Edited by Jules
After the two paper people each displayed their stakes.
Madam A turned to Xiao Lan once more. “Miss B, how about we start now? You’re the younger sister, so how about jiejie let you go first?”
Miss B fiddled with the ornamental paper flower on the table. “I’m the younger sister, so how can I be shameless enough to start before jiejie? How about you go first, Madam A?”
The one who acted later could observe the preceding situation and adjust their response accordingly.
Thus, the first to act would naturally be at a disadvantage.
The two paper people who were calling each other good sisters a second ago once again clashed.
Madam A naturally didn’t wish her fake confidante to seize the advantage.
But Miss B also wasn’t someone easy to deal with, and was naturally unwilling to let Madam A benefit either. For a time, the two were at an impasse.
After a while, Miss B suddenly reached out and pointed at the empty ground in the front.
Following her movements, a tiny platform appeared on the ground again. On it was an exquisitely made dice.
Miss B said with a smile, “How about this? We’ll throw the dice to decide the order. We’re good sisters, so we shouldn’t keep modestly declining one another like this.”
Madam A thought about it and then nodded in agreement. “It’s still meimei who thinks things through.”
Miss B smiled. “Then I’ll go first.”
With that, she reached out and pointed at the table.
As if pushed by an invisible force, the dice flew from its spot before it slowly fell to the ground under three pairs of eyes. When it stopped spinning, the number that appeared was — 2.
Madam A covered her mouth and tittered. “Heh, meimei truly is considerate ah. Jiejie truly isn’t as good as you.”
Miss B’s paper hands tightened their grip on the hem of her clothes, and she smiled with slightly gritted teeth. “Hehe, then I’ll wish you good luck first, jiejie.”
Madam A also pointed at the table.
Similarly, the dice also moved, and finally stopped on —1.
Madam A’s upturned lips instantly collapsed.
Miss B’s smile, however, was sweet. “Looks like it’s still jiejie who’s more considerate. Meimei has more to learn from you.”
Madam A didn’t really want to talk to this bitch.
Miss B fanned the flames and urged, “Jiejie, let me learn your methods ah. After all, you’re older, so you must have broader experiences ah~”
She even deliberately emphasised the word ‘older’, clearly not wanting to let go of any chance to make a jab.
Madam A’s paper face was practically black.
She reached up and tidied her hair, and recollected her reason with great difficulty.
When Madam A next spoke, her voice had already returned to its previous crisp and melodious tone. “Alright, alright, then I’ll tell you. Who told us to be such good sisters?”
Once she said this, a huge paper hourglass appeared behind the two, and the sand drawn on the paper slowly trickled down.
Madam A: “This is something that happened in my manor. A personal maid of mine seized the moment I was out playing to climb into my husband’s bed.
“It didn’t matter if they were just fooling around at first, but this insatiable woman actually wanted to convince my husband to marry her. She didn’t even consider her own status; for someone on the bottom rung of society like her to be able to come work at a manor is all because of my benevolence, yet she dared delude herself into thinking that she could supplant me.”
Miss B’s tone was rueful. “Goodness, truly an ungrateful woman.”
Madam A sneered. “Hmph, so I waited for a night when the moon was beautiful, and invited her to the garden…”
As she spoke, the environment around Xiao Lan began to change.
Clusters of paper flowers appeared on the paper stage floor. The floor’s design turned into that of a meadow, and the bright spotlight dimmed and turned into a cooler moonlight colour.
Even the lively music changed to an oppressive and furtive tune.
“I had her sit on a gorgeous seat that she would never be able to sit on in her entire life. She was incredibly happy…”
A paper table and chair appeared before Xiao Lan.
They were in a Rococo-style, with exquisite floral patterns and suave and gentle lines. Paired with light and bright hues, it looked like an art piece.
“Then, I served her a cup of black tea which she had never been qualified to taste…”
An elegantly shaped, meticulously polished, pure white porcelain cup appeared on the table.
Unlike everything else around it, this cup was real.
