042 Chaotic Numbers

The dead cannot return to life; that is all I can offer myself as comfort as I rejoin the others. Although Wu Ziwei was not one of our group, her importance to Sun Cheng was undeniable.

No one spoke. Sun Cheng walked off alone.

“It’ll be all right, Zijian,” Chen Hao, the big oaf, clapped my shoulder in consolation, while Tanhou merely glanced at me.

After offering a few simple words of comfort, Lin Wan began discussing the numbers for the second round with me.

It was then I noticed Shan Feng was missing as well. Had he not joined our team, Wen Lingyu and I wouldn't have gone out searching for numbers, and none of what followed would have happened. I stubbornly pinned all the blame on him.

“The numbers have changed again this round.”

“What’s yours?” Lin Wan asked directly. I showed him my palm, revealing the conspicuous 35.

He frowned and showed me his own number—35 on his shoulder.

But his 35 was a different color from mine.

His was the same black as last round, but mine was red.

I then asked the others for their numbers.

“Han Xue, Sun Cheng, and Lu Ling are all 7. Shan Feng is 14. Chen Hao and Zhou Zhenyu are 49, and Wen Lingyu is 0.”

However, except for Sun Cheng and Han Xue, whose numbers were red, everyone else’s were black.

Soon after, the command for the second round was posted in the group chat.

“The requirement for the second round is to form the number 42. Please combine as soon as possible within 10 minutes.”

“Friendly reminder: red numbers indicate subtraction.”

Only then did I understand the significance of my red number. Once the rules were clear, Lin Wan quickly deduced a possible combination.

“Chen Hao’s 49 and Han Xue’s 7.”

“Zhou Zhenyu and Sun Cheng.”

“If they pair up and use subtraction, it works. Then I can add with Lu Ling to make 42.”

“But you and Shan Feng…”

He hesitated. With this distribution, everyone else could survive, but Shan Feng and I might not. Subtracting our numbers gave -21, which was 63 away from 42.

Wen Lingyu was unconcerned—she could pair with anyone.

But before long, a familiar figure came into view.

“Su Mu? What are you doing here?” I eyed Su Mu warily. Sure enough, Zhang Yisheng followed behind him.

Just as Lin Wan had guessed, the two of them had teamed up.

“Zhang Yisheng and I have 35 and 28, respectively.”

“What?”

Could it be such a coincidence? We were missing 63, and here they were, with just the right numbers.

Thanks to their cooperation, everyone in our group survived the second round, while three or four more people perished on Lin Xiayue’s side.

“How did you find us?” Lin Wan asked directly after checking the numbers for the third round.

Zhang Yisheng shot Lin Wan a contemptuous glance, as if the question was idiotic.

“Check your phone.”

Only then did I notice the change: a small map had appeared at the bottom of the group chat, allowing us to see the locations of other players. Dots marked each person’s position and number.

No wonder Hu Xing’er had found me so easily before, and why Zhang Yisheng and Su Mu knew our numbers matched perfectly with theirs.

But now another question arose: why had Sun Cheng appeared so suddenly at the moment of Wu Ziwei’s death? Was it all just too coincidental?

Could someone have foreseen her death and deliberately called Sun Cheng over?

“We’ve got trouble,” Lin Wan interrupted at the worst possible moment, pointing at his phone.

I saw the dots representing Lin Xiayue’s group racing toward us.

Within minutes, Lin Xiayue and her team of girls confronted us. Only a scant few remained behind her: Hu Xing’er, Chu Yuyan, and another girl in a hood. Lin Xiayue stared at us, clearly preparing to make a move.

With the number combination game now in its third round, the number of players had dwindled dramatically. On Lin Xiayue’s side were Hu Xing’er and the hooded girl; Su Mu and Zhang Yisheng had teamed up; and our side was a large group: myself, Tanhou, Chen Hao, Sun Cheng, Lin Wan, Lu Ling, Han Xue, Shan Feng, and Wen Lingyu.

From over twenty people, only fourteen remained. When this final round ended, perhaps we could all return home.

But how many of us would survive?

A sharp pain shot through my palm. I glanced down and saw a new number appear: 2—a red 2, indicating subtraction.

The others’ numbers appeared as well. I noticed three special cases: Han Xue, Lin Wan, and Wen Lingyu all had 0.

Tanhou and Sun Cheng’s numbers were marked with an X—wait, upon closer inspection, it was a multiplication sign.

Lu Ling had -1, Chen Hao had 3. If we combined our group’s numbers, the total would be zero.

Once again, we nearly overlooked the newcomer, Shan Feng, who had 5. He shrugged indifferently, knowing that joining our combination would also result in zero.

A new message sounded from my phone.

“The final required number is 0. Friendly reminder: make good use of multiplication. Unpaired members will be eliminated in five minutes.”

As expected, it was zero. With this, there was no reason for conflict.

I exchanged a glance with Lin Wan, who immediately prepared to activate the acceleration power of the Six of Spades.

But we were a step too late. Lin Xiayue glared at us; the power of the Seven of Hearts ignited, and a giant, winged serpent materialized behind her. A crushing force bore down upon us.

“Gravity Domain!”

The immense pressure forced my face against the ground. Su Mu and Zhang Yisheng, caught within her range, were equally immobilized.

“Don’t even think of escaping. Stay put and let us combine the numbers,” Lin Xiayue commanded. “You’re not qualified to break free of my Gravity Domain.”

I struggled to mouth words to Tanhou, who nodded. Then, the Seven of Clubs in his hand silently sank into the ground.

“White Bone Pulse—March of the Dead!”

With a sound of earth splitting, several bone spikes erupted from beneath Lin Xiayue’s feet.

But she had anticipated this and floated into the air; Hu Xing’er and the hooded girl floated up as well.

“Did you think I’d be unprepared?” Hu Xing’er gave me a dazzling smile.

The Five of Hearts flashed in her hand. “Air ability—Levitation!”

Lin Xiaoxiao’s face darkened as she spoke to Tanhou.

“You’re dead.”

But Tanhou’s expression didn’t change; the bone spikes’ true purpose was not attack, but to launch someone skyward. With their sudden emergence, one could use the momentum to leap upward.

Lin Wan’s gaze never left Lin Xiayue, so—

Under a third party’s watchful eye, Sun Cheng activated the second ability of his Six of Hearts: “Schrödinger’s Cat.”

A blue kitten-shaped phantom appeared, and Sun Cheng vanished.

His power had developed two uses: one, setting a short-distance teleportation point; the other, spatial shifting within the line of sight of a third party.

In other words, Sun Cheng could instantly move to any place visible to anyone present.

He suddenly appeared next to Lin Xiayue, delivering a swift kick. She was caught off guard and fell to the ground.

But before she hit, Hu Xing’er caught her, suspending her in midair. Her air ability was a headache to deal with.

“Lin Xiayue’s number is one. Hu Xing’er’s is negative one,” Lin Wan whispered to me. I gaped. “Damn, you two are a perfect pair—why are you even fighting?”

Hearing this, I felt the battle was meaningless, but Lin Xiayue showed no intention of stopping. Instead, she increased the gravity crushing us. Already pressed to the ground, I now felt my organs being squeezed, as if about to be crushed.

“Lin Xiayue, don’t push us too far!”