Chapter 269 - Another Way

"Okay, another step," Zhihao calmly spoke as he took a deep breath in and Li Ling nodded in agreement. 

They lifted their leg together and took a step forward together. 

"This is the last one," Zhihao informed and there was a small satisfied smile on his face as he looked at Li Ling. 

Li Ling couldn't help but smile in turn but it wasn't because he was relieved or hopeful that they would be able to survive this after just another step, rather, the reason for his smile was simply Zhihao.

Since this man was smiling at him, Li Ling would also smile back and this was a natural unconscious reaction. 

The two took a deep breath together and closed their eyes to calm themselves down before taking the last step. 

Zhihao grabbed Li Ling's hand and pulled him closer, engulfing the man in a hug as he sighed in relief. 

"We did it....!" Li Ling's eyes widened as he pulled his head back to look down at the platform that was shaking slightly but was still stable enough for them to stand on. 

Zhihao chuckled and his chest could be felt trembling under Li Ling's hand that was placed on his chest. 

"We did it," Zhihao confirmed with a nod as he looked at the man. 

Li Ling smiled as he took a minute to ask, "Now what?" 

"I don't know," Zhihao sighed as he blinked and realized that they were once again out of ideas. 

This was a battle and so, unfortunately, simply reaching the middle and getting out of the danger wasn't going to help them get out of here. 

"One of us needs to win," Zhihao sighed as he informed and Li Ling couldn't help but chuckle as he heard this. 

"That... Was to be expected," Li Ling commented in between his chuckle. 

"Wait... I have an idea!" Zhihao suddenly spoke up as something in his mind clicked.

"What is it?" 

"The system!" 

"Eh?" 

"The system has no eyes!" Zhihao exclaimed and his eyes slowly widened as he came up with a solution that could actually manage to help them this time. 

Li Ling's eyebrows creased together in worry as he heard something that he could not understand, "What are you getting at?" 

"When the trap is activated, the system considers your weight and only that. It can't see the player so if there is a weight inside the trap, the system would be forced to believe that there is a player inside. However, if there is no weight then the system would think that the player is no longer there and the trap would disable itself!" 

This was a cheat trick that Zhihao had learned and used before this but it was only now, after thinking about it did he figure that this cheat trick could also be used at this moment. 

"I don't understand," Li Ling frowned as he muttered and waited for the man to explain. 

Zhihao pursed his lips and hooked his hands around the man's torso in the very next moment. 

"Eh?" Li Ling's eyes widened ever so slightly in surprise and confusion as he saw the man picking him up, "What are you doing?" 

"Making one of us disappear!" Zhihao replied and his face looked to be a little red, indicating that he was probably not having the time of his life while picking up a full-grown man who was just as heavy as Zhihao. 

"I don't get it!" Li Ling exclaimed anxiously as he pointed out, "Doesn't our weight remain the same?" 

Zhihao nodded as he heard this and confirmed, "That's right. The weight remains the same but it is no longer distributed in two." 

Li Ling would be lying if he said that he wasn't a little impressed by the way Zhihao's mind worked. 

To come up with such a cheat... Zhihao really had to be called the top player who was the best at cheats! 

"I don't think anything is happening," Li Ling muttered as he looked around and noticed no difference. 

"We have to wait for it," Zhihao tightened his hold, making sure that he didn't drop the man by mistake. 

Li Ling opened his mouth to say something more but was forced to immediately close it as they heard the system notification ringing out 

[Error: One player detected.] 

[If the other player is not detected, the battle would be deactivated within the next ten seconds.]

[10] 

[9] 

[8]

[7]

The countdown began and Zhihao had a small smirk on his face as he heard it. 

[6]

[5]

[4] 

[3]

[2]

[1]

[Only one player detected] 

[Battle trap has now been deactivated!] 

Zhihao sighed in relief as he placed Li Ling down and Li Ling looked to be a bit surprised as he saw the walls and floor returning to how they used to be. 

"That easily...?" Li Ling muttered in disbelief as he blinked in confusion. 

Zhihao chuckled as he nodded his head, "This game isn't as difficult as people make it sound."

"..." 

There would only be Zhihao who would say such a thing about T.I.A.D. 

If another player who was suffering inside this maze of death were to hear this comment made by Zhihao, they would certainly want to murder the man in cold blood right then and there. 

Li Ling chuckled as he shook his head and commented under his breath, "Don't let others hear you." 

Zhihao pursed his lips as he looked at Li Ling with an indecipherable expression making the man feel a little self-conscious. 

"What is it?" Li Ling gulped as he asked. 

"If we stay together, we'll fall into more battle traps," Zhihao sighed as he informed, "But I don't know if I trust you enough to leave you on your own." 

"..." Li Ling didn't know if he wanted to laugh or cry as he heard this but in the end, he naturally did neither of them. 

Li Ling took a sharp breath in as he cupped Zhihao's face and pecked the man's lips for a second before pulling away as he asked, "Didn't you want me to put up a fight?" 

Zhihao's eyes widened as he suddenly saw this action and heard this question that came out of nowhere. 

"If you wanted it, I would naturally do it," Li Ling chuckled as he added, "I'll put up a fight to protect myself. A fight that nobody would ever forget!" 

Zhihao gulped and it was clear that the man was a bit shocked by Li Ling's words but at the end of the day, Zhihao still chuckled as he nodded his head. 

"I'm happy to hear that." 

Li Ling smiled brightly as he heard this response, "That's right. You should be happy to know that I'm putting on a fight for you. As the gamemaster that you've admired for so long, I'm not going to let you down!" 

Zhihao pursed his lips into a thin smile as he nodded his head in understanding. 

"So you better be there to beat the gamemaster as the top player, Mastermo!" Li Ling's voice almost sounded as if he was scolding the man. 

"What's the plan?" Zhihao asked as he found Li Ling's behavior and words a bit amusing. 

"The plan is to make you fall in love with me for the second time!" Li Ling playfully responded as he snickered and Zhihao sighed. 

"That plan sounds too easy." 

Li Ling couldn't help but laugh as he heard this. 

"Now tell me the real plan," Zhihao questioned again hoping for the man to actually be serious. 

"The middle of the maze," Li Ling beamed as he spoke up seriously, "Let's have a race." 

Zhihao tilted his head in confusion as he found it a bit hard to understand what was going on inside the head of this man. 

"The mission is to beat the gamemaster," Li Ling looked into Zhihao's eyes as he spoke and it almost looked as if the man was trying to make Zhihao understand something without saying it out loud. 

Zhihao frowned as he took a minute to think about it and when the realization hit him, his eyes widened and he muttered in disbelief, "No way...!!" 

"There is always a way," Li Ling chuckled as he nodded his head, trying to confirm Zhihao's suspicion. 

"The system can't lie but it can certainly hide stuff," Li Ling added.

The mission may look easy at first glance but if one read it a couple of times and spent a good amount of time analyzing the mission that had been given, they would be able to understand that the system was always trying to trick them into believing something that was not completely true.

"A-Zhi, you said that you would find a different way. You said that if you found out that the gamemaster is your lover, you'll find a different way to complete the mission," Li Ling spoke up as he looked at the man, "It seems that a different way wasn't completely ridiculous." 

"..." 

Zhihao fell speechless as a surge of emotions passed through his body and another surge of thoughts flooded his mind.