Chapter Ch63.1 - Temperance Card
translator: xiin
editors: apricot & juurensha
Behind the door was a dark, enclosed s.p.a.ce.
Wu Jin had been too rushed when he entered the door and only had time to glance at the engraved pattern above the door––the Roman numeral “VI”.
This was instance number six.
Inside the s.p.a.ce, the youth gasped for breath, and it took a long time before he recovered his strength. Jingyi Entertainment’s two snipers’ firepower was extremely fierce when they cooperated together. In the absence of his teammates, simply surviving had already pushed Wu Jin to his limits.
His bulletproof armor was scratched in three places, and he’d been wounded once––fortunately, the Crosson Show’s modified bullets were much gentler than live ammunition. If this was the underground survival show, his wound would probably have been dripping with blood by now.
Wu Jin lifted his head and looked cautiously over to the other side of the enclosed s.p.a.ce.
The existence of this enclosed s.p.a.ce was unexpected, but it wasn’t difficult to understand with a little applied thought. The clearance and opening times of the instances varied, and the enclosed compartment was like a buffer area that allowed contestants to enter the instances at appropriate times according to the rules.
The second instance was an instance that required a ‘preparation area’.
The compet.i.tion used the preparation area as a way of regulating the players. At the same time, the players could make preparations and trigger certain conditions in order to enter the instance.
There were two goblets on the small table inside this closed compartment, one to the left and one to the right.
Wu Jin looked over them quickly, then opened up the team communication channel again.
At present, the most important thing was to reunite with his teammates and find out why Jingyi Entertainment was so focused on sniping him.
It was a common strategy in the elimination matches to clear out A-level trainees quickly in order to obtain better rankings, but Jingyi Entertainment, who had always been low-key until now, was obviously behaving more brazenly and recklessly than any other player right now.
It wasn’t only because their double c-positions had gathered together; Jingyi Entertainment was also full of confidence, and it was clear that they had obtained some kind of hidden card that gave them the courage to think they were now invincible.
And judging from the way they had used their gunfire to send Wu Jin to the entrance to the instance––this hidden card of theirs could only play out to its greatest effect in an instance.
The team communication channel was back up again.
Zoe’s heart fell back into his chest when Wu Jin spoke.
“Compartment? Preparation area?” The White Moonlight sniper was surprised.
Wu Jin nodded quickly, “Instance number six. If nothing unexpected happens, the two snipers from Jingyi will also have come in. How are you doing over there?”
Unexpectedly, Zoe brought them the first piece of good news since the start of the match––using the direction of the light as a guide, he’d found the instance that Wu Jin had first entered, the door numbered ‘3’.
Wu Jin’s eyes brightened.
As long as Zoe could pa.s.s the instance, he would be able to go back and join up with Zoe by heading back along his original route, and no longer be suppressed both left and right by the team from Jingyi Entertainment.
The two of them quickly agreed on a strategy, and Wu Jin added, “Try to grab another wands card, so we can gather together all the clues for the rules of the game. Also, we need to know the longest permissible time between fights, since it’s proportional to the size of the map.”
Wen Lin agreed simply, “I’ll try.”
The map for the third round was complex, and the corridors went in multiple directions. Since players wouldn’t enter an instance simply by running around in the corridors, unless Wen Lin’s luck was at an E-level like Wu Jin’s, and he encountered the double snipers, based on his strength, the other team members wouldn’t need to worry about him.
On the other side, Zoe said a few more words and stepped through the door into instance number 3.
Wu Jin suddenly asked, “Brother Zoe, what’s inside the instance?”
“Like you said before, shouldn’t it be the Judgement card…” Over the communication channel, the sniper’s breathing sped up, and his voice was obviously shocked.
“… Little Witch, instance number three isn’t the Judgement card; it’s The Chariot card.”
Wu Jin’s heart beat stuttered, and his wild guess was finally confirmed. The blood in his body seemed to almost be boiling.
He nodded slightly and took a long breath before saying softly, “Sure enough… the major arcana has been replaced.”
In the communication channel, none of them responded. Caesar, who’d been muted by Zoe, hit out a long string of question marks on their screens.
