novelraw Chapter 38: Sea of Darkness - (38)
Chapter 38: Sea of Darkness - (38)
Reading these messages, Kui Xin raised her eyebrows in surprise.
She slipped her phone into her pocket, shook off the excess water from her umbrella, and swiftly ascended the stairs to her home. As soon as she finished drying the umbrella, her phone buzzed repeatedly with multiple notifications.
The first message was from The Hacker: “Apologies; please trust me; I bear no ill intentions. Just now, intruding into your phone was truly a last resort; there were some things I needed to verify. A verbal apology may seem insincere, so to demonstrate my remorse, I can take concrete actions to compensate you.”
The second message was a bank notification regarding account balance changes: “Amount: ¥100,000.00. Date: July 29th. Type: Interbank Transfer. Balance: ¥106,230.00.”
Kui Xin’s bank account initially held over six thousand yuan, partly from her own earnings and partly from a scholarship awarded by the principal when she graduated from high school. All students admitted to prestigious universities received this scholarship, amounting to three thousand yuan per person, as a customary practice upon graduation.
The third text message was again from The Hacker: “Please believe my sincerity.”
Kui Xin, perplexed, wonders…
This hacker indeed thoroughly investigated her past experiences, even knowing that she was severely lacking funds.
Money was incredibly important to Kui Xin, but it paled in comparison to her life itself.
Regardless, the hacker’s transfer of money did demonstrate a certain level of “sincerity.” However, it remained unclear whether his display of sincerity aimed at forming a team or if there were other motives behind it.Kui Xin couldn’t easily acknowledge being a player herself.
After a moment of contemplation, she pretended to be an inexperienced high school student and replied to The Hacker, “Our school’s safety lectures taught us about scams like these. Illegal money launderers transfer funds into clean accounts, unknowingly exploiting the account holders’ cards. In the end, the account holder ends up on credit blacklists, and their bank cards get frozen. By transferring money to me, you’re trying to harm me, scammer!”
The Hacker responded with a string of ellipses, momentarily speechless.
Hacker: “Which scammer can investigate your movements faster than the police?”
Kui Xin typed, “Are you claiming to be a scammer who infiltrated the city’s Sky Eye System? That’s an additional offense; once the police catch you, they’ll send you away for over ten years.”
Speechless, the Hacker responded, “Stop pretending. I know you’re a player. Why not just admit it?”
Kui Xin expressionlessly typed back, “What nonsense are you spouting? I’ve just returned from the police station, and now I’m planning to go back again to inform Officer Uncle about your transfer!”
“It seems you don’t believe me, but that’s alright. My initial actions were indeed too aggressive; your distrust is understandable.” The Hacker appeared composed.
“The probability of us sharing the same identity is very high. Please forgive my presumption; I am aware that you are an ordinary high school student. However, recently you have started exercising early in the morning and purchasing self-defense tools online.”
“You noticed Fang Zhi and even tracked him, although you eventually gave up on following him. Nevertheless, you exhibit unusual interest in the Cultist murder cases. You consistently search for information related to these cases online at a remarkably high frequency. Before the Cultist murders occurred, your attention to such social news was minimal; you almost never searched for similar topics… What prompted this change in behavior? I suspect it stems from your experiences—you’ve visited the Second World, received regional quest notifications, and thus, you care about Fang Zhi.”
The Hacker asked, “Is my reasoning correct?”
Kui Xin glanced at the text on her phone screen, her expression growing even colder.
“Why isn’t she replying? The probability of her not being a player is really, really small. I believe my reasoning is correct; why doesn’t she respond?” muttered the glasses-wearing teenager seated at the computer.
He was in a dimly lit, spacious room with blackout curtains tightly drawn, leaving no gaps. The illuminated computer screen was the only source of light indoors.
Behind him, two others sat on the sofa—a young woman wearing a short-sleeved hoodie and a composed man.
“Let me see what you said.” The young woman approached the computer, glanced at the chat history, and promptly slapped the glasses kid across the face. “Do you know how to communicate properly? Who sends a team-up invitation like it’s a threat? After digging up all her personal information, did you expect her to respond politely? Are you dreaming?!”
“I thought my tone was quite mild. I even apologized and sent her money.”
“Bullshit!”
The glasses kid stuttered, “Then… is there any way to fix this? Can continuing to transfer money help?”
“Step aside; let your big sis handle talking to the little sister.” The young woman shooed away the glasses kid and took over the computer, typing at the keyboard.
“I messed things up, didn’t I?” the glasses kid lamented dejectedly.
The composed man sitting on the sofa pondered for a moment before saying, “I’ll recommend a few books to you.”
“What books?” The glasses kid lifted his head.
“Books like ‘High EQ Conversation Skills’, ‘Don’t Lose Out Due to Poor Expression’, ‘Those with Humor Can Chat Comfortably with Anyone’, and ‘Three Ultimate Arts of Eloquence’,” the man stated bluntly, without any tact. “In society, individuals with high IQ but low EQ are generally disfavored; you need to change that.”
Feeling gloomy, the glasses kid muttered, “Alright, I’ll purchase them right away.”
