Chapter 55
Everyone was stunned, and Si Shi stared blankly at the pale golden light circle beneath his feet. He then looked up at the distinct bright blue light circle under Bai Ruogu’s feet.
It was clearly 2%, yet it was several degrees brighter than his own light circle, and even the color was different from everyone else’s!
Thinking about the trigger for the favorability, Si Shi felt like spitting out blood.
He usually performed three kneels and nine kowtows, practically worshiping God as if they were his ancestors. After all those busy days, he only gained 5%. Yet, the other person, who didn’t care much, managed to gain 2% of favor!
With these thoughts, he looked at Bai Ruogu with jealousy, almost oozing with bitterness.
Why was this guy from a remote place so lucky? He refused to believe this guy could be more favored than him!
He firmly believed that since he came from the Green Camp, he was definitely favored by God. The guy in front of him was just lucky. In front of God, this guy was nothing compared to him!
He confidently snorted at Bai Ruogu and then walked ahead with his companions.
Bai Ruogu helped Yang Liu, whose jaw had dropped, and calmly pulled the stunned child along.
Based on the reactions of those people just now, he probably has some understanding of the favorability of this 2%.
He couldn’t help but laugh. Su Mou, that guy, always found ways to give him an advantage.
He had thought of being self-reliant.
But it wasn’t impossible, he just had to act faster than Su Mou.
Bai Ruogu knew a lot, so how could he not understand these people’s attitudes towards him?
With his hands in his pockets, he looked ahead at the people walking in the dark. The light cast their shadows long behind them.
He left a faint smile on his lips and shook his head helplessly; they were just a bunch of kids.
As they walked, the previously uneven ground gradually turned flat.
Neatly arranged dark gray tiles lay beneath their feet, and the stone walls, smooth as if cut by a knife, plunged directly into the ground. Dim flames burned in specific slots, causing the temperature to drop sharply. From time to time, air currents passed through the passage, bringing a sudden chill.
The unknown was the most terrifying. Si Shi looked around in fear, dreading that a monster he had never seen before might suddenly appear and reach for him with its claws.
The passage was extremely silent. Everyone could hear each other’s breathing. Apart from Si Shi, the others were seasoned fighters. Mu Li gave a signal with his eyes, and everyone nodded and spread out.
The strong ones took the rear, walking with their backs to everyone. Lou Hua walked in the middle, staring intently at the stone slabs and cautiously watching for any movement.
Mu Li held his gun and cautiously advanced into the dark path.
“Lao Bai…” Yang Liu whispered in Bai Ruogu’s ear, “Do you think something’s about to happen? I see everyone…”
The place was so quiet that even Yang Liu’s small voice was heard clearly by those from the Green Camp with enhanced hearing.
Bai Ruogu didn’t turn his head, instead, he looked deeply ahead. Reflections of something appeared in his eyes, but he shook his head and chuckled.
“Hey, Lao Bai, what are you laughing at?”
Bai Ruogu replied softly, “Nothing.”
“Ah?”
“Nothing to be concerned about,” he said lightly, as if everything was as he said.
Mu Li’s eyes remained calm. He turned his head slightly, glancing backward.
Lou Hua scoffed, and Si Shi muttered, “Ignorance is ignorance. They can’t even tell whether someone is alive or dead.”
Just then, a sudden anomaly occurred. Mu Li instantly spread his arms to stop everyone, looking ahead with vigilance.
Everyone looked forward, still seeing only darkness, but they had a bad premonition.
Following Mu Li’s gaze, Si Shi saw a black line on the ground not far ahead. He gasped, “What is that?”
Lou Hua tightened his collar, a bead of sweat trickling down his temple.
“It’s familiar. I remember encountering it before. What was it?”
Mu Li’s voice was cold, “It’s a checkpoint modeled after ancient mechanisms. The game has modified the ancient mechanisms, making them dozens of times harder.”
He pointed at the tiles below, “There are fifteen tiles in each row, but only one tile can be stepped on at most, sometimes none.”
Looking ahead, Mu Li’s face grew more serious.
“Each tile is about thirty centimeters long, and it’s estimated to be about three hundred meters ahead, meaning there are a thousand rows of tiles.”
He furrowed his brows tightly, as if suddenly realizing something, and turned to carefully inspect the inscriptions on the wall.
Brushing away the dust, Mu Li saw the indented characters on the wall.
“Limited to three attempts, starting with… a formula…”
“What’s wrong, Brother Mu?” Si Shi asked nervously.
Mu Li closed his eyes, rubbing his temples in frustration.
“I’ve been through similar checkpoints before, and every step in the checkpoint could be calculated using formulas. I passed it then, but now it seems like I was just lucky and the questions were all basic.”
“And what about this time?” Si Shi stuttered.
“This time, well…” He sighed heavily, “the equations are incredibly complex. Plus, without pen and paper and no retreat allowed, even if we calculate together, each step takes over an hour.”
“Ah, this…”
Luo Hua scratched his head. “So what does ‘three chances’ mean?”
“Three chances to make mistakes.”
“That’s good.” Si Shi patted his chest.
Mu Li looked at him deeply and said, “Do you know that once a mistake is made, the underground stones will be disrupted directly, rendering all previous calculations invalid.”
“Damn!” someone exclaimed in shock. “If the difficulty is this high, why bother playing?”
“What if you step on the wrong one?”
Mu Li had a cold expression on his face and made a throat-slitting gesture to everyone.
Everyone: …
As they all sat down and began frantically calculating in their heads, Bai Ruogu calmly said to Yang Liu, “Let’s go.”
“Go where?”
Bai Ruogu gestured ahead with his eyes and stepped steadily through the crowd’s gaps.
“Hey! What’s this about?” Yang Liu hurriedly followed.
