by N. Heller
Realizing that he had been staring at the board for too long, Maxin quickly lowered his gaze. He walked over to the birdcage and stretched his hand into it.
He first tugged at the balding man's shirt, and after confirming that it was nothing more than an ordinary shirt, he then ferreted around his hair, the back of his ears, his ankles, and places that were easily overlooked. After rifling for some time, Maxin had to admit that Ji Shanqing had the potential to be a Vulture. The balding man was raided clean. There was nothing useful left, let alone any Special Items. Feeling a little disappointed, Maxin nodded at the grand prize and said, "I guess that's all?"
Ji Shanqing nodded in return. He hitched the display board on his shoulder and picked the birdcage up from the ground. Then, he asked, "Have you figured it out yet? How many platforms can you cover before you get tired?"
"A hundred will be my maximum," Maxin replied quickly, "I suggest we don't go all the way down the first row. We might have trouble covering them when our opponent comes. I guess 10x10 is the most ideal to manage."
Maxin was worried that Ji Shanqing would reject his idea and insist on him jumping more platforms. However, Ji Shanqing just frowned slightly as he said, "You'll need 36 seconds to jump from one platform to another. Hmm, I think it should be sufficient. If you can't manage it, we can reduce them even more."
"No, 100 platforms take half an hour, so it should be 18 seconds per platform," Maxin corrected.
Ji Shanqing looked at him as he smiled.
Stunned, Maxin did the math in his heart again, 'Half an hour is 1,800 seconds, so 1,800 divided by 100 is 18 seconds… There's nothing wrong with my math.'
"Don't tell me that you're going to jump back to the starting point the moment you reach 100 platforms?" Ji Shanqing asked, his voice slow and steady. Maxin immediately saw the light. Even if he had enough strength to carry out such a feat, he would not have enough time to make it back to the first platform in time.
At this point, in order to secure their platform, another companion must be standing and have departed from the first platform. Nevertheless, neither Ji Shanqing nor Soulsqn had the ability to jump over 100 platforms in 30 minutes.
"So, we need two more people," Ji Shanqing suggested as if he did not realize he had been wasting their time. "One will be standing at the starting point while the other will be standing at the endpoint. After you finish a l.a.p, both of us will depart from our respective points and meet at the 50th platform. This way, we only need 36 seconds to jump from one platform to the other, and that gives you about 30 minutes to rest."
When they met at the 50th platform, it would be time for Maxin to start jumping again. While he was jumping, the other two only needed to make a detour and return to their respective points within 30 minutes. In this way, they could secure at least 100 platforms. Of course, it went without saying that even posthuman could not jump endlessly. If their opponents decided to play the waiting game, things would turn ugly for them.
"Wait." Maxin suddenly realized something. "We need three people to secure the platform, and we now have only three people on our side. Who should we send to cross the buffer zone and enter the opponents' camp?"
Ji Shanqing did not reply to his question. Instead, he tilted his head and said, "On my call. When I say jump, you jump to the next platform."
Dumbfounded, before Maxin could understand what he was trying to do, Ji Shanqing opened the gate of the birdcage and shook it. When the balding man dropped to the ground with a loud thud, he grabbed the display board and the birdcage as he shouted to Maxin, "Now!"
Chapter 634 - Well, Technically Lin Sanjiu Is Still Alive…
The balding man was a little groggy after he fell out of the birdcage. He hit the ground hard and rolled across the platform unconsciously, only regaining his consciousness just as he was about to fall down from the platform. He grabbed the edge and raised his head.
His mind was still a muddled mess, and stars whirled in his eyes. He gave a quick shake of his head to chase the stars away.
"What?" He rubbed his mouth, scrambled up from the ground, and began to take in his surroundings.
Even without turning his head, Maxin could sense the tensed atmosphere behind him. The grand prize was standing stiff as a ramrod, his jaw tightly set.
"You… You... Are you the one who re-released me?" the balding man said, slurring his words like a drunkard.
"Yes, you're free now," Ji Shanqing replied calmly.
"Where am I?"
