Infinite Peculiar Games

The sluggish body leapt forward,

While the soaring soul abruptly plummeted to the ground.

——《Volume 1: Soul and Flesh》

The scent of blood induces excitement.

The sage, upon sniffing it, pities the pain of the deceased.

The villain, upon smelling it, revels in the essence of blood and flesh.

Qi Si leaned back in his high-backed chair and drew in a deep breath, filling his lungs with the rich, fresh scent of blood.

He held onto the dissecting knife, running his calloused fingertips lightly over the blade, wiping away the bloodstains.

“Trust me, I won’t call the cops. Please spare me…”

Before Qi Si was a man bound to a chair with ropes, his pleas frail and breathless.

The man bore several neat knife wounds, with blood still seeping, causing him to transition from being rude and crude to polite, allowing for a calm exchange.

“Letting you go is not impossible. After all, there’s no personal vendetta between us.”

Qi Si smiled as if catching up with an old friend after many years. “Honestly, your unexpected visit doesn’t anger me. In fact, I’ve investigated you long ago—Liu Ajiu.”

As the name was uttered, the man’s expression contorted from confusion to fear. “Who… who are you?”

“If I’d done anything to someone you know before, I had no choice. I can make amends…”

Qi Si stepped down from his chair, pushing the dissecting knife against the man’s neck, and sighed. “Shut up. Listen to me quietly, or I’ll chop you into pieces and feed you to the pigs.”

A moment of silence was achieved as desired.

His face resumed a gentle smile. “There’s no need to be afraid. You’re not the only one I’ve investigated. Before today, you weren’t the most exceptional.”

“From a certain point in time, a group of ‘you’ have been gathering information about bizarre incidents, squandering all your wealth, resembling a group of desperados.”

“During this period, all of ‘you’ have experienced some inexplicable events to varying degrees. In your case, you were released from federal prison due to insufficient evidence and miraculously cured of a hereditary heart condition.”

“I have reason to suspect that all of ‘you’ have encountered something extraordinary: an adventure that involves certain risks but promises substantial rewards.”

Not long ago, Qi Si was diagnosed with a terminal illness. The doctor said he had no more than three years left.

Just then, he coincidentally discovered some individuals who seemed to have benefited from being involved in supernatural events.

With nothing better to do, he thought, Why not give it a try? He selected those who were orphaned and alone, compiling a list to “capture for future research”.

The man in front of him, named Liu Ajiu, happened to be on that list—a person who would not attract too much attention even if killed.

Qi Si always had good hands-on skills since he was young, and his execution was much stronger than that of an average person.

To achieve his goals, he is willing to do anything against laws, morals, and common decency.

If all goes according to plan, after gathering enough information and devising a plan, he will select an unlucky person for him to replace and kill to cover his tracks.

But he didn’t expect Liu Ajiu, armed with a gun, to barge into his crafting and specimen collection studio today, displaying a hostile attitude.

Half an hour ago, the man had held a gun to Qi Si’s head, muttering like a madman. “I have no other choice; you were just unlucky. Tell me where the cash is!”

Qi Si had no cash and could not understand why someone would come to rob in the middle of nowhere, choosing an abandoned warehouse as their target.

Qi Si raised his hands, feigning fear, then ambushed the man when his guard was down, before spending considerable effort to tie him to the chair.

His preparations for encountering “supernatural events” were not sufficient, but since the opportunity had presented itself, whether to kill or let go would be a waste either way.

And Qi Si is a frugal man.

At this moment, he turned his wrist, pressing the handle of the dagger into the wound on the man’s shoulder, exchanging a donkey-like screech.

He lowered his gaze, sincerely stating with innocent eyes, “A person like you, even if you die, it’s a pointless death. Tell me everything you know, and I might spare you.”

The man’s head jerked up and down, lips trembling, finally uttering a string of words, “Not chosen… can’t know… can’t say…”

The words came out intermittently, as if certain keywords were forcibly erased.

Qi Si suddenly understood. “You mean, because of some force binding you, you can’t tell me the information I want to know, right?”

The man nodded incessantly, almost grovelling, “Let me go, and I might be able to help you gain access…”

Another string of silenced words. Qi Si lowered his head, tapping his leg, his expression serious as he considered the proposal.

Seconds turned to minutes as the man fixed his pleading gaze on Qi Si. Finally, Qi Si grinned, “You forgot to wear shoe covers when you entered.”

