Chapter 479: The Reckless Team
“Not exactly.” Ditu shook his head. “I move the same way you all do. The only difference is... my ‘unlock’ takes up two actions, while ‘move’ only takes one.”
“I see.” Song Qi nodded, then turned to the only woman in the group. She seemed quiet, having not spoken a word since entering the room. Her skin was exceptionally pale, almost glowing. “Fourteen, what do you think?”
The girl called Fourteen lowered her head in thought for a moment, then looked up and asked, “In other words... we can both ‘unlock’ and ‘move’ normally... but the only thing that prevents us from ‘moving’ in the same turn is using ‘close door’ followed by ‘lock door.’”
“Exactly! That’s the idea!” Ditu nodded. “As I said, you have three actions per turn, but ‘lock door’ and ‘move’ each take up two actions.”
Fourteen knew this wasn’t the pressing issue—there was another matter of life and death: “Rabbit, if you enter the same room as us, will you kill us outright?”
“Yes.” Ditu nodded. “No matter how many people are in the room, I’ll strike directly.”
Fourteen let out a cold laugh. “Then may I ask if we can attack you?”
“Attack... me?” Ditu sneered. “If you’ve got the guts, go ahead and try.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Shi yawned slowly and looked toward Fourteen. “Little Fourteen... what... ah... are you saying?”
“Brother Ten, I’m asking on your behalf,” Fourteen said respectfully. “Just running away doesn’t really suit the style of a ‘cat.’”
“No.” Song Qi shook his head. “I’m the senior here; everyone listens to me. This mission should prioritize caution.”
“No.” Chen Junnan also shook his head. “Looks like I’m the senior here; everyone listens to me. This mission should prioritize aggression.”
“Huh?” Song Qi’s eyes widened. “Wait, Chen Junnan, what are you saying? Do you know how dangerous that is?”
“Huh?” Chen Junnan scratched his head nonchalantly. “To be honest, I’ve always wanted to gamble my life with an Earth-grade ‘Zodiac,’ but I never had the chance.”
“You...” Song Qi felt something was off about Chen Junnan’s words. “That doesn’t seem right? You haven’t gambled with an Earth-grade before?”
“Nope.” Chen Junnan answered firmly. “Don’t I know whether I’ve gambled or not?”
Song Qi still felt uneasy. “That can’t be right either. In this game, we’re practically going head-to-head with an Earth-grade. If you want to ‘gamble your life,’ we’d have to beat him to death ourselves. Is that really feasible...?”
“Hmm... That’s true.” Chen Junnan sighed. “Maybe we should discuss tactics first.”
The group slowly gathered. They could put the “gamble life” matter aside for now—at least they had to survive this game first.
Before anyone could speak, Chen Junnan turned and saw Ditu, then asked impatiently, “Excuse me, what are you doing with your two big, fluffy ears perked up like that?”
“Huh...?” Ditu’s ears twitched, confused by Chen Junnan’s meaning.
“We’re about to discuss strategy, and you’re just standing there listening?”
“I...” Ditu felt Chen Junnan was being unreasonable. “I have to start the game from this room too, so I can only stand here.”
“Has the game started yet?” Chen Junnan pointed to the door beside them. “Go next door to avoid eavesdropping. Otherwise, if we lose, we’ll blame you.”
“You...” Ditu furrowed his brow, his red eyes flickering. “Don’t go too far. Just because I can’t kill you now doesn’t mean you’ll be safe once the game starts.”
“I know, I know.” Chen Junnan put on an infuriatingly smug expression, nodding deeply at Ditu. “Just head next door now. Even if we die later, we’ll accept it. You won’t get lost anyway—think of it as exercise.”
Ditu glanced around at the group, then walked over to Chen Junnan with an angry face. Everyone expected him to say something threatening, but instead, he just shoved Chen Junnan aside roughly and walked out of the room.
“That fat rabbit’s pretty obedient...” Seeing him leave, Chen Junnan nodded and muttered under his breath. “Let’s start discussing tactics.”
After saying this, Chen Junnan stared at the five people beside him, but to his surprise, none of them spoke.
“What, telepathy?” Chen Junnan was stunned. “Aren’t we discussing tactics? Say something.”
“But you’re the team leader...” Song Qi muttered quietly. “We’re waiting for you to speak first.”
“I already spoke. I said, ‘Let’s discuss tactics.’ You’re the ones not discussing.”
“Well...” Song Qi gave a wry smile and shook his head. “Alright, alright. Respected team leader, we’ll start discussing now.”
“Good, good.” Chen Junnan nodded, then felt something was off. “Shouldn’t you introduce yourselves first? I don’t even know your abilities.”
“Huh?” Song Qi paused. “Brother Five gave you a note before we set out, didn’t he? It clearly lists our...”
“I get dizzy looking at words.” Chen Junnan waved his hand. “Just tell me—brief and to the point.”
The others saw Song Qi’s expression and couldn’t help laughing. The usually aloof and dignified Song Qi, who commanded respect among them, seemed to have hit a snag, repeatedly showing helpless expressions in front of Chen Junnan.
“Then... I’ll introduce us first.” Song Qi nodded. “I’m Song Qi, ‘Explosion.’ Items I touch have a chance of becoming explosives. I’ve already ‘Echoed.’”
“Got it. Next.”
“This is Jiang Shi, ‘Indestructible.’ We call him Little Jiang Shi.” He pointed at the bowl-cut-haired youth. “His ability is invincibility for a certain period of time.”
“Huh?” Chen Junnan was momentarily stunned. “A little zombie?”
“What ‘zombie’...” Jiang Shi clearly disliked the nickname. He was about to angrily reprimand Chen Junnan, but his forceful words were interrupted by a yawn. “If you keep slandering me, I’ll... ah... bite you.”
“Don’t... ah... bite me.” Chen Junnan yawned in response, finding watching this kid incredibly drowsy.
Because he himself didn’t fear death, Chen Junnan always had a habit of yawning a lot in games. Now, with the bad luck of teaming up with Jiang Shi, his drowsiness had almost doubled.
The two of them unconsciously wiped their tears, making even Song Qi feel awkward.
“Little Song, go on,” Chen Junnan said.
“Alright.” Song Qi nodded. “Besides us two ‘Echoers,’ the remaining members are... Ma Twelve, ‘Shift.’”
The burly bearded man nodded at Chen Junnan. “My ability is to move objects.”
“Wu Thirteen, ‘Hover.’”
The middle-aged man in his forties also nodded, even smiling politely with a cupped fist salute. “I can stay in the air for a while.”
“And Cui Fourteen, ‘Pierce.’” Song Qi pointed to the exceptionally pale girl behind the group.
Chen Junnan nodded along, then asked, “Wait, what does ‘Pierce’ mean?”
Cui Fourteen smiled. “I haven’t developed a stronger ability yet, but I can ‘walk through walls.’”