by N. Heller
When both of them reached the platform where Lin Sanjiu fell into the sea, Ji Shanqing crouched down at the edge. Then, he raised his head and studied Maxin.
"There were times I thought you'd push me into the water," he stated. His tone was so calm that he seemed like he was asking some trivial matters. "Why didn't you?"
Maxin's blood ran cold, and his heartbeat picked up its pace when the grand prize threw him that question. He did not know how to answer him. Putting on a calm facade as he battled to hide his real emotions, he stared at the sea and replied, "That's not necessary. This is where your sister fell into the water, isn't it?"
"Yes." Ji Shanqing withdrew his gaze from Maxin and continued to stare at the yellow sea. Squinting his eyes, Ji Shanqing propped himself forward. "Can you see that?"
"What?" Maxin did not notice what Ji Shanqing had seen since he was standing behind him.
"Below the yellow shadows, just on the top layer, there's a large clump of entangled yellow silhouettes." Ji Shanqing's voice quivered just like a vase on the verge of shattering. "Do you have a cane or something similar?"
Maxin craned his neck and looked in the direction the grand prize was pointing at. Indeed, like what the grand prize said, there was a huge dark clump beneath the layer of yellow shadows on the top. Besides that, looking from its outline, it did look human. Maxin took two steps back, and after he was confident that the grand prize could not see him, he rummaged through his inventory, looking for the item that the grand prize had requested from him. After a few seconds of searching, he then said, "I don't have a cane. That kind of thing is useless, so I should've thrown it away."
"What do you have then?"
"A rope? I'm not sure…" Before Maxin could finish his sentence, Ji Shanqing turned around and stared at him. Maxin's reaction was fast as he immediately hid his inventory. With a raised brow, he asked, "What's wrong?"
"If my sister is underwater, we don't have much time left. We have to act fast," Ji Shanqing drew a deep breath to calm himself down and commanded, "Come over here."
"What do you want?" Maxin asked, remained standing firm on the platform.
"I don't care how you do it. Scatter that clump of shadows." Ji Shanqing stood up and retreated to the side with his arms crossed in front of his c.h.e.s.t, "Hurry."
"How am I going to…"
"I'm sure you know how to do it. I noticed that you've used at least two Special Items when you were swimming, but you still have a mermaid's tail that you didn't use. All of your Special Items are heavily skewed towards surviving underwater. I don't think this is a coincidence. You've adapted to the sea, and you even chose to participate in a swimming competition rather than other sports on land," Ji Shanqing said quickly, "Let me guess. You survived through the apocalyptic world by hiding underwater, didn't you?"
Ji Shanqing was right.
The danger he would face in the water was way much lesser than what he would encounter on land. By hiding himself underwater, he would be able to steer himself away from encountering duoluozhong , Pocket Dimensions, or other posthumans, while securing his food sources at the same time. Besides that, Maxin had always been an aquaphile since childhood. He just did not get many chances to swim since he was poor.
"I can try." Maxin compromised in the end after he thought for a few moments. "But I can't promise you anything."
"You're a kind person." A fleeting smile flashed across Ji Shanqing's face. He was not complimenting Maxin or showing his gratitude. He was merely stating a fact that he had observed about him.
Although Maxin knew Ji Shanqing would not attack him at that moment, exposing his back while using a Special Item at the edge of the platform was something he did not really welcome. He put the mermaid's tail on his hand, and with a swipe of his hand, the scales on the mermaid's tail expanded and crawled up to his arm. Looking from the side, it seemed as if his arm had grown into a fishtail.
As if they sensed him, the yellow shadows all gathered under the spot where Maxin was crouching. He carefully dipped the pointy end of the tail into the water.
Truth to be told, the mermaid's tail was not inferior to his other Special Items at all. The moment it touched the surface of the sea, water would gather around it and transform the entire mermaid's tail into a large water whip. In the end, a vortex was formed. The vortex grew larger and faster with every stroke of Maxin's arm. He was cautious as no seawater that had been imbued with the yellow shadows spilled onto the platform they were standing on.
