The Host and the rest of the staff temporarily left, leaving only a hundred or so players in the vast square.
Although all thirty-five groups successfully cleared the first round project, more than twenty people had either gone mad or died, losing any possibility of participating in the subsequent competition events.
Many people knew that if not for Lin Ye's final reminder, their remaining groups would surely have suffered some casualties. It was because of Lin Ye that they successfully and safely passed the first project, 'Rice Bucket'.
They sincerely thanked Lin Ye. Quite a few people near him proactively stepped forward to express their gratitude. Among them were many players whom Lin Ye had refused as teammates; they, too, put aside the resentment and dissatisfaction in their hearts to express their thanks.
A Veteran player—a Veteran player willing to actively help other players—was worth befriending no matter what. In the subsequent events of the meet, perhaps this Veteran player, who possessed both strength and wisdom, would once again give them unexpected help!
"Brother Zero, thank you so much."
"If not for you, I might have gone crazy."
"Thank you, really, thank you so much. If there is any place you need me, just say the word."
One after another, they offered enthusiastic and happy thanks.
Lin Ye knew that many of them were thanking him sincerely from the bottom of their hearts, but there were also those who came to greet him proactively for selfish purposes. But Lin Ye didn't care.
When he thought of the method back then, his reason for speaking out indeed included the thought of actively helping others, but there was also another important point. In the subsequent events of the meet, the more people who participated alive, the more people could test out more rules. The final point, naturally, was the evaluation. The number of survivors related to the height of the evaluation.
Under permissible circumstances, Lin Ye naturally also hoped that more players could live until the moment the instance ended.
Cold Frost looked at Lin Ye and sighed slightly. She only hoped Lin Ye wouldn't get lost in this gratitude. In the Strange Game, gratitude was the most worthless thing. Among these people, how many would provide help when Lin Ye needed it? Cold Frost felt that even one person would be a lot. She wasn't optimistic.
Erina Nakiri also watched, feeling that this scene of Lin Ye being surrounded by gratitude was unexpectedly heart-stirring.
"Zero..." Finally, after the other thankful players dispersed, Cold Frost found a chance to strike up a conversation.
"What is it?"
"It's about Miss Nakiri."
Cold Frost lowered her voice and informed Lin Ye of Erina Nakiri's anomaly.
Lin Ye nodded. "I know."
The two women waited for ten seconds but didn't see Lin Ye say anything, so Erina Nakiri couldn't bear it anymore. "Don't you have anything you want to say?"
"Is my situation actually normal? Isn't there something called Strange erosion and infection? Is my situation not that?"
Erina Nakiri didn't understand Strange erosion very well, but apart from the Strange, she couldn't find any other suitable reason to explain her anomaly.
"No need to worry," Lin Ye spoke up, but his words obviously didn't make the girl accept it.
"Regarding your situation, there's really no need to worry. You won't have life-threatening danger because of this anomaly."
"..."
How could Erina Nakiri easily accept this explanation? Even though she had concealed it before, she was actually worried in her heart. Now that she had informed Lin Ye and Cold Frost, these two Veteran players, she naturally hoped to figure it out, or at least let Lin Ye inform her of the reason why she should be at ease. What was the basis for this reassurance?
"You are so confident, you must know the reason, right! Can't you say it?"
Apart from this, Erina Nakiri couldn't think of other possibilities.
"Correct, it's not suitable to say, but I can guarantee you are fine."
He couldn't possibly tell the truth, right! That definitely wouldn't work. Even if he knew Erina Nakiri, the one he knew was only the 'Erina Nakiri' remaining in the work.
It was completely different from Yukinoshita. With Yukinoshita, or even Mai Sakurajima, he had contacted them in reality and made judgments about the girls. He fundamentally didn't understand or know what that high and cold Eldest Miss in reality was like.
Erina Nakiri pursed her lips, not very reconciled.
Cold Frost also saw the thoughts of this newcomer. She reached out and patted her. "Alright, since Zero said it's fine, then it's fine. No need to worry."
"Miss Cold, you trust him that much?"
