Chapter 240: Are They Teammates? (16)

Zhen Xing stared fixedly at Tang Ke.

His phoenix eyes were as sharp as blades, his voice icy.

"That's all just your speculation."

"What if Melvi lied?"

"What if all of them lied?"

At that instant...

Tang Ke felt as though something had locked onto them.

Every hair on their body stood on end.

They were certain of one thing—

If they said another word against He Yu...

Zhen Xing would very likely attack.

Off to one side, Ling Buchen was also staring at them coldly.

The finger picks on his hand lightly brushed through the air.

His zither rested beside him.

He could strike at any moment.

A threat.

Both of them were threatening them.

Tang Ke instinctively took half a step backward and dared not continue.

Gedai frowned.

After glancing at the two of them, he said coldly,

"We're discussing possibilities."

"Every suspicion deserves to be raised."

"There's no need for this."

"It only makes me think you're feeling guilty."

Zhen Xing replied,

"Am I wrong?"

"Can't they lie?"

Gedai answered,

"Of course they can."

"What you said is perfectly reasonable."

"But what Tang Ke said is also perfectly reasonable."

"That's why we need to verify everything."

"As long as our verification method is correct..."

"...we'll discover exactly what's wrong with this instance."

Zhante lowered his head in thought.

Only after a long silence did he speak.

"If He Yu is everyone's enemy faction..."

"...then what exactly is he?"

"A killer?"

"An undercover agent?"

"A hidden identity?"

Gedai's expression became solemn.

"No matter which one he is..."

"...if he occupies any one of those identities..."

"...then if he advances..."

"...I'm afraid all of us lose."

Duan Yuchen frowned before shaking his head.

"He was already the killer in the previous instance."

"Would the system really give him another special identity this time?"

"Isn't that far too abnormal?"

"Perfectly normal."

Siya let out a cold laugh.

"The system's desire to kill him has always been painfully obvious."

Eugene stroked his chin.

"This instance did feel unusually simple."

"Apart from completing missions..."

"...fighting..."

"...and eliminating half the contestants..."

"...there didn't seem to be any real difficulty."

"But if He Yu's identity is abnormal..."

"...then everything suddenly makes sense."

The instance itself was brutal.

Yet the difficulty wasn't actually that high.

It almost resembled the difficulty of previous Top Talent Shows.

Their season...

...had been tormented by one impossible instance after another.

Compared to those...

...this one hadn't seemed nearly as terrifying.

Until now...

Eugene had assumed the system simply wanted to eliminate contestants instead of deliberately tormenting them.

Who would've imagined...

...that the problem lay with He Yu's identity?

Qiong frowned.

"If he's really an undercover agent..."

"...then if he advances..."

"...everyone else is eliminated?"

She shook her head.

"How is that possible?"

Gedai pursed his lips.

"So..."

"The system wants us to kill He Yu."

"Then let Faction One and Faction Two decide the winner."

"But the real problem..."

"...is He Yu himself."

"What exactly is his mission?"

"What has he actually done?"

Gedai's expression became increasingly grave.

"I think..."

"...the points between Faction One and Faction Two probably aren't equal."

Wanrenzhan exploded.

"So after all that..."

"...you're saying you want to kill He Yu?"

His gaze swept across everyone.

It was anything but friendly.

Gedai answered calmly,

"If he's an undercover agent..."

"...then we have no other choice."

Zhen Xing sneered.

"That's your speculation too."

"You don't have a shred of evidence."

Siya sighed.

"Let's stop arguing."

"Let's discuss how to use the Verification Cards first."

"Once we've confirmed He Yu's identity..."

"...then we'll discuss what comes next."

Although she said that...

She already knew.

If He Yu truly had a problematic identity...

Everything would descend into chaos.

As long as He Yu remained...

He could suppress all these experts who refused to obey anyone.

He could unite them.

Make them cooperate.

Without him...

Everything would collapse instantly.

No one would listen to anyone else.

Ling Buchen, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke.

"Do you really think..."

"...that He Yu hasn't already considered everything we've just discussed?"

Everyone froze.

They instinctively looked toward Ling Buchen.

That's right.

Someone as intelligent as He Yu...

How could he possibly have missed any of this?

Ling Buchen remained as calm as ever.

His presence was always weak because of his equipment.

If he didn't speak first...

People naturally overlooked him.

Now...

Every pair of eyes focused on him.

Yet he remained completely composed.

"Everything we've thought of..."

"...He Yu certainly thought of first."

"And yet..."

"...he still handed us sixteen Verification Cards."

