Chapter 324: The Moment of Reckless Slaughter
The next round, Yun Yao received a call from the taciturn man. Both of them raised their receivers, but neither spoke a word. After a few seconds, they hung up simultaneously.
None of the remaining players in the arena were fools; there was no need to keep up the pleasantries.
One person dialed, another answered—as long as it stayed within the rules, no one would choose to act in a way that invited trouble through excessive speech.
The iron ball was now beside Yun Yao. She decisively pressed "Yes" on the screen, then picked up the phone and dialed the room next to hers.
Even though she already knew the outcome, Yun Yao wanted to confirm it herself.
Had Chen Junnan really died…?
The phone rang. For the first time, Yun Yao waited this long for someone to pick up.
The dial tone sounded ten times—no answer.
Twenty times—still no answer.
When it rang for the twenty-first time, a girl finally picked up. She sounded terrified.
"Hello…?" the girl said.
Yun Yao paused, then spoke: "Hello."
She realized this girl was probably Chen Junnan's long-time "partner downstream." But Chen Junnan had never mentioned her. What kind of person was she?
Xu Qian hesitated and then asked, "Did he… die…?"
A flicker of sadness crossed Yun Yao's face. "It seems so. The iron ball landed in the room to my left."
Xu Qian felt a deep sense of disbelief.
Was there really such a man in this world?
Every action, every expression of his had been so arrogant and confident, only for him to die in such a meaningless way.
"This is… this is so absurd!" Xu Qian cursed, almost breaking down. "He leaves behind this mess, leaves behind the Earth Serpent… and he just dies himself…?"
Yun Yao's expression dimmed as well. She didn't really know what kind of person Chen Junnan was, only that he was impulsive and never thought about consequences. The outcome now… even he probably hadn't expected it.
The referee had actually colluded with the Earth Serpent to cheat. Had there always been two iron balls on the chain above?
One at this end, one at that end?
If that were true, then no one could have predicted it in advance. It could only mean the Earth Serpent was too cunning.
Despite her sadness, Yun Yao didn't want to dwell on Chen Junnan's cause of death any longer. The focus now was winning the game.
"Sister, your situation is pretty dangerous right now," Yun Yao said. "You and Chen Junnan were adjacent 'odd numbers.' The iron ball might fall on your head next round."
Xu Qian hesitated. "So… his name is Chen Junnan?"
Yun Yao sighed deeply. "Sister, now's not the time to think about that, is it? You need to find a way to survive."
"Ah, right…" Xu Qian nodded. "Yeah, I have to survive."
"Exactly." Yun Yao said helplessly. "For the next two rounds, I won't talk to you anymore. You can just hang up the phone directly."
"Huh? Why?"
"We're not friends. I can't trust you."
"Okay… I understand."
After hanging up, Yun Yao sat on her chair, fiddling with her lipstick. The iron ball had fallen on Chen Junnan's head this time. Though it was a tragic outcome, it wasn't entirely bad news.
The iron ball was now closer to the Earth Serpent.
Originally, it would have taken half a circle to rotate back here, but now the iron ball was right next to the Earth Serpent.
If she could control the next few rounds well, there might still be a chance to hit him again.
The thirtieth round arrived. Only six people remained alive.
And this round, as expected, the iron ball hung above Xu Qian's head.
Yun Yao didn't really know this girl, but from their brief conversation, she could roughly tell that her personality wasn't bad and her moral character was passable. So she symbolically selected "No."
She didn't know if it would help, but this was her last act of goodwill.
"The final answer to this question is: 'Yes.'"
No one was going easy.
For the remaining players, Xu Qian had no reason to live.
"BOOM——!!"
A loud noise rang out again. Yun Yao froze once more.
This time, the sound didn't come from Xu Qian on her left. Instead, it came from her right.
But this sound was noticeably weaker than the previous round's. It didn't seem to be from the neighboring room, but rather one room further away.
"Wait… one room further away?"
Yun Yao knew that the anxious girl to her right was already dead. One more room to the right was the "taciturn man" that Chen Junnan had warned her to be careful of.
How could this be?
The taciturn man was dead…?
Everyone in the arena now seemed confused.
Ever since the iron ball fell in Chen Junnan's room on the twenty-seventh round, it had seemed to start "killing randomly," without any logic or pattern.
Yun Yao slowly widened her eyes. Chen Junnan's words echoed in her ears—
"Big star, do you believe me? From now on, I can ignore all the rules and have the iron ball land wherever I want?"
Chen Junnan…?
Yun Yao's heart was like a fire that had just gone out, now flickering with faint sparks again.
"Are you still alive…?" She stood up, looking toward the room on her right, but countless questions filled her mind.
How had Chen Junnan done it? How could he control the iron ball at will?
Had he found some hidden rule?
But he clearly wasn't that smart, so how could he have transcended the rules?
Before she could figure it out, the next question came rushing in. This time, Yun Yao received a call from Zhong Zhen. It seemed that everyone between her and Zhong Zhen had already died.
"It must be done…"
Zhong Zhen seemed to have been talking for a while. When Yun Yao picked up, he was already halfway through his speech.
"Zhong Zhen…?" Yun Yao was startled. "You're still alive?"
Zhong Zhen paused and said, "I've said this many times already. Whoever you are, whether you can hear me or not… but I've calculated. The iron ball is now above the head of the person to my right. She's a huge problem—she must be killed! She's too dangerous!!"
Yun Yao found it odd. "You… what are you talking about? Zhong Zhen, haven't you noticed that the iron ball's trajectory has already—"
"It must be done!!" Zhong Zhen shouted. "This person can control other people's actions through some kind of contact. If she survives, everyone who picks up the phone won't escape!!"
"Zhong, Zhong Zhen…" Yun Yao felt something was off. "Can you hear me? The iron ball is no longer moving from '-2'… you…"
"I'm counting on you! You must kill her!!"
"You…"
"I've said this many times already. Whoever you are, whether you can hear me or not…"
"Can you hear me?"
Yun Yao felt like Zhong Zhen had been bewitched. She listened quietly for a while longer and realized he seemed to be repeating the same words over and over. Puzzled, she finally hung up.