"Yes. In that instance we were together before, he saved me. He has graced me with saving my life."
Of course, besides that, there was another reason. That was, Lin Ye would rather put himself in danger and face the Black Shadow Strange entity directly than abandon them to seek survival alone. This conduct demonstrated the credibility of Lin Ye's words.
Since Lin Ye didn't want to inform them of the specific reason, then they had absolutely no necessity to probe deeply. Choosing to believe was the right choice.
"I understand." Erina Nakiri sighed. She could only believe. Besides believing, what else could she do?
"We are teammates, companions of the same group. Zero won't harm us. A reduction in group members will easily affect the subsequent competition." This was Cold Frost's guess, but it wasn't impossible, and the probability was quite high.
The form of a group inevitably involved members. In the final scoring, would the reduction of group members affect the total score? If she were to design it, the reduction of group members would definitely lower the total evaluation. Many instances in the Strange Game utilized this rule. This time, Cold Frost felt that this unannounced rule was still very likely to be used.
"Mn." Erina Nakiri accepted it. This was different from reality. Her heart of desire for control couldn't be satisfied here, because here, she didn't have that strength and capital.
At this moment, a man and a woman came over. In terms of demeanor, Lin Ye judged that the other parties were Veteran players.
"Mr. Zero, hello! I am Tanaka." He actively displayed his nickname information: [Tanaka · LV3]. This was the simplest identity display for Veteran players, and it couldn't be faked.
The man was wearing loose sportswear, looking like a handsome uncle. With this appearance, he should be very popular with young girls.
"This is my companion, Coco."
"Hello."
This was a youthful and beautiful young girl with a single ponytail. In terms of facial features, compared to a high school student, she should be more of a university student. But considering that Veteran players could adjust their appearance, it was completely possible that she was a middle-aged woman.
"I am Coco." [Coco · LV3]
Two LV3 Veteran players. Their strength wasn't considered weak. To be able to pass several Strange Games and reach this step, it was a symbol of strength.
"What matter do you two have?"
"Cooperation," the handsome uncle Tanaka spoke. "We hope to cooperate. My Group 11 and your Group 26, Mr. Zero, cooperate."
"Reason."
"Win-win cooperation."
Lin Ye watched calmly. This embarrassed Tanaka. "I believe that Mr. Zero, who proactively helps other players, possesses very high moral conduct. Cooperating with a player like you allows one to feel at ease."
Because they felt others could be trusted, they came to seek cooperation? This reason was okay, but it couldn't persuade Lin Ye.
"It's hard for me to trust the character of you two."
Tanaka: "..."
Coco: "..."
"We two are LV3 Veteran players and possess relatively rich Strange Game experience."
Lin Ye glanced at Cold Frost. Cold Frost nodded and displayed her nickname and level.
[Cold Frost · LV5].
Tanaka: ???
Coco: ???
A LV5 player, damn it.
And at this time, Lin Ye also displayed his title and nickname.
[Zero · LV4]
Silence. For the two of them, there was only more silence. They had contacted other players, all LV1 or LV2. They thought LV3 players should be considered the highest level players here. The result was that now there was not only a LV4 player but even a LV5 player.
This silent mockery rushing toward their faces made the two ashamed; they both wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into. Saying their strength was very strong and experience rich in front of big bosses—wasn't this masochism?
They originally thought Lin Ye's previous performance was just a flash of wit, an accidental performance, but now it seemed this was a display of the opponent's strength. Their vision was too low!
"You two..."
"Apologies, we were presumptuous. But if Your Excellency is willing, we still hope to establish a friendly relationship with Your Excellency, helping each other between groups."
They were already here; they couldn't just leave without doing anything, right! If Zero refused, they had no loss. If Zero agreed, wouldn't the intention of this visit be realized? Pure profit.
Lines of sight concentrated on Lin Ye. In Group 26, Lin Ye had become the undisputed person in charge. Even though Cold Frost's level was higher than Lin Ye's, Cold Frost never had any thought of fighting for command rights.
"No need." Lin Ye's single sentence made the expectations of Tanaka and Coco fall through completely.
