by N. Heller
Before Mr. Dot even said a word, Chen Fan jumped up and stared at the Old Woman standing on the same column and tile. "I collided with her?" he uttered.
"Did you think that since the huge man had to move away from C3, it would naturally become the safest place?" Old Wang, who was standing at the first tile sneered.
Chen Fan wiped the moisture on his face. No one knew if that was cold sweat or rainwater, but he didn't reply and turned to look at the platform instead.
"I already told you that the White Team members are after us. They had already predicted that someone would do that… Once that huge guy leaves, someone will immediately take over that spot!"
Just then, Mr. Dot prompted both contestants to climb up to the platform.
"So what if I collided with that woman from the White Team? Look at her, she is just a weak, sickly woman." He finally calmed himself and laughed.
After that, he walked out of the grid, reached out for the edge of the slate platform with both hands and leaped up onto the platform with one push.
Old Wang made a soft scoffing sound before he eyed the old woman, who was slowly walking away from the screen, intensely.
That woman didn’t look taller than 1.6m. She looked emaciated as if she had not eaten a filling meal for years. Her skin, hair, and expression were visibly dry and marked with the signs of age, she looked very different from the few of them who were only experiencing their first apocalypse. However, hidden beneath her ruined face, a flash of danger was lurking within her eyes.
The old woman walked slowly to the platform. She hung onto the platform and climbed up in a straightforward manner, not appearing nimble nor clumsy.
When it was time to fight, Chen Fan turned a little pale. "Madam, you look tired and weak." He looked at her doubtfully before smiling. "To be honest, I'm young and energetic. I'm a little embarrassed to take advantage of that. Why don't you just surrender?"
The old woman gave him a stoic face. Without even batting an eye, she got into a fighting position.
"I guess you can't hear me." Chen Fan remembered that they couldn't even hear the other in the arena. As if to encourage himself, he spoke a little louder this time: "I'll just have to fight! A person must harden his heart to survive."
As he said that, he hid his left hand behind his back, trying to make that action look casual. Unfortunately, it drew the attention of the opponent even more.
"There’s no need to hurry," Chen Fan murmured to himself as stared hard at his opponent and took two steps back, "I haven't fully summoned my pen."
The old woman frowned, crooking her head slightly as if she couldn't quite understand what was happening. Chen Fan didn't seem too worried about the old woman possible attacks so he lowered his head and mumbled as if that would speed up his ability, "Quick, quick! Create some kind of coincidences…"
The last few words of his sentence were blasted into powder as he was hit by an explosive attack. Blood and countless bits of destroyed innards spurted out from Chen Fan’s mouth like a fountain. The old woman had somehow shifted beside him and tilted her head, avoiding the spray of blood that flew past her ear and frowning as if disgusted by the filth. Despite that, a few drops of blood still landed on her wrinkled face.
She quickly bent down and stepped onto Chen Fan’s body which was moving backward following the momentum of the attack. She managed to stop his body before it fell off the edge of the platform, a smile slowly crept up her face.
"Lad, we can't hear each other because of the boundary line below. I’ve actually heard every single word you’ve said on the platform."
Chen Fan only realized that he couldn't dodge that attack when pain tore through all his internal organs. Anger filled his eyes as a mixture of blood and tears seeped out uncontrollably. Only at that moment did he recall that Lara had clearly begged for mercy, whereas he never even thought much about it.
"What did you just say? Once that pen appears, it'll create coincidences?" the old woman asked softly as her skin crinkled with a smile.
"No coincidence can save you now." She stepped on him, exerting force. Just as the form of the fountain pen was finally completed, Chen Fan let out the last loud groan in his lifetime, then his body went limp, and he stopped moving.
The pen disappeared — all the members of the Red Team were dumbfounded.
"Oh, the Red Team contestant has died in the duel. Please send someone from your team up so that his Active Skill can be offered," Mr. Dot showed no special emotion, he used a tone as if he was ordering dinner.
The old woman stepped one step backward. Suddenly, she kicked Chen Fan’s waist, and the corpse rolled off the platform. It fell heavily to the ground with a thud creating a splash of mud and blood.
