aircannonsinc Chapter 448 The Chaotic Points Are Still Accumulating
Chapter 448 The Chaotic Points Are Still Accumulating
Chapter 450 The Chaotic Points Are Still Accumulating
When playing cards, you should try to hold onto your strongest and most effective trump cards.
This not only means being able to deliver the decisive blow at crucial moments, but also means that throughout the entire game you will always have control and room for maneuver, be able to calmly deal with every attack from your opponent, and even influence their decision-making psychology.
Hugo always deeply believed in this unwritten strategy.
Especially now that the United Alliance headquarters has become a hotbed of conflict, keeping the most reliable combat force by one's side to deal with emergencies at any time is undoubtedly the wisest choice during this special period.
However, when the league champion braved the night rain and walked into the coffee shop opposite Yuxi Mansion, and saw the current state of his four Heavenly Kings, he couldn't help but waver slightly over his previous decision.
The group was playing games at the cafe counter, which had already been cleared out.
It's not the kind of mainstream party games commonly found on consoles, nor is it the various gambling games that Yueju excels at. Instead, it's the most time-consuming and patience-testing of all games—a tabletop role-playing game.
Wanlong Tianwang, the game's host, sat behind the barista's desk, using a large loose-leaf notebook as a backdrop. The notebook was covered with colorful sticky notes, densely filled with various settings and rules.
The other three Heavenly Kings sat casually on the other side of the bar, each with drinks beside them and a beautifully crafted, intricately detailed printed map in front of them, complete with many standing soldier flags.
While participating in the game, Yueju idly cut the playing cards in her hand; Lian Wu was intently examining his identity card, seriously considering his next move; Jia Deliya hadn't brought her butler today, and leaned her head on her arm, almost looking like she was about to fall asleep if she hadn't occasionally chatted with Wanlong.
Noticing the detective in the white coat enter, the group looked up, and Wanlong greeted him happily, "Ah, Hugo, do you want to join us? We can add one more person to this segment now."
"You guys really don't seem to care at all about the plasma troop riots in various places."
Hugo sighed, handed his soaking wet umbrella to the intelligence agent behind him, and walked straight to the table to sit down.
"There's nothing to worry about."
Lanju gently gathered the playing cards that had been stacked into a pyramid shape on her fingertips, restoring them to a neat pile. She said unhurriedly, "The League's trump cards are far more numerous than outsiders perceive. Moreover, all the regional leaders have undergone rigorous testing by Alder and us. With both sides prepared, Team Plasma's current strength is far from sufficient to overturn the Unova region's table."
"Besides, Miss Cattleya has already made a prediction, so it seems there won't be too much danger."
As Wanlong spoke, she tossed two ten-sided dice from behind the screen. The dice rolled and came to a stop with a crisp sound. She glanced at them warily, then turned to Lianwu and continued—
"12 points, plus your [Thief] class bonus, totaling 30 points—lower than the difficulty required for the [Persuasion] action."
Sorry, the check failed. The waitress was thoroughly annoyed by your frivolous attitude and, without revealing any information, merely "invited" you out of the Black Crocodile Tavern in a barely polite tone.
Lian Wu clicked his tongue in annoyance.
This seems to be a board game that these four Heavenly Kings only play when they get together.
Due to various alliance affairs, these four guys with very different personalities rarely appear together. When they do get together, they spend their time playing board games like they are now.
The script they've been playing recently seems to have been set by Wanlong in the era of a fragmented ancient kingdom five hundred years ago—besides her serving as the host, the other three play three travelers who accidentally get caught up in the vortex of succession to the throne.
Generally speaking, role-playing games where players construct their own rules are difficult to compare with established commercial titles. They often appear rough around the edges, their mechanics are frequently riddled with flaws, and their enjoyment largely relies on the tacit understanding and tolerance among friends—but Wanlong is clearly an exception. Regardless of her control over narrative and setting as a bestselling novelist, her experience in designing and publishing several formal board games is enough to imbue every handwritten card and self-defined rule with a sense of effortless professionalism.
Incidentally, in this ongoing board game, Lian Wu chose to play a thief who specializes in daggers and has great luck in gambling; Yueju became a sorcerer who has mastered forbidden magic; and Gadria's role is that of a silent and resolute female monk who has practiced martial arts since childhood—it seems that these people deliberately reversed their respective character settings for fun.
"If you join now, you can play as a necromancer with the talent of a bard."
Wanlong reached around the screen and handed over a character card that was already filled with attributes, except for the name field, which was empty. The detective pushed it aside—
"I'm not in the mood for playing games right now. If you knew what happened in Snowflake City and the Giant's Cave, you probably wouldn't be sitting here so calmly."
