by N. Heller
Ji Shanqing did not reply. Instead, he stood there in a trance, and none of them knew what was he thinking about. He now looked like a child who had lost his way home.
Perhaps this might be the best time to remind him.
Maxin had to get moving now. Otherwise, he would not make it to a hundred platforms in time as they initially planned. Nevertheless, something in his mind was holding him back, telling him not to go and that he should stay. Perhaps his emotions had gotten the best of him again. However, after having a fierce grapple in his mind, his rationality appeared victorious and prevailed.
As Maxin opened his mouth, Ji Shanqing spoke again, "In short, I still have a chance to see my sister. Let me ask you, what kind of Special Items did my sister take from you?"
A bewildered expression instantly dawned on the balding man's face. It occurred to them that he had never thought about this question.
"Why? Weren't you the one who— Oh." The moment he saw Maxin, he somewhat remembered that Lin Sanjiu had taken some of his Special Items and given them to this young man. "Why do you want to know?"
"I have to ascertain which Special Item my sister has taken so that I can counter them when she uses them against me," Ji Shanqing answered simply. He moved the display board on his shoulder to face Hegel. Although they were now a hundred meters away, he still asked, "Look closely. Which Special Items are missing from the board?"
As he fought against the suction force of The Phoenix, Hegel slowly turned his head and stared at the display board. He did not speak for a long time as anger began to well in his heart once again. Every single Special Item on the board belonged to him, and only he knew how hard it was to collect all these Special Items.
"Okay, time's up."
"Hey!" Hegel called out to them, his eyes bulging. He appeared to have remembered what kind of Special Item Lin Sanjiu had taken away, but there was more to it. It seemed like he had realized something else as well, something more important.
Looking at him, Ji Shanqing tilted his head, his long hair flowing down his shoulder like a cape. He screwed up his eyes, but he did not say anything. He simply ordered, "Hold on a sec," before turning to Maxin and insinuating, "You should get going now."
"What?" Maxin was stunned by the sudden change. He stared at Ji Shanqing's cherry lips as if he could not comprehend what he was saying.
"In another 13 minutes, the remaining 89 platforms will disappear." There was no expression on Ji Shanqing's face. It was as if he did not realize that it was an impossible feat for Maxin to cover 89 platforms in such a short time.
Before Maxin could say anything, he saw Ji Shanqing pluck something from the display board, and as Hegel gasped, it expanded in the air and covered Maxin's head.
It looked like the hide of an animal, and Maxin soon understood why Hegel was so surprised when Ji Shanqing hurled the Special Item to him. Perhaps it was such a waste to use this item in such a manner.
"You should go now. This is a short-distance teleportation device. You can use it for another 100 times, and it should be sufficient. Good luck!"
Chapter 636 - A Blitzkrieg Strategy
It was as if somebody had pushed the replay key multiple times. Whenever Maxin jumped over and landed on a platform, the scene of Ji Shanqing plucking the Special Item from the display board and hurling it across the sky would replay in his mind.
What fl.u.s.tered him the most was that he felt nothing at all at that point.
Would Ji Shanqing hurt him? The answer to this question was as clear as day. If sacrificing him could bring Lin Sanjiu back, Maxin was confident that he would now be a puffy corpse in the sea.
He did not have any sense of crisis when somebody tossed a Special Item at him. He had no idea what was happening to him at that time, but he told himself he should not make such a fatal mistake again.
Maxin admonished himself inwardly as he jumped towards the last platform. A flurry, parachute-like membrane stretched out from his limbs as the tail on his back straightened and he glided over to the 100th platform. This way, he finally finished covering all 100 platforms within thirteen minutes.
The description Ji Shanqing gave was inaccurate. This Special Item could not be called a teleportation device because, after putting on this flying squirrel hide, it did not grant Maxin the ability to teleport, but the power to glide in the air for a certain distance like a flying squirrel. While it could save him a ton of time compared to jumping with his own strength, it was still different from what he initially imagined. Because of this misunderstanding, he almost fell into the sea a couple of times while he was figuring out how to use the Special Item. Besides that, Maxin was clueless about whether a "tap" of his foot, while he was gliding in the air, would be considered as using the Special Item once.
