Chapter 55: The Scheming Team-Up Phase (14)

Why was He Yu so good to Wanrenzhan?

Because Wanrenzhan had to stay alive. He had to stay alive so that He Yu, the “undercover agent,” could successfully make it all the way to the end.

Everything He Yu wanted to say was being spoken through Wanrenzhan’s mouth.

Then, when suspicion finally fell on them at the end...

What would that have to do with He Yu?

After all, every single thing had been said by Wanrenzhan himself!

Which was why the life-saving potion He Yu had given Wanrenzhan—was it really just a potion?

—No, it was a shiny, pitch-black scapegoat.

The audience had already figured it out, and they were utterly speechless. Meanwhile, inside the competition, Wanrenzhan was still proudly basking in what he thought was He Yu’s goodwill.

The third and fourth stages of the second elimination round were both located on the mountainside, so there was no need for teleportation. The group simply headed directly toward the fourth stage.

Zhen Xing, Eugene, and the others were still behind them and could catch up at any moment. The sense of danger pushed everyone to move faster, not daring to waste even a second.

Along the way, Wanrenzhan kept pestering him.

“Hey, that Absorbing Star Technique of yours. What exactly is it? Can you explain it to me? How did I become that powerful back then?”

Thinking about his overwhelming strength from before, Wanrenzhan felt a little nostalgic.

Wasn't the pursuit of greater power the reason they had all entered this Death Trial Ground in the first place?

If he could possess that terrifying ability permanently...

He Yu replied, “Even if I explained it, you wouldn’t understand.”

Carrying his axe, Wanrenzhan continued asking, “How do you know I wouldn’t understand if you never explain it? Can you use that ability whenever you want? If you can use it anytime, I wouldn’t mind teaming up with you all the way to the finals. With power like that, who would I have to fear?”

He Yu looked at him.

“Team up with you until the finals, and then wait for you to kill me?”

Taking a long stride forward, Wanrenzhan said matter-of-factly, “With your combat power, you're going to die anyway. If you team up with me, at least you'll die last. And I guarantee you won't die painfully.”

Expressionless, He Yu replied, “Thank you so much.”

Wanrenzhan was tall and physically powerful. Every step he took covered an enormous distance.

As a result, after taking just two steps, he had to stop and wait for He Yu, who walked at a steady but unhurried pace.

“Shorty, you're too slow. Want me to carry you?”

He Yu: “...”

He shot Wanrenzhan a chilling glance.

Beside them, Ling Buchen said weakly, “You're just walking too fast.”

Wanrenzhan's eyes widened.

“When did you get here?!”

Ling Buchen blinked.

“I've been here the whole time.”

Wanrenzhan: “???”

—This damned guy's presence was way too weak!

Looking at He Yu and Ling Buchen walking side by side in apparent harmony, Wanrenzhan took another long stride and squeezed himself directly between them, shoving Ling Buchen aside.

Ling Buchen: “...”

—Sometimes idiots were really annoying.

Behind them, Duan Yuchen stared at He Yu’s back, his brows tightly furrowed.

Harvey noticed.

“What are you looking at?”

Duan Yuchen frowned.

“I still feel like something's wrong, but I just can't remember what.”

After a pause, he lowered his voice.

“After the fourth stage ends, vote for He Yu.”

Qiong suddenly appeared beside them, lowering the brim of her cap.

“He Yu isn't the undercover agent. Earlie attacked him directly just now and was erased. He's a teammate.”

Duan Yuchen glanced at her and pressed his lips together.

“You haven't fully understood the rules. Teammates can't attack each other, and that includes attacking the undercover agent. Only the undercover agent can attack the others. The only way we can eliminate the undercover agent is through voting. We can't kill them.”

On the surface, the undercover agent seemed to have the initiative.

But in reality, no matter which team they were on, an undercover agent could never fight one against nine.

Which meant the undercover agent couldn't act recklessly either.

As long as the team stayed together, the undercover role became much harder to play.

If the undercover agent was weak, things became even more difficult.

If the undercover agent was too strong...

Then the undercover role was practically a guaranteed victory.

Qiong froze for a moment before quickly understanding.

She nodded.

“But He Yu definitely wouldn't make Siya feel threatened. He isn't the undercover agent.”

“I know he isn't.”

Everyone turned to look at Duan Yuchen.

Duan Yuchen stared ahead.

