Chapter 231: Sudden Change

[Faction No. 1 execution phase failed. Pay 10 yuan.]

The crowd gathered around Zhou Xian's Regional Grid stared at the prompt on the light screen in astonishment.

Failure was normal. After all, this was a Special Grid. No one could say for sure what kind of competition it entailed.

Even someone like Zhou Xian could stumble.

But it was simply too fast.

Less than thirty seconds had passed.

What kind of contest inside this Herbal Tea shop made Zhou Xian so confident in choosing to execute, only to lose so quickly...?

"Oh, ho."

Lin Xiaoran snapped a photo of the light screen's prompt with her camera and said, "Now this is getting interesting."

"Even Zhou Xian lost. This County Magistrate Luo's methods are truly extraordinary."

Not far away, Mu Wan looked at everyone's assets on the light screen and said,

"Something isn't right."

"What's wrong?"

asked Mo Nagu, standing beside her.

"County Magistrate Luo has too much of an advantage now."

Mu Wan frowned.

"Only five factions will survive this game in the end. With an advantage this overwhelming, he's highly likely to be targeted by everyone else."

...

Mo Nagu nodded. "True. If special cards didn't exist, it might be hard to coordinate that kind of targeting. But since they do, County Magistrate Luo is probably in for a hard time."

"Everyone is just watching the show right now, but this game is going to be far crueler than we thought."

"Only five factions in total will live. The rest will likely be turned into mummified corpses. Many haven't realized this yet, simply because the first large-scale elimination of a faction hasn't happened."

"That's why the atmosphere hasn't turned tense yet."

Mu Wan nodded.

"But compared to us, the commanders' situation is probably even worse."

"At least we have the chance of being traded to other factions."

"We still don't know the fate of the commander from the faction that was eliminated at the very beginning. If they died too..."

Mu Wan paused.

"These superiors might truly become ruthless."

...

"Start rolling Dice."

Faction No. 2's ragtag team quickly finished rolling the Dice.

Unlike the hesitating factions, this team now seemed to have completely given up.

It couldn't be helped. As a disorganized squad, their chances of winning were simply too slim.

The commander and the chess piece, especially, couldn't see even a sliver of a way out.

Unsurprisingly, they rolled Tranquil Valley's Combat Grid and paid 5 yuan.

Then, it was the long-haired man's turn again.

Only this time, the moment the words "Start rolling Dice" appeared, a new line of text popped up on the light screen:

[Faction No. 4 has used a Designated Dice Card.]

[The Dice for this round has been designated and cannot be changed.]

[The Dice roll for this round has been designated.]

The crowd was in an uproar.

County Magistrate Luo had used a Designated Dice Card, and no prompt asking whether to use a Bye Card appeared. That meant Faction No. 3 didn't have a Bye Card!

Not only that, the grid County Magistrate Luo designated this time was:

Grid 101.

...

The crowd was dumbfounded.

Seeing this, everyone basically understood. County Magistrate Luo and the person backing Faction No. 3 likely had some kind of conflict.

...

Chu Ming's face darkened.

Although Bai Qiu had already told him about the conflict with the county magistrate, he still hadn't expected to be designated.

This meant the county magistrate firmly believed Chu Ming couldn't beat the person who had killed his vice-captain.

"Tsk, it's time to show these country bumpkins what the strongest Ritual is,"

he muttered. The next instant, his figure flickered, appearing on Regional Grid 101.

The exact moment he manifested, a thick, rolling black fog surged out, engulfing the entire Regional Grid.

All light was blotted out, completely obscuring everyone's vision.

Without any hesitation, Chu Ming instantly unleashed his Ritual. Violent weird energy surged forth.

Three intertwined phantoms radiating yellow, purple, and black light bloomed behind him.

They were a comb, a pair of scissors, and a shattered mirror.

The third phantom was the exact reason he had been able to stand out among the crowd in Longhe City.

Although his Day Selection Ritual was only yellow, the black Incense Burning Rite allowed him to take a step toward being reborn and remade.

[Mirror Image]

In a flash, weird energy transformed, and massive mirrors lined up in a row behind him.

The effect of [Mirror Image] was to reflect 50% of an opponent's attack potency.

In his hands, massive silver-white scissors danced as he walked step by step into the depths of the thick black fog before him.

Even if his opponent had a 120% strength boost, he didn't think he would lose.

His surroundings were pitch-black. Just as he was using his weird energy to slowly probe for the other party's presence...

Suddenly, a terrifying pressure emanated from the dense fog.

It felt as if some terrifying entity had awakened within the mist. A sensation of extreme danger made his heart violently skip a beat.

The next instant, a pitch-black wing that blotted out the sky poked out from the black fog. Then, under his horrified gaze, its entire body gradually revealed itself.

What kind of monster was this?!!

How was this possible?!!!

Chu Ming stared at the bizarre, sinister figure before him in terror, his breathing growing ragged.

His firm resolve instantly gave way to despair.

...

"I can't see clearly."

The crowd that had rushed over to Regional Grid 101 stared at the thick fog before them.

At first, they had been thrilled to see that Faction No. 3 hadn't paid to avoid the battle, but now that they couldn't witness this grand fight with their own eyes, they felt exceptionally disappointed.

"Who's going to win?"

Someone asked, kicking off the classic guessing game.

Many people voiced their opinions.

The majority present still felt the projection's chances were higher; after all, it had a 120% strength boost.