Ji Shanqing let his long hair flow downstream as Maxin was getting nervous.
"Keep it going," Ji Shanqing encouraged, "You're about to touch the ball of shadows."
The mermaid's tail revolved even faster. The huge water whip controlled by the mermaid's tail had created a vortex about ten meters deep within the blink of an eye. Eventually, the clump of yellow shadows was exposed to the air. It seemed like a human being wrapped by countless snakes. However, they were soon washed away by the force of the vortex.
A spherical object flew out from that clump of yellow shadows and hit the platform with a loud clunk. Ji Shanqing quickly went forward and picked it up from the water.
It was a huge birdcage.
Perhaps because he was protected by the birdcage, the man appeared a little shaky, but he was still alive. Ji Shanqing hurled the birdcage onto the ground and yelled out loudly, "My sis is still down there! Hurry, keep it going!"
A shudder of excitement swept through Maxin, driving him to move his arm even faster. When he saw a person moving up from the sea, he stopped. To his relief, the vortex was dissipating and the sea was calming down.
He had a favorable impression of Lin Sanjiu. Not only was he delighted to see her again, but most importantly, the person that could contain Ji Shanqing had returned.
Both of them held their breaths as they looked at the figure swim towards the surface of the sea.
With a huge splash, a face emerged from the sea. As he drew in a few deep breaths, he offered a bright smile at the duo.
"Hello!" Zeus rolled his snaky neck as if he was limbering up. "You have found God! Congratulations!"
Both of them were stunned.
Maxin did not have to turn around to see Ji Shanqing's face as he could easily picture the latter's face inside his mind. It must be ghastly pale like the snow of a blizzard storm.
"Ahem!" Zeus cleared his throat theatrically. He tugged at his black tank top and announced, filling the air with his clear voice, "New year, new hope, new me! I'm now going to announce the new rules. You'd better open your ears and listen carefully!"
Chapter 632 - Let’s Continue The Game Happily!
Maxin was so distracted when he heard the words "new me" that he almost missed what Zeus was going to say next.
"First, every 24 hours, both camps need to send at least one member into the buffer zone. If no one enters the buffer zone for more than 24 hours, a member will be randomly removed from each camp."
It should not be a problem for Zeus to remove a member.
"Secondly, if a platform has been vacant for more than 30 minutes, then the platform will be removed from the sea as well. The player that successfully enters the opponent's camp has the privilege to choose a platform to remove. I hope everybody can make good use of these two rules and give your best to win the game! That's all from me. Thank you for your attention."
After that, Zeus sighed dejectedly. He patted his c.h.e.s.t and exclaimed disappointedly, "I could not believe I'd be leaving so soon. I haven't even had a chance to see all of your faces. Anyway, it's time for me to get going. The game needs to continue."
Maxin was staring at Zeus's hand. He was confident he was not the only one who noticed the bandage around Zeus's neck.
He did not know Lin Sanjiu very well since he had just gotten acquainted with her not long ago. Hence, it took him a considerable amount of time to realize there was a bandage wrapped around Zeus's abnormally long neck.
Just as Maxin wanted to t
urn around to check with Ji Shanqing, the latter shouted out first, "Stop right there!"
Zeus was preparing to leave, but when he heard Ji Shanqing's call, he turned his head to him. Half of his body was immersed under the sea. A school of yellow shadows was spiraling around him as if he was a large fishing bait. However, none of them dared to pounce on him.
Ji Shanqing's face was as pale as a sheet, and he could not help shivering in the chilly breeze. Staring fixedly at Zeus, no matter how hard he tried, he could not spit the words on the tip of his tongue out. Zeus returned his gaze as he waited patiently in the water. He did not say anything, but the smile on his face grew wider with every passing second.
Finally, after Ji Shanqing had mustered enough courage, he yelled, sounding like he was about to burst into tears, "Sis!"
Stunned, Maxin thought his ears had failed him again. He turned his head to look at Zeus, and then at Ji Shanqing with confusion written all over his face. "Sis?"