Suddenly, disappointment crawled upon Ji Shanqing's face. He clenched his jaw so tightly that his teeth ached. He made a fist with his hand and took another deep breath as he looked straight into the balding man's eyes. Looking at his expression, Maxin retreated two steps back.
"Hold on a second." The fog in the balding man's eyes cleared. His memories returned. Then, as everything came together and formed a rational thought in his brain, he jerked up and growled furiously, "Hey! You're the one who took my things! Give them back to me!"
Maxin heard Ji Shanqing let out a breath. He swiveled his head and looked over his shoulder. He saw the grand prize gather his hair behind his ears as a warm and gentle smile blossomed across his face.
"Yeah, it's me," Ji Shanqing replied, his voice sounding lighter now. "I thought you wouldn't be able to feel anything when you're inside the cage. Since you know it's I who took your Special Item, things will be easier now."
The balding man, at long last, returned to his senses. His scalp, which had lesser hair, turned scarlet as his anger rose almost to a boiling point. He spat into the sea and hissed, "That woman is gone. There's nobody to protect you now. Do you think you stand a chance against me?"
"Pretty much." Ji Shanqing snorted. Then, he crouched down by the edge of the platform and rested his chin on his palm. He looked like a child in this position. "If you want your item, then you will have to come and take it," he challenged.
The balding man scoffed, a satirical smile spreading across his face. He knew the grand prize could never best him in a brawl. His confidence was short-lived though as a fearful expression soon appeared on his face, replacing his earlier arrogance. As if something unseen was pulling him, he fell on the platform with a loud thud and rolled uncontrollably towards the edge of the platform.
"Damn it!" The man grabbed a rock that jutted out from the platform at the last minute before he fell into the sea which was colonized by the yellow shadows. He wrapped his limbs around the protrusion for dear life as he hissed, "That's The Phoenix again!"
Although Pay Phoenix was not a powerful Special Item, it was still something not to be underestimated. The balding man knew this very well as he had suffered a few losses ever since Lin Sanjiu snatched it away from him.
"What the hell do you want from me?" he shouted, his voice quivering as he battled against the strong suction force.
Ji Shanqing sat down by the side of the platform.
"You don't seem as strong as the first time I saw you. Could it be perhaps because of the birdcage?" Ji Shanqing asked, appearing calm, relaxed, and confident as he had the upper hand over the situation. "Anyway, I guess nobody knows The Phoenix better than you do. I'm now using the lowest level of power. How long do you think you can hold on for?"
The answer was obvious—not very long.
"What the hell do you want?" Supporting his weight with only his ten fingers required a lot of physical effort. Even though Ji Shanqing did not reduce the suction strength, he could not move even the slightest bit, let alone regain his footing.
"You only need to answer a few questions of mine." Ji Shanqing raised his eyes and looked fixedly at the balding man, his searing stare shaking the man to his core. "You were here in the Olympics before us, and you fell into the water along with my sister. Now, you're going to tell me what happened down there. Where is my sister? And what is going on with Zeus?"
"I'll answer your questions, but can you first undo The Phoenix?" The balding man huffed. "I can't hold on any
longer!"
After hearing his request, Ji Shanqing c.a.r.e.s.sed the phoenix coronet tattoo.
Despite being a hundred meters apart, Maxin somehow could hear the fl.u.s.tered heartbeat of the balding man. He watched as the man pulled himself back to the platform crossly. Ji Shanqing did not undo The Phoenix entirely. He only toned the output down by a small margin. The balding man sat on the platform as he stopped himself from sliding forward by stepping on a protrusion in the ground with his feet. His forehead was full of sweat, and his limbs were shaking.
"You wouldn't trust me even if I told you." He shivered as an eddy of cold breeze blew past. "This isn't the first time I joined God's Ordeal. Although it's a little bit different, in the sea, there are these…"
He paused, nodding his chin at the sea. "These damned yellow things as well.
