Chapter 232: Are They Teammates? (8)

They could understand why those three had acted that way. Since they couldn't be certain that He Yu and the others wouldn't attack them, the safest option was to find a powerful teammate.

After all, they had just completed a mission and still had points on them.

A strong contestant from the same camp would naturally protect them from dying too easily, otherwise they themselves might be eliminated.

That was why they had chosen to verify He Yu and Zhen Xing.

Before encountering the man on the right, fortune had favored them. They had obtained three Verification Cards and had already used one to confirm an identity. Having cooperated through many instances together, they trusted each other to a certain extent. When they met the third person, they jointly concealed the remaining two Verification Cards.

They had been reluctant to use a Verification Card on the man on the right, yet they had no hesitation using one on He Yu and Zhen Xing.

He Yu possessed the greatest mind, while Zhen Xing's strength was unmatched. As long as one of them turned out to be an ally, their safety would be guaranteed.

The ideal outcome was for both of them to be teammates.

The worst was for neither of them to be.

Fortunately, the result wasn't bad.

Zhen Xing was their teammate.

All three looked at him expectantly.

Zhen Xing's face darkened as his eyes locked onto them.

The three men felt chills run down their spines under that gaze, but they resisted the urge to flee and met his eyes.

"This is a camp battle!"

A camp battle, not an individual competition.

Zhen Xing needed teammates, and he couldn't protect enemies.

If the enemy camp won, then no matter how outstanding his performance was or how many points he earned, death would still be his inevitable fate.

In truth, they didn't merely want Zhen Xing to distance himself from He Yu.

They wanted him to kill He Yu.

Anyone who knew He Yu understood how troublesome he was. If he belonged to the opposing camp, he could very well devise a flawless scheme that would lead to their camp's defeat.

The best opportunity to kill him was now, before he had a chance to make use of his abilities.

Naturally, they didn't dare say it outright.

Besides Zhen Xing, there were over a dozen other experts standing nearby. If even one of them happened to know that He Yu was their teammate instead, they might immediately turn against the three of them.

So they merely hinted that Zhen Xing should kill He Yu, hoping he would understand.

Everyone watched Zhen Xing.

Including He Yu and the others.

Although the atmosphere had become tense, Eugene and Wanrenzhan still couldn't help feeling a little entertained.

What would Zhen Xing choose?

Zhen Xing pressed his lips together before slowly walking toward the three of them.

His voice was hoarse.

"And how exactly am I supposed to believe you?"

The man on the left nodded frantically before looking toward the man in the middle.

The middle man immediately said, "Yes. We have a way to prove we're telling the truth. At Mission 31, we got another Verification Card."

The three of them hadn't yet discussed who would use it.

This was the perfect opportunity.

He reluctantly took out the Verification Card, but still tossed it directly toward Zhen Xing.

"If you use this card to verify either one of us, you'll know we're telling the truth. At the same time, you'll also know for certain that you and He Yu aren't in the same camp."

Their plan was well thought out.

They had even paid the price of giving up another Verification Card.

Zhen Xing caught it.

He carefully examined the patterns engraved on the card.

Then the corners of his mouth slowly curled upward.

The next instant—

With a flick of his wrist, he threw the Verification Card behind him.

The card spun through the air, slicing through the silent atmosphere as it flew backward.

The instant Zhen Xing raised his hand, He Yu raised his as well in perfect tacit understanding.

The two of them stood close together. Zhen Xing moved incredibly fast, so although they acted simultaneously—

He Yu caught the Verification Card perfectly.

—as though he had known all along that Zhen Xing would throw it to him.

He remained utterly calm.

At the exact moment the card left his hand, Zhen Xing's Rubik's Cube was already spinning.

His body flashed like lightning as he shot straight through the middle of the three men.

The Rubik's Cube unleashed a terrifying attack that crashed down upon them like an overwhelming tidal wave.