Zeus pulled the collar of his tank top open theatrically as he looked at his c.h.e.s.t. Then, he raised his head and smirked. "I think I'm not a woman."
Upon hearing his claim, Ji Shanqing held back his tears. His eyes were rimmed red, but Maxin could see a fire brewing in them.
"On your chin," Ji Shanqing said as he pointed at Zeus's chin. His usual calm self had reclaimed the stage once again, and his voice was devoid of any emotions. "Is that seaweed?"
'Seaweed?'
The same question arose in both Maxin and Zeus's minds. Zeus raised his hand to touch his chin. "Seaweed? How is there—"
As soon as a faint shade of blue dangled from his chin, Ji Shanqing, who had been waiting for this moment, yelled at Maxin, "Get that thing here now!"
Maxin's body reacted faster than his brain could. With a swipe of his right arm, the mermaid's tail conjured another water vortex. The vortex quickly rolled over the blue thing. Zeus tried to get it back, but it slipped through his fingers. The blue item hit the side of the platform along with the waves.
Ji Shanqing leaped forward to scoop it up from the water. As soon as he grasped it in his palm, Maxin pulled him back before a few yellow shadows flew out from the water and landed on the platform. Without water, the appearance of these yellow shadows could finally be seen. They were oblong in shape and looked like slime. They bounced about like beached fish on the platform, and before they could do any damage, they dried up and evaporated.
Staring at the dried yellow patches, Maxin was dumbfounded. It took several minutes before he finally came around to his senses and studied the thing in Ji Shanqing's hand.
There was now an intricate phoenix coronet-shaped tattoo on Ji Shanqing's wrist. The stark contrast created by the deep blue tattoo against the grand prize's ghastly pale skin tone was dazzling to the eyes.
"The Phoenix," Ji Shanqing muttered, his expression twisted into an ugly scowl. Before Maxin could ask him anything, Ji Shanqing raised his head and shot a question at Zeus, "Why do you have the same round wound on the right side of your shoulder as my sister?"
The scars on Lin Sanjiu's body that she had gotten throughout the years were too numerous to count. Even with her superb regeneration abilities, some of the wounds were so deep that they could not be healed completely. Of all the wounds, the one she received from getting impaled at Kisaragi Train Station was the most unique. It was a perfectly round shape, hence, it stood out from the rest.
The corner of Zeus's lips curled up into a huge grin, giving people a chance to peek at his deep and dark oral cavity. The skin on his face scrunched up disgustingly, causing Maxin's stomach to do a flip-flop like the first time he saw him. Zeus shrugged his shoulders, and just as he parted his lips to say something, he leaped out from the water and ran away at a blurring speed. He was so fast that he vanished from their vision before Ji Shanqing could even activate the effect of All Birds Pay Homage To The Phoenix.
"Run!"
Maxin could not differentiate whether he shouted the word out or whether he was merely yelling inside his mind. Amassing all his strength in his legs, he kicked the ground and pushed himself towards the next platform before a thousand yellow shadows landed on the platform he previously stood on.
Just as he landed staggeringly, Ji Shanqing also reached the platform. The platform behind them was soon engulfed by the yellow shadows and vanished from their side. Maxin turned around with some lingering fear crawling over his face. He looked at the grand prize, and to his surprise, the grand prize was carrying the birdcage along with him.
"What's going on?" Maxin barked his question. The incidents that had just transpired were too much for his brain to interpret. "Where has your… sister gone to? What should we do now?"
It seemed to Maxin that Ji Shanqing really had poor physical strength. All he did was just a single leap from one platform to the other, and he panted like a bull. He placed one of his hands on the birdcage while he used the other hand to prop himself up from the ground. The vein on his forehead was bulging as if he was trying very hard to contain himself from exploding. His lower lip was turning white as he bit it hard. Suddenly, his eyes glowed. He turned to the birdcage and yanked the small window free.
"This match is nothing," he said through gritted teeth. His face had taken on a ghastly expression, causing Maxin to take a step back. "Can't you even figure that out?"