"It's just that Team Aqua got involved," Yue Tachibana yawned casually. "Since you still have time to stand here and helplessly watch us play board games, it means things have been resolved smoothly, right?"
"I don't like these kinds of thrilling victories," Hugo sighed.
At this moment, Agent Luna, who followed him in, seemed very interested in the game played by the kings, and was examining the map and various signs spread out in the center of the bar with great interest.
"Hey, Wanlong, isn't it my turn to make a move?"
"Ahem." The host cleared his throat. "Mr. Blueberry, the magician, your companion has been kicked out of the Black Crocodile Tavern by the staff for his inappropriate words and actions."
However, you and Cattleya, who had sat at a separate table from him beforehand, were not implicated. So, in order to obtain information about the palace haunting incident, do you still intend to try to negotiate with this still-angry restaurant worker?
"Hehe—." The evil king laughed exaggeratedly twice, "I request to use my extraordinary superpowers to cast a [charm] spell on that waitress."
"That's not how you use superpowers," Cattleya said with a disdainful look at her colleague.
"I'm sorry, but unlike some non-professional superpowered individuals," Yueju replied slowly. "I am Yueju, a mid-level mage, a professional who received systematic education at the kingdom's top magic academy. It's not surprising that I know some magic that a muscle-bound monk like you can't understand."
Hugo seemed to notice the coffee grinder in the cabinet behind the bar floating slightly, but he wisely decided to pretend he hadn't seen anything.
"Well, according to the rules in the setting book, there is indeed a spell that allows the hostess to be a humanoid creature, thus meeting the conditions for casting [Charm]." Wanlong pushed up his glasses, his tone slightly embarrassed. "Then, let's do a check."
Two ten-sided dice, representing the tens and units digits respectively, rolled behind the screen.
The Ghost-type Elite Four member's expression suddenly froze. "A huge, huge failure. Mr. Blueberry the Magician—you rolled a 1."
"Hey, isn't this a bit off?" Lingju threw the playing cards on the table. "Didn't we agree that we weren't allowed to use our special abilities when rolling the cards?"
"I also think that's inappropriate," Lian Wu said, casting a disapproving glance.
"We can't be sure that Gadriya really used telekinesis, can we? Look, I kept the screen in front of me when I was rolling the dice, didn't I?" Wanlong tried to defend her best friend, but her voice grew weaker and weaker.
"I did not cheat."
As the person at the center of the storm, the superpowered individual's defense was concise and to the point.
Unfortunately, it was completely unconvincing. Although little known, this young lady was known for her willfulness and had no principle of "never lying"—everyone present except Luna knew this.
"The presence of a screen cannot be used as evidence that some people did not cheat."
While flipping through the playing cards, Lanju began to speak.
"Our superpowered queen has the motive to cheat, and she's even more capable of using her clairvoyance to peer into the distance and then using telekinesis to subtly manipulate the result. This is the basic quality of an excellent superpowered individual—as an intermediate-level magician, I can assert this."
"No, Lanju, are you in reality right now, or are you still in a role-playing game?"
Wanlong rubbed his temples in distress—
"But it's true, it's too much of a coincidence that it's only 1 o'clock. How about we order again?"
"I didn't cheat."
Cattleya reiterated that the poor grinder had floated up again, trembling and hanging precariously in mid-air.
"If you ask me, I think the bilberry tree bears some responsibility for this situation," said Lian Wutianwang, crossing his arms and stating the only correct statement in the current situation.
"Thieves who have already been kicked out of the tavern, please refrain from speaking."
Yueju shut Lianwu up with a single sentence, then her eyes darted around and landed on Hugo, who was secretly lamenting his championship career. "By the way," she said, "as for distinguishing whether someone cheated—don't we have an expert here who can tell right from wrong?"
He raised a finger and pointed it straight at the detective in the white coat. "Now, sir detective, please solve this perplexing mystery for us!"
"Oh, great idea!" Wanlong clapped her hands lightly, as if she were making a fuss.
Lian Wu's gaze shifted back and forth between Hugo and the Superpower King, and he pondered, "Indeed, we can't completely rule out the possibility of pure luck—it would be best if someone could make an accurate judgment."
"..." Even Cattleya herself remained silent, only nodding slightly.
"Well then, it's up to you." Yueju snapped her fingers crisply in front of Hugo. "Begin your deduction, great detective! Let's determine whether this young lady monk is lying!"
What on earth are these people doing?
The United States is probably really doomed—Hugo closed his eyes as if he had given up completely.