"Pff—"

The three had been completely unprepared.

Killed instantly.

Their eyes widened in disbelief as they stared ahead, looking as though they had absolutely no idea what had just happened.

Shock.

Fear.

Then their bodies slowly faded away before disappearing completely.

Behind them, Zhen Xing stood with his back facing the vanishing figures as he calmly put away the Rubik's Cube.

His blue bangs shaded his brows.

His phoenix eyes were unfathomably deep.

His voice was calm and cold.

"He Yu and I will always be teammates."

After saying that, he turned toward He Yu.

His actions conveyed a single message to He Yu—

No matter which camp He Yu belonged to, he would stand on his side.

Defeat?

Elimination?

From the moment He Yu smashed through the ceiling to appear...

From the moment He Yu carried him to safety...

He had already chosen to stand beside He Yu unconditionally.

No rule could change that.

Bullet Screen:

"AHHHHHH MY ZHEN XING IS SO FREAKING COOL!!"

Bullet Screen:

"HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT, Blue Eyes, I'm sorry, I'm climbing over this wall for a bit. I'll come back when you show up again."

Bullet Screen:

"I'm not even a CP fan, but seriously, Zhen Xing is ridiculously cool. Throwing the Verification Card behind him with one hand while activating the Rubik's Cube with the other and instantly killing all three—absolutely badass."

Bullet Screen:

"He God is amazing too! He completely trusted that Zhen Xing would never betray him and caught whatever Zhen Xing threw without hesitation."

The three shouldn't have died so easily.

For one thing, they hadn't been prepared.

Secondly, they had just completed a mission and were at their most exhausted.

Most importantly, after surviving the previous instance, Zhen Xing's strength had already reached a level where he could utterly overwhelm them.

All those factors combined to create an instant kill—

Producing this breathtaking scene.

The three disappeared completely.

Zhante swallowed hard, his face full of envy.

"Zhen Xing's strength really is terrifying. It's such a shame I wasn't with you during the previous instance..."

Gedai, Yuan Ze, Tang Ke, and Bo Jingshan all nodded together.

The Kill the Prisoners instance had been unimaginably dangerous.

It constantly toyed with everyone's nerves and left every contestant utterly exhausted.

But the rewards it granted in return...

Were equally enviable.

Eugene looked at Zhen Xing with a complicated expression.

So...

He had chosen to stand beside He Yu regardless of life or death?

Judging from those three men's reactions, Zhen Xing and He Yu absolutely belonged to different camps.

Standing with He Yu meant he would die in this instance...

He really was...

Crazy.

Eugene's emotions became incredibly complicated.

He looked at Zhen Xing.

Then at He Yu.

Countless feelings welled up inside him.

He also wanted to protect He Yu.

But he also didn't want to die himself.

Was that the difference between himself and Zhen Xing?

If their positions had been reversed just now...

If he had been the one throwing that card...

Would He Yu have reached out and caught it without hesitation?

Zhen Xing walked back to He Yu's side.

The two exchanged a glance.

Zhen Xing smiled.

He Yu smiled back.

Wanrenzhan immediately stepped between them, planting one foot squarely in the middle and blocking their eye contact.

"Hmph. You made the right choice. If it were me, I'd have done the same thing."

Zhen Xing: "..."

Why did he suddenly feel like beating Wanrenzhan up?

He normally had no interest in fighting someone he'd already defeated...

He Yu took a slow breath before putting away the Verification Card.

His voice remained composed and unhurried.

"Since we didn't verify it ourselves, there's no guarantee they were telling the truth. We now have four Verification Cards. Let's keep working."

He stood up first.

"Let's go wash up."

He headed toward the lake.

The others hurried after him.

Bullet Screen:

"Even though He Yu didn't say anything, I can feel how much pressure he's under."

Bullet Screen:

"Of course! Someone just entrusted their life to him and won't allow anyone to hurt him. Meanwhile, He's been trying all along to lead everyone out alive... and now he's in the third camp. How could he not feel pressured?"

