Free Web NovelChapter 724: Chapter 723: Free Team Formation Begins
Ten minutes later, three shady-looking people with tablecloths covering half their faces sneaked out of the bathroom.
The small white coffee tablecloth, folded multiple times, was tied behind the head, covering everything below the nose, looking just like ancient assassins.
The one standing in the middle even made some alterations to the simple style. For example, they tied a colorful scarf on top of their head, covering everything above the eyebrows, leaving only the eyes exposed.
Obviously, they didn’t look like good people.
"Sister Guan Yu," Mu Qiu whispered, eyes still on the outside, "I think we look even more conspicuous like this. Especially you."
Guan Yu crouched, touched the smooth scarf on her head, and answered in a muffled voice, "It’s okay, after all, a beauty is always the center of attention."
Mu Qiu: "......"
Shu Ran rolled her eyes, yanked off the white tablecloth from her face, and said, "I’m not playing this low-IQ game with you guys. I’m going to find a fan."
"Tch, you’re the one who found those tablecloths for us. Just now, you were all excited, and now you’re dissing them. Are all beautiful actresses so good at changing faces?" Guan Yu continued her "mock Shu" project.
Mu Qiu gave her a thumbs-up.
What is conversational skill? This is conversational skill. The insult had a hidden compliment, leaving Shu Ran with her mouth opening and closing without being able to counter back. In the end, she just haughtily flicked her hair and gave a humph, leaving their group to find a fan on her own.
Before she walked far, she gave Guan Yu one last piece of advice.
"I advise you to stay away from Mu Qiu. This episode is a life-and-death round, and she’s lurking by your side with no good intentions."
Mu Qiu, innocently getting caught in the crossfire: "...What? Why am I being dragged into this? How am I up to no good?!"
After saying that, Shu Ran ran off into the distance, leaving Mu Qiu to look at Guan Yu, earnestly proclaiming her innocence:
"I didn’t do anything. I just ran into you while looking for an address and saw you not believing how ugly you were, so I had to go with you to find a bathroom mirror to have a beauty contest! Sister Guan Yu, you have to believe me, there’s no way to determine someone’s good or bad intentions right at the start! Man’s nature is fundamentally good at the beginning!"
Guan Yu’s whole head had only those eyes exposed, scrutinizing her from head to toe for a good moment, then stepping away saying:
"Man’s nature may be fundamentally good, but whether you fit that definition is uncertain. It’s pretty certain that this time someone will fall into the fixed-npc trap in three rounds; this is a life-and-death scenario, I need to keep away from sources of danger."
Source of danger, though innocent: "..."
Ah, the superficial sisterhood. Even after having an ugly contest in the bathroom together, she’s quick to doubt, quick to leave, and in turn, she’s left all alone now.
Was it just because she deceitfully tricked them a couple of times? Why won’t they give her a little trust?!
Fuming, she pinched the little pig twice, hearing it make weird squeaks, taking a deep breath, she chose to head down a path opposite to theirs.
It was a road she hadn’t been down before. She had carefully observed the places she had just walked through, and there were no points matching where she needed to find, so it should be somewhere she hadn’t gone yet.
This area seemed large. She’d already roamed a lot, but still hadn’t seen Cheng Zhirang.
He must be on the move too. With neither of them seeing the other, either fate destined them to never spot each other, or the place was truly large, and they were moving on opposing diagonal lines.
She recalled the riddle-like address she’d seen on the bus mentioning a bridge.
She had just passed a bridge earlier, but saw no one suspicious. If indeed it was that bridge, wasn’t their first task to find the guest they were supposed to team up with at the correct location? If that bridge wasn’t the right one, could there be another bridge here?
As she walked and pondered, she passed through an alley cluttered with air conditioner units, coming out to a slightly desolate lawn.
From a distance, across the lawn was a wooden stand that looked like an outdoor afternoon tea spot, with giant sunshades open, and people sitting and enjoying tea and snacks, reclining and basking in the breeze, looking relaxed.
Mu Qiu turned, facing the camera, and asked, "Can I file a complaint against Brother Huai? He’s actually having a morning tea and snack session here."
The accompanying staff said nothing, pretending not to hear. She thought about it, wondering how she could miss the chance to critique Shi Yuhuai, so she prepared to start walking over to order something.
But just as she lifted her foot, the familiar electronic announcement she didn’t expect suddenly sounded.
"Welcome to the eighth episode, dear guests. Thirty minutes have passed, and the flying guests are about to enter. Please find the location and the guest as prompted within ten minutes to form your team.
If the correct location is not found within ten minutes, the waiting guests will be moved to another place to complete team formation with others.
If after moving, all flying guests team up leaving the fixed guest unteamed, it will be judged that the fixed guest successfully teamed up solo.
After thirty minutes, everyone will be forcibly teamed up successfully and gather at the square to reveal the next game rules. Everyone, the ten-minute countdown for the first phase begins, good luck!"
With the echo of "good luck" still lingering, Mu Qiu withdrew her step and turned to another direction.
Understanding the rules and comprehending them is the most basic game literacy.
She was still wearing the tablecloth veil, side-facing the camera, calmly analyzing as she walked, "I was wondering why I hadn’t seen any guests yet; turns out they’re just entering now. The previous thirty minutes must have been for getting familiar with the layout, right?
The next thirty minutes are all about scrambling for teammates. Based on what it said, within ten minutes, you should find the place you need to go; there will be a guest waiting there, and if everyone finds their location in ten minutes, there will be six pairs.
But if someone, like me, doesn’t find the location in ten minutes, my teammate will be moved, possibly according to proximity, so the person nearby might end up with two guest teammates.
After such movement, the best scenario is my teammate getting moved away, while another unfortunate soul’s teammate gets moved to me, so I still barely get a teammate.
If I’m really that unlucky and when I find the place, everyone else has teamed up, I’ll have no choice but to be a one-person team, fighting solo. Such team compositions could be baffling, with three-person teams, four-person teams, or even solo teams, all possible.
I still don’t know what the later games will be; a one-person team is quite risky. If there’s a game that can’t be completed alone, isn’t that game over for me?"
She analyzed it through thoroughly, ensuring no mistakes, then turned and told the accompanying staff, "Get ready, I’m about to start running."
