Chapter 501: Confrontation
Song Qi's words struck exactly at Di Tu's weak spot.
The rules clearly stated that Di Tu could only kill a participant if they were in the same room. Since the two of them were currently in different rooms, he could only resort to intimidation and didn't dare make a move.
"Looks like you've got me by the throat... but aren't you actually more passive than I am?" Song Qi slowly raised his right hand. "If I throw this punch... you won't die, but you'll be miserable for days..."
Seeing the fist radiating a dangerous aura inching closer, Di Tu truly panicked. Taking that punch wouldn't kill him, and Song Qi wouldn't break any rules, but who would willingly add wounds to their own body?
Just before Song Qi could land the blow, Di Tu's thick arm jerked violently, hurling Song Qi with force against the wall. The entire room's walls crumbled into dust from the impact.
"Cough!"
Song Qi spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the floor.
"You're not dead because you're lucky, but because I held back," Di Tu sneered. "Killing you would break the rules, but I can cripple you. What made you think your flesh and blood could really go toe-to-toe with me?"
Song Qi felt as if every bone in his body was broken. He could only lie on the ground, coughing up blood. From the very start, this fight was like a stray dog taking on an elephant—even if he managed to leave bite marks all over his opponent, a single stomp from the elephant would crush him.
Di Tu glanced back at Song Qi repeatedly, making sure the man truly couldn't get up, before walking to the other side of the room to wait.
After waiting for a long time with no movement, Di Tu finally looked up and spoke toward the corner of the room: "Can't you see? He's done moving! Start the next round!"
Song Qi lifted his head with difficulty, watching the scene. In the corner of the ceiling, there was only a speaker, yet Di Tu spoke as if addressing a camera.
Was someone else here?
Or... was there someone above Di Tu?
Within seconds, a crackling sound came from the speaker.
"The Participant's round has ended. Please proceed, Zodiac."
Di Tu snorted coldly, reached out, and opened the door. The door wasn't locked at all. He stepped into the room, turned right, and headed for the second door. The next sounds were lost to Song Qi.
"Damn it..." Song Qi propped himself up on the ground and crawled forward with difficulty. "The rabbit's gone... brothers... we need to get out of here fast..."
Song Qi's vision flickered, his throat went bitter, and he spat another mouthful of blood on the floor.
"Trouble... any bone can break, but please not my spine. If that goes, I'll be a burden..."
It seemed Di Tu had used up all his action points quickly. His round ended in less than ten seconds.
Song Qi wanted to stand up and rejoin his teammates as soon as possible, but his entire body was drained of strength.
"The Participant's turn is starting... I need to hurry..."
*Click.*
The door behind Song Qi was now opened very quietly by someone. With soft, cautious footsteps, a strong hand grabbed him under the armpit and steadily pulled him to his feet.
His expression shifted. Confused, he turned around, only to see Cui Shisi emerging from the room where he had thrown the artifact. She raised a finger to her lips and gave Song Qi a meaningful look.
Though full of questions, Song Qi knew he absolutely couldn't speak now, or he'd expose his teammates' position.
Without a word, Cui Shisi shoved the artifact into Song Qi's hands, then pushed him into the door she had come from. The broadcast in the corner crackled to life again.
From some point on, the pace of the game seemed to have accelerated. The Zodiac and the Participants were now moving quickly, and Di Tu in the distance was starting to frown.
"What's going on...?" He felt something was off. Even if everyone could move instantly, a heavily injured Song Qi absolutely couldn't have moved that fast.
But soon he figured it out. Since the higher-ups assumed the man couldn't move anymore, had they started ignoring him each round?
Di Tu approached the door in front of him. This door had been locked last round, so he couldn't open it. This round, he had to use two action points to "unlock" it, then one action point to "open the door."
He quickly completed his actions, finding everything as he expected. He was now on the edge, and every room he went through had only three doors. Unfortunately, from this angle, the far door had been locked at some point. He would need two more rounds to enter the next "Room 16."
Next round, he would enter "Room 12" in front of him and unlock the lock. The round after, he would "open the door" and "move" to stand fully inside the room. As long as he held this key point, no one could escape this game.
Whether it was the boy whose head had already fallen off or Song Qi, whom he had beaten down—even if they dragged their last strength to Room 16, they would only fall into his hands.
Di Tu turned his head and listened. His ears buzzed again, and the sounds around him became faint. But if he listened carefully, there was a rustling nearby, as if not far away.
Since he was faster, the others should be rushing over. Di Tu thought hard about the overall situation. His fight with Song Qi had lasted at most one round. The others had to go to Room 14 first to find the item, then take a detour to Room 16. He would be the first to arrive.
Di Tu calmed himself, waiting for the broadcast to sound again, for the turns of Zodiac and Participant to swap once more.
Song Qi had regrouped with everyone. He hadn't expected them all to be waiting for him in this small room, including Jiang Shi, who had already reattached his head.
None of them dared to speak. They only looked at each other and nodded. Song Qi still couldn't get his bearings.
He only saw Chen Junnan leading everyone through a door that had already been opened. On the walls of both rooms, it was written: "Absolute Silence."
Everyone slowly stood at the final door. Song Qi knew this was the last moment. They and Di Tu were all advancing toward this room.
The only question now was which path had fewer locked doors. That would directly determine who reached the final room first.
Chen Junnan steadied his breath, reached out, and unlocked the door in front of him. Then he turned back to look at everyone and made a "stop" gesture.
Even though he could open the door this round, he couldn't move the whole team into Room 16. Since he had already performed an "unlock," using two action points, he couldn't move anymore.
"The Participant's round has ended. Next, the Zodiac may begin their action."
Di Tu sneered, knowing his plan had fully succeeded. He and the Participants were supposed to be in diagonal rooms now. But he hadn't heard their door open.
(Explosive Update Notice: Over 100 participants have already gathered 500 Dao. The "Explosive Update Moment" will begin at noon tomorrow.)