Zoe could only lift the ban, even as Wu Jin quickly spoke up to explain, “The prompt said to use cards to exchange fate. The minor arcana are used to trade for supplies, which affects the individual contestant’s fate. The major arcana can’t be used to trade for supplies, because what it does is change the fate of all the players in the instance––”
“Major arcana can be used to change or reshape instances.”
There was silence on the communication channel. Wen Lin was the first to react, “I remember that Caesar said the cards on the elevated platform couldn’t be taken away and could only be exchanged?”
Wu Jin replied, “Indeed. Caesar didn’t exchange his card. However, after the third instance was cleared, the contestant who occupied the platform replaced the Judgement card with The Chariot card. Therefore, instance number 3 changed from Judgement to Chariot––”
He paused slightly as a memory quickly rose up.
“After the card is changed, the dungeon will close. The sound of mechanisms moving through the door should be due to the reshaping of the instance for the next scene. Players who didn’t leave in time will be forced to enter the Chariot instance along with the person who changed the card––however, after the instance closed, there were only seven players left in instance 3, and there weren’t enough players, so the instance continued to accept new contestants, and Zoe was one of the people who entered based on those rules.”
All the clues had finally come together.
Wen Lin finally said, “Got it.”
Zoe pondered, “The major arcana can change the instance––what’s the use of changing an instance?”
Wu Jin bowed his head slightly, light flashing across his eyes, “If you can walk up to the platform and insert a card you’re familiar with––the instance will become a world that you can control completely. The contestants who step through the door will have basically entered your territory. As long as you can make good use of your advantages, you can eliminate your opponents at minimal cost.”
“For example, in the case of the Judgement card, the coffins are the safe zones. Suppose the player with the Judgement card changed to that instance in advance, then hid in a coffin at the start of the game, coming out to shoot and ambush the other players as soon as the instance starts to cool down. It would be far easier to eliminate other players that way than in a direct gunfight.”
Zoe sucked in a breath of cold air.
Wu Jin continued, “According to the current trend, we’re not the only ones who have figured out this rule. I’m guessing, but it’s possible that by the end of this elimination match, different instances will be taken over by different teams––and in order to take down certain teams, it’ll be necessary to first deal with the cards in their hands.”
Wu Jin froze. Jingyi Entertainment must have forced him here because they were confident that they could take over the instance up ahead and force Wu Jin into a cage where they could kill him at will.
Jingyi Entertainment must have a major arcana card in their hands that gave them an absolute advantage.
On the other end of the communication channel, the others had already quickly finished their discussion.
Zoe: “Little Witch, how are you doing? Were you hurt just now?”
Wu Jin immediately reported that he was safe, “I didn’t get hit. Brother Zoe, be careful!” As he spoke, he took out a bandage from his backpack and did a simple wrap over his wound.
Zoe nodded, then suddenly said, “Little Witch, did you see who exchanged the cards? Over ten people there, yet none of them were able to hit him? Could it have been Wei Yan…”
Wu Jin was shocked and stuttered, “I di-didn’t see clearly…”
Fortunately, Zoe didn’t remain stuck on this topic. He asked Caesar a few more things then closed the mic again.
Wu Jin’s focus returned back to the compartment.
Just now, the two snipers from Jingyi Entertainment were in the corridor, the one outside the instance. This at least meant one thing––the card inside the instance at present wasn’t under Jingyi Entertainment’s control. Only after the instance had been cleared would they have the chance to change the card on the elevated platform into their own.
However, using their double sniper configuration, Jingyi Entertainment had a much higher likelihood of getting up onto the platform than any of the other players.
Wu Jin pushed down all distractions and focused on the instance in front of him.
He squinted slightly in the dim lighting and looked down at the table in front of him.
There were two metal-plated goblets, one to the right and one to the left, one gold and one silver. The liquid contained within seemed a little bright and had the distinctive flavor of a beverage.
On the bottom of the goblet to the left was the word ‘material’, and the one on the right had the word ‘spirit’. In the middle was a roll of paper that said, “Choose, taste.”
The prompt was clear, and he was almost certain––this was the 14th card of the major arcana, Temperance.
