Iris 18

"Is that the truth?" Mu Qin fell silent for a moment after hearing this.

Zhou Yue nodded, still smiling. "Of course it is. I would never lie to you, Mu Qin."

Mu Qin still did not understand the exact rules of this so-called Death Game. He only knew roughly that it was a terrifying game in which five players did everything they could to evade a killer's pursuit. Yet this so-called killer was standing right before him now. Mu Qin was certain Zhou Yue would not hurt him, but he found it hard to imagine Zhou Yue hurting anyone else.

"If you're the killer, would you kill me?" Mu Qin asked Zhou Yue with his usual bluntness. He seemed not to understand the value of tact.

So Zhou Yue gave him the most direct answer: "I would."

Mu Qin could not help being startled for a moment. Seeing his surprise, Zhou Yue leaned closer and reached out to stroke Mu Qin's chin. "Did you think I wouldn't kill you?"

Mu Qin did not ask a foolish question like, "Why would you kill me?" He thought for a while, seeming to realize something. Then he narrowed his eyes slightly at Zhou Yue and said, "Then what do I have to do to make you not kill me?"

Zhou Yue did not answer. He smiled and brought his face even closer, lightly brushing his lips against the edge of Mu Qin's. The intimate gesture filled the air with a heady feeling. Then Zhou Yue wrapped one arm around Mu Qin's waist, lowered his head, and bit his neck.

Zhou Yue bit down rather hard. Mu Qin could not see it himself, but he felt certain Zhou Yue's teeth had left a mark on his neck. The thought made him a little self-conscious.

In a soft, gentle voice by Mu Qin's ear, Zhou Yue said, "The rules of this game require the killer to show no mercy to every other player. Because if I don't kill anyone, I'll be the one who dies."

Mu Qin understood at once. "You mean if you don't act, something else will erase you?"

"The game system will remove me directly." Zhou Yue held Mu Qin happily, with no intention of letting go. Although they had not seen each other for many years, for some reason this reunion did not feel awkward in the least. Instead, they only seemed to grow closer. Held by Zhou Yue like this, Mu Qin could always recall the youthful days they had once shared.

Those days in high school when they went to class together, played ball, traveled, and did embarrassing things together in hotel rooms.

Zhou Yue was remarkably patient as he began giving Mu Qin a concise explanation of the Death Game's detailed rules and setting.

Zhou Yue said, "The game we're in is called Edge World. They say it is a realm in the gap between death and dreams, a place that takes in the departed souls of people who have died in the real world, resurrects them, and sends them into Edge World. Each time a map ends, players who escape alive are teleported to a safe house. Inside is a virtual computer with a surreal sci-fi design, and its opening line is: 'Welcome to the Edge World.'"

"How did Edge World come to exist? Who created it? We have no way of knowing... Of course, even if we did know, it would be useless. The truth behind this terrifying world, with its miraculous power to bring the dead back to life, is not something ignorant mortals like us can easily touch. Nor do we have the power to change this world. We have only one purpose here: to survive by any means necessary."

"And then what?" Mu Qin asked. "If we survive, can we return to the real world that originally belonged to us?"

Mu Qin's question made Zhou Yue ponder for a long while before he answered, "They say it's possible."

"...They say?" The vague phrase caught Mu Qin's attention.

"Yes. They say." Zhou Yue looked at Mu Qin seriously. "I've never seen anyone truly escape. Most people, even if they make it through the newbie stage and perform well enough on later maps to survive by luck, still see no hope of escape after cycling through five or six maps. By then, they are already on the verge of a mental breakdown. And once the mind collapses, death is inevitable."

"All over the safe house--on the walls, the floor, tables, chairs, and so on--you can see marks left behind by other players."

"They say there is only one safe house in Edge World. After finishing a map, every player arrives in that same safe house, but they are as if they exist in different dimensions and cannot see one another. Later, someone discovered that if they wrote on the walls, other players could read the writing. The safe house's self-repair function would erase it quickly, but it was practically the only way players in this game could communicate with each other."

"From the marks those players left behind, I learned that it is possible to escape this game and return to the real world. But that is only something passed from person to person. There is no real conclusion about who escaped, or exactly how to get out."

Mu Qin could sense a deeper implication in Zhou Yue's words, one that sent an inexplicable chill down his spine. "What about you? You know so much. How long have you been in this game?"

"I don't remember." Zhou Yue continued to watch Mu Qin with those deep, dark eyes. "I've been here a long time."

Mu Qin could not imagine how Zhou Yue felt saying that. He reached out to touch Zhou Yue's face, a trace of barely perceptible panic in his voice. "I don't understand, Zhou Yue... Does this mean your situation is very bad?"

"At least it stopped being bad after I met you." Even now, Zhou Yue had the presence of mind to sweet-talk Mu Qin. He hugged Mu Qin around the waist and nuzzled against him. After a moment, Zhou Yue's tone abruptly turned heavy. "All this time, the only thing I wanted was to get out and see you once. Back when I was still in the real world, I was exchanging fire with terrorists when a stray bullet hit me. I lost consciousness on the way to the hospital. Before I died, all I could think was that I hadn't had time to find you, that I should have gone to find you sooner... And as I kept thinking about it..."

