novelraw Chapter 146: Rather Than Elimination, It's More Like Selection
Chapter 146: Rather Than Elimination, It's More Like Selection
Xie Antong: ......
Did she notice something?
Of course she didn’t!
There’s no f***ing way she could’ve noticed. She blinked like crazy, staring at the card Lu Ce threw out.
I won?
I beat the strongest player? Was he going easy on me? Or am I hallucinating?
Of course, once the facts were confirmed, she quickly calmed down.
What does this mean... what is he doing....
“Sin” had already guessed her strategy. He knew the card was rock, not scissors—in other words, he did it on purpose again!
Showing gentlemanly conduct to let her win? If Xie Antong really dared to think that, then she must be insane.Unconsciously, she thought of “Sin’s” 725 Stars earlier.
He’s throwing the match on purpose again?
What did he see this time?
Xie Antong’s rusted brain started working backwards, but reverse thinking was hard to begin with, especially in a game like this.
It’s easy to think about how to win. But what kind of logic is behind choosing to lose?!
She looked suspiciously at Slime, but Slime just looked innocent and even said to her,
【Ah, then congratulations?】
At this point, Lu Ce, who’d kept the suspense going long enough, finally spoke up.
“Honestly, all the talking is pointless. This game was meaningless from the start. I gave you that drug mostly so I could feel better about it. I didn’t want to lose to an idiot.”
“I told you before, you’re facing the strongest player, and you’d better stay sharp and give me your full attention.”
“That sentence was the biggest lie. And out of everything I said, that was the one line you never doubted.”
“Your biggest problem is that you focused on me too much.”
Lu Ce spoke while drawing a circle on the table with his finger.
Then he tapped the center of the circle with his fingertip.
“There’s a concept in visual effects. Not sure if you know it.”
“When all your focus is on one point, you ignore everything else.”
“Your weapon is the All-Seeing Eye, but you stared at me too much. From the moment I entered the game, I could feel a heavy sense of dread—it was coming from you.”
“You paid too much attention to me, and ignored... this is a game, remember...”
After he said that, Xie Antong’s pupils began to dilate. In the rewind of her mental palace, she finally started to face it all.
Maybe she was too afraid. Maybe it was the unpleasantness from last time. Maybe she just wanted to prove herself too badly. Or maybe “Sin” was just too flashy this time...
In the world constructed by the All-Seeing Eye, it was like only “Sin” was in color—everything else was black and white!
This is a Hell Mode Game! Was she... too arrogant?
Seeing the change in her expression, Lu Ce turned his mask toward Slime, who was still quietly standing there after taking a shot from him.
“I’m just going to point out a few things.”
“This game said that the more Stars you have, the better the reward. Said low Stars come with penalties.”
“But it never said anything about Stars being related to game clearance.”
“Also, this annoying guy said it right from the beginning—thrill and fun are the real themes of this game.”
“Winning or losing? Not so much.”
【......】
Slime didn’t say a word, standing there silently, for reasons unknown.
Lu Ce turned back to Xie Antong.
“Let’s look at who stayed each round.”
“Who was left in the first game?”
“Gambling addicts who lost everything but didn’t dare leave, afraid of losing body parts, and players who thought they were strong.”
“The second time, who stayed for the resurrection round?”
“The strongest ones who got voted out! And the five gamblers who lost the hardest!”
“The ones who left were all happy. But who were they? The in-betweens. In short... trash!”
“That was the official label Slime gave them when they left!”
“Trash!”
From that point on, Slime never said anything to lighten the mood again. That feeling Xie Antong had before, like “it’s become a different person,” became even stronger.
“So instead of saying those who left got a chance to clear the game, maybe it’s more accurate to say... they were eliminated!”
“Rather than elimination, it’s more like the game was... filtering them!”
“The key to this game might not be about how you move forward... but how you stay!”
After Lu Ce finished, he kicked his feet up onto the table and turned to Slime.
“Am I right?”
【......】
Xie Antong’s mouth hung open, her eyes blinking rapidly like she was trying to process it all.
She suddenly felt like the whole world had become clearer. The mountain that had weighed on her chest finally settled down, making her thoughts sharper.
Looking at it now, so many things that confused her before made sense.
Her lips trembled, but she still raised some doubts:
“But... having a lot of Stars definitely means better rewards.”
“You didn’t have to throw away those 725. With how much people hate you, even if there was a vote, you’d definitely be the one they kicked out.”
“You could’ve still joined this so-called resurrection match.”
“But I never thought I’d win with 725 Stars anyway.” Lu Ce shrugged.
“Besides, the most important part is.....”
“That! Just! Wouldn’t! Be! Thrilling!”
“Hahaha, gotta remember the game rules!”
With that, Lu Ce's urge to show off had been fully satisfied. Everything was out in the open. The last two cards didn’t matter anymore, so he casually tossed them away.
“Alright, that’s it. With your skill, you should’ve figured out the real key to this game.”
“You won. Yup, beat the strongest player. You can go home and write this in your family records—maybe even give it its own chapter.”
【Room One Game Over. Winner: “Blank”!】
Slime’s voice rang out, and the next second, the entire room vanished into thin air, as if it had never existed.
At the same time, four more voices sounded. The other resurrection players also exited the game and stood on the ship.
As if everyone’s games had ended at exactly the same time!
Some were happy, some were upset. Slime announced the final five results. The ultimate battle was finally over.
In this 100-player Game Instance, a victor and losers still had to be decided in the end.
But after Slime finished reading out the names and the Light Beam enveloped the winner, the remaining eight players were all stunned.
They all turned their eyes, in perfect unison, to the high-spirited Lu Ce.
—You lost?!