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墨書 Inktalez
The staff member shrugged, unable to help. After sending out for a meal, a table appeared in front of Cui Ming, along with chairs, three dishes, a soup, and a pot of rice. Cui Ming looked up in dissatisfaction and asked, "Can't I order something different?" This was the same meal he had before entering the Teleportation Array—exactly the same. The worst part was that it was just reheated leftovers from that time. He had spent ten million to participate in the assessment—ten million!
No one paid him any mind. Fine.
Cui Ming sat down and began to eat. After finishing, he still had about ten minutes left. Bored, he took out the Tarot Cards to do some fortune-telling, but the cards were still quite unfavorable. Leaning back in his chair, he drew a Fate Card in his mind. Under his gaze, it no longer appeared vaguely; instead, a skull slowly materialized. Closing his eyes after putting away the card, he felt an unsettling sense of anxiety as if his fate lay within the card, but he couldn't pinpoint where the danger was coming from. Unlike the previous two times with Mote and Wei Wei, where the skull seemed more like a puppet and not frightening at all, this time the skull felt as though it emerged from his very soul, instilling fear as if his life was counting down. Yet he had no idea how to evade or avoid it; he didn't even know where the danger lay.
Half an hour passed, and the table and chairs vanished. Cui Ming was caught off guard and fell onto the ground. The staff member reappeared and asked, "Where to? Have you made your decision?"
"Mi Xiaonan." Mi Xiaonan was certainly strong, but her combat ability was explosive rather than sustainable. Beiyue didn’t need consideration; she was already predetermined. Ding Ze could fight or flee without issue. Li Qing could protect herself well; she was intelligent and analytical. Mi Xiaonan was somewhat directionally challenged, but she remained the first choice.
The staff member gestured for Cui Ming to enter the Teleportation Array and then cast a spell to activate it. Cui Ming found himself on top of a high mountain with another staff member nearby and another Teleportation Array beside him. There was a map and a walkie-talkie on the table. Cui Ming picked up the walkie-talkie and said, "Hello? Hello? Hello?"
An excited voice came through: "Cui Ming! I'm so moved!"
This was precisely the problem; among good friends, comparisons often occurred. Many people—especially during their youth—might feel upset or frustrated if their best friend's best friend wasn't themselves. Indeed, while Cui Ming needed to think calmly and rationally, he couldn't expect others to share his mindset. Many would care about their order of selection. Although men typically wouldn’t openly express this sentiment, they still had their thoughts.
Alliances would also form; for instance, Mi Xiaonan and Cui Ming were allies now while Li Qing and Ding Ze might hypothetically save each other, leading to two alliances forming. If the next round were similar to this one and Mi Xiaonan escaped first, she would undoubtedly rescue Cui Ming first as a form of repayment. Ding Ze would choose Li Qing; thus human intentions would override necessity in team dynamics. Four people were manageable enough; five would complicate matters. However, Cui Ming's group faced little such issue—this was merely an example.
Cui Ming pulled out a chair and sat down to clarify Mi Xiaonan's location while looking at the map with the walkie-talkie: "Turn left... fourth door? Four choices?"
"No, five choices."
The staff member interjected: "Because your personal score is the highest, the first challenge in the second half is at minimum difficulty with three intersections."
This suggested there were four, five, six, or seven intersections; four intersections weren't urgent—they would eventually figure it out if Mi Xiaonan came through correctly with five intersections. The troubling part was that if Beiyue drew seven intersections without anyone to rescue her, she might not make it out at all. There were three rounds in total with seven intersections representing 343 possible outcomes. Damn it! Wasn't medium difficulty supposed to be survivable? What about high difficulty?
While guiding Mi Xiaonan through this process, Cui Ming began assessing personal scores. He knew how many points were available collectively but not each individual's score. It made sense for him to take first place due to defeating Dina and heavily injuring Wei Wei—both high-difficulty cards played into that outcome. As for Beiyue's personal score—it was hard to say since she had managed well against Five-Star Card Wei Wei.
Pondering these matters proved futile since Cui Ming could no longer save anyone else now that Mi Xiaonan had successfully emerged from her challenge. The staff member then asked: "To camp or proceed to the next round?"
Cui Ming and Mi Xiaonan answered in unison: "To camp."
The campsite was a beautiful place, with real barbecue food. In front of them was a lake, perfect for fishing and relaxation. Mi Xiaonan watched Cui Ming leisurely casting his fishing rod, clearly not in the mood. The waiting was the most torturous part. You never knew when your companions would emerge or if they would emerge at all. As time passed, not only did the monsters faced by your companions grow stronger, but the difficulty of the next challenge would also increase.
"Many teams will die at this stage," Cui Ming said. "Especially those waiting; they have to consider whether their companions can make it through and whether they themselves can handle the gradually increasing difficulty of the next stage. Mi Xiaonan, come over and sit down. Fishing is just for fun; we can't rush it. The audience is watching us like a joke."
