Hidden Rules

 

Seeing Lu Mingze sitting in the mirror, resting his chin on his hand and listening attentively, Xing Ye explained in detail.

“Shaolin dared to target Liu Yi because I believe his ability is related to luck. When Liu Yi drew his final card, Shaolin tampered with Liu Yi’s luck as a Following fate player, causing his luck to turn bad. To lure Liu Yi into betting more chips, Shaolin acted at the critical moment when Liu Yi was about to draw his last card. During this time, Shaolin deliberately created the illusion for Liu Yi that his own luck remained excellent, which gave Liu Yi the confidence to bet more.”

Lu Mingze asked, “So, using skills or items to change someone else’s luck is allowed by the system?”

Xing Ye replied, “Not just that. From the dealer’s earlier responses, I’ve deduced how they determine cheating. First, they check the gambling equipment. They’ll inspect whether the equipment was swapped or tampered with and use fingerprint analysis to verify it. Second, there’s the dealer. If control-related skills are used to manipulate the dealer, the casino will investigate, so controlling the dealer is not an option. Third, there’s surveillance. They monitor whether gamblers are using hand signals or other covert methods to pass messages, to rule out collusion or cheating.

“I think the system's intention is that cheating is allowed, but only if it’s done cleverly. Traditional, obvious methods of cheating, like those seen in old movies, are unacceptable and laughable. You also cannot target the casino staff. Even if skills are used, they can only be applied to passengers or other players—and it must be subtle enough to evade surveillance.”

Lu Mingze thought for a moment, still confused. “Why do we need to cheat? With me here, we can guarantee a win just by betting on dice rolls. You could already be living leisurely, earning 10,000 points per day. Even if we lose to the Red Team after seven days, it wouldn’t really matter.”

Xing Ye replied, “That’s exactly what confuses me the most. Do you really think the system would let us go through so easily?”

“But if we don’t gamble, nothing will happen, right?” Lu Mingze asked.

“Don’t forget about the duel cards,” Xing Ye said. “What do you think would happen if, on the last day, the dealer used duel cards against all the players?”

Lu Mingze was stunned. “The dealer can use duel cards against players?!”

“Is there a rule saying they can’t?” Xing Ye countered. “As long as these cards exist, we can’t ignore the possibility. Imagine if I spent the next few days living comfortably and leisurely, only for the dealer to approach me on the last day and say, ‘Dear player, you’ve triggered a rule requiring the use of a duel card.’ If they then took all my chips and points in one go, what could I do?”

“That would be way too insidious…” Lu Mingze said, horrified.

Xing Ye sighed. “You have to remember the setting of this world: it’s a casino. Do you think a casino in real life would operate at a loss? Would they let you walk away with massive winnings? Gambling, by nature, operates in the gray areas, often peripheral to or outright violating laws. It’s a game beyond the rules, and that masked dealer in black and white could easily resort to dirty tricks when the time comes.

“The biggest difference between this world and the previous ones we’ve encountered is that, before, our opponents were always individuals—specific entities. Whether it was the beginner level, the campus world, Puppet City, the hospital, or the spiritual realm, we always faced a person or . But here, we are in a casino, and the casino is the one that makes the rules."

Lu Mingze insisted, “Surely the casino won’t wipe out all our points, right?”

“Probably not,” Xing Ye replied. “But it will target those who break the rules. For example, players who try to live off their points without gambling or those who rely solely on luck to win chips from passengers. These players are violating the intent of the game.”

Lu Mingze nodded thoughtfully and asked, “What about loans, then? Why does the casino have these borrowing rules?”

Xing Ye explained, “If it were me, once I ran out of points, I’d rather fail outright than exchange my starting skills—or yours. So, under what circumstances could the casino or another player forcibly reclaim a player’s starting skills?”

“Borrowing!” Lu Mingze immediately replied.

“Exactly!” Xing Ye pulled out the IOU. “I lent Liu Yi 48 passenger chips purely as a test. Losing five player chips isn’t a big deal. I just wanted to see if the casino enforces these borrowing rules. But Shaolin was one step ahead of me—he’s already targeting players on his own team. Did you notice the Red Team player he was with earlier?”

Lu Mingze nodded. “Yes, he’s one of the four players I mentioned to you earlier. His name is Dong San, and he’s probably a Fate-defying player. I’ve watched him play twice, and he’s incredibly unlucky.”

“So Shaolin deliberately approached him, acted friendly, and, seeing how badly Dong San was losing, offered him chips. This way, even if Dong San refuses to exchange his starting skills, he’ll be forced to repay Shaolin’s loan in the end. The crucial point is that Dong San trusts Shaolin as a teammate and has let his guard down, thinking Shaolin is being kind.”

