Chapter 209 - Where Is Everyone?

"Wait..." Tian Xifeng muttered, "How can that be? Didn't we already complete the criteria to enter the final level? Are you saying that right now, we aren't in the final level yet?" 

Li Ling nodded as he explained, "That's right. The destination you see on the GPS screen is the official start of the final level." 

Tian Xifeng immediately turned on her phone and looked at the GPS screen. 

Li Ying also did the same and Liang Feng already had his eyes on his phone screen. 

"Then what comes next" Li Ying questioned with a frown. 

Li Ling shook his head as he answered, "I have no idea. The first test is the race.. Unlike most elimination levels, although this game is trying to make us lose this race, it still gives all eleven of us the opportunity to win. If every player can make it to the said destination in time, we all get to enter the final level. Maybe the second elimination test might also be like this or it might even be something else." 

Liang Feng, "What do you mean something else?" 

Li Ling, "The next test could be a game that sets us against each other. Chances are this is what's going to happen. If all the games and tests inside the final level are set like this one where all players could win, players might think about making a group together and helping each other. That would definitely be the last thing Alvi would want the players to do so chances are that the next level is going to be something where all eleven players would somehow start to distrust each other and see each other as opponents." 

Tian Xifeng scoffed as she heard the man, "Does that make sense? I'm sure everyone has a brain. This is no longer just a game anymore. It's affecting the real world and the best bet you would have to defeat the game is by joining hands and working together. Who in the world would be dumb enough to be more suspicious of the other players rather than the game?" 

Li Ling smirked as he heard this, "You're being naive. Do you truly believe that everyone would be able to trust each other? Even though they don't even know each other personally and they are already opponents who are fighting for the big win?" 

Tian Xifeng gulped and it looked like she had no response to that. It was only natural that she didn't, after all, how could she speak for people she had never met? 

"Big bro, but I think we'll be able to trust each other," Li Ying suddenly spoke up refusing her brother's statement, her face looking serious and a bit worried, "We already have the four of us here, and that only leaves seven of the others. I might not like this brat sitting next to me but I would still trust her in a critical situation just like I would trust brother Liang Feng and you." 

Tian Xifeng chuckled dryly for a second as she asked, "And what about the other seven? There are eleven total players and one of them is the gamemaster who is supposed to be hunted by the other players. Except for us four, none of the other seven know who the gamemaster is." 

Li Ying raised her hands as she started counting, "One of them is Brother Zhihao and I'm sure we all trust him to trust us. The other is his brother, Huang Zhen, whom we are already familiar with. If we subtract these two, we are only left with five other players. BBtrash and Hulk are good friends of both my brother and brother Zhihao so they'll also be willing to join hands together with us. That leaves out the last group of three players." 

Liang Feng side-glanced at Li Ying as he asked, "The troublesome three?" 

Before Li Ying could say anything as a response to the man, Li Ling, who was still driving, spoke up as he exclaimed, "We have played with them before. The other two are pretty reliable but Zhihao's aunt looks a bit problematic." 

"That's only a single person," Li Ying pointed out as she added, "With just one betraying us, we'll still have the rest ten left and I'm sure we can all join hands and beat the game together. If there are no eliminations in any of elimination game, Alvi might think of it as cheating and shut the game down." 

"But that's still just a possibility, is it not?" Liang Feng questioned, "We have no proof that Alvi would shut down in case of a cheating warning sign." 

Li Ling also nodded as he agreed with the man, "He's right, Yingying. In a normal level, if a player goes OOC or if a player cheats, the player is not just thrown out of the level but the whole level is destroyed to make sure that there is no spread of bugs or errors." 

Tian Xifeng, "So you are saying that if we try this method, Alvi would destroy this level...?" 

Li Ling sighed in turn and his sigh was enough of an answer. 

"She'll destroy the whole world, wouldn't she?" Li Ying questioned this time and to that, Li Ling nodded as he confirmed. 

"It's a possibility," Li Ling responded. 

Liang Feng sighed as he added to that, "A possibility that we can't risk." 

Tian Xifeng suddenly chuckled as she looked outside the car, "You know, I always thought that this world was a nuisance. I never actually realized how much I loved living here. All this talk about destroying the world is making me emotional. Li Ling Gege, you better stay alive and find another way out." 

Li Ling was silent for a minute and it didn't look like he was going to respond to her. 

"Yingying, tell me the status of the other players," Li Ling suddenly opened his mouth to order his sister. 

Li Ying nodded as she opened her bag and took out her other phone. 

"Why the hell do you have two phones?" Tian Xifeng's face cringed up as she asked. 

Li Ying didn't even bother looking over at her as she responded, "This is actually my real phone. The other is just my working phone. It's used to connect to all accounts linked together with my gaming username Yingli." 

Tian Xifeng frowned but she said nothing to that. 

Li Ying turned the phone on and just as they had seen at the research facility, it looked like only the phones that were linked to their gaming ID were the ones displaying the GPS. Li Ying's personal phone that was not linked to the game showed a screen of the eleven players and their distance from their destination. 

"Big bro..." Li Ying muttered with a bit of surprise in her voice as her eyes remained glued to the screen, "Your boyfriend... Why the hell is he so fast?" 

"Eh" Li Ling was confused as he asked, "What do you mean?" 

Li Ying looked up at Li Ling with furrowed eyebrows as she informed, "Brother Zhihao has already reached the destination and he even paid a visit to one of the inventories." 

Li Ling looked to be a little shocked but the shock eventually disappeared as he tried to think up of a possible explanation. Just when he realized what might have happened, he couldn't help but laugh. 

"Big bro, what happened? Why are you laughing?" Li Ying asked with concern dripping in her voice. 

"Maybe he went crazy already," Tian Xifeng commented as she rolled her eyes. 

Li Ling shook his head as he spoke up, "Yingying, do you know what type of car Zhihao has?" 

"Brother Zhihao's car?" Li Ying frowned as she asked, "What type is it?" 

Li Ling smiled and his face looked to be quite amused as he commented, "It seems that Mastermo finally decided to drive his car like it was meant to be driven." 

Tian Xifeng instantly understood why Li Ling looked to be so amused and she couldn't help but feel shocked as she heard the man. 

"Zhihao's sportscar? He would never drive it recklessly like you," Tian Xifeng commented but when she thought about it a bit more, it seemed that Li Ling really was right. There was no other way Zhihao would have been able to reach the final destination so soon. 

"What about the other players?" Li Ling asked and Li Ying looked down at her phone once again. 

"Huang Zhen is almost there. It seems that BBtrash and Hulk are travelling together and they are just a few seconds behind Huang Zhen. The troublesome three are slow but they are also ahead of us. It seems that we are the only ones running later right now," Li Ying sighed. 

Liang Feng clicked his tongue as he kept his eyes on the GPS, "We have two minutes left. Li Ling, you think you can get us there on time?" 

Li Ling smirked as he heard this. The road ahead was pretty empty and the map indicated that they were almost near the destination, just a few minutes away.

"Two minutes?" Li Ling squinted his eyes as he changed the gear and increased the speed of the car. 

"Ahhhhhh!" Li Ying screamed immediately as she felt her back digging into the seat because of the motion pressure.