Chapter 176
The four people neared Chaoyang District at noon. Along the way, Tang Mo encountered four returnees, three of whom had double digit numbers on their necks. They saw the Earth players but didn't start anything. They just warily left. Only one player with more than 500 minutes of rest time tried to ambush them.
This man's methods were extremely vicious and he set a trap around the corner. Tang Mo was far away from Chen Shanshan. He grabbed Chen Shanshan when he noticed something wrong but the bomb had exploded. Tang Mo's arm was blown open and Chen Shanshan's head was also injured.
The man hid in the dark and detonated the bomb that had been planted underground. In the end, Fu Wenduo found the person hiding in an office building and broke his neck.
Fu Wenduo said, "There was no time to let you take care of it."
Tang Mo shook his head. "It doesn't matter."
In general, Fu Wenduo would leave all killing of enemies towards Tang Mo, except for special circumstances.
Tang Mo's group was more careful after this experience with the bomb man. The four of them soon entered the boundaries of Chaoyang. The Tian Xuan organization's base was here and they occupied all the resources of Chaoyang District. This meant that few players stayed here. There were occasionally running sounds blown by the wind. Fu Wenduo just raised his eyebrows, always aware of possible attacks.
They couldn't take anyone lightly, regardless of whether they were an Earth player or returnee.
Tang Mo walked quietly along the shadow of a building and said, "Tang Mo isn't a safe place. The closer we are to the 80th school, the more dangerous it might be." Just as we investigated the returnees, the returnees would investigate us. Tian Xuan is the largest organization in Beijing and there are two targets, Ruan Wangshu and Lian Yuzheng. Eliminating them can open Eve's Reward. Some returnees would surely be eyeing them."
Fu Wensheng wondered, "In this case, why would Ruan Wangshu stay at the 80th school? Isn't it better to change the location of his base?"
The nest had been discovered by the enemy. Shouldn't they change to a different base?
Fu Wenduo explained, "The most dangerous place is also the safest place. Ordinary returnees won't dare attack Tian Xuan and the strong returnees…" Fu Wenduo paused and quickly threw Pheidippides' Dart as he spoke. "The strong returnees are targets we want to eliminate!"
Whoosh!
The black dart shot through the air towards the rear of a building at an extremely fast speed.
However, the target was far away and the young man hidden in the dark had time to react. The short-haired man moved sideways to avoid Fu Wenduo's dart and stared warily at Fu Wenduo. Tang Mo lifted his right hand and steel needles shot towards the man.
The man exclaimed, "Li Chaocheng's steel needles?"
Tang Mo was shocked.
The young man wearing a denim jacket rolled agilely and avoided the steel needles. The steel needles plunged into the neck. The young man raised his head and the sun shone on his face through the gap in buildings, revealing the five digits floating at his neck.
『 10,235. 』
Tang Mo blurted out, "You are Ning Yu?"
62nd on the time leaderboard, Ning Yu.
Ning Yu placed one hand on the ground and his feet kicked off the ground. He jumped dozens of metres towards the top of the mall. He stood on the top floor of the mall and looked down at Tang Mo, who had no expression on his handsome face. The two sides watched each other silently. After a moment, Ning Yu's eyes narrowed and he uttered two names. "Fu Wenduo or… Tang Mo?"
He looked at Tang Mo. "You are Fu Wenduo?" Then he glanced at Fu Wenduo standing behind Tang Mo.
The indifferent man in black was the first person to discover him and also shot the seemingly ordinary dart. This dart might be ordinary but the person who threw it wasn't so simple. If the distance had been a bit closer then Ning Yu absolutely wouldn't have been able to avoid the dart. The strength of this man was by no means simple.
Ning Yu suddenly had a thought. "Fu Wenduo and Tang Mo?"
His guess had a 8 or 9 chance out of 10 to be right.
Ning Yu didn't know who was Tang Mo and who was Fu Wenduo but he knew that facing these two people weren't good.
If he eliminated Fu Wenduo or Tang Mo then he could directly open Eve's Reward. However, these two people were teammates. Once a fight started then it wasn't necessarily certain who would be eliminated.
