Chapter 1418 - 1414: Mr. Ji, the First to Clear a Dungeon
The vast hall was deathly silent as Chloe Winston said calmly, "Over forty thousand people joined this experiment on the virtual network and not a single one cleared it. That means there has to be a Death Key, and the closer to the end, the more Death Keys there are."
"But you two are actually pretty lucky. Next step is Key 29, and there are 12 keys left after that. As long as you don’t step on 2 Death Keys in a row, one of you is guaranteed to make it out alive." Chloe’s eyes were clear as she looked at Lian Ke. "Since the real-person experience hall allows team play, that’s the show giving guests a way to survive."
Only this "way to survive" meant stepping over a teammate’s corpse to clear the level. That was exactly why Chloe had refused to team up from the start—she didn’t want to be someone else’s stepping stone to the finish.
Lian Ke was a little humiliated and angry. She already had a psychological shadow about Punishment Keys now, and seeing William Zamora’s reaction when he came back, she didn’t want to take any punishment at all, let alone a terrifying Death Key.
"Since you guessed it from the beginning, why didn’t you warn us?" Lian Ke demanded.
Chloe’s voice was cool as she said, "Then I’ll warn you now: from Key 35 onwards, they might all be death-level Punishment Keys. If you turn back now, I’ll take both of you through."
William might be a bit simple, but someone like survival expert Lian Ke could not possibly have failed to think of the existence of Death Keys. The moment she proposed teaming up, she’d already planned to use Chloe as a stepping stone. With a three-person team, once you hit a Death Key, you’d definitely put it to a vote and throw someone out. But Chloe had seen through it and rejected her outright.
Only then had Lian Ke pulled William to form a team, using his admiration and infatuation with her to drag in someone to take the fall.
Chloe wasn’t a saint; she had no goodwill toward someone who’d tried to push her onto a dead-end path from the beginning. So even after she’d guessed the method to clear the stage, she didn’t say it. If William hadn’t chosen to go with Lian Ke, she would’ve taken him through.
"If you already had a way to clear the stage, why hide it and only say it after we’re halfway through?" At this point, even if Chloe really did have a method, Lian Ke couldn’t possibly turn back anymore. She couldn’t admit she’d lost and help boost Chloe’s popularity. At this point she could only keep going forward.
"William, you can choose to go back. We’ve already come halfway; I choose to keep going," Lian Ke said, looking at William.
Ever since he’d taken one punishment, William had gone very quiet. Now he glanced at Chloe and still chose to follow Lian Ke. He’d chosen Lian Ke from the very start and abandoned Chloe; a man’s pride wouldn’t let him turn back. Even if it was a dead end ahead, he had to keep walking.
The two of them avoided Key 30 and chose Key 29. Fortunately, it was a Safe Key—no punishment and no reward. Next was Key 35, and according to Chloe, from Key 35 on they were all Death Keys.
The two of them fell silent for a moment, then gritted their teeth and chose Key 35, betting it all on one throw.
"Key 35, ultimate punishment key, judgment: instant death. Please choose whether one person dies or both die." The mechanical male voice rang out as black light symbolizing death flickered under their feet.
The entire hall plunged into dead silence, and the livestream room did too. Because this round had eight simultaneous livestream rooms, the viewers were relatively scattered, but Chloe, William, and Lian Ke had been assigned to the same area, so their three rooms were merged into Chloe’s, which had the highest popularity. Right now that room was a bloodbath.
"Chloe Winston is a scheming bitch, she obviously knew how to clear it and still just watched her teammates die. How can someone so disgusting exist?" Lian Ke’s braindead fans were spamming the screen like crazy.
"You upstairs sick or what? Ah-Chu said she’d take them through. Lian Ke insisted on courting death herself, who’s to blame for that?"
"Motherf— this damned horror variety show is making every hair on my body stand up. My goddess is so calm it’s unreal."
"I can’t even breathe. I’m terrified my goddess will step on a Punishment Key. The production team is seriously deranged."
"Chloe Winston is the most scheming, shameless woman of the year, using her teammates as cannon fodder to scout the route. No shame at all! Let’s see how she clears it alone."
"Haters upstairs, do us a favor and roll the hell out, okay? Don’t fucking pollute the air. If your values are that twisted, go get them treated."
Because the guests were trapped in a situation where at least one of them had to die, the three fanbases in the livestream room were tearing each other apart. More and more viewers were flooding in, and the platform was on the verge of crashing.
On camera, Lian Ke was silent. William, as a man and a national athlete, had no choice but to rasp hoarsely, "Lian Ke, you’re stronger than me. You should keep going. I’ll lose a life this round."
Lian Ke was a little moved. Her eyes reddened as she said, "Don’t worry, I’ll do my best to clear the rest. Thank you."
She hadn’t finished speaking when the mechanical announcement boomed across all of Century Park.
"Player Constantine Stewart has successfully cleared ’The Vanished Ghost Village’ and obtained one Star Coin for the amusement park. You may freely choose the next area to challenge."
"Player Desmond Wood has successfully cleared ’The Vanished Ghost Village.’ You may freely choose the next area to challenge."
"Player William Zamora has failed to clear ’The Wheel of Fate’ and has lost one life. Two lives remaining."
The announcement echoing across the whole area declared Constantine the first to clear a dungeon—and he’d even carried Desmond through with him. Desmond had indeed hugged a golden thigh.
Hearing this, Lian Ke ignored William and chose Key 41, then successfully cleared the stage. The mechanical male voice continued, "Player Lian Ke has successfully cleared ’The Wheel of Fate’ and obtained one Star Coin for the amusement park. You may freely choose the next area to challenge."
Lian Ke’s face lit up with joy. She’d finally become the first female guest to clear a stage; Mr. Constantine should have a good impression of her now, right?
After clearing, Lian Ke didn’t rush to leave, and even William, who’d failed, didn’t rush off either. The two of them waited off to the side, watching Chloe clear the stage. Only William’s face was a bit pale, and he’d subconsciously put some distance between himself and Lian Ke. He couldn’t help thinking that if from Key 35 onward they were all Death Keys, then aside from group cooperation and stepping over teammates’ corpses, there was basically no second way to clear this wheel.
Had Chloe guessed that from the very start, and that was why she refused to cooperate? Thinking about his own death and Lian Ke’s clearance, a shiver ran through William’s heart.
Seeing that one of them had died and the other had cleared, Chloe rose to her feet and began her own attempt. She followed the same path the two had taken earlier, choosing 6 squares for the first move and landing on Square 7, where she received a Death-item reward.
The moment Chloe stepped off the first square, the haters in the livestream room exploded.
"Ahhh, Chloe really is a scheming bitch, she’s literally walking exactly the way our goddess said to."
"No shame at all, no shame. I thought she was so badass, turns out she’s just the queen of picking up scraps."
"The reward square is right there—of course you take it. If you don’t, you’re an idiot. Braindead fans, a brain is a great thing, I hope you get one someday."
The livestream room was a bloody battlefield, but Chloe remained calm as she walked onto Square 13.