After listening to Xing Ye’s analysis, Lu Mingze rubbed his arms and muttered, “Why didn’t I feel that advanced worlds were this terrifying before?”

Xing Ye chuckled and tapped the mirror. “It’s not necessarily as scary as I make it sound. I just like to think things through deeply. Besides, someone like Shaolin probably wouldn’t target you. He knows some people’s strong luck can’t be suppressed. Against a chosen one like you, all his little tricks are useless.”

“The Mirror, embarrassed, shyly said, ‘I’m not that amazing.’ He quickly retreated from the full-length mirror back into the phone case. The phone case was much smaller, and he could hide there more comfortably.

Xing Ye didn’t tease him further and flipped through his phone, saying, ‘I have another question. Today, I’ve already participated in more than three bets involving over 10,000 points in total while betting on dice, yet the game’s progress tracker still shows “03.”’

‘It’s still showing 03?’ Lu Mingze was surprised. ‘None of it counted?’

Xing Ye nodded. ‘So, I’m wondering if the so-called 10,000-point game only applies to bets between players. Wins against passengers might not count at all.’

Lu Mingze thought for a moment and said, ‘I get it now. The dealer explained some rules, but there’s a lot they didn’t mention. They said we could spend 10,000 points a day to enjoy ourselves, but if someone really did that every day, by the last day, the dealer might take the opportunity to clear out all their points. Similarly, they said we could gamble against passengers to earn points, but if you only ever gamble against passengers, it doesn’t count toward game progress. No matter how many passenger chips you win, you’ll still have to pay 10,000 points a day. In the end, the outcome is the same as the first scenario…

‘In reality, the system is always encouraging players to compete against each other. That’s why we’re divided into Red and Green Teams. If you refuse to comply with this basic rule, you’re bound to be punished in the end.’

‘Exactly, that’s my guess,’ Xing Ye agreed. ‘But there are still a few things I can’t confirm. When Yan Hebi comes back, I’ll work with him to run some experiments to test my theories. There’s still time. For now, let’s rest.’

Yan Hebi was a teammate they had met in the melee world. Xing Ye trusted him enough to share his analysis, though he decided not to mention the Little Mirror’s existence yet. Yan Hebi was different from Guan Ling and Cao Xi in some ways.

It was a rare opportunity to have such a leisurely moment. Xing Ye took the opportunity to explore the cruise ship, enjoying some food, drinks, and sightseeing. After wandering through the entire ship, he discovered a library and immersed himself in a few interesting books.

At 9 p.m., Yan Hebi finally returned to Xing Ye’s room. Xing Ye was lying on the bed watching TV with the Little Mirror. Seeing Yan Hebi arrive, Xing Ye looked surprised and said, ‘I thought you wouldn’t make it back tonight.’

‘Why wouldn’t I?’ Yan Hebi asked, confused.

Because I thought you’d have seduced a few rich ladies... Xing Ye thought to himself but didn’t say aloud. Instead, he asked, ‘What did you find out today?’

Yan Hebi replied, ‘I started by heading to the kitchen to help the system-controlled staff. While I was there, Lady Lin’s assistant came in to request a low-fat dessert. The kitchen was too busy, so I helped deliver it. After Lady Lin found out I graduated with a degree in computer science, she asked me to fix her computer. Once I was done, I tried to leave, but she stopped me and invited me to her tea party.’

Xing Ye: “…”

This was starting to feel like a dating strategy game. Yan Hebi was clearly an expert at this.

Yan Hebi continued, ‘At the tea party, I didn’t have much to say, so I just told the truth: I said I was someone with exceptionally bad luck. They got curious and invited me to play poker with them. We were just playing small bets, so I exchanged 30 chips—30,000 points—and lost them all to the ladies.’

Xing Ye: “…”

‘But they had a lot of fun and were shocked that someone as unlucky as me even existed. They even felt a little sorry for me. So, they came up with an idea: we’d deal the cards face down without looking, and then after everyone got their cards, we’d switch seats. We were playing Landlord since that’s the only game I know. Even after switching cards, I still lost. Apparently, my luck improved a little after this new rule was introduced, but I still couldn’t win.’

Xing Ye: “…”

‘I told them I was completely out of chips and couldn’t play anymore. They returned the chips to me, saying it wasn’t about the money and that they were just curious. I felt a little embarrassed about taking the chips back, so I used my QR code to perform a bit of magic for them as a gesture of goodwill.’

