Lucky Cruise Ship
Chapter 590: Who is the mantis, and who is the oriole?
“…Wait a second, so the remaining half-page is with the Oracle?”
Ma Qi clutched her head and wailed.
“Then what do we do?!”
Although the Oracle was temporarily trapped, that didn’t mean they had the ability to face them head-on, let alone snatch the page from the Gentleman. The difficulty of such a task was sky-high.
Even Wen Jianyan frowned, lowering his eyes in deep thought.
“Then what should we do next?” Wen Ya turned to look at Wen Jianyan and asked.
“…Let’s put this aside for now,” Wen Jianyan finally spoke. “Focus our energy on dealing with Lucy first.”
Unlike Ashley, who managed the racetrack, Lucy was intrinsically linked to the operation of the rules—whether it was establishing factories, starting factory operations, changing factory ownership, the auctions, or the prison, everything was completed under her control. Killing Lucy meant destroying the rules themselves.
Only by killing Lucy could they stop the Oracle from entering the next level before them. Moreover, the agate fragments obtained from killing Lucy could grant them Mesvis’s privileges, allowing them to seize back the advantage they had lost.
“Leaving aside the fact that we only know Lucy’s location now,” Chen Mo frowned, “even if we manage to enter the prison, trying to kill her on her home turf will likely be incredibly difficult.”
“I actually think the opposite.”
Wen Jianyan smiled and said.
What?
Everyone was stunned.
“The threat of the resident Croupiers lies in the things they control.”
The group exchanged glances and nodded.
Wen Jianyan wasn’t the only one to notice this pattern; as people who had also experienced the previous two levels, they were equally perceptive.
Ashley, on the negative fourth floor, could control the pipes of the Mint, and Hwak, on the negative third floor, could manipulate the capsules inside the gacha machines. They relied precisely on these abilities to kill all intruders.
“Besides that, these Croupiers have a deeper, more hidden characteristic…” Wen Jianyan blinked and said softly, “The more fragile the Croupier’s main body, the deeper they hide.”
In the “Integrity First” live room chat:
[Holy sh*t?]
[Wait a minute, that actually seems true!]
[Ashley hid in the studio. Although hard to kill, once Chen Cheng cut him in half, he lost the ability to resist. But Hwak, who was exposed and in direct contact with the anchor, could still nearly wipe out the anchor’s squad even with arrows piercing his heart and head. His main body’s durability was more than a cut above!]
[So following that logic, wouldn’t it mean—]
[—Lucy’s main body strength would be the weakest among all the Croupiers.]
Wen Ya narrowed her eyes, slowly finishing Wen Jianyan’s unspoken thought.
“Bingo!” Wen Jianyan snapped his fingers.
Hearing this, everyone’s spirits lifted. The atmosphere, which had been quite gloomy just a moment ago, finally began to warm up.
“Then, the problem now is how do we get inside the prison.” Chen Mo looked at Wen Jianyan. “Do you have an idea already?”
Wen Jianyan paused, seemingly hesitating about something.
Wen Ya looked at him.
Everyone else looked at him.
The few seconds of silence felt so brief yet seemed so long. Finally, Wen Jianyan took a deep breath and said, “…Yes.”
He raised his eyes:
“However, there is a slight risk.”
Meeting everyone’s gaze, Wen Jianyan paused again and added:
“—Or rather, the risk is not small.”
On the leaderboard, the number of factories owned by the Butcher finally equaled that of the Tarot Master.
Almost simultaneously, the situation on the field seemed to undergo a subtle change.
“…The offensive has slowed down.”
A member of the Oracle sensed something and looked up.
“Indeed.” Gary nodded.
Not far behind them, the Gentleman slowly stood up and walked forward. He looked up at the scoreboard above, and on his face, which was extremely pale from excessive exhaustion, a smile slowly appeared: “…Ah, so that’s it.”
“What is it?”
Gary turned his head and asked in confusion.
“I always thought it strange why so many Tin Soldiers appeared without reason,” the Gentleman narrowed his eyes. In this moment, he regained his previous composed demeanor. “Now I finally have the answer.”
“?” The members of the Oracle looked at him, their expressions puzzled.
The smile on the Gentleman’s lips deepened as he slowly uttered a single word: “—Taxes.”
Everyone was stunned, their expressions turning to shock in unison.
When they first entered the negativr fifth floor, Lucy had mentioned the rules of this floor in a very casual tone. However, what she revealed was too little and too vague, as if she didn’t want the players to find a way to survive at all. The rules that appeared subsequently during the “gameplay” were too dangerous and complex, covering interactions between Toy Merchants, Toy Merchants and factories, the dead and the living, factories and factories, and extending to extra areas like the auction house and the prison.
The information was so convoluted that those in the midst of it found it hard to recall the exact words Lucy used when introducing the rules.
“Have you played Monopoly? The specific rules are pretty much like that: roll the dice to move, invest in toy factories, pay taxes… Oh well, you’ll understand quickly once you play!”
And among all these mentioned aspects, only one term had never appeared.
“Pay taxes.”
In an instant, it was as if everyone heard a thunderclap out of nowhere. Clues that had been ignored before flooded into their minds like a tide.
Yes, the ones constantly attacking and tracking them were the Tin Soldiers.
And the Tin Soldiers reported directly to Lucy.
The so-called taxes were just like that—in the real world, taxes have a threshold. Only those with income above a certain amount need to pay taxes.
