Chapter 188 (1/2)

Luck might be illusory but it could sometimes determine a person’s destiny.

Tang Mo once thought that his luck wasn’t good. For example, the first time participating in an assembly instance, he was designated as a public enemy and had to fight against 19 first floor players with Fu Wenduo. However, he never really said that he had bad luck.

No players who could survive to the present had bad luck.

To be able to survive to the present after the earth went online, strength and luck were indispensable. Luck was even more important than strength. The returnees were people with very bad luck. Their strength wasn’t weaker than the Earth players but they couldn’t smoothly enter the game during the first three days. Then they were thrown into another world by the black tower and experienced a cruel survival.

Now Santa said that his die could increase people’s luck.

Tang Mo’s breathing was short but his expression was calm as he looked at the other players in the room.

The greedy and eagerness in their eyes couldn’t be completely hidden. The value of this die exceeded their imagination. If the owner wasn’t the powerful Santa Claus then there was no doubt that players would try their best to steal it.

Santa looked down at the players with a kind expression, not seeming to see the greed in te players. He laughed loudly, “My lovely children, come and roll the dice. Let this magic die give you luck. This is the only gift that Santa Claus can give you.”

No one dared to move first.

Desire made them all let down their guard and a player couldn’t help asking, “We just need to throw the die?”

“Of course. You just need to go up to it, pick up the die and throw it into the air. The magic die will land on a number and give this luck to you.”

The group looked at each other. Finally, someone couldn’t help gulping before walking up it. He carefully reached out and picked up the huge die. “Hey, it’s light.”

The weight of the die wasn’t as heavy as the player imagined. It seemed to be made of foam. The player picked up the die and threw it hard. The die rolled five times on the ground before revealing a number.

“Wow, what a lucky boy.” Santa touched his white beard. “You must be an honest boy so the magic die gave you a ‘5.’ Congratulations, my boy!”

A dazzling white light leapt from the number ‘5’ on the die and slammed into the player. The player subconsciously reached out to catch the white light and it became a small die in his head, each side of the die containing the number ‘5.’

The player was startled and asked, “Is this right?”

Santa nodded. “Of course, you have a big fortune. Is there anyone else who wants to try?”

The players let down their guard. “I’ll do it!”

Seven or eight players threw the die. The players who got big numbers smiled excitedly and the players who got small numbers were unhappy. Tang Mo was about to go and roll the die when a white figure appeared in front of him. Bai Ruoyao picked up the die and turned around, as if he just discovered that Tang Mo wanted to roll it.

The baby-faced youth made an innocent expression. “Tang Tang, do you want to roll the die?”

Tang Mo stared at him with no expression.

The baby-faced youth was very generous. “Then you roll the die first. After all, we are good friends right? “ There was a handsome smile on his face. This was purely a matter of rolling the die and the black tower couldn’t allow players to cheat. However, Tang Mo felt that as long as he took the die from Bai Ruoyao’s arms, his luck would be stolen by this snake.

Thus, he didn’t move and kept staring coldly at Bai Ruoyao.

The baby-faced youth held his chest, planning to cry that Tang Mo misunderstood him. He clearly wanted to be humble and didn’t intend anything bad. Unexpectedly, a pair of slender hands took the die out of his arms. Bai Ruoyao’s expression stiffened as he looked to the side.

The woman in Bblack grinned slightly, revealing white teeth.

“Then I will do it, Fly.”

Bai Ruoyao, “…”

Fly your sister!

Mu Huixue raised the die with one hand and threw it into the air.

The die fell onto the ground.

Mu Huixue muttered, “A 5? Not bad.” Then Mu Huixue handed the die to Chen Shanshan, who was standing not far away. Chen Shanshan didn’t understand why the returnee had noticed her and Mu Huixue smiled. “Let the children act first.” Then she placed her hands in her pocket and walked away. As she walked past Bai Ruoyao, she whispered, “Fly.”

Chen Shanshan pretended not to know Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo and threw the die. THe number was 5.

Fu Wensheng thew the die and the number was 2. The child’s face darkened and he pouted angrily.