"He still let us discuss."

"He still let us verify everything ourselves."

His gaze swept across everyone before finally settling on the distant hill.

"In the previous instance..."

"...he was the killer."

"But in the end..."

"...he still brought every single one of us through."

"So why..."

"...are you unwilling to trust him this time?"

Gedai remained silent for a very long time.

When he finally spoke...

...his voice was hoarse.

"Because the previous instance had audience voting."

"He still had another way out."

"This instance doesn't."

"This time it's Faction One versus Faction Two."

"One survives."

"One dies."

"And now he has another special identity."

"How can everyone possibly advance together?"

If everyone couldn't advance together...

How could anyone guarantee which faction would survive?

If Faction One failed...

Wouldn't Gedai himself be eliminated?

A fair fight.

Two factions.

Victory determined by combat.

At least then...

Their fate remained in their own hands.

But if He Yu truly was a "special existence..."

...he might very well drag every one of them down.

They might lose even the original fifty-percent chance of survival.

Gedai didn't actually believe the system would allow only He Yu to advance while everyone else was eliminated.

But he couldn't ignore the possibility.

Besides...

Previously, trusting He Yu had been easy.

He hadn't been an enemy.

This time...

If his identity truly differed...

Then he was.

An enemy.

Could an enemy...

...really be trusted?

Ling Buchen asked sharply,

"And how do you know..."

"...that this instance has already cornered him?"

Gedai met his eyes without flinching.

"Because..."

"...he never told us what his identity was."

"He's been hiding things from us."

Bo Jingshan finally spoke.

"Would telling us have accomplished anything?"

Holding his curved blade, he said calmly,

"It would've done nothing..."

"...except make everyone's morale collapse."

Gedai answered,

"He didn't have to tell us."

"But I'm responsible for my own life."

"He's saved us many times."

"If we weren't being forced into a life-or-death decision..."

"...I'd never oppose him."

Taking a deep breath, Gedai pointed toward the Verification Cards.

"He Yu himself told us to verify everything."

"So my request isn't unreasonable."

Duan Yuchen and several others nodded.

Gedai reached toward the cards.

But Ling Buchen suddenly leaned forward and firmly grabbed his wrist.

Gedai's eyes turned icy.

"What do you mean?"

Ling Buchen met his gaze without yielding.

"I advise against verifying anything."

"No matter how He Yu arranged everything..."

"...he has his reasons."

Gedai sneered.

"Why won't you let us verify?"

"Because you've already deduced everyone's factions?"

"And you've already discovered that He Yu's arrangement has problems?"

Every eye immediately turned toward Ling Buchen.

He was someone easily overlooked.

At first meeting...

He appeared scholarly and weak.

He never sought attention.

Never dominated conversations.

Never behaved arrogantly.

Were it not for his Divine-grade treasure...

He seemed almost ordinary.

But anyone who truly knew him understood—

Ling Buchen was incredibly intelligent.

Exceptionally perceptive.

He understood things no one else could.

While others argued...

He thought.

Because of that...

It was entirely possible...

...that he had already deduced everyone's identities.

Calculated all the points.

Discovered the flaw.

Which was precisely why he refused to allow verification.

No matter what He Yu intended...

He wanted to let He Yu carry it through uninterrupted.

Ling Buchen didn't answer the accusation.

Instead, he simply looked into Gedai's eyes.

"If the verification results disappoint you..."

"...what will you do?"

"What can you do?"

Gedai answered immediately.

"If the points aren't tied..."

"If He Yu's identity is abnormal..."

"...then he owes us an explanation."

His grip tightened.

"That's not unreasonable."

"It isn't."

This time it was Eugene who answered.

His brows were tightly furrowed.

"He Yu himself agreed to verification."

"Ling Buchen..."

"If you insist on stopping us..."

"...I'm afraid the fighting will begin right now."

If verification revealed unequal points...

If it revealed that He Yu's identity truly was abnormal...

Then even if no one attacked He Yu immediately...

The lower-scoring faction would instantly attack the higher-scoring one.

They would increase their own points first...

Then ask He Yu for his explanation.

Only after securing victory...

Could they calm down.

But why would the opposing faction simply stand there and accept the attack?

Naturally...

They would fight back.

The peaceful balance...

Would shatter before the system even announced the final rules.

The decisive battle would begin immediately.

Yet...

If Ling Buchen refused to allow verification...

They might start killing each other right now.

The sixteen Verification Cards still lay untouched.

Gedai and Ling Buchen stared each other down.

Neither yielded.

Verification itself wasn't frightening.