"However, when encountering danger, within a permissible range, I can provide a certain amount of help."
"Good, we will too. It's a deal." Tanaka said immediately with joy.
Very quickly, the two left.
"Why not directly agree?" In Erina Nakiri's view, Lin Ye's answer just now was no different from agreeing.
"Because there are other players watching!"
Erina Nakiri thought for a good while before realizing Lin Ye's meaning. If he agreed to Group 11's request, then what about the other groups! Another point was, if they really encountered a difficult problem to solve, should their Group 26 go help or not? If they didn't go help, in the eyes of people from other groups, this would be a breach of faith.
Although credibility was sometimes useless, sometimes it was also very useful. Lin Ye's final behavior in the previous 'Rice Bucket' project had already established a good image in the hearts of numerous players. This image shouldn't be easily discarded.
Cold Frost patted Erina Nakiri's shoulder. "Rest! It will be the second project very soon."
"Miss Cold, you are a LV5 player, don't you feel..." She looked at Lin Ye.
"I don't feel it. What I'm good at is military force. regarding intelligence, since Zero is here, I'll leave it to Zero."
Cold Frost wasn't unthinking—otherwise, it would be impossible for her to walk to today—but now that there was someone she could trust, someone stronger than her in analysis and judgment, she was more willing to give up thinking and hand this matter over to Lin Ye.
Erina Nakiri was very curious about what the two had experienced in the last instance game to make this powerful LV5 player willing to trust a LV4 male player unconditionally.
...
"Coming, coming..."
"Kept the respected guests waiting for a long time."
The Mask Man had changed his clothes by this time. Currently, he had changed into black sportswear, radiating vitality.
"The Gourmet Sports Meet's second project is about to begin. Please, respected guests, make psychological preparations."
Masked figures wearing identical black sportswear appeared one by one. Working together, they pushed 5 pushcarts into the square and placed black bags one by one, neatly onto the square. There were small ones, and there were also large ones. Very quickly, the cloth bags were arranged neatly together.
"The Gourmet Sports Meet's second project is very simple."
"Project name is 'Brisk Walking'."
"The requirement is very simple. Six hours time. Respected guests, follow this road and the signposts to proceed to the target location thirty kilometers away."
Six hours, thirty kilometers. Averaging five kilometers an hour. This physical requirement wasn't very high; it counted as being within a normal range.
"Of course, guests must take the bags to the destination thirty kilometers away. Inside are precious ingredients; no problems can occur. Respected guests must protect them well." He emphatically emphasized 'protect'. This made the players realize the importance of the ingredients.
"Hey, hey, hey, what's inside? Why are the sizes different?" The volume difference was too great. If it were something heavier, wouldn't it seriously affect their advancing speed?
"Ingredients, various ingredients, random. Players select the ingredients they want to carry themselves."
Players immediately scanned with their eyes. They wanted to find the bag with the smallest volume and lightest weight. Some people were restless, preparing to strike immediately.
"However, this selection is different from before. This time, players will go according to the sequential order of the previous round."
This made numerous group members who hadn't achieved good results reveal disappointed expressions.
"The last place chooses first."
In the next second, the players of the groups toward the back instantly beamed with joy. This must be the organizer's care for these players lagging in points! Good thing, wonderful. They liked this kind of organizer.
"We are being targeted." Even Cold Frost had this feeling.
"Isn't this a matter of course? I made the organizer bleed heavily." Lin Ye smiled. "So, if I don't win this Gourmet Sports Meet and take first place, I would really be letting down the organizer's various targeting."
Lin Ye's rebellious psychology burned even more vigorously instead. He wanted to make the organizer understand that these calculated tricks were meaningless. This first place, he, Lin Ye, was determined to take.
"Then, start choosing from the 35th place, Group 19."
Each group stepped forward to choose in order.
"Can only look, cannot weigh. Five seconds time. Once selected and grabbed, it cannot be changed again."
The representative of Group 19 chose a cloth bag with the smallest volume.
"This should be very light... Holy crap, so heavy."
