Chapter 336
Yuxun Ge flew to the top of the tunnel and took a look around, then stomped her feet on the ground. "We can either go up or go down; those are our only two options."
With that, she took the lead and struck the ground beneath her with an Air Slash, cleaving it open. The surface cracked, and in an instant, it was as if she had pushed open the heavy iron door of a tavern in winter, with the sounds of laughter, shouting, and commotion bursting forth from the gap.
Peering through the fissure with Tu Lan, she saw a bustling marketplace in a mining area below.
It had everything a lively market should have: makeshift shops with a unique style that had nothing to do with architectural art, various exotic races coming and going, and street stalls and food vendors casually set up along the roadside...
The market was brightly lit, with small, shiny gems hanging from the crude buildings, illuminating the area as if it were daytime.
The inhabitants of this marketplace communicated in different languages, some speaking directly while others gestured in sign language. Despite the language barrier, the atmosphere was vibrant and lively.
Yuxun Ge listened intently, trying to pick out the languages she could understand, and found they were all just the usual haggling.
Without exception, the players in the market seemed oblivious to the crack above them, showing no interest in looking up.
Above each exotic player was a piece of information that indicated they were players, some of whom Yuxun Ge recognized from the Kart Racing game, but she also spotted players who were not on the leaderboard.
Tu Lan was too nervous to speak, and in her heart, she asked Yuxun Ge, "Is this a safe zone? Should we go in?"
Yuxun Ge replied, "Of course."
The fissure began to close, so she had Tu Lan return to her pet space, while she transformed into a small spider and slipped through the narrowing gap.
The moment she crossed over, she heard a notification sound.
—【Welcome, player, to the safe zone. Attacking other players is prohibited here.】
She crawled along the ceiling of the underground market for a while, deactivating her disguise and releasing Tu Lan. Together, they flew in the air, searching for the game monument in this area.
After flying for a while, they finally found the game monument in a corner of the market.
【Game: Deception Game】:
This safe zone is a special trading area and will not convert into a battle zone. However, you cannot leave this safe zone until the game is completed.
【Game Completion Condition: You need to complete at least 5 unfair trades.】
【Each time you incur excessive losses in a trade, one random item from your inventory will be lost.】
【Each time you gain improperly in a trade, you will randomly acquire a language from the various races that you have not yet learned.】
【Highest Rule of the Trading Area: Everything can be traded.】
【The more unfair trades you make, the more valuable the blessings you receive when leaving the trading area.】
【Gems are not the only currency here.】
【Friendly Reminder: Beware of thieves.】
【Current number of players in this safe zone: 8513.】
After reading all the game rules, Yuxun Ge's brow furrowed deeply.
It wasn't just the terrifying penalties for trading losses that worried her; it was the eighth rule—prohibiting lies when negotiating with mineral buyers.
Hmm? Wait a minute.
Yuxun Ge's eyes widened slightly. It only said she couldn't lie to the mineral buyers, but it didn't say she couldn't lie to other players!
【Chapter 435: Divine Game: Gem Miner 4】
However, she still couldn't fully relax. The definition of "mineral buyer" was quite nuanced. If players were buying minerals for trading, did the identity of the other party at the time of the trade qualify as a "mineral buyer"?
These hidden traps would have to be discovered through practice.
But Yuxun Ge's greatest advantage was that the penalties for breaking the rules were not something she couldn't bear; at least they were much better than "randomly losing an item from your inventory."
Given the strictness of this game, it was highly likely she wouldn't be able to exploit the "Thieving Dragon" to choose what to lose.
Moreover, every word in the game rules concealed information.
The phrase "excessive losses" implied there was some leeway; at least fair trades could avoid penalties.
And the notion of improper gains was intriguing, suggesting that not only did one need to profit, but also to mix in deceitful tactics. She already had some ideas about that; when it came to tricking others, her mind was always quick.
But nothing compared to the most important line—【Friendly Reminder: Beware of thieves.】
The game monument merely warned players to be cautious of thieves, but it didn't prohibit stealing, which was undoubtedly the best news for her as a seasoned thief.
Currently, she had ten various minerals on her, but she couldn't gauge their exact value. Yuxun Ge's first task was to find a mineral buyer in this trading area.
