Chapter 227: Are They Teammates? (3)

【Bullet Screen: "See that?"】

【Bullet Screen: "That's what peak idiot behavior looks like."】

Under normal circumstances it would have been one thing.

But chasing after a broom carrying a broken sword bright enough to blind everyone...

Running an extra lap behind it was outright abuse to the eyes.

The audience, Eugene, and Gedai were all laughing at Wanrenzhan.

Wanrenzhan, however, had no idea.

He only knew one thing—

That was He Yu's broom.

Follow the broom, and he'd find He Yu.

However...

The broom kept flying.

It never stopped.

Wanrenzhan felt as though he was about to go blind.

Along the way, there were quite a few contestants below him.

They all looked up at him...

But none of them followed.

They simply stayed where they were.

Wanrenzhan narrowed his eyes into slits, enduring the blinding light as he struggled to keep looking ahead.

He couldn't help muttering,

"He Yu, did you see that? I'm the only one following you. Nobody else even bothers with you. From now on, you'd better appreciate me more!"

【Bullet Screen: "He God is taking a nap. Watching Wanrenzhan is pretty relaxing."】

【Bullet Screen: "Agreed. In a competition this depressing, Wanrenzhan is probably the only thing that still makes me smile."】

After flying for quite a while...

Wanrenzhan suddenly noticed the broom ahead was no longer moving forward.

It made a turn.

Then doubled back.

Returning along the exact route it had come.

—There was no need for it to circle the entire planet.

It only needed to summon the people who had already seen it.

Wanrenzhan: "??"

Something felt...

Off.

But since he had no idea where He Yu actually was, he had no choice but to continue following the broom.

This return trip felt completely different.

Same speed.

Same eye-searing brightness.

But now...

More people joined them.

One.

Two.

...

Anyone who had genuinely cooperated with He Yu before...

Rose into the air.

Ling Buchen.

Bo Jingshan.

Zhen Xing.

Siya.

Qiong.

Duan Yuchen.

Yuan Ze.

Tang Ke.

Eugene.

Gedai...

They had all originally been—

Wanrenzhan: "..."

—He finally realized what had felt wrong.

—

By the time the group found He Yu...

He was reclining lazily against a rock.

One arm rested behind his head.

A blade of wild grass dangled from the corner of his mouth.

One leg was crossed over the other as he half-closed his eyes, peacefully watching clouds drift across the sky.

The picture was one of complete tranquility.

The broom and broken sword flew back to him.

He Yu casually raised a hand and retrieved the broken sword.

At last...

That absurdly bright "light bulb" disappeared.

Zhen Xing landed first.

Seeing He Yu's relaxed posture, all of his previous worry and tension vanished instantly.

He smiled faintly and walked toward him.

Ling Buchen arrived only a moment later and also headed in He Yu's direction.

Only Wanrenzhan...

As soon as his feet touched the ground, his legs gave out.

He nearly collapsed.

He staggered as he walked, completely unable to distinguish east from west.

Spitting out the grass stem, He Yu asked curiously,

"What's wrong with him?"

Qiong struggled not to laugh.

"The flashing."

He Yu looked puzzled.

"His tolerance is that poor?"

"No."

Duan Yuchen spoke flatly.

"It's because he followed it for the entire round trip."

He Yu: "..."

Wanrenzhan roared,

"Wasn't I just trying to see He Yu as soon as possible?!"

He Yu glanced at him...

Then silently looked away.

Eugene also walked over and called out,

"He Yu."

"Are we teammates?"

Without the slightest hesitation, He Yu answered,

"No."

Eugene: "?"

Yuan Ze looked confused.

"You already got a Verification Card?"

He Yu shook his head.

"No."

Eugene rolled his eyes.

"Then why are you so certain we're not in the same camp? You sounded so confident I almost thought you already knew."

He leaned closer and lowered his voice.

"I've got a feeling..."

"We're on the same side."

He Yu: "..."

【Bullet Screen: "Hahaha! He God told the truth. Too bad nobody believes him."】

【Bullet Screen: "Even though I'm furious about Camp 3, He Yu really is the only contestant here who doesn't need a Verification Card."】

【Bullet Screen: "Exactly. He can confidently tell everyone they're not on the same side, because he's literally the only member of his camp."】

【Bullet Screen: "@Top Talent Show, explain yourselves! Give us a solution! How is He Yu supposed to play this?!"】

The audience was extremely worried.

As the sole member of Camp 3 surrounded by contestants from Camps 1 and 2...

He Yu was in genuine danger.

