Earth’s Redemption: Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Question and Answer Amusement Park (6)

Proofread by Cloud Chip Cake

Cheng Yuxue instantly appeared at the location where the Legion representatives were gathered.

Immediately, all the representatives became alert.

“I’m just here to say hello to my neighbors,” Cheng Yuxue had gotten used to people reacting to his presence. “I live at 111 Changjiang Road. I hope you won’t disturb me unless necessary.”

“We won’t,” the First Legion’s representative answered on behalf of the others. “We’ve never disturbed you during this year and a half, have we?”

Cheng Yuxue thought for a moment. “True. By the way, does anyone here know how to deliver a monster’s babies? My dog is about to give birth, and I don’t know how to help.”

The representatives simultaneously turned their gazes to the Nineteenth Legion’s representative.

The Nineteenth Legion’s representative cursed inwardly but reluctantly stepped forward. “I can do it.”

“Then it’s you.” Cheng Yuxue’s eyes lit up. “Come with me. If you successfully deliver the pups, I can give you one. I have too many puppies, and I don’t have enough space to keep them all.”

“Uh, may I ask what breed your dog is?” The Nineteenth Legion’s representative asked cautiously. “Different beasts require different methods for delivery.”

“I don’t know,” Cheng Yuxue thought for a moment. “I got it from the last instance. I think it’s called a Soul Devouring Beast. It looks a lot like a dog.”

Soul Devouring Beast?

It’s a S-Level monster!

“I’ll go right away,” The Nineteenth Legion’s representative immediately put on a sincere smile. “Senior, did you say you would give me a Soul Devouring Beast pup?”

“Of course I’m serious.”

“Let’s go right now,” The Nineteenth Legion’s representative couldn’t wait.

Helping deliver an S-Level monster’s pup—this was a deal that practically fell from the sky!

No wonder he’s a big shot.

Generous from the start.

The Nineteenth Legion’s representative immediately left with Cheng Yuxue.

“It’s over. A bigshot’s things are never easy to get.”

“From now on, anything related to monster delivery, illness, marriage, or the like will probably be his job.”

“Maybe the Nineteenth Legion’s representative will be happy to do it.”

“There’s no need to talk about it; honestly, it’s a good deal.”

“Heh, is it a deal you want?”

“No thanks, I’d rather catch one myself in an instance,” everyone quickly declined.

They wanted nothing to do with Cheng Yuxue.

Except for the oddball from the Second Legion!

“Who exactly is he?” Luo Xiang asked, curious. “How do you two know him?”

“Actually, it’s my brother who knows him. Anyway, he’s a bigshot,” Mo Xiaoyou chuckled. “By the way, have we passed the level?”

“Not yet,” Zuo Qingcang shook his head. “We’re not in the same group as that bigshot from before. Him passing the level has nothing to do with us, so we still have the White Rabbit’s level left. But I already have a way to clear it, so you all can rest for now.”

Ning Buwen seemed to be in poor spirits.

Zuo Qingcang glanced at him but then walked up to the White Rabbit. “I’ll solve your problem.”

“Okay, the timer starts now,” the White Rabbit nodded. “You can ask your question.”

“My question is simple.” Zuo Qingcang raised one of his hands. “I have five fingers, right?”

“Right,” the White Rabbit answered without hesitation.

“What’s up with Lao Zuo? He’s wearing glasses,” Mo Xiaoyou clicked his tongue. “Why ask a question that even a child can answer?”

“That’s Lao Zuo’s cleverness,” Luo Xiang unknowingly used Mo Xiaoyou’s nickname for Zuo Qingcang. “I remember Lao Zuo’s special ability is a superhuman one.”

“He clearly has the face of someone who does magic,” Mo Xiaoyou added.

With glasses, a refined demeanor—he looked like someone who worked with spells. If he put on a white coat, he’d basically look like a scientist.

Zuo Qingcang smiled, a flash of light flickered, and his pinky finger fell to the ground.