Xing Ye asked, ‘Was it the Magician QR code?’

Yan Hebi nodded. ‘Yes. I don’t think the system would make it that obvious for us to cheat with QR codes. It would be way too blatant. The Magician QR code seems useful on the surface, but I think it’s a trap. If I used it recklessly, I’d probably be done for. Those ladies were generous enough to return my points, so I figured using up a QR code to entertain them was worth it.’

Xing Ye: “…”

After some thought, Xing Ye commented, ‘Your intuition about this is sharp. I asked the dealer earlier about how they detect cheating. If you had used the Magician QR code for real, it definitely would’ve been discovered.’

‘That’s good to hear,’ Yan Hebi said, relieved. ‘After I performed the trick, the ladies were delighted and invited me to join them again for afternoon tea tomorrow. Oh, they also gave me a tie clip with a QR code on it.’

Xing Ye: “…”

In the melee World, using the correct QR code on a key mission character typically granted you additional QR codes and side quest points. What exactly did Yan Hebi's situation count as, then?

Seeing that Yan Hebi didn’t scan the QR code but instead handed the tie clip to him, Xing Ye said, “You scan it. This QR code might still be useful for the wealthy ladies.”

He was curious about Yan Hebi’s side quest and wanted to see what kind of surprises might unfold by the seventh day.

Yan Hebi added, “Didn’t I lose 30,000 points to them? It just so happened that I lost in three rounds, each worth 10,000 points. After losing, I noticed a notification on my phone saying that my three 10,000-point gambling rounds for the day had been completed. I won’t be penalized today. And since they returned the chips to me, I’ve actually made a profit.”

Xing Ye: “…”

Earlier, he had speculated that only gambling with other players counted toward the point system, but now Yan Hebi had disproven that theory.

Looking at Yan Hebi, Xing Ye asked, “Are you really a Fate defying Player?”

Yan Hebi nodded seriously, even handing his phone to Xing Ye as proof. “I think my remaining 1% of luck is probably all concentrated on building relationships with women.”

He even thought back to an encounter with a cross-dressing man, and a hint of grievance flashed across his face as he glanced at Xing Ye.

Xing Ye: “…”

Deciding not to delve into that matter, Xing Ye counted out 1,000 passenger chips and also returned the 10 player chips Yan Hebi had originally given him.

“So many chips?!” Yan Hebi exclaimed in shock. “How did you win them all?”

“Gambling with passengers. It’s not important,” Xing Ye replied. “We’ll use these chips to exchange for points and run a few experiments with me.”

Yan Hebi hadn’t expected Xing Ye to give him so many chips and felt embarrassed. “This isn’t right—it’s too much. Even if you earned these chips using mine, you don’t need to give me this many.”

“Then just give me back those ten chips from earlier,” Xing Ye said.

The two headed to the exchange counter. Yan Hebi handed over 1,000 passenger chips and said, “Please exchange these for points.”

The value was significant: 1,000 passenger chips = 100 player chips = 100,000 points, a massive sum of wealth.

However, the exchange clerk checked the chips and shook their head. “I’m sorry, Player, but these chips were not won by you, nor do they have a loan agreement tied to them. They are not considered your property.”

“Huh?” Yan Hebi looked at Xing Ye in confusion.

Xing Ye had expected this result—it was part of his experiment. He handed over his 2 player chips, Yan Hebi’s 10 player chips, and the 1,000 passenger chips he had won, saying, “Exchange these for points.”

The clerk replied, “Apologies. The exchange channel for passenger chips will not open until 8 a.m. on the seventh day. As for these 10 player chips, they were not earned through your gambling and are therefore not eligible for exchange. The remaining 2 player chips were initially acquired through the use of a QR code. However, exchanging them back for the QR code requires 1.5 times the chips, so you can only exchange them for points.”

“I see,” Xing Ye said. “In that case, I won’t exchange anything.”

After leaving the exchange counter, Xing Ye’s expression turned grim. “As expected, the chips won from passengers are just numbers until the final day and can be taken away at any moment.”

Yan Hebi looked at him, and Xing Ye continued, “Let’s go to the casino. We’ll find a private room and place a bet between the two of us. I want to test whether gambling with a teammate counts as part of the game progress and whether passenger chips become yours after I lose them to you.”

Yan Hebi immediately realized that Xing Ye intended to deliberately lose to him in order to test how the system defined chip ownership and monitored for cheating. The two headed toward the casino, where they spotted Shao Lin holding a glass of pomegranate juice, talking to Ning Xinyao, the woman in the red dress.

 

Translator : DarNan