In the card, an angel held a cup in each hand, the two cups symbolizing the material world and the spiritual world respectively. The angel held the two cups in a way where water constantly poured from one cup to the other, maintaining a balance between the two cups.
Wu Jin’s tense shoulders and arms gradually relaxed.
The rules for the ‘Temperance card’ were simpler than that of the ‘Judgement card’. The two cups were placed there silently on the small table, seeming to symbolize the two sides that were waiting for his choice.
He reached out his hand and was just about to pick up the cup that represented ‘spirit’ when he suddenly stilled.
It was already the year 3018. The pursuit of the human consciousness would surely have surpa.s.sed that of the material! If most players chose spirit––the water would overflow, and balance would need to be maintained. The instance would certainly target the ‘spirit’ camp and support the ‘material’ camp.
Wu Jin quickly changed his decision and drank the liquid in the golden cup engraved with the word ‘material’.
It was sweet and silky, like mango juice.
After that, the watch on his right wrist lit up with a gold glow––he’d been successfully divided into a camp and triggered the pa.s.s conditions. Across from him in the compartment, the door to the second instance slowly opened up.
The lights suddenly grew bright. The hills and gra.s.sland in the wide instance seemed to come to life, a red-winged angel standing in the highest place, a holy halo of light blooming behind her. She held the cups in her hands, and water flowed from the golden cup into the silver cup.
After seeing the color of the cups, Wu Jin bowed his head in shock.
There were about 17 or 18 other players in the instance who were all fighting fiercely amidst heavy gunfire. Most of them had golden watches, and only five were silver––the vast majority of the contestants had happily chosen the ‘material’ camp.
Even before Wu Jin could react, a red aiming laser had already slid over the side of his body. The door behind him closed with a bang.
Wu Jin stepped back, using his elbow to support himself against the wall as he dodged by instinct.
From overhead, the light on the automated instance mechanism closest to Wu Jin flickered, the red dot coming close again, preparing to aim a second time.
It wasn’t a player attacking him, but rather the instance itself!
Wu Jin narrowed his eyes as he looked at the interior of the instance and finally figured out all the rules.
The water would overflow when it was full.
Gold represented ‘material’, and silver represented ‘spirit’.
The number of trainees in the ‘material’ camp was larger than that of the ‘spirit’ camp’s, and so the instance impartially attacked the trainees with gold wrist watches who belonged to the ‘material’ camp.
The ‘spirit’ camp members with silver wrist watches were temporarily safe, and a few amongst that group didn’t forget to shoot and hara.s.s the other trainees, trying to further eliminate the enemy.
There were gold and silver cups scattered all over the instance––as long as players drank the water from a cup of the opposite color, they could change camps.
The exchange of gunfire was taking place around these cups.
Above Wu Jin’s head, the instance’s automated mechanism fired again. He was forced to move his gaze away and leap down from the starting point into the field. The youth in the army green bulletproof armor went down to his knees as soon as he landed, and he shot at the trainee who’d been trying to take advantage of this opportunity to hara.s.s him.
A few more people entered the instance from not far away.
Wu Jin recognized Ming Yao from the previous instance and their earlier gunfight at a glance.
Ming Yao hadn’t come in alone. At the entrance to his right, another sniper from Jingyi Entertainment had finally also showed up––
The leader of Jingyi’s double c-position team, an A-level trainee whose high popularity rivalled Thin Fire, Zuo Botang.
Wu Jin didn’t hesitate to distance himself from the two of them. It didn’t make sense for him to go head-to-head with anyone before Zoe arrived.
The double c-positions from Jingyi didn’t choose the same camp––Ming Yao’s wrist watch was gold, while Zuo Botang’s wrist watch was silver. They had laid chips on both sides, which was quite a prudent approach.
After a brief pause, the first to open fire was Zuo Botang. He held a sniper rifle with a holographic scope and precisely swept out an empty stretch of s.p.a.ce for his teammate. Ming Yao tacitly followed up and stole the first silver cup while Zuo Botang covered for him.
Ming Yao changed camps.
There were now 12 people in the ‘material’ camp, and 7 in the ‘spirit’ camp.