Chapter 81: Meeting at the Crossroads (4)
Translator: Pluto Editor: Tehrn
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 chest.
[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 behind 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!"
If she were to lose this round, the White Team would receive +3 points and three Active abilities. Needless to say, Chen Fan’s death would also be in vain.
"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.
Aside from Hu Changzai who had not developed any physical enhancements, Flowery shirt was the weakest — apart from his acrid tongue.
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.
Their scores were quickly even once again. It was now 5:5.
"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.