# Chapter 12: Pushing Forward
The light shining down from above kept the slaughterhouse from being too dark, though visibility was poor in some areas.
Tianyu stood straight behind the stone wall. He had heard everything Zuiyasi said. Now he had two choices: turn and run, or join them.
Honestly, Tianyu wanted to join. The problem was whether those three formidable individuals would want him.
Although Tianyu was of the Feather Race, aside from chasing women, he specialized in exploring ancient ruins and dangerous places.
Feather Race males were always handsome. Tianyu not only had a sunny, warm-hearted appearance, but he was also an explorer, wealthy young master, grandson of a Feather Race elder, scientific researcher, ancient script scholar, and part of the new generation's strongest echelon in the Void. These multiple auras made Tianyu quite popular with female fans.
"Tianyu, hiding there any longer is meaningless. Why not come out and talk? If you're willing to join us, anything is negotiable."
As Trickster Wood spoke, he slightly lifted his right foot—a subtle movement, but from his angle, Su Xiao could see it clearly. This was Wood signaling Su Xiao: he would stall while Su Xiao coordinated to take out Tianyu. Pursuit was time-consuming and might alert the two from Arcane Eternal Star.
Su Xiao sat on a broken stone pillar, his hands behind his back. He pulled a bear trap from his lower back and slowly began spreading it open.
Zuiyasi caught a glimpse of Su Xiao gradually opening the bear trap behind him. He silently calculated how long it would take for the trap's lock pin to engage. When it did, it would definitely make a clicking sound.
"Wood, stop wasting words with him."
Zuiyasi suddenly shouted, making Tianyu behind the corner tense up, ready to flee. He didn't notice that Zuiyasi's shout had perfectly masked the click—the sound of the mechanism engaging.
"Don't be impulsive. With Tianyu joining, our subsequent plans will be easier to complete. Unless absolutely necessary, I don't want to be his enemy."
Wood's words made Tianyu behind the corner pause. He digested this statement, and no matter how he savored it, the words made him feel quite comfortable.
In reality, this was Wood's terrifying aspect. He was a swindler. What were swindlers best at? Deception? No. Swindlers excelled at flattery—turning false flattery into seeming truth. Ten minutes ago, when Wood came to find Su Xiao, their first meeting began with pleasant flattery that was pleasing to hear.
It could be said that in this regard, only Kaisa could match Wood. One would seriously make people feel exaggerated without any trace of bootlicking, while the other would slyly praise people until they were bewildered.
"Ahem~, don't say that. Although we both come from the Void, saying that makes me feel quite embarrassed."
Tianyu smiled, the tension in his heart easing somewhat. This wasn't because Tianyu was stupid or lacked experience—it was the influence of Wood's ability.
The most effective way to deal with Wood was to shut his mouth. This guy could literally talk dead things back to life (turning them into undead creatures).
Wood and Tianyu's negotiation grew increasingly harmonious. From the looks of it, they'd soon be nominating Tianyu as team leader.
Su Xiao's right hand was behind his back. Feeling something touch his hand, he released the bear trap, letting it enter its camouflage state.
Behind Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, wearing the bear trap on his head, was invisible. He adjusted his balance and walked toward Tianyu's direction.
"Tianyu, after all this talk, you should at least show some sincerity. For example, come out from behind the wall and let us see you."
The pupil flame in Wood's eyes shifted from dark green to gold-white as he stopped interfering with Tianyu.
"Of course... no!"
Tianyu, back against the wall, felt his cheek twitch. His first thought was: had he been kicked in the head by a donkey? Why didn't he run immediately? Why had he been talking with the enemy for so long?
Tianyu hesitated no longer. Just as he was about to step forward, he suddenly felt something press against his right leg. With a click, his right leg went numb.
Tianyu looked down. A bear trap had clamped vertically around his right leg, right at the knee. His heart sank. He stumbled forward a few steps before falling to the ground.
When Tianyu got up from the ground, he found himself surrounded.
"If I said now that I'm willing to join you, you probably wouldn't agree, would you?"
The moment Tianyu finished speaking, Zuiyasi swung his rusted tool hammer, smashing it against Tianyu's head.
Thump, thump, thump...
The dull sound of impacts continued. Drops of blood splattered onto Zuiyasi's face, the blood spots growing denser.
"Zuiyasi, you'll beat him to death."
