Chapter 631: The Interception

Round Two began.

[In this round, 'Food' materials have been designated as Contraband.]

Yao Yuan waited roughly another three minutes before tearing open the packaging of the 'Miscellaneous Goods' unit with force, revealing the black counterweights inside.

The Worker Badge on his chest gave a faint vibration, and a line of text appeared on the back.

[You have triggered one 'Minor Violation.']

[Once the paralysis ends, please enter Solitary Confinement. You may not leave for 20 minutes.]

Yao Yuan's body went immediately rigid with full-body paralysis, though it didn't last long.

He Qinyun had also seen what was inside the packaging alongside the counterweights.

A sharp knife.

She picked it up, touched the blade lightly, and looked genuinely puzzled.

"Why would the Imitator put something like this inside?"

Yao Yuan was equally at a loss, but he had no time to think it through. The moment the paralysis lifted, he stepped straight into Solitary Confinement.

Outside the prison.

Compared to the left half of the venue, the right half felt quiet and empty.

But more than ten minutes into the round, a figure appeared in the drifting mist.

Peng Xinyuan had three units of 'Food' Contraband in each hand and was moving forward with his whole body tense, heading in the direction of Solitary Confinement.

His physical condition was clearly far superior to Zhou Xiaoying's, and he was carrying considerably more Contraband.

Peng Xinyuan was deliberately walking along the base of his community's overhead walkway, letting the support columns at regular intervals provide some cover, with the mist adding a further layer of concealment.

Before long, the outline of Solitary Confinement was in sight.

Peng Xinyuan let out a slow breath. Since there was no time display in the outer field, he could only count roughly in his head to estimate the time remaining. He needed to leave enough margin to get back to the Inspection Room in time.

But he knew this route well enough now, so the odds of something going wrong were low.

Peng Xinyuan passed Community 2's Inspection Room, and a sudden unease came over him. He stopped and looked around carefully, but the thick mist revealed nothing to see or hear.

He couldn't afford to linger. He kept moving, preparing to round the corner beyond Solitary Confinement so that he could approach the side of the prison and push the Contraband through the window bars.

But the moment he came around the corner, a figure appeared without warning.

Peng Xinyuan startled sharply. His instinct was to run, but the weight of the Contraband in both hands severely restricted his movement.

His reflexes were fast enough, however, that the moment he saw the figure, he threw himself backward almost on pure instinct, and released his grip, letting the materials fall to the ground.

Huang Shengjie lunged and made contact with Peng Xinyuan, lightly enough not to be classified as violent.

But Peng Xinyuan had not triggered a violation either, having already dropped the Contraband before being touched.

"Tch. Fast reactions."

Huang Shengjie felt a twinge of disappointment. If Peng Xinyuan's reflexes had been even slightly slower, a touch while carrying the Contraband would have triggered a Minor Violation and paralysed him completely.

In that window, Huang Shengjie could have taken all the Contraband and pushed it through Community 2's cell window.

Unfortunately, the opening had been too brief.

Both of them got to their feet and stood a short distance apart, staring down at the Contraband on the ground in a standoff.

The situation was much the same as with Zhou Xiaoying: neither dared pick up the Contraband, and neither dared leave.

Peng Xinyuan's expression was one of genuine surprise, "How did you figure it out?

"No, how did you get here faster than me?"

His leg was clearly fine, just as healthy as Huang Shengjie's.

Seeing that Huang Shengjie wasn't answering, Peng Xinyuan began working through it himself.

"In terms of raw speed, we should be roughly equal, but you got here first and were waiting at the corner.

"Is it because you weren't carrying any Contraband?

"No, that doesn't track. If you'd already worked this out, and you must have passed Community 2's cell block on the way here, then you would certainly have brought Contraband yourself.

"Which means you set off earlier.

"I chose to send cars 7 and 12 together, nineteen units in total, which took 12 minutes. You might have chosen to send cars 6 and 7 together?

"That would have delivered fewer units, but only taken 7 minutes.

"That buys you five extra minutes. Enough to deliver your own Contraband to the prison and still get here ahead of me."

Huang Shengjie neither confirmed nor denied it. He simply looked at the Contraband on the ground and said, "We could stand here all day and neither of us would gain anything. How about this: we split it. Half each.

"You lose half your investment, but you did get caught, so fair's fair."

Peng Xinyuan considered it for a moment, then nodded, "Fine. You go first."

Huang Shengjie didn't move, "No. You go first."

Peng Xinyuan sighed, "Don't treat me like an idiot. We can just stand here all day if you want."

Huang Shengjie shrugged, "Works for me."

Just as Peng Xinyuan had guessed, Huang Shengjie had brought Contraband on his way here and had already pushed it through Community 2's cell block window.

The gap between the two communities had narrowed.

And from a positional standpoint, Huang Shengjie clearly had the more favourable ground. The two of them were now in the upper right corner of the venue, somewhere between Safe Zones 6 and 8.

The right half of the field only had two window access points, Solitary Confinement and Community 2's cell block, both of which were closer to Huang Shengjie's current position.

With more initiative on his side, Huang Shengjie had no reason to concede anything.

The two of them stood in silence, each waiting for the other to crack first.

Then, from the mist behind Peng Xinyuan, a low voice spoke.

"Head back. I'll take it from here."

Huang Shengjie blinked. A moment later, a mountain of a figure emerged from the mist.

The man was tall and powerfully built, well over 190 centimetres, with a muscle mass that was frankly extraordinary. A scar ran along his left cheek, giving him an openly menacing appearance.

Huang Shengjie rarely encountered this kind of physique, whether inside the Gallery or in real life.

Peng Xinyuan said nothing. He stopped caring about the Contraband on the ground and turned and ran.

Huang Shengjie looked at the Worker Badge on the man's chest: [Community 23, Zhao Heng.]

The name made Huang Shengjie stop short.

Because he remembered that Zhou Xiaoying had mentioned the leader of Community 23 was named Zhao Heng.

"What's going on? Could they share the same name?

"That makes no sense. A community only has so many people. A name collision is practically impossible.

"How did the leader end up passing through this game's selection mechanism?"

A rush of thoughts flashed through Huang Shengjie's mind, but in the current situation, there was only one possible explanation.

The man now standing in front of him was Community 23's leader.

Zhao Heng continued walking forward, already closing in on the edge of Huang Shengjie's personal space, exerting a powerful sense of pressure.