The bleeding stopped quickly, but it still startled those who were watching the Q&A.

“Does anyone have healing items?”

“He’s so harsh on himself.”

“Wait, look, his hand isn’t bleeding anymore.”

“Now, I have only four fingers. You were lying. I passed the level,” Zuo Qingcang stretched out his hand. “I won.”

The White Rabbit reluctantly took out a carrot. “You passed the level. Take this to the next stage.”

“Sister, they’re so annoying,” the White Rabbit had already been defeated twice, feeling exhausted. She grabbed the Black Rabbit’s hand and quickly disappeared.

Luo Xiang and the others immediately surrounded Zuo Qingcang.

“Are you alright?”

“Man, you didn’t have to go that far to pass the level.”

“This will make movement difficult later on.”

…

Zuo Qingcang didn’t seem to mind much. “I have a self-healing ability. Don’t even mention just a finger—if I lost a hand, it would grow back in less than three months. But this ability only works on myself, so it’s not much use.”

“Even if it grows back, it still hurts,” Mo Xiaoyou couldn’t help but say.

Zuo Qingcang paused for a moment.

“To pass the level for just the cost of a finger—it’s a pretty good deal,” Zuo Qingcang quickly regained his composure. “Let’s go to the next level. There are still four levels waiting for us.”

“Wasn’t it five levels?”

“The clown said seven people, and we’ve already passed three.”

“Oh, right. Hopefully, the next questions will be simpler. To make such a big deal out of a Q&A session is impressive.”

“I agree, I don’t think I’ll want to play any more escape games for a while.”

After passing through the extreme roller coaster guarded by the Black and White Rabbit sisters, they quickly arrived in front of the haunted house.

They were stopped by a person wearing a black cloak.

“The carrot is quite tasty,” the figure in the black cloak quickly ate the carrot. “I’m different from the first three. I prefer one-on-one.”

“What do you mean?” Luo Xiang instinctively felt something was wrong.

“Feel free to decide the order,” Black Cloak smiled and took out a crystal ball. “One-on-one, play a Q&A game with me inside the haunted house. If you win, you can leave. The losers will stay inside the crystal ball to accompany me.”

“Did you place the balloon model in the haunted house?” Luo Xiang seemed to have thought of something and asked.

“Yes, I placed it there,” Black Cloaked grinned ominously. “It worked well, didn’t it? There are too many of you. Our amusement park doesn’t need so many guests.”

But so far, only one person had died.

More needed to be eliminated.

“What should we do?” Mo Xiaoyou looked at Luo Xiang. “Who should go first?”

“If someone has already lost, but I win against you, can the previous person come back?” Luo Xiang thought a bit deeper.

“If you bet with your own life, they can come back,” Black Cloak nodded. “If you beat me once, I’ll release one person. Of course, there’s an even faster way—if one person successfully clears all the levels, as long as no one has died, I’ll release everyone at once.”

“Alright, then I…”

“Wait, don’t go yet,” Mo Xiaoyou pulled Luo Xiang back. “You, Lao Zuo, and Ning Buwen are the ones with the sharpest minds among us. This Black Cloak hasn’t given us any information, and if you go in, it’ll be too disadvantageous for you.”

“That’s right, you can’t go.”

“I’ll go,” another man stepped forward. “My sense of self-preservation is decent, and I’m not great with my brain. I’ll go first to test the waters. Once you all figure out the pattern, you can come save me.”

After saying this, the man extended his hand and dug out one of his eyes.

“This is my special ability, [Barrier-Free Video]. You can watch everything I see through my eye,” the man spoke as the eye he removed quickly transformed into a small projector, while the eye socket the eyeball had been removed from closed permanently. “There’s never been a better time for me to showcase myself.”

“Alright,” Luo Xiang took his eye. “Be careful, this Black Cloak seems really strange.”

“I know.” The man smiled readily. “This is the only time I can really show off. Otherwise, if I just followed you all and cleared the levels, I probably wouldn’t even make it into a Legion.”

