Chapter 31: Survival
Alice's figure quickly disappeared, having entered the fourth floor.
On the third floor, the gold-rimmed glasses man and the detective loli were leaning back on the sofa. For the two of them, the pressure of the third game was considerable, after all, they could be killed by Alice's doppelganger at any time during the dark night.
"The fourth game is a survival competition type?"
The leader of the National Football Team had a grave expression, his gaze shifting to the second and third members of the National Football Team. The three brothers exchanged glances for a few seconds, then simultaneously revealed smiles, with a hint of lewdness faintly visible in those smiles.
"Finally, we're in our brother's area of expertise. We're damn good at survival games."
"Big brother, it's time to unleash the ultimate move."
"Let's go."
The Three Fools of the National Football Team strode confidently toward the fourth floor. The puzzle-solving games on the third floor had left the three of them extremely frustrated.
"As long as it's not a puzzle type, it's fine."
Su Xiao gently rubbed his temples. He had burned quite a few brain cells on the third floor, and it turned out he wasn't very good at puzzle games. If the clues hadn't been obvious enough, and Alice's eagerness to kill him hadn't been so urgent, he probably wouldn't have been able to deduce who Alice was.
"For survival types, I'm also good at them."
Pi Pang also walked toward the fourth floor. The detective loli and the gold-rimmed glasses man exchanged glances.
"How about... we team up?"
The detective loli suggested. The gold-rimmed glasses man's eyes flickered, but for some reason, he always felt that the detective loli didn't seem as weak as she appeared.
"Just what I was thinking, but our combat abilities aren't strong. For survival games, we need to be cautious."
"Mm, then I'll rely on you, Brother Woshi."
"I'd love to say 'leave it to me' in a domineering way, but I don't have that kind of ability."
The two began discussing the details of their temporary team. From their conversation, it seemed they also wanted to pull Pi Pang into the group.
Su Xiao had no interest in this temporary team. If those two teamed up, who knows what kind of trouble they'd stir up. The gold-rimmed glasses man was a Charm specialist, and most Charm specialists had bizarre abilities with numerous branches.
As for the detective loli, she seemed frail, but she was actually hiding a lot. So far, Su Xiao still didn't know her combat style. As for the claim of being a pure support, don't joke around. A pure support wouldn't have survived the second game's poisonous dragon meat, even with a golden substitute death item. Eating that poisonous dragon meat inflicted percentage-based true damage, which was extremely terrifying. The detective loli was the first to finish all the poisonous dragon meat. Would a contractor like that be a pure support?
Su Xiao ignored their scheming and stepped toward the fourth floor. As soon as he set foot on the stone steps, the sensation of passing through a membrane reappeared. Bubu Wang behind him sneezed.
"What's wrong?"
"Woof."
Bubu Wang sniffed and shook his head, indicating nothing was wrong.
As soon as Su Xiao passed through the membrane, his surroundings felt different. The earthy fragrance of rain-soaked soil appeared, and the air became noticeably fresher.
A gentle breeze blew, carrying a few leaves into the doorway ahead, which eventually landed on the stone steps.
Seeing the emerald green leaves and breathing in the fresh air, Su Xiao had a preliminary guess about the environment on the fourth floor. If his guess was correct, the fourth floor should be quite large.
Footsteps came from behind. It was the detective loli and the glasses man. After their discussion, the two had formed a team.
Su Xiao continued forward, stepping out of the doorway, and blinding sunlight met his eyes.
Su Xiao's pupils quickly adjusted to the light. Ahead was a vast forest, with trees somewhat sparse. The wind blew, rustling the leaves.
The grass on the ground was neatly trimmed, as if carefully manicured.
Su Xiao looked up at the sky. The glaring sunlight wasn't natural; it came from a golden fireball in the sky. There was actually an artificial sun on the fourth floor.
If not for the doorway behind him reminding Su Xiao that he was still inside the Demon Castle, he would have thought he had entered a vast forest.
"Three guests, welcome to the fourth floor of the castle, the Forest of the Strong."
The wolf butler stood before a towering ancient tree. Pi Pang and the Three Brothers of the National Football Team were near the wolf butler. Alice's doppelganger had already disappeared.
Not far from the wolf butler was a small wooden cabin. In front of the cabin was a wooden stump, where the demon servant was sitting, holding a wooden carving in his hands.
"Galu, galu..."
The demon servant muttered 'galu,' his lifeless eyes seemingly fixed on the wooden carving in his hands. The carving was only half-finished, vaguely resembling a castle.
"Have those 'guests' been released, galu?"
The wolf butler's tone was cold. He seemed somewhat hostile toward the demon servant.
"Galu~"
The demon servant nodded without looking up at the wolf butler.
"That's good. If those 'guests' don't follow the rules, you'll be responsible for cleaning them up."
"Galu."
Receiving the demon servant's reply, the wolf butler turned to look at Su Xiao and the others.
"Everyone, the content of the fourth game is simple. Survive for five days in the Forest of the Strong. That wooden cabin has your supplies—food, fresh water, and medicine, but the quantities are limited."
The wolf butler led everyone toward the wooden cabin. When Su Xiao reached the cabin, he saw seven black leather backpacks inside.
The wolf butler walked into the cabin and tossed the backpacks to everyone one by one.
Su Xiao caught a backpack and untied the rope at the top. Inside, he found a wooden barrel containing about 1.2 liters of water, roughly the capacity of a large bottle of soda. Besides the water, there were several large pieces of dried meat and a small iron box.
Opening the small iron box, it contained a milky white ointment. Based on the smell and ingredients, it seemed to be a type of alchemical trauma medicine, effective for cuts, burns, etc. It probably couldn't restore health points, serving purely as a healing effect without recovery.
Food, water, and medicine—these were all the items in the backpack.
Seeing these items, Su Xiao was both puzzled and felt something was off. This routine seemed familiar, so he instinctively opened his storage space.
The storage space was normal, which made Su Xiao breathe a sigh of relief.
"Everyone, this is the only supplies you'll get in the next five days without taking risks. Of course, if it were just survival, the fourth game would be too boring. Queen Alice wouldn't be satisfied.
The fourth game has seven participants, but only six can pass.
This forest doesn't just have you seven; there are many other creatures, some strong and some weak. Killing these creatures will earn you game points.
When the five-day limit is up, if there are seven survivors, the one with the lowest game points will be eliminated. There are three ways to earn points.
First, kill the creatures from various planets in the forest. This earns 1 to 2 game points.
Second, kill the 'guests' in the forest. These 'guests' are prisoners Queen Alice recently captured. If they kill you, they'll regain their freedom. So even if you don't seek them out, they'll come to you. Killing these 'guests' earns 2 to 3 points.
Third, kill Queen Alice's doppelganger. This earns 1000 game points.
Of course, besides these three methods, you can also choose to eliminate rivals. If any one of you dies, the six passing slots will be enough. However...
The person with the highest game points can choose any treasure from the castle's treasure vault—any treasure at all, as long as it's in the vault. As a little tip, Queen Alice's collection totals as many as 1,582,043 items."