Chapter 820 - 24: Ending, But Not Completely

Chapter 820: Chapter 24: Ending, But Not Completely

The ceaseless sound of the wind, the unending darkness.

The fire in the stove never goes out, and the crackling of burning wood seems to have become a background noise that will never change.

The constant, unchanging scenery blurred people’s sense of time, not only for Paul and Bi Kai, but even for Chen Zhou—whose memory was sharp and adept at capturing details—he too gradually forgot how many days had passed.

No one knew exactly how cold it was outside; they only knew that even the Saw-toothed Tiger, adapted to the Ice Age environment, no longer dared to go out, seemingly terrified of the cold beyond.

...

The pine nut stew in the marching pot bubbled, steam rising from the open lid.

In the pitch-black cave, this was one of the few things that drew people’s attention.

Warm food meant nourishment, meant hope for survival, meant they were still alive.

With Chen Zhou’s call, Bi Kai, lying on the kang and standing by the fire wall, rose slowly and each made their way to the table.

The wooden bowls used for meals still bore stains from the last time they ate; the three of them took their bowls to the door, scraped off a chunk of thick frost hanging in the door’s crevice, and haphazardly wiped the bowls before returning to the stove.

The candlelight flickered; with the meals served, the three exchanged smiles as they held their bowls and chopsticks, each noticing the others’ slovenly appearance.

Paul’s hair was thick, his beard now covering his lips.

Bi Kai had grown a goatee, and he looked nothing like a heroic swordsman anymore—more like a wandering sorcerer trying to pull off a scam.

Even Chen Zhou, who looked the youngest, now had a stubble-covered chin, resembling a disheveled middle-aged man.

"No telling when this will end."

Picking up a bite of pine nuts, Chen Zhou chewed and spoke.

The supplies they’d prepared would last for three months, but meat was a bit troublesome—

Most of the meat was left outside; before, when temperatures weren’t so cold, it was still possible to fetch it, but now it’s far too cold—just stepping out briefly to get meat risked frostbite, so meat-fetching became a dangerous task.

And the difficulty wasn’t just the cold—the snow and ice had hardened ever more, sealing the "stone safe" tightly shut.

Opening the lid to take out meat wasn’t an easy feat—they had to break through hard ice and lift the cover.

Hearing Chen Zhou’s words, Paul glanced at Bi Kai and said nothing.

Though he remained silent, everyone could see what he meant—

The challenge rules stated that the trial would not end until only two people remained; now, with three in this cave alone, who knows when the challenge would ever end.

Chen Zhou shoveled another mouthful of rice, saw Paul’s expression, but hesitated.

He wanted to tell Paul his origins and his guesses, but worried it would cause Paul to harbor resentment.

Needless to say, the death of the old general—whom Paul deeply respected—was closely connected to him. If Paul had arrived with the old general from the start, maybe the general wouldn’t have died.

As someone who’d participated in two Space-Time Administration Bureau challenges, Chen Zhou had seen how unpredictably the challenge controllers behaved, and knew that the rules ultimately were interpreted solely by the Bureau itself.

The Black-robed Man, the Neanderthal—their gear and behavior obviously violated the rules, even he himself kept oscillating at the edge of serious violation.

Yet up till now, no one had been warned or punished for breaking the rules.

What does that show? That the Space-Time Administration Bureau simply didn’t care.

But, having concealed it for so long, Chen Zhou hesitated—unsure how to start, since he was in the wrong; from the very beginning, he had deceived Paul, pretending to be his teammate in the challenge.

Granted, if not for him being the super-powered partner, Paul likely would have died on the first night of the challenge.

But a lie is a lie, and even if the outcome is positive, it can’t change its nature.

...

The three sat together at the round wooden table. The oil lamp’s light shone on each of their faces.

At such close range, if one cared, every detail of their expressions was in full view.

Paul waited for Chen Zhou to speak further. He quickly noticed Chen Zhou’s hesitation and flashed a smile.

At the start of the challenge, Paul’s face was still boyish—though Slavs aged faster in appearance than East Asians, Paul was barely in his twenties, his life just beginning.

But by now, after surviving life-and-death trials, enduring harsh conditions, and suffering the agony of loneliness, Paul had grown thinner, and his face looked far more mature than before.

Beside his straight nose, a pair of firm eyes, hawk-like in their sharpness, blinked not at all; the emotional steadiness in them was that of a true warrior.

His beard twitched; Paul put down his bowl and finally spoke.

"Chen Zhou, I know you’ve been hiding things from me.

But in truth, you never tried that hard to conceal it—whether it was General Gromov, or Bi Kai...

I’m not stupid. Maybe I didn’t suspect at first, but from the moment I found General Gromov’s hat, I started to have doubts.

You’re not my original teammate, are you?"

Seeing Paul finally ask, Chen Zhou’s gaze shifted for a rare moment. He didn’t reply.

Silence is an answer, too.

Paul bowed his head and sighed deeply, unsure whether he was sad at having been deceived so long or mourning General Gromov’s death.

"Your original teammate was Bi Kai! But something went wrong when the challenge started.

You, me, Bi Kai, General Gromov—the four of us were the most unusual challengers, separated to different locations.

I guess I’m lucky, met you, and lived till now.

Along the way, I’ve seen far too many dangers that could have killed me in an instant; without you, I wouldn’t have survived this long.

Bi Kai is lucky too—even without you, he still held out for a long time, until the day he met you.

Only General Gromov was truly unlucky."

Saying this, Paul sighed again.

"But I don’t blame you.

From the moment I signed the contract to join the challenge, I accepted that I’d lose my life. Every participant thinks like this, and I believe General Gromov did, too.

On our first night together, I promised to follow your orders, to let you lead. You never forced me to stop the decisions I made, like taking in those Three-headed Saw-toothed Tigers.

No matter what, I thank you. You’re a strong warrior, a trustworthy partner, a brother from another Red Empire.

I only regret not seeing General Gromov one last time."

At the end, Paul stood up, standing tall and straight.

He saluted Chen Zhou, then drew his Military Saber from his waist.

"I know one day I’ll be reunited with the general.

We’ve held out longer than anyone. I believe no one has more firewood and food than us—even if they have shelters as secure as ours, there’s no way they’ve lasted this long.