With that, the man walked up to Black Cloak. “Let me go first.”

“Go ahead.” Black Cloak suddenly flew up, enveloping the man, and they both flew toward the haunted house.

“This haunted house feels off,” Mo Xiaoyou shuddered. “Luckily, we didn’t come here when we were looking for the balloons, or it would’ve been a real problem.”

By this point, Ning Buwen had also recovered quite a bit. Being downcast wasn’t really his style.

“This Black Cloak is strange. In the previous three stages, the clown and the rabbits never tried to hide themselves or choose a fixed spot. They weren’t afraid of being seen, but this one is, which in itself is odd,” Ning Buwen analyzed carefully.

“Right. Since they’re all staff from the amusement park, their methods should be consistent,” Zuo Qingcang agreed with Ning Buwen’s statement. “Now, let’s see what Ren Liang, who went in, can see.”

“Here it comes, watch.” 

Ren Liang’s eye quickly started projecting everything he saw into the air.

It looked a bit like a live stream, but still clear enough for everyone to see.

Ren Liang was moving forward in the haunted house, occasionally knocking over a skeleton or encountering a bloody figure, which did look pretty terrifying.

“Are we there yet?” Ren Liang asked.

“Don’t rush,” Black Cloak answered. “We need to start the game from the very back.”

Reluctantly, Ren Liang continued to follow Black Cloak.

“We’re here.” Black Cloak stopped. “Let’s start.”

In the middle of the haunted house, there was a table, with chairs on either side.

“Sit,” Black Cloak nodded at him slightly.

Ren Liang had no choice but to sit down, observing his surroundings to let the others outside see what was going on.

This haunted house was enormous, seemingly endless.

Both Eastern and Western-style monsters could be found here.

On the counter, beside the table they were sitting at, were a row of spirit tablets and white candles, with a coffin behind them. The ceiling was adorned with many large red decorations, making the place look chaotic, yet strangely eerie.

Anyone with a weak heart might end up having nightmares.

Ren Liang looked down and noticed there were small figurines placed under his feet, practically lifelike. He only glanced at them briefly before immediately looking away, too unsettled to look again.

“Our game rules are simple,” Black Cloak said as he pulled out three playing cards. “Look, I have five flower ¹ cards here, each from the four suits: spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs. But there’s also one big joker. I’ll shuffle the cards randomly, and all you have to do is find the joker.”

Ren Liang was a bit confused. “So I just need to pick it out?”

“Exactly,” Black Cloak smiled. “And I’ll even show you where the cards are beforehand. You just need to pick the joker. Simple, right? I’m not as smart as the clown and rabbit, so I can’t do those tricky riddle games.”

“Alright, let’s begin.” Ren Liang had a good memory, so remembering five cards shouldn’t be too hard. If there were more cards, though, he probably wouldn’t be able to keep track.

“Good, I also prefer quick battles,” Black Cloak chuckled. “Remember them well.”

The four kings were placed on the sides, with the joker in the center.

Black Cloak turned all the cards face down again.

“I’m going to start moving them.”

With that, Black Cloak placed his hands on the two outermost cards, slowly moving them around, then speeding up, going faster and faster.

However, the speed didn’t reach a point where the cards became impossible to track.

“Alright, your turn to choose,” Black Cloak withdrew his hands from the cards. “Remember, you only get one chance. If you pick wrong, you fail.”

Ren Liang was full of confidence. “I know, as long as you don’t cheat, I won’t get it wrong.”

“I won’t cheat,” Black Cloak reassured him. “I never cheat.”

“This one.” Ren Liang was certain, as he had been paying close attention.

He pointed to the second card on the right.

“This game feels too easy. I also think it’s the second card,” Mo Xiaoyu murmured. “No, it can’t be that easy.”

“I just can’t tell,” someone else said.

“The dim lighting does obscure our vision, but Ren Liang’s enhanced eyesight, being a superhuman, should be better than ours,” Luo Xiang analyzed. “But still, this feels too easy. There’s something off about it.”