Ning Yu's brain worked quickly. Only a few minutes passed but he had already thought of multiple endings. He didn't hesitate to turn and disappear among the buildings. Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo didn't chase after him. Meanwhile, Chen Shanshan stared at the black tower suspended in the sky.
Fu Wensheng asked, "Are we just letting him go?"
There were four Earth players in Beijing who had been announced by the black tower but there were only two returnees on the time leaderboard.
Xu Yusheng and Ning Yu.
The returnees could open the rewards as long as they eliminated one of the four Beijing players. If Earth's players wanted to get Eve's Reward, they could only eliminate Xu Yusheng or Ning Yu. This meant that returnees had four chances while Earth players had only two chances.
It wasn't likely to meet one person in the huge Beijing city. They came across Ning Yu and were letting him go. It doesn’t seem right.
Chen Shanshan shook her head. "Now isn't the game time."
Xiao Fu didn't respond for a moment.
Chen Shanshan explained, "Eve's Game is from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. It is currently noon and it isn't the game time. The black tower announced the game time at the beginning of the rules. I'm not completely certain but we might not be able to get Ning Yu's reward if we eliminate him outside the game time. Now the odds of winning aren't high. At the very least, he should be able to escape."
Fu Wensheng immediately understood. "This time is for returnees and Earth players to recharge their batteries. It makes no sense to kill the enemy at this time."
That's why Ning Yu ran away after weighing the pros and cons and why Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo didn't chase him.
In the brief encounter with Ning Yu, Tang Mo found that regardless of the strength of the returnees, their level of escaping was really high. At the same time, he remembered one thing. "It seems that Liao Feng didn't lie to us." Tang Mo pointed to the sign for Chaoyang District not far away. "He said that he saw Ning Yu in Chaoyang yesterday morning and Ning Yu is still here."
Fu Wenduo stated, "He won't be here next time."
An hour later, the four of them arrived at the 80th High School.
The street outside the campus was silent with only the trees on both sides of the street rustling. Tang Mo glanced at the quiet street as he walked through the school gates. He knew that there should be people hiding on this street but he couldn't find them.
The strength of the returnees shouldn't be underestimated.
They arrived at the school and found Ruan Wangshu.
Ruan Wangshu wasn't anxious. He just gently nodded when he saw Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo. Without waiting for Tang Mo to speak, he asked, "Have you found anyone ambushing outside?"
Tang Mo wondered, "Do you know?"
The female doctor Li Miaomiao was lying on a table not far away. "Lian Yuzheng found them. Those people hid well. We sent several people to secretly check the whereabouts and only found two poorly concealed people. The others are unknown. In this way, several people were lost."
Ruan Wangshu's injury had almost completely healed. He spoke up after Li Miaomiao. "Did you find anyone?"
Tang Mo shook his head. "They hid very well."
Chen Shanshan's calm voice was heard. "You want to use Tian Xuan as bait."
The weak female voice attracted everyone's attention and Ruan Wangshu's body slightly stiffened. The pale teenager turned to look at the little girl before replying a moment later, "Yes. You heard the updated rules that the black tower released yesterday and the rules for Eve's Game. If we want to get Eve's Reward, we can only kill the returnees on the time leaderboard. There are only two returnees left in Beijing, Xu Yusheng and Ning Yu. It is too hard to find them. It is better to let them come to us."
Tang Mo told him, "Ning Yu probably won't come."
Ruan Wangshu stared at him. "What?"
Tang Mo told him about their encounter with Ning Yu in Chaoyang.
Ruan Wangshu made an ugly expression. "He was here for us. Tian Xuan's base is at the 80th School and this isn't a secret among Beijing players. Ning Yu definitely knows the location of Lian Yuzheng and I and came to Chaoyang to kill us. Then he discovered your and Fu Wenduo and saw there are four of us here. He won't hit us again. It is a pity…"
Chen Shanshan asked, "What's a pity?"
Ruan Wangshu sighed and clapped.
