Chapter 400 - Shore Embankment
TL: xDh20, LifeisaJourney
Liu Gan sensed that something wasn’t right. He turned around, but Jiang JinYuan had already let go. He was in midfall as Liu Gan tried to grab hold of his hand. A mere few centimeters, and he could only watch Jiang JinYuan fall down into the horde of zombies.
“Who allowed you to let go?” Liu Gan shouted. Throughout his climb, his fury counter was already maxed out. At this point, he couldn’t suppress his anger anymore. Liu Gan had one hand on the hook, in his other hand he took out his greataxe. He threw his [Enhanced Crescent Blade] down on the zombies.
That was when he saw a glitch. Liu Gan sensed that something wasn’t right. After a brief moment of hesitation, he ordered NaNa to also let go and jump off.
When Liu Gan reached the bottom of the cliff, the horde of zombies all vanished. However, he continued to keep falling. That was, until he fell into the water. Quick rapids carried him downstream.
He was unsure of how far he had traveled along the rapids in the darkness, when the current suddenly calmed down. After a short time, there was a bright light up ahead. Liu Gan swam toward the only bright area, where he arrived at a channel. In the middle of the channel was a water drainage, and on both sides of the channel were fairly well-constructed shore embankments, illuminated by electric lights.
Every player that had fallen was present on the shore embankments, all of them drenched by the water. Even the player that had cursed Liu Gan’s ancestors was there; he was pale when he saw Liu Gan, and quickly hid behind another player.
After Liu Gan reached the channel, NaNa came swimming up in a doggy paddle behind him.
“Those hordes of zombies at the bottom of the cliff, were all illusions! Damn!” Jiang JinYuan cursed. He thought he was a goner when he fell. This was a relief, that they were able to survive a sick joke fabricated by the mainframe.
“I’ve seen this type of technology before. No wonder the iron hooks kept continuing and there were endless amount of zombies. I had some doubts as to whether it was all a hallucination.” Liu Gan shook his head. This feeling of getting played, made him feel sick. If he ever saw the mainframe, he would destroy it. His fury meter was at maximum capacity.
“Lord Liu, I shouldn't have cursed at you. It is my fault! I sincerely apologize to you. Please forgive me!” the player who had cursed Liu Gan couldn’t bear the internal guilt. He voluntarily walked up to apologize.
That moment when he thought he was going to die, his anger was directed at Liu Gan. He misdirected it all onto Liu Gan. Now that he hadn’t died, he was at the mercy of Liu Gan. Everyone knew that Liu Gan had a bad temper if you messed with him, so this player knew he wouldn’t get off easy.
“Now you know your own fault? How dare you curse at Lord Liu? Are you trying to die!” Zhao Meng walked over to punch and kick that player, enough pain to cause that player to scream in misery.
There was a reason behind Zhao Meng’s actions. He was saving this poor player’s life. Even his hardest punch wouldn’t take away this player’s life. At most it would bruise his muscles, but he would live. If Liu Gan used his fist, then the poor player would be a goner.
After awhile, QiuTao also swam up to the shore embankment. From the first fallen player to the last player, they had gathered onto the channel.
On the channel wall, there was a door. After QiuTao swam up, the metal framed door naturally opened.
Liu Gan and the rest of the players walked through the metal door. Inside was a small room. Both sides of the room had wardrobes of clean, dry clothes, and towels. This expedition group didn’t have any female players, so the men all undressed and wiped themselves down with the towels, then put on the dry clothes. This was after they had inspected the wardrobe and room for any traps.
“Congratulations everyone for passing the ‘valor’ and ‘strength’ test. The following is the last of the three trials. It is the ‘massacre’ trial. If you don’t want to participate in this last trial, you have the opportunity to retreat. The moment you advance to the next tunnel, you won’t have the chance to regret!” the mainframe’s voice echoed loudly in the room.
“How do we retreat? Will you send us back to the surface?” a player asked the mainframe.
“After the participants finish their ‘massacre’ trial, then there will be a special path that becomes available for you to return to the surface” the mainframe replied.
“What is this ‘massacre’ trial like? Is it killing zombies or killing each other?” another player asked the mainframe. It seemed the mainframe was very willing to give out answers right now, so it was best to inquire about more related information. If it was to massacre each other, then they didn’t even need to hesitate to say they wanted to retreat. To fight against Liu Gan was like dancing with death itself.
“Of course I wouldn’t have you kill among yourselves here,” the mainframe replied. That was when it stopped replying to any more questions.
“I feel like these trials were just a bluff to scare us. As long as we don’t mess up our own formation, we won’t have any issues. Oh yeah, don’t aim your weapons at one another, then we won’t have massacre among our own,” QiuTao continued to speak up.
“Yes, Ninth Elder is right” other players started to agree with QiuTao.
Liu Gan frowned. The moment he entered the game, he knew that there was a conspiracy behind this. Now that he had finished this second trial, Liu Gan felt that these were purely three trials without any hidden agenda. Passing through these games, he would be able to obtain the treasure. However, he could sniff out the danger that lurked behind the upcoming trial.
As for the actual situation, it was hard to tell. He could only wait until after the third trial to know the truth of his precarious situation.
The majority of the players agreed with QiuTao’s point of view. Now that they had reached this point, it was time for the last trial. To fight for their prize would mean a better chance at surviving in The Trembling World. If they wanted to live a peaceful and comfortable life, it wasn’t easy, but it was possible if they were stronger. So, this chance was something they couldn’t miss.
When Liu Gan entered through the metal door, others followed behind him. Once again, after walking through the framed metal door, it closed and locked tightly behind them.
***
The group walked through another long tunnel, until they reached a gigantic empty room. When everyone had walked into the room, the tunnel passage also sealed up behind them. They heard Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! as continuous heavy objects blocked the way back. It was now pointless to try to break through the way they way they had come.
The players knew that it was impossible to turn back now. They have to face the third trial now. If the third trial was a breeze like the previous two trials, then they wouldn’t have to gamble with their lives.
Even more lights lit up the room. They were high-powered lights, blinding everyone temporarily. After adjusting to the brightness, they could see the situation in this gigantic room.