Feeling the heavy weight coming from the black cloth bag, this player's face looked ugly! And very quickly, after the teammates felt it for a bit, they began to complain.
Choosing anything else would have been fine, why choose such a heavy thing?
"Why did you choose such a one!"
"Small volume means small weight? Are you brain-dead!"
"This kind of small bag is obviously a trap, can't even see this?"
In a moment, the three group members exploded. This weight was completely disproportionate to the volume. The heavy feeling made it completely impossible for them to advance at full speed to rush to the finish line.
The rest of the players were also paying attention. Veteran players narrowed their eyes slightly.
"Is there a possibility of disguise and deception?"
One person shook his head. "The four on the other side are all newcomers, no Veteran players. The probability of deceiving people is very small."
Veteran players might really deceive and mislead people intentionally, but the possibility of newcomer players doing so was very small.
Afterward, group after group stepped forward. Each group let out either cheers or sighs. The weights of the bags varied; judging solely by volume was inaccurate.
"Choose a bag with upper-middle volume!" A Veteran player spoke up. "According to my observation, choosing small won't work, the weight is definitely heavy, but too big volume won't work either."
"A medium volume bag will do, the rest depends on luck."
Starting from this Gourmet Sports Meet, Veteran players realized that luck occupied a very high component in this instance. Of course, it wasn't entirely reliant on luck. In the first project 'Rice Bucket', if one could discover the point of 'cooperative eating', the survival rate of the first round would increase greatly, even reaching one hundred percent.
It could only be said that they all failed to discover it and ignored this point, while the first discoverer discovered it a bit late, though his proposal indeed saved quite a few players' lives.
"Zero, LV4 player." The other was a LV5 player. To reach this level, they absolutely couldn't be simple-minded players. If the other party passed every level of the Strange instance with 'kindness' as a behavior every time, this could only further indicate the opponent's strength and intellect. In the Strange Game, kindness and sympathy were luxury goods!
Just at this time, a burst of wild cheering rang out.
"Someone chose that one with the largest volume."
"Amazing! Picking the biggest one."
"Is this heavy or not!"
It wasn't that no players had thought to do the opposite and choose the black gunny sack with the largest volume before, but after deep thought, the majority still couldn't afford to gamble. If it was really heavy—a bag of this volume—they feared one person couldn't carry it at all and would have to rely on two people carrying it together to walk.
A young handsome guy grasped this largest volume bag with one hand. He gritted his teeth wanting to pull it up, but it seemed even using the strength for breastfeeding wasn't enough to pull it up. The faces of his fellow group members went pale.
And the remaining players laughed out loud, gloating. Looks like this is the heaviest one.
"At least we don't have to take a big bag." Erina Nakiri sighed with emotion. As the last group, Erina Nakiri thought this big bag would be left for the end, but now that it was taken away by someone, it meant they temporarily didn't need to carry such a big bag to the destination thirty kilometers away.
"Pity." Lin Ye shook his head.
"Pity? Shouldn't this be a celebration?"
"That bag isn't heavy."
Cold Frost and Erina Nakiri were both stunned for a moment. A young man couldn't pull it up; how could it not be heavy?
In the next moment, they saw that man's hand move. The black gunny sack immediately suspended in the air. Under his movement, the black gunny sack rotated and tumbled in the air, looking light and fluttery.
"So heavy, really too heavy. Hahahaha..."
In this moment, it was the young man's turn to laugh wildly, mocking with all his might. However many players mocked him just now, that many players were being mocked now. Their faces were ugly at this time, turning green and red. Played. They were played by this young man. Even quite a few Veteran players were completely deceived.
"If I knew earlier, I would have chosen that gunny sack with the largest volume."
"Lost out!"
"That light and fluttery appearance, absolutely very relaxing."
"Thirty kilometers, carrying this ten-kilogram thing, simply can't reach it, completely can't move."
Many players who had already made their choice, carrying the bags in their hands and feeling the weight, sighed incessantly one after another. The difference in weight would seriously affect forward speed.
Many players were already wailing. The physical strength of the vast majority of newcomer players was just average. Walking for six hours to reach a destination thirty kilometers away was already about the limit. Now adding a heavy object bag, it would seriously consume stamina and slow down speed.
