Players, Please Board the Train

He roughly estimated the range. Without any obstacles blocking him, the range he could accurately perceive was about two hundred meters. Beyond that range, it wasn’t that he felt nothing at all, but things became extremely blurry, just like how far away you can still technically ”see” something, yet you know nothing about the details.

If there were obstacles in between, the precise range would shrink further. Fully enclosed spaces in particular were more limiting than open wilderness or half-enclosed walls. It wasn’t that he couldn’t determine whether there were people or moving objects present, that was no problem at all after his evolution, it was just that he couldn’t do what he was doing now, standing in the plaza with his eyes closed while being fully aware of everyone’s every move.

The maximum limit was probably one hundred and fifty meters. In reality, beyond one hundred meters, his judgment wasn’t that precise anymore.

Additionally, he had gained a new understanding of spatial barriers, such as walls.

To humans, a wall was something solid that absolutely could not be passed through. But to space itself, a wall was actually just another type of substance, no different from a person. Humans and walls were roughly the same size relative to each other, but compared to space itself, both humans and obstacles were nothing more than tiny grains of sand. Space both enveloped and could pass through them, so they couldn’t create any real obstruction.

The reason walls currently obstructed Xu Huo was simply because he himself was still just a grain of sand.

A wood carving appeared in his hand. Xu Huo tried to feel how space enveloped it, attempting to crush the carving from the outside. Just then, he sensed an unusual aura approaching from ahead. With a flip of his hand, an air barrier blocked his front, and something the size of a needle tip fell to the ground.

He looked up ahead and precisely located the player who had attacked him from the shadows.

The other party was sitting with arms crossed, feigning sleep. Upon sensing his gaze, the person turned their head as if nothing had happened, as though Xu Huo had been the one to provoke first.

Xu Huo had a decent temper. He smiled faintly and let the matter drop. The wood carving he had been turning cracked in response, breaking cleanly into two halves from the middle.

Failure.

As expected. He didn’t feel particularly disappointed.

Day broke quickly.

When the Host returned to the sky above the Plaza, he seemed unusually excited. ”Dear audience friends, our program has reached its white-hot stage! Now you can all see that only seventy-seven guests remain within the entire Friendship Garden. Having experienced exhaustion, betrayal, and danger, I believe the guests still here have gained a deeper understanding of friendship and even deeper expectations for it!”

”Then let’s not delay the guests in their pursuit of friendship any longer. I declare that today’s Three-Color Showdown officially begins!”

Heated cheers erupted from outside the venue, and one could even hear people shouting out numbers from the Plaza.

”I know everyone is very excited, after all, today we are about to witness the birth of friendship.” The Host continued, ”To let our audience friends and our guests enjoy themselves to the fullest, the ’You’re Well, I’m Well’ program crew has revised the tournament rules. For today’s teams, one member is selected at random, while the other is chosen by this first-drawn guest from among the guests who volunteer to team up.”

”After all, having spent two days together, friends should have developed a special magnetic resonance. Whether a self-chosen friend will produce true friendship, I believe everyone present is eager to find out!”

”First up, Guest Number 18!”

Player 18 was the one who had previously killed Player 64, Xu Huo’s teammate. As soon as he stood before the big screen, the Host said, ”Is there any guest willing to become Number 18’s friend?”

No one stepped forward voluntarily.

Player 18 had chosen the black ball in his first round. After his first teammate died, his randomly assigned teammates in the second and third rounds were also all teammates. He hadn’t done a single task once, safely staying put until now.

The odds of this happening couldn’t be pure luck. The likelihood that items were influencing the random results was far higher. In other words, teaming up with him now would undoubtedly result in a black ball task. Only a fool would go.

”Haha! It seems no one wants to be friends with Guest Number 18! Since Guest Number 18 has forfeited his right to actively choose a friend, the program crew will have no choice but to randomly select one... Congratulations, Guest Number 95!”

Number 95 was an ordinary person. As soon as he walked over, he reached out to touch the black ball. But before he could even get close, the spot where they stood, along with the big screen, began to sink.

Amid Number 95’s terrified screams, a Projection from another angle appeared above the Plaza. They had sunk into a pool of clear seawater, enclosed within a large transparent box, which the central big screen split in two. They couldn’t see each other, but they could see rows upon rows of mutated giant fish locked in glass tanks behind them, including the man-eating sharks that Xu Huo had encountered before.

Using the central big screen as the dividing line, the glass tanks on either side all floated suspended in the water, arranged in a semicircle around the center at a distance of ten meters. From any angle, one could see the people trapped in the middle. Upon seeing their Prey, these giant fish grew frenzied and simultaneously rammed into the transparent glass blocking their path.

”What everyone is seeing now are the unique local specialties of our Sea World. Frenzied giant man-eating sharks, giant-toothed octopuses that prefer to strangle their prey before slowly eating them, big-headed fish whose thirst for blood exceeds their hunger for flesh... and of course, our most popular peach-heart octopus! The wounds it bites out are in the shape of a peach heart, and it particularly loves eating human hearts. That is why we use it as a symbol of love!”

After introducing the ”local specialties,” the Host continued, ”The fourth round’s tournament task is transparent. If you choose the white ball task, we will release one fish with a C-grade danger level, such as a big-headed fish. If you choose the yellow ball task, we will release one B-grade fish, such as a peach-heart octopus or a man-eating shark. If it’s the black ball task, we will randomly release two or more species of fish with no limit on their number.”

”To be fair, the players’ activity range will be reduced to one quarter of the original.”

As he spoke, the glass on both sides of Player 18 began closing toward the center, turning his activity area into a narrow rectangle. If the glass door behind them opened, the larger man-eating shark species could easily trap a person inside. If they couldn’t get out quickly or break the glass, the player’s risk would multiply.

”Now, let’s see the choice of human nature!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the big screen between Player 18 and Number 95 became transparent. Meeting each other’s eyes, the terrified Number 95 dropped the backpack in his hands. He knelt down before Player 18 and pleaded, ”Please, give me a way out! Even if water comes in, I’ll drown. I don’t want to die... You’re a player, and you’re so powerful. You must have a way to deal with these mutated fish. Please help me!”