At this point, all the information connected, pointing in a single, unique direction.
“If that’s the case, then it’s much easier to handle. We just need to sell some factories, and we can get out of this predicament.” Gary’s brain worked fast, almost immediately thinking of a way to escape danger.
Unexpectedly, the Gentleman shook his head: “No.”
…No?
Gary was stunned, clearly not expecting such an answer.
The Gentleman glanced at Gary and said coldly, “What, have you forgotten our purpose for coming to this floor?”
To enter the negative sixth floor, they had to win this game of “Monopoly.”
Selling factories might stop them from being hunted, but it wouldn’t achieve that goal.
Gary looked a bit disheveled: “…Sorry.”
“But”, another member of the Oracle frowned and asked, “if we don’t get rid of these Tin Soldiers, we can’t even move normally. How are we supposed to win?”
The Gentleman didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he slowly took out that piece of Human Skin Parchment from his pocket.
The Gentleman had been using it since Wen Jianyan entered this floor and his name appeared on the leaderboard.
At this moment, he finally unfolded it and showed the content to everyone.
There were two words on it.
The first word was [Wait].
“This was the answer it gave me when I asked how to get out of the predicament,” the Gentleman said.
That was why he had been so forbearing at the start. It wasn’t just passive defense under the relentless assault of the Tin Soldiers; it also meant tolerating Pinocchio’s activities despite knowing about them, without taking any measures.
Admittedly, being unable to spare attention while being hunted by the Tin Soldiers was the main reason for his choice, but the hint from the Human Skin Parchment also carried weight.
Gentleman: “And the second word is the answer it gave me when I asked how to win the game and enter the next level.”
—[Lucy]
“Lucy?” Gary frowned slightly. “That Croupier?”
“Exactly.” The corners of the Gentleman’s lips curled up, revealing a smile so elegant it was almost chilling. “Clearly, killing Lucy is the key to victory. If she doesn’t die, even if our assets reach a certain amount, we will still be hunted.”
According to these rules, the higher one climbed, the more dangerous it became.
After all, only Toy Merchants whose assets met the standard would trigger the hidden mechanism of “taxes.”
“Although I intended to deal with the Croupier, we were too busy being hunted by the Tin Soldiers to attend to everything.”
Saying this, the Gentleman raised his eyes, his gaze landing on the leaderboard suspended overhead, and revealed a playful expression. “Speaking of which, we have Pinocchio to thank for this.”
If Pinocchio hadn’t interfered and caused the Butcher to rise, they wouldn’t have realized the source of the Tin Soldiers so quickly.
It was also precisely the Butcher’s rise that dispersed the Tin Soldiers’ attention, giving them a chance to escape.
No wonder the instruction given by the Human Skin Parchment was [Wait]. This was the purpose.
Gentleman’s Livestream:
[Tsk tsk tsk, Pinocchio probably never imagined that his actions would cause so many chain reactions, ultimately helping the Oracle.]
[LMAO, you really don’t know who the mantis is and who the oriole is until the very last second.]
“Next, we need to speed up,” the Gentleman said, stretching his limbs. “The Butcher probably won’t be able to hold out for long.”
His tone remained elegant, but it couldn’t hide the disdain within.
The reason the Butcher could climb so high now was partly because the Oracle was pinned down by the Tin Soldiers, and partly due to Pinocchio’s behind-the-scenes maneuvering. In terms of true strength, they were far from reaching a level the Gentleman would respect—and the Tin Soldiers were existences even they couldn’t handle. Under their attack, the time the Butcher could last would only be shorter.
Once the Butcher could no longer pin down the Tin Soldiers, the Oracle would become the sole target again. Waiting until then to act would be too late.
“More importantly, since the pressure on our side has lessened, it means the total number of Tin Soldiers is limited,” the Gentleman smiled, his eyes dark. “So, there must be very few guards left around Lucy right now.”
If they wanted to seize the qualification to enter the next level, there was no better opportunity than now.
The Gentleman turned to look not far away:
“I assume locating Lucy shouldn’t be difficult for you, right?”
The Gentleman smiled and said, “Vice President Su?”
On the other side.
“This… are you really sure?” Corpse Rose looked at Wen Jianyan not far away, her expression hesitant.
Wen Jianyan: “Of course.”
He glanced at her, puzzled. “If I wasn’t sure, why would I come here?”
Corpse Rose: “…”
Fair point.
Not far away, the rotting gates slowly opened, and a dilapidated doll slowly walked out. It stared at the group with its pitch-black, eerie button eyes and slowly spoke: “Wel-welcome… to the ‘Chameleon’s’ doll… toy factory…”
“Wow, congratulations! You guys are so lucky! You actually found an ownerless toy factory!!”
On the screen, Lucy’s smiling face appeared again.
“Would you like to take over this ownerless factory?”
Corpse Rose took a deep breath, finally turning to look at Wen Jianyan one last time. Seeing that he had no intention of changing his mind, she said:
“Yes.”
“Wow! Congratulations, the number of factories in your hand has increased by one!!!!” On the screen, Lucy leaned forward, her originally angelic face appearing somewhat distorted under the lens, her wide grin almost making one’s scalp tingle. “Now, please choose your factory owner!!”
“Yes.”
Corpse Rose bit the bullet and nodded, pointing to Wen Jianyan standing not far behind her—
“Him.”
Miss old su cheng….
Wu Zhu my baby when will u appear