TDU Chapter 323
Chapter 323 Yun Yao's Luck
After everyone had made their choice, Zhong Zhen slowly rose, removed his suit jacket, and neatly folded it before placing it carefully on his chair. He then loosened the collar of his shirt, seeking some measure of comfort, before stepping forward with {creak, creak} sounds to the center of the room. Raising his head, he calmly stared up at the ceiling.
"A massive iron ball huh... Come then, come kill me."
He spread his arms wide, as if bracing himself to face a fierce storm.
Gradually, a line of text illuminated on the screen:
"The verdict for this round—{True}."
Zhong Zhen gave a faint smile. "Dying isn’t so bad... If we were to forget everything each time, life wouldn’t be so painful."
{Boom—}!!
When the tremendous explosion erupted, everyone was momentarily stunned.
The sound hit Yun Yao like a shockwave, knocking her clean off the chair and onto the floor.
Pain didn’t register immediately as she scrambled up, panic-stricken, frantically pounding on the wall to her left.
That tremendous noise had come from her left side.
Wasn’t the person meant to die this round at coordinate {4}? Why was it now at {-2}?!
"Ch–Chen Junnan! Chen Junnan, are you—" Yun Yao’s trembling hands beat against the wall, yet she found no words to speak, as if any question now was futile.
Within seconds, her eyes flooded with red from anxiety; countless doubts surged through her mind, yet no one could offer her answers.
What was going on?
Was there someone cheating?
"Umpire! Umpire!" Yun Yao rushed from the wall to the door, pounding fiercely on the wooden frame. "Something’s wrong! Both with the apparatus and the rules! Is anyone there?!"
Moments later, Yun Yao caught the sound of a fierce wind rushing just beyond the wooden door, followed by a chilling cold that swept toward her.
Black Tortoise seemed to be standing right outside.
"Ump–Umpire... The rules are set, the iron ball shouldn’t have landed here!" Yun Yao reached out again to knock on the door. "A life-staking gamble is on the line, how can you resort to such trickery?"
Black Tortoise paused thoughtfully before responding, "Raising a ruckus, audacious."
Yun Yao instinctively took a cautious step back. The presence outside the door felt far more menacing than Terrestrial Snake.
At her silence, Black Tortoise spoke once more, "The rules never stipulated where the iron ball would descend, this is within normal parameters."
"Normal...?" Yun Yao felt as if Black Tortoise had lost all reason. "The iron ball was clearly on the opposite side just now, and without warning it suddenly crossed half the arena to land beside me. You call that normal?!"
"Audacious," Black Tortoise snapped coldly, "Persist in this nonsense, and you’ll be severed head from body."
Yun Yao flinched, words choking in her throat.
Why?
She had only just found the drive to move forward, only for it to vanish in an instant.
Why, in this cursed place, was she unable to accomplish a single thing she wished?
Her painstakingly built {Passage to Heaven} was now collapsing completely; those preserving memories were dwindling one by one. Just as she was about to risk everything to kill a {Terrestrial-grade} and start anew, Chen Junnan had died.
His death marked the end of the {participant}’s life-staking gamble against Terrestrial Snake.
Was victory truly impossible in a life-stake against Terrestrial-grades?
But... why had Black Tortoise claimed everything was {within normal parameters}?
Panic trembling in her hands, a persistent buzzing ringing in her ears. Why... why had she yet to hear the tolling of the bell?
"Wait a moment..." Yun Yao looked up in confusion, her eyes sweeping across the room she occupied.
The room’s soundproofing was so meticulously done that barely any outside noise penetrated within.
Could her {Reverberation} have already manifested?
After a moment of contemplation, a faint smile curved at her lips. She had long anticipated this day, the day she would be completely cut off from the outside world, uncertain of where her {Reverberation} might strike.
But {Potent Luck} was, after all, {Potent Luck}.
Yun Yao retrieved a worn lipstick from her small pouch, twisted off the cap, and gently applied it to her lower lip. Then, pressing her lips together, she added a touch of vitality to her pale complexion in the dim room.
"My {Potent Luck}..."
Her eyes sharpened, and with a casual flick, she tossed the lipstick into the air.
The lipstick soared high, tracing a flawless arc before descending toward the floor.
{Bang}.
The uncapped lipstick landed upright, standing steadily on the ground.
Bending down, Yun Yao retrieved it and tossed it into the air once more.
Again, the lipstick landed perfectly upright.
After the third toss, Yun Yao’s confidence grew.
Her {Potent Luck} had indeed arrived, though how powerful this stroke of {luck} would remain unknown...
She held the lipstick cap in her left hand, raising it high into the air, with the open end pointing skyward.
Then, with fierce determination, she grasped the lipstick in her right hand and hurled it forcefully against the wall.
The lipstick ricocheted wildly like a stray bullet, striking the walls repeatedly, each time landing on its base, before finally bouncing off the screen in front of Yun Yao and soaring back into the air.
She closed her eyes, deliberately relinquishing control over her movements. In the next instant, the airborne lipstick slid perfectly back into its cap on its own.
Pure and unadulterated luck.
"Very good..." Yun Yao opened her eyes and tossed the lipstick back into her bag. "My {Luck} is strong. It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced such formidable {Luck}. Let’s hope it holds on..."
Lowering her head, she pondered her strategy anew. By now, Chen Junnan should be dead, yet Black Tortoise claimed that everything was {within normal parameters}... Could it be that the game only truly ends once it reaches full conclusion?
Since Terrestrial Snake was already in game, there was no reason for him to withdraw midway.
Or perhaps someone else had staked their life, preventing Terrestrial Snake’s escape?
Whatever the outcome, with {Potent Luck} on her side, even if the iron ball hovered above her head, it would never come crashing down.
It would get stuck, break, or crack—but it simply would not fall.
This was the essence of {Potent Luck}.
…
Meanwhile, in Zhong Zhen’s room.
After the deafening sound settled amidst the distant dust, Zhong Zhen opened his eyes in disbelief.
"A miracle...?"
He hesitated for a moment before slowly smiling. "Someone has made a move at this very moment. Hard to believe it’s anything but divine intervention."
After a brief pause, Zhong Zhen turned and draped his suit jacket back over his shoulders.
If even a one-in-ten-thousand chance could come to fruition, what else was truly impossible?
That {Penalty Proxy} was indeed here.
How staggeringly slim were the odds of this event?
{Penalty Proxy} was not only present, but had intervened at precisely the right moment to rescue him from certain death.
If this was not the work of {God} providence, then what else could it be?
"Since God has aided me, it is now my turn to repay that debt," Zhong Zhen said, brushing back the strands of hair falling across his forehead, his expression turning markedly cold and ruthless. "My dear neighbor… It’s now my turn to return the favor."
In the adjacent room, the white-clad young woman slowly furrowed her brow.
She believed she had fully mastered the rules, but how could the iron ball have ended up there…?
TL Note: Rant goes here ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)