As Lin Sanjiu was standing closest to the platform, the gory mixture spattered across her face. She closed her eyes and wiped her face. She looked at the other two men who were in shock. She walked away from the grid without saying a word, then she lifted Chen Fan’s legs and dragged his dead body into the white fog. Chen Fan had died in a horrible manner — his entire c.h.e.s.t cavity was covered by multiple bloodied holes.
"Even though I only knew you for a short time, I didn’t even speak much to you, and we were not even on good terms..." Lin Sanjiu lowered her head as she pulled his body along, mumbling to herself, "but you’re really too pitiful. Dying like this..."
After she said this, she reached the same place in the white fog where the same wooden c.h.e.s.t stood, waiting for the next sacrificial offering.
Lin Sanjiu opened the c.h.e.s.t with a creak. "We can be considered acquaintances so don’t worry..." she was composed when she took the dead man’s hand and placed it in the wooden c.h.e.s.t. She saw a faint light being s.u.c.k.e.d out of Chen Fan’s palm as it gently floated to the bottom of the c.h.e.s.t. "I will avenge you."
Lin Sanjiu dragged the corpse out from the white fog and threw Chen Fan’s body to the side of the grid. When Lara caught a glimpse of it, her face turned white instantaneously. She covered her mouth and crawled some distance away from it quickly.
When she returned to her own tile, the hints popped up once again with a "Ding dong", and words appeared on the ground once again.
Lin Sanjiu looked down. Just as before, the hint stated: "There is a +1 point reward in front of you."
Chapter 81 - Meeting at the Crossroads (4)
White Team: Flowery shirt A5, Hu Changzai A1, Long-legs C1, Old woman C3, Hai Tianqing D3, Loser D4.
Red Team: Lin Sanjiu A5, Old Wang E2, Zhong Junkai D5.
"How unfortunate! Contestants from both White Team and Red Team have chosen the A5 tile… We will just have to see who wins the duel to get the +1 point reward on the tile!" Mr. Dot said as he clicked his tongue. "If the Red Team loses this round again, this game will end. How exciting!"
After hearing that, the two other members of the Red Team turned pale. Chen Fan’s corpse laid outside the grid, his pair of harrowing red eyes were wide open. His shocked and aggrieved expression was, in fact, more terrifying than the messy wound on his c.h.e.s.t.
[He was still alive a few minutes ago...] Facing the threat of death, Zhong Junkai felt continuous waves of weakness, and for a moment, his mind felt numb.
Just as what Lin Sanjiu had anticipated, Flowery shirt stepped onto the same tile as her. The A5 tiles on both grids were very close to each other, so much so that if Lin Sanjiu looked straight, she would come face to face with Flowery shirt who was staring directly at her.
The man seemed to be in his mid-twenties. It was as if he had gotten his fashion sense from gangsters in some cliche Chinese drama, and the Hawaiian shirt he was wearing was annoyingly eye-catching. He only looked away from Lin Sanjiu when the black screen rose again, but he seemed to look forward to their duel.
"Miss Lin, please don’t lose!"
Lin Sanjiu heard Zhong Junkai’s anxious voice calling from behind her just as she was about to take her first step toward the platform.
She looked b
ehind and saw Zhong Junkai’s face. It was covered with water droplets, though she couldn’t tell if it was sweat or rain. "If you lose, we’re goners!"
"Alright, I’ll try my best." Lin Sanjiu nodded. Following Hai Tianqing, she created some distance between herself and the platform. Then, she ran forward and leaped up with the momentum, landing onto the slate platform.
Lin Sanjiu looked down from the floating platform. She realized that she could also see a section of the White Team’s semicircle clearly. She could see the members of the White Team huddling together, discussing, and wondered if they were talking about their positions for the next turn. She looked over to where Mr. Dot was standing, but she saw nothing other than that hazy white fog.
"So, you still have the mood to look around, huh?"
She heard an unfamiliar voice. Flowery shirt spoke quickly, chaining the syllabus in his words. Lin Sanjiu seemed unoffended as she turned to look at the man who had just jumped up onto the platform.
