Chapter 36#
Zhao Xing stared at the card for a long time before finally accepting that D066 had left.
The card from D066 only said goodbye, without explaining why he had left, but Zhao Xing could guess.
D066 had been abandoned by the White Tower, wanted across the entire island, a heavy-weight criminal worth 158 points. As long as he survived a day on the island, he would spend it on the run.
He left so as not to drag Zhao Xing down.
Zhao Xing knew all of this.
But that didn’t lessen the guilt and melancholy in his heart.
If D066 hadn’t saved him, would he have been hunted and wanted?
If Zhao Xing had been a little stronger, would D066 have chosen not to flee alone?
If D066 had stayed… they might have become very good teammates and brothers.
Zhao Xing lowered his eyes and put the card away.
To avoid the Yin Ling’er, the contestants on the island all slept early and woke early.
Now, it was only five in the morning. Most contestants had already emerged from the White Tower and started the new day’s tasks.
Zhao Xing walked out of the cave and looked around.
The Yin Ling’er at the cave entrance had already been released by D066. Not far away, the electronic board was once again filled with bullet comments.
Zhao Xing crouched in front of the electronic board and chatted with the bullet comments for a while. Only then did he learn that most other contestants were searching for D066.
But D066 seemed to have vanished without a trace.
Even the audience outside the arena had scoured every camera angle and couldn’t find him.
Only then did Zhao Xing feel a little relieved.
Right, D066 was very strong.
“It’s F101!”
A surprised shout suddenly came from behind. Zhao Xing instinctively pulled out his gun and aimed in the direction of the voice.
The one who shouted was a girl from Group C. Her face was full of excitement at first, but when she saw Zhao Xing’s gun, her expression froze for a moment.
She flinched, silently took a step backward.
Her companion quickly grabbed her hand and said to Zhao Xing, “Sorry, we didn’t mean any harm.”
Zhao Xing didn’t lower his gun. Instead, with an impatient look, he moved his wrist, gesturing for them to get lost with the gun.
The two fled in panic.
Only after they were far away did Zhao Xing hear their conversation.
“…Are you stupid? Haven’t you heard that F101 killed Su Ye yesterday?”
“I forgot when I saw him. He’s worth 50 points.”
“Better to look for D066. D066 is worth 158 points—three times F101. And D066 spent the night outside. He’s probably been driven crazy by the Yin Ling’er by now. Killing him would be easy. The only problem is, where is he…”
Zhao Xing touched his right ear.
Maybe it was just his imagination, but after waking up this time, the range of his hearing seemed to have expanded.
Zhao Xing tentatively closed his eyes and focused on using his ability.
He could feel his hearing range expanding outward like ripples.
“That’s a nice gun you’ve got!”
“I’m begging you… begging you…”
“Could I trade female slaves with you?”
“Give it back to me—!”
…
Conversations, screams, arguments—all entered his ears.
But he calmed his mind, ignored all the noise, and concentrated on useful information.
“Damn it, where is D066 hiding? Why can’t we find him anywhere?!”
“Instead of running all over looking for D066, it’s better to just do the tasks and find the androids. Sure, the points aren’t as much as D066, but the Z35 laser gun from the task rewards is a great item.”
…
“Found it! Found it! Someone found a new way to identify androids! No need to cut off fingers!”
Zhao Xing’s heart stirred. He continued to listen.
“What is it?”
“There’s a group having a party in a cave by the central lake. They’re offering male and female slaves for free. They say that as long as you go into the cave and enjoy yourself, you’re cleared of being an android. Let’s go too, hehehe…”
Zhao Xing: “…”
What the hell.
His hearing range kept expanding unconsciously until an obscene sound suddenly rang out in his right ear.
Zhao Xing shivered and covered his ears.
He looked suspiciously at the floating monitor in the air.
No way, is this also being broadcast?
Even though he felt like his worldview was shattered, Zhao Xing decided to wait until they finished their “screening” before using his hearing to steal their “experimental results.”
For now, though, he tried to move toward the edge of the island, attempting to get those indecent sounds out of his hearing range.
After walking just a few steps, Zhao Xing saw a giant stone statue faintly visible behind the dense jungle.
The card he had drawn yesterday suddenly came to mind—
“Congratulations! You’ve obtained an UR-level message! Behind the giant stone statue, there is a very beautiful garden. You can go there to relax in your spare time.”
Although this message seemed useless, he had spent points to draw it, and since he was already here, it wouldn’t hurt to see what that “beautiful garden” actually looked like.