Black Cloak flipped over the second card on the right.

It was the red king of hearts.

“Sorry, you guessed wrong,” Black Cloak shook his head. “You lost.”

“It was right here earlier, you cheated!” Ren Liang accused.

“I told you, I never cheat,” Black Cloak said, removing his cloak to reveal a face with nothing but a large mouth.

“I don’t even have eyes. How could I cheat?” Black Cloak’s mouth curved into a smile. “Since you lost, it’s time for your punishment.”

Ren Liang tried to pull out a defense item from his card deck, but it felt as though his entire body had been frozen in place.

“You all need to hurry up and come in to play with me, I’m waiting for you here.” Black Cloak raised his head and spoke facing Luo Xiang and the others, his lips moving as he spoke.

Soon, the video feed from the eye disappeared, and the small projection device turned back into an eyeball.

“Ren Liang failed,” Luo Xiang bit her lip. “Did you notice anything?”

“Nothing,” Zuo Qingcang replied, also troubled. “Black Cloak didn’t cheat. There’s no space for him to do anything sneaky, and he didn’t have anything in his hands. Either he can change the suits himself, or we were all deceived by what the eye showed us, just like with the clown’s challenge.”

The eyes could deceive.

Everyone had already experienced this firsthand.

The game Black Cloak provided was too simple, so simple that there was no way to approach it.

That’s why Ren Liang didn’t even understand how he lost.

“I’ll go next.” Another person stood up. “I’m close with Ren Liang, so you all can keep watching.”

“But the eye…” 

“It’s fine,” the man who had stepped forward sighed. “Ren Liang’s ability wasn’t just this. He just didn’t want to show everything.” He picked up Ren Liang’s eyeball and placed it in his own right eye.

The next moment, the man’s right eye vanished, and the eyeball that had been placed inside it turned back into the small projection device.

“As long as you contribute an eyeball, it can continuously project whatever the eye’s owner saw,” the man explained, though it seemed he wasn’t quite used to seeing the world with only one eye. “Even if he’s dead, his ability won’t disappear. This power could easily lead to his demise, so he rarely shows everything.”

“Then why are you telling us?”

“Because I know, if I don’t, none of us may make it through this challenge.” The man forced a bitter smile. “I want to save him too, but we can only rely on you now.”

“We didn’t contribute much before, but now we at least have to play a role in paving the way.” The man continued speaking as he walked toward the haunted house. No one stopped him.

“He’s right,” a woman in a shirt spoke up. “We were all selected to join the Legions, and we each prepared ourselves for sacrifice at any moment. I’ll go next, so please take care of things. If something feels off, don’t try to save us. Just clear the challenge first.”

“I’ll go after the next one.”

“I’ll go after you guys.”

…

The next man walked into the haunted house, and the scene he saw was no different from Ren Liang.

However, when flipping the cards, this man flipped all of them at once.

He was deliberately breaking the rules.

“You’ve broken the rules,” Black Cloak’s tone grew colder.

The man saw the faces of the cards and couldn’t believe his eyes.

The image on the king of diamonds clearly depicted Ren Liang, who had come here earlier.

“You… you turned him into a playing card?”

“Be careful. If you damage this card, even if you clear the challenge, he won’t be saved,” Black Cloak grinned. “It’s your turn now.”

The man’s body was immediately sucked into the king of clubs.

The face on the king of clubs quickly shifted to his own.

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Translator Notes

1. Hanafuda (花札) is a traditional set of Japanese playing cards. Unlike Western playing cards, which use suits like spades, hearts, clubs, and diamonds, Hanafuda cards are based on a twelve-month, floral-themed system, each month with it’s own representative flower. But in this case the cards are made to mimic the western ones in terms of what is on the face of the card. A hanafuda suit contains 4 cards but an extra blank card can be added. In hwatu, Korean version, jokers are added for bonuses.[↩]