Chapter 209: The Abandonment of Humanity
Of the remaining seventeen players on the ninth floor, Xu Huo had taken seven with him. When they reached the eighth floor, the remaining nine split into two factions.
One side was represented by Gu Yu, Kang Hong, plus Dazhi, Chen Shu, and Xiao Ba—five players in total.
The other side was represented by Tie Ge, Zhang Biao, along with a square-faced player and a bald-headed player—four in total.
Behind these two groups stood others. Gu Yu's side mostly consisted of women and the elderly, while Tie Ge's side was predominantly young and middle-aged men.
"Gu Yu, think this through carefully," Tie Ge said with a dark expression. "Going down to the seventh floor is fine now, but what about the sixth floor?"
"Eight players all died in one elevator. Even if the rest of us cram into a single elevator, it won't help. We have to reduce the numbers. If it's not them, it'll be someone else. There's no choice."
Gu Yu glanced at the people behind him. "If we follow your method, only thirteen people will be left by the first floor. The ones standing behind you won't survive either."
Tie Ge didn't care about her provocation at all. Instead, he said nonchalantly, "Live as long as you can, right? Once we get to the lower floors, we'll be close to the game's time limit. We can just find a place to hide and wait it out until the game ends."
"So that's your plan," Chen Shu said angrily. "I think you're dreaming. Do you think the mutant animals' sense of smell hasn't evolved?"
"You're the ones dreaming," Zhang Biao sneered. "How many of you are there, and you still want to protect dozens of people?"
"When it really comes down to life and death, do you believe they'll be even more ruthless than the players?"
"While we still have enough time, let's lay down the rules properly so we don't cause trouble for ourselves later."
"The rules you're talking about are letting the old, weak, women, and children die first?" Kang Hong asked, also filled with anger.
"Then ask them if they're willing to draw lots," Tie Ge said, pointing at the people behind him.
The thirty-plus young and middle-aged men each had their own thoughts, but none of them were willing to draw lots to decide who would stay in the next round.
Gu Yu was furious but helpless. The reason Tie Ge was standing here negotiating instead of acting directly was that both sides had a similar number of players. But if he incited those young men to attack the others, even their five players would struggle to turn things around. In fact, they might even find themselves in danger.
She turned to look at Kang Hong and the others.
Kang Hong paused for a moment, then said to Tie Ge, "As long as you guarantee we can reach the first floor safely, it shouldn't matter to you who lives, right?"
Tie Ge started to laugh, but the movement pulled at the wound on his face, forcing him to stifle the laugh. "So you want me to help you out, huh?"
"It's not a loss for you either," Kang Hong analyzed calmly. "Think about it. Once the old, weak, women, and children are all dead, what's left are the young and middle-aged men behind you—people with physical strength and decent reflexes. When it comes to life and death, the power people can unleash can't be judged by common sense."
Tie Ge's face darkened, but a middle-aged man behind him quickly said, "Don't try to sow discord! Don't think we can't see that you just want us to be the scapegoats so those women can live!"
Then he leaned in close to Tie Ge. "Brother, we just want to hitch a ride downstairs. How could we possibly be a match for the players? And who knows what dangers are waiting downstairs? We still need the players to protect us."
"You're right." Tie Ge kicked him flying. "There are still mutant animals downstairs. I don't want to get stabbed in the back by you bastards!"
The eighth floor was an exhibition hall. The middle-aged man crashed through cabinets all the way to the window, spat out a mouthful of blood, and couldn't get up again.
Tie Ge casually picked up a pen, turned to Gu Yu, and said, "The rest of the people will stand separately. Whoever gets pointed to stays on the seventh floor."
"And the extra people..." Gu Yu frowned, but before she could finish, he interrupted, "Just stand however. There can only be extras, not fewer."
Besides the nine players and the middle-aged man, the remaining people would still have three extra even if they stood in groups of thirteen.
"No!" Gu Yu said firmly. "The numbers are just right. There's no need to sacrifice extra people."
Tie Ge twirled the pen. "I suggest you don't stir up trouble. There are over eighty people here. Try to pick out a few, and no one else will agree."
Gu Yu's expression stiffened. She looked around at the people nearby, and her urge to argue faded.
Kang Hong and Chen Shu also remained silent.
Dazhi stood beside them, looking left and right, then suddenly said, "Shouldn't we wait for Xu Huo?"
"Even though they disappeared, they might not be dead."
"Isn't it too early to start picking people now? And besides, the way you're all discussing how to let people die is terrifying."
Gu Yu and the others were all shaken. But Zhang Biao from Tie Ge's side said, "What do you foreigners know? This is called preparing for a rainy day!"
"As for that Xu guy and Dai Wenqian and the others, they've probably already entered the reincarnation hall by now."
"Do you even know what the reincarnation hall is?"
"They were too clever for their own good and went to their deaths. They're done for, unless you have another way."
"Are you so happy about your companions' deaths?" Dazhi was puzzled by his attitude, then said, "We can go through the windows."
"Prepare the tools in advance. After the others go downstairs, those left on the upper floors can climb down from the windows."
"That would attract the mutant animals," Kang Hong said. Anyone who stayed on the upper floor was as good as dead. "And the outside isn't necessarily safe. The mutant animals also use the elevators. There must be something in the fog that even they're afraid of."
In truth, to be absolutely certain, killing the extra people before going downstairs was the safest option. It both eliminated the surplus and avoided the possibility of someone panicking and doing something reckless, or someone accidentally falling.
But he didn't say that out loud.
The others clearly had the same concerns. However, Dazhi said, "So you're planning to kill all the extra people before going downstairs?"
The people who had almost accepted their fate showed terrified expressions. But when they saw that the players all had the same look, they immediately shouted, "Don't you dare!"
"Rather than being killed like this, we might as well go down fighting! We'll take someone down with us, one for one!"
Tie Ge glared viciously at Dazhi, but Dazhi grabbed a lamp from the low cabinet beside him and threw it out the window!
"What are you doing!"
Not only Tie Ge and his group, but Gu Yu and the others also rushed forward to intercept the lamp. But the two groups collided, and they could only watch helplessly as the lamp flew out!
After a brief moment, a "bang" came from downstairs.
For a moment, everyone on the eighth floor held their breath. But after a few seconds, there was no movement from downstairs.
"Go take a look," Tie Ge ordered a man beside him.
Afraid of becoming the next middle-aged man, the man forced himself to overcome his fear, walked to the window, and leaned out. Then he stammered, "There's nothing down there."
The players looked at each other. After a while longer, once they were sure it was safe to stand by the window, they walked over.