Chapter 238: Are They Teammates? (14)

【Bullet Screen: "Hahaha, this is weirdly hilarious!!"】

【Bullet Screen: "His tone is so humble. He's practically begging the big shots for a chance, hahaha."】

【Bullet Screen: "Why does it feel like there's a hint of despair beneath all that humility?"】

【Bullet Screen: "Because at the very last moment he used his Verification Card on He Yu and found out they were enemies, hahahahahahaha!"】

Transfer Station.

The last contestant to arrive, Hison, wore a miserable expression, looking completely devastated.

"What kind of strategy are they using? Why are they trying to wipe out every other contestant?"

Another eliminated contestant replied expressionlessly, "If I were strong enough, I'd do the same."

Unfortunately, he wasn't as powerful as Zhen Xing and the others, nor had he teamed up with them early on.

"But they aren't even on the same faction. If this goes wrong, all fifty of them will be eliminated together."

"Damn... don't tell me they're actually on the same faction?"

Someone suddenly spoke up.

"They definitely aren't. I had two Verification Cards. I confirmed one teammate and one enemy."

"Then why are they so determined to eliminate us?"

The man smiled.

"It's easy to understand. The perfect way to describe it is—'They're not letting you play with them.'"

Everyone: "..."

Hison, who had been eliminated last, looked at the man with envy.

"No wonder you're so calm. You verified a teammate."

Those people were all top experts. None of them wanted to give up their lives. They would fight with everything they had to survive.

Verifying even a single teammate meant there was still hope.

The more teammates one had, the higher the chance of victory.

Now, however, they had become spectators, their lives entrusted to the contestants still inside the arena.

The man had confirmed a teammate and felt somewhat reassured.

But Hison had used his one and only Verification Card at the very end...

...and verified an enemy.

It was utterly despair-inducing.

The man looked at him.

"Who did you verify?"

Hison's face twisted with misery.

"He Yu."

At the very last moment, the only person he wanted to verify was He Yu.

Even among all those monsters, He Yu had been the core figure. Those experts all listened to him. A man capable of resisting the rules themselves...

During the verification, Hison had thought that if He Yu turned out to be his teammate, then even dying would be worth it.

Who could have imagined that He Yu belonged to the enemy faction?

It was simply...

...a death he couldn't rest in peace with.

He would've been better off not verifying anyone at all.

The man's expression changed instantly.

"You verified He Yu? Enemy faction? Are you sure?!"

Hison blinked.

"Of course I'm sure."

The man sucked in a cold breath, his voice trembling.

"I verified He Yu too."

"Enemy faction."

At that instant...

Everyone froze.

Because—

Those two had already confirmed that they belonged to opposing factions.

They had fought each other earlier.

They were enemies.

Yet both of them had received "enemy faction" when verifying He Yu.

Then...

What faction was He Yu actually in?

Hison clutched his chest, his face filled with shock.

—

The purge proceeded incredibly smoothly.

In only three short days, almost no contestants remained inside the instance.

The semifinals differed from previous rounds.

There was no audience voting.

However, there were far more system announcements.

Contestant deaths.

Achievements.

Everything was broadcast across the entire system.

Thus, everyone knew exactly how many contestants remained.

Aside from their own group of thirteen, there had originally been eighty-seven other contestants.

They had already eliminated eighty-five.

Only two fugitives remained.

Zhen Xing, Bo Jingshan, Ling Buchen, Qiong, Eugene, Gedai, and Yuan Ze—

the seven of them went after the remaining targets.

The other six stayed behind.

He Yu and Duan Yuchen continued modifying everyone's equipment.

After finishing Siya's equipment, He Yu took out his notebook and pen, calmly calculating everyone's points.

One Verification Card after another was used in his hands.

【Bullet Screen: "He's putting on a good show, but He Yu can't actually verify anything."】

【Bullet Screen: "Exactly. He can only calculate everyone's points. He can't determine anyone's faction. Every Verification Card he uses only tells him 'enemy faction.' He has no way to distinguish between Faction One and Faction Two."】

【Bullet Screen: "They're almost done with the purge. What exactly is He Yu trying to do?"】

【Bullet Screen: "Right! The points are a complete mess now. He Yu isn't even the highest scorer anymore, and the two factions don't have equal points!"】

If He Yu weren't a member of the Third Faction, he could simply use Verification Cards to identify everyone's factions before distributing the points.

But he was the Third Faction.

Verification Cards alone were useless to him.

There was no way for him to distinguish who belonged to which side.

Nor could he balance the two factions' total points.