As he got closer, the statue became clearer.
The statue was of a woman with closed eyes, a full five meters tall, but exquisitely carved and lifelike. Even the curves of her hair strands were just right. The entire statue looked beautiful and holy, like a goddess.
As a half-baked sculptor, Zhao Xing was amazed.
But when he got closer, his steps halted, and a look of surprise gradually appeared on his face.
—Behind the statue, there was no beautiful garden at all. There was only a bottomless lake, surrounded by withered trees and weeds. It had nothing to do with beauty.
“…Can the messages from the vending machine lie?” Zhao Xing couldn’t help but turn to the bullet comments and ask.
The bullet comments enthusiastically replied.
“No way, how could they?”
“The messages from the vending machine are absolutely genuine. At worst, they’re just useless.”
“Why does F101 ask that?”
…
“Speaking of the vending machine messages, what exactly was that UR-level message you drew yesterday, F101? I’m really curious.”
“Curious plus one.”
…
“Those ahead, don’t ask. Just use your brain and you’ll know F101 won’t tell you. That’s a UR-level message!”
Zhao Xing paused and asked, “…Are UR-level messages that impressive?”
“Come on, it’s UR-level!”
“That sounds a bit like showing off.”
“Let’s put it this way: No one drew a UR card in the last three consecutive rounds of the previous tournament. When you drew it yesterday, maybe the people on the island didn’t know, but outside, you’ve been trending for a whole day.”
…
Is that so?
That impressive?
Zhao Xing raised an eyebrow.
He turned around, squinted, and re-examined the giant goddess statue and the bottomless lake.
Zhao Xing walked two laps around the lake, then took out a flashlight, pulled down the transparent visor of his protective suit, and jumped into the water with a splash.
L’s high-end protective suit was waterproof and breathable. Zhao Xing could even breathe freely underwater.
The highly transparent visor, combined with the top-tier waterproof flashlight, let him see clearly underwater.
Having grown up in the underground world, Zhao Xing had only ever swum or dived in man-made pools. This was his first time diving into a real body of water.
The underwater plants, fish, and shrimp all seemed novel and fascinating to him.
After swimming for more than half an hour at the bottom of the lake, he finally touched a stone gate hidden behind a clump of water plants.
The moment his hands touched the stone gate, his heart pounded violently. He closed his eyes and pushed hard—
A powerful rush of air hit him like a massive rock!
Zhao Xing’s hands were forced off the stone gate. He was sent tumbling backward, his head spinning, his vision blurring. The originally gentle currents, now driven by that force, pressed against him with immense pressure, even crushing his internal organs with pain.
Struggling to open his eyes through the pain, Zhao Xing saw that behind the stone gate, a bright white vortex was slowly appearing!
In an instant, the white vortex emitted a tremendous suction force, pulling Zhao Xing inside!
“Bang!”
Zhao Xing crashed to the ground, every bone in his body aching as if broken.
He groaned, held his shoulder, and opened his eyes.
Then he froze.
—The UR card hadn’t lied to him.
Behind the giant statue, there really was a… beautiful garden.
This place seemed like another world, cut off from the lake water, from the island’s noise, from the slightly gloomy weather outside.
It was a magical secret garden.
Every flower bloomed brilliantly and dazzlingly. Butterflies fluttered and circled above the blossoms. White clouds hung low like cotton candy, and the sky was a pure, bright, clear blue.
It was as beautiful as a fairy tale.
Zhao Xing reached out dazedly, and a blue-purple butterfly gently landed on his fingertip.
A distant, childish voice from his memories rang in his ears—
“The surface must be really pretty. There must be lots of flowers and grass, maybe even butterflies!”
So his past fantasies had been real.
The surface was indeed beautiful. There really were butterflies.
He hadn’t lied to Luoluo.
“Isn’t it beautiful here?” A clear, ethereal voice suddenly sounded behind him, interrupting Zhao Xing’s reverie.
Zhao Xing drew the gun at his waist and turned around warily.
The speaker was a young girl, looking about eighteen or nineteen. She wore a flower crown, a pure white dress, and walked barefoot toward Zhao Xing. Her skin was like congealed fat, her beauty almost radiant, like a spirit of the flowers.
“Very beautiful,” Zhao Xing replied.
The girl smiled at him. “Are the flowers more beautiful, or am I?”
Zhao Xing: “Both are beautiful.”
The girl pouted, a little displeased, and said coquettishly, “You’re lying. If you really thought I was beautiful, you wouldn’t still be holding your gun so tightly.”