"Whichever side has the most number of platforms left will be the winner. That's the rule of this game. To win the game, not only do we have to keep jumping from one platform to another so that our platforms won't disappear, but we still need to try and reduce our opponent's number of platforms," Ji Shanqing said as he shoved his hand into the birdcage and clenched the balding man's collar tightly. "Think about it yourself and you'll know what to do. I have something more important to attend to now."
Chapter 633 - Three Missing One
Maxin stepped back a few paces. Just as he was about to reach the edge of the platform, Ji Shanqing called out to him, "Where are you going?"
Ji Shanqing did not turn his head to face Maxin but concentrated on fiddling with the balding man in the birdcage.
'Didn't you ask me to scout the area?'
However, he choked on the words as soon as he suddenly realized something. He swallowed what he was about to say and tried to speak as calmly as possible, "I'll stay away as far as possible."
It appeared to him that Ji Shanqing was going to collect a Special Item from the balding man. Hence, Maxin felt it was necessary for him to mention that he did not covet any of them.
Upon hearing what Maxin said, the young man slightly turned his body around. Set against his cascading black hair and glowing pale skin, his red-rimmed eyes glimmered like two ruby gemstones. He gave Maxin a meaningful gaze and snorted slightly before turning back to the balding man. He continued rummaging through the man's pockets for more Special Items.
Maxin sighed inwardly.
He was certain he must look incredibly ridiculous now. If there was anything worse than giving an impression of being weak and deceivable, it must be being stupid and having slow reflexes.
He should have realized it sooner. After Zeus announced the new rules, scouting the area and counting the number of platforms in the black camp made no sense anymore. There were so many platforms, and jumping from one end to the other end within half an hour was impossible. Hence, instead of bending their backs to secure every platform, it was better to narrow down the area to a manageable size.
"How many platforms do you think you can cover in half an hour?" asked Ji Shanqing.
"I have jumped seven platforms just now, so..." Maxin said with a frown as he contemplated. While he was recalling how much time he had taken to jump from one platform to the other, Ji Shanqing chimed in, thwarting his thoughts, "Eight. You have jumped eight platforms in total."
It took some time for the words to sink in before Maxin replied, "Oh yeah, it's eight. So, including the preparation time, each jump took me less than ten seconds."
If he could jump from one platform to another platform in ten seconds, then he could secure 180 platforms at the most.
"Well, let me ask you then, do you think you can keep up with that speed after a dozen consecutive jumps?"
"I didn't think of that." When Maxin realized he had to keep jumping for 180 times, his muscles already ached.
"Think about it. How many platforms can you jump before you run out of energy?" Ji Shanqing said, toying with the balding man in the birdcage. Since his back was facing Maxin, the latter had no idea what kind of Special Item did the grand prize retrieve from the balding man. "Your physical strength should be better than both of ours, so we need to make the estimation based on you."
Maxin nodded his head, his brows knitted in a tight knot. Pushing the doubt to the back of his mind, Maxin tried to figure out the question Ji Shanqing threw at him first.
He looked at Ji Shanqing's back, and a thought surfaced in his mind as he wondered what kind of Special Item he had retrieved from the balding man. 'Does he still remember his promise about sharing 20% of the man's Special Items with me?' Then, he sighed sourly. 'I guess not…'
"Don't worry. I'm a man of my word." Ji Shanqing's voice suddenly rang out, making him jump. He wondered how the grand prize knew what was he thinking about. Ji Shanqing stood up and retreated to the side as he said, "I'll give you a third of his Special Items. Come and see if I missed out on anything. It'll be yours if you can find them. Then, I'll give you your share afterward."
Maxin looked ahead to see that although the balding man was still fully dressed, he was a mess. From a single glance, Maxin realized that the necklace and watch that were drawn with a red ballpen on the man's wrist had disappeared.
Maxin was certain that there must be more Special Items that were gone as the grand prize was now holding a 20-centimeter long display board. It was the kind that was used in an office or exhibition. There were several ropes tied to the board, and each rope was connected to numerous wooden blocks. There was a plenitude of strange ornaments clipped onto the rows of wooden blocks, and at a glance, it reminded Maxin of refrigerator magnets.