To the audience...

He Yu was acting completely at random.

—

And in truth...

He really was improvising.

However, that didn't mean he knew nothing.

Occasionally he could see the Bullet Screen.

He could also deduce Zhen Xing's faction based on how eliminated contestants reacted.

In other words—

without using a single Verification Card—

He Yu had already figured out everyone's factions.

Faction One:

Zhen Xing.

Wanrenzhan.

Siya.

Zhante.

Bo Jingshan.

Gedai.

Faction Two:

Eugene.

Ling Buchen.

Duan Yuchen.

Qiong.

Yuan Ze.

Tang Ke.

The two sides were remarkably evenly matched.

Whichever faction lost...

...its strongest experts would perish.

Zhen Xing versus Eugene.

Wanrenzhan versus Ling Buchen.

Bo Jingshan versus Qiong.

Every matchup was a one-survives, one-dies scenario.

The heart of the instance's rules...

...could hardly have been more ruthless.

"How's it looking?"

Wanrenzhan sat beside He Yu, staring straight at him.

He Yu lowered his eyes without responding and continued writing.

The setting sun bathed his profile in golden light.

Even the rimless glasses resting on his nose seemed exceptionally elegant.

Wanrenzhan became completely entranced.

Smack—

"Hiss!"

Blue Eyes' roots lashed across the back of his hand.

The sting made him suck in a sharp breath.

"What the hell?!"

What kind of roots were these?

They were so tiny and thin.

How could they hurt this much?

Blue Eyes remained expressionless.

"Keep staring, and I'll gouge your eyes out."

Wanrenzhan sneered.

"You're the one obsessed with eyes. A pair of floating eyeballs. There was even an instance where you were literally nothing but a pair of eyes. Putting those eyes on a blade of grass actually suits you."

He was obviously insulting Blue Eyes for not being human.

Blue Eyes remained completely unfazed.

His roots twitched slightly.

"So what?"

"No matter what I become, He Yu still likes me."

"He can always recognize me."

Wanrenzhan: "..."

Grinding his teeth, he snapped,

"He Yu never abandoned me in the last instance. You're the one he killed over and over again!"

Blue Eyes replied calmly,

"He Yu saved many people."

"He never abandoned many people."

"But I'm different."

"Different how?"

"In every way."

Wanrenzhan exploded.

"You really deserve a beating. Even turning into a blade of grass can't shut you up. You should've become a rock. A rock that can't talk!"

Blue Eyes sneered.

"Looking for a fight?"

...

The two immediately started arguing again.

Their voices grew louder and louder.

Wanrenzhan leaned forward aggressively, scarred face full of menace as he cursed directly at Blue Eyes.

Blue Eyes rested against the edge of the flowerpot, coldly firing insults back until Wanrenzhan nearly exploded with rage.

After finishing Zhante's equipment upgrades, Duan Yuchen wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a long breath.

"They almost ruined my concentration."

Tang Ke hesitated.

"Should we... stop them?"

Zhante lovingly hugged his weapon before glancing at Tang Ke as though they had gone insane.

"You dare?"

One was Li Zhan.

The other was Wanrenzhan.

Who the hell could stop either of them?

Just then—

He Yu suddenly closed his notebook and stood up.

The argument stopped instantly.

Blue Eyes immediately withdrew into the soil.

Only those beautiful sapphire eyes remained visible as they looked pitifully toward He Yu.

"He Yu... He Yu..."

"He's bullying me."

"He's bullying me because I can't become human."

"I can only stay trapped inside this flowerpot..."

Wanrenzhan: "???"

He nearly exploded.

"You little ginseng, stop making things up!"

Blue Eyes replied softly,

"See?"

"He's still yelling at me."

Taking the opportunity, he wrapped his roots around He Yu's wrist, pulled his round little body out of the soil, rubbed affectionately against him, while the tiny round leaf atop his head bounced happily.

It had only been a few days...

...yet He Yu had already fattened Blue Eyes up by two full sizes.

Wanrenzhan puffed up with rage like an angry pufferfish, his teeth grinding loudly.

【Bullet Screen: "Poor Wanrenzhan. He's furious but can't do anything."】

【Bullet Screen: "He can't beat Blue Eyes, can't out-argue Blue Eyes, and He Yu is backing him up. Hahaha, Wanrenzhan really has it rough."】

【Bullet Screen: "Is this the difference between the official pairing and the crack pairing?"】

He Yu looked completely helpless.

He glanced calmly at Wanrenzhan.

"You can't beat him."