The colour of the black tea in the cup was like amber, and it was still warm and emitted a rich fragrance.
“She realised that something wasn’t right. She cried, begged, and hoped for my forgiveness, and swore she would never commit another wrongdoing in the future.
“But it was too late.
“The blood she threw up dyed my garden red. Her undignified struggles messed up my lawn. Her piercing howls alarmed my sleeping kitten…”
Following Madam A’s narration, bloodstains appeared on the table and the ground, as if recreating the scene of the maid being poisoned that day.
“People have to pay the price for being carried away by their wishful thinking, right?” Madam A concluded.
“That’s right.” Miss B agreed.
Once the tale ended, the two paper people paused in their movements.
Music still resounded in the air, but there was no longer any change in the surroundings.
Xiao Lan looked at the motionless paper people, then sized up the environment.
The entire stage currently presented the scene of the night the maid was poisoned, but there was no paper figure to symbolise the maid.
The only person on stage was Xiao Lan.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
That also meant that he was the one playing the maid.
Wljb Ojc: “…”
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Cmmbgvlcu ab atf qiba jr cjggjafv ys Zjvjw C, atf wjlv rtbeiv vglcx atf afj.
Dea… la kjr mifjg atja ktbfnfg vgjcx la kbeiv ‘jrmfcv lcab atf rxs ab gey rtbeivfgr klat atf rec’!
Ufbqif ktbrf ygjlcr kfgf kbgxlcu olcf kbeivc’a vglcx la.
There was only the continuous trickle in the hourglass, like a soundless declaration.
If Xiao Lan didn’t drink the tea before the sand in the hourglass ran out, perhaps something he didn’t quite want to see would happen.
Xiao Lan walked a circle around the stage.
Like before, he was still unable to leave.
Moreover, there was no hidden item or mechanism on the stage for him to take shelter with.
The only non-paper object here was this cup of black tea which contained something extra for free and was comparable to insecticide.
It seemed that the only option left now was to drink this cup of tea.
If not, the plot wouldn’t progress.
Xiao Lan walked back to the table. He couldn’t fake drinking such a full cup.
Moreover, he didn’t think he could conceal pretending to drink it in such an obviously supernatural environment.
Xiao Lan glanced at the hourglass. In such a short time, only one fifth was left.
He pondered swiftly.
He had no antidote nor a constitution that was resistant to poison, much less a healing ability. His cheat helper also wasn’t by his side…
Thinking about all the items he had, there didn’t seem to be any that was suitable for this situation.
Truly dismal.
Fortunately, he still had poverty.
Xiao Lan activated his skill:
【Name: Poverty is unable to restrict my imagination】
【Ability: Poison negation】
Xiao Lan’s skill now no longer had a countdown.
But each minute would consume 10 million poverty value, which gave him the luxurious feeling of tossing away thousands of pounds of gold.
Back when he was poisoned during the brain-eating man’s ambush, he hadn’t been willing to use his skill because it wasn’t fatal.
Poverty’s time was valuable.
Xiao Lan no longer hesitated, and directly grabbed the cup.
He downed it all in one gulp.
There was a burning, piercing-like sensation as soon as the black tea entered his mouth, but the poison was instantly cancelled out by the skill.
It turned into the normal liquidity of black tea.
But he wasn’t able to taste anything since he drank too fast; it felt a bit of a waste…
Finishing the tea with an unappreciative air, Xiao Lan placed the cup back on the table and hastily switched off his skill.
At that moment, the hourglass was restored.
The stage setting changed as the garden disappeared and the stage returned to its previous appearance.
The music also switched back to the previous tune.
The two paper people began moving once more.
Looking at Xiao Lan who was still hopping about, Miss B laughed brightly. “Apologies, jiejie, but using poison is just too outdated. Jiejie must be joking, hahaha!!”
Madam A’s face was gloomy, and she swept aside the paper teacup on the table with one arm.
Miss B finally finished laughing her fill. “How about jiejie see how mine works?”
Madam A suppressed her rage and squeezed out a smile. “I’m really looking forward to meimei’s method.”