Yet He Yu himself didn't appear worried at all.

He looked at everyone gathered around him.

Although they stood together...

Each subtly guarded against the others.

Since killing someone in this instance wouldn't immediately result in their death...

The psychological burden of attacking others had dropped dramatically.

Meaning...

Anyone might strike at any moment.

Wanrenzhan had finally recovered enough to see properly.

His face still dark, he walked over.

"None of you got a Verification Card?"

Gedai rolled his eyes.

"What a stupid question. We literally just entered the instance."

Zhante looked toward the snowy mountain.

"Is that a mission location?"

"It looks really out of place."

He Yu nodded.

"Most likely."

He shared the information he had already gathered.

"The mission should be at the summit."

"You can't fly into the mountain."

"You have to climb."

Ling Buchen nodded.

"I think I found another mission location too."

"It's pretty far away."

Siya looked toward the mountain.

"Then we'll finish this one first."

"Then head over there."

As she spoke, she warily glanced at everyone else.

The others instantly became vigilant as well.

The atmosphere immediately grew tense.

Still sitting calmly on the rock, He Yu tilted his head.

"For the first mission..."

"How about we try completing it together?"

Everyone froze.

Tang Ke reacted almost immediately, stepping forward.

"You want to test whether people from different camps can complete missions together..."

"And also see how the points are distributed?"

He Yu nodded.

Eugene stroked his chin.

"That could work."

"So..."

"For now, nobody attacks anyone standing beside them?"

He Yu sat upright, his gaze sweeping across everyone.

"This instance is a lot like the previous one."

"If you want to guarantee mission completion..."

"You'll probably end up killing indiscriminately."

"The people beside you could attack at any moment."

Everyone looked at him.

At the same time...

They continued watching those around them cautiously.

He Yu smiled faintly.

"But..."

"I'm the kind of person who hates following the rules."

He jumped gracefully down from the rock.

Dusting his hands together, he brushed away the dirt.

His chin lifted slightly.

His fair jade-like jawline looked flawless.

The rimless glasses rested loosely upon his nose.

He raised his voice.

"Until we've figured out all the rules..."

"Or at least for today..."

"Let's not attack the people around us."

"Let's cooperate first."

"Compared to slaughtering one another without understanding anything..."

"I'd rather look for another way."

Everyone silently nodded.

Each of them ranked among the top thirty contestants.

Now only fifty out of one hundred would advance.

If they ended up dying simply because their camp score was too low...

It would be both frustrating and tragic.

At the same time...

No one could promise never to attack.

So He Yu added a time limit.

Today.

Today they would gather information.

Remain peaceful for now.

Everything afterward...

Could be discussed later.

His gaze swept across the group.

His expression became serious.

His voice softened.

"You all agree?"

"If everyone agrees..."

"Then before midnight tonight..."

"No one is allowed to attack the people beside them."

Zhen Xing and Ling Buchen nodded first.

Everyone else quickly followed.

Eugene shrugged.

"No problem."

"It's only for today."

He Yu never stated what would happen if someone attacked a teammate.

But everyone already knew.

If anyone broke this agreement...

He Yu would show no mercy.

His combat power wasn't high enough to punish everyone personally.

However...

Zhen Xing.

Ling Buchen.

Bo Jingshan.

Wanrenzhan.

Those four would unquestionably stand by his side.

Whatever He Yu ordered...

They would carry it out.

Eugene and Duan Yuchen had also gone through several instances alongside him.

They were already accustomed to following his plans.

He Yu was the brain.

He possessed almost no combat strength.

But...

He had countless human weapons.

He Yu smiled, clearly satisfied.

"Very good."

"Only cooperation creates a win-win situation."

"Let's go."

"We're climbing the mountain."

The group turned toward the snow-covered peak.

Steep cliffs.

Deep snow.

There was clearly no path.

Flying was impossible.

This climb would undoubtedly be far harder than the one in <Ice Paradise>.

Fortunately...

They had all grown much stronger.

Just as He Yu lifted a foot—

Several voices rang out simultaneously.

"He Yu."

"I'll carry you."

—Zhen Xing.

Ling Buchen.

Wanrenzhan.

Eugene.

And Zhante.

Siya and Qiong exchanged a glance.

Both saw the same expression in the other's eyes—

They were thoroughly enjoying the show.

The five men realized others had spoken at exactly the same moment.

None of them looked embarrassed.

Instead...

They stared fixedly at He Yu.

Waiting to see whom he would choose.

Zhen Xing remained expressionless.

