Chapter 271 - The Last Day

"So what do I beat you at?" Zhihao questioned and looked to be quite excited. 

Li Ling chuckled as he heard this sudden question and responded, "Didn't I already tell you? We see who's the fastest. If you reach the middle of the maze first then you win the game by beating the gamemaster and if I reach there first, the gamemaster wins." 

Zhihao's lips curled up in a small smile as he heard this plan that didn't sound as dangerous as the last plan which was to basically kill Li Ling. 

"Don't worry about it," Li Ling leaned in closer to Zhihao's ears as he whispered, "I'll make sure that I try my best to not let you win." 

Zhihao chuckled as he heard this and opened his mouth to say something more but before any words could be said, they heard the notification sound of the system. 

[The gamemaster has proposed a challenge!] 

[The first one to get to the center of the maze wins!] 

"Damn, that was fast," Zhihao commented as he blinked in surprise and disbelief. 

Li Ling was also a bit surprised to hear this sudden notification but more than the shock, there was another feeling which was relief that washed over him. 

It seemed that Huang Zhi Juan had got his message and successfully changed a small thing in the mission.

The mission hadn't really changed much but there was one small thing that had been changed. The mission was to beat the gamemaster now and was not restricted to kill the gamemaster. 

Such a small change in the coding had certainly managed to save Li Ling's life. 

Now the mission had changed but at the same time, it was still the same. 

Their mission was still to beat the gamemaster but Li Ling was no longer in real danger. 

Zhihao pulled the man into another hug and gently spoke, whispering in Li Ling's ear, "Take care." 

Li Ling couldn't help but smile as he heard this and nodded in acknowledgement. 

"You too. Take care and make sure to meet me at the end," Li Ling responded with a small sigh of relief, "I'll be waiting for you there." 

Zhihao chuckled as he heard this and replied, "Bold of you to assume you'll get there first." 

"Is that a challenge?" Li Ling asked with a laugh as he pulled away from the hug and looked at the man. 

"That's me challenging the man I admire, Mr. Gamemaster." 

"..." To hear Zhihao calling him the gamemaster after knowing the truth, it was certainly something new for Li Ling and he couldn't get used to it that easily. 

For some reason, Li Ling felt his cheeks heat up as he heard the man and Zhihao seemed to be thoroughly enjoying this reaction. 

"Now do you want a headstart or should I start running