How was there any possibility that Ji Shanqing would give the wrong description?
No, that was not correct. These Special Items were not Ji Shanqing's possessions, so the question should be how did he know how to use them? It did not make any sense. No matter how intelligent he was, no wise man could understand something by looking at its appearance alone.
Just when Maxin was about to take the flying squirrel off his body, the ball suddenly dropped as the image of the display board flashed through his mind. He believed that other than serving as storage, there must be something else the display board could do. Perhaps it could perform simple analysis for all the Special Items that were clipped to it. Maxin was not sure how close his assumption was, but it should not be too far away from the truth.
If that was true, then it would be easy to imagine how high the value of that display board was and how many people would seek it. At the very least, one would be able to exchange this display board for a house that came with the protection of a gang. Ironically, people were steering away from the neighborhood he grew up in precisely because it was dominated by the gangs. Nevertheless, now, in the Twelve Worlds Centrum, the houses in these communities were selling like hotcakes, and their prices were staggeringly high. They were almost as expensive as those near key high schools in the pre-apocalypse days.
"What are you guys doing over there?" Soulsqn, who was left out by them, shouted from a platform not far away. "Lin Sanjiu dropped into the sea, shouldn't you guys be busy saving her? What the hell's going on?"
It occurred to Maxin that Soulsqn did not hear what Hegel said.
"Lin Sanjiu has turned into Zeus." It was harder than Maxin had thought to utter this out loud.
After he had walked Soulsqn through everything that happened just now, she was unable to accept the news, as he expected. Rubbing her mandibles together in frustration, Soulsqn snarled, "What do you mean by Lin Sanjiu has turned into Zeus? Why would she turn into Zeus? I don't understand! And I won't believe it until you show me how!"
Maxin sighed. Soulsqn's voice was so loud that he was getting a headache. They were running out of time, and Soulsqn should now be on her way back to the first platform, but the flesh worm would not leave until she got a satisfactory answer. Fortunately, Ji Shanqing returned, thus rescuing Maxin from the dilemma. His face clouded with grumpiness, and he sent Soulsqn away with only two sentences.
"If you don't do as I say, we'll lose the game in another 30 seconds," said Ji Shanqing as he shot her a sidelong glance, "Once we lose the game, we won't be able to save sister anymore."
Soulsqn, who cared for no one else other than herself and her kin, shut her mouth, turned around, and left the moment she heard what Ji Shanqing said. Her fleshy forked tail was flexible, but it did not have enough strength to push her across the air. As such, she could only rely on her highly malleable body to stretch herself long enough to reach the other platform, though such a scene was an eyesore.
Maxin withdrew his gaze and turned to Ji Shanqing. "What's wrong?" he asked, his voice turning mellow.
Ji Shanqing let out a breath in frustration. "That guy said something and I'm certain it had something to do with my sister, but he won't admit it," he sai
d with a deep frown. When he looked at Maxin, only then did the latter notice that his pupils were like two black holes, absorbing all the light and reflecting none. "I've tried everything, both the carrot and the stick, but I can only make him jump the platforms on my behalf."
That was the reason why Maxin did not see Hegel around. He looked ahead to see that the balding man was leaping his way towards the 100th platform. He seemed to have great stamina as he did not slow down even though he had jumped a few platforms in a row.
Technically, Hegel was not part of their team, but Zeus's rules did not specify that the person who jumped from the platforms must be among the four of them. Hence, by having Hegel on their team, they could finally fill in the gap left by Lin Sanjiu after she had turned into Zeus.
As if he saw through Maxin's mind, Ji Shanqing spoke before Maxin could say anything, "Don't worry. I promised him that we'd bring him together to meet Zeus if he helps us win the game. Judging by how eager he was to meet Zeus, I'm certain he won't do anything rash that could affect his chance of succeeding."