Bai Ruoyao was excluded from the players’ circle. Fu Wensheng gave the die to a player he didn’t know. After a few more people, it was Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo’s turn. Tang Mo took a deep breath and threw the die into the air. His eyelids didn’t twitch when the number ‘1’ appeared in front of his eyes. He didn’t express his opinion and handed the die to Fu Wenduo.

Fu Wenduo had better luck and threw a ‘4.’

Finally, it was Bai Ruoyao’s turn.

The baby-faced youth threw it and the dazzling ‘6’ appeared in front of everyone.

Tang Mo glanced at Bai Ruoyao and Bai Ruoyao grinned back at him.

Santa waved his hand and the die returned to his magic bag. The players reluctantly watched him take it away but didn’t dare stop him.

Santa Claus said, “Now the children have received Santa Claus’ last gift. Then… all that is left is the last room in the candy house.” He leaned sideways and revealed a tall door. A hoarse and eccentric laugh emerged from Santa’s mouth. Tang Mo thought he heard wrong and looked at Santa Claus. The latter still had his kind appearance.

He saw the white-bearded old man in a red Christmas outfit laugh and shout “Merry Christmas” as he pushed open the door.

The door slowly creaked open. A dazzling white filled the eyes of every player and Tang Mo couldn’t help squinting. He saw that there was a huge rainbow lollipop floating in the middle of the room.

The size of this lollipop exceeded everyone’s imagination.

This was the ninth room that the players visited. The first eight rooms were the same size and the decorations were the same. Only the candies in the rooms were different. Now the ninth room was twice the size of the first eight rooms. and there was only the one lollipop in the room. It floated in mid-air.

A thick sugar scent filled the room. There was only one candy but its sweetness far exceeded the first eight rooms.

Santa Claus proudly introduced it, “This is my treasure, Santa’s lollipop! It is also a prop but it is too precious. The kids can’t touch it. If you touch it then I will be very angry.” Santa was still smiling when he said this but the players didn’t think he was joking. The hidden killing intent was creepy.

Santa Claus continued, “Many children in the Underground Kingdom dream of seeing this lollipop but I never allowed it. This is a magical lollipop and my proudest work. Even the great Schrodinger can’t make such a lollipop. Whether it is the sweetness of the sugar, the colours in the rainbow pattern or the number of circle layers, it is a perfect piece of art. Children, today you are lucky that I allowed you to visit this lollipop.”

They couldn’t touch the lollipop or Santa would be angry.

This seemed to be a death FLAG.

The players didn’t want to visit an untouchable lollipop but Santa Claus forced them to visit it. Everyone carefully stayed a few metres away from the lollipop, afraid to come near it in case something happened. Fortunately, no one touched it and Santa Claus took the group back to the door of the room.

Santa stood in front of the huge lollipop and said emotionally, “It has been a long time since I’ve seen such obedient and sensible children. You are so honest and kind. All good children should be happy. There are still three hours before the commercial street closes. Children, do you want to play a game?”

One player asked, “Will this game allow us to take away the luck given by the magic die?”

Santa Claus was surprised. “How can you take away the luck given by the magic die?”

The players were stunned.

The black tower said that Santa seemed to have a way to solve this problem. Now Santa Claus acted like he didn’t know. Was the black tower lying or was the word ‘seems’ meant to indicate that Santa didn’t know how to solve it?

A low male voice whispered in Tang Mo’s ears. “Santa Claus is very dishonest.”

Tang Mo nodded and looked at Fu Wenduo. “Is the game related to it?”

The two people looked at each other and understood the other person’s meaning.

It seemed that in order to take away the luck given by the magic die, players must participate in Santa’s game.

Santa Claus continued to act stupid and some players gradually found that this Santa Claus wasn’t a good boos. Someone asked, “What type of game is it?”

Santa’s words stopped as he looked down at the player who interrupted him. The dark eyes reflected the thin figure of a female player. Santa quietly watched her and saw that the female players’ legs softened and she also fell down. Santa Claus laughed again. “This is one of the most famous games in the Underground Kingdom.”

Tang Mo raised an eyebrow.

The honest card game, the happy quiz game… now there was one more famous game?

