Chapter 40

“Brother Chen, aren’t we going to get it?”

A young man on Chen Ping’s team asked blankly. Directly in front of him, the yellow flag hung securely on the wall.

Seeing his eager look, Chen Ping tutted and unhesitatingly rapped the young man on the head.

“What did I tell you before we came? The flag triggers a mechanism. We have to prepare first.”

The young man winced in pain and muttered resentfully, “I just forgot.”

Chen Ping sighed and shook his head, thinking to himself that temporary recruits were just unreliable. It was a good thing he was with them, otherwise who knew what kind of trouble they would have caused.

He carefully studied the map and directed the others to split up. “You stand here in a bit. When the mechanism triggers, run back. And you…”

He rambled on for a long time. The young man who had been hit pouted in a place where no one could see, thinking to himself that it was just a game. Why be so cautious? It wasn’t like they were actually in an instance.

He complained in his heart, but he didn’t dare to show it on his face. He conscientiously walked to the position Chen Ping had designated—a corner of the wall that he could barely squeeze half his body into.

To ensure communication, they only had one phone flashlight on. Except for where Chen Ping was, which had some light, everyone else was practically moving in the dark. The place he was in was even more obscured by the messy walls, and he couldn’t see a thing.

The young man was a little scared. When no one was looking, he secretly took out his phone for light before daring to move forward. But as the faint blue light flickered on the screen, a pale, glowing face suddenly appeared in front of him.

“Fuck, what was that!” he yelped, his whole body trembling. His phone clattered to the ground, and his face instantly turned pale as he scrambled backward.

The commotion startled Chen Ping. He looked up impatiently. “What are you making a fuss about? Just wait there quietly!”

The young man immediately fell silent. Chen Ping didn’t pay him any mind and continued to focus on studying the changing terrain.

What Chen Ping didn’t know was—

In the hidden corner, Jiang Liu’s cool hand covered the young man’s mouth, and a dagger was pressed against his neck. The cold sensation instantly silenced him, and he stared stiffly at Jiang Liu’s face.

“Don’t talk,” Jiang Liu said, giving him a warning look, her attention focused on Chen Ping’s movements in the distance.

The young man didn’t move a muscle, terrified that a slip of Jiang Liu’s hand would separate his head from his neck. His face was devoid of color, and he just blinked frantically to show that he wouldn’t scream.

Noticing his obedience, Jiang Liu raised an eyebrow and gave him a second look.

When they entered, this young man had been hiding in the crowd, completely unnoticeable. Now that they’d met, she realized how green he was. He was probably only seventeen or eighteen, with a buzz cut that made him look like a student. She really didn’t know how he had ended up in this game.

Chen Ping, over there, was completely unaware. His voice was loud enough to cover any noise here. The young man carefully swallowed and spoke in an almost inaudible voice, “Sis! Don’t kill me, I definitely won’t cause any trouble!”

Jiang Liu looked at him in surprise, her grip on the dagger loosening slightly.

According to Zhao Ziming, this Chen Ping was not an easy guy to deal with. How could someone on his team be so cowardly? He didn’t even dare to report her?

Feeling the distance between the blade and his neck increase, the young man let out a sigh of relief and even managed a grateful smile at Jiang Liu.

Jiang Liu was speechless.

He really was a clueless kid.

She decided to ignore the kid and focused all her attention on Chen Ping’s movements. When he turned his back for a moment, she had already silently slipped out and, like a ghost, snatched the flag from the wall.

Chen Ping just caught a flash in the corner of his eye. “Who’s there?”

As soon as he spoke, the ground shook violently, and countless pieces of rubble rained down from above, making him pale in shock.

Jiang Liu’s lips curved into a smile as she walked out of the darkness. “Is there anyone else in the maze?”

Chen Ping’s face turned ugly. His gaze was fixed on the flag waving in her hand, unwilling to look away. “You’ll die if you take it down too. Give it to me now, and I might let you live.”

Jiang Liu shrugged nonchalantly, a mischievous glint in her smile. “You’re such a good person. You’re still thinking about me at a time like this?”

As she was speaking, the stone wall in front of Chen Ping suddenly moved towards him, reaching him in an instant.

If he didn’t move now, he would be crushed into a meat patty.

Chen Ping glared at Jiang Liu with a dark face and quickly ran into a small path nearby.

Jiang Liu scoffed. Just as she was about to leave, she heard a miserable scream from not far away.

“Help! Brother Chen! I’m still here!”

The young man’s voice was distorted with pain, echoing tragically after him. But Chen Ping seemed not to hear it, disappearing in a flash.

Jiang Liu narrowed her eyes, her impression of this person worsening considerably. She took a few steps back to her previous position and saw that the young man had run out at some point and had run straight into the moving stone wall. His right hand was a bloody mess, and he was already on the ground, writhing in pain.

This position…

Jiang Liu recalled the map and frowned.

This was not a safe path after the mechanism was triggered. Chen Ping had the map, so why would he leave someone here?

She didn’t have time to think. She ducked to avoid the flying debris and ran to the young man in a few strides, hoisting him up and running.

“It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!” The young man’s voice was already on the verge of tears. Snot and tears streamed down his face, all over Jiang Liu’s clothes, as he howled all the way.