A significant portion also felt the difference wasn't huge, and that no matter who won, it wouldn't be easy.

Right then, a boy dressed like a high school student sneered.

"I'll just say one thing: Brother Ming once led our team in a fight against a Fourth Tier inner world resident."

!!!

People nearby widened their eyes.

Putting the result aside, just escaping a Fourth Tier was already incredible.

"Heh."

Suddenly, that tall, robust woman gave a cold laugh. "Is just fighting a Fourth Tier considered bragging rights now?"

"What do you mean by that?"

The high school boy's face turned cold.

"Nothing much."

The tall, robust woman smiled. "It's just that our team once killed a Fourth Tier. That's all."

...

Her words dropped another heavy bombshell.

Someone had already recognized that this tall, robust woman was a member of the team from the Third Ring Domain.

However, no one from their group seemed to be acting as a chess piece on the board, making it unclear which faction they belonged to.

"How is that possible?!"

The high school boy glared angrily. "Do you even know how strong a Fourth Tier is?"

"Heh, don't show off your ignorance, kid."

For once, the tall, robust woman didn't lose her temper. Instead, she looked at the boy with mocking eyes.

"To be honest, your team looks very ordinary to us. You aren't even as good as her team."

As she spoke, she pointed at the smoking woman.

Seeing she was mentioned, the smoking woman lit the slim cigarette dangling from her lips and raised the hand holding the lighter.

"Don't compare us to them."

"You...!"

The high school boy flared with rage, but before he could finish, he was cut off by a chorus of gasps from the crowd.

Following everyone's gaze to the light screen, a wave of dizziness immediately crashed over him. His legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground.

[Faction No. 3 chess piece has died. Please pay the toll fee and spend 20 yuan to replace the chess piece.]

...

Now, let alone the high school student, even the tall, robust woman and the smoking woman watched with shrinking pupils.

No matter how much they belittled the long-haired man's team, the two of them knew very well that Chu Ming was definitely not weak. Yet barely a minute had passed, and he was already dead?!!

Even if there was a gap in strength and a 120% boost, it couldn't possibly be to this extent, right?!!

Just how strong was that man named Yan Jing...?

...

...

High in the sky above Horizon Lake.

In one of the two golden Curtains, a human male wearing a Daoist robe burst into laughter:

"Even if you adjusted the strength, an accident still happened, didn't it, you old dog?"

Inside the golden Curtain opposite him, the Vice Prefect of East Lake Prefecture wore a dark expression.

He hadn't expected the side he favored to suffer such a heavy blow.

No, rather, he hadn't expected that human to be so strong!

After a few seconds of silence, he spoke slowly, his voice hoarse.

"Do you think this is a good thing?"

"This situation will only accelerate a certain outcome."

"Moreover, the gamble is only halfway through. Do you really think you have victory in the bag?"

"Hahaha." The man laughed. "Good, then let's keep watching!"

Even so, inside his Curtain, he couldn't help but clench his fists. He stared intently at the crystal board, nowhere near as optimistic as he sounded.

...

...

In a certain corner of Stone Mountain.

Inside a black Curtain.

Bai Qiu looked at the crystal board's demand to replace the chess piece, his gaze darkening.

"He only lasted a little over a minute...?"

"Heh, and I thought he could fight."

"You guys won't have another accident like this, will you?"

He was speaking to a boy who looked around seventeen or eighteen, standing outside the Curtain.

He had curly hair and held a game console, completely engrossed in his game.

"Us?"

The boy looked up and smiled. "Hard to say."

"But Mr. Bai, you don't have any other choice anymore, do you?"

...

Bai Qiu's gaze grew colder.

He really detested these humans, especially those with some capital like this.

Every single one of them spoke in the exact same tone, not taking him seriously at all.

"Then let's stick to the plan."

He smiled, showing not a sliver of dissatisfaction.

He directly transferred 50 yuan from the hundred-odd yuan he had on hand.

"I hope your team members are as capable as you say they are."

The boy stared intently at his game console screen.

"Yeah, I hope so too."

...

Outside Regional Grid 101.

The thick rolling fog dissipated.

The crowd focused their gazes. In the center of the Regional Grid lay a mangled, bloody figure—or more accurately, a pile of pulverized flesh.

It was completely impossible to distinguish any body parts from that mass of flesh, save for the waist-length pitch-black hair scattered around it that proved its identity.

...

The crowd fell silent. A second later, a beautiful, youthful figure with a ponytail and wearing white socks appeared on the Regional Grid.

Looking at Chu Ming's corpse, she crouched down and smiled.

"Thanks for scouting the way for us."

As she spoke, she reached out and patted the pile of flesh, as if comforting it.

Just as she appeared...

Faction No. 11, Faction No. 13, and Faction No. 14.

Of the chess pieces for these three factions, one took off his mask.

He was a slender man with exceptionally thick finger joints.

One took off his robes.

It was a cold-faced man wearing glasses and carrying a long saber on his back.

The last one's appearance directly morphed, revealing a smiling woman in her thirties.

As the realization spread, the crowd was instantly shocked.

These four people currently on the board were astonishingly all members of the team from the Third Ring Domain!

In other words, Faction No. 3, Faction No. 11, Faction No. 13, and Faction No. 14 were together.

Add in Faction No. 7...

Then on the board, a full five factions had formed an alliance.

Amidst the crowd, the tall, robust woman burst into loud laughter.

"The game has begun, everyone!"