"You can't out-argue him."

"So why keep fighting him?"

"Are you looking for trouble?"

Wanrenzhan: "..."

His eyes turned visibly red.

The grievance on his scarred face...

...was completely genuine this time.

Not an act.

He Yu then looked toward Blue Eyes.

"And you."

"Now that you've turned into a little ginseng, you've actually started acting like one?"

How old was he already?

Yet he was still acting this childishly.

Blue Eyes: "..."

The roots wrapped around He Yu froze completely.

The little leaf atop his head slowly turned red.

There was no helping it.

The memories from the past still influenced him deeply.

When he had a human body, he didn't notice it.

But whenever he became a plant or an animal...

...he always wanted to act cute in front of He Yu.

He wanted all of He Yu's attention.

He Yu gently replanted Blue Eyes into the flowerpot.

This time Blue Eyes behaved perfectly.

After being replanted, he even wrapped his own leaf around himself.

He was obviously embarrassed.

【Bullet Screen: "HAHAHAHA I'm dying."】

【Bullet Screen: "Blue Eyes can actually get embarrassed?"】

Seeing that He Yu had scolded Blue Eyes as well...

Wanrenzhan immediately stopped feeling angry.

He no longer felt wronged.

His entire mood brightened.

Still remembering what He Yu had just said, however, he restrained himself and didn't provoke Blue Eyes again.

Remarkably...

Treating both sides equally worked perfectly.

Wanrenzhan thought:

He Yu scolded Blue Eyes for my sake.

That means he cares about me.

There's no need to argue with a blade of grass.

Blue Eyes thought:

He Yu has always been on my side.

He's just an honest fool.

There's no reason to argue with him.

Thinking that way...

Both of them immediately felt much better.

【Bullet Screen: "Only He Yu could handle those two."】

【Bullet Screen: "They're both all bark and no bite on the inside."】

【Bullet Screen: "Finally... peace and quiet."】

With the noise finally gone, Duan Yuchen walked over.

"They still haven't found the last two?"

He Yu shook his head.

"Not yet."

Duan Yuchen sat down on the ground.

His eyes drifted toward He Yu's notebook, concern evident in his gaze.

"Are the point distributions really correct?"

"If we kill the last two, the two factions' scores will be perfectly tied?"

What he really wanted to know was whether the final two could safely be killed.

If they eliminated everyone...

Would the points truly be correct?

So far, every mission had been completed.

Only Mission 100 remained.

Blue Eyes.

Blue Eyes was worth a huge number of points.

But everyone had already agreed that in the end...

...they would all kill him together.

Complete every mission.

Kill every other contestant.

Leave thirteen survivors.

Equal points between both factions.

Everything...

...according to plan.

He Yu nodded.

"Correct."

Duan Yuchen finally relaxed a little.

Just then, He Yu received a message.

He glanced down.

A faint smile appeared.

"Good."

"Zhen Xing and Ling Buchen eliminated another one."

"Only the last contestant remains."

"Ling Buchen says Eugene's group is already chasing them."

Duan Yuchen smiled as well.

But the smile quickly froze.

The smoother the plan progressed...

...the more uneasy he became.

They had reached the most critical moment.

If the system refused to acknowledge a draw...

Then the two factions would soon begin slaughtering each other.

At least half of them...

...would fall.

Tang Ke and the others were equally nervous.

Zhante stood.

"I checked their positions."

"Eugene's group isn't far away."

"Duan Yuchen, Wanrenzhan, stay here and protect He Yu."

"The rest of us will reinforce Eugene."

Tang Ke nodded.

"Agreed."

"The ones who've survived until now are all top experts."

"They won't be easy opponents."

Zhante, Siya, and Tang Ke immediately departed.

They needed something to do.

Otherwise...

Their anxiety would become unbearable.

Only He Yu, Duan Yuchen, and Wanrenzhan remained.

Holding the flowerpot, He Yu absentmindedly stroked the little round leaf atop Blue Eyes' head.

His eyes remained lowered.

No emotion could be read from them.

Blue Eyes stayed perfectly still.

His plump little ginseng body slowly turned red.

—

He's so reluctant to let go of me...

...How embarrassing.

—

Meanwhile...

Eugene, Qiong, Yuan Ze, and Bo Jingshan had already caught up to the final surviving contestant.

He was another Federation expert.

An exceptionally powerful fighter.

He had already escaped He Yu's purge once before.

His strength unquestionably ranked among the top twenty contestants.

Moreover...

He was from Mechanical Planet.

Of course...

