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

Chapter 844: The Divine Landscape of Night Valley

”A god without self-awareness?”

Lin Yu sat on the bed, his fingers resting on the corner of the wooden bedside table, tapping lightly with a knocking sound like ”tap tap tap” against the wood.

”Senior, thatʼs different from what you told me before - you said earlier that the only gods in slumber were on the dark raceʼs side, and that the human sideʼs gods were still quite active.”

Shen Bingmiao nodded. ”Yeah, that wasnʼt a lie either... Active doesnʼt mean having self-awareness.”

”The only god in the Night Valley Realm with self-awareness is the one the dark races call the ʼDemon Lord,ʼ and heʼs currently in an almost eternal slumber, possibly never to wake - as for the remaining ʼBenevolent Gods,ʼ theyʼve long been devoured by their own Authorities, transformed into fixed operational rules.”

”They still issue divine oracles and select Chosen Ones, but they no longer possess a ʼselfʼ - theyʼre like an artificial intelligence imitating a human.”

As Shen Bingmiao spoke, Lin Yu nodded as well, processing this information.

Then, looking at his senior, he said, ”Coming from you, that analogy is a bit darkly ironic.”

”Iʼm actually fine with it... So hurry up and tell me, what did you encounter in this dungeon?”

Shen Bingmiao urged.

”I can tell you, but... you owe me.”

Lin Yu extended his hand.

Shen Bingmiao was confused. ”Huh? Owe you what?”

”The ʼscriptʼ from earlier - I only got to see half of it! Give it to me now! It was just about to reach the climax - how could you do this to me!”

Lin Yu urged.

Shen Bingmiao was utterly stunned. ”For me it was only a short while ago... but for you, quite some time has passed! Youʼve been through an entire dungeon since then, and youʼre still thinking about it?”

”Of course! A mere dungeon is nothing compared to the importance of that ʼscriptʼ!”

Lin Yu stretched his extended hand out even further, pressing his demand again.

Shen Bingmiao blinked, putting on an innocent expression. ”But... what you saw was everything there is?”

Lin Yu was horrified.

”What about the rest?!”

He asked in disbelief.

Shen Bingmiao spread her hands. ”I obviously havenʼt written it yet!”

”You wretched woman, you actually showed me an unfinished draft,” Lin Yu said indignantly. ”As a scriptwriter, you completely lack professional ethics!”

”Iʼm not a professional - just an amateur hobbyist. Why would I need professional ethics?”

Shen Bingmiao said with complete confidence.

Lin Yu let out a breath. ”You make a fair point... but then go write the rest right now!”

”Are you kidding? Do you think scriptwriting is that simple, my dear junior,” Shen Bingmiao said with her arms crossed. ”I need inspiration, alright? Or if you donʼt care about quality, I could just scribble something down!”

Hearing Shen Bingmiaoʼs almost shameless words, Lin Yu had no choice but to relent.

He could only speak with frustration.

”Then do it as soon as possible - bring it to me the moment itʼs finished!”

”Of course,” Shen Bingmiao said with a smile. ”Alright... now tell me about your experiences.”

Despite his many grievances about his seniorʼs behavior, Lin Yu still truthfully recounted most of what he had encountered in ”Night Valley” to Shen Bingmiao - especially the parts he had doubts about.

Like the Book of Hell, for instance.

However, regarding the benefits he had gained, Lin Yu didnʼt reveal everything.

And indeed, sharing these experiences with Shen Bingmiao cleared up quite a few of his confusions.

”Hell does truly exist. Itʼs a ʼfalse Divine Kingdomʼ created by the great demon that first seized the Demon Lordʼs Authority after his slumber began. As for what the Book of Hell is... Iʼm not sure about that either.”

”By the way, the current Pillar-level demons emerged after that great demonʼs fall, by further dividing up the Authority it had stolen - and these Authorities are enough to let them manipulate the Mana Streams of the Abyss.”

”Thatʼs also why the Abyss has been losing ground to humanity in recent years... because the absolute peak combat power of the dark races has all been ʼlocked downʼ by the Pillar-level demons.”

”Humans can still produce wildcard powerhouses like Galli Thontas, but the dark races canʼt - each raceʼs ceiling is almost predetermined.”

”Thatʼs also why those snake descendants were willing to take the risk of trading with humans, trying to bring back the ʼOriginal Sin Wraith.ʼ”

As Shen Bingmiao explained, Lin Yu gained a much clearer picture of Night Valleyʼs full scope.

”I see... so the events my dungeon involved were never simple to begin with.”

”Of course. Everyone except you was Third Tier, and the only Second Tier was you... It would be truly strange if it were simple,” Shen Bingmiao said, then patted Lin Yu. ”Speaking of which - there are only two dungeons left before the next Promotion Trial. Are you prepared?”

”Even if I werenʼt prepared, do I have a choice?” Lin Yu sighed. ”But at this point... itʼs actually a good thing.”

”The sooner I get the crafting blueprint for the Exclusive Item, the sooner I advance to Third Tier, the sooner I gain access to the Map privilege...”

Shen Bingmiao interrupted him. ”Thereʼs no need to push yourself too hard. Thereʼs still plenty of time.”

”But being tighter now means more slack later,” Lin Yu said calmly. ”Donʼt worry, Senior. This level of pressure is well within my capacity.”

Shen Bingmiao nodded. ”Thatʼs good to hear.”

Afterward, Lin Yu took out the Cyber Ghostʼs Electronic Coffin in front of Shen Bingmiao and checked his messages on the Social Panel as usual.

On the identity that had just been renamed ʼDirectorʼ - the one closest to Lin Yuʼs true self - things were surprisingly quiet for once. Aside from Fu Luo and High Mountain reporting that they were safe, Good Nightʼs routine video share, and what seemed to be Tycoonʼs mass-sent Jiangcheng Gathering message, there was nothing particularly special.

Li Hua rarely didnʼt issue any new instructions.

Over on ʼZhu Mingʼsʼ side, the Free Alliance group chat was rather lively. It seemed that last dungeon, the Comedian had rarely managed to lead the off-form Mountaineer, Chef God, Prisoner, Undertaker, and Magician through the instance together, but this Free Alliance team-building dungeon apparently hadnʼt gone smoothly.

The group seemed to have taken a major fall in the Prison Mountain Realm, and not because of the dungeonʼs difficulty but rather because their coordination was poor - so they were now busy blaming each other.

Although he didnʼt know the specifics, based on the messages in the chat, the gist was...

The Comedianʼs commands were unclear and his strategy was terrible; the Mountaineer failed to notice enemy movements while on watch, missing intel that led to a sneak attack; the Chef God unleashed his ultimate but dealt massive friendly-fire damage; Phantom tried to hold off enemies but got rushed down, leaving everyone caught in a pincer; and the Prisoner kept pressuring the Chef God and Phantom, causing both of them to mess up their execution...

Only Xiaoyun had done her best.

Just then, Li Nian also sent a private message.