"Uh?"
"Look at this row of grills and barbecued meat; it's clear that all teams are in the same campsite. We are the only two from the First Group who have come out. Once more people gather here, various thoughts, speculations, and emotions will spread and infect everyone. They will all become anxious about their fate. We might as well fish and enjoy the show."
As he spoke, two people appeared from the Teleportation Array, startling Cui Ming and Mi Xiaonan. What was happening? The highest difficulty participants had emerged—Feng and Eva. Feng looked at them with a grin and pointed at Eva, saying, "Look, look at these two idiots; they're drooling."
Cui Ming curiously asked, "How did you get out?"
Eva replied, "You should ask him how he got out." As long as someone guided them, the maze posed no challenge.
Feng laughed heartily, "Haha." He didn't answer but unsheathed his knife, swiftly slicing several pieces of meat into thin strips before expertly placing them over the fire.
Cui Ming asked, "So when do you plan to leave?"
"..." Feng's expression darkened. That was a good question; it was sheer luck that he had made it out. What about Raefus? It was nearly impossible for him to come out within a day. Should he wait? Feng and Raefus couldn't be considered friends; they were merely colleagues working towards a common goal. Now was the time for testing, and Feng himself had no confidence in what lay ahead. He hadn't wanted to think about this issue, but Cui Ming had brought it up deliberately, which was quite annoying.
Eva sat down on the bench next to Cui Ming, casting her fishing rod with a relaxed demeanor. "We really have fate together."
"Yeah, you tried to kill me the first time we met."
"Actually, I still think about killing you sometimes." Eva set her fishing rod down, resting her hands behind her head as she leaned back in her chair. "During this assessment, I've realized that my abilities are somewhat lacking compared to others."
Cui Ming asked, "Is it because Feng chose to help you?"
"Not just that," Eva said. "I feel like I won't make it... Feng, you should just go on to the next stage."
Feng was turning his knife by the grill; gusts of wind blew past him, causing the fire to flare up and die down at will. Upon hearing Eva's words, he replied, "I don't have that thought for now."
"I'm serious; our difficulty is the highest. You relied on luck to get through this far. If we drag this out any longer, our group will be wiped out." Eva said earnestly. "I've already given up—really. I think Raefus has given up too."
"Not abandoning, not giving up?" Feng Dao asked.
"Giving up is a virtue," Cui Ming replied. "Like Kua Fu chasing the sun, he is a tragic figure who embodies not abandoning and not giving up. On the other hand, there's the story of the farmer waiting for a hare..."
Feng countered, "What exactly is a virtue?"
Cui Ming pondered for a moment. "It depends on the outcome. If you don't give up and the result is bad, people will say you're stubborn. If you give up and the result is bad, they'll say that's what happens when you lack perseverance. Whether to give up or not is a choice and has nothing to do with virtue. However, you don't have to believe Eva's words; Raefus won't give up on himself."
Feng questioned, "How do you know that?"
"Because if Raefus appears before you, you'll be amazed by my wisdom. If Raefus doesn't appear before us, it proves that Raefus's refusal to give up didn't lead to success. Anyway, I have nothing to lose by saying this; who knows, I might earn the title of a wise person," Cui Ming said nonchalantly.
As they spoke, the Teleportation Array flashed, and Ye Wen and Ye Xin stepped out of it. The two looked around at everyone; Ye Wen casually nodded and sat down on one side. Ye Xin came over to greet everyone and chatted for a bit before also going off to fish. Ye Xin and Ye Wen sat on a bench together, speaking softly to each other.
Next, pairs of people continued to appear one after another, but no complete team had emerged yet. The closest to full teams were the Cao Liu Family and the Ye Family. The Cao Liu Family had four members present besides Mi Big Head, while the Ye Family had four members present besides Yellen.
For the North Moon Group, a very unfortunate situation arose when Li Qing emerged from the Teleportation Array alone. Hearing Mi Xiaonan and Cui Ming calling out to him, Li Qing felt frustrated as he slapped his forehead. After stepping out, he first chose Cui Ming but soon realized that Cui Ming had already left. Now that everyone was seated discussing matters, Li Qing was clearly at a crossroads while Ding Ze and Beiyue were at six and seven crossroads respectively—the two most difficult individuals.
The situation worsened when Beiyue was at six crossroads and came out first without choosing Ding Ze; this meant Ding Ze would take a lot of time.
The worst-case scenario was that Beiyue chose seven crossroads while Ding Ze came out first without selecting Beiyue who had already passed through; instead, he chose to assist other teammates. As a result, Beiyue became trapped inside. This led to the other four members of the North Moon Group being in a dilemma. The four teammates had to engage in rational and emotional clashes, discussions, and even arguments. (To be continued.)
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