“But don't you think he's too dangerous? Whether it's his intelligence or everything else.”

Previously, He Yu only had eight combat power.

No matter how smart he was, nobody feared him.

After all, if they wanted to, they could easily chop him to pieces.

They couldn't attack him this round.

But what about the next round?

Or the round after that?

—No matter how smart He Yu was, he wasn't considered a threat.

Aside from personal grudges, nobody had any reason to be anxious about him.

But things were different now.

Inside the Maze Chaos stage, He Yu had displayed another kind of ability.

He wasn't strong.

In fact, he was extremely weak.

Yet if he partnered with a powerful teammate...

The combination became virtually invincible.

Wasn't that a threat?

Qiong pressed her lips together but said nothing.

Harvey immediately nodded vigorously.

“Agreed. Once this round ends, we vote He Yu out first.”

Qiao Yuan nodded.

Zhante didn't object either.

[Bullet Comment: “He Yu is really unlucky. Even though they don't think he's the undercover agent, they're still planning to eliminate him first.”]

[Bullet Comment: “So does He Yu still have a way out? Can his luck really keep holding up forever?”]

[Bullet Comment: “Every stage is harder than the last for He Yu. Let's see how he handles this one.”]

—

Before long, the group arrived at the entrance to the fourth stage.

The entrance stood between two giant trees.

It seemed to be concealed by a barrier, preventing them from seeing what lay beyond.

Above the barrier, three large characters were written:

Heart Inquiry Battle.

“Heart Inquiry Battle...” He Yu murmured. “Interesting. It asks the heart, yet it speaks of battle.”

Wanrenzhan looked completely confused.

“What does that even mean?”

Duan Yuchen stepped forward, staring at the three words.

“The first stage was Passing the Mountain Gate. The objective was passing the gate at the mountain's foot.”

“The second was Mud Sea Battle. We fought through the mud sea.”

“The third was Maze Chaos. We traversed a maze.”

“This fourth stage is called Heart Inquiry Battle, so it should... have something to do with the heart?”

Zhante frowned.

“What kind of explanation is that?”

The heart?

How was that related?

Could a heart fight?

He Yu lifted his foot and stepped through the barrier first.

“Why not go inside and find out?”

The moment he finished speaking, he disappeared.

The others paused briefly before following.

After making it this far in <Top Talent Show>, who among them lacked courage?

They had already cleared three stages.

There was no reason to fear the fourth.

Yet the scene beyond the barrier completely exceeded everyone's expectations.

A tranquil landscape.

Green mountains.

Clear water.

Lush grass.

A gentle stream flowed nearby.

Ahead stood a massive green tree.

Beneath it stretched a sea of blooming flowers, butterflies dancing among the petals.

It looked like the most beautiful painting imaginable.

He Yu froze slightly.

Then he suddenly turned around, his lips tightening instantly.

—Everyone else was gone.

Even though he had entered first, he could clearly sense that Ling Buchen and Wanrenzhan had been only a single step behind him.

Just one step.

And now they had vanished?

He Yu raised an eyebrow.

At that moment, he could once again see the livestream comments clearly.

“Holy shit, what's going on in this stage? Where did everyone go?”

“It's called Heart Inquiry Battle, but there wasn't any explanation. Looks like it's a clue-solving stage.”

“Where are the others? Going to check their streams.”

“Just came back. Everyone seems to be in a forest, but they're all separated.”

“Wanrenzhan's already panicking and running around screaming. The others are staying calm.”

“My god, what is this stage?”

...

Finding no useful information from the comments, He Yu withdrew his attention and walked forward.

He didn't believe there were no clues.

Nor did he believe this was truly a peaceful forest.

He walked calmly onward, his gaze taking in every detail.

He appeared relaxed and unhurried, yet he missed nothing.

Unfortunately...

Everything seemed perfectly normal.

Was it really this peaceful?

He Yu didn't believe it.

He continued forward.

Then suddenly—

A faint sound came from behind him.

His body moved instantly.

With an incredibly agile motion, he dodged an attack from his rear.

His entire body nearly tilted sideways, narrowly brushing past the strike.

Then he straightened immediately and retreated two steps.

The movement flowed as naturally as water.

Beautiful.

Yet neither He Yu nor the audience paid attention to his movement.

Their eyes were fixed on the attacker.

The instant he saw who it was, He Yu's pupils contracted.