Zhao Xing raised an eyebrow and said nothing.
Of course, he didn’t put down the gun either.
The girl blinked curiously. “You’re so strange. Many people see me and lose their minds, become infatuated, even willing to give their lives for me. But when you see me, you won’t even let go of your gun.”
Zhao Xing: “Oh, maybe they just haven’t seen enough beauties in their lives.”
The girl was obviously taken aback. “But I am the most beautiful person in the world.”
She frowned, her expression even serious. “Our Floral Spirit Clan is the most beautiful race in the world, and I am the saintess of our Floral Spirit Clan. There is no one in the world more beautiful than me.”
She lowered her head and counted on her fingers. “By race, the Earth Spirit Clan’s beauty can rival ours, but few people know that Earth Spirits are born demons. Those who are attracted and bewitched by them are usually those with evil intentions. So they can’t compare to us Floral Spirits…”
Zhao Xing found it a bit amusing, but he didn’t interrupt a pretty girl’s slightly Mary Sue fantasy.
But the girl suddenly paused, looked up at Zhao Xing, and asked him seriously, “Since you said that, you must think someone is more beautiful than me. What race is that person?”
Zhao Xing: “Human.”
Girl: “Impossible! Humans can’t be more beautiful than me! Unless… unless you like that person. Love is blind, so you think they’re more beautiful than me!”
Zhao Xing: “…”
Zhao Xing was a bit exasperated. “I don’t like him, but he really is more beautiful than you… Can we skip this topic?”
“No!” The girl shouted. Her eyes instantly turned red. She turned her head and quietly wiped her tears.
Zhao Xing: “…”
Seriously?
To be honest, Zhao Xing was getting a little impatient.
He had never been a patient person and didn’t know how to be gentle or cherish women. Back then, facing Luo Mingshan’s incredibly beautiful face, he could beat him to death without batting an eye.
Let alone this overly narcissistic Floral Spirit girl he had just met, who wasn’t even as beautiful as Luo Mingshan.
But he wasn’t stupid. He knew this girl’s identity was unusual. She might even be the owner of this secret garden.
So he smiled and gently coaxed her, “Alright, I was wrong. You are the most beautiful.”
The girl bit her lip and said angrily, “You’re lying! You still haven’t put down your gun!”
Zhao Xing: “…”
Fed up.
Zhao Xing stopped paying attention to her and continued exploring the secret garden.
The garden seemed huge, almost boundless.
But as Zhao Xing walked in one direction, he gradually saw a wall of flowers. On that wall, there was an ancient red wooden door, every grain of wood full of the traces of time.
Zhao Xing tried to push it. It didn’t budge.
“Only I can open this door,” the Floral Spirit girl said, wiping away her tears as she walked over.
Zhao Xing asked her, “What’s behind the door?”
The Floral Spirit huffed, “I’m not telling you!”
Zhao Xing backed up about thirty meters, then pulled out a miniature hand grenade from his body.
He reluctantly stroked the grenade. He only had one of these and had wanted to save it.
Just as he was about to pull the safety pin, the Floral Spirit screamed and ran over. “No—! You won’t blast the door open. You’ll only destroy my flowers!”
Zhao Xing: “Then open the door for me.”
The Floral Spirit bit her lip. After a moment of hesitation, she reluctantly walked toward the door.
Zhao Xing followed.
The Floral Spirit glanced at him and muttered quietly, “So annoying. You don’t even think I’m the most beautiful.”
The girl’s fair fingers gently pushed, and the ancient door seemed to be freed from some magic, opening just a crack.
The Floral Spirit turned to look at Zhao Xing, blinked at him, and all the sadness and hurt on her face vanished in an instant.
“Do you know? Before you, every man who walked through this door said he wanted to marry me.”
As her words fell, the door swung fully open.
Blinding light rushed out, almost blinding him. Zhao Xing instinctively raised his arm to block the light.
But the next second, the ground trembled. A massive, pitch-red monster burst out of the white light and lunged at Zhao Xing!
Zhao Xing pulled the trigger as fast as he could in his life. The bullet cut through the air and struck the monster’s head!
“Bang!”
The bullet embedded itself in the monster’s nose, but only made a small dent. The monster irritably clawed at its nose and continued charging at Zhao Xing!
Horror filled Zhao Xing’s heart, but he didn’t waste a second. He pulled the safety pin on the grenade and threw it at the monster.
But the monster swatted the grenade away with a claw, opened its huge mouth wide, and swallowed Zhao Xing whole—