Yet the phoenix-shaped eyes fixed on He Yu were exceptionally gentle.

Ling Buchen said nothing.

He simply looked at him quietly.

Wanrenzhan snorted.

"Those weaklings are useless."

"Let me carry He Yu."

"I'm strong."

"I'm definitely the most reliable."

Eugene added dryly,

"You just want to take advantage."

Zhante...

Was simply joining in for fun.

With his arms folded, Duan Yuchen laughed.

"He Yu."

"You could let me carry you too."

He Yu: "..."

Taking a deep breath...

He put on the Frost Beast coat.

Then stepped into the snowy mountain.

"Thank you."

"I'll walk myself."

The five men: "..."

Silently...

They followed behind him.

【Bullet Screen: "HAHAHAHA!"】

【Bullet Screen: "He God's basically saying: I'll do it myself. I don't need any of you."】

【Bullet Screen: "If Blue-Eyes were here, he'd be so happy."】

【Bullet Screen: "...Not necessarily. Too many people have a one-sided crush on his wife."】

—

The snowy mountain was difficult to climb.

But everyone present possessed extraordinary physical abilities.

Especially Wanrenzhan and Zhen Xing.

After the enormous improvements they had received in the previous instance...

A mountain like this posed no real challenge.

He Yu's physical condition was much worse.

Wanrenzhan and the others alternated helping pull him upward while also waiting for everyone else.

Gedai sighed enviously.

"Your physical abilities are so much better."

He couldn't help thinking...

If only he had entered the <Kill the Prisoners> instance last round as well.

"Forget it."

"I didn't get any enhancements either."

"The doctor wasn't interested in people from Mechanical Planet."

Eugene rolled his eyes as he continued climbing, breathing heavily.

Gedai paused.

"...True."

Thinking about it that way...

He felt much better.

The mountain was incredibly steep.

Gedai climbed with great difficulty.

At that moment...

Qiong extended one of her silk threads toward him.

She motioned for him to grab it.

Gedai froze.

Then instinctively reached out.

Qiong pulled.

With a single tug, she hauled him directly upward.

The two of them had never gotten along.

Whenever they met, they mocked each other relentlessly.

Who would have thought...

At a moment like this...

Qiong would still lend him a hand.

The silk thread wasn't merely a weapon.

It was also something that pulled teammates upward.

Turning her head away, Qiong muttered,

"Don't misunderstand."

"I just don't want you slowing everyone down."

Gedai said nothing.

He simply stood there, slightly dazed.

Yuan Ze climbed with heavy breaths.

Looking toward He Yu—who was practically being fought over by Zhen Xing and Wanrenzhan as they tried to help him upward—his expression grew complicated.

"He Yu..."

"Do you remember the last time we climbed a snowy mountain?"

"The moment we reached the top..."

"Blue-Eyes knocked us right back down."

Gedai laughed between breaths.

"I remember too."

"Back then He Yu was ruthless."

"He had the Frost Beast torment us endlessly."

He Yu landed steadily and replied expressionlessly,

"Thank you."

"You were all trying to kill me."

Compared with how much mercy he had shown...

These people had truly been far worse.

Zhen Xing awkwardly rubbed his nose.

"Well..."

"We weren't familiar with each other back then."

Duan Yuchen looked absent-minded.

"So much has changed."

Back then...

They had distrusted and hated one another.

After being tricked by He Yu...

They had even formed the Avengers Alliance, intending to kill him.

Now...

They trusted him.

Depended on him.

And could confidently entrust both their backs and their lives to him.

—Things really had changed.

He Yu smiled.

"Changed for the better."

"Isn't that right?"

Everyone smiled.

Wanrenzhan had already climbed much farther ahead.

Turning back, he shouted,

"Hey!"

"Hurry up!"

Then he looked directly at He Yu.

His smile was dazzling.

"He Yu!"

"Come on!"

"I'll carry you up!"

—To maximize the amount of time he spent with He Yu...

He had deliberately rushed to the very front.

And with his modified body...

He truly surpassed everyone else.

Without equipment...

Purely in terms of physical ability...

Wanrenzhan was unquestionably the strongest.

The group continued climbing together.

Helping pull one another upward.

As they approached the summit...

Perhaps because of psychological trauma...

Eugene lowered his voice.

"Let's check the situation first."

"Don't rush over."

"What if there are Frost Beasts again..."

"Or something even worse?"

Zhen Xing nodded.

He and Yuan Ze cautiously poked their heads over the ridge.

Looking ahead...

Both froze.