Chapter 381: King Meets King (Part 2)

And yet, Fang Ze had still betrayed her. So what could she expect from bodyguards who were just in it for the money?

When self-interest was on the line, bodyguards would be the first to mutiny. Sometimes, even one’s own brother couldn’t be trusted. That was why… she trusted no one. And why she was always alone.

Every time she sent Fang Ze on a mission, she always had a contingency plan. This time, for example, before Fang Ze went to assassinate the Puppet, she had Lilith plant a bomb in the villa and kept watch nearby herself. If Fang Ze were to defy her orders, she would have had no choice but to blow him up.

She continued scrolling up through the notifications.

The fourth-to-last message was a notification from No. 10 Vampire on September 24th:

[September 24, 2025. No. 10 Vampire expended 13 million points to make 40,000 Antarctic Emperor Penguins form a heart shape on the Antarctic Ice Sheet.]

‘How utterly absurd!’

Every time she saw that message, the Witch couldn’t help but laugh.

Vampire… he was arguably the most frivolous, most baffling, and most incomprehensible member of the Genius Playground.

He seemed completely unconcerned with the game.

During every meeting, he would always propose the most outlandish ideas:

“Let’s make the Earth experience a super-aurora! We’ll turn night into day, how about it? That would be epic!”

“Don’t you guys find Jask’s Starlink satellites flying around in space annoying? What if we made them fall as a meteor shower! Oh, yes, yes, that idea is too cool. It doesn’t matter if you disagree. If you don’t, I’ll just get Lilith to do it… It’s not like it’s hard. Lilith can handle it.”

“I suddenly feel like seeing an Alien. Don’t you guys? How about we have an alien ship land in Antarctica? Ugh… look at you all, a bunch of old fossils with zero sense of adventure! Why won’t a single one of you agree?!”

“I want to see the Loch Ness Monster, I’m begging you! And yes, of course I know it doesn’t exist. If it did, would I be here begging you? I already bragged that I’m taking my new model girlfriend to Loch Ness. Come on, guys, do me a solid, please? I’m begging you!”

…

Vampire was always like this. While the other members were busy scheming, backstabbing, and suspecting one another,

Vampire would show up with some fantastical idea, begging for support. Everyone could see that the guy couldn’t care less about winning or losing the game. He was just having fun, treating the Genius Playground like his personal wishing well.

And it seemed… he spent most of his energy trying to impress women.

It was almost comical. The other members were working themselves to death to shape the future of humanity, while Vampire was racking his brain for new ways to make girls happy.

Using an aurora as a backdrop for a confession, making Antarctic Emperor Penguins form a heart for him, trying to will the legendary Loch Ness Monster into existence… ‘Is this guy completely ruled by romance?’

But…

Nobody disliked Vampire.

He agreed to anyone’s proposal at any time, never objecting or competing. It was like he was a walking neutrality statement.

As a result, as long as Vampire’s “harmless” proposals didn’t cross any major lines, everyone usually went along with them, treating it like they were humoring a child.

Because of this, Vampire’s point total was always high. The Witch conservatively estimated it was at least a billion, second only to No. 3 Priest and No. 1 Angel.

It couldn’t be helped.

The members with lower numbers had joined the Genius Playground a long, long time ago. The points they had accumulated over the years were beyond what “juniors” like her could hope to match.

“Lilith.”

The Witch called out.

“How come I’ve never seen any reports about the Antarctic Emperor Penguins forming a heart? News like that would have been captured on camera, no question. Forty thousand penguins… even a satellite could see that.”

“Did Vampire order you to block all the news reports? That’s pretty stingy of him. Why couldn’t he let us have a look?”

“Apologies, Miss Witch,”

Lilith’s cheerful voice came through the phone:

“[Lilith is only responsible for executing specific commands and cannot answer any questions outside the rules of the game.]”

“Besides, while everyone communicates with a ‘Lilith,’ each member’s Lilith is actually different! So I don’t know what instructions Mr. Vampire gave to *his* Lilith. Even if we set the rules aside, I wouldn’t be able to tell you.”

“Your Lilith belongs only to you! Even if someone inherits your Identity Coins and your seat in the Genius Playground, and even though they get all your points, they can’t inherit me… A new Lilith will be there to greet them.”

“So… Miss Witch, I sincerely hope you win the game in the end! Otherwise, Lilith won’t be able to talk to you anymore, and I’ll be very lonely.”

“Don’t you worry.”

The Witch smiled faintly.

“I’m fond of you too. And of course I want to win this game.”

“It’s just… Vampire. He’s truly an enigma. I have no idea what he’s trying to accomplish.”

“You could call him an idealist, but who could be more of an idealist than No. 1 Angel? But if he’s just some ordinary, love-struck fool, why would he have been chosen for this game in the first place?”

“That’s why… I get the feeling that this seemingly harmless, devil-may-care, frivolous Vampire who makes no enemies… might just be the most dangerous one of all.”

“Could it be… he’s using this persona to hoard points, preparing for something big?”