Chapter 224 - The Third Competition Begins

Wang GuiYing stepped forward and pinched Zhihao's arm. 

"Ah!" Zhihao yelped as he rubbed his arm and glared at the man. 

"Mastermo, this is definitely real." 

"..." Zhihao was suddenly speechless as he couldn't come up with an answer to that. It certainly hurt just like it would in the real world so this was probably the reality, however, after Zhihao's experience at the T.I.A.D. sensory room, Zhihao could no longer confidently say that all physical pain was real..

"You're right, A-Zhi. Not everything we see or feel may be real but this is not the work of the T.I.A.D. sensory room," Li Ling spoke up and his face looked to have lost all color as he added, "At first I thought it was just Alvi suddenly opening up the final level because of some bug but now... I don't think that's the case." 

"Eh?" Zhihao tilted his head in confusion. 

"What are you talking about, Li Ling?" Liang Feng also questioned as he got a bit worried after looking at Li Ling's facial expression that didn't look to be too good. 

"There's a third party interfering," Li Ling answered and just as Zhihao heard it, he couldn't help but feel a shiver go down his spine. 

"Damn it..." Tian Xifeng looked like she was about to cry due to frustration as she scratched her head and squatted down on the ground, "I don't get this at all!" 

Zhihao gulped and didn't say anything as there was nothing he could say to reassure or comfort the woman since everyone else was also in the same state. 

They were all guessing certain theories but nobody knew if they were right or not. 

Li Ling gulped as he suddenly added, "If there is a third party interfering then it means that person has deep connections inside Omelas. This makes things a lot harder." 

"Why do you say that?" Zhihao questioned, "Why do you think there is someone else involved?"

Li Ling looked into Zhihao's eyes as he confidently replied, "Because this is both the reality and the virtual world." 

"Huh?" 

"We are not wearing any headgear and nor are we in the T.I.A.D. sensory center but we can still feel everything in this world because it's directly connected to our brains." 

"Wait... It can't be..." Liang Feng's eyes widened as he stared at Li Ling in shock, "You believe that nonsense? That was just a rumor, was it not?" 

Li Ling bit his lip as he shook his head, "It might not just have been a rumor." 

"What rumor are you talking about?" Zhihao questioned as he suddenly felt left out from the conversation. 

Before Li Ling could give him an explanation, the lights around the entire football ground turned red. 

"What the hell...?" Wang GuiYing muttered as he shivered at the scene that had completely changed. 

He didn't even know that the lights inside the stadium could turn red like that. 

"What's happening?" Kaoru gulped in worry as she asked no one in particular. 

"The third competition is beginning," Li Ying answered as she straightened her back and looked around. 

"Damn it!" Tian Xifeng shouted as she stood up from the ground and got ready to do whatever it was that they were supposed to do. 

[Congratulations once again!] 

[To all nine players that have made it on time.] 

[Mastermo]

[Devilmagiclover]

[BBtrash]

[Hulk0_0]

[Jiangshi]

[Yingli] 

[Kaze17] 

[Andyzz]

[Richlord] 

[T-Rex101] 

[Your next competition is a game of manhunt!] 

[The game arena is set to be inside the stadium that you are currently standing on. Going inside the building is okay but stepping out of the stadium is considered as a violation of rules and would result in instant elimination.] 

"I know this one!" Zhihao suddenly exclaimed. 

[There are three hunters on the loose and their target is you.] 

[The game is set to last for ten minutes] 

[In order to win, you must not die.] 

[It's as simple as that.] 

[Failing to win the game would lead to an instant elimination.] 

[All the best!] 

[May you survive!] 

The system sounded as enthusiastic and happy as ever. 

"Oh, shit..." Zhihao couldn't help but curse out loud as he recalled how this game was supposed to be played. 

"What is it, A-Zhi?" Li Ling questioned and looked to be a little worried as he saw the expression on Zhihao's face. 