"Then, how about—"
"I need to go into the white camp." Ji Shanqing gathered his long hair and coiled it into a bun on top of his head, exposing his fine, glowing profile. He threw the display board onto the ground and announced, "I need an item that can help me cross the sea. Come, help me look for it."
"Me?" Maxin was startled. "But these are yours…"
"One-third of these are yours." Ji Shanqing crouched down, lifted his head and offered Maxin a wide, toothy grin. His smile was like a flower that bloomed in the spring breeze. "I trust you. Besides, we have to finish this up quickly."
'He trusts me?' Maxin was skeptical about the grand prize's claim. He scratched his head in embarrassment. Then, he crouched beside the grand prize, and it was at this moment that both of them realized that they were not the only ones working on a blitzkrieg strategy.
"Somebody is coming!" Soulsqn, who was having a hard time making her way through the first row, shouted.
Both Ji Shanqing and Maxin's faces turned pale. The former rose to his feet in an instant while the latter quickly put on the flying squirrel suit. Both of them rushed towards the first row, and since gliding was much quicker than jumping, Maxin was the first to reach. As he was coming to a stop, he was stunned by what he saw. The figure in the distance was approaching him at high speed by moving above the sea.
"There aren't any yellow shadows in the buffer zone!" he screamed at Ji Shanqing, turning around. By the time he finished shouting, he had landed on the platform. "It's true! I saw it in the air! The first row of platforms is still surrounded by a large swarm of yellow shadows, but the sea in the distance is clean!"
"How far do the yellow shadows go?" Ji Shanqing asked as he hopped from one platform to the next.
"It's about a hundred meters, similar to the distance between two platforms in the camp!" Maxin shouted as he stared fixedly at the intruder. "You go through there. Leave this guy to me. I'll hold him off."
The intruder had long, wavy hair. He put an embroidered vest over his body, leaving his c.h.e.s.t b.a.r.e. There was a chain of ornaments—a peace sign, a love sign, a rainbow, and a leaf, which resembled marijuana—hanging around his neck. He looked like a hippy from the sixties. With broad grin pasted on his face, he waved his hand at Maxin, stopping his pace outside the ring of yellow shadows at the same time.
Ji Shanqing arrived on the platform next to Maxin.
"Okay," he said hastily, "I'll leave him to you. Make sure that he doesn't set foot on any of our platforms, and don't let Soulsqn and Hegel stop."
"Understood," Maxin replied as he put on his mermaid's tail. Ji Shanqing looked at Maxin and fell into deep thought. Then, he pulled two Special Items from the display board and passed them to him before going away.
As Maxin grabbed the two Special Items, he realized that he had once again let down his guard against Ji Shanqing. However, it was not the right time to be disheartened, as the hippy was charging headlong at him. Behind him, several figures appeared on top of the sea. All of them were moving fast towards the black camp.
One, two, three, four… There were four people. Maxin gulped hard as he gazed at the four shadows. It was apparent that the white camp had initiated an all-out attack.
Chapter 637 - War
The first 30 minutes ended right after all four members from the white camp arrived. The sea started churning, and waves, each greater and higher than the last, devoured all the platforms that were left unattended by Maxin. And when the waves receded, those platforms vanished from their sight.
There were now only 100 platforms left on the sea, forming into a square. The sea on both sides was colonized by the yellow shadows. The members from the white camp all stood at the first row in one line, blocking their way front and preventing Ji Shanqing from getting away.
Initially, Ji Shanqing intended to skirt around the hippie and escape through the last platform. However, little did he expect that before he could make his move, the other three members from the white camp arrived. They were in dire straits.
Running his eyes along the row of people, Ji Shanqing frowned, looking slightly disillusioned.
"There are ten platforms in a row and there are ten rows," the hippie said, counting the number of platforms in the black camp. He withdrew his outstretched finger and turned to the comrade standing next to him with a giggle. "It seems like securing a hundred platforms is their maximum. They are so weak."
