Huff.
Huff......
Lu Ce sat in his room, taking deep breaths like a whale inhaling water. The entire room seemed to tremble with each of his exhales.
He had never experienced pain before, but this current state was nearly the worst sensation he'd ever felt.
An overwhelming drowsiness surged over him like tidal waves, each wave threatening to completely drown him.
Every minute, every second, his mind felt like it was being sliced apart. He stubbornly resisted these intense side effects, refusing to lose consciousness.
In reality, he was merely not asleep - far from being clear-headed. His thoughts were so chaotic they bordered on complete irrationality.
All his rationality was focused solely on staying awake, with no energy left for anything else.
His vision blurred as subconscious thoughts began repeating several names in endless cycles, like vengeful spirits demanding his soul.
"Perfect Life..."
"The Creator..."
Hearing his murmurs, the spectators felt chills run down their spines.
It was utterly eerie, and...
The three names he kept repeating were precisely those involved in Blank's plan!
[Wait what?! Blank just mentioned... having The Creator help fight Perfect Life, and now he's chanting these exact three names?!]
[This can't be right? Didn't they completely separate the battlefields? There was no communication at all!]
[How are they doing this? Why do I feel like these top players can understand each other's moves without any communication?]
[This is true love!!]
......
While Lu Ce remained silent, in another room, Xie Antong had finished explaining her general plan to The Creator.
The Creator: ......
"Though I don't know your full scheme, are you certain about this?"
"Helping you fight Perfect Life isn't really an issue..."
Seeing his agreement, Xie Antong immediately moved to bow again, but was instantly stopped.
"Ah, enough already! You weren't this polite when scheming against me."
"But remember - schemes are one thing. In actual combat, tricks won't save you."
"Beating Perfect Life isn't impossible, but a crushing defeat?..."
The Creator chuckled bitterly at his own words. Some things couldn't be achieved by confidence alone.
Xie Antong responded: "A gentleman can be deceived with what's expected of him."
"What do you mean?" The Creator asked.
Xie Antong raised five fingers:
"My entire plan relies on gambling on five things."
"Gambling?" The Creator frowned at the word.
"Exactly! What's a game without gambling? Without absolute strength, everything becomes a game of probabilities."
She even laughed slightly, adding with excitement: "Besides, gambling makes things interesting."
"Gamble on what?"
"First gamble: That this game's 'Jue Ge' doesn't possess overwhelming power - that it too is subject to the game's rules."
"Second gamble: That you, senior, are willing to help without caring about winning or losing."
"Third gamble: That 'Sin' isn't actually mentally compromised - that his intelligence might be remarkably high this time."
"Fourth gamble: That my blade will serve my purpose."
"Fifth gamble: That Perfect Life... is truly a gentleman!"
"If he's truly honorable, then naturally, he'll suffer a 'crushing defeat'!"
The Creator raised an eyebrow, staring speechlessly at the smiling girl before him.
After a long pause, he slowly said: "That does sound... interesting."
"May you succeed."
"May we succeed," Xie Antong corrected.
The Creator neither agreed nor disagreed.
Just then, the second round of random speaker selection reached their room.
Room Three, where Xie Antong resided, lit up perfectly on cue.
This time, her turn came much earlier than last.
"Oh right, who's this 'blade' of yours? It's not me, is it?" The Creator quickly asked as the room brightened.
"Heh..."
Instead of answering directly, Xie Antong walked to the room's center.
"How timely! It seems even luck is on our side this time."
"Let me... speak first."
Without altering her voice, she spoke directly into the public channel. Her crisp, distinctive voice instantly echoed in every room:
"This is Blank."
"Some abnormal situations have occurred here that I can't explain."
After all, from others' perspectives, she too had been "silent" earlier.
But she wouldn't explain - this ambiguity worked to her advantage.
Then her tone turned lethally sharp:
"Chiyo Eine!"
Chiyo Eine: ?
In Room Eight, Chiyo Eine shuddered, looking up in shock.
Calling her?
She was actually being addressed?!
Thank goodness - not hearing Blank's voice earlier had made her anxious something was wrong.
"If you can hear me," Xie Antong continued.
"Kill!"
"Begin the killing!"
"I hope you understand my meaning."
In Room Eight, Chiyo Eine's expression rapidly shifted before she nodded.
"Received!"
Beside her, Xue Yue: ?
"What the hell? Received what?"
"Are you insane?!"
Xue Yue's eyes instantly filled with murderous intent, ready to fight, but was quickly silenced by dark water covering his mouth.
"Earlier, Xue Yue's room was Number Eight."
After Chiyo Eine's time ended, she slowly turned toward Xue Yue, placing a finger to her lips.
"Shh."
Casually tossing a potion his way.
Xue Yue caught the high-grade potion, staring blankly at it.
What did this mean?
Last meal?
"Drink it. Be sensible - we'll explore other rooms together later."
"Top players don't lie. Don't worry, we're not targeting them."
Xue Yue's face darkened:
"What? Going to kill weaker players?"
"Pfft. If that were true, why are you alive? What makes you special?" Chiyo Eine shot him a look like he was garbage.
Then her eyes took on a fanatical gleam.
"She's beginning. This time, it's her game!"
"This will be the first battle where divine punishment descends upon this world."
"You should feel honored to participate in such a game."
Xue Yue: ?