Eugene had no intention whatsoever of sparing a fellow Mechanical Planet contestant.

He had already killed Mechanical Planet contestants before.

Bo Jingshan attacked immediately.

His blade aimed straight for the man's life.

"Wait!"

Surrounded on all sides, Melvi breathed heavily, his sharp eyes fixed upon them.

Bo Jingshan drew his blade without the slightest hesitation.

The two exchanged several moves.

Melvi was forced steadily backward.

He was powerful.

But he was no match for Bo Jingshan.

With a powerful shove, Melvi forced Bo Jingshan back before darting directly in front of Eugene.

Grinding his teeth, he said,

"I can die."

"But I refuse to die meaninglessly."

"Our faction has to win."

Eugene's mechanical face remained expressionless.

"You want to tell me we're on the same faction?"

Melvi answered immediately.

"We've always been on the same faction."

Staring straight into Eugene's eyes, he said angrily,

"I don't know what He Yu told you."

"But I have to tell you this."

"You cannot trust anyone in this competition."

"Anyone might deceive you."

"They'll sacrifice you just so they themselves can advance."

Bo Jingshan couldn't be bothered listening to such nonsense.

His blade rose again.

Eugene sneered.

"Wait."

"We're not in a hurry."

"I'd like to hear what else he has to say."

Crossing his arms, he watched coldly.

Melvi knew Eugene didn't believe him.

Taking several deep breaths, repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fists until he finally calmed himself, he asked,

"Have none of you used a Verification Card?"

His eyes swept over Eugene...

...then Qiong...

...then Yuan Ze...

...then Bo Jingshan.

"Out of the four of you..."

"Three are my teammates."

"And He Yu belongs to the enemy faction."

"Yet you're following his orders to kill me?"

Without giving them time to respond, he continued,

"I know you're trying to follow He Yu and achieve a draw."

"But that's impossible."

"The system's rules will force you to fight each other."

"It's only a matter of time."

"If you'll have to fight eventually anyway..."

"Why not secure the advantage now?"

Bo Jingshan swung his blade again.

Melvi dodged just in time.

Only one arm was severed.

Had he been even a fraction slower...

...he would already be dead.

Glaring at Bo Jingshan, Melvi roared,

"You're He Yu's teammate."

"Of course you're helping him!"

"You deserve to die."

Bo Jingshan's gaze remained icy.

He didn't need a Verification Card to determine whether he was He Yu's teammate.

Just like Ling Buchen...

He would always stand on He Yu's side.

Bo Jingshan raised his blade again.

Tang Ke, who had just arrived, instinctively stepped in to block him.

"Wait."

"Let's hear him out."

"I really want to see what argument he thinks can convince us."

They weren't pressed for time.

And the more information they gathered...

...the greater their chances of surviving.

Zhante shook his head.

"He doesn't know the plan."

"We don't need to care what he says."

Ignoring his injuries, Melvi clutched his bleeding chest as he hurriedly said,

"I know the plan!"

"You're trying to force a draw."

"But I already told you."

"That's impossible."

"And..."

"You have no selfish motives."

"But are you sure He Yu doesn't?"

He let out a cold laugh.

"I stole a lot of Verification Cards."

"I used them when I ran into He Yu's group."

"And I used them on all of you just now."

"I've already confirmed both factions."

"I've also confirmed the overall strength of each side."

He looked directly at Tang Ke.

"Our faction is weaker overall."

"And among the remaining thirteen contestants..."

"The other faction has one more member."

He sneered.

"They also have the strongest support."

"He Yu."

"If the fighting really starts..."

"Do you think you'll actually win?"

His gaze dropped to his severed arm.

"I'm already finished."

"I can't help anymore."

"I can't even fight."

"But I don't want you to lose."

"If you lose..."

"Then I lose too."

Those words...

...were completely sincere.

Everyone genuinely wanted their own faction to win.

At this point, Melvi wasn't afraid of dying himself.

He feared only that the Second Faction would lose.

His own death meant resurrection.

The defeat of the Second Faction meant true death.

Before dying...

He only wanted to increase his faction's chances of victory.

Eugene frowned.

"Everything you've said is only your side of the story."

"Even if you survive, there's no guarantee we'll lose."

Melvi had tremendous combat ability.

But in his current condition...

...he couldn't help them at all.

Melvi glared furiously.

"At a time like this..."

"You're still willing to trust someone else?"

"If He Yu were in your faction, then trusting him would make sense."

"But he's your enemy!"

His breathing became increasingly ragged.