Miss B turned to the stage. “He was a bold suitor…
“He and I had met no more than twice, and hadn’t even spoken more than a few sentences; it wasn’t even friendship. However, he stubbornly believed that I should marry him, and suddenly ran over to propose to me.
Naturally, I refused this sort of unreasonable request on the stop. However, he flew into a rage out of humiliation, and claimed I was a vain woman who looked down on him for being poor. He even threatened there and then that he would disfigure and murder me.”
Madam A gasped in alarm. “My goodness, how can there be a person like this?”
Miss B touched her chest. “That’s right. So, I was forced to defend myself.
“I invited him to come to my room alone late at night…”
As Miss B spoke, the stage started to change again.
The brightly coloured floor changed into a floral carpet design, and the set changed to a Rococo-esque room with refined wallpaper.
A paper sofa, bed, and chairs rose up from the ground.
Instantly, this place became a noblewoman’s boudoir.
“He was wild with joy, and sure enough, kept the appointment. However, he didn’t expect that the instant the door opened, what welcomed him was — steel needles falling from the sky.”
As Miss B finished her sentence, the music turned intense.
At the same time, countless steel needles fell swiftly from above Xiao Lan’s head.
These needles were the length of an arm each, and were several times thicker than the usual sewing needle.
If one were struck by them, the ending was self-evident.
Xiao Lan swiftly dodged to the side.
Boom —
The rain of steel needles fell right where he had been standing, stabbing right through the solid floor.
But the attack wasn’t over.
As if they had locked onto Xiao Lan, steel needles continued to rain down on him.
The entire setting was paper, and there was no place that could provide cover.
What was worse, because the previous needles had stabbed through the floor, there was increasingly less space to evade them.
Xiao Lan wove through the gaps in the rain of needles and also had to be wary of holes in the ground, occasionally brandishing 【Dalit’s Bone】 to block the needles.
He glanced at the holes punched out in the ground.
He saw a bottomless darkness; clearly, an accidental fall wouldn’t be a very happy experience.
After he evaded several waves of attacks, the rain of needles finally stopped.
Before Xiao Lan could even breathe in relief, Miss B’s voice rang out again.
“After he escaped the steel needles, thread as fine as hair strands wrapped around his throat…”
Rustling rang out on the stage.
The sound came from all directions and surrounded Xiao Lan.
It seemed he no longer had an escape route.
Xiao Lan made a prompt decision and directly turned 【Dalit’s Bone】 into its blade form.
As he dodged to the side, he swung the bone sword to cut the threads attacking him.
These threads looked fragile, but were in fact incomparably sharp.
Xiao Lan clearly saw the paper furniture which the threads passed through instantly cut in two.
It was extremely clean cuts, and was even better than a knife.
If he got tied up in these threads, it probably wouldn’t be as simple as being choked; cut up into ribbons should be the correct answer.
Miss B, your description is seriously too euphemistic.
The threads were still shooting swiftly towards Xiao Lan.
The white bone blade spun in a blur and dispelled each of their attacks.
But there were still a few threads that slipped through and cut open Xiao Lan’s cheek and arm, leaving trails of blood on him.
Fortunately, they were only superficial injuries and weren’t serious.
Soon, there was no longer anything completely intact on the stage.
After swinging his blade and cutting off the final strand attacking him, the tattered stage returned to normal.
Xiao Lan, however, didn’t dare lower his guard.
“Tied up in the threads, he was extremely disappointed. He glared at me angrily, and tried to denounce and curse me, but he could no longer speak.
“In the end, I sent him off to eternal darkness…”
Hearing the words ‘eternal darkness’, Xiao Lan had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, he felt the ground below him disappear in the next instant.
The entire stage floor actually caved in at that moment. The paper furniture and fragments from the previous fight all fell through.
Below was darkness with no end in sight, like an abyss.
In the face of this imminent peril, Xiao Lan flung out 【Dalit’s Bone】, which had already changed into its whip form.
The whip cleverly wound around the set behind the stage, preventing Xiao Lan from falling into the abyss.