Bullet Screen:

"My heart aches for He Yu... but I'm also looking forward to seeing him figure out a solution."

—

The two women stood nearby brushing the mud off their clothes.

Since they were all being livestreamed, naturally neither of them could simply strip and take a bath.

Others weren't nearly so particular.

For example, Wanrenzhan, who was currently in full "peacock display mode," jumped straight into the lake fully clothed, washing both himself and his clothes at the same time.

As he washed his hair and face, he kept wandering back and forth in front of He Yu.

Meanwhile—

He Yu sat on a rock washing his feet.

Wanrenzhan practically had the words "Look at me" written all over his body.

Ling Buchen was washing up as well.

This was one of the rare peaceful moments.

After finishing, he evaporated the water from his clothes and hair with energy before glancing at the constantly "displaying" Wanrenzhan and then toward He Yu.

"What those three said might not have been true."

"But among us..."

"It's impossible for everyone to belong to the same camp."

At a moment like this...

Everyone hoped they were in the same camp as He Yu.

Not for any other reason.

Simply because they didn't want to become his enemy.

They wanted to leave alive together with him.

Duan Yuchen's ears twitched as he looked over.

"He Yu, do you have any ideas? This camp battle is really annoying. We clearly have the strength to reach the end, yet now we're forced into making this kind of choice."

This instance was different from two-person matches.

In those, everything depended solely on individual strength.

The stronger contestant advanced.

But in a hundred-person camp battle...

Everyone shared the same fate.

Only one camp could survive.

If your camp lost—

You lost completely.

After experiencing the previous instance, Duan Yuchen's first reaction upon seeing rules like these was no longer how to win.

Instead, it was—

Could the rules themselves be broken?

It had to be said.

He Yu's influence was enormous.

Eugene scooted closer to He Yu with a grin, rubbing his hands together as he lowered his voice.

"I've got an idea. He Yu, what do you think?"

Behind his rimless glasses, He Yu's eyes shifted slightly, signaling for Eugene to continue.

"I'm listening."

Eugene grinned.

"What about... a draw?"

His voice wasn't quiet at all.

Everyone heard it.

Instantly—

Whether they had been washing up or lost in thought—

Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look.

Their eyes lit up.

That's right.

What would happen if the result was a draw?

Duan Yuchen's breathing grew heavier.

"We gather everyone together. As long as we're firm enough, the dozen or so of us can suppress anyone who tries anything."

Siya hesitated.

"You mean... redistribute the points until Camp One and Camp Two end up tied?"

Wanrenzhan nodded.

"That actually sounds possible."

Tang Ke immediately asked,

"What if someone refuses to cooperate?"

Zhante's gaze turned cold.

"Then kill them."

"We kill everyone else."

"Or leave only a handful alive."

"We distribute the points among ourselves."

Qiong thought for a moment before nodding.

"It's worth trying. Dying in this instance isn't real death. Even when we redistribute the points among ourselves, we can let some people leave first."

Yuan Ze said calmly,

"In the end, leave only two people."

The plan itself was simple.

As long as Camp One and Camp Two finished with exactly the same score.

If they selected one contestant from each camp whose points were identical—

Then killed the remaining ninety-eight contestants—

Leaving only those two behind—

The result would be a guaranteed draw.

Gedai looked toward He Yu.

"Would this work?"

Bullet Screen:

"AHHHHH! IT'S TOTALLY POSSIBLE!"

Bullet Screen:

"If He Yu reveals that he's in the third camp, they'll definitely bring him in! Then there'll be three camps, three survivors, and a draw! Everyone advances!!"

Bullet Screen:

"Oh my god! This idea is incredible! If they can really pull it off, it'll be the perfect ending—everyone advances!"

Bullet Screen:

"He Yu! Hurry up and tell them you're in the third camp! Work together with them!"