She and Tu Lan wove through the crowd, noticing that some exotic players were either carrying or cradling bags full of minerals, while most players, like her, had nothing in their hands.
She had obtained a master-level sewing blueprint for a temporary pocket, while these players each had their own hidden cards.
She didn't rush to steal from the players. Unlike when she successfully stole items outside and they automatically appeared in her inventory, without a bag, items would appear directly in her hands. She wasn't sure if the minerals or other items she stole would directly show up in her temporary pocket.
Unlike Kart Coins, most minerals were too conspicuous. She needed to find a robe to cover her hands at the very least.
Tu Lan watched the nearby exotic players, itching to act, but she remembered Yuxun Ge's warning and held back.
She couldn't help but think, "It seems we've never stolen items or equipment on the world battlefield."
Yuxun Ge replied, "That's not surprising. After all, the World Tomb has restrictions. Any equipment or items that can be brought in must be either very special or very powerful. Most of them are either bound or held directly in hand. Our skill is thievery, not robbery, so it's hard to get our hands on them."
As she spoke, she pivoted on her toes and entered a small shop with a sign depicting minerals.
Unlike the bright daylight of the market outside, the shop was dimly lit, only slightly brighter than the tunnel.
This shop resembled a casually modified cave more than a store. The walls were carved with numerous holes, displaying various gems and minerals.
The interior was much larger than she had imagined, likely expanded using spatial skills.
Many exotic players moved about inside, each accompanied by a robot.
At that moment, a robot that only reached Yuxun Ge's waist approached. It resembled an old-fashioned mailbox from the Zai Jiu era, its entire structure made of silver metal. Its claw-like hands rotated in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions, producing a crisp mechanical sound.
【Z8017952 ？？？ Battery: 82%┃Cunning·Sly·Fond of Deceit┃Taboo: Guests stealing items from the store┃Weakness: Battery depletion】
Before Yuxun Ge could speak, the robot greeted her in perfectly enunciated Mandarin, "Hello, esteemed guest from Zai Jiu Star."
This level of intelligence was beyond Yuxun Ge's expectations. How long had she been in the world battlefield? This NPC-like entity had already learned Chinese...
Suppressing her surprise, Yuxun Ge said, "I want to sell some minerals."
Z8017952 replied, "This way, please."
Yuxun Ge didn't move but pointed to another standby robot in the corner. "I don't want you; I want it."
【B8017913 ？？？ Battery: 92%┃Honest·Gentle·Likes to Chat┃Taboo: Guests stealing items from the store┃Weakness: Battery depletion】
Z8017952's eye screen flickered for a moment, but it obediently stepped aside. B8017913 immediately approached, "Hello, esteemed guest from Zai Jiu."
Yuxun Ge followed the robot into a closed room, which contained only a small table. The robot suddenly extended upward, standing face to face with Yuxun Ge across the table.
Yuxun Ge placed a gem that looked the dullest on the table.
B8017913's eye screen lit up, quickly reporting the price: "Slightly flawed soft rainbow gem, 855 gems."
Yuxun Ge didn't waste time haggling. This was a store in the trading area, and even if the prices were slightly lower than those at the stalls outside, the risks were much smaller.
Just the fact that these robots spoke Chinese led Yuxun Ge to believe they were part of the Divine Game.
She decisively pushed the gem toward robot B8017913, which took the gem and extended its mechanical hand, dropping a ping-pong ball-sized purple gem, a quail egg-sized blue gem, and a handful of small white gems the size of fingernails.
The currency units were easy to understand: 100, 50, and 1. Yuxun Ge was relieved that the glowing gems outside were not actually currency; that was a relief.
She stored all these gems in her temporary pocket.
After waiting a few seconds, there were no notifications of rule violations.
Whether it was a profit or a loss was uncertain, but it was definitely within the realm of fair trade. Yuxun Ge directly took out the remaining nine types of minerals.
In total, she ended up with 2505 gems.
At that moment, the player ranked first on the leaderboard, Zichuan Taoyou, had already earned 30,000 gems.
Meanwhile, Yuxun Ge was ranked far beyond the 50,000 mark, and there were only about 50,000 players in this Divine Game...
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