There were a lot of famous games in the Underground Kingdom.

Santa Claus explained, “Every year, many children come to my candy house to play this fun game. Now children, let us go back to the beginning of the game.”

Santa Claus led the 19 players back to the entrance in the same order that they visited the rooms.Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo walked through the nine rooms. Gradually, Tang Mo noticed a strange sense of familiarity.

Wait, the distribution of these rooms and the same size of the rooms. There were a total of nine rooms…

Tang Mo looked at Fu Wenduo with a stunned expression and saw that Fu Wenduo had the same awareness.

At this time, Santa laughed roughly, “Yes, it is Santa’s Hopscotch game!”

All players are stunned.

The hopscotch game had been played by more players.

It was a very popular childhood game. They only needed to use a stone to draw nine squares on the ground and it could be played anywhere.

Santa’s Candy House was a natural playground for it.

There were a total of nine rooms. The first three rooms were lined up separately while the fourth and fifth rooms were next to each other. The sixth room was separate while the seventh and eighth rooms were next to each other. Finally, there was the ninth room. This was the largest room and was twice the size of the front room because it included the area of the seventh and eight rooms.

The second time they walked through the house, Tang Mo found that the layout of the nine rooms was exactly the same layout as the hopscotch game.

Obviously, the players present have also played the hopscotch game. Santa didn’t seem to know that this game was very common and happily introduced the rules. “There was a child who wanted to play hide-and-seek in my candy house but it was too big. Three days later, I found his body in an ocean of chocolate beans. Since then, I’ve never let children play hide-and-seek in the candy store. I invented a fun game, hopscotch! Do you see these nine rooms?”

The group didn’t say anything but Santa wasn’t angry. He laughed and moved sideways. “This is your game field!”

Boom—

The ground shook violently and a deafening noise came from the walls of the candy house. It was as if they collapsed as they all sank below the ground. The original nine rooms disappeared and nine blue patterns the same size of the rooms appeared. These patterns were rectangular and the original things in the rooms were still present. The centre contained an image of a chocolate fountain, a glass sugar ball, strawberry ice cream…

The ninth room contained a huge lollipop..

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As if it was a special effect, blue numbers appeared one by one above the rectangles.Starting from the first room, it was 1, 2, 3… up to 9.

One player whispered to himself. “1, 2, 3, 45, 6, 78, 9, is this really hopscotch?”

Yes, it was really a hopscotch game.

Santa proudly introduced the game he designed. “This is a simple and fun game that can both exercise your body and make you more familiar with Santa Claus’ Candy House. Children, do you see the lucky die that you just received from the magic die?”

The group pulled out the small die they just received from their pockets.

Santa Claus explained, “This is your prop. Before you start the game, throw the dice into the grid you want to go to and then you can jump to that grid. However, pay attention. Your speed must be fast and you can’t step on the line of the grid. In each grid, you can only stay for one step and leave one footprint.”

Santa Claus touched his beard and lamented. “There is always a child who is particularly greedy. I gave him a lot of gifts and candy but he didn’t play well when playing the game He always wants to steal candy. That’s why I set this rule. You can’t stay in any room along the way. You can only eat something n the room that you throw the die into.”

Chen Shanshan asked, “What happens if we stay?”

Santa Claus replied, “What?” A sinister light appeared in his eyes. “Lovely little girl, what would you guess?”

Chen Shanshan closed her mouth and stopped talking.

Didn’t someone die in an ocean of chocolate beans from playing a game?

Then the answer was obvious.

Santa didn’t talk nonsense again. He pointed a finger at Bai Ruoyao, “This child, do you understand how to play the game?”

Bai Ruoyao showed a rare expression of surprise. “Is it me?” He seemed to be asking why him.

Santa Claus said, “I have discovered that like Santa, you are particularly fond of smiling. My lovely child, a smiling child doesn’t have bad luck.”

Bai Ruoyao, “…”

Bai Ruoyao was speechless but he still walked to the front. Santa said, “Take out your die and let me see if you understand this game. Here, let me show you.”

Bai Ruoyao twisted his wrist and a small die appeared between his fingers.