"At that time, Zeus said he had caught a cold, so there would be snot flowing here and there, and he asked us to be careful not to touch them." The balding man paused momentarily to look at the grand prize in the eyes before moving on. "I believe that you're a smart person. Didn't you notice that there's one thing that doesn't any make sense?"
There was no expression on Ji Shanqing's face. Maxin had no idea whether Ji Shanqing had it all figured and was merely testing the balding man, or whether he was pretending to be sophisticated and smart.
The balding man observed him through narrowed eyes for a few seconds, but the grand prize remained indifferent. He did not allow any of his emotions to spill onto his face.
Eventually, the balding man gave up and continued, "The ultimate goal of God's Ordeal is to pick a winner to meet Zeus, the highest god." He enunciated word by word, hoping that his advice would shake the two young men up. "Here comes the contradiction: haven't you guys seen Zeus already? So, what's the point of holding this God's Ordeal? It makes no sense, does it?"
Maxin frowned. 'Well, judging from his bearings, I don't think Zeus would do anything that makes sense,' he thought inwardly before coolly adding, "Perhaps he was having fun teasing us."
"You're wrong." The balding man shook his head. "You guys are indeed lucky. The secret I'm going to tell you now is something that's sought after by many people. However, some of them died without knowing it, so prick up your ears and listen carefully," he hissed through his teeth in a low voice. Then, after waiting for a few seconds, he whispered, "The Zeus you guys saw isn't the real Zeus."
"What?" Maxin s.u.c.k.e.d the air in through his teeth.
"He called himself Zeus. That's right, but my name is Hegel. Does that make me a philosopher too?" The balding man chuckled. He stared straight at Ji Shanqing as if his next sentence was meant for him. "There are many people who go by the name of Zeus."
In actual fact, not many people called themselves Zeus. Furthermore, it was even rarer for someone to go by the same name while concurrently having abilities similar to Zeus's. Just as Maxin fell into confusion, a light, rattling sound came drifting into his ears. Dumbfounded, he turned around and realized that the noise came from Ji Shanqing's teeth clacking against each other.
"I guess our Mr. Smartypants has already gotten the idea."
Hegel smiled a toothy grin as if he found immense joy to see both of their reactions. "The real Zeus, the highest god, would never appear before the final round. Aside from managing the Olympics and adjusting the rules of the game to his liking, he will find someone to carry out such a menial job like catching people to be in God's Ordeal that requires him to show himself since he can't show himself in front of people."
"There is only one Zeus, but why he is the 'highest' god? This is because there are plenty of lesser gods serving under him, and it's easy to create them."
At this point, Maxin finally understood. All of the hairs on his back bristled up as a chill crept up his spine.
"Every posthuman that falls into the pool of yellow shadows will be transformed into a Zeus. Your sister… Well, I guess you've seen it with your own eyes already, haven't you? Didn't you get The Phoenix from her?" Hegel said, a cruel smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "More Zeus will be born from this game. Just watch."
Chapter 635 - It Is Easy To Be Generous With Other People's Money
Everyone that fell into the sea would be transformed into a Zeus by the yellow shadows that came from the highest god, Zeus, whom they had never met before.
After a short bout of ruminating, Maxin came to the conclusion that death was a far better choice compared to being reformed into Zeus.
So, where were those lesser Zeus? And what would eventually be the fate of those people who had turned into Zeus?
Nothing happened while Maxin was staring blankly at the sea. Like him, Ji Shanqing was equally stunned. His brain was blank with no idea or clue. He could not utter a single syllable for a long time.
The sea breeze ruffled his hair, sending the strands sprawling over his face like thousands of threads. As if it were a broken jigsaw puzzle, the shocked expression on his face was shattered into pieces, each of which was magnified by dozens of times. Observing Ji Shanqing, the balding man could not help but release a half-suppressed laugh despite the fact that he was still under the grand prize's mercy.
The man's giggle snapped Ji Shanqing back to reality. He lowered his head and rubbed his eyes.
After a few seconds, without raising his head, he asked in a throaty voice, "Is that true?" That was a silly question.
