"I know the rules." Ji Huaichu appeared very calm… if only the murderous aura around her and the Yin energy belonging to the Ghost King could restrain their sharpness a little more, it would be even better. "I'm just passing by, to see how the game in Upside-Down City is progressing."
Mr. Black didn't believe this excuse. After all, he and Ms. White were essentially one; when that female player entered Upside-Down City, they both felt the energy trying to connect with the token from afar. However, before Mr. Black could use polite words to brush it off, he heard Ji Huaichu continue with that expressionless face:
"After all, my little girlfriend is in the game."
"Of course… hmm? Hmm???" The words he had just blurted out to stall suddenly got stuck. Even someone as experienced as Mr. Black was shocked at hearing this unexpectedly. He blinked in confusion. "General Ji, do you mean… I mean no offense, but the word 'girlfriend' you just used—do you mean it the way I think?"
"This term shouldn't have any other meaning." Ji Huaichu lowered her gaze. "Perhaps, you can also understand it as… she is my little fiancée."
"But she's a player! We can't… at least we shouldn't?" Mr. Black's reaction was indeed a bit strong. He tried to read something from General Ji's face, but nothing could be seen. At that moment, a voice arose in his heart. Mr. Black restrained his emotions and relinquished control of his body…
White mist enveloped Mr. Black completely, and in the next instant, Ms. White appeared, her body draped in a white robe.
"Greetings." Ms. White softly greeted, then looked at Ji Huaichu with some puzzlement and asked, "You should know how that powerful one fell. Moreover, it is not good for the expert of the Shattered Mirror Continent to become too entangled with players. Even if the player has no ill intentions, if one day the player disappears, it could greatly hinder your future cultivation."
"Everything carries risk." Ji Huaichu let out a light laugh, a trace of madness hidden beneath her gentle expression. "Since I've died once, I no longer wish to force myself."
"It is also a form of cultivation." Ms. White nodded slightly, responding in kind. She turned to the side and made a gesture of "please." "General Ji, please join us in watching this game."
"Mr. Black and I will be especially looking forward to your girlfriend's performance."
For Mr. Black and Ms. White, this game not only determined control over the body but was also an entertainment and relaxation performance. Upside-Down City was entirely created and controlled by them; both the surface and inner residents were their creations, allowed to grow on their own. Residents with strong potential would be moved to the inner layers for more brutal training. Of course, some residents would mistakenly enter the inner world… becoming something like "cannon fodder" or part of the "lower class" there.
As for the data of these residents, Mr. Black and Ms. White each had control. Even if a strong resident died, they could restore everything to its original state afterward. Whether memories were retained, and to what extent, was entirely under their control. This Upside-Down City was a "playground" they created, a "stage" they deliberately built, and they were the lofty gods, observing the process of the performance with near-indifference, tempered with a touch of curiosity and expectation.
This time, the game randomly matched with an interesting player, attracting another spectator. For Mr. Black and Ms. White, it was nothing significant—just an additional audience member who tried to restrain their emotions yet still revealed their sharpness.
Back in the black-and-white checkered room, Ms. White waved her long robe, and a swirl of white mist rose within the room, enveloping Ji Huaichu. In the next instant, a white sofa appeared inside the room. Ms. White elegantly sat on the sofa, turning her head to look at General Ji. "Close your eyes, and you can observe that world."
"No matter the outcome of the game, I hope you understand the rules and do not interfere on your own." Ms. White raised her hand to brush her white mask, tilting her head slightly as if she smiled. "Since the token was isolated, I have compensated that female player with some information. This game is fair."
"I understand the rules." Ji Huaichu revealed a faint smile, appearing very polite. "Besides, I never fight unprepared battles."
The games she forcibly intervened in or barged into were merely small games. Ji Huaichu never acted recklessly when she wasn't certain she could handle Mr. Black and Ms. White.
…Even the little money tree has started engaging with the lord's planned games. It's unclear whether the Nirvana Space would send her to her own General's residence for a game. But considering the nature of Nirvana Space, that possibility was extremely low.
When Ms. White, Mr. Black, and General Ji's consciousnesses sank into Upside-Down City to continue observing this "competitive performance," Mu Anqi had already returned to the Rest Hall. She handed over all nine heads to the White Pigeon front desk. The front desk carefully recorded the submission, and when Mu Anqi requested only lodging and three meals in the future, the White Pigeon front desk responded that "two heads are consumed per day," and that the white whistle must be returned tomorrow.