Looking back at her, the man chuckled, "Nevermind. You’re too pitiable because you will soon have to offer one of your ability to me…"
Lin Sanjiu eyed him coldly, feeling her fury coursing through her body like lava. She let out a fleeting laughter. "I’ll give you a few seconds to surrender."
Flowery shirt was stunned for a second as if he could not comprehend what she had just said.
Lin Sanjiu ignored him and looked down at the White Team once again.
When she carried B.Rabbit into the white fog just now, he immediately abandoned his act and told her all the information he had received from Hai Tianqing. Within the White Team, the person they had to look out for was that Old Woman. That woman was supposedly from another New World; she was cruel and very skilled. On the other hand, the man in front of her was just a paper tiger.
Few seconds slipped by, but Flowery shirt did not surrender; instead, it was obvious that he had decided on the wrong choice. Lin Sanjiu felt a movement in front of her, and saw a fist heading in her direction. However, with her Overall Physical Enhancement, that punch looked incredibly slow. It was shocking that her opponent actually chose to engage in a physical brawl!
She stepped to one side and kicked the back of Flowery shirt’s knee when she found an opening.
"Bam!" He kneeled onto the green slate platform.
"Swoosh!" Not giving him a chance to get up, she delivered a fast and violent kick to his femur. This was followed by a bone-chilling "Crack". Flowery shirt let out a loud scream, and tears and mucus instantly ran down his face. He used both his hands, trying to support himself with various positions. However, he was still unable to get up after a long time.
In a blink of an eye, Lin Sanjiu had managed to force a man, a head taller than her, to the ground, and she didn’t even need to take out her hands from her pockets.
"Even though your leg is broken, you aren’t paralyzed." She crouched down to look at his injury and even consoled him. "Count yourself lucky. There isn’t any bad blood between us, so I’ve already held back and didn’t break your spine… Don’t cry! Listen to me!"
Flowery shirt sniffled stopped, he looked at her.
"Go back and tell that old hag on your team that I will move to B4 next. Tell her to wait for me there." Lin Sanjiu stared at Flowery shirt and gave him a sinister smile. "If I find that she is not on B4 during the next positioning, I will chase after you for the next two games and make sure that I kill you. Got it?"
Flowery shirt nodded hurriedly.
"If you understand, then you better surrender now." Lin Sanjiu placed one of her feet threateningly on his back.
"I surrender!" Flowery shirt shouted without delay. As if afraid that it was not clear enough, he repeated it a few times: "I surrender! I surrender!"
Lin Sanjiu sneered at him then she left him alone and jumped down from the platform. She walked past the relieved gaze of the other members and returned to her tile. With that, the Red Team successfully gained that +1 point. Now, the score was 5:4. Even though the Red Team seemed to be leading with 1 point, they only had exactly three members left on the grid. If one more person was kicked out from the game, they would lose.
"Ding dong." The hints appeared on the tiles where the three Red Team members were standing, drawing all their attention.
Old Wang received a "There is a +1 point reward in front of you.", Zhong Junkai received a "There is a -1 point penalty in front of you." whereas Lin Sanjiu received a "There is no points nearby" hint. Once the hints disappeared, the fifth positioning quickly ended with Mr. Dot’s announcement.
The black screen lowered once again at a slow crawling speed, revealing all their position again.
This time, a tile on the White Team’s grid glowed red once more. The long-legged woman with a red mini short skirt, crossed her arms as she stood above the glowing tile. Both satisfaction and disappointment showed on her face. She looked very discontented when she saw the Red Team member she missed.
When Lin Sanjiu saw her, Lin Sanjiu exchanged looks with B.Rabbit. They thought the same thing: what Hai Tianqing had said, "The strategy to target the Red Team was basically planned by that woman in a mini-skirt. She doesn’t look like that sort of person, but she is actually very dangerous."
It was really quite hard for them to believe what he said because no matter how they looked at her, she seemed like an impulsive person.
"Oh… A contestant from the White Team stepped on a tile with +1 point reward. That +1 point for the White Team," Mr. Dot suddenly sounded rather lazy.
"Now, I will announce the positions."
White Team: Hu Changzai B2, Hai Tianqing C3, Long-legs D2, Old Woman B4, Loser D5.
