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

Chapter 92: Researcherʼs Notes and the Truth

After tearing out all the pages and eliminating the ”distracting options,” Lin Yu and Furbollo quickly pieced together all the ”puzzle pieces.” The entire wooden floor was covered with the torn-out pages. This task was extremely time-consuming and laborious, and it was now well past midnight.

The scattered pages formed four large numbers on the floor: ”9,” ”4,” ”5,” and ”7.” Seeing these four numbers, Lin Yu nodded with satisfaction. ”Good, the password should be some combination of these four digits. We just donʼt know the correct order yet...”

With four digits, there were 4! (24) possible permutations. Trying all 24 combinations one by one would be time-consuming but feasible. However, Lin Yu hesitated to gamble—what if the box had some self-protection mechanism that would destroy its contents after too many wrong attempts?

As Lin Yu squatted pondering this, Furbollo suddenly spoke up. ”The correct sequence should be either 5497 or 7945... with 5497 being more likely.”

Lin Yu looked at him in surprise. ”How did you deduce that?”

Furbollo shrugged. ”Simple. These books werenʼt randomly paired. Their contents are strongly related—they seem like textbooks from the same academic course. Adjacent books usually share similar difficulty levels, which increase in the order of 5497. The publication dates follow the same sequence.”

Lin Yu was astonished. ”You can tell that despite the blacked-out pages?”

”Of course,” Furbollo replied calmly. ”The amount of blacked-out area reflects the quantity and complexity of the formulas. Plus, there are obvious hints in the content.” He squatted down and pointed at one page forming the ”4.” ”See this footnote? It references content from book 5. Section 7 is also an extension of 5—but since 9 mentions both 4 and 7, with an ʼAdditionallyʼ before describing 7, I suspect 7 supplements 4.”

Lin Yu stared at him, impressed. Despite his eccentric demeanor, Furbolloʼs detective skills were undeniable. Lin Yu was starting to believe he really was a professional detective. ”You remember all these minute details?”

”Piece of cake,” Furbollo boasted. ”I can even tell what these books are about from fragments. They discuss using ʼemotionsʼ as fuel and raw materials—”
*Click!* The sound of the lock opening interrupted Furbollo.

”Hey!” Furbollo glared at Lin Yu indignantly. ”Canʼt you let me finish?”

While Furbollo had been monologuing, Lin Yu had already gone to try the combination. ”Sorry,” Lin Yu said without looking up as he opened the box. ”Iʼm more interested in whatʼs inside than the booksʼ contents. We can discuss the dungeonʼs backstory later.”

Furbollo sighed and joined him. ”Fine, Iʼm curious too.”

Inside the box was a transparent file containing three items: a black notebook, a white ID card, and a key—someoneʼs personal belongings.

Lin Yu unceremoniously opened the file and examined the ID card. Its back bore a black logo of a burning book, while the front displayed basic information:

[Name: Vale Valetti]

[Gender: Male]

[Position: Independent Researcher]

[Clearance: B-3]

[Region: Extreme Winter Mountain]

A photo showed a gloomy young man with curly hair wearing a white dress shirt, his face partially scratched out.

”So this is the cabinʼs owner,” Lin Yu muttered.

He then opened the notebook. Only the first third contained writing—research diary entries:

”August 7, Blizzard. Sensors detected a ʼleakʼ here. Damn it, thereʼs not a living soul around! How could there be a leak?”

”August 10, Blizzard. Slept poorly... Scouted the area today—nothing. Nearby settlements have been abandoned for years.”

”August 15, Blizzard. Having constant nightmares—this place is awful. Why bother noting the weather? Itʼs always snowing! Still no leads. One more week and I can leave.”

”August 16, Blizzard. Dug up something disturbing... So many deaths here? And not a trace of residual souls on the bodies—highly abnormal!”

”August 17, Blizzard. Thereʼs a monster called ʼChateʼ in these mountains? My dreams grow more chaotic! Calling for backup once comms are restored!”

”August 25. What the hell is happening here? Why such terrifying creatures? My conditionʼs deteriorating. Taking risks tomorrow!”

”August 26. Now I understand... No wonder itʼs called a ʼleak.ʼ Never imagined it would manifest this way. Our own mistakes caused this! So horrific!”

”August 27. Iʼve figured out how to deal with ʼChateʼ!”

The diary ended abruptly, the remaining pages blank. The deteriorating handwriting mirrored the writerʼs worsening mental state. Lin Yu rubbed his temples. ”Complicated indeed.”

He exhaled deeply. The dungeonʼs ”truth” was coming into focus—but it only gave Lin Yu more headaches. His goal wasnʼt solving the dungeonʼs mystery but finding the ʼFraudster.ʼ Who had set up this ʼscamʼ at Extreme Winter Mountain? He still had no leads.

Beside him, Furbollo suddenly spoke earnestly: ”Thank you, May! Thank you for bringing me here!”

Lin Yu turned, puzzled by the detectiveʼs sincerity. ”Why are you thanking me?” Hadnʼt he forced the ʼdetectiveʼ here at gunpoint?

Furbolloʼs eyes shone with fervor. ”I initially thought this was just another survival dungeon, so I assumed any ʼhidden puzzlesʼ wouldnʼt be worth solving. I was wrong—this mystery is fascinating! Had you not discovered this place and forced me to come, I might have missed such an excellent puzzle!”

His face lit up with fanatical excitement. ”Now, whether itʼs ʼChateʼ or this mysterious researcher... Iʼll uncover everything! The truth behind Extreme Winter Mountain!”