Fu Wenduo stared coldly and threw a small knife behind him. A energetic figure quickly dodged the knife. The person who came was a young man with a flat head. A bloodthirsty look flashed in his eyes when he saw Fu Wenduo but he soon hid it. He glanced at Fu Wenduo and Tang Mo. He saw on a chair and smile. "I know Fu Wenduo. Are you Tang Mo?"
Tang Mo looked at him calmly.
Soon, three or four more people emerged from behind the youth.
More than a dozen people gathered in the small classroom.
There were men and women among the newcomers. They stared silently at Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo while others stared coldly at Ruan Wangshu. A powerful aura emitted from these people. Tang Mo understood their identities as Ruan Wangshu said, "There aren't many Beijing players willing to cooperate with Tian Xuan but those gathered here are the top strength in Beijing. Major Fu should know them. You've encountered all of them previously."
Tang Mo stared at these people before turning his head. "It is difficult to find Ning Yu again but I should be able to find Xu Yusheng."
Ruan Wangshu's cold eyes stared at Tang Mo. "How…"
Boom!
The shock came too suddenly as the ground shook. Throughout the 80th school and all of Beijing, the ground shook violently! Thick cracks appeared on the ceiling of the classroom and the walls collapsed. Tang Mo didn't think about it as he directly grabbed Chen Shanshan, put her on his back and ran into the corridor. He used one hand as support to jump down from the third floor and land steadily onto the ground.
Fu Wenduo also carried Fu Wensheng and jumped to the first floor.
Ruan Wangshu and the others responded and left the building one by one.
They gathered on the playground and Tang Mo looked up. The earth was still shaking violently and the tall buildings around the 80th school shook. However, no buildings fell and Tang Mo didn't hear the sound of buildings collapsing. The whole of Beijing was just shaking in a strange manner. It was fierce but didn't cause any damage.
Tang Mo exclaimed, "It isn't an earthquake?"
The group looked at him with astonishment.
Li Miaomiao wondered, "How can it not be an earthquake? All of Beijing is shaking. Isn't this an earthquake?"
Chen Shanshan carefully observed the movements around her and her expression became ugly. "It really isn't an earthquake. The magnitude of the earthquake is in the ground. Even if the source is shallow, it is still underground. An earthquake goes from bottom up and can easily cause buildings to collapse. Feel the ground under our feet. This shaking is more like the source came from the same level as us."
This was the problem.
Fu Wenduo had a cold expression. "What can shake all of Beijing?"
The next second, a gloomy female voice filled all of Beijing, answering his question.
"Earth survivors?"
The tremors seemed smoother as everyone looked to the west with consternation. The voice came from the west and when she spoke, the earth's vibrations resonated with her. It was as if the ground had become her vocal cords. Every time she spoke, the earth would shake with her.
At this moment, all Earth survivors and returnees stared to the west in shock.
At the junction of Chaoyang District and Haidian District, a young man wearing a denim jacket stopped. "It isn't an earthquake. Is it that person's ability? Wait, this person's ability would never be able to endure spreading his voice all over Beijing. This voice…" Ning's expression sank. "Xu Yusheng!"
Beihai, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven…
The cold female voice spread everywhere as the earth quivered along with her voice.
She sneered, "I am ninth on the time leaderboard, Xu Yusheng."
"I am giving a notice to the Earth survivors Fu Wenduo, Tang Mo, Ruan Wangshu and Lian Yuzheng."
"On May 25th, 5 o'clock in the morning, the elevated road of Beijing's East Third Ring Road."
"You want Eve's Reward and I want to be the only player in China to open the reward."
"I am waiting for you."
"By the way, Ning Yu, are you coming?"
A low and hoarse laughter was heard. It didn't sound like a 16 year old girl at all.
In the Xicheng district of Beijing, an abandoned courtyard. A middle-aged man with bloodshot eyes was kneeling on the ground, his head raised to the sky and his mouth wide open. A gloomy-looking young girl pressed her hand to the back of the man's head as she leaned over to speak into his ear. Strangely enough, she was the one talking but the sound was coming from the man's mouth.
Xu Yusheng was followed by three young girls who bowed their heads silently. She giggled and pressed her hands to the back of the middle-aged man's head with all her strength, almost touching his brain.