Finally, it was Lin Ye's turn.
At this time, only one black bag remained quietly placed there. The volume was approximately 20cm x 20cm x 50cm. Not small, but compared to that largest gunny sack which was more than half a person's height, the volume of this bag was much better.
Everyone's lines of sight were placed on Lin Ye. After all, Lin Ye was the first place. His performance in the previous project had already demonstrated Lin Ye's strength. If the bag Lin Ye obtained was very light, Lin Ye might take first place again in this round.
They thanked Lin Ye, but a portion of them, considering their own standpoints, still hoped his burden could be a bit heavier.
"Not light not heavy, acceptable."
He picked up the bag and walked toward Cold Frost and Erina Nakiri, regrouping with the two.
By this moment, all groups had already collected the bags they needed to carry.
"Very good. For this 'Brisk Walking' project, the result will be calculated based on the time the last member of that team reaches the destination."
Swish! Quite a few people's faces changed. They thought it would be calculated based on the time the first person reached the destination. In that case, when necessary, they could totally let the person with good stamina leave the team and move forward first to achieve the goal of rushing to the destination as soon as possible.
Now it seemed that wouldn't work. This project required members within the same group to help each other.
"Gourmet Sports Meet second project 'Brisk Walking', will start in one minute. Please, respected guests, make psychological preparations."
At the rear, several staff members moved the obstacles. Many players came to the starting line to strive for more advantages for themselves. Dozens of people crowded together, faintly showing a trend of pushing and shoving. However, many Veteran players weren't anxious. The teams led by Veteran players were also all at the rear, not anxious at all. A six-hour brisk walk prioritized sustainability, not this tiny bit of advantage at the start.
"10."
"5..."
"2..."
"1..."
Bang... A gunshot rang out. The Host wearing sportswear shouted out, "Start."
Thump thump thump... A sound of fast running rang out as numerous players rushed out.
"I used to run full marathons back in the day. Just thirty kilometers distance, easy-peasy."
"Strive for top five this time. Our Group 7 still has a chance to strive for top five."
"Three kilograms load, same as having nothing. Charge!"
Quite a few players shouted to demonstrate their determination. A contest of pure physical fitness and willpower; they couldn't lose.
A group of players ran out. On the main road were figures of people running one after another. Veteran players weren't anxious. When the front had run about enough, group after group of Veteran players also started running.
However, there were three individual groups that didn't move at all. They placed their attention on Lin Ye.
"Captain, are we not leaving yet?"
A newcomer couldn't bear it. Although a difference of a few minutes didn't count as anything for six hours, if possible, no one was willing to waste a few minutes of time.
"No rush. Look at that one's reaction."
The man with the big beard let his gaze fall on Lin Ye.
Lin Ye looked at the other two groups' firm attitude of 'if he doesn't go, they won't go', gave a light smile, and set off. But the direction he walked toward wasn't the direction of the main road leading to the destination, but the direction of the Host, the Mask Man.
"Guest, if you still don't set off, you will fall behind by a lot of distance."
"No rush," Lin Ye shook his head. "Action without method is very inefficient."
"Oh, wonder what Mr. you want to do?"
"Not doing anything, just want to ask Mr. Host a question."
"You speak."
"The things here, we can use them all, right!"
"Of course. As long as there are no items expressly prohibited by regulations, guests can use them all."
"That works."
Lin Ye immediately ran toward the pushcarts placed twenty meters away.
At this time, the Veteran players in the other two groups also reacted. Veteran player 'Tanaka' secretly sighed that his choice to stay was correct. If he hadn't stayed, he fundamentally wouldn't have thought of using a pushcart.
"Brother Zero, observation is detailed enough."
He gave a thumbs up in praise.
"Just luck."
Saying this was luck, who would believe it? There were five pushcarts here; three groups were completely enough to share. One group only needed one pushcart and that was enough.
"Brother Zero, we'll go first then. On the road sections later, help each other."
Lin Ye smiled. And the other group also greeted Lin Ye to express friendliness, then set off.