The terrifying part...

...was the result.

Duan Yuchen and the others looked conflicted.

They feared seeing the result they dreaded most.

They also didn't want the fragile trust they had finally built...

...to collapse.

At that moment...

Zhen Xing suddenly spoke.

"Verify."

"He Yu was willing to let everyone verify everything."

"He must already have anticipated every possible outcome."

"He already knows what will happen."

Qiong sighed.

"Or..."

"...we could ask He Yu directly."

She smiled bitterly.

"There's no point in you confronting each other like this."

"Let's see what He Yu intends."

"Ling Buchen is right."

"There's nothing we can actually do."

When they had entered this instance...

They had chosen to trust He Yu.

For days...

They had followed every one of his arrangements.

Everything happening now...

Had certainly already been included within He Yu's plans.

Even if verification truly revealed something...

Someone as intelligent as He Yu...

Wouldn't he already have prepared for it?

At this point...

They had almost confirmed one thing—

There was definitely something wrong with He Yu's identity.

His identity...

Absolutely had a problem.

Whether the points had a problem...

They still didn't know.

Even after verification...

They could only determine everyone's factions...

And everyone's points.

They still couldn't determine what mission He Yu carried.

The sixteen Verification Cards remained on the ground.

Perhaps...

Questioning He Yu directly...

...had become the most urgent matter.

—

Everyone's hearts felt unbearably heavy.

They had believed the only remaining uncertainty...

Would be whatever additional rules the system announced.

No one had expected...

That He Yu had buried an enormous bomb beneath everything.

And now...

That bomb sat right in front of them.

Sixteen Verification Cards.

They knew it would explode.

Yet...

Whether they dismantled it or not...

Both choices filled them with fear.

The trust that never should have existed in a competition like this...

Was now swaying on the verge of collapse.

Reason...

Was about to overwhelm emotion.

Moonlight spread across the earth like cold water.

Just as everyone's anxiety reached its peak...

A massive surge of energy suddenly erupted nearby.

Quite a few of them used energy-based abilities.

All of them immediately sensed the disturbance and looked toward its source.

Even those unable to manipulate energy...

Felt the strange wind...

And the bizarre atmosphere...

Around the hill.

"He Yu..."

"What's happening over there?"

Zhen Xing.

Ling Buchen.

Wanrenzhan.

Bo Jingshan.

Eugene.

Almost simultaneously...

They leaped to their feet and rushed toward the hill.

They thought something had happened to He Yu.

However—

Before they reached him...

He Yu walked out.

He looked exactly as before.

White robes like fresh snow.

Calm expression.

Only...

The flowerpot he had been holding...

...had disappeared.

"You've finished discussing?"

Zhen Xing frowned, carefully examining him from head to toe.

"Are you alright?"

He Yu nodded.

"I'm fine."

He calmly walked back toward the campfire.

The fire still burned brightly.

Warm.

Comfortable.

A perfect place for discussion.

As soon as he moved...

Everyone naturally followed.

No one discovered the cause of the energy disturbance.

But they were all certain...

It had something to do with He Yu.

Although questions filled their minds...

None of them asked.

Only Wanrenzhan glanced toward He Yu's empty hands.

He was just about to ask where Blue Eyes had gone...

When He Yu silently stopped him with a look.

Wanrenzhan immediately shut his mouth.

—

He Yu sat beside the fire.

The instant he sat down...

The stiff...

Tense...

Oppressive atmosphere...

Almost completely disappeared.

He remained calm.

Steady.

It was already the latter half of the night.

The cold moonlight coated the ground like frost.

Yet the dancing flames warmed the freezing darkness.

Before anyone else could speak...

He Yu glanced across the Verification Cards.

His very first sentence was—

"So..."

"You've already discovered the problem?"

Everyone froze.

They stared blankly at He Yu.

The problem He Yu referred to...

Was it the very thing they had been discussing?

He Yu nodded.

Adjusting his rimless glasses, he calmly continued,

"That's right."

"My faction."

"And the point distribution."

Instantly...

The entire rhythm of the conversation reversed.

Some of them had already imagined that He Yu had deceived everyone for the sake of advancing himself.

Others had silently mourned the trust they believed had been betrayed.

Yet...

He Yu was astonishingly calm.

He even seemed to be saying—

You finally figured it out.

No one had expected this.

Even Gedai, who had argued the loudest moments ago, widened his eyes.

He stared fixedly at He Yu.

His hand withdrew from the Verification Cards.

He unconsciously leaned closer.

His voice became urgent.

