TDU Chapter 501
Chapter 501 Face-off
Song Seven’s words cut straight to the heart of Terrestrial Rabbit’s irritation.
The rules clearly stipulated that Terrestrial Rabbit could only carry out a hunt if he was in the same room as the participants. With the two of them now in different rooms, he dared only to intimidate. He did not dare truly make a move.
“Right now, it looks like you’re the one choking me,” Song Seven remarked slowly, raising his right hand. “But shouldn’t you be the one at a disadvantage? If this punch lands… you won’t die, but you’ll be in pain for days.”
Seeing that fist, faintly exuding a dangerous aura as it drew closer, Terrestrial Rabbit’s nerves tensed. Taking that punch would not kill him, and Song Seven would not be breaking any rules. Still, who would willingly add another wound to their own body?
Before Song Seven could strike, Terrestrial Rabbit’s thick arm jerked as he flung Song Seven away with brutal force, smashing him hard into the wall. The impact sent dust cascading down from the walls throughout the room.
“Cough!” Song Seven spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed onto the floor.
“You didn’t survive because you’re lucky,” Terrestrial Rabbit sneered. “You survived because I showed mercy. Killing you would break the rules, but crippling you would not. What makes you think your flesh-and-blood body can truly clash head-on with mine?”
Song Seven felt as though every bone in his body had shattered. He could only lie there, retching blood again and again. From the very start, this struggle resembled a feral dog facing an elephant. No matter how many bite marks it left, the elephant needed only a single step to crush the dog to death.
Terrestrial Rabbit turned his back and deliberately walked away, glancing back repeatedly at Song Seven. Only after confirming that he truly could not get back up did he move to the other side of the room and wait.
A long time passed without any movement. Ultimately, Terrestrial Rabbit lifted his head and shouted toward a corner of the room, “Can’t you see? He can’t move anymore! Hurry up and start the next round!”
Song Seven strained to raise his head. Though only a single loudspeaker hung in the corner, Terrestrial Rabbit spoke as though he were speaking to a surveillance camera.
Was there someone else present?
Or… was there someone above Terrestrial Rabbit?
Only a few seconds later, the loudspeaker emitted a {rustling} sound before it announced, “All {participants} have completed their actions. {Earthly Branch}, please proceed.”
Terrestrial Rabbit snorted coldly and reached out to open the door. It was not locked. After stepping into the next room, he decisively turned right and headed for a second door. After that, no further sounds could be heard.
“Damn it…” Song Seven braced himself against the floor and crawled forward with great difficulty. “The rabbit’s gone… xiōngdìs… you all have to get out, fast…”
His vision swam in waves of darkness. A metallic sweetness surged up his throat, and he spat another mouthful of blood onto the ground.
‘How troublesome… any bone can break, just not the spine. If that snaps, I’ll be dead weight…’
It seemed Terrestrial Rabbit had quickly used up all his action points. His entire round had lasted less than ten seconds.
Song Seven wanted to force himself to stand and reunite with his teammates as soon as possible, yet his entire body was devoid of strength. ‘It’s now the {participants}’ turn… I need to—’
{Click}.
Song Seven’s rear door was opened with utmost quiet, and with barely audible footsteps approaching, a firm hand slipped under his arm and lifted him steadily up from the floor.
Song Seven’s expression shifted. He turned back in a daze, only to see Cui Fourteen stepping out from the room where he had thrown the divine artifact. She raised a finger to her lips and shot Song Seven a meaningful look.
Though confusion was written all over Song Seven’s face, he knew better than to speak now as any sound would expose his teammates’ position.
Without another word, Cui Fourteen stuffed the divine artifact into Song Seven’s hand and shoved him through the door she had come from. At the same time, the broadcast in the corner of the room rang out once more.
The tempo of the game seemed to have accelerated from some unseen moment onward. Both {Earthly Branch} and {participants} began moving rapidly, and even Terrestrial Rabbit in the distance slowly knitted his brows.
‘What’s going on…?’ There was something off. Even if they all acted at once, a heavily injured Song Seven should not have been able to move with such speed.
But the answer soon came to him.
Has the one(s) above already started ignoring Song Seven each round, assuming by default that he was no longer capable of acting?
Terrestrial Rabbit approached the door before him. This door had been locked in the previous round; he couldn’t open it directly. In this round, he had no choice but to spend two action points to {unlock}, then another action point to {open the door}.
He completed the sequence swiftly, and everything unfolded exactly as he had expected. He was still on the outer edge of the map. Every room he passed through here had only three doors. Unfortunately, even at his position, Terrestrial Rabbit had already made out the next door he needed to pass through had been locked at some point. To make it to Room {Sixteen} would require him two more rounds.
In the next round, he would enter Room {Twelve} and unlock its door. One round after that, he would {open the door} and {move}, fully stepping into the room.
As long as he seized this critical choke point, no one would be able to escape this game.
Whether it was that runt whose head had already been severed, or Song Seven whom he had beaten into the ground, even if the two of them dragged their last ounce of strength into Room {Sixteen}, they would only end up collapsing into his hands.
Terrestrial Rabbit turned his head and listened to his surroundings. A faint ringing buzzed in his ears, the sounds around him intermittent and indistinct. Yet if he listened carefully, there was indeed a soft scraping noise nearby, as though it were not far away.
Because his speed surpassed theirs, the others must all be rushing in this direction. Terrestrial Rabbit calmly reviewed the overall situation. His fight with Song Seven had lasted at most a single round, while the other party still had to search for the last prop at Room {Fourteen} before detouring toward Room {Sixteen}. Whoever arrived first could only be himself.
He steadied his breath and waited for the broadcast to sound once more, as it was currently the {participants}’ turn.
…
Song Seven had already regrouped with the others. He had not expected everyone to be waiting for him inside such a cramped room—including Jiang Ten, whose head had already been reattached.
No one dared to speak. They merely exchanged glances and nodded to one another. Even now, Song Seven still had not fully grasped their location.
All he saw was Chen Junnan leading everyone through a door that had already been opened. On the walls of both rooms were the same four words: {All personnel remain silent}.
The group slowly came to a halt before the final door. Song Seven realized this was the decisive moment. Both they and Terrestrial Rabbit were advancing toward this room.
Now the only question was which route had fewer locked doors. That alone would determine who reached the final room first.
Chen Junnan drew in a steady breath and reached out to unlock the door before them. Then he turned back toward the group and raised his hand in a {halt} gesture.
This round allowed him to unlock the door, but not for everyone to enter Room {Sixteen}. After all, he had already performed {unlocking}, consuming two action points, leaving him unable to {move}.
“All {participants} have completed their actions. {Earthly Branch}, please proceed.”
A cold laugh escaped Terrestrial Rabbit. Everything was proceeding according to his plan. He and the {participants} should now occupy two diagonally adjacent rooms, yet strangely, he had not heard the faintest sound of the other door opening.
TL Note: Andddd we got another five-star thank you guys, you are amazing!
