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

Chapter 421: Gaining the Upper Hand in the Mind Game, Motives in Question

For Lin Yu, he couldnʼt be one hundred percent certain that Fern was that ʼFraudsterʼ.

But based on Fernʼs current behavior, Lin Yu felt there was at least a ninety-eight percent chance she was the ʼFraudsterʼ.

At the very least, compared to a ʼHunterʼ, she seemed more like the type who made a living by deceiving people.

From the moment they met, she was far too fond of seizing every opportunity to supplement her ”past”—why she awakened as a Hunter, where she learned her weapon skills...

She didnʼt need to ”explain” any of this originally. Life isnʼt a play;thereʼs no need to explain the situation to the audience.

Unless, all of this was truly a script and setting she had written herself.

But even if that were the case, Lin Yu still couldnʼt be sure she was the ʼFraudsterʼ—after all, in Lin Yuʼs view, this was just a bit odd, not solid evidence that she was a fraudster or lying.

Maybe she just had some trauma from her family background that led to a people-pleasing personality, so she habitually explained everything she did to others?

In fact, because she was the first player Lin Yu had encountered, from a probability and statistics standpoint, Lin Yu would actually consider the likelihood of her being the ʼFraudsterʼ to be relatively small.

But as time passed and the two spent more time together, Lin Yu increasingly felt she was ”lying.”
First, she didnʼt use the ʼHunterʼ abilities.

Although she demonstrated precise crossbow shooting, that didnʼt necessarily mean it was due to a ʼHunterʼ ability... it could simply be a skill she mastered through diligent practice.

And she claimed to be ʼSecond Tierʼ.

Even if she lied about that part, to have entered this dungeon, she must at least be ʼFirst Tierʼ!

One of the two [Class Items] a Hunter ʼFirst Tierʼ can obtain is [Trap].

If she had this [item], when he proposed taking action, she should have tried to use it—Lin Yu had seen information about [Trap];this thingʼs cooldown is ridiculously fast among [Class Items], refreshing every two hours.

He had even seen posts within ʼOrderʼ complaining that many Hunters who chose [Trap] were like obsessive-compulsives, basically placing a [Trap] on the ground every few steps, as if not using it the moment the cooldown ended was a huge loss.

He had been with her for almost half a day, and this person hadnʼt used [Trap] even once... if she truly had [Trap] as a [Class Item], her willpower would be simply astonishing!

As for the other [Class Item], the [Companion] that Lin Yu had once seen ʼMosin-Nagantʼ use, that was even more impossible.

If she had it, she would have definitely summoned it in advance during yesterdayʼs hunt... even if she didnʼt get the chance because he killed things too quickly, she shouldnʼt have been like this while traveling today!

Although [Companion] also has a cooldown time, no matter how you look at it, itʼs not as precious as a semi-consumable type item that can only be used twice in an entire game!

For a ʼPlayerʼ, [Class Items] are like a crutch for a lame person or a guide dog for the blind. They arenʼt absolutely necessary, but someone who has them and insists on not using them definitely has some issues.

Just like Lin Yuʼs two [Class Items], he was practically overly reliant on these two things!

Moreover, what truly made Lin Yu shift from being suspicious to seriously considering the possibility that ”Fern is the ʼFraudsterʼ” was precisely the appearance of that crow head item.

From the moment that crow head appeared, Lin Yu realized this thing was absolutely an item strongly related to the God of Change.

Although most players rarely have experience interacting with gods, Lin Yu happened to be rather special in this regard.

He even had two gods he could use as reference samples.

Whether it was the God of Change or the Banquet God, items that seemed to have a direct connection with these deities, like the [Teeth of Prophecy], [Tongue of Deceit], [Banquet Pendant]... all carried the will of the deity themselves to appear within the [Item Rewards].

Although it couldnʼt be ruled out that Fern truly obtained this crow head by sheer coincidence and luck, Lin Yu leaned more towards the idea that she had genuinely gained the crowʼs favor.

And the crow would not favor a skilled hunter.

Judging from His full name and the appreciation He expressed towards Li Nian and himself, this crow had a particular fondness for those adept at ”deception.”

And given that it was known there was truly a class in this dungeon called ʼFraudsterʼ, Lin Yu easily prioritized considering whether the person possessing an [item] related to the God of Change might be...

that ʼFraudsterʼ.

Examining Fernʼs behavior again based on this hypothesis, initially her persona was still a careless ʼHunterʼ, but as she increasingly realized Lin Yu seemed to be ”an NPC pretending to be a player,” her disguise became more and more sloppy.

She began to show the part of herself skilled at exploiting human nature. Although she was still deliberately acting foolish and playing dumb, those parts were becoming increasingly perfunctory.

It was like she pretended not to understand the simple technique of how to correctly use the crow head itemʼs two questions to get a confirmed answer, but later posed questions in a very meticulous manner.

These were two nearly contradictory behaviors.

Itʼs hard for a careless person to suddenly become meticulous, but itʼs quite possible for a meticulous, cautious person to pretend to be rough and careless.

”So you see, patience is also part of deception. Even a genuine, game-certified, self-identifying professional-level ʼFraudsterʼ, even one promoted to ʼSecond Tierʼ,” Lin Yu gently closed his eyes, ”is nothing special.”

Judging by the final outcome of their half-day interaction, in the duel of ”deception,” it could be said Lin Yu achieved a complete victory.

Both were concealing their identities... and now, Lin Yu was still in the dark, while Fern had already exposed her identity.

Furthermore, what Fern believed was precisely what Lin Yu wanted her to believe.

This wasnʼt something Lin Yu had planned;he hadnʼt anticipated the possibility that the first person he encountered would be the ʼFraudsterʼ.

But the result was within Lin Yuʼs expectations.

Ultimately... it was because the area where Fern performed the worst was precisely where he excelled the most.

Because his ”deception” using ”performance” as a means never slackened for even a moment.

Even with the most foolish NPCs, even when alone, Lin Yu would consistently maintain his persona.

Therefore, after gaining control of the situation in his game with Fern, Lin Yu couldnʼt help but develop a new question.

”I conceal my identity because of the ʼFraudsterʼ abilityʼs characteristics;I pretend to be an NPC because of the requirements of the ʼPromotion Taskʼ...”

”But although the ʼFraudsterʼ is called ʼFraudsterʼ, its ability doesnʼt have any characteristic that must be concealed... so what is this personʼs reason for hiding her identity?”

”It canʼt just be a professional habit!”