Players, Please Board the Train

In fact, it wasn’t just Xu Huo. None of the people present thought they could clear the dungeon this way. Xiaoxiao spoke with a tone of having seen through the world’s ways, ”Sea World is no different from other Districts. There’s no such thing as a true paradise.”

Xiaoxiao and her companion had come to participate in the program in search of a way to survive. Their bond was relatively loyal, yet the program still hadn’t acknowledged their ”friendship.”

”You’re Well, I’m Well” probably wouldn’t conduct background checks in advance, so even if the two knew each other, without explicitly stating their relationship, they were just a pair of close friends. When even mutual sacrifice for one another couldn’t qualify as ”friendship,” either the program crew had learned of their relationship during the process, or the program crew possessed its own unique set of judgment criteria.

Simply put, it deviated somewhat from what the general public recognized as expressions of friendship.

”Did you reveal your relationship to anyone while doing tasks?” Xu Huo asked Xiaoxiao.

”No.” Xiaoxiao said, ”We didn’t dare mention it... Even if others knew, they’re all here to participate in the program too, so it wouldn’t count anyway.”

”The vehicle you rode in on had cameras,” Xu Huo said. ”Didn’t you know?”

”We knew, but...” Xiaoxiao wanted to say something, but suddenly realized something. Her face turned pale as she said, ”So that’s how it is... So we were being watched by the audience from the moment we got on the bus... Why? Friendship Garden is supposed to be the program venue!”

”That’s just your speculation. It might not be true,” Shajia consoled her. ”Besides, friendship has to be built on the foundation of at least two people.”

These words didn’t comfort her at all. Instead, they made Xiaoxiao cover her face and burst into bitter tears.A flicker of awkwardness appeared on Shajia’s otherwise serene face. Xu Huo comforted him, ”You’re just not great with words. That’s not a serious flaw.”

Shajia smiled sheepishly.

Xiao Xianglin’s group still had no results yet. The one hundred and thirty groups of the second round all completed their Three-Color Showdown before two in the afternoon. After a full day and night of attrition, more ordinary people had died in the second round. Players willing to play alongside ordinary people were a minority, and some ordinary people even exploited their own circumstances to screw over players instead.

As a result, the death toll in the second round was also considerable.

However, before everyone who was undertaking the adventure tasks in the second round had come out, the Host announced the start of the third round of the Tournament.

”Unfortunately, up to this point, not a single guest has obtained friendship. The upcoming third round of the Three-Color Showdown will involve random pairings among those who remain on or have returned to the Plaza. I wonder if everyone is feeling a bit nervous?”

The Host’s voice was high and energized. ”It’s usually at this point that guests shed their disguises and reveal their true selves. Without sincerity, there is no friendship. You could say that now is the best time for friendship to be born.”

”People aren’t necessarily perfect, but friendship is such a wondrous emotion. Even if you’re ugly, unbearable, or even of low moral character, you might still earn someone else’s friendship. Believe in yourself, there will surely be someone who looks past your exterior to appreciate your inner self!”

”Please, guests, show yourselves to the fullest!”

After listening to the Host’s words, the impatient You Si finally calmed down. ”I’m about to stop recognizing the word ’friendship.’”

The Host’s words were actually hinting that program participants who disguised themselves as helpful or self-sacrificing ”good people” were not the standard for obtaining friendship.

”There’s no point playing anymore.” You Si shrugged his shoulders. ”Looks like there’s no way I’m clearing this one. I’ll just leave when the game ends.”

”The dungeon duration is seven days. The game ending doesn’t necessarily mean you can leave,” Xu Huo said. Since the unit of friendship was two people, the minimum possible could be just two people remaining.

If one wanted to leave early, unless only one person remained here with absolutely no possibility of obtaining friendship, otherwise they’d still have to wait the full seven days.

”You’re Well, I’m Well” had already killed off half the participants in less than two days. In the following days, would the remaining people have to slaughter each other until only one was left?

”Looks like we’ll need to find a way out.” You Si glanced at the venue’s walls. ”But before the dungeon time limit is up, players probably can’t get out either.”

Forfeiting wouldn’t work. Even if players stopped caring about clearing the dungeon, the program crew would force players into compliance. Otherwise, the venue floor would open up and everyone would be feeding the fish in the sea. And how long could anyone last in the sea?

”But doesn’t the program crew ultimately select some people for scoring?” Xiaoxiao said. ”Even if you don’t clear it, you can still enter Sea World.”

”If friendship is never born, the program will keep going indefinitely,” Xu Huo said.

Xiaoxiao began doubting again. ”Has anyone ever really settled in Sea World through the program before?”

The third round of the Tournament began. This time Xu Huo was randomly assigned to the first group, and his teammate was Zhuang Mengtian.

”What a coincidence.” Zhuang Mengtian curved her lips into a smile. ”You’re not going to pick the white ball again this time, are you?”

Xu Huo gestured with a ”please go ahead.” ”You pick first.”

But Zhuang Mengtian said, ”I think completing a task together makes it easier for friendship to form. How about we both pick the yellow ball?”

Xu Huo naturally had no objection. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, he switched his choice to the yellow ball.

Zhuang Mengtian also chose the yellow ball. The two chose to act together, and the task they drew was landscape painting, with the location being the botanical garden.

The Pod delivered the two of them to the botanical garden. Different from the botanical garden scenery before, mountains appeared before their eyes.

The location where they emerged happened to be a valley. Tall, dense greenery surrounded them on all sides. Gnarled old trees were draped with vines, blocking the sky above the valley so completely that not a sliver of light could pass through.

Xu Huo and Zhuang Mengtian were practically buried in vegetation.

Xu Huo was taller, so when he walked he could poke his head out to check the situation above. Zhuang Mengtian was entirely submerged below, so he could only judge her movement trajectory from where the plants shifted.

To guard against Poisonous Insects, the two had put on Protective Suits from the start. Zhuang Mengtian also had insect repellent obtained from someone else, so there was no need to worry about danger in that regard. It was just inconvenient to walk.

”Is this godforsaken place really in the sea?” she said. ”Weren’t we transported to some other small island by a Spatial Item?”

”Sea World’s technological development is quite impressive,” Xu Huo said without offering further commentary.

If the technology was advanced enough, the white city they had seen on the way here might not have been real.

”True. Only Districts with decent economies tend to enjoy this kind of reality show where human lives are the stakes...” Zhuang Mengtian didn’t finish her sentence before she was suddenly tripped to the ground, then dragged away at high speed by a moving vine!

The forest had poor visibility. Xu Huo followed after her. Several times he threw out the kite string but failed to stop her. Midway through, Zhuang Mengtian tried to drive her weapon into the ground to anchor herself, but unexpectedly the vegetation below parted automatically, causing her to miss entirely and even losing her knife in the process. As she was whipped up by the vine around her ankle, she shouted a warning to Xu Huo: ”The ground below is hollow!”