“Shut up for a minute.” Jiang Liu was getting annoyed by the noise and snapped at him, but her pace didn’t slow. She twisted and turned, running towards a safe path.

The young man obediently fell silent. Although his body was still wracked with sobs, he wisely closed his mouth. Now realizing that Jiang Liu had saved him, he sobbed and whispered, “Sis, I can run. Why don’t you put me down?”

Even though he was injured, being carried by a girl while escaping was just too embarrassing to talk about. He couldn’t even face himself.

Jiang Liu was running for her life and had no time to spare for the young man’s fragile ego. She ran all the way to a safe place before finally putting him down and taking a slight breath.

“Go straight from here. Turn right at every intersection, and you’ll find the exit.”

She bent down to examine his wound. His right hand was a bloody mess. It looked like he had been grazed by the rapidly closing stone walls. Fortunately, it was just a flesh wound, and his bones were fine. A little medicine after getting out, and he would be fine.

In a way, her appearance had inadvertently saved this young man’s life. If it weren’t for her unexpected presence, he would have been at the position Chen Ping had directed him to, which was a dead end.

Jiang Liu took some ointment from her pocket and tossed it to him. “Apply this yourself after you get out. It’ll heal quickly.”

After speaking, she checked the time. Zhao Ziming’s side had already found the blue flag. They needed to meet at the next fork in the road.

Just as she was about to leave, a hand suddenly grabbed the corner of her clothes. Jiang Liu turned her head and met the young man’s pale face.

His eyes were red and swollen, with tears still clinging to them. He looked extremely miserable. “Sis, I want to follow you!”

Jiang Liu tilted her head in confusion. “You’re not going to look for Chen Ping?”

The young man wiped away his tears and said defiantly, “He already left me behind. Why should I go back?”

He had seen clearly how fast Chen Ping had run. In contrast, Jiang Liu, who was clearly an opponent, had still saved him. The difference between the two was stark.

Jiang Liu tutted, thinking to herself that she must have a knack for attracting trouble. How could she pick up an unlucky soul even while playing a game?

But looking at his red, swollen right hand, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse. She looked at him helplessly. “Can you walk?”

The young man nodded, trying his best to ignore the pain in his hand, and gritted his teeth to keep up with her.

Jiang Liu’s pace wasn’t fast. Just as she reached the corner of the fork, she saw a flashlight flicker in the distance, and a familiar, roguish voice called out, “Who’s over there?”

“It’s me,” Jiang Liu replied. She soon heard a set of footsteps, and Zhao Ziming and the other two ran over.

“We finally met up. Hey?”

Zhao Ziming had only said half a sentence when he suddenly stared at the person behind her and scratched his head, frozen on the spot. “How did Sister Yang turn into a guy?”

Jiang Liu rolled her eyes unsubtly and looked at him as if he were an idiot. “Use your brain and think about it. Is that even possible?”

Zhao Ziming cleared his throat and suddenly looked around. “Then where’s Sister Yang? And who is he?”

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but worry. If Yang Caisi found out that Jiang Liu was with a young boy behind her back, wouldn’t she be heartbroken?

At the mention of Yang Caisi, Jiang Liu’s expression became more complicated. She decided not to explain and pointed at the person behind her. “I remember you brought bandages before you left, right? Help him wrap it up.”

Zhao Ziming’s eyes darted around, and he beckoned the young man over.

He and Zhang Xiaochen were both naturals at making friends, and dealing with a student was a piece of cake. With a few words back and forth, in the short time it took to apply medicine and bandage the wound, they had already dug out all of the young man’s background.

The young man’s name was Zhu Yan. He had just turned eighteen this year and had entered the game with the wish of improving his studies.

When asked how he met Chen Ping, Zhu Yan couldn’t help but scratch his head. “He took me to buy a lottery ticket, and we won a Team Kit. He said he could use it to help me get more points, so I came to the game hall.”

Hearing the word “lottery,” Jiang Liu couldn’t help but exchange a look with Zhao Ziming.

Jiang Liu looked at Zhu Yan thoughtfully and suddenly asked, “How many instances have you passed? What’s your rank?”

Zhu Yan let out a surprised “ah” and answered blankly, “I just passed one. A-rank.”

Zhao Ziming scoffed and threw up his hands. “Case closed. Another unlucky fool who’s been sold and is still counting the money for the seller.”

Chen Ping must have seen that Zhu Yan didn’t know anything, used his luck, and even used his things to open a gambling game, and even wanted to kill him.

He explained the ins and outs of the situation to the others and couldn’t help but curse, “This Chen Ping is really not a good person.”

After understanding what had happened, Zhu Yan stood there in a daze, as if he had received a huge blow.

Zhang Xiaochen saw that he looked a little pitiful and walked over to pat him on the shoulder. “It’s okay, don’t take it to heart. There are still good people in the world, like this one here—”

He pointed at Jiang Liu and chuckled.

Jiang Liu also smiled and pointed in a direction. “If you’re rested, go out first. We can chat more when we get back to the hotel.”

All three flags were in their hands. Chen Ping was powerless to turn the tide, so he was probably plotting something against them.

Finding the exit and winning was only the first step. The real danger—was just beginning.