Chapter 45: New Teammate

Lu Qingyu's single sentence flooded Qin Changsheng's mind with information.
Had he already participated in this game?
In an instant, Qin Changsheng's brain operated at high speed, continuously unearthing relevant information.
Got it!
Qin Changsheng suddenly remembered that during the first game, Cao Mengmeng had indeed told him something similar.
In this game, there were some veterans who had participated before.
If that was the case, no wonder Lu Qingyu knew how to open the points panel right off the bat—it turned out he was one of those veteran players who had already played the game!
"Did you... really participate in this game?" For the sake of rigor, Qin Changsheng confirmed it repeatedly.
"That's right." Lu Qingyu nodded. "That's why I also know how cruel the upcoming games will be. If we don't cooperate, no one will survive until the end!"
"Wait a minute!" Cao Mengmeng stepped in from the side, looking at Lu Qingyu with guarded vigilance. "What you just said could also be completely made up. Who knows if you're really a veteran player?"
"If you really want to prove that you're useful, take this chance right now and tell us what the next game is about."
Qin Changsheng remained silent, knowing that Cao Mengmeng's demand was the only reasonable one.
This place was a mixed bag containing all sorts of people. If Lu Qingyu was lying, who knew what kind of schemes he was plotting behind the scenes?
Proving oneself first was entirely reasonable.
Lu Qingyu stared straight at Cao Mengmeng for a long time. Being stared at continuously by such a handsome man was a bit much for even Cao Mengmeng to handle. She gritted her teeth hard and said, "Acting cool in front of me isn't going to work, I'm telling you! Spit it out already!"
"Sorry." Lu Qingyu shook his head. "I can't say."
"Hmph, I knew it!" Cao Mengmeng clicked her tongue. "You talk a big game about how the next game is impossible without you, yet it turns out you don't even know what the game content is?"
"Wrong." Unexpectedly, Lu Qingyu refuted Cao Mengmeng's statement. "It's not that I don't know; it's that I cannot say."
This time, it was Qin Changsheng's turn to be puzzled. "Why can't you say?"
"For two reasons." To everyone's surprise, Lu Qingyu methodically raised two fingers. "First, the intelligence regarding the second game is currently my greatest advantage. Unless I confirm that we are truly allied teammates, telling you would be against my own interests."
"Second, before the game starts, no one is allowed to leak specific content related to the game in advance." Lu Qingyu paused. "This is a special rule established by the Sovereign for us veteran players."
"I can tell you one more thing: everything the Sovereign told you in the temple is true. Every single word and action of ours right now is being watched completely. The moment I leak any rule-breaking information, I will be instantly obliterated."
"Based on all that, I cannot comply with the demands you just made."
After finishing, Lu Qingyu closed his mouth and stayed silent, as if waiting for Qin Changsheng and the others to respond.
Qin Changsheng didn't speak, but Cao Mengmeng jumped in first. "Do you know how suspicious everything you just said sounds?"
Seeing that Lu Qingyu remained silent, Cao Mengmeng simply made her point clearer. "Not a single thing you've said can be proven. Given that, why on earth should we accept you as a teammate?"
"Because only I can lead you through the next game alive," Lu Qingyu said with absolute seriousness. "That is the only thing I can guarantee. Let me join, and I can keep all of you alive."
"I told you, you have no way to pro—"
"Alright, then come along with us!" Before Cao Mengmeng could finish, Qin Changsheng abruptly interrupted her.

Cao Mengmeng's eyes widened as she looked at Qin Changsheng in disbelief. "What are you talking about? Can't you tell how suspicious he is? He can't explain anything clearly, yet he's dead set on joining us. Who knows if he's lying through his teeth?"
"I don't know either," Qin Changsheng admitted. "But I trust him. Besides, didn't I already agree to let him join us earlier? How can I go back on my word so casually?"
He noticed Lu Qingyu's expression flicker slightly, clearly not expecting to actually be accepted.
Cao Mengmeng looked as though she found Qin Changsheng completely unreasonable. "This is a very serious matter! If he's hiding secrets from us, how are we supposed to trust him?"
"There's no need for trust," Qin Changsheng said. "I'm hiding plenty of secrets from you, and you still trust me, don't you?"
"You! You're different!" Cao Mengmeng started to argue, but suddenly stopped herself. She closed her eyes, covered her head, and forced herself to calm down. "Fine! Whatever! Since you've already made up your mind, then so be it."
Qin Changsheng knew Cao Mengmeng well enough to know that this didn't mean she had no complaints at all; it was merely a temporary compromise.
No matter how many internal disagreements the team had, Cao Mengmeng was unwilling to display them to outsiders, as doing so would give potential rivals an opening.
Having bypassed Cao Mengmeng's objection, Qin Changsheng seized the opportunity to step forward, shake Lu Qingyu's hand, and say warmly, "Then it's settled. Welcome aboard."
