Chapter Twenty-One: The Trap of the Stone of Three Lifetimes

The fact that Giannis and his group perished stunned Trigram Stone. After entering the game, he had browsed the forums, and Giannis was undoubtedly among the most formidable fighters. This time Giannis wasn’t alone, yet they were wiped out. Could the cellar be hiding a trap, with many players lying in ambush?

Trigram Stone didn’t act rashly. He had his men log out and contact Giannis to learn what happened. Upon discovering that only a single player was guarding Wang Wu in the cellar, his curiosity was piqued, and he felt the urge to recruit this mysterious figure. He called out loudly, “Brother in the cellar, my name is Trigram Stone. May I ask your name?”

“Trigram Stone?” Hearing this name, Chen Hao was taken aback, marveling at how small the world truly was. In reality, Trigram Stone was shrewd and capable, and he was certainly not ordinary in the game. However, due to events in high school, the stubborn Chen Hao would never collaborate with him.

Chen Hao remained silent in the cellar, but Trigram Stone was persistent. He continued, “Brother, this quest is extremely important to me. If you give up protecting Wang Wu, I can pay you ten thousand RMB.”

The cellar remained quiet. Unfazed, Trigram Stone pressed on, “Brother, do you not trust me? There’s no need to worry. If you agree, I can transfer ten thousand to you first, and after I complete the quest, I’ll send another ten thousand. How does that sound?”

Trigram Stone wasn’t concerned that the person in the cellar would take the money and renege; ten thousand meant little to him. Using this sum to buy passage for the quest and possibly recruit a top melee expert was a bargain.

“If you abandon the quest to kill Wang Wu, I can transfer ten thousand to your account as well.” A cold voice echoed from the cellar, darkening Trigram Stone’s expression.

Chen Hao came from an ordinary family, and ten thousand was a substantial sum for a student like him—he simply couldn’t afford it. He said this to disgust Trigram Stone, knowing well that Trigram Stone wouldn’t care for such a trivial amount and would never accept his terms.

As expected, upon hearing Chen Hao’s offer to buy him off for ten thousand, Trigram Stone ceased his attempts at persuasion. Glancing at the narrow cellar entrance, he frowned and said, “The entrance is too tight. If we keep attacking like this, it’s suicide. See if you can open up the cellar.”

“Boss, we need hoes to dig open the cellar, and we’d have to go back to the city to buy them. Should I go?” a player asked.

Trigram Stone took an iron rod and dug for a while in the Earth Deity temple, then shook his head, “There are stone slabs beneath the soil. Even with hoes, we can’t break through. Forget it! Zixuan, take some men and look for firewood.”

Shao Zixuan, a chubby player, suddenly understood, “Boss, you’re brilliant! If we smoke them out, they’re bound to come up. There’s only one person down there anyway—he can’t possibly turn the tide.”

While Chen Hao and Trigram Stone were negotiating, Wang Wu listened quietly. He didn’t know what RMB was, but he understood Chen Hao had resisted temptation to protect him. Hearing that those above planned to smoke them out, Wang Wu spat, “Those thieves are ruthless. If they fill the cellar with smoke, we won’t be able to stay. Brother Baxian, you’d best not worry about me and escape on your own! The Yanling Saber in your hand has been my companion for years; let me give it to you as a keepsake.”

Chen Hao whispered, “Don’t worry, elder. Those outsiders aren’t as skilled as I am, and they don’t know my true strength. When their men leave to gather firewood, I’ll burst out of the cellar, cut down a few, and pick them off one by one.”

Footsteps echoed overhead. Chen Hao counted; about a dozen players had departed. Trigram Stone had brought forty-two men in total, seven had died in the cellar, and now, with over ten gone, about twenty remained in the Earth Deity temple.

If there were no experts like Giannis among those remaining, Chen Hao felt he could handle twenty. Waiting until the firewood gatherers were far enough, Chen Hao climbed the stairs and poked his head out—only to have three iron rods strike down at him.

Chen Hao was ready. He flicked up Wang Wu’s Yanling Saber, parrying the rods, then leapt out. Landing on his feet, he swung the blade, cutting down two players in quick succession. Suddenly, the sound of wind behind him alerted him to an attack; he rolled away just in time to avoid the ambush.

Though his roll allowed him to dodge, it left him some distance from the cellar entrance, which was now blocked by six players. The previously mentioned Shao Zixuan circled in from the side of the Earth Deity statue, laughing, “Boss, you’re truly clever! As soon as you mentioned gathering firewood, this fellow jumped right into your trap.”

It turned out that after hearing Giannis report the formidable skills of the cellar’s player, Trigram Stone dared not split his forces. He had feigned sending Shao Zixuan and his men for firewood, but in reality, they hadn’t gone far; they slipped out of the temple and returned. Trigram Stone’s real aim was to lure out the cellar’s defender, and Chen Hao, caught off guard, fell right into the trap. Now he faced thirty-five players.

Trigram Stone’s thinking was meticulous, his strategy tightly woven. At the cellar entrance, four players launched attacks—two as bait, while the real threat was the ambusher behind. When someone emerged from the cellar, they’d instinctively respond to the decoys, giving the ambusher his opening. Even if the ambush failed, it would force the defender away from the entrance.

Thus, no matter how skilled the defender, being forced from the cellar meant Wang Wu would be vulnerable. As soon as Trigram Stone completed this quest and became a district inspector with real authority, he could start building his territory.

Trigram Stone’s plan was solid, but fate had him face Chen Hao, who knew him all too well from their years as classmates. If Trigram Stone truly intended to smoke out the cellar, he would never announce it so loudly for the defender to hear.

Trigram Stone believed his plan flawless; his men were certain Wang Wu’s fate was sealed. The two players closest to the entrance prepared to rush in and finish Wang Wu, when suddenly a creaking sound echoed through the temple—the cellar’s trapdoor slammed shut. The lead player stepped on it, his face stunned.

Chen Hao, standing before the Earth Deity statue, wore a mocking smile. He had guessed Trigram Stone’s scheme, so when he rolled away from the attack, he headed for the statue’s feet. The control knob for the trapdoor was conveniently located there. Trigram Stone had anticipated how to block his return to the cellar, but hadn’t considered that he could seal it off again himself.

PS: Thanks to Bu Mie Lancy (Supreme Flame) for the generous reward of 10,000 coins.