"Fu Wenduo, I heard you are the strongest player in China? I…"
"Ahhhhh!"
Tang Mo was listening to the voice coming from the sky when a miserable scream was heard. After this scream, the earth returned to normal and the voice disappeared. Everyone was startled but didn't let down their guard. After five minutes, there were no more movements. Tang Mo narrowed his eyes and turned to look at Fu Wenduo.
Fu Wenduo looked at him and shook his head.
They didn't know that in the small courtyard, blood was bursting from the middle-aged man's head. Xu Yusheng kicked him to the ground and the man twitched twice before he stopped breathing.
“Useless piece of crap." Xu Yusheng sneered and left.
She had just taken two steps when a familiar child's voice spread throughout all of China.
"Ding dong! China District 2 official player Jack Crown has successfully opened Eve's Reward."
Xu Yusheng stared at the black tower, her face full of consternation.
On the other side, the 80th High School in the Chaoyang District.
Tang Mo heard this voice and his expression became strange. He smiled helplessly. "Hrmm, the only player in China to open the reward?"
The small courtyard.
Xu Yusheng shouted, "Damn!"
The hit to her face was too fast, like a tornado.
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Chapter 177
Shanghai, Nanjing Road.
Blood flowed along the cracks in the ground on both sides of the road, quickly outlining a dark brown mark. Some of the blood had already dried up while some of the blood was still warm. More than 10 bodies were lying on the ground with their eyes wide open.
On the second floor of a store on one side of the road, the black tower's voice ended and the tall, strong foreign man had a stunned expression. Then he seemed to suffer from a fierce impact as his eyes widened.
Luo Fengcheng was startled. "Jack!"
Tang Qiao quickly caught Jack's body as he fell backwards. She had to take half a step back because the other person was too strong.
Several members of the Attack group stared blankly at Luo Fengcheng. Luo Fengcheng's eyes narrowed. He stared at the calm Nanjing Road outside the window and ordered, "Quickly go back to the base first!"
At the same time, the 'earthquake' that made all of Beijing shake along with Xu Yusheng's voice subsided. No one knew if there would be another 'earthquake' coming. Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo glanced at each other and decided not to enter any buildings.
It was the same for Ruan Wangshu.
Everyone gathered in the shade of the playground and Ruan Wangshu directly said, "5 a.m. on May 25th, that is the last hour of Eve's Game. Xu Yusheng looks arrogant. It is like she isn't taking us seriously by directly challenging us." The notice was actually a challenge. "However, she actually has a good plan."
Xu Yusheng absolutely wasn't an idiot if she could be ranked ninth on the time leaderboard.
Tang Mo nodded. "Yes, if she can eliminate us in that one hour then she can open the reward. If we kill her, we might not necessarily be open to open the reward."
"Xu Yusheng challenged you. It sounds like it has nothing to do with people like us." A low voice was heard.
Tang Mo looked over and saw it was the flat-headed youth who escaped from Fu Wenduo's flying knife.
Ruan Wangshu stared at him coldly and sneered, "You don't want Eve's Reward?"
The youth suddenly laughed. "What do you mean?"
Ruan Wangshu glanced at the other Beijing players. "Didn't you agree to cooperate because of Eve's Reward? In all of Beijing, we can only eliminate Xu Yusheng or Ning Yu to get Even's Reward. There are two people and two chances. Six days later, we want to kill Xu Yusheng and Xu Yusheng wants to kill us." He pointed to himself and the Tang Fu duo. "There will also be many returnees looking for opportunities to kill us. Doesn't this have something to do with you? The other returnees will try to kill us and you can find a chance to kill Xu Yusheng."
The youth's expression didn't change. He already had this idea in his head.
Before this, no one thought that Xu Yusheng would issue such a challenge. She seemed to be challenging the four people on her own before her voice spread through all of Beijing. Countless returnees heard her words and would also wait in ambush at the Third Ring Road's elevated road on that day.
Xu Yusheng used herself as bait to draw out the four targets. Then all returnees in Beijing who wanted to open Eve's Reward would aim for them. At the same time, the ambitious Beijing players would certainly come forward. In a melee, Xu Yusheng's odds were even greater.