The dissecting knife pierced the flesh and withdrew. Blood splattered, the sensation soft and light as it soaked his fingertips.

Dealing with corpses is not easy these days—limestone, hydrogen peroxide, and hydrofluoric acid—none of which are easy to come by.

But for Qi Si, it was not that difficult.

When he was twelve, he had nothing, yet he killed someone without even alerting his parents.

Looking into the dead eyes of the man, Qi Si felt good, stroking his chin while considering how to deal with the corpse.

Without warning, an emotionless electronic sound echoed in the depths of his mind:

【Detected deceased contract player, screening nearby eligible humans】

Qi Si narrowed his eyes.

The small room began to fill with thick white fog, the light dimming in the swirling mist, resembling the uncertainty between night and day.

In front of the dead man, a black metallic card slowly materialised, floating indistinctly.

Carved on the card’s surface were gilded patterns with intricate designs of a giant tree’s branches, subtly shifting with the light as if it were alive.

Qi Si reached out and grabbed the metal card, and a line of silver-white words appeared in the void:

【The Peculiar Games Invitation】

Peculiar Games? What is that?

Qi Si’s gaze lingered on the unfamiliar term.

As if sensing his confusion, countless non-narratives of information bypassed his consciousness and entered his mind directly.

The Peculiar Games, created by an entity called “The Rules,” selects eligible players from around the world, immersing them in instances* full of strange and eerie tales, to explore puzzles and complete tasks.

It is a deadly game filled with ghosts and monsters. If players fail or die in instances, their existence in the real world will also be erased.

But danger and opportunity coexist. Players who successfully clear instances can gain a large number of points; with enough points, they can fulfil any wish.

Qi Si now understood what adventure the man he killed had encountered.

He had previously entered the Peculiar Games, accumulated points by completing tasks, and used them to fulfil wishes, including destroying his criminal evidence and curing his heart disease.

【You killed player “Liu Ajiu”. You have the option to inherit his game qualification.】

The cold, emotionless electronic voice sounded again, stating one word at a time:

【Do you want to become a player and enter the Peculiar Games?】

Qi Si fiddled with the silver bracelet on his wrist, casually asking, “Can you cure my illness?”

【In the Peculiar Games, you can obtain anything you desire: wealth, power, health… everything you could imagine】

【All you need to face and overcome is the fear of the peculiar.】

The silver-white words were extremely tempting.

Qi Si raised a finger to tap his chin. “How many points does a wish like curing a terminal illness generally require? And how many instances do I need to go through?”

【Sign the contract, and you will know when the time is right.】

Qi Si lifted his eyes and asked again, “I know very little about this so-called ‘Peculiar Games.’ Can I take a few days to decide?”

【Please make a decision within five minutes, or it will be automatically considered a waiver; all memories related to the game will be erased, and you will never be selected as a player.】

Emphasising the timeliness and singularity of the opportunity was a familiar tactic for bait and fraud, just like a trap or a scam.

But Qi Si felt that with only three years left of his life, he would not lose much, even if he failed completely.

He would not hesitate to die during the curtain call of the grand stage, but he absolutely refused to fade away from the world due to an illness.

In the Peculiar Games, whether dying without a trace or being alive, it was better than dying of a boring death such as illness.

Moreover, the existence of “survival games” and “horror instances” sounded very intriguing!

All his considerations ended in a second. Qi Si’s lips suddenly bloomed into a radiant smile, like a child who had discovered a new toy.

He stared at the silver-white words in the void, clearly enunciating each word: “I am willing to become a player and enter the Peculiar Games.”

【The contract has been signed. Player information has been loaded.】

【Downloading instance… loading complete.】

(End of Chapter)

Author’s notes:

The emphasis is on puzzle-solving and strategizing, with a light touch of horror; prioritising “suspense” and “reasoning” over “supernatural”; Readers seeking thrills should proceed with caution.

Qi Si is a psychologically dark, perverted, and abnormal character with warped values; normal humans beware.

This book falls within the dark genre; readers with low psychological tolerance should proceed with caution.

Reading tip: Everyone is capable of lying, especially the protagonist; do not blindly trust anything the characters say.

——

*TL’s note:

Instances, sometimes known as dungeons, are environments to which players can travel in order to encounter various enemies, bosses often included. They are called instances because, though the environment and structure are the same for all parties who enter, you will never encounter another party while yours is playing through the area, so it is a specific instance of this area or mission. (Giant Bomb, 2024)

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