Xiao Lan was thus suspended in the air. Below him was darkness, as bits and pieces dropped non-stop.
A good while passed like this.
The hourglass reached the end of the countdown, and returned to its original state again.
As the hourglass was restored, the stage also slowly recovered. The brightly coloured, circus-like stage appeared once more.
But Xiao Lan was still the only performer onstage.
Moreover, he was still hale and hearty right now.
The spectating Madam A pulled out a paper folding fan from some unknown place.
She finally seized the chance to retaliate against this fake sister, and heartlessly waved the fan as she laughed. “Hahaha, meimei, it turns out you’re such an unimaginative lady! My oh my, it’s like anything will work for you. Jiejie worries that no one will want to marry you in the future~”
Miss B was so angry that she fiercely slammed the paper table, which shuddered under this attack.
Xiao Lan now understood; regardless of whether it was Madam A, Miss B, or the people in their story, none of them were virtuous. It was just that this pair of beautiful plastic sisters were especially ruthless.
No wonder they were close friends. This was probably like calling to like.
Madam A was pleased. “What a pity. It’s a draw this time. Jiejie can’t give you the gift I prepared for you.”
Miss B swiftly readjusted her aggressive posture, her smile unchanging. “What’s the rush, jiejie? I also wish to give jiejie the gift. How about we go another round?”
Madam A: “Your meaning is?”
Miss B: “To play until the end.”
The two smiling paper faces turned to Xiao Lan.
Xiao Lan: “…”
Motherfucker, you guys are merciless.
Did the unlucky tribe have no human rights?
At that moment, Madam A asked Xiao Lan a question for the first time. “Let us start a new game?”
Xiao Lan didn’t want to speak.
After a while.
Miss B also asked, “Let’s start a new game?”
This time, Xiao Lan frowned slightly.
He glanced at the hourglass behind the two. This time, the hourglass didn’t start counting down.
The two paper people were looking at him, as if waiting for his reply.
Xiao Lan suddenly understood.
It seemed that in this round, his opinion was very crucial.
If they didn’t have his permission, the two paper people were unable to start the game!
Xiao Lan lowered his eyelashes to conceal the light in his eyes.
Madam A asked for the third time, “Excuse me, can we start a new game?”
Her tone was already a little impatient.
Xiao Lan, however, sat down on the spot with a languid air. “It’s no fun.”
Madam A stood up. The glass partition around the stage seemed nonexistent to her.
She walked to the stage and asked, “Why is it no fun? Don’t you want to know who’s better between us?”
Xiao Lan actually wanted to say, Who wants to fucking know such a thing?! Watching Tie Hanhan chew on veggies is more interesting than watching you guys have a bitch fight, alright?
But he also felt that directly infuriating the other party would lead to some unexpected variable.
Xiao Lan raised his head and looked at the two people with an uninterested appearance. “Your games aren’t exciting enough. I have something more interesting. Do you guys want to play with me? But I also want to participate in your wager.”
Madam A was unhappy. “What right do you have to be with us?”
Miss B also walked over, but as if she was setting herself against Madam B, she expressed interest. “What is it? Tell us.”
Xiao Lan smiled. He knew that the two of them definitely would stand on different sides.
Regardless of who was in support or who was opposed, he would always get the chance to put forward his proposal.
Like this, he could use the chance to participate in the game, and even try and obtain their stakes.
Xiao Lan took out the item he had previously obtained. “Playing russian roulette is more exciting, right?”
【Name: Plastic treasured dragon killer sword】
【Ability: 50% probability of an insta-death injury to target (Uses 3/3)】
【Description: A cut is 99999, a completely new edition you’ve never experienced before, but production costs were limited, so only a plastic one could be made. Please forgive us.】
Miss B was a little hesitant. “…This… aren’t the stakes a little too high?”
Madam A was also a little hesitant and didn’t speak.
