Chapter 8: The Race to the Death: A Parting Message
"Empty?" Amano went in and searched around, and tried to touch the entire wall cabinet with his hands, but found nothing.
"This shouldn't be...... Lu Yu lightly tapped his temples with his fingers, "The first two doors are filled with things that can open the next door, and this one should be no exception...... Wrong. β
[Game goal: survive the "Three Trials" and run through the "Finish Line"]
His eyes suddenly lit up: "No, it's not to open the next door." β
"What do you mean?" Amano said, "If you explain, you can do it later, I have to remind you, our protective shield is about to run out, according to the slightly slowed down rate just now, the temperature outside is about minus thirty or forty degrees, I can still withstand it, but as soon as you go out, you will die violently." β
"That's nonsense! Hurry inside! Lu Yu woke up suddenly, and pulled Amano into the closet. The capacity of this closet can fit a bunch of heavy weapons, and if it is used to hide from people, it can also enter seven or eight people, and the two of them feel quite spacious when they stand in it at this time.
The two of them had just entered and stood for a while, only to hear the sound of squeaky gears turning, as if something had been activated. Tianye was about to rush out subconsciously, but was pulled by Lu Yu. The two stood in the darkness as a thick partition closed the door that had been blown open again.
"Aren't we locked up now?" Amano shrugged, "Was this gate a trap?" β
"Not a trap."
Lu Yu smiled and shook his head.
At this point, the shield expires and becomes ineffective. When they were exposed to the air, they were surprised to find that the temperature outside was much higher than expected, and there was a slow upward trend. Amano is also a smart person, so of course he doesn't feel that the game has let them go. He closed his eyes and felt it, and said, "There is a clear flow of temperature, it doesn't look like the temperature has risen, but the heating is turned on here." β
"It provides us with a place, of course, with all the accompanying functions, otherwise we won't be able to pass the customs." Lu Yu sat down comfortably, after running for so long, he finally had some time to rest, "Generally speaking, the game may only provide players with the only way to clear the level, but it will not be designed to make it impossible for people to clear the level, otherwise it will be considered a failed design." β
"'Survive the Three Trials'...... That's what it means. "Amano understood.
"Yes."
Lu Yu said: "Our first goal is to 'survive', and then 'run through the finish line'. If, as I reasoned, this end of the tunnel is the end, but the end is blocked, how can we 'run through'? At first, I was thinking about how to break through the lockdown, but now I realize that I don't need to. β
"The third 'trial,' huh?"
"Yes, if I'm not mistaken, it will open the lockdown for us." Lu Yu said, "It will probably be a powerful explosion, or an earthquake or something, and our mission before that is over is to 'survive'." In short, the place we are in is not a 'closet' like the first two doors. β
Lu Yu said affirmatively: "This is a 'refuge'. β
"It's not unlikely." Amano looked around.
At this time, there was a faint yellow light on the ceiling inside, and the small shelter was no longer as dark as before, and the two of them could better grasp the state inside. It's not that big, but by the standards of the subway rush hour in a big city, it's not a problem to squeeze a dozen people into space. Amano said that it is not unlikely, referring to the fact that this space is designed to accommodate all players, which is in line with its positioning as a "refuge".
He simply learned to sit cross-legged with Lu Yu and stretched comfortably: "Forget it, I'm too lazy to think about it so much." Anyway, in five or six minutes, it's time for the third 'trial', and if I don't die, all the mysteries will be revealedβI'm actually curious to see what happens." β
Lu Yu didn't answer his words. Compared to Amano, who was calm (at least on the surface), he was quite nervous at this time. Whether it was the reasoning about the end point or the judgment of the shelter setting, Lu Yu was actually not 100% sure in his heart, but he just chose the one he thought was the most likely among all the current options, even if every step was a ninety percent chance, there was still a big chance of failure.
At this time, there was nothing else to do anyway, Lu Yu simply sat on the ground, crossed in one hand and pinched the law seal in the other, and asked all the great gods he could think of in his mind - this is not superstition, but if he let his brain sit idle, thinking about obsessive-compulsive disorder will make him constantly review his mistakes in the whole process, and push out the possibility of many very bad GAMEOVER from the current state.
But no matter what you do, the accurate internal clock can't stop. No matter how Lu Yu tried to distract himself, there would still be a corner in his mind that cruelly reminded him of the remaining time. Three minutes, two minutes, one minute......
"Boom!"
A loud bang made the small space shake slightly. Lu Yu and Amano glanced at each other and stood up at the same time. The thought of the "third trial" had just crossed their minds, and before they could turn into words and spit out of their mouths, the next explosion completely blocked their opportunity to speak.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Deafening explosions rang out outside the door, sometimes near and sometimes far away, sounding like explosions were happening in every corner of the tunnel. The explosion didn't destroy the shelter, but its impact continued.
