“So you think the God behind this dungeon is Loki… that Loki?” the Doctor asked, bemused.
“Yes, and there has always been a view in the academic world that Loki is not only the god of lies and trickery but also the god of fire, which corresponds to the fire at Chernobyl,” Zhang Heng said.
To be honest, he had never expected that Loki would be the mastermind behind this dungeon. Although Zhang Heng and Loki had never met before, they had secretly crossed swords once thanks to the Jemengarde incident. It was then that Zhang Heng learned from Fan Meinan that Loki had also been targeting him for a long time.
Therefore, when he realized that he had entered Loki’s dungeon in this game round, Zhang Heng did not think it was a coincidence. As for the others, they could only say that they were unlucky to be involved in the dungeon that Loki had designed to deal with him.
The expression on the Doctor’s scary face kept changing. Obviously, he was also thinking about what Zhang Heng had just said. Although he didn’t want to, he had to admit that Zhang Heng’s speculation carried with it a certain degree of credibility. That was because not long ago, he and the maintenance man had also seen that mysterious white mare.
However, he did not move the TT-33 in his hand away from Zhang Heng’s chest. He only slightly pulled away from Mouse beside him.
“The god of lies and trickery is between us at this moment. This is not the explanation I want to hear,” the Doctor said.
“The truth is never pleasant to the ear,” Zhang Heng said.
After he said that, the atmosphere became more subtle.
Almost all the players present simultaneously assumed defensive positions because no one knew if Loki was standing right next to them.
This was Loki, not some ancient god that was about to be forgotten or a new god still in the learning and growth stage. He was a traditional god that had existed for thousands of years, was extremely powerful, and was still in the rising stage.
Any god was not easy to deal with, let alone Loki, infamous for his tricks and lies.
“According to you, Loki is the key person to be found in the main mission. If I put a bullet in each of your heads, will I be able to find out who Loki is and clear this dungeon?” the Doctor growled.
“I advise against it,” Zhang Heng said.
“Why? Loki is a god, and gods can’t be killed by mortals, right? So I’ll shoot you, and we’ll know the result very soon.” The Doctor loaded the pistol in his hand.
“Who told you that gods can’t be killed by mortals?” Zhang Heng said lightly. “I’ve killed more than one.”
“…”
“That’s good. If we kill Loki, all us players will be able to clear the level,” the Doctor said.
“Although gods aren’t impossible to kill, they’re not something you can kill with a TT-33,” Zhang Heng said. “You can’t kill me with this gun, so if I were you, I’d put the gun down. Loki would love for you to do that. He’s good at stirring up suspicions and disputes.”
The Doctor fell into a state of hesitation when he heard that. He saw the young man pull out the military dagger from his waist and throw it to his feet.
As usual, he was the first person to respond to Zhang Heng. He raised his hands to indicate that he did not have any other weapons, “Simon is right. Since we know that Loki is behind this dungeon, we can use peaceful means to find him among us.”
“I think so too,” Mouse agreed immediately. He quickly threw down the weapon in his hand as if throwing a hot potato.
But to everyone’s surprise, when it was Kui’s turn, she simply said, “I refuse.”
The Doctor immediately turned his gun and pointed at Kui.
“You’re Loki?”
“Did the radiation damage your brain? How do you know I’m Loki?” Kui said coldly.
“Then why are you objecting?” The Doctor said seriously. If Kui couldn’t give him a satisfactory explanation, he would pull the trigger without hesitation.
“We need to have a good talk, but we can’t abandon our weapons because we still need them to deal with Loki. Don’t forget that this is his dungeon. Even if we join forces, we might still be at a disadvantage,” Master Kui said.
“You have a point.” Mouse quickly picked up the weapon he had left behind. The young man in the uniform glanced at Zhang Heng. Seeing the latter nodding, he bent down to retrieve his military dagger.
The players looked at the Doctor, who thought for half a minute before finally putting away the pistol. However, he did not put the TT-33 into the holster. Instead, he kept the gun in his hand, pointing the muzzle at the ground.
“If you want to talk, then let’s talk. I’m not Loki. This is obvious. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have ended up in this state,” the Doctor said. “Then, after we separated, your bodies began deteriorating at an accelerated rate. This is enough to prove that I’m not the one who’s playing tricks in the dark.”
“Uh, don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying that you’re Loki,” Mouse said. “I’m just stating my own opinion. Everyone knows that Loki is an excellent shapeshifter, so he can completely disguise himself as someone who’s suffered from severe radiation exposure. In fact, apart from Simon, most of us don’t seem to be in good condition. As for the problem that our bodies deteriorated after you left… Although you said that you came back on the third day, we don’t know how long you’ve been gone. If you were Loki, you might not have left Pripyat at all and have been following us in secret.”
After the Doctor tried to prove his “innocence,” the boy in the uniform also spoke up.
“I’ve always admired Simon. He defeated the three guilds and that mysterious Beta and took first place on the scoreboard of the first round of the proxy war. After that, I began to collect all kinds of information about him on the forum. Because of that, I had quite a few verbal battles with the people from the three guilds. Master Kui said that my code name was a bit familiar. I think he must have seen the posts where I argued with other people on the forum. Of course, I know that Loki can also choose to pretend to be Simon’s fanboy, but he probably won’t have the time to spend on the forum like me,” the boy in the uniform mocked himself.
“Is it my turn next?” Mouse looked around and asked nervously, “I’m not Loki; there’s no doubt about that. Otherwise, Coconut wouldn’t have given me those [Whispers] before she was hospitalized. I mean, if I were the one who harmed her, she wouldn’t have trusted me so much.”
Editor’s note: All game items mentioned will now have a “[ ]” symbol in accordance with the original script.