Red Team: Old Wang E1, Zhong Junkai E4, Lin Sanjiu B4.
"Both teams have collided once more." Observing the current situation, Lin Sanjiu’s threat was very effective. Flowery shirt, limping on one leg, appeared to have delivered her message. She looked up and smiled faintly at Old Woman who was in the same column.
Her opponent returned her smile with a dark smile plastered on that ashen dry face.
When the screen rose again, Lin Sanjiu threw a glance at Old Wang and Zhong Junkai.
Even though she had defeated Flowery shirt, it did nothing to boost her team members confidence. Judging from the tile that Old Wang chose, he would rather give up on a nearby point than risk a collision with anyone from the White Team. Shakened by Chen Fan’s death, Zhong Junkai also chose to avoid the White Team.
Sighing, Lin Sanjiu stepped out of the grid. In the end, conceding that she could only count on herself. A short distance from them, a person was already standing on the dueling platform. The old woman looked down at Lin Sanjiu condescendingly from above. With a quick flip, Lin Sanjiu got up the platform.
Chapter 82 - Lin Sanjiu’s Kills and Steals
While she was dragging Chen Fan’s corpse, Lin Sanjiu carefully examined his lethal wounds.
The old woman only used a single blow to kill Chen Fan; however, Chen Fan’s c.h.e.s.t was covered by multiple bloodied holes which were nested closely together. It was like a mashed up beehive and was quite a disturbing sight. No matter how much force that woman's punch held, there was no way that it could naturally produce such a wound. At that point, Lin Sanjiu concluded that it had something to do with that woman's fists.
Right now, Lin Sanjiu was witnessing that woman's strange attack. Instead of a single concentrated blow, the old woman's punch was like a combined attack of a dozen sharp spikes at once. Currently, they were all aimed at Lin Sanjiu upper body. If they hit her, she would instantly become a human sieve, and her corpse would look worse than Chen Fan’s. Alarmed, Lin Sanjiu shifted her body, and as if every inch of her muscles suddenly came alive, she barely evaded the attack with a series of odd twists.
The attack cut off a lock of Lin Sanjiu’s black hair, scattering it in mid-air. The length of the hair on Lin Sanjiu left side was now only at her collar bone.
"Oh? You're quite good." The old woman laughed i
n a hoarse voice. "The apocalyptic scenario in this world had just started for a few months, yet you have such physical aptitude… are you also from another world?
"No," Lin Sanjiu replied as she stared at the woman.
The current circ.u.mstances were not very favorable for Lin Sanjiu. Even though she already knew that it wouldn't be easy, it was different experiencing firsthand how horrifyingly lethal that old woman's attack was — and it seemed as if that was just to test her. She could tell that the prem.a.t.u.r.ely-aged woman definitely had more hidden up her sleeves.
On the other hand, she had just woken up from a one-week coma, and her School of Higher Consciousness was still sealed. In addition to that, she didn't even have a decent weapon within the cards she had...
"No? Haha! Then your Potential Growth Value shouldn't be too low!" The old woman suddenly laughed out, tearing her fragile old dried skin. "Your Active Skill must be pretty good, why don't you just give it to me."
Just as she said that, she lunged toward Lin Sanjiu. Lin Sanjiu couldn't even see the rain of punches clearly, she was drowned by the multiple waves of spine-like attacks. If Chen Fan saw that sight, he would have been thankful that he did not die as a foam of blood.
With a burst of adrenaline, Lin Sanjiu moved at a speed she had never even imagined, her movements were so fast that they almost congealed into a single streak. Yet even at that speed, she only managed to dodge the main field of the attack, while both of arms were already covered with multiple streaks of blood. While she dodged, she nervously considered her options. Her laughter item could not be used on females, Cat Litter was not a combat item, if she used "Route 300" to seal her opponent's special item, the old woman could still continue using her Active Skills…
[What should I do?]
"Why are you only dodging?"
Every subsequent whirlwind of attacks was more vicious than the previous, but the old woman was unable to cause any major injuries due to Lin Sanjiu’s eel-like dodging. The old woman finally started losing patience and held back her attacks saying, "Let's put a quick end to this."