For everything that happened, there was a reason behind it. For the longest time, Zen wondered about the intention of the Godfather. Why did the Godfather summon five hundred candidates for a battle royale tournament? If this was truly a battle royale, why did they have the option to become the Godfather by clearing the game? Shouldn't it be a simple slaughter-fest like what Johan wanted to do?
No, it wasn't that straightforward. He didn't know if anyone else understood the Godfather's intentions, but Zen had an inkling the Godfather wasn't just looking for a strong candidate.
Several things made Zen think that the arrangement was odd. While there were several candidates with unawakened blood, Zen didn't know why the Godfather would arrange a slaughter-fest on the first day with four hundred candidates eliminated. The only plausible conclusion was how there was a need to build a certain mindset into candidates before the selection.
After meeting Bolt and Yelena, Zen's suspicions became stronger. Those from the Echo organisation should be considered enemies of the Godfather as well as the mafia. While the Godfather was a figurehead of the mafia meant to be citizens’ voice, the Echo organisation was meant to represent the resentment of civilians under the oppression of the Round Table. They weren't on the same side, but they might not be completely enemies either.
The pledging system for invigilators was the biggest clue Zen had about the Godfather's true intentions. What the Godfather wanted wasn't a strong or ruthless killer as his successor. If anything, it was the opposite. He wanted a powerful but kind person with the ability to buy the hearts of masses to create a change, standing against the Round Table.
If the next Godfather could unite the Echo organisation and gain popularity votes from the civilians watching this broadcasted game of death, they had the highest chance of standing against the Round Table. Zen didn't know how this happened, but his actions pulled the first Echo invigilator under his wing. If anything, he might be the closest to becoming the next Godfather despite his ranking in the game.
Speaking of games, Zen still did not fully comprehend the dungeon's design. However, there was one thing he managed to confirm. It was designed differently from regular games. Even as an avid gamer, the gamer's logic did not work fully in this VR dungeon.
Liu Feng told him that the first ten floors were tutorials, but Zen thought otherwise. The dungeon had a hundred floors, and there was one level designed specifically to cripple Liu Feng's progress. If Zen's paranoia wasn't just paranoia, the dungeon floors were designed with each of the hundred candidates in mind. Why else would they make everyone's character profiles and game highlight clips available for everyone?
If Zen followed this line of thought, the following discoveries would make even more sense. In a game, the area boss was usually weaker than a floor boss. Today, they discovered the secret birth of a secret boss when Zen used Liu Feng's irrelevant trivia given by an NPC about a repellent herb. He was the first to unlock many things, including a foraging encyclopaedia skill, a party raid skill, an area boss skill, a researcher title.
The Godfather wanted the next Godfather candidate to be a team player. He never wanted soloists to become the next Godfather. Guilds and Parties were part of their game because they reflected reality. Mafia families were divided into different alliances. Some were in it for mutual benefits, and others were there for each other as blood brothers.
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Betrayal was a common thing in the underworld. It wasn't a pretty thing, but ambition did many things to a person's head. Today's friend could be tomorrow's enemy. Zen understood that he couldn't trust anyone here, except for maybe Liu Feng. However, the civilian in him could not help but see these mafia heirs and heiresses as people he didn't have to fight. In fact, many of them would opt for non-aggression if possible. The only few maniacs who were out for blood were people in guild Carnage. A very good example was Gambler. He was the shadiest person in Guild Survivors, but he was a useful person when dealt with the right cards.
Maybe the next Godfather should have the ability to bring people from all walks of life together under their name. It was a little hard to believe, but the more Zen thought about it, the more he started to understand the game's true purpose. His decision for tomorrow's huge event remained the same. They didn't need to win. They only had to survive.
To bridge the gap between the naturally strong and the handicapped, weak candidates of all ranks, the Godfather came up with the dungeon system. Initially, Zen expected this to be about strategy. However, he wasn't too sure if strategic thinking was required. Akiko and Liu Feng were very good strategists. However, they still stumbled. Perhaps the Godfather was looking at someone who had new perspectives and the ability to invent a solution by thinking for others.
At the same time, Zen felt that the VR game was a simulation exercise. It was the same reason why Zen made a request for his VR set and all the games he purchased. If he had these games, he would be able to do mental training despite his limited physical abilities. During the opening ceremony, Zen already found the loophole.
The mind was able to overpower the physical limitations. Zen could never run as fast as he could, even if he was in danger. It was only through sheer willpower that he survived Sasha's attack. When he was shot, he felt pain. However, when he compared it to the calculated damage of the in-game logic, something did not make sense.
Back then, he couldn’t see it clearly, but when he drank the memory shots at the bar, Zen started to analyse everything in more detail. There was something interesting about the replicating of everyone's abilities. Those who used their abilities more often had better control of their virtual bodies. It could be seen in the way Liu Feng and Akiko moved.
However, for wild cards who only relied on instinct like Johan and Sasha, the virtual bodies did not give them time to adapt. Sasha would never have missed her shots with her skills. Zen was very sure of that. However, her state of mind was severely affected back then by Zen's ambushes, and she did not know how her body would have reacted in a new situation. Hence, her shots missed, and Zen survived.
When Zen fell, he did not know how his body would land either. He did not know if there would be rocks waiting for him. However, the one thing he knew was his need to survive. The scene of him almost drowning was not included in the memory clip, but Zen recalled how the burning of his lungs from the lack of air only happened when he remembered it. In other words, the VR game program was very dependent on reading the candidate's subconscious.
Zen knew how fast he could run. It wasn't very fast. However, when he was running from slimes, he felt that he was getting better at it over time. Practise made better, and Zen was fifty percent convinced that the VR game was a secret way to prepare participants for the big VR event. Why else would there be such a convenient skill on the first dungeon floor similar to the skill order Zen put in for the event? The Foraging Encyclopaedia and the Egg Encyclopaedia might be just a coincidence, but Zen had a feeling there was more to it.
Whatever. Zen yawned. He might be resting on a bed now, but his mind was tired from thinking so much. He should get some rest before the event starts. Zen did not want to be caught off guard. It wouldn't be funny if it happened while he was in the toilet.