Wood adjusted his suit collar. Hearing this, Zuiyasi turned his head, looking at Wood with unfriendly eyes, while Wood appeared indifferent.
"Pfft."
Zuiyasi spat out bloody saliva and discarded the tool hammer.
"Just one bite, just one."
Zuiyasi smiled apologetically at Su Xiao and Wood, then his thumb, index, and middle fingers formed claws, plunging into Tianyu's eye sockets. Amid Tianyu's muffled, pained whimpers, he forcibly ripped out Tianyu's eyeball. Finally, Zuiyasi shoved the eyeball into his mouth and bit down—bursting.
"Hiss~, ah~"
Zuiyasi's face showed an expression of pure enjoyment as he instinctively reached toward Tianyu's left eye. This was the style of Doom Star—deranged, cruel, bloody, and violent to the point of making people tremble.
Clang.
The sound of a hunting axe striking the wall rang out. Zuiyasi's eyes showed displeasure, but then he smiled. He didn't doubt that if he angered Su Xiao now, Su Xiao would chop him into a pile of mangled limbs and flesh.
"Lost my composure."
He patted Tianyu's cheek and said, "Almost killed you. If you died, I'd be in trouble. Little brother, you are... truly delicious, hehehe."
Zuiyasi tossed Tianyu to Wood. The bloodstains on his body gradually evaporated, leaving not a trace. Later, he still had to arrange things for the two from Arcane Eternal Star.
Ten-plus minutes later, at the giant wall of Lock Disk No. 2, Molei, Yueshitu, and Lilim had a new friend—Tianyu, also hanging upside down.
"Depriving a lady of her freedom of speech—Bai Ye, that's going too far."
Wood removed the leather mask from Yueshitu's face. Yueshitu spat out a stone ball from her mouth. The moment she regained freedom, she shouted, "Help!!!"
The volume was so loud that Zuiyasi beside her twitched at the corner of his eye. Su Xiao noticed this and filed it away in his mind—Zuiyasi was particularly sensitive to high-decibel sounds.
The only survivors still free to move were the two from Arcane Eternal Star. The slaughterhouse was quite large, about 3 kilometers wide. Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, Baha, Wood, and Zuiyasi were spaced 500 meters apart, advancing in a sweeping formation. The probability of encountering those two wasn't low.
Su Xiao headed toward the direction of the Newborn Square. He planned to sweep back and forth across the slaughterhouse. It was only 4 kilometers—if one sweep didn't find those two, he'd do it a dozen times, a hundred times.
Returning near the Newborn Square this time, Su Xiao intended to set bear traps at the only exit there, to prevent anyone from escaping through self-termination during subsequent battles.
...
Slaughterhouse, Maze Zone.
Female Spellcaster Luoxi and Flaming Kindler·Soyeg moved forward at a moderate pace.
Behind them, a fist-sized mechanical eye floated in midair, following constantly.
"Luoxi, say something. Hundreds of thousands of people are watching."
Flaming Kindler·Soyeg spoke, clearing his throat seriously.
"This is the slaughterhouse maze."
Luoxi replied perfunctorily, then continued searching for the lock disk.
Meanwhile, in the Void, Mou Combat Arena.
The circular audience seats were no longer noisy. Above the central arena, over a dozen large screens displayed real-time footage from the Insight Eyes. The canopy above the screens had closed, with lighting turned on for better viewing.
Void races, workers, and professional miners in the audience watched the large screens. This Scroll Battle also affected their personal interests.
Not only were these people present, but Doom Star's 'Yargu School' had also sent representatives. The 'Yargu School' sounded unfamiliar, but if one mentioned the Eye School or Eye Rituals, people would suddenly realize—oh, it's them.
"Luoxi, face the Fate Hunter. You can do it."
"Stop talking crap. If you're so capable, you do it."
"This green friend with grass growing from his head, please don't shout."
"Fine. May I ask who you are?"
"I am the witness of this Scroll Battle."
"Witness? That's just... a spectator. A spectator telling me what to do? Die!"
The audience seats weren't peaceful. An hour later, things gradually quieted down because Female Spellcaster Luoxi had 'coincidentally' encountered Wood of the Devil Race.
Seeing this, the spellcasters and Devil Race members in the audience both grew tense. The former were worried their lady would be tricked by the Devil Race; the latter were worried Wood would trick Luoxi too badly, causing an on-site PK in the audience.