On top of the sea about two to three hundred meters away stood a young girl wearing a panda sleeping suit. She was the woman they had first seen, who had leaped around the platforms. She hid her face under a hood, and they could see no more than a heart-shaped chin from their vantage point.
"It's only a hundred platforms, and you guys need two people to get the job done? By the way, what's that over there?" the young girl asked. Blowing the pink gum in her mouth into a huge balloon-like bubble, she nodded her chin at Maxin as if they were close friends. "It looks like a maggot. Is it your pet?"
However, before Maxin could reply, the person next to the panda girl spoke, "Oh my, look at this young lad here." The person gave Maxin a wide-eyed gaze, l.i.c.k.i.n.g the latter's body with his eyes as he gasped in admiration. "Look at that perfectly sculpted face and those bright, clear eyes that can only be rivaled by the stars in the sky. I've never seen such a good-looking young man in my life!"
Generally, if the one who complimented him were not a wizened old man whose face was covered in a thick layer of make-up, Maxin would have felt rather pleased.
The old man had applied his make-up so thick that the powder on his cheeks made his face look like a biscuit that was about to crumble. He seemed to be more interested in Maxin. When his gaze fell on the grand prize, his brows furrowed and he berated, "You are… a boy, aren't you? Please don't dress up like a girl next time. It doesn't look good on you."
Ji Shanqing remained unfl.u.s.tered as he answered, "I'm not a boy."
'He isn't a boy?' Startled, Maxin turned and studied Ji Shanqing from head to toe. 'He's a girl?'
"Quiet!" The fourth person shouted commandingly. He was enveloped entirely in a large brown robe that concealed even his gender. He had a muffled and strange tone to his voice as if he were speaking through a voice changer. "We're here to obliterate them."
"Don't be so cranky." The hippie pointed at the sea, which was filled with yellow shadows, and said, "I still haven't…"
"Watch out!" the old man shouted. He had been observing Maxin, so he was the first to notice his movement. Nonetheless, Maxin was too fast, and before they could do anything, he had already swiftly reached the platform Ji Shanqing was standing on, holding his mermaid's tail.
"I'll stall them as long as I can. Use the opportunity to retreat," he whispered.
Ji Shanqing's mind came to a momentary pause. He only replied after the words sank in, "There's four people there! You'll be outnumbered!"
"I won't let them
pass the pool of yellow shadows safely!"
Ji Shanqing knitted his brows in a tight frown as he set his jaw tight, biting his lower lip in frustration.
Before any ideas could take form in his mind, the hippie and the panda girl began rushing towards a vacant platform. Pushing all his frustration and anxiety to the back of his mind, Maxin retaliated by slamming the mermaid's tail against the sea, whipping up massive water veil made of the yellow shadows before sending it straight at his adversaries.
"It's too dangerous to cross the yellow shadows now since they are here," Ji Shanqing said in a low voice, "I'll help you to fight them first. When the time is right, I'll give you a signal, then you can help me get out of here."
They could leave the rear platforms in the hands of Soulsqn and Hegel, so they did not have to worry about them within these 30 minutes. Maxin looked at the two figures that were retreating back to the buffer zone. He knitted his brows in deep concern.
Ji Shanqing was right. It was too dangerous for him to go past them alone.
"You shouldn't be worried about that since all of them are here," Maxin said hurriedly, "As long as we can stall them for 30 minutes, their platforms will disappear…"
"No, you're wrong." Ji Shanqing shook his head. "It's for an hour."
"An hour?" Maxin was perplexed, but he soon understood everything after he gave it a thought for a few seconds. 'He's right. We have to stall them for another hour.'
Every time somebody set foot on a platform, the countdown would be reset. If the first minute was counted based on the time they departed, then the platform that was stepped on in the first minute would disappear on the 31st minute, but the platform that was stepped on on the 31st minute would not disappear until the 61st minute.
The black camp did not have the luxury to wait for another hour. Within 30 minutes, Maxin had to return to Soulsqn and take the baton from her.