"He Yu..."

"What do you mean?"

"What exactly is your identity?"

He Yu looked at everyone with an innocent expression.

"I can't tell you."

"So I let you figure it out yourselves."

"It just took you much longer than I expected."

He shook his head.

Apparently...

Rather disappointed.

Everyone: "..."

Along with the frustration...

An uncontrollable sense of relief also emerged.

—

Their trust...

Hadn't been betrayed.

And...

Everything still seemed to remain under He Yu's control.

Did that mean...

There was still hope?

Gedai became even more anxious.

He grabbed He Yu's sleeve.

"What exactly are you trying to do?"

"What is really going on?"

Qiong let out a long breath.

"You scared me to death."

"I thought we were finished."

Yuan Ze finally relaxed.

"He Yu."

"You have a special identity."

"What exactly is your mission?"

"What situation are we in now?"

"Explain it."

Duan Yuchen rubbed his temples.

"Logically..."

"I shouldn't trust you."

"But emotionally..."

"...I just can't stop trusting you."

"Go on."

"Give us an explanation."

Hearing that...

He Yu smiled.

"I don't have a mission."

"And..."

"I'm not an undercover agent."

Everyone froze again.

Not undercover?

No mission?

Then...

What exactly was his identity?

What had he been hiding?

Those statements completely contradicted everything.

Before anyone could question him...

He Yu tilted his head slightly.

The firelight reflected in his eyes.

His voice remained perfectly composed.

"But your deduction was correct."

"If I advance..."

"...I'm afraid none of you can."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Only the crackling fire remained.

Within the quiet night...

The sound made everyone's spine turn cold.

There was no snow.

Yet everyone felt frozen solid.

He Yu remained astonishingly calm.

He reached out...

Picked up the sixteen Verification Cards.

"Since you still haven't decided how to verify everything..."

"...I'll make the arrangements."

One by one...

He began distributing the cards.

"Qiong and Siya belong to different factions."

"One card each."

"Verify each other's identities."

The two accepted the cards.

Their hearts sank.

Still...

Neither spoke.

They had long grown accustomed to following He Yu's arrangements.

Following his instructions...

They verified each other.

—

Enemy factions.

Tang Ke opened their mouth to speak.

This time...

Gedai stopped them.

Gedai understood Tang Ke's concern.

Among everyone present...

Tang Ke trusted He Yu the least.

They feared He Yu was deliberately wasting the Verification Cards...

...to interfere with everyone's judgment.

But now...

Gedai suddenly realized—

The Verification Cards no longer mattered.

The battle...

Would begin soon.

The moment everyone's trust in He Yu disappeared...

The killing would begin.

The only reason it hadn't started already...

Was because He Yu remained impossibly calm.

His composure alone suppressed everyone.

They wanted to hear what he intended to say.

They wanted to see what he intended to do.

Qiong looked toward Siya.

"Teammates?"

Siya shook her head.

"No."

By answering this way...

They revealed the verification result...

Without violating the rules.

He Yu nodded.

"Qiong and Siya."

"One card each."

"Verify your relationship with me."

He handed each of them another card.

They immediately verified.

No one even needed to ask.

The expressions on both of their faces darkened simultaneously.

That alone answered everything.

Neither of them...

Shared a faction with He Yu.

Every suspicion had been correct.

The bomb had already been lit.

It was about to explode.

Without offering any explanation...

He Yu continued distributing cards.

"Yuan Ze and Siya are also in different factions."

"You may verify Siya..."

"Qiong..."

"...and me."

He slid three Verification Cards toward Yuan Ze.

No one objected.

Yuan Ze was intelligent.

Supported He Yu...

But never followed him blindly.

Yuan Ze accepted the cards.

Pressed his lips together.

Then, under everyone's watchful eyes...

He began verifying all three.

The atmosphere became even heavier.

The crackling fire sounded unnaturally loud.

Qiong asked,

"Teammates?"

Yuan Ze answered,

"Yes."

Siya asked,

"Teammates?"

"Not."

Then He Yu smiled faintly and asked just like they had,

"Teammates?"

Yuan Ze paused.

"...Not."

Exactly as expected.

He Yu belonged to neither of their factions.

—

How was that even possible?

—

What exactly was happening to him?

Zhen Xing's face darkened.

"The instance wants you dead."

If He Yu belonged to neither faction...

Then regardless of which faction advanced...

He would die.

Everyone's expressions sank.

Even though their trust had wavered...

Their anger toward the system remained unchanged.

Had it not been for He Yu's strange identity...

None of them would've doubted him.

