Chapter 17 The Card Game, Part 2

Time returned to the present.

Ji Chang flipped the card over and held it up to his eyes. The front of his [Suggestion] card was printed with a ball of black yarn.

"Are you planning to wrap me up with yarn?" Ji Chang said after glancing at the design.

Before he could finish speaking, Honghu, Qiufeng, and Feng Bujue looked at him with changed expressions.

"What..." Ji Chang wanted to ask what was wrong, but before he could get the words out, he was stunned by what was happening.

From an outsider's perspective, Ji Chang's hair was expanding like rising dough, quickly turning into a huge, fluffy afro. Then, this "giant hair" began to "rain" like a black cloud, only instead of rain, it was a waterfall of long hair.

The process finally stopped after about thirty seconds.

Ji Chang's buzz cut had transformed into a giant mushroom, with willow-like long hair hanging from the mushroom's brim. If he stood up, no one would be able to see his body at all; from a distance, he looked like a big, furry, black jellyfish.

"When you think you've gotten what you wanted, you've actually lost more," Ji Chang repeated, using both hands to part the curtain of hair and reveal his face. "Although I've been considering changing my buzz cut to a different hairstyle in the game recently (a new Thriller Paradise patch announced on the Dream Company website includes hairstyle customization), it definitely wasn't supposed to be like this..."

"When you think you've achieved the status of king of the 'wash, cut, and blow-dry,' you've lost your dignity and taste," Feng Bujue mocked coldly.

"Hahahaha..." Qiufeng laughed out loud. But a few seconds later, more blood seeped from the spot where the sword was lodged in his chest. "Cough...no...don't make me laugh, or I won't last another hour."

Honghu said calmly, "Compared to us, you're still doing alright." As he spoke, he habitually reached through the bars in front of his face to adjust his glasses.

"I'd rather have a cage on my head," Ji Chang said, pushing the hair in front of his face aside and throwing it behind his shoulders; otherwise, he couldn't see.

"Gentlemen, let's continue," Moriarty said at this moment. "Mr. Yu, your arrival is timely. Before you appeared, your three companions each completed their turn." His tone remained calm. "At this point, I believe you have all seen how this game is played."

"We've seen the card effects, but what about the rules?" Feng Bujue said. "We can't just keep playing under your direction."

Moriarty turned to exchange a glance with Holmes, before speaking to the players, "Language is a power." He raised an arm, making a gesture of introduction. "Please remember this, because in this space, or rather, in this round table game, it is the most fundamental element."

He tapped the cards on the table. "In the basic rules of this game, each player must use all four types of cards: [Suggestion], [Inquiry], [Speculation], and [Presumption]." His gaze swept across the players' faces. "But there is one issue: only Mr. Holmes and I know the 'truth' at this table. Therefore, as those who are unaware, you clearly have no reason to choose Suggestion."

"So you're requiring us to use Suggestion to enter the game?" Honghu interjected.

"Yes," Moriarty replied. "We left those phrases with the 'suggestion' attribute in various places, so that you could witness firsthand the impact of these 'languages' on other characters in this space as you ascended the building."

"Can I understand it this way... in this world, 'language' is a power, and 'suggestion' is a type of move with negative attributes," Qiufeng said.

"Not exactly," Holmes interjected. "But close."

"There is no concept of positive or negative on this table. The prerequisite for judging the effect of a card is whether the spoken language has value," Moriarty continued. "It is currently my turn. I will make a suggestion to demonstrate." He paused, then said loudly, "Suggestion—[There are no lies in this world.]"

As he spoke, a [Suggestion] card moved to the professor on its own.

Moriarty flipped the card over and showed it to everyone. The front of the card was blank. "See, no penalty."

After about five seconds, Feng Bujue let out a cold laugh from his drafty cheekbones. "Hmph... I understand." He was still playing with the small knife in his hand, appearing relaxed. "You are the 'informed party'. What you just said can help us get closer to the 'truth', so your 'suggestion' has value." He paused for a second before adding, "We, the uninformed, were just saying the 'language' you left for us. Although the nature of the words was indeed 'suggestion', they have no meaning on this table."

"Good, it seems you're getting the hang of it," Moriarty replied with a smile.

Ji Chang pondered for a moment and summarized, "So... in this game, for the uninformed, choosing [Suggestion] will inevitably result in a penalty, because the informed don't need our suggestions.

And for the informed, [Presumption] is something you can't touch, because you know the truth from the start, so there's nothing to presume."

"But the problem is..." Honghu interrupted, "Each player must use all four types of cards, right?" He cast a sharp glance at Moriarty.

"Yes," Moriarty replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "Rest assured, Mr. Holmes and I are not the type to cheat."

Holmes added, "As the uninformed, your first words upon entering the game are automatically considered a suggestion. Hmph..." He exhaled a puff of smoke. "And the informed do not have this restriction; you can start with any type of card." He flicked off some ash. "However... neither the informed nor the uninformed can choose the same card in the first four rounds of the game."

"In other words... each player must choose all four types of cards in the first four rounds," Honghu replied, then asked, "Does that mean... from the fifth round onwards, we can repeatedly choose the same type of card?"

Moriarty sneered, "Yes, from the fifth round onwards, you can choose [Inquiry] every round if you wish." He directly exposed Honghu's thoughts.