Seeing this, Xiao Lan secretly used 【Green-turning mist spray】
【Name: Green-turning mist spray】
【Ability: Engenders suspicion between collaborators for a 2-minute duration】
【Description: Wife, I’m… back… What are you guys doing?!】
At that moment, the two paper people were already very close to Xiao Lan.
Although he was unable to leave the stage and the full effect of the mist spray might not be utilised, it should still be able to affect them.
He then said with an indifferent appearance, “I always play with stakes this high. Where’s the meaning in an ordinary game? Only old ladies who are too bored would play those.”
He even deliberately emphasised the words ‘old ladies’, poking deep at the hidden essence in his words.
Madam A turned to glance at Miss B and instantly changed her attitude. “Hehe, you aren’t scared, are you? Jiejie really wants to play. Of course, it’s better to be quick about it. I have a salon appointment and I can’t waste time here, unlike some people who are so idle.”
Miss B also immediately changed her tune. “Hehe, of course I want to play. I was just worried jiejie wouldn’t dare to. It’s better to hurry up and start. I have an appointment with many sisters for a party. My time isn’t as cheap as some people’s.”
The smell of gunpowder between the two paper people instantly grew stronger.
For such fake sisters, even if it was just a bit of 【Green-turning mist spray】, the results seemed especially good.
It truly was an unexpected harvest.
Seeing the two agree to the game, Xiao Lan’s lips quietly curved up.
From the moment the two of them tossed the dice, he had noticed —
These two were unlucky sods as well.
Now, it was a battle between three unlucky people.
And he had the fresh out of the oven 【In-app purchase?】 which could increase his luck.
How could an unlucky person who had in-app purchases be considered unlucky?
The author has something to say:
- Russian roulette — Load a six-chambered revolver with one or more bullets. After many spins of the cylinder, close the cylinder. Participants in the game will aim the gun at their own head and pull the trigger; those who are shot naturally lose automatically, and those who get stage-fright also lose. The one to persist to the end is the winner.
Miss B also walked over, but as if she was setting herself against Madam B, she expressed interest. “What is it? Tell us.” madam B –> madam A (i think?)
Thank you for the chapter!!! ❤️❤️
Anddd the battle of three unlucky people will begin! drum rolls
Thank you so much for your great translation!!
Smart move!
Thank you for the chapter ❤️
Cliffhanger no fair
I just this person who perfectly know about Russian roulette because I’m so “lucky” to almost live in Russia. I heard about this when I was a child I guess. Fuck that’s real thing (for entertainment?) sounds like a horror movie game.
I tell you more, it was a metod to solve dispute quickly. And before revolvers there was a pistol metod: two people receive from the judge two identical(as far as posible) loaded pistols each; turning their backs to each other, they take 20 steps; then turn around and take a blind shot. You lose if you die, or get shot but your opponent not. It’s a draw if both miss, or both get shot without dying.
Thanks for such a fun and positive information, although I’m a such person who interested in this things, heh
Kinda reminds me of the song “Ten Duel Commandments” from Hamilton
Duels always was popular thing
Will it work?
Thank you for the chapter
This is the most fun part of this instance! ( •o•)c[_]*sipping my tea
Thanks for the chapter!💖
“【Description: Wife, I’m… back… What are you guys doing?!】”
Everytime I saw this description, I always questioning the system who made this ability. What had they been through in their life? 😂
weeell, if you remember there’s only two ‘persons’ who made this entire ‘game’
Is that mean this is Luo’s experience, then? Because the other guy seems not the kind person who like to have a partner in his life. 😂
not sure, we still don’t know much about other one. who knows what he’s doing when Luo don’t around
Haha, good luck with your luck buff lol
Thx for the ch (ㅅ˘ㅂ˘)
poor Xaio Lan, with your luck when choosing someone to take luck from system might choose the two unlucky sisters😂
you can be considered lucky if you was born with good brain. In my situation I would be not better than this two ladies
thanks for the chapter~
Sheesh! I wouldn’t take those odds!
Thanks for the chapter <3
Me after seeing Russian Roulette: Playing Russian Roulette by Red Velvet
hahaha! Xiao!! so smart ah! have fun!