Chen Shanshan spoke in a calm voice, "This showdown seems to be Xu Yusheng against us but it is actually a battle between Earth players and returnees. To be honest, there are over 5 million Earth survivors and only 320,000 returnees but I don't think we are stronger than them."
Nobody refuted Chen Shanshan's words.
Tang Mo stated, "Xu Yusheng set the time limit for one hour. This is actually protecting herself. A one hour battle can still be controlled. After that, it will be hard to clean up the battle between returnees and survivors."
The watching Lian Yuzheng declared, "There are no fools among the returnees."
Xu Yusheng wasn't stupid. She used to only kill pigs and now she arrogantly challenged them. She wasn't crazy, everything was under her control.
The group discussed it for a while before deciding to meet at the East Third Ring Road in six days. They didn't ask where the other side was going to hide. For every word they spoke, the risk to their lives would increase. This was just a temporary alliance and they weren't friends.
Before Tang Mo left, Ruan Wangshu suddenly asked, "Tang Mo, previously you passed the black tower's hard mode and the black tower said you were in China District 2. The official player of China District 2, Jack opened Eve's Reward. Do you know him?"
Tang Mo replied casually. "I don't know him."
Ruan Wangshu glanced at him and slightly smiled. "Okay."
The group of four immediately left the 80th High School.
Ruan Wangshu didn't know that the foreign man who previously came here with Tang Mo was Jack but he sensed that Tang Mo definitely knew Jack.
After finding a residential building to hide in, Tang Mo directly asked Chen Shanshan, "Jack Crown, is that Jack's full name? Does Shanghai have a second player called Jack?"
Chen Shanshan shook her head. "It is Jack. I didn't expect Jack to be the first player to open the reward in China. Brother Tang, it is now 13:51 p.m. The black tower's notification was at 13:19 p.m. It isn't Eve's Game time."
Fu Wenduo speculated, "Eliminating returnees outside the game time can also open the reward?"
Chen Shanshan hesitated for a moment. "I don't know. Still, my instinct tells me that it is best to not try."
This was a secluded and old neighborhood. The quarter found a house without anybody and entered. Then Tang Mo took out a bottle of mineral water and handed it to Tang Mo. Tang Mo poured water on the wound at his wrist. This was a scratch he got when he jumped from the building with Chen Shanshan.
The four people sat down around the table. It just so happened that the family's dining table was for four.
Tang Mo's fingers tapped on the table for a moment before he looked up. "Eve's Reward, don't you feel that this sudden game is like Santa Claus' surprise instance six months ago?"
Fu Wensheng recalled, "Santa's surprise instance, I remember that the instance didn't give us any extra rewards. Everyone was forced into the instance and at the end of the game, the players who got a Christmas branch would get a reward. Otherwise, there is no reward. Brother Tang, do you think that Eve's Game might be the same?"
Tang Mo nodded before shaking his head. "I don't mean that. I was just wondering what would happen if the returnees can't open the reward or if Earth players can't get the reward. What will happen?"
Fu Wensheng asked, "What do you think?"
Fu Wenduo replied, "Not much."
Tang Mo glanced at him.
Chen Shanshan licked her lips. "Yes, it wouldn't be much. Perhaps this Eve's Reward is like the Christmas branch and doesn't force every player to have one. In fact, players are unlikely to gain it at all. In addition to finding the right way to open the reward, returnees can only open it if they eliminate one of 45 Earth players. The odds are low but maybe the can find the right method. On the other side… Earth's players only have 100 chances."
Fu Wensheng said, "I know that there are only 100 players on the time leaderboard."
Tang Mo added, "The time leaderboard is fixed and will no longer change. In other words, Earth players had to win the game and open Eve's Reward, provided we have this reward. There are more than 5 million Earth survivors. Even if all returnees on the time leaderboard are killed only 100 players can get the reward."
In fact, Tang Mo had long realized that Eve's Game wasn't a punishment game.
There would be no punishment if they were unable to clear the game. It was like Cinderella's Food Chain game. This game was called Eve's No.315 instance and it reminded players that there was no penalty for failing to clear the instance. There would just be a reward for success. However…
"I want this reward."