Zhihao didn't know if he wanted to laugh or cry. He didn't even know how he was supposed to tell the others that this game was a bit too crazy for him to even explain. 

"We're... Going to die," Zhihao spoke up after he pondered over it for a minute. 

"Gege, you must be joking... Right?" Tian Xifeng questioned in disbelief. 

Zhihao shook his head as he responded, "This is not a game anymore." 

Li Ling gulped as he raised his hand and took a hold of Zhihao's shoulders, "A-Zhi, calm down and look at me. I need you to tell me what you know about this game. You're the only one that can help us. I need you to be calm as you explain, can you do that for me?" 

Zhihao gulped as he nodded his head and before the words could roll out of his tongue, he suddenly heard the system speaking up once again. 

[Be warned: the three hunters are armed.] 

This warning gave Zhihao's previous statement a bit more depth as everyone suddenly felt that the man was right when he suddenly said that they were all going to die today. 

"A-Zhi, tell me," Li Ling didn't pay it any attention as he kept his eyes on Zhihao. 

Zhihao sighed as he tried to explain, "The three hunters have weapons. Guns, to be exact, and a lot of ammo. Once they see you, they shoot you. In order to win the game, you have to stay alive. That's it. That's the mission but staying alive is a lot harder than it might sound." 

Tian Xifeng suddenly scoffed as she commented, "Believe me, it doesn't sound easy either." 

Before Zhihao could say anything to that, they suddenly heard the sound of gunshots. 

Zhihao's breath almost got stuck in his throat as his heart skipped a beat in fear, "And the game officially begins." 

Everyone suddenly looked around frantically in search of the three hunters that were supposed to be after them. 

Liang Feng took out his phone and looked at the screen that had changed once again. 

This time, the screen showed a map of the entire stadium including the wall that surrounded the stadium a.k.a. the boundary that they were not allowed to cross. Their location on the map was shown with the help of a blue spot. 

Liang Feng sighed as he spoke up, "The hunters are not shown on the map." 

It was to be expected that the game didn't try to make it easy for them by showing them exactly where the three hunters were. If the hunters could be located by them then it would make it easier for them to avoid those three people. 

Zhihao gulped as he tried to pull himself together. He clutched onto Li Ling's arm tightly as if he was almost scared that if he were to let go of the man, the man would simply disappear forever. 

Li Ying clicked her tongue as she commented, "Mastermo, it seems like what you feared has come to happen even before we enter the final stage." 

"..." Zhihao couldn't say anything to that as he cautiously looked around at the building that surrounded the stadium. 

At this moment, he felt that standing in between this football ground was perhaps the worst decision that he had taken in his life.

Tian Xifeng was breathing heavily as she almost had a heart attack after hearing that gunshot, "Gege, are those guns real? Like... Real guns that can kill us?!"

Before Zhihao could answer her, Li Ling had already spoken up in response, "Did they sound fake?" 

"We..." Zhihao muttered as he gulped and tried his best to keep his composure, "We should look for the hunters." 

"..." 

Everyone snapped their head at the man in shock as they wondered if he had gone senile at this moment. 

"A-Zhi, what do you mean?" Li Ling questioned as his eyebrows creased together in worry and confusion. 

"That's the only way we can survive," Zhihao responded and he didn't look to be joking around in the least. 

Liang Feng gulped as he looked at Zhihao and it seemed that he could somewhat understand what the man was trying to tell them. 

Jiangshi suddenly nodded as he stepped forward and grabbed Li Ying's hands. 

Li Ying turned around in shock as she flinched slightly, "What are you doing." 

Jiangshi shook his head and refused to say anything as he pulled Li Ying and started running. 

"What the?!" Li Ying was left shocked and confused but she still let the boy pull her along. 

Li Ling stood there like a log of wood as he stared at the moving back of his sister who had been pulled away by Jiangshi and was now running with him, "Did he just kidnap my sister in front of me...?" 

Zhihao shrugged his shoulder as he commented, "They just ignored me too."