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From the outset, the pronouncements of these voices were riddled with inconsistencies, yet the schemers had confidently wagered that ninety-nine percent of players would be blinded by the immense, readily available rewards.
And indeed, they had succeeded; even Yingning, despite her considerable gaming experience, had fallen prey to their deception.
However, with even a sliver of rationality and a moment’s contemplation, a glaring, undeniable flaw in their narrative became apparent.
A temporal discrepancy!
He, or perhaps they, claimed to have been confined here by the Nine-tailed Demon Fox for a century.
Yet, the event [Five Foxes Disturbing China] transpired prior to the opening of the Demonic Gate.
If the Nine-tailed Demon Fox had indeed sealed them, it would logically have occurred before the gate’s activation.
Nevertheless, they appeared remarkably conversant with the events that unfolded *after* the Demonic Gate had been flung open, repeatedly referencing its grand opening and the ensuing devastation that plagued all living beings!
The underlying intention of these voices was clearly to ignite the adventurers’ curiosity and sense of duty, framing the act of ‘drawing the Sword in the Stone’ as a glorious task, one that players would eagerly rush to complete.
This was designed to instill a profound sense of accomplishment and destiny, as if merely extracting the sword would rescue a formidable powerhouse and, by extension, save the entire continent of Aydel.
It was a cunning ploy, but regrettably, it backfired spectacularly.
Unless they possessed the extraordinary ability to perceive major events of later eras even while sealed, then he was unequivocally lying.
Thus, to ascertain whether they could indeed observe the outside world from within their confinement, I deliberately posed those specific questions.
Yet, with an air of profound seriousness, the other party informed us that among the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, in addition to [Baron Rivendare], there existed his brother, [Riven Top Lane If Not Given I Feed]!
Are you f*cking kidding me?
Excellent, excellent.
Truly, you have succeeded in amusing me.
Such a hastily concocted response clearly stemmed from the opponent’s conviction that we had fully ensnared ourselves in their trap, eager to claim the rewards, and that they merely sought to greedily extract maximum value from us.
However, they had never once considered that adventurers, notoriously insatiable and treating hidden quests as if they were their own fathers, would, on this occasion, maintain their composure in the face of such monumental temptation!
Consequently, they were utterly unprepared when I skillfully extracted the truth from them.
The flaw revealed in their desperation instantly shattered all the lies they had meticulously constructed.
If the story itself was fabricated, then their identities were likely false, and the mission rewards they so casually promised, out of thin air, were, by extension, undoubtedly bogus.
Nevertheless, the trap was undeniably brilliant.
From the outset, the opponent deliberately refrained from mentioning that drawing the swords was a single-choice option.
Yet, subtly, at every turn, they implied that while the three entities might have minor disagreements, they belonged to the same righteous faction, suggesting that drawing all swords would incur no negative consequences.
And which player, confronted with such vast potential rewards, would be content to draw only one sword? It was inconceivable!
Without a doubt, the thought of drawing *all* of them would swell in every heart!
At this juncture, the opponent would feign reluctant agreement.
In reality, however, drawing all the swords was their true objective!
They had merely engineered an elaborate, interconnected pitfall, designed to make greedy players willingly leap into it, fully convinced they were making their own choice!
While it was true that fully drawing all three swords according to their wishes at that moment would likely have yielded substantial rewards, it would certainly not have granted max Divine Faction reputation, a bottleneck-free ascent straight to level 180, or a full set of divine artifacts!
Not only would the mission rating and completion percentage be abysmal, but the future trajectory of the questline would undoubtedly turn dire!
What a cunning quest designer!
They had completely manipulated player psychology with masterful precision!
From the very beginning, the spectacular, near-fatal explosion and the soaring pillar of light had first seared the impression of ‘I’ve struck gold!’ into the players’ minds!
Following this, the subtle disagreements among the three voices were used to lower player vigilance, leading players to believe these were merely three righteous faction NPCs with differing ideologies!
Next, a semi-fictional, semi-true secret history of the game was recounted, ensuring players would believe it implicitly, feel a surge of purpose, and eagerly rush into the trap!
Finally, they feigned offering players the freedom of choice, yet in reality, they had long since anticipated that players would be unwilling to draw just one sword, and all three would inevitably be pulled, completely breaking the seal!
A series of interconnected pitfalls lay ahead, designed to drive players who shied away from critical thinking into a frenzy over illusory rewards.
This included arduous quests with unknown payouts in a previous life, or gacha packs where the probabilities of rare draws were never disclosed, exploiting players’ desire for quick gains and their fervent hope for a ‘one-shot miracle’ to escape their ‘African luck’ (TL Note: ‘Tuō fēi’ (脱非) is a Chinese slang term describing the desire to break free from bad luck, often used in gacha games to refer to a player hoping to get a rare item after many failed attempts, thus becoming ‘European’ (lucky) instead of ‘African’ (unlucky)).
This, indeed, was the essence of game psychology!
Give up now; mysticism won’t save the unlucky, nor will spending money alter your fate.
You are, unequivocally, a native-born ‘African’!
****
“Master.”
“Hmm?”
Yingning remained somewhat distracted, even at this late stage.
After all, the opponent had painted such a magnificent picture of prosperity before her, and even though she now suspected it was a fabrication, a sliver of hopeful doubt lingered: ‘What if it *was* real? Should I not at least try? It feels like I’m losing a hundred million if I don’t!’
“Come, let’s go down and pull the swords!”
“Eh?!”
Nine parts death, one part life.
A perilous gamble indeed.
Beyond the nine parts death, there remains that one part life.
Since the quest designer had intentionally embedded a discernible flaw within the NPC’s dialogue, it implied that this mission was not, in fact, unsolvable!
Only by navigating past each labyrinthine trap would the true moment arrive to unlock the treasure chest!
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