Lin Ye pushed the pushcart. Cold Frost carried the black bag and placed the bag onto the pushcart.
Erina Nakiri raised a doubt. "Our bag actually isn't very heavy. Using a pushcart will instead lower efficiency, right!"
If it were a heavy object, using a pushcart would be better, but their item's weight wasn't heavy.
"Miss Cold, do you have any conjectures?"
The black long-haired Cold Frost looked at Erina Nakiri and spoke. "The organizer never said the weight of the items in the bag won't change. In the advancing road sections later, it's completely possible for the items in the bag to slowly increase in weight."
This was all experience. If it wasn't said, then everything was possible.
"..." Erina Nakiri was astonished. "This game is really full of traps."
"The Strange Game is just like this; a single detail relates to success or failure. I hope we overthought it, but the difference in burden between bringing a pushcart and not bringing a pushcart isn't very big for us. If we guessed right..." They would profit.
"I understand." Erina Nakiri nodded heavily. She had already deeply realized her insufficiency in experience and related awareness regarding the Strange Game. Not noticing the 'pushcart' in advance might not be her problem, but seeing Lin Ye choose the pushcart and still being unable to think of the reason for doing so—this was a problem of her thinking and awareness. If she wanted to survive in the Strange Game in the future, she must have this aspect of awareness.
"Alright, starting. Miss Cold, trouble you to be in the front."
"Mn."
Lin Ye was responsible for pushing the cart. The three advanced at a jogging speed. Thirty kilometers, six hours time; what they pursued wasn't momentary speed.
Tap tap tap... Footsteps rang out. The three moved forward in an orderly manner. The three set off latest and could no longer see the figures ahead, but none of the three minded.
Tap tap tap tap... But within five minutes, several figures appeared. Those were Veteran players—the few Veteran players who had set off first. They ran toward Lin Ye's trio scrambling to be first, aggressive and menacing. For a moment, the atmosphere solidified with tension.
Cold Frost stared at the five people running over.
"Not from one group." Erina Nakiri recognized them. She had emphatically memorized Veteran players. Compared to newcomer players, Veteran players needed attention more.
"Quick."
"Almost at the starting point."
"It's Zero."
"Why didn't he tell us, damn it."
A few short sentences instantly made Lin Ye's trio understand. These five people came back for the pushcarts at the starting point square. There were still two pushcarts; they wanted to fight for them.
But they didn't plan to use force to rob? Tanaka's two groups in front didn't break out in conflict with these few Veteran players? Twenty meters later, the distance between the two sides was only ten or so meters.
"Brother Zero, there are still two pushcarts over at the square, right!"
They came from different groups, but at this time they all looked at Lin Ye and Cold Frost; Erina Nakiri was directly ignored. As Veteran players, ignoring the pushcarts was a mistake, but it could still be remedied. Wasting ten or so minutes of time—as long as they got the pushcarts, it was worth it.
"There are."
Receiving Lin Ye's affirmative answer, the five people immediately began to run. It wasn't that they didn't have the thought to rob directly, but considering those two Veteran players before didn't use force to rob, let alone these two high-level players. Rather than fighting to the death with high-level players, it was better to snatch those last two pushcarts.
"Quick quick quick."
"The pushcart is mine."
A few people ran madly, exploding with all their speed. In a moment, they saw the square in the distance. At this moment, the eyes of several people emitted a gleam.
And it was also at this time that someone made a move. One hand struck out, tripping the person in front onto the ground. Once one person broke the maintained balance, the others also struck out one after another.
"Robbing me? Scram!"
The few people went from adding punches and kicks at the very beginning to using carried items. Although they showed some restraint, the intensity of the battle was constantly increasing.
"Stop..."
"I suggest whoever runs to it first among those two gets it. If we keep fighting, everyone will lose the second project competition's Brisk Walking." If they kept fighting, apart from time, it would affect their state even more.
"Acceptable."
They reached a consensus.
And Lin Ye, Cold Frost, and Erina Nakiri continued jogging steadily. This round, the emphasis was on sustainability.
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