Santa Claus was surprised. “A number 6 die?”

Bai Ruoyao asked, “Do I demonstrate it directly?”

Santa asked, “Do you really understand?”

The baby-faced youth grinned at Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo before throwing the die.

The small die drew a large arc in the air. It was about to fall into the ninth room but then it slightly turned and ended up in the eighth room. The die landed with a clear sound and the next second, Bai Ruoyao’s feet kicked off and his body flew forward.

Like a vigorous cheetah, he easily avoided the candy in the room and jumped into the eighth room. There wasn’t one step more or one step less.

The tall baby-faced youth stood in the eighth room with his hands in his pocket. Then he waved at everyone.

The other players immediately noticed that the baby-faced youth shouldn’t be underestimated and became more vigilant.

Mu Huixue sighed. “He really is worthy of being called Fly.”

The smile on Bai Ruoyao’s face suddenly froze. He scoffed and jumped back to where he was originally standing.

Santa Claus said, “Yes, that’s it. You just entered the eighth room and it was lit up by you. Just throw the die into the rooms in the right order. Jump into the rooms again and again, turn back around, light up all the rooms and finish the game. You are such a clever boy.” His words ended and he looked at the other 18 players. “Do you understand the rules of the game?”

Bai Ruoyao said, “I didn’t see the room light up.”

Santa pointed to his eyes. “I saw it.”

A middle-aged man asked, “How do we win?”

Santa Claus replied, “Win?” He seemed to realize that there should be either victory or defeat in the game. The old man with the white beard touched his red hat and thought for a moment. “Then the first three children who clear the game will be counted as winning. However, you shouldn’t take your time. There are three hours until the Quirky Commercial Street is closed.”

Mu Huixue raised her hand. “There is only one map of the house. Who will start first?”

Santa touched his chin. “This seems to be a problem. Haha, no, this is simple. Who says that Santa Claus only has one map of the house? I clearly have more!” Santa waved his hands and two blue lights flew to both sides. They landed on the ground and instantly turned into two more house maps.

The first eight rooms of the two maps were exactly the same as the first map and they were at a 120 degree angle to the first map. The three maps formed a circle with the ninth room in the centre.

The starting points were inconsistent but it reached the same place.

There were now three maps and 19 players.

Santa didn’t wait for the players to ask questions as he called out loudly, “The children who rolled a 1 and a 6, come over to me.” Five players exchanged strange looks and walked up to Santa Claus.

“Those who rolled a 2 and a 5, come to my left.” Seven players stood to the left.

“Those who rolled a 3 and a 4, come to my right.” Seven players stood to the right.

Santa clapped. “See how simple it is to use these three maps? I’m sure that now every child will have a chance to play the game.”

Fu Wensheng stated, “No, this still doesn’t work.” The number he threw was a 2. He pointed to the six players around him and said, “We have a total of seven players in this group, seven. How will we decide who goes first and who goes afterwards? It is only three hours. Perhaps the last person won’t get a chance to play.”

“Believe me, there is a way to fix it, my lovely child.” Santa winked at Fu Wensheng.

Fu Wensheng was surprised. “But…”

Chen Shanshan stopped him. The little girl quietly stared at the smiling white-haired old man and said, “He’s right. We are divided into three groups and have our own means to decide who goes first.”

The smile on Santa’s face became more profound, as if acknowledging Chen Shanshan’s words.

The cruellest thing in this world wasn’t the black tower games or the black tower monsters. It was the human race itself.

A clear child’s voice was heard.

“Ding dong! The large assembly instance Santa Claus’ Quirky Commercial Street has officially opened the Santa Claus’ Hopscotch Game.”

“The rules of the game—”

“First, the player must use the lucky die to throw into any room. They can only jump to that room and then go back.”

“Second, stepping on the lines of the room or taking more than one step in the room counts as a foul. The game needs to start over again.”

“Third, players can throw the die into any house at will. However, it is only when they completely light up the nine rooms in the right order that the game will finish.”

“Fourth, props, abilities and violence are prohibited in the game.”

“Santa Claus hates bad children who steal candy but Santa Claus has his own opinion about what is stealing.”