Players, Please Board the Train

”If not spinning the pointer makes the life-and-death game invalid, wouldn’t knocking people unconscious work too?” the Tall Sturdy Camouflage Soldier mocked with a laugh.

”Being unconscious doesn’t mean losing the ability to act—they could still wake up under stimulation. However, whether unconscious people are included in the game rules is another matter,” Xu Huo analyzed calmly. ”But even if someone passes the life-and-death game while unconscious, can they obtain the survival opportunity?”

”Without the survival opportunity, they still can’t escape the game.”

”But this might be a method to stay alive. This item can’t possibly control the city indefinitely.”

”Get two people to test it,” Brother Feng contemplated briefly before ordering. The Tall Thin Camouflage Soldier immediately went to pull people over.

This time, Baseball Cap intervened forcefully. ”Since we have a feasible method, why use others as test subjects? I’ll—”

Before he could finish speaking, he was grabbed by the throat and lifted up. The Tall Thin Camouflage Soldier looked sinister. ”Who the hell wants to stay obediently in this game? What we want is the survival opportunity!”

”Not spinning the roulette wheel won’t give you the survival opportunity,” Xu Huo spoke up.

Brother Feng instead showed a smile. ”How would we know without trying?”

”Brother...” Wang Chaoqing suddenly came up behind Xu Huo and handed him his phone. ”Look at this.””Look at what!” The Tall Sturdy Camouflage Soldier snatched the phone. On it was a government news report containing information that someone had survived the life-and-death game without spinning the pointer. The government was urging people not to touch the pointer, to stay put in multi-person life-and-death games, and wait for rescue.

”Brother Feng, it seems like not spinning really doesn’t give the survival opportunity,” he said, throwing the phone back.

Xu Huo took it, minimized the video interface, and saw the text in the notes section behind it.

”There’s a woman on the eighteenth floor of the skyscraper. Though dressed like a man, I could tell she’s female at a glance.”

”She has a pocket watch that can hypnotize people. I saw her tell those trapped people to jump off the building, and they actually lined up and jumped one by one!”

”It’s terrifying. The area below the skyscraper is now covered with corpses. When I left, many players and special forces were going in.”

Xu Huo quickly scanned these lines before returning the phone to him, then turned to Brother Feng. ”Actually, there’s another possibility.”

All three of them turned to look at him.

”This item is called ’Seeking Life Is Worse Than Seeking Death.’ Just now, the Old Gentleman entered the life-and-death game with absolute determination to die, but ultimately landed on the white square.”

”Doesn’t this mean that those who fear death less have a higher probability of landing on the white square?”

Facing their skeptical gazes, Xu Huo calmly explained: ”Previously, people caught in the life-and-death game would still spin the pointer whether tied down or restrained—frantic with fear of death, unable to stay calm, let alone control themselves from not spinning the roulette wheel.”

”Exactly opposite of the Old Gentleman.”

”What this kid says makes sense,” the Tall Thin Camouflage Soldier said, having already released Baseball Cap. ”Looking at the item name now, it really seems to have that meaning.”

Brother Feng thought for a while before looking at Xu Huo. ”You failed in that last round.”

”This is only a possibility to increase success rate, not a hundred percent guarantee,” Xu Huo said. ”I can try again next round.”

But Brother Feng didn’t agree this time. Instead, he said, ”This round isn’t your turn. Change players.”

At the mention of changing players, everyone in the roulette wheel shrank back.

Other roulette wheels had already killed two or three people. They had remained safe only because someone was blocking ahead. So now someone said, ”Young man, with your abilities, you can definitely find a way for others to survive. Please help us elderly.”

”If you go in, you might still come out alive. We would definitely die!”

An old woman grabbed Xu Huo’s hand, tears and snot streaming down her face.

”Elder, I might die too if I go in,” Xu Huo said.

”But you have skills...” the old woman said. ”My son hasn’t married yet. I don’t want to die here.”

”Whether I have skills or not has nothing to do with you, elder,” Xu Huo said, pulling his hand away. ”Look behind you—all those children. If you stay in front, they might survive.”

”Those aren’t my children!” the old woman said excitedly. ”Why should I die for them!”

”Then why should my brother die for you?” Wang Chaoqing spat. ”Old age really brings thick skin. Can’t you learn from the Old Gentleman in front of you?”

The old woman’s expression changed, her lips trembling as she wanted to say something more. But Xu Huo pointed at the about-to-stop roulette wheel at their feet first. ”Everyone only has one life. Let the game decide—wherever it stops is where it stops.”

The old woman jumped up as if burned, nimbly ducking into the crowd to hide behind others.

Xu Huo showed no anger at all, wiping the snot that had gotten on him on Wang Chaoqing’s back.

Wang Chaoqing glared at him sideways.

”People,” Brother Feng spoke up now. ”There’s a reason most get eliminated by evolution.”

”I agree with what you said. Don’t waste time,” he pointed at Baseball Cap. ”You go this time.”

Baseball Cap froze for a moment, instinctively looking at Xu Huo.

Xu Huo nodded to him. ”You have one survival opportunity. You won’t die anyway, so what are you afraid of?”

Baseball Cap thought it made sense, so he puffed out his chest and stood in the circle.

For the first few minutes, he remained relatively calm, but slowly his expression changed too. Especially in the last two minutes, his limbs took on strange postures as if bound, with only his feet desperately shuffling on the ground.

”He’s done for this time,” the Tall Sturdy Camouflage Soldier sneered, crossing his arms. ”All that jumping around—I really thought he wasn’t afraid to die.”

Seconds later, Baseball Cap regained consciousness. The white mark on the back of his hand had disappeared.

He hung his head in shame, silently stood up, and walked to the side. The female player nearby gave him a comforting look.

Having already lost two survival opportunities, Brother Feng paused attempts to obtain survival opportunities and began having others take turns entering the life-and-death game.

As expected, the next seven or eight people all died.

Noticing the Tall Sturdy Camouflage Soldier secretly counting the deaths, Xu Huo stopped someone who voluntarily stepped forward. ”I’ll go this time.”

Brother Feng motioned for him to proceed.

Xu Huo stood inside the circle and soon entered the pure white space.

The space hadn’t changed much, but this time the pointer was white again.

With enough people in the shopping mall, having seen someone take the lead, others quickly learned to be smarter. Those who could maintain some calmness imitated the Old Gentleman by loudly declaring what they saw, wanting to leave a path to survival for their relatives or children.

Among all the information, the space and roulette wheel remained fixed, with only one variable: the pointer.

Black and white represented death and life. Both he and the Old Gentleman had obtained survival opportunities when the pointer was white. He had also asked Baseball Cap and the female player—the pointers they saw were also white.

The same situation repeating wasn’t coincidence. So in any life-and-death game where survival opportunities could be obtained, there was a high probability the pointer would be white.

But he didn’t think a white pointer guaranteed landing on the white square. Or rather, even landing on the white square might not ensure survival.

In multi-person life-and-death games, when no one voluntarily entered the game, it ignored black and white and killed indiscriminately according to its own rules.

The item name ”Seeking Life Is Worse Than Seeking Death” might have some directional meaning, but that didn’t mean fearing death would definitely ensure survival. Watching the countdown before him, he reached toward the pointer.