Chapter 26: Why doesn't he run? Does he want to die?

There was no way for the audience, or the participants of the game, to calm down.

  "Is this really the octopus game I know?"

  This game, not for the first time.

  They have, more or less, learned about the game.

  There were a lot of people involved, at least hundreds of players, and at the end of the day only one could make it out alive.

  This game is so much harder.

  The first level of woodies alone tends to kill half the people.

  There has been a lot of despair when learning that this is an octopus game.

  I just didn't expect it.

  The puppet didn't even finish counting the numbers before his head was chopped off with a sword.

  Now they all felt their brains buzzing.

  Staring blankly into the distance, the man standing by the puppet.

  Elon slowly said as he slipped the Bladeless into its scabbard, "Shut up woodchuck."

  "I don't want to play any more wooden games."

  "I just want to be happy."

  Two tall, armored, lance-wielding monsters stride from the distance.

  Because Elon swooped in and decapitated the puppet, which is considered breaking the rules.

  Follow the rules.

  To put Elon out of business.

  Elon also felt the killing intent of the two monsters.

  Just as he was about to draw his sword, a voice once again came from among the speakers.

  "Congratulations, players, for successfully passing the first level."

  "After a half-hour break, the second level of the game will begin."

  The two monsters' pace came to an abrupt halt.

  Finally they look away from Elon and turn away, disappearing into a black mist.

  "That was a fast run."

  Elon laments that it can only be counted against them.

  First pass, passed!

  The people who were fuming in the distance were all shocked when they heard this news.

  That's okay?

  When I watched the video guide before, it wasn't so easy to get through the wooden game.

  That's at least half the people who have to die to get through.

  A number of people stared in awe at Elon, who was walking back.

  Wanted to go up and talk, but didn't dare.

  Just looking at it, it felt like the sword in Elon's hand, was very dangerous.

  "What's the next level coming up?"

  Elon found a place to sit and began to think.

  I think I've seen cheats for this game before.

  "Next level, it's hide-and-seek."

  The other players, as well as the viewers who were in the live stream, were discussing it intensely.

  "Once caught by a puppet, there is only death."

  The difficulty of this level, too, is enormous.

  Just showing the slightest sound would be detected by a puppet with five keen senses and killed.

  Trying to completely avoid the puppet's tracking is nearly impossible.

  The only way to get through is to last ten minutes.

  After ten minutes, those who have not been killed are considered to have passed.

  In this level, many will do whatever it takes to drag through ten minutes by constantly exposing other players!

  "It's just hide-and-seek, plain and simple."

  A tall man, unconcerned, said.

  His voice was loud and instantly drew the attention of many.

  And upon seeing the man.

  Many people's faces changed slightly.

  "It's him, Joab!"

  "I didn't think I'd meet him here, my luck is too bad."

  "There's only one person who gets out alive at the end of this game, could it be him? I'm not happy about it!"

  This is a little known player.

  There are videos of him in the forums as well.

  He had already cleared six games, and his experience, combat power, and so on, were far superior to the other players.

  The audience in the live room exploded as well.

  "Zhao Bo is surprisingly here too."

  "I'm a fan of his, and I'm going to watch him live right now."

  "With Zhao Bo here, this wave is stable!"

  Zhao Bo stood in the crowd as if he were a crane, tilting his head proudly.

  He didn't give these people a second thought.

  Except for one person ...

  He looked to Elon, who was not far away.

  Just now, the one who made the big splash should have been him, he should have been the first one to go to the finish line.

  And it turned out that this man stole the show.

  "You won't be so lucky in the game after that."

  Zhao Bo murmured, while squinting his eyes, trying to take a look at Elon's data.

  It turned out to be nothing.

  No information whatsoever was prompted.

  Noticing Zhao Bo's gaze, Elon also slightly side-eyed Zhao Bo.

  Unrecognizable.

  A casual glance at the data.

  [Name: Zhao Bo

  Race: Human

  Physique: 25 (you're a humanoid monster)

  Strength: 23 (one punch can make fresh meat cry for a long time, right?)

  Speed: 8 (you run with panache)

  Mental: 187 (you can easily concentrate on things)]

  Good high numbers.

  It was the first time Elon had seen, a player with such high stats.

  Both could fuck with the King of Scarecrows.

  Elon averted his gaze and looked at the others again, realizing there were no more players with such high stats.

  For the vast majority of players, the numbers are in the single digits.

  A small percentage are 10+ figures.

  There are only a handful over 15.

  Looking at Zhao Bo's stats again, the man had the highest stats and should be an expert.

  I just don't know, if he has a cheat sheet or something like that.

  Half an hour passed quickly.

  Once again, a hoarse, somber voice came from among the speakers.

  "Level two, hide and seek."

  "When the game starts, you have three minutes to hide."

  "Those who are caught by the ghosts will be eliminated."

  The scenery around the crowd slowly changed.

  Turns out it's still a huge ballpark.

  Now, suddenly it's a forest.

  "Ah!"

  Suddenly someone shrieked.

  It turned out to be in the middle of their crowd, but I don't know when a big dead tree appeared, and there was a puppet standing under the tree.

  The dead tree, and the puppets, are all exactly the same as in the last level.

  The puppet stared at everyone in front of him.

  Click, click, click--

  The puppet slowly turned and placed his hand on the trunk of the tree and began the countdown.

  "180,179,178 ..."

  The game, it's on!

  A bunch of people scattered and fled, looking for a hidden place to hide.

  Zhao Bo also didn't hesitate and turned around to run.

  He was the fastest, at 8 points, and instantly stood out from the crowd, sprinting to the far end.

  The center of the forest that was originally packed with people.

  Suddenly Elon was left alone.

  Players who were close enough to hide looked at Elon with a bit of a daze.

  This man, what is he doing?

  The audience in the live broadcast room, too, had a puzzled look on their faces.

  "Does he want to die?"

  "It can't be that you still want to kill this puppet with a sword, can it?"

  "This is absolutely impossible, the horror game must have a countermeasure, if we don't escape, we'll be dead."

  Elon circled the dead tree.

  Another look at the puppet.

  Exactly the same.

  Take another look at the puppet data.

  [Name: Puppet (No. 2)

  Race: Demon

  Physical Fitness: 25

  Strength: 25

  Speed: 6

  Spirit: 100]

  It's also just a bit more impressive in terms of physique and strength.

  As for the rest, it's similar to the average player.

  And by this time, the countdown was winding down.

  "3!"

  "2!"

  "1!"

  As the final cry fell, the puppet slowly lowered its hand.

  Then its neck, clicked and twisted back.

  Turning its head for the first moment, it saw Elon.

  Elon was watching it too.

  Four eyes met, and the place was suddenly a little quiet.