The man asked, “Have you considered the possibility that Kui Xin might be Depriver No. 233?”
“I have it, but I believe the probability is very low.” The glasses kid’s expression turned serious. “She’s too normal; all her actions are perfectly ordinary. She has friends and family, and there’s never been a questionable record of her online activity. She’s just an average high school girl. As for Depriver No. 233… honestly, I think he’s a psychopath. Just like what was discussed in the forum posts, his first killing could be attributed to an accident, but the second time, his actions were clearly driven by missions. With two consecutive murders, he seems remarkably unfazed. Most people couldn’t possess such resilience unless they’re genuinely a highly desensitized abnormality.”
The young man nodded. “Mm-hmm, I thought so too. Even if normal people undergo changes, they wouldn’t adapt that quickly… Out of the ten thousand players worldwide, so far, only Depriver No. 233 has consecutively killed two others. In some ways, one could say he stands at the pinnacle, right? Considering she’s just a high school girl who recently graduated, I find it highly unlikely for her to have reached this level.”
The glasses-wearing teenager scratched his head. “Based on population proportions, the Jingchu region likely has around seventy players. Finding them is practically like searching for a needle in a haystack. Our trio’s coming together was already an unexpected stroke of luck. Now that we’ve finally found someone with a clean identity, we must maintain contact with her.”
“Of course. After all, Depriver No. 233 is truly terrifying. Before receiving the system notification, I never would have imagined that Depriver No. 233 is Chinese and coincidentally resides in the Jingchu region.” The man pondered, “If he intends to continue hunting players, then our group in Jingchu must unite.”
“It feels like forming a gaming guild,” the glasses kid smiled. “Based on my idea, I want to gather all players across Jingchu without revealing each other’s identities, but maintaining contact is crucial. In case a player is targeted by the Depriver or meets with some mishap, their identity can be promptly confirmed, allowing the remaining Players to stay vigilant. We might even gradually pinpoint the Depriver’s identity and launch a counterattack!”
“Heh, it’s better to pray that we don’t catch the Depriver’s attention… Moreover, danger may not necessarily come from the Depriver alone,” the man said.
“Exactly,” agreed the glasses kid. “The forum’s Know-it-All 233 gave me inspiration… For players to survive in both worlds, establishing a reliable organization for sharing information and mutual assistance would be ideal.”
“That’s quite challenging. You can’t gain everyone’s trust, especially since there might be more than one Depriver,” the man replied. “If another Depriver infiltrates our group, the consequences could be unimaginable… Turning ‘Who’s the Spy?’ or ‘Werewolf’ games into reality isn’t remotely fun anymore; losing means risking your own life.”
“I know where your concerns stem from. There’s an asymmetry of information; I understand you, but you don’t know me.” The Hacker sent another message, “I’d like to clarify my reasons for doing this.
“Players fall into two categories: hunters and prey. We are all prey, and there is a hunter above us. That hunter might currently be within the city you’re in, but we don’t know their identity, whether they are male or female. We also can’t rule out whether it could be you. No prey wants to be caught by the hunter. To avoid becoming their target, we must employ every means possible to conceal ourselves while simultaneously determining the hunter’s identity.”
“You know who the hunter I’m referring to is.”
Kui Xin suddenly felt a hint of amusement.
The hunter mentioned by the Hacker was none other than herself—she was Depriver No. 233, the Predator assigned to complete regional missions.
Incredibly, the Hacker had traced it back to her.
“If you do not trust me, consider what I say next as a transaction. By simply answering a few questions, you can receive a reward of one million credits.”
Kui Xin was taken aback. Wow, is this how the wealthy operate? Offering one million just off the bat?!
However, she remained unmoved.
Or perhaps she was tempted, but her rationality promptly restrained her actions.
Kui Xin pondered how a typical cash-strapped university-bound student should react in this situation.
She also considered how an ordinary player would respond to a team-up invitation.
What could she gain from it? How much risk would she have to bear?
While explaining, The Hacker repeatedly used the term “we.”
Does “we” refer to all players in the Jingchu region, or does it imply that he has a team? Does the Hacker have teammates?
After lengthy deliberation, Kui Xin replied, “You can ask, but I may not answer everything. Additionally, you need to disclose your identity. It’s best if we meet in person… assuming your team-up offer is genuine.”
Whether their meeting leads to a transaction or initiates the next hunt will depend on the hacker’s behavior.
With the Death Cycle card up her sleeve, Kui Xin could take calculated risks without fearing for her life.
“Haha, as expected, money comes in handy. At crucial moments, it still falls to me to step up,” the young woman said. “Her response essentially acknowledges that she is indeed a player.”
“She wants to meet in person?” The glasses kid wondered aloud, “She’s braver than I imagined… Is she naively impulsive or confidently fearless?”
“Can’t it just be about needing money?” the young woman asked. “Perhaps she herself is frightened and seeks a reliable teammate.”
“That does align with logic,” the glasses kid agreed.
Kui Xin typed, “I’ll designate the meeting location.”
The Hacker promptly replied, “No problem.”