“Earlie?”

His voice carried obvious suspicion.

Earlie was covered in blood.

He glared at He Yu viciously.

“What? Surprised I'm still alive, He Yu? You framed me!”

Holding a spiked club, he looked ready to devour him alive.

“You didn't die?” He Yu narrowed his eyes and examined him carefully.

“I died, but not completely.”

Earlie stared at him.

“Why don't you guess what happens to all the contestants who die during the competition?”

A glimmer flashed through He Yu's eyes.

He adjusted his glasses.

“They become like you?”

“That's right! I'm still alive, which means I can still take revenge!”

With that, Earlie charged forward again, swinging the club at He Yu.

He Yu dodged once more.

Earlie missed and turned around furiously.

“You still dare dodge? I'll tear you into pieces for framing me!”

The comments exploded.

“Holy shit! Earlie's still alive?!”

“What does that mean? Do contestants who die not actually disappear?”

“No idea! What the hell is Earlie?”

“Production team! Explain this!”

“It's over. He Yu's alone against Earlie.”

...

But He Yu didn't think he was finished.

Dodging another strike, he threw himself aside so hard that he fell to the ground.

Yet he remained completely calm.

Looking up at Earlie, he said evenly:

“Your death had nothing to do with me.”

Earlie stopped, gripping his club.

“Nothing to do with you? If you hadn't framed me, how would I have been eliminated?”

Supporting himself on the grass, He Yu slowly stood.

“Earlie, if I hadn't framed you, then I would've been the one who died.”

“If this competition didn't prohibit teammates from killing each other, you would've killed me the moment the match began.”

Earlie sneered.

“The strong devour the weak. A weakling like you deserves to die.”

He Yu returned the sneer.

“How naïve. What makes you think that in my eyes, you're not the weakling who deserves to die?”

Earlie froze.

Then his eyes reddened even further.

The hatred in them became completely undisguised.

He Yu continued calmly.

“So it's just survival of the fittest. This is a killing competition. If you want someone to blame, blame whoever created this competition.”

“I don't feel guilty in the slightest.”

Leaving aside the rules of the competition itself...

Someone like Earlie never should have survived in the first place.

He should answer for his crimes.

He Yu wasn't a saint.

But neither was he soft-hearted.

“Then I'll kill you and avenge myself! He Yu, show me what you've got! Fight me! Join me in death!”

Earlie lunged again.

This time...

He Yu didn't move.

[Bullet Comment: “HOLY SHIT, RUN!”]

[Bullet Comment: “Is He Yu really going to die like this?!”]

[Bullet Comment: “Where did this Earlie even come from?!”]

Amid the panic flooding the comments, He Yu simply spread his hands and closed his eyes.

Accepting the incoming attack.

With his eight combat power...

It looked as though he had accepted death.

[Bullet Comment: “He's gone insane!!”]

The vote count surged upward.

Yet it still remained thirty thousand short of two hundred thousand.

The audience didn't want to watch He Yu die at the hands of a vengeful Earlie.

They wanted to see whether he could continue hiding.

They wanted to see Duan Yuchen and the others uncover his identity.

They wanted to learn the truth behind his mysterious Absorbing Star Technique.

Not watch him die to someone who was already dead.

Countless viewers cursed <Top Talent Show>.

Countless others looked away.

Earlie's club smashed toward He Yu's head.

With his combat power, turning He Yu into a bloody paste would be effortless.

And yet—

Pff!

Earlie, along with the club, passed straight through He Yu.

Then both dissolved like bubbles and vanished.

He Yu was unharmed.

It was as if Earlie had never existed.

The audience stared blankly.

“What happened?”

“What was Earlie?”

“Was he fake?”

“Did the system delete him?”

“But he was already dead, so why did he appear?”

“An NPC disguised as Earlie?”

...

He Yu opened his eyes and smiled.

“As expected. Just an illusion.”

“The dead stay dead. They can't come back to life, and they don't become NPCs.”

Looking around, he turned and began walking back the way he came.

“Now I finally understand why it's called Heart Inquiry Battle.”

“This stage is interesting.”

“And very fun.”

His fingers brushed the bead hanging at his neck.

The smile on his lips grew even brighter.

—As expected.

—The more dangerous the situation, the better his luck became.

This stage wasn't just fun.

For someone holding the undercover role...

It was extremely advantageous.