"Nah, that's not true." Hegel grinned. When Ji Shanqing raised his head and looked at Hegel with glowing eyes, the latter threw his head back and guffawed uproariously. "Of course that's true, you dumbass! Didn't you see with your own eyes that that woman, your sister, was engulfed by the yellow shadows the moment she fell into the sea? And when the yellow shadows spat her out, she was no longer your sister anymore but Zeus? What more proof do you need? It isn't rocket science. Is it that hard to understand?"
"Shut up!" Maxin could not help but yell at Hegel, startling even himself. Aside from knowing that Ji Shanqing did not require his help, Maxin knew nothing about him. Although he was not sure if Ji Shanqing would be grateful for his help, it did not stop him from barking out his frustration.
"How many abilities do you have? Two or three? Look around you. If you want to get out of here alive, we're your only hope. However, it's our choice to bring you along with us or not. So, do you think that's the appropriate attitude you should have towards somebody that could possibly save you?" Maxin snarled. He turned and whistled at the figure far away. "Erm, Queen, can you come over here now? I have found a human pouch for you."
"No, I don't want him!" Soulsqn shouted, "He's too ugly. Besides, I'm a queen. I should wear a girl as my pouch."
Hegel had never been so humiliated in his whole life. His face was contorted into a grotesque sneer, and his eyes blazed with fervent rage. He wanted to say something, but just as he saw Ji Shanqing take a step forward, he choked on his words.
"Thank you."
A soft and feeble sound like the chirp of a fledgling in the early morning of the forest rang out beside Maxin. It did not sound like the grand prize as it was too fragile. Thinking that his ears had failed him, Maxin turned his head around and looked over his shoulder. He saw that Ji Shanqing had lowered his head as his long hair cascaded down past his face, covering his red-rimmed eyes.
This should be the version of Ji Shanqing in Lin Sanjiu's eyes.
Maxin was relieved, albeit slightly. On the surface, he was calm and collected. But, deep down, he was actually an impulsive man. He often took counsel of his heart and not his brain, and committed himself to something he would regret greatly afterward. He hated himself for that, so he always tried not to be controlled by his emotions when making any decisions.
'I have to be more careful not to be overrun by my emotions again the next time,' he told himself inwardly.
He did not expect that their relationship would improve by leaps and bounds just because of a few words. He nodded and took a step back, wanting to inform Ji
Shanqing that they were running short of time since 15 minutes had passed, but he could not find the right time to say it.
"What else do you want to tell me?"
After a few seconds, the usually calm and calculative Ji Shanqing took the stage once more as the fragile version of himself retreated back to the depths of his psyche. He gazed calmly at Hegel, but the latter had a feeling that he was not looking at him but at the horizon far away.
"What else you want to know?" The balding man took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. As he battled against The Phoenix, he said through gritted teeth, "I lost the game the last time, so I didn't get the chance to see Zeus, the highest god. There's nothing else I can tell you."
"You lost the game, but you're still alive?" It seemed to Maxin that Ji Shanqing was merely stalling time.
"If you don't get killed by your opponent, then yes. And there'll be no punishment for losing the game."
"Why you're so hell-bent on meeting Zeus?"
Hegel fell silent, not replying to the question promptly. After a few seconds that seemed like ages, only then he began to speak again, "I happened to come across a message when I was traveling in the Twelve World Centrum. According to the message, the highest god, Zeus, has the ability to fulfill a man's wish."
Startled, Ji Shanqing's eyes were dragged back to Hegel. He studied him through squinted eyes. Just when Maxin thought he would press the matter since, after all, a wish-granting ability was a mythical power that happened only in fairy tales, Ji Shanqing did not do as he expected and threw Hegel another question, "Those who have turned into Zeus… where are they now?"
Obviously, the balding man had misunderstood his intention.
"Are you trying to make Zeus bring your sister back? What a waste!" He raised his head, and when he met Ji Shanqing's gaze, he responded, "I have no idea where they are. However, one or two return occasionally to patrol the area. Oh yeah, now that we're talking about it, in my previous game, the winning team was escorted by three Zeus to meet the real Zeus."