or a slender boy.

After all, the gradient-patterned turtleneck sweater and straight black pants swallowed most of their originally slender figure’s curves, even covering half their neck.

However, their Class did offer some clues.

Because the person carried a large painting board on their back, Lin Yu could easily guess they were likely a Painter.

Phoenix waved at them and called out their name.

“Kui, over here.”

Hearing that code name, the memories stored in Lin Yu’s mind instantly kicked in.

Third Tier, Painter...

And most importantly, ranked eighty-fifth on the leaderboard!

Another Third Tier was bad enough, but now they had a named player showing up?

Lin Yu’s heart grew heavy.

Sure enough, as Shen Bingmiao had specifically warned him, this dungeon seemed more malicious than ever before.

The seemingly simple completion condition of “kill dark creatures” would definitely not go smoothly.

But since it had come to this, Lin Yu could only pretend to be surprised.

“Kui? As in that famous Painter from the leaderboard?”

“That’s her. She’s a major client of our Hunters’ Association,” Phoenix said with a smile. “Fancy meeting you in a dungeon.”

Kui quickly stepped forward, threw her arms wide, and gave Phoenix a big hug. Then she said, “Sister Phoenix, I didn’t expect to run into you either. What great luck.”

“I was worried I might meet some annoying people!”

The two seemed quite familiar with each other.

From Kui’s voice, Lin Yu finally confirmed her gender—though the voice was also cool, the feminine traits were still obvious.

Kui turned to Lin Yu. “And this is?”

“This is Schreiber, someone I met after entering the dungeon. He’s Second Tier,” Phoenix said with a light laugh. “Even though he’s Second Tier, don’t underestimate him. He’s holding a Golden Cross Medal... We ran into the Tribunal right at the start, and if it weren’t for him, we’d have had a lot more trouble.”

Kui looked at Lin Yu in surprise.

“Not bad, you’ve got some solid backing there, friend,” she said, extending her hand to shake his. “Nice to meet you. Want to add each other as Social friends?”

Lin Yu looked at this Third Tier Painter before him but sensed she was a completely different type from Robin.

Her familiarity and enthusiasm seemed to sit at the opposite end of the spectrum from Robin.

Lin Yu shook her hand, feeling the calluses on the sides of her fingers, confirming that she was also a Painter who worked hard.

“Nice to meet you. If you don’t mind, of course.”

With Shen Bingmiao’s help, his new identity’s Social Panel was already prepared.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Lin Yu saw Kui’s friend request pop up.

After accepting, Phoenix nodded. “You reminded me... I’ll add you too.”

She said, and another request popped up.

Lin Yu quickly accepted.

He couldn’t help but marvel... this was probably the fastest he’d added people to any identity’s Social Panel.

If it had been a bit earlier, it might have even surpassed all his other identities combined.

But after the Land of Certain Death, starting with Robin, the Director identity had added Li Hua, Tycoon, Good Night, and the rest within a few days.

Although Zhu Ming hadn’t accepted Fluoxetine’s friend request, she had added everyone from the Free Alliance.

Anyway, Schreiber’s Social Panel now had two brand-new Third Tier players on it, which was a decent start.

“Hopefully, after I join the Psychological Society, these two won’t delete me.”

Lin Yu thought to himself, letting the two Third Tier experts, who already knew each other, freely exchange information.

“You ran into the Tribunal of Heresy right at the start, huh?”

“Yeah. Outside the city, someone was robbing a carriage escorting heretics. The robbery was already over by the time we got there. The Tribunal’s carriage had a hole blown in it, and the prisoners inside were taken.”

As Phoenix spoke, Kui clicked her tongue in amazement.

“That really is a troublesome start... but mine was pretty similar.”

Phoenix looked at Kui, surprised. “You had something similar too?”

“Yeah, but not as nasty as the Tribunal of Heresy. I started right at a murder scene—suspected cult ritual scene. A woman was nailed to a wall, her organs completely hollowed out. I almost threw up,” Kui sighed. “The Lilee city defense knights were blockading the area... I had to use my Third-Person Perspective to escape.”

“I see,” Phoenix nodded silently. “There are five players in this game, and the completion condition of ‘kill dark races’ probably means it’s not a Competition type... Speaking of which, are you one of us?”

“That’s right, I am.”

Kui gave a thumbs-up.

“So there are two more players, who probably started in similar situations to us...”

Phoenix began to think and analyze.

Lin Yu listened to her self-directed analysis, absorbing the information she had gathered about the Night Valley Realm.

Having someone in the team who liked to think was great—it completely saved him the trouble of analyzing.

“You and I had the Tribunal’s carriage robbery case, and you had the city defense knights’ murder case... Then, if I’m not wrong, the other two’s start is likely tied to some case under the church’s jurisdiction.”

As Phoenix spoke, Kui’s eyes lit up.

“Hey, that’s possible! In this city, those three have law enforcement authority. You and I each took one... so the others must fall under the third.”

“Come on, let’s head to the Holy Flame Cathedral!”

Kui was already ready to go. She wasn’t just outgoing—she was full of initiative.

But Phoenix raised an objection. “No, not the Holy Flame Cathedral.”

“If they haven’t found this place yet, they probably didn’t escape as cleanly as we did, so they’ve likely been handed over to the city government by the church, or are about to be. Let’s head straight to the city hall to check.”

“If they haven’t been sent to city hall for custody and trial, there’s no rush... But if they have entered the process, arriving in time will save us a lot of trouble.”

Phoenix finished, and Kui gave another thumbs-up.

“Sister Phoenix makes a great point—you’ve really thought this through. You’re a queen, a goddess, the woman of all women!”

Phoenix looked a bit helpless. “You’re exaggerating.”

Kui didn’t mind Phoenix’s reaction and turned to Lin Yu.

“Anyway, Brother Schreiber, do you have any objections to this plan?”

“Of course not. You two are Third Tier, so I’ll follow your lead completely.”

Lin Yu said seriously.

Kui gave two thumbs-up. “Awesome! But, Brother Schreiber, if they’ve already been detained, we might need your Golden Cross Medal to clear the way.”