The two felt as if they were no longer in a small room in a tunnel in the mountains, but a small boat on the ocean in the middle of a storm. Lu Yu clinged to the corner of the wall, clasping the wall with both hands, only in this way could he not fall down in the strong shaking. Amano, a high-level player, is much more chic, still maintaining a chic posture of standing with his hands behind his back, his eyes firmly fixed on the partition door that has been burned red, and from time to time he turns back to Lu Yu in the corner and casts an approving look.
"What's the fashion value at this time! Anyway, didn't you say you were going to die at the beginning? You'd better go and hey! Lu Yu was shaken like a seasick and dazed, and he could only complain a few words in his heart.
The explosion lasted about two minutes. When the explosion stopped, the partition door happened to fall, saving the two of them the trouble of trying to find a way to leave. When Lu Yu stepped out of the shelter, he saw that the outside had completely changed, and the road leading to the other end of the tunnel a few meters away had been completely blocked by the collapsed boulders, which was equivalent to saying that even if Brother Bang and his group could survive the explosion, there was no way to rush from that side.
But on the other side, near the starting point, as he had guessed, the pressure of the explosion cleared a path. At the end of the road, the duo could faintly see a strip of red cloth stretched horizontally, on which the word "FINAL" was written.
"It's finally over......" Although Lu Yu said this, he always remained vigilant. He still understands the truth of half ninety for those who travel a hundred miles, don't pass any test when you arrive, but you die because of carelessness when you step on the trap before clearing the customs, it will be a big loss.
He cautiously walked a few steps, only to notice that Amano hadn't followed. Not only did he not keep up, but Lu Yu was almost scared to death by him when he looked back. I saw that Amano was covered in blood at this time, and the sharp dagger in his hand was still piercing his stomach. Seeing Lu Yu turn around, Amano grinned, and with a stroke of his hand, another bloody arrow spewed out.
"What's wrong with you!" Lu Yu was almost about to run over, but he stopped abruptly. He could probably guess the reason why Amano did this, and if he took a step back, if it was because of some spiritual trap, he would have ended up dead in his rash past. Seeing him stop, Amano showed an expression of "sure enough".
"Don't worry, it's not a spiritual attack, it's just that I said it before, I don't need too many survival points." Amano said lightly, and slashed again, "You go through the finish line, I'll wait for the blood to flow almost the same, and the system will naturally judge me dead after crossing the cordon." Anyway, this game doesn't allow direct suicide and teammates don't allow attacks, so it's really troublesome to deal with. β
"You really don't value life...... Lu Yu smiled bitterly, "If the survival points are true, you are now wasting eight days of your life in vain." β
Amano smiled and said, "Don't say eight days, it's eight years, eighty years, and if you don't have fun, it's not as precious as a stimulating day." And if you don't value life......"
He suddenly changed to an expression that seemed to be smiling but not smiling: "Let's talk to each other." It's just that you'll do the same with other people's lives. β
"Everyone is responsible for their own lives." Of course, Lu Yu knew that the other party was referring to the matter of persuading Brother Bang and the others when he turned back, and at that time he had already put forward his opinion, but others did not adopt it, so even if he died, it could not be counted on his head.
"But you didn't try to convince." Amano smiled, "As long as they hold on a little longer and say the following analysis basis, they still have a good chance of being convinced, at least some of them can be saved." Of course you know that, but you don't, why? β
Lu Yu was silent.
"Because you need to make sure that one thing is that the survival points are real. To do this, you'll need to have someone you know who dies in the game, and then you can go to reality to see if they're really missing. If all of them were saved, that would be uncertain. Amano said, "That Mr. 'Explosive Pistol' and you, if you listen to the accent, you should be from the same place, do you know each other in reality?" β
"I don't know, but assuming he doesn't have a lot of personal avatars in the game, there's someone who looks like him near where he lives." Lu Yu admitted, "You guessed right, it's the accent of my hometown, because there are a few very special tones that are not available elsewhere, so it's basically confirmed." β
"Hypothetical, very similar, basic...... That's what you based on this decision. Amano smiled and slashed again, and at this point he was covered in scars, looking like he was going to die at any moment.
"If you want to accuse me, excuse me." Lu Yu shook his head, "To be honest, all the evidence at present can be regarded as a trick of the system, anyway, I insist that I don't believe that a game can kill people in reality." β
"But if he does go missing, do you feel guilty?"
"I didn't kill anyone." Lu Yu glared at Amano.
"Yes, you didn't kill anyone." Amano laughed, "You're just selfish, and you won't save yourself when you die." β
With a piercing laugh, Amano's scarred body finally turned into a white light and disappeared from Lu Yu's face.