He Yu quietly pushed the remaining nine Verification Cards toward Yuan Ze.

The meaning couldn't have been clearer.

Yuan Ze accepted them.

He verified everyone else one after another.

The farther he progressed...

...the gloomier his expression became.

He belonged to the Second Faction.

Overall...

The Second Faction was only slightly weaker than the First.

But the truly terrible discovery was—

Their total points...

Were vastly lower.

The remaining nine contestants approached one after another...

Confirming their identities with Yuan Ze.

When everyone finished...

Every expression changed.

Anyone who calculated the points...

Reached exactly the same conclusion Yuan Ze had.

The situation...

Was catastrophic.

The bomb...

Was about to explode.

Everyone tightened their grip on their weapons.

Especially those from the Second Faction.

They desperately wanted to reduce the First Faction's score immediately.

Only because He Yu was still sitting there—

Clearly intending to say something—

Did they restrain themselves.

Qiong looked toward him.

"So..."

"You want Zhen Xing's faction to win?"

"What about you?"

He Yu shook his head.

His slender frame remained seated quietly.

He was still beautiful.

Yet...

No one had the heart to admire him anymore.

He smiled.

"I want to live."

The situation had become complete chaos.

He Yu had revealed his identity.

He had also shifted the advantage toward Zhen Xing's faction.

How could he possibly advance now?

Qiong couldn't understand.

If He Yu advanced...

They couldn't.

And for them to advance...

They had to kill He Yu.

There was no audience vote this round.

Did He Yu still possess some miraculous solution?

Tang Ke also belonged to the Second Faction.

Their face looked terrible.

"He Yu..."

"You're helping them advance."

"Do you really still have a way to survive yourself?"

They looked toward the First Faction.

"Maybe Zhen Xing..."

"Wanrenzhan..."

"Bo Jingshan..."

"...won't attack you."

"But Siya."

"Zhante."

"Gedai."

"They definitely will."

"Are you saying they'll advance..."

"...and somehow you'll advance too?"

Otherwise...

Nothing He Yu had done made any sense.

"No."

"I already said it."

"If they advance..."

"...I can't."

He Yu shook his head.

Then suddenly changed the subject.

"Let's make one enormous gamble."

"Let's gamble on whether the system chooses..."

"...to make me the Top Star and end the competition completely..."

"...or allow everyone to advance."

Everyone: "!"

Gedai's voice rose sharply.

"You mean..."

"...all of us die..."

"...and only you survive?"

He Yu nodded matter-of-factly.

Gedai sucked in a cold breath.

His expression {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} became extremely complicated.

"You alone..."

"...want to fight all twelve of us?"

Before He Yu could answer—

Someone else interrupted.

Ling Buchen said calmly,

"No."

"Two versus eleven."

His zither rested horizontally before him.

Zhen Xing added,

"Three versus ten."

The Rubik's Cube spun in his hand.

Bo Jingshan spoke.

"Four versus nine."

Wanrenzhan scratched his head.

"...Anyway."

"I'm not attacking He Yu."

"And none of you are allowed to kill him either."

—

Five...

Against eight.

And among those five...

Were four supreme experts.

Along with the strongest support contestant.

Gedai's group of eight: "..."

They had expected Zhen Xing and the others to support He Yu.

But even under circumstances like these...

They still stood beside him.

If they lost...

Every one of them would be eliminated.

All their overwhelming strength.

All their efforts.

Everything...

Would become meaningless.

He Yu smiled.

"Your chance of winning..."

"...is zero."

"So..."

"...why not gamble with me instead?"

Gedai's group: "..."

He was really that certain...

That eight of them couldn't defeat those five?

He Yu looked up at the moon.

Then slowly lowered his gaze across everyone.

"I'm not someone who enjoys talking."

"Do you know why I let you spend all that time discussing something meaningless?"

"Do you know why I've explained so much to you?"

Everyone: "???"

He Yu...

Was stalling again?

What had he done this time?

The thought had barely appeared...

When a gigantic shadow slowly emerged from the darkness.

Illuminated by the moon...

And the campfire...

Everyone saw it clearly.

Their eyes lifted higher.

And higher.

Their jaws gradually dropped.

Standing before them...

Was an enormous radish.

No...

An enormous ginseng.

The tiny little ginseng from before...

Had transformed.

It had become a towering, gigantic ginseng.

Its overwhelming presence filled the entire area.

Immense streams of energy continuously poured into its body.

Everyone: "..."

—When did he suddenly grow up?

—Where exactly had he found something that nourishing?