"Right, thank you," Lu Qingyu said solemnly. "My promise stands. I will definitely lead you through the next game."
A smile hung on Qin Changsheng's face, though he felt a bit guilty inside.
He had lied.
Qin Changsheng wasn't nearly as carefree as he appeared on the surface. Just like Cao Mengmeng, he didn't entirely trust the Lu Qingyu standing before him.
No one could blindly trust a stranger they had just met.
The only reason Qin Changsheng agreed to let him join was based purely on a gut feeling.
His intuition told him that one particular thing Lu Qingyu said wasn't a lie—namely, that he was indeed a veteran player who had participated in this game before.
Regardless of Lu Qingyu's actual motives, his understanding of this game far exceeded that of Qin Changsheng and the others.
If they wanted to get closer to uncovering the truth of this game, the best approach right now was to get close to Lu Qingyu and extract more intelligence from him.
The Sovereign had said that any attempt to escape this place would be considered a rule violation, with the penalty being death!
While this claim was certainly terrifying, that fear was built on the premise that they knew absolutely nothing about the game.
If they could obtain more information, perhaps... perhaps they really could figure out a way to escape?
Hope was a poison, but sometimes it was also the antidote.
Before swallowing it, no one knew whether they would live or die.
Qin Changsheng wanted to take a gamble, even if the stake in this game of chance was his life.
With Lu Qingyu's status settled, the bespectacled man who had been waiting by the door finally lost his patience and reminded them, "Respected Chosen Ones, shall we go check out the houses now?"
"Sure," Qin Changsheng quickly followed. "Lead the way!"
Led by the bespectacled man, the group walked all the way toward the mysterious Chosen District.
Along the way, Cao Mengmeng still wore a look of deep distrust toward Lu Qingyu, refusing to walk side by side with him and instead staying far ahead, close to Qin Changsheng.
The other two didn't have such strong objections. Dong Huan immediately tried to sling his arm around Lu Qingyu's shoulders, leaving the latter looking somewhat flustered, clearly unsure how to refuse.
"Have you eaten?" Wu Yutong handed him a small pack of cookies, leftovers they had scavenged from a convenience store during the previous game. "Would you like some?"
"No, thank you." Lu Qingyu calmly declined, reaching out instead to pull out a stainless steel thermos. "Drinking tea is enough for me."
"Hey! You two, stop getting so close to him!" Cao Mengmeng frowned. "This guy gives off weird vibes, watch out for traps!"
"The only weird vibes around here were the ones you gave off when we first met..." Qin Changsheng couldn't help muttering under his breath.
It was only just now that he realized where his sense of déjà vu regarding Lu Qingyu came from.
Wasn't this just Cao Mengmeng when they had first met?!
The same cold detachment, the same rational-above-all attitude, the same impenetrable demeanor.
As they got to know each other better, Cao Mengmeng had gradually become a bit more lively, slowly shedding her outer shell to reveal the true essence of a homebody otaku girl.
But Lu Qingyu was still wrapped in a thick suit of armor.
Perhaps in a few days, he would become just like Cao Mengmeng is now?
Qin Changsheng tried to imagine an otaku version of Lu Qingyu, but unfortunately, combining that kind of personality with Lu Qingyu's cold and handsome face was too hard to picture.
As he let his mind wander, the group arrived at the checkpoint where they had previously been blocked outside the Chosen District.
This time, Qin Changsheng showed his ID card to the gatekeeper, who immediately stepped aside.
"Welcome back, true Chosen Ones!" The gatekeeper bowed respectfully to Qin Changsheng, his attitude vastly different from before.
Qin Changsheng put away the card with a sense of emotion, never expecting that such a small card could instantly elevate him to a superior status.
"Please follow me, everyone." The bespectacled man continued to lead the way, guiding them into the Chosen District.
Once inside, Qin Changsheng realized that the Chosen District didn't look particularly different from the outside world. If anything, the houses lining both sides of the street were fewer in number, and other than themselves, there wasn't a single soul on the streets.
That made sense; to enter the Chosen District, one had to purchase a Residence of Hope to obtain an ID card. In the first game, aside from Qin Changsheng himself, there was probably no one else with enough points to buy a Residence of Hope.
The group walked a long way inward without seeing the large house the bespectacled man had mentioned.
As they walked, Qin Changsheng couldn't help feeling a bit puzzled. The road ahead seemed endless—just how much longer would it take to get there?
Fortunately, right as their patience was about to wear thin, the bespectacled man finally stopped.
"We've arrived." A smile beamed across the bespectacled man's face. "Welcome to the Residence of Hope!"
Although he was smiling, Qin Changsheng and the others couldn't smile at all.
Are you kidding me?
Qin Changsheng stared wide-eyed in the direction the bespectacled man was pointing.
Before them, there was no luxurious large house whatsoever.
Standing right in front of the bespectacled man was nothing more than a single, lonely, isolated door!