As expected, for clothing, food, lodging, and transportation… satisfying any one aspect within 24 hours required consuming one contaminated resident. However, thinking of the many contaminated residents in the inner world of Upside-Down City, Mu Anqi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief: purely surviving didn't seem difficult. The challenge was that this was a competitive game. If she lost… she could very well offend Ms. White. But if she won, even if Mr. Black made a move, Ms. White would likely step in to protect her.
The completion condition was simply to survive for seven days, yet beneath this seven-day survival lay many hidden conditions and choices.
The hidden player… night had completely fallen. Mu Anqi sat on the bed in the inn, carefully studying the map in her hands. The edges of the map were shrouded in black. This perhaps indicated that once one crossed the "air wall," they would enter Mr. Black's territory. If she speculated based on Mr. Black's territory map… with mirrors placed along the line where the black appeared, the corresponding points should be the locations for entering Mr. Black's territory. And no matter from which side one entered, the entry point should be the location after flipping, right?
Mu Anqi thought for a moment and decided not to go to the surface layer of Upside-Down City on Mr. Black's side to confront that player. Or rather, she didn't intend for this battle to break out in the surface world. In any case, the residents of the surface world were completely unaware of danger. If a fight erupted, she still hoped it would happen in the inner layers, because if the other player had some explosive damage or tools, it would be problematic.
What Mu Anqi didn't know was that the player also wanted to fight in the inner world. However, it wasn't because he feared affecting the surface world—mainly, he hadn't obtained a whistle from the Black Crow front desk, so he had no means of transportation. Crossing Upside-Down City to reach Ms. White's territory would be far too difficult for him.
The second reason was related to his skill. His supernatural ability was "Apothecary." As an apothecary, the skill granted him the ability to create various potions. Potions produced through this skill required no materials, but they only had a 12-hour shelf life, and each potion-making skill had its own cooldown period.
However, there was a major bug: every time he learned a potion-making skill, he would receive the recipe for that potion. He could then craft these potions himself through Nirvana Space. Of course, there were limitations—for example, he could sell a maximum of five potions per day, and the materials for crafting were not cheap. As for effectiveness, potions he crafted himself only had 50% of the original effect. Despite all these restrictions, his self-made potions did not expire; no matter how long he stored them, their effect would always remain at 50%.
The various potions almost completely compensated for his weaknesses. Whether it was attack, poison, healing, control, or enhancement potions, he had them all! Although Nirvana Space imposed limitations, even potions with only 50% effectiveness sold well. While they didn't generate extra profit, selling them daily allowed him to recover the material points spent. In this way, he was able to repeatedly clear the Shattered Mirror games and gradually grow stronger.
Due to time constraints, the apothecary returning from the inner world was now in the Rest Hall, urgently crafting control potions and self-enhancement potions, including an "Anti-Control" potion. Of course, he suspected the Anti-Control potion might not even be useful—the other player's skills were too bizarre, seeming to lock a target completely once controlled. He had to gain the initiative to control that player first!
After that… the other player would be like fish to his knife. Any potion he threw could kill that guy a hundred times over.
The man under the black robe was extremely thin; his arms were mere skin and bone, and his entire body appeared very weak. His eye sockets were deep, with pronounced dark circles. Yet even so, when he was seriously crafting potions, fully focused, there was a strange kind of magic in just observing him. When staring at the potions, his eyes seemed to shine, and the tiny drops he painstakingly refined felt like his whole world.
That gaze was just like the one Mu Anqi had when looking at General Ji's beauty. If it were to be compared to an object, it would be like the dazzling light in Mu Anqi's eyes when she received 3,000 points.
Carefully labeling each potion and placing them into the pockets inside his black robe, he also put some of the potions into his backpack. Although this apothecary could sell five potions a day, it was clear he was not wealthy. He had no storage ring, and as for weapons like handguns, he had visited the weapon shop three times without buying—he only knew and understood the prices, but didn't purchase them.
"I wonder if that player's handgun is a tool or a skill… I hope it's a skill. That way, they won't have many skills left." After a brief thought, the apothecary decided to rest for the night. He did notice that the player was relatively thin, but he himself was also extremely slim. So until he was certain, he did not speculate on the opponent's gender. Of course, in his eyes, male or female made no difference—after all, once the Corrosive Potion was applied, nothing would remain.