Chapter 40: Only One Can Survive!

Seeing that they had obtained the props, April quietly hid the catnip and hurried over to them.

"Brother, sister, I'm scared being alone. Can I come with you?"

April raised her hand, tugging at the woman's hem, and looked at her with a pitiful expression. She had observed them from a distance earlier; this woman was clearly the decision-maker. If the woman agreed to let her stay, she could join them. If they encountered a cat-headed monster, she could use them to exhaust the monster's resources. Once their props were spent, she would let them hold off the monster while she took the chance to escape. As long as she wasn't too unlucky, she should be able to make it to the end of the dungeon!

The young man had no idea how deep a child's thoughts could run. Seeing the woman hesitate, he immediately chimed in.

"Sis, why don't we take her with us?"

"But we don't know her. We don't know her background." The woman shook her head, maintaining her wariness of April. In the dungeon, she trusted no one but her younger brother. Bringing someone of unknown origin along made her feel uneasy.

"Sister, please take me! I promise I'll be good and won't cause any trouble." April tugged at her hem again, refusing to give up. These two were her life insurance; she had to cling to them no matter what.

The young man nodded eagerly. "Sis, look how small she is, and there are no adults around. If we don't take her, she'll die."

Knowing what the woman was worried about, he pulled her aside and lowered his voice. "Sis, she looks like she's only five or six. A child this young couldn't have any malicious intentions."

"Don't underestimate children! Anyone who can survive in the Ghost Forest is not simple!"

The woman turned and looked back at April. April, who had been pricking up her ears to listen, immediately put on a smiling face when she saw the woman turn.

The young man followed the woman's gaze, tilting his head in confusion. "But she doesn't look like someone with deep schemes to me. Maybe she cleared the level before just because of good luck?"

The woman's brows furrowed slightly. She turned to her brother, at a loss for words. While her brother’s theory wasn't impossible, the probability was extremely low. She didn't want to gamble, but her brother seemed very keen on keeping the child. After a moment of hesitation, she relented.

"If you want to take her, fine! But she must keep a safe distance from us!"

"Okay, okay, okay!"

The young man's eyes curved as he smiled and nodded. He turned to April and said happily, "My sister agreed to let you join us, but you can't get too close. Keep a one-meter distance!"

"Three meters!" Before April could nod, the woman suddenly interjected.

The young man turned to her, acting spoiled. "Sis, three meters is too far. If there's a monster, we won't be able to protect her in time."

"Take it or leave it." The woman didn't want to waste any more time and turned to walk away.

April didn't want to give up just like that and nodded quickly. "Brother, that's fine with me!"

As she spoke, April took a few steps back to maintain a distance of three or four meters. The woman paused and looked back at her. Seeing the girl feigning innocence, the woman felt even more uneasy. Logically, a child this young shouldn't have such a clear concept of distance. Yet, this child seemed different. She was far too intelligent for her age.

In Room 1, the countdown ended. Seeing there was only one last chance left, everyone panicked. At this moment, they stopped killing each other and began to scatter, searching for props that could eliminate the anomalies. However, although many props had respawned, they couldn't find a single one capable of dealing with the entities.

"Where are the props? Where are the props?"

"It's too late, it's too late. When the lights go out next time, they won't come back on!"

The group searched in the dark for a long time, but found nothing. Seeing the lights overhead flicker back on, most gave up on searching and found hidden spots to take cover.

"Daddy, why hasn't Brother found us yet?" Dudu sat in a corner, resting her chin on her chubby hands.

Ling Yun hoped Zhang Yangfan would never find them, so he could spend more time alone with Dudu. "Maybe he got lost!"

"Brother is so stupid!" Dudu sighed, lifting her soft, fair face to look at Ling Yun. "Daddy, let's go out and find Brother!"

"Okay." Ling Yun replied reluctantly. He looked down at Dudu, hesitating over whether to take her little hand. Dudu suddenly stood up and placed her small hand into his palm.

"Let's go! Let's go find Brother!"

Elsewhere, Zhang Yangfan was moodily counting down. When the corridor had gone dark earlier, he had been desperate to go find Dudu. However, his luck was poor; he hadn't floated very far before he bumped into an elderly man. The moment the old man saw him, his heart rate spiked, and he was erased by the Ghost Forest.

Zhang Yangfan: "..."

He just wanted to see Dudu; why was it so difficult? Oh well, nine seconds left. Once the countdown ended, not even these broken rules could stop him from seeing Dudu!

"Three, two, one."

The countdown ended, and the lights in the corridor went out again. Zhang Yangfan sniffed out the ghost energy on Ling Yun and followed the trail. An emotionless broadcast voice echoed from overhead:

"Countdown concluded. Hidden gameplay initiated. Mode One: Eliminate the anomaly to clear the level for everyone. Mode Two: Use the props in your hands to end the lives of your companions. When only three people remain, the level is cleared. Remember, this is an individual battle; no one is worth your trust!"

As the voice faded, everyone froze. From this moment on, the real individual battle began. Former teammates had now become opponents.

The stutterer in the three-person team couldn't help but break the silence in the quiet air. "W-we sh-shouldn't have an internal conflict. He said th-there will be th-three people who s-survive. As long as we h-hide until the end, we w-will definitely s-survive!"

"Impossible. If we just keep hiding, there will still be at least four people left on the field at the end." The man with glasses frowned and pushed up his frames.

The curly-haired woman listened to their positions and silently moved away from them. "He's right. Besides us three, there will be one other person. That person will have survived the slaughter and could easily kill us. And don't forget, there is still one person among us who has obtained the protection of an NPC. If he isn't the one who survives the slaughter, then two of us will have to die!"

As soon as the curly-haired woman finished speaking, the other two fell silent.