Chapter 53 Elimination

Qin Changsheng pulled the rope and swam toward the direction where Cao Mengmeng was rowing.

The lake surface was in complete chaos right now, and things were not much better beneath the water. Underwater visibility was extremely poor, and Qin Changsheng could see a few dark shadows thrashing past him, stirring up a flurry of bubbles around.

That being said, the commotion Mihuaxia created on the surface actually worked to Qin Changsheng's advantage. Thanks to all his fuss up there, absolutely no one was paying attention to the petty tricks Qin Changsheng and the others were pulling down here.

Following along and swimming underwater for a while, Qin Changsheng finally spotted a calm figure in the turbulent depths, looking just as composed as he was. Lu Qingyu was floating in the water with his limbs gently swaying, and a rope was similarly tied around his waist.

The moment Qin Changsheng saw him, he hurried over, gesturing frantically. Without Lu Qingyu opening his mouth, a voice directly echoed in Qin Changsheng's mind: "Don't panic. We can communicate directly using our Shanhai Beasts."

"Holy cow, this convenient?" Qin Changsheng hurriedly tried it out as soon as he heard, and it actually worked.

"Looks like you're not completely an idiot; you can actually take in what I say." Lu Qingyu nodded with a look of relief. "Now that we've successfully rendezvoused, don't rush. Let's swim aside and hide first."

Lu Qingyu took Qin Changsheng by the hand and led him deeper toward the bottom of the water.

"How much deeper do we have to go? The water pressure is getting heavier and heavier!"

Qin Changsheng could barely take it and couldn't help complaining.

"The deeper we go, the harder it is for sunlight to penetrate, and the darker it gets. Ordinary people's eyes can't see a thing in deep water." Lu Qingyu kept moving without stopping, explaining in his mind, "Our Shanhai Beasts can replace our vision to perceive the surrounding environment. The deeper the water, the more advantageous it is for us."

Qin Changsheng suddenly understood. No wonder everything around him looked so bright now—turns out he was viewing the world through Momo's eyes.

"In this game, don't be in a rush to make a move," Lu Qingyu continued. "One of the behavioral rules of Shanhai Beasts is not to easily reveal your abilities. Among the previous survivors, there are definitely other ability users with Shanhai Beasts, and their abilities are all wildcards. Exposing our trump cards too early is bad for us."

"Then what should we do?"

"Hide first and let them consume each other for a bit," Lu Qingyu said. "I've observed before that among the surviving contestants who previously participated in the game, only Mihuaxia and I are left. Now that Mihuaxia is on the lake surface, he poses no threat to us. Underwater, someone with my gaming experience has a much better grasp on winning the game."

"Are you really so sure that Mihuaxia will just let us win the game so quietly?" Qin Changsheng asked the doubt that had been lingering in his heart. "What is up with that guy anyway? Compared to the last game, he's way too quiet this time! Is he really not plotting something malicious?"

"Of course he's plotting something malicious. That Mihuaxia is a lunatic without any bottom line," Lu Qingyu shook his head. "But I can guarantee you that he won't easily attack others. He's doing it for his own good."

"For his own good? What do you mean?"

"The 'Earth' group games are team-based, two people to a team. In a team, as long as one person is eliminated, the other is also directly judged as defeated."

Lu Qingyu explained Qin Changsheng's doubts as clearly as possible: "It couldn't be simpler if Mihuaxia just wanted to protect himself. But if the person teamed up with him gets wiped out, he loses too."

"So, he also has to figure out a way to protect the person teamed up with him?" Qin Changsheng seemed to understand something.

"Exactly," Lu Qingyu nodded. "Someone like Mihuaxia won't trust anyone; he only trusts himself. His personal strength is unquestionably formidable, but who can guarantee that his teammate is just as strong as he is?"

"Once his teammate is eliminated, he gets knocked out along with them. Therefore, to him, this team game is simply his nemesis. And conversely, that works to our advantage."

"To ensure his teammate doesn't get eliminated, he only has one method," Qin Changsheng understood in an instant. "And that's to make all the other contestants stay far away from the waters where he is!"

"Correct." Lu Qingyu wore an expression that said 'this student can still be taught'. "The explosions he set off on the water surface were meant to drive everyone nearby away. Everyone underwater is connected to their teammate on the surface; once the people on the surface are driven away, naturally no one underwater can approach Mihuaxia's teammate."

"In this game, he chose the most conservative tactic, and only this tactic can guarantee he won't be eliminated."

"In other words, this time, Mihuaxia won't participate in any other bloodshed. As long as we maintain distance from Mihuaxia, we eliminate our biggest threat."

Lu Qingyu's analytical breakdown made everything click for Qin Changsheng. In the last game, Mihuaxia had left an indelible psychological shadow on him. But since this murderous maniac was essentially kicked out of the picture, they should be quite safe this time, right?

"I know what you're thinking." However, Lu Qingyu's next sentence shattered Qin Changsheng's illusions. "You think that as long as Mihuaxia doesn't get involved, nobody else will die, right?"

Qin Changsheng was taken aback: "Isn't that the case?"

"Sigh, and that's why they say rotten wood cannot be carved," Lu Qingyu sighed. "Did you forget? This is a game, and games have winners and losers. Do you really think the only threats we face come from Mihuaxia?"

"No," Qin Changsheng shook his head. "But without Mihuaxia, protecting the others from those monsters would be much simpler."

"Monsters?" Lu Qingyu frowned.

"Yeah, monsters, just like the mountain of corpses in the first game." Qin Changsheng sensed something was amiss from Lu Qingyu's slightly shifting expression. "What's wrong? Isn't this game about wiping out the same kind of monsters in these waters?"

"No, it isn't." To his surprise, Lu Qingyu shook his head. "There are no monsters in this game."

"What did you say?!" Qin Changsheng froze. He had assumed the winning condition for the game was just like the last one—that as long as they eliminated a boss-like monster, everything would end.

"Only the first game required eliminating monsters to clear the stage, because the presence of monsters thinned out the number of ordinary people in the game, allowing more players with Shanhai Beast abilities to survive," Lu Qingyu said with a solemn expression. "You have no idea what the real purpose of these games is. They aren't looking to watch a massacre of humans by beasts; what they want to see is humans slaughtering each other."

Qin Changsheng's eyes widened: "You mean..."

"That's right," Lu Qingyu's voice was as cold as ice. "In this game, the opponents we have to face are people—people just like you and me!"