Doomsday Wonderland

Things were getting a little bit out of hand now. Maxin furrowed his eyebrows deeply as he fell into deep thought. Slowly, he instinctively slackened his grip on Zen.

To recap, this should be the sequence of the entire event: first, the members from the white camp took advantage of the fog and invaded their camp. Then, Ji Shanqing encountered Zen, but he got away. After that, Zen bumped into Maxin and Soulsqn.

‘If Zen did not lie to us, under the circumstance that no one is guarding the first row, Ji Shanqing should be in the white camp now,’ Maxin thought inwardly.

However, he had forgotten about the rules. Zeus had indeed mentioned that anyone who broke into the opponent’s camp could remove any platform they wanted.

‘Any!’

The white camp knew that the arrangement of their platforms was 10×10. They only needed to shout something like “the last platform on the fifth row” and they could remove that platform. Simply put, right after the members of the white camp had entered their camp, they could eliminate all the platforms effortlessly by staying at the first row. There was no need for them to go around and expose themselves to danger.

It all seemed reasonable, except for one thing.

Maxin was confident that he did not come across Zen in the first row. It was the same for Arlo, the one who almost wiped them out. It occurred to Maxin that the white camp had voluntarily let go of the best solution and decided to go about things the hard way. Otherwise, Arlo would not have met his demise.

The questions were apparent now. Why was the white camp hell-bent on entering their opponent’s territory? How many white camp members were there in the black camp’s area now?

If he could find the answer to those two questions, then perhaps he could figure out where Ji Shanqing was now.

A plan was slowly taking shape in Maxin’s brain. It wasn’t difficult to get information from Zen, though it was just a little bit of a waste. When Maxin raised his head, he saw that Hegel had taken off his gloves and begun rummaging Zen for his Special Items.

He had been raided clean by Ji Shanqing, so he was very excited when it was his turn to robbing other people. He laid utter waste to Zen’s robe. The only thing on Zen’s body that was saved from getting ravaged by Hegel was his hood.

Maxin did not stop Hegel. Since Hegel had proven himself to be a formidable ally, Maxin thought it might be a good idea to let him have all of Zen’s Special Items so that he could remain on their side. As the thought surfaced in Maxin’s brain, Hegel wheeled around, staring him down. Maxin quickly recoiled two steps, threw his hands in the air submissively, and said, “Don’t worry, I am not going to…”

The expression on Hegel’s face suddenly froze.

His eyes were half-closed, and when he was about to say something, the corner of his lips slightly slanted up as if he were frozen stiff or getting a stroke. He remained frozen in that position for a good amount of time before Zen slapped away his hand, which was still holding tightly to his robe.

Losing his balance, Hegel dropped to the ground, the back of his head connecting to the rock with a meaty smack. He obviously still retained his senses, as he gurgled something indecipherable while on the ground.

“Luckily, I had this on me,” Zen mumbled to himself. He tried to gather his robe but to no avail. He forwent his attempt to fix it and instead took it off, bringing his face that looked like a catfish to the light. It was only at this moment that Maxin realized that Zen could dispel his ability.

Zen kicked Hegel a few times. A sardonic smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he said, “You two are lucky. I have this item on me that could activate an effect should somebody try to rob me. See, he looks like he’s having a stroke, right? Well, the effect is similar to a stroke, but there is more to it than that. Apart from getting paralyzed, this Special Item will cause him to lose his senses.”

Zen seemed to feel very elated, as he had become more talkative. On the other hand, Hegel had indeed lost control over his body. His mouth slightly gaped, saliva dripped from the corner of his lips, and his words slurred.

Maxin stared at Zen closely. Then he said, “You guys were in the Olympics, right?”

Not only Zen, but Soulsqn was also surprised by the sudden question. “Yeah? Isn’t that obvious?” Zen dropped his smile. His two heavy, jowly cheeks dragged down.

Maxin nodded as he continued, “Okay, then. Are you ready to listen to my rules?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Zen was starting to get impatient. “What rules?”

“Haven’t you realized it yet?” Maxin grinned. He sat on the ground. “Anyone who answered my question will fall under my ability.”

Zen froze. He seemed dumbfounded. After two seconds, he stammered, “What—What kind of ability?”

“In every apocalyptic world, I can only initiate my active skill five times. I have used it in the Olympics, and I didn’t want to use it against you. But you left me no choice.” Maxin’s attitude changed drastically. Smiling, he rested his chin on his palm as he said in a soothing tone, “Do you have any more questions? I will try my best to answer them for you.”

However, this time it wasn’t Zen who talked but Soulsqn.

“It sickens me to hear you talk like this,” the flesh worm remonstrated, “You sound like Zeus.”

“Ah, there’s nothing I could do about it.” Maxin’s grin grew wider as his eyes turned into slits. Aside from his appearance, there was also a Zeus-like aura about him. “Because we are in the Olympics. When I activate my ability, I will be affected by the world I am in, too.”

“I don’t understand a thing you said!” Zen walked two steps forward. He wanted to do something, but his rationality held him back.

“We are now in a world of competitions, so rules play a very important factor here. I will now explain to you the rules in detail. This is the only chance you will get to familiarize yourself with the rules, so be sure to pay attention,” Maxin said light-heartedly, “My ability is heavily affected by the world I’m in, thus the effect will be different every time.”

He played with his fingers on the ground as he continued, “For example, the Olympics is a world where every posthuman has to participate in a competition and follow the rules to stay alive. When I use my ability on you, if you don’t do as I say and follow my instructions, the consequences will be the same as if you broke the rules of the Olympics.”

Zen’s face slowly turned pale. He looked dead.

“That is not possible… This ability is too dangerous. You can do anything you wish!”

“Tsk, you are such a bad listener,” Maxin sighed dejectedly, “There is, however, a shortcoming to my ability. I can only use this ability five times in a world… Anyway, do you want to try and break the rules? To be honest, of all people, I love rulebreakers the most! They are always fun to see!”

It seemed as if Maxin had been possessed by Zeus. Unless he was a seasoned actor, there was no way he was bluffing about his ability.

Zen lowered his head, his lips quivering. He could not make up his mind on whether or not to try his luck and run or submit to Maxin. He did not speak for a long while. There was an unbearable long silence until Maxin shattered it with a laugh.

“I know what you are planning to do. Yes, my ability has a time limit. However, the timer will not start until you begin the game.”

“Game?” Zen asked. “How am I supposed to play a game when I am alone?”

Maxin did not reply. He turned to Soulsqn. “Queen, did you hear it?”

The flesh worm nodded.

“Then please do me a favor and tell him.”

“You are not the only one who answered the question,” said Soulsqn as she poked at Hegel, who was lying like a dead log on the ground next to her. “This guy answered the question as well.”

Zen spun his head, and when he met Maxin’s gaze, the latter said with thick merriment, “I can ask a question to multiple people concurrently.”

After that, he got to his feet, rubbing his hands together excitedly.

“I guess we should get it rolling now. I have prepared a very fun and enjoyable activity for you. The rules are simple: whoever loses has to answer one of my questions. So, are you ready?”