Veins bulged across his forehead.

His hoarse voice echoed through the forest.

"Even if the final battle is perfectly fair..."

"The other side has the strongest support."

"They have Zhen Xing."

"They have Wanrenzhan."

"Our faction is likely to lose."

"And your current point totals are different."

"He Yu will never allow our faction to have more points than theirs!"

At this stage...

Any wrong decision could determine victory or defeat.

Everyone understood.

A draw that advanced everyone...

...was almost impossible.

Melvi considered the very idea wishful thinking.

At this point, such a plan would most likely become a tool that allowed He Yu's faction to win while the other side was eliminated.

Bo Jingshan rarely bothered explaining himself.

But now he looked coldly at Melvi.

"Later..."

"He Yu will give everyone time."

"And Verification Cards."

"You'll all be able to verify one another."

"Your existence is unnecessary to the plan."

"So you'd better die."

Then he turned toward the others.

"You don't trust He Yu?"

Bo Jingshan sneered.

"If he wanted to betray you..."

"He wouldn't have saved you throughout the previous instances."

Melvi said urgently,

"I believe He Yu sincerely wants everyone to advance."

"But if there's no other choice..."

"He'll definitely choose to save his own faction."

That was what anyone would do.

After surviving this long...

Nobody wanted to die.

Melvi's eyes were bloodshot.

"I personally carry several hundred points."

"If I survive until the final mission is completed..."

"All those points belong to our faction!"

He had worked desperately to earn those points.

If they still lost in the end...

How could he possibly accept it?

Eugene looked at him for a long while before finally speaking.

"What you said... actually makes sense."

"But..."

"If it weren't for He Yu..."

"I would've died long ago."

"To be honest..."

"I've always wavered."

"I've always been afraid He Yu might deceive me."

"But since I've already chosen to trust him..."

"I won't abandon that choice halfway through."

Siya pursed her lips.

Her eyes wavered briefly...

...before becoming firm again.

"I trust He Yu."

Zhante silently nodded.

Yuan Ze nodded as well.

Qiong, however, didn't immediately respond.

She frowned.

"Didn't anyone notice?"

"What Melvi just said contradicts information we obtained earlier."

She looked from Eugene...

...to Melvi.

"He Yu."

"Eugene."

"Zhen Xing..."

Everyone froze.

Then realization struck.

That's right.

At the very beginning of the instance—

when they had completed the Snow Mountain mission and gone to bathe—

the contestants they first encountered had clearly said...

He Yu and Zhen Xing did not belong to the same faction.

Yet Melvi insisted—

He Yu and Zhen Xing were on the same side.

Both were enemies of Eugene's faction.

The two statements directly contradicted each other.

Who was lying?

Was Melvi simply making things up to save himself?

Melvi shouted,

"Right now I only care about our faction winning!"

"I'm giving you useful information!"

"I'm not lying!"

"Damn it!"

"I swear upon my Mechanical Planet honor!"

Everyone fell silent once more.

Deep in thought.

Eugene...

...and Gedai...

...would have immediately believed him.

On Mechanical Planet...

Swearing upon one's honor carried enormous weight.

It was an oath made with absolute sincerity.

Tang Ke clenched their teeth before voicing the doubt that had lingered in their heart.

"Has anyone else noticed..."

"...that He Yu has been acting strangely throughout this instance?"

"He seems unusually willing to go along with our opinions."

"When we suggested a draw..."

"He agreed."

"A lot of our proposals..."

"He agreed to those too."

"It's almost like..."

"...he doesn't care."

"As though following our wishes is enough."

Every previous instance...

He Yu had always produced astonishing new ways to break the deadlock.

This time...

His normal behavior felt strangely abnormal.

【Bullet Screen: "Damn, Tang Ke's instincts are terrifying."】

【Bullet Screen: "Seriously... from the audience's perspective, He Yu has been acting suspiciously this entire instance."】

Everyone remained silent.

Then—

a gust of wind swept past.

Melvi, who had been about to continue speaking, suddenly widened his eyes in terror.

No more words came out.

His figure gradually faded...

...until he vanished completely.

Zhen Xing lowered the Rubik's Cube in his hand.

Standing where Melvi had been, he faced the group.

Tall.

Straight-backed.

Expressionless.

"If you've chosen to trust him..."

"Then stop listening to his nonsense."

Ling Buchen approached with his zither in his arms.

His expression remained utterly calm.

"You still have time to waste listening to him?"

"It's over."

"Let's go."

"It's time to welcome the answer this instance has prepared for us."