Bai Ruogu glanced at the formulas in front of everyone, then calmly stepped over the black line.
“Be careful!” Mu Li subconsciously reminded him, with anxiety in his anger.
Bai Ruogu, facing away from everyone, barely smiled when he heard Mu Li’s voice.
Following the prompts, Bai Ruogu stepped on the first tile, causing everyone’s hearts to skip a beat.
“Come back quickly!” someone shouted.
He shook his head and, amidst everyone’s fearful anticipation, stepped on the second tile.
Someone clenched their fists, staring nervously at Bai Ruogu.
Just when everyone thought Bai Ruogu was acting recklessly and the situation was bound to change dramatically——
Nothing happened.
Everyone: ? ? ?
Did he solve it correctly or was he just lucky?
Everyone immediately leaned towards the latter. After all, with such a complex equation, could Bai Ruogu really calculate it so quickly with just a glance?
It was simply unbelievable, even more so than Grandmaster Bai’s reincarnation.
Watching Bai Ruogu dare to think about stepping on the third tile, everyone couldn’t hold back anymore, especially Si Shi, who cursed and grumbled.
“I told you to come back quickly! You can be lucky once, but you won’t be lucky a second time. If you want to die, don’t drag us down with you!”
Before the words finished, Bai Ruogu stepped on the third tile, and once again, nothing happened.
Everyone: …
Si Shi suppressed the turmoil in his chest, his eyes full of doubt and suspicion about life.
Yang Liu chased after him until the black line and then hurriedly stopped. Because of his haste, his body leaned forward, almost falling.
He stared at Bai Ruogu, who moved freely, dumbfounded, and thought of all that had happened before.
Damn! How did he pick up a teammate? He picked up a master! Incredible!
When Bai Ruogu reached the tenth tile, he suddenly turned back to Yang Liu and said, “Why aren’t you keeping up?”
“Ah, uh!”
Yang Liu rolled up his pants legs, unsure how to proceed.
“Lao Bai, no, Boss Bai! What do I do…”
Bai Ruogu sighed but patiently guided Yang Liu step by step.
“Third tile in the first row… fifth tile in the third row… first tile in the sixth row…”
Following Bai Ruogu’s instructions, Yang Liu nervously and tentatively made his way to Bai Ruogu’s side.
Bai Ruogu glanced at the tiles beneath his feet and instructed him, “Follow me closely from now on. Step where I step.”
“Yes1!!” Yang Liu shouted with a burst of energy.
Bai Ruogu turned his head and gave him a deep look.
“You translated it wrong.”
Yang Liu: …
The people from the Green Camp watched Bai Ruogu’s fluid movements, their minds buzzing.
Mu Li couldn’t even hold his gun steady. For the first time, he, who had always been successful, doubted his life.
The others looked at each other and saw their reflections in each other’s eyes.
—Look! Look at this fool, he’s completely dumbfounded hahaha!
They laughed in their hearts and couldn’t help crying.
“Brother Mu, what should we do now?” Someone watched Bai Ruogu’s agile steps, eyes twitching.
Mu Li sighed heavily, “What else can we do? Follow him!”
Lou Hua rubbed his hands together nervously and took a deep breath, his expression complex. “Who else remembers what that person… that boss just said?”
“It sounded like third tile in the first…”
“Let’s go!”
Without Bai Ruogu’s guidance, their memories were bound to be a bit off. As it happened, someone stepped on the wrong tile, and the brick sank half an inch.
The sound of shifting stones echoed through the quiet passage, disrupting the entire layout.
Lou Hua cursed under his breath, then saw Bai Ruogu ahead turning around.
The people from the Green Camp immediately tensed up. Their mix-up had ruined everything Bai Ruogu had planned.
“I’m sorry…” someone began to apologize, but Bai Ruogu shook his head, pointing at the tile.
“Huh?” The person didn’t understand.
“Step there,” Bai Ruogu’s simple words were shocking.
Before the person could catch on, Mu Li stepped forward and stepped on the tile Bai Ruogu had just pointed.
Everyone: ? ? ?
Did he just recalculate?! Amazing!!
Is he even human?! Their eyes widened like bells.
Under Bai Ruogu’s occasional guidance, they finally managed to pass through the passage.
Once they stepped onto solid ground again, everyone was still in shock, looking back at the long path behind them as if it were yesterday.
Just then, someone pointed ahead suddenly, “Look, it’s another…”
Everyone followed the voice and saw another towering statue several dozen meters away.
Their hearts surged with waves of emotion, some immediately thought of what had happened before, eager to test their luck.
Mu Li held them back, looking around seriously, “Don’t rush, things probably aren’t that simple.”
Si Shi couldn’t stand it. Though his opinion of Bai Ruogu had changed, he still felt sour about his previous luck.
Why can Bai Ruogu, but he can’t?! Bitterness welled up within him.
Si Shi firmly believed that he had the favor of the God, and in terms of luck, he absolutely would not have been worse than Bai Ruogu!
Having made up his mind, despite Mu Li’s warnings, he charged arrogantly toward the statue, disdainfully staring up at it.
“Tsk! Isn’t it just a favorability? I don’t care about it! Don’t even think about using it to make me do anything for you!”
Though Si Shi spoke defiantly, deep down, he hoped God would assign him something to do. He almost wanted to kneel and beg for just a glance from God.
Sure enough, a system notification appeared above Si Shi’s head.
[God finds you ungrateful, so your favorability decreases by 2%.]
Si Shi: …
However, the matter was not over yet, and a system notification also appeared above Bai Ruogu’s head.
[God finds that your standing posture perfectly aligns with their liking, so your favorability increases by 2%.]
Everyone: …
They were dumbfounded.
- It’s written in english ↩︎