Chen Shanshan stared at Tang Mo with surprise.
Fu Wenduo's lips curved. "Yes, I also want this reward."
Tang Mo raised his eyebrows. "There are only two chances in Beijing. One is Xu Yusheng and the other is Ning Yu."
Fu Wenduo stated, "Exactly two."
Tang Mo didn't speak again.
This person was really arrogant. Xu Yusheng probably had only one-tenth of his arrogance.
Tang Mo thought this but he was smiling.
Any ambitious player who wanted to attack the tower and become stronger was unlikely to give up Eve's Reward. It wasn't a Christmas tree branch, it was a rare reward. The reward obtained must be stronger than the Christmas tree branch.
The group discussed it for a while before returning to the beginning.
Tang Mo asked, "How did Jack get Eve's Reward and also open it?"
Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo had no clue about this matter. The two of them stared at the short-haired girl.
Chen Shanshan looked calmly at the table before closing her eyes like she was thinking. Tang Mo quietly waited for her to answer.
In this short minute, countless fragments flashed through Chen Shanshan's brain. She imagined herself as Luo Fengcheng, thought about her teacher's strategic style and imagined what she would do if she was Luo Fengcheng in the face of the upcoming 4.0 version update and the information Jack brought back from Beijing.
Chen Shanshan suddenly opened her eyes. "I would unite with other Shanghai players and directly set up an ambush."
Chen Shanshan took a map of Shanghai out of her backpack. She stared at several districts in the heart of Shanghai. Finally, she took a pen and drew a circle around Nanjing Road. She told them, "Before I left Shanghai, my teacher caught an invisible person. The person said that Nanjing Road was a restricted area. Most invisible people didn't dare enter it but the person didn't have time to say the reason why."
After leaving Shanghai for a month, Chen Shanshan had discovered more information about the invisible people. She quickly analyzed, "The restricted area is because there are powerful players present! Just like how most returnees were killed by Xu Yusheng, Nanjing Road must have a strong returnee. They took Nanjing Road as a stronghold!"
Tang Mo directly exclaimed, "Liu Xiao, Liu Yuan! The 53rd and 59th on the time leaderboard."
Chen Shanshan nodded. "That's them!" She drew a small circle on the map around the black tower suspended over Nanjing Road. "The returnees who can use Nanjing Road as a base must be very arrogant and uninhibited. When the black tower updated, they must be on Nanjing Road and even under the black tower. Teacher would set up an ambush here. Jack must've killed one person and gained their reward."
"How did Jack open the reward?"
Chen Shanshan replied, "I don't know."
The four of them discussed it for a while and failed to come up with an answer. However, they found another important thing.
"The other instances of Eve's Game should be safe instances, just like Cinderella's game. There is no punishment for failure and clearing it will give a reward. The reward isn't necessarily good…" Tang Mo thought about the small pumpkin. "Still, it is better than nothing. In these six days, we can prepare and participate in some games at the same time."
It was as Tang Mo guessed. The four of them entered two more instances. They encountered Earth players as returnees with a very small amount of rest time.
There was no punishment for failure and a reward for clearing the game.
Tang Mo got two props that looked very useless.
Fu Wenduo stated, "This is also a convenience that the black tower set up for returnees. The game of banning violence is the only way for weak returnees to eliminate us and open the reward."
Tang Mo smiled. "However, they failed to eliminate us."
The black tower gave the opportunities but it was up to the individual to grab them.
Six days quickly passed.
At exactly 0:00 on May 24th, the four people of Tang Mo's group waited on the top floor of a high-rise building next to the elevated East Third Ring Road. The view here was quite wide and they could see more than 10 kilometres of the elevated road. They waited for 28 hours. The sooner they came, the less they had to worry about being ambushed by others.
At 4 o'clock on May 25th, the elevated road of Beijing's East Third Ring Road was dark.
The slightly cold evening wind blew and the elevated road was full of vehicles that had crashed. The abandoned and desolate atmosphere filled the area. Tang Mo was very patient as he stared at the long elevated road, waiting for the first person to appear.
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