Chapter 2240: One-Third Game
"I'll talk, I'll talk!" The woman glanced fearfully at the syringe and quickly blurted out everything she knew. "I really didn't mean you any harm, someone else forced me to..."
"Tap!" Xu Huo tapped his finger on the table. The woman tensed up and immediately changed her tune. "It's a game. The whole city is playing that game!"
"What game?" The fact that "Game Point" signs were set up on every street and alley was indeed a bit unusual, but aside from that, he hadn't seen anyone discussing this game.
"That game is called 'One-Third.' I heard it was brought in by a player and has been kept in Buliucheng ever since. Everyone who comes in has to play this game, and they can't leave freely..." The woman studied Xu Huo's expression and quickly added, "Players can, though. Once a player clears the game, they can leave on their own."
"Besides going out at night, what other ways trigger the game?" Xu Huo decided to take her words as truth for now.
"Stepping outside the unlocked area," the woman said. "Everyone has a starting point when they enter. That's their unlocked area. Moving within the unlocked area won't trigger the game, but if you accidentally step out, you're considered to have joined the game. I don't know if there are other methods... I really don't know. Most people who enter the game are players. Ordinary people like us can barely survive in the game. Sometimes we die without even understanding how. I've never left this street since I was born, all because I'm afraid of entering the game."
"The game's content?" Xu Huo frowned slightly. This kind of forced game reminded him of the black-and-white roulette wheel used by Bai Tiao Yi, one of the members of the Eerie Sound Knights. It was an item, but once activated, it essentially turned into a small game field.
"I don't know. I really don't know. I've never been in the game..." The woman hurriedly raised her hand to swear, but no one bought it. Xu Huo jabbed the syringe into her shoulder. As the medicine automatically injected, the woman's expression grew more wooden, no longer as lively as before.
"The game's content," Xu Huo repeated his question.
"I don't remember..." the woman said slowly. "I only remember losing my past. I don't remember the past or the memories of the game."
Xu Huo then turned his gaze to the man beside her. The man swallowed hard and reluctantly said, "I only remember that too."
Given the existing technology in the game world, there were many ways to destroy a person's memories. But being able to precisely erase the past—aside from Dr. Zhang, he hadn't encountered a second person capable of that... Of course, that didn't mean everything similar was Dr. Zhang's doing. Rather, as the instance levels increased, things that couldn't be solved by force alone began to appear in reality, like highly intelligent mutated plants with the ability to think.
He then hypnotized the two of them, but their brains seemed to have been wiped clean, leaving no trace of past memories. Only the fact that they had "lost their memories" was clear.
Probably terrified by this incomprehensible and unforgettable situation, the father and daughter had stayed obediently at home since losing their memories, rarely even going outside.
As for why they tricked newcomers into entering the game—there were rumors that the more people who joined the "One-Third" game, the safer everyone became. The "Game Point" signs on the streets were set up by the Buliucheng player organization when the game first appeared. Their original purpose was to mark locations where the game might be triggered. But over time, after figuring out the rule that "unlocked areas must not be entered," these signs became useless.
This "unlocked area" was also quite interesting. According to the father and daughter, the 50 areas designated by the city's player organization were meant to restrict the movement of criminals. After being released, the biochips worn by each person defined their range of activity. This had nothing to do with the "One-Third" game, but after the game appeared, similar rules emerged, and many players had stumbled because of them.
Additionally, the father and daughter mentioned some rumors. For example, the "One-Third" game was actually a means for the player organization to control the city, or that a player within the organization who particularly loved playing games, with an unstable mind, forced everyone who entered the city to play games with him.
Of course, triggering the game wasn't limited to just those two conditions. They had also seen some players who hadn't violated those rules still end up in the game—"sudden disappearance" was considered a sign of entering the "One-Third" game.
Given that the father and daughter were just ordinary people, the "sudden disappearance" of players didn't necessarily mean they had all entered the "One-Third" game.
As for whether the game restricted people from coming and going, which Xu Huo had asked about earlier, the father and daughter had different opinions. The woman believed that with the rule of "unlocked areas must not be entered," no one could leave the city. Even if some people had never entered the game, having an "unlocked area" as a starting point meant they had essentially begun the game—it was only a matter of time before it was triggered.
The father thought that if no one could leave, what would the Buliucheng player organization do? The instances that players entered to clear were unrelated to the "One-Third" game. Since it wasn't an instance, players should definitely be able to leave.
However, whether the player organization members could leave was just their speculation, as they weren't familiar with those people either. Some players forced to stay would occasionally replace the original players managing the streets, so unfamiliar faces often appeared.
There wasn't much specific information about the One-Third game, but they had gathered some intel. If he didn't want to inexplicably enter another game, he had to follow the two basic rules: "unlocked areas must not be entered" and "no going out at night."
Setting aside the game's content for now, this "One-Third" game had already severely impacted players trying to clear instances. Especially for Xu Huo, whose clearance requirement was to kill 1,000 criminals. Just that number meant he couldn't confine himself to a small area. Killing people in unlocked areas wasn't difficult, but the question was whether it counted as a violation, whether it would affect his clearance or trigger the "One-Third" game. Without clarity, he could only act within his own unlocked area.
The clearance guides on the Under Dimension clearly integrated the instance and the "One-Third" game, offering some hints, but not many. Rules as blatant as "no going out at night" were completely unmentioned. The purpose behind that was obvious.
This was also quite interesting. Entering the game meant losing memories, even forgetting the game's content. Yet, recruiting others had become a consensus among everyone. It seemed there should be quite a few people who hadn't lost their memories.