Zhou Yue's voice began to tremble. He held Mu Qin tighter, and at last revealed the faintest hint of pain and grief. "Mu Qin, if only time could turn back. If I could go back to our high school year, I would make sure you stayed before you left. Even if I had to give up everything, I would hold you tight by my side and never let you go anywhere."

"Zhou Yue." Mu Qin called his name and hugged his back in return. He could feel Zhou Yue's body trembling. His heart ached, but he could not say a single word.

They held each other for a long time before Zhou Yue recovered enough to smile and say, "I miss you so much, Mu Qin... I really miss you."

"I'm sorry." Hearing him say that made Mu Qin's nose sting.

"I'm not saying this to make you feel guilty." Zhou Yue gently shook his head. "So don't apologize to me. You did nothing wrong. I was just too useless."

Mu Qin said sadly, "But in the end, it was still my leaving that made you become this way."

"A lot of people leave, and a lot of people reunite. I was only too foolish on my way to reunite with you--so foolish that I died easily." Zhou Yue took Mu Qin's hand. "I've always looked forward to seeing you. Though seeing you today makes me very happy, I still would rather meet you in the real world."

"I'm sorry, Zhou Yue." Mu Qin finally could not hold it in any longer. He raised a hand to cover his eyes, his voice choked with emotion. "I'm really sorry for leaving without saying goodbye back then."

Zhou Yue helplessly patted Mu Qin's head. "I told you not to apologize."

After a while, Zhou Yue said, "I'd better keep telling you about the game. We finally got to see each other; I can't bear to let you keep crying."

Mu Qin wiped his eyes. "I'm not crying."

"Your eyes are red." Zhou Yue seemed quite pleased to see Mu Qin cry. He leaned in and kissed Mu Qin's eyes. "I like you, Mu Qin, so don't cry."

"The role of killer isn't fixed in the game. At the beginning of each round, every player is randomly assigned a tarot card." Zhou Yue continued explaining the game's rules. "You should have one, right? When the game began, you found a tarot card in your pocket."

At this, Mu Qin reached into his pocket and took out his Fool Card. "This one?"

Zhou Yue glanced at Mu Qin's card and nodded. "That tarot card is actually an item card. I think you must have guessed as much."

"I did think it was an item card, but I haven't figured out how to use it yet." Mu Qin studied the Fool Card in his hand. No matter how he looked at it, he could not see anything unusual about it.

Zhou Yue said, "The Fool Card is a starting card. It represents starting from zero, and it is also an exploration card. It will guide you in the right direction. That sounds complicated, but really, it helps you find exits and items. You use it like a compass: hold it and turn in place once. If the design on the card lights up when you face a certain direction, that means there is a hidden exit or item in that direction."

As soon as Zhou Yue explained, Mu Qin understood. He really did turn in place once while holding his Fool Card. When he faced a particular direction, he saw the pattern along the card's border glow faintly. He stopped, lifted his head, and looked that way... It seemed to be toward the church.

"The Fool Card is one of the easiest cards for newcomers to get. Most newcomers do not understand the danger they are in, so a card that guides them in the right direction is best. But after you pass the newbie stage, this card becomes hard to get."

Zhou Yue continued, "Every game has exactly six players. Of those six, one person is randomly dealt the Death Card."

"The Death Card?" Mu Qin felt that he had vaguely grasped the key point.

Zhou Yue gave Mu Qin a meaningful look and smiled. "Among the Major Arcana, there is a card that represents Death. Whoever gets that card becomes the killer. This card can disguise itself. If I took it out and showed it to you..."

As he spoke, Zhou Yue really did take out a tarot card and show it to Mu Qin. To Mu Qin's surprise, it was the same Fool Card he had himself.

"This card automatically disguises itself as another tarot card. It does this to conceal my identity as the killer. The disguise is impossible to distinguish with the naked eye, but it can only imitate the appearance; it cannot produce the same effects as other tarot cards." Zhou Yue said, "The Death Card has only one effect. It turns me into Death... in other words, it makes me undying."

Mu Qin was a little shocked. "Not resurrection?"

"Undying." Zhou Yue emphasized the difference as he toyed with the tarot card in his hand, letting the lightweight card flutter up and down between his fingers. "It gives me terrifying regenerative abilities, makes me immune to pain and anesthesia, lets any injury recover according to my will, and greatly enhances all my physical abilities. That is how it makes me undying."

After saying that, Zhou Yue shook his head. "But the tarot cards in each game are one-use items. If I don't draw the Death Card in the next game, I won't have that power."

Mu Qin rubbed his chin in thought. "Then at least in this game, you're invincible."

"Yes. Killers in the game are invincible. You can injure one temporarily, but they will recover quickly and continue hunting you." Yet Zhou Yue gave a bitter smile. "But there are ways to restrain a killer. For example, there is a tarot card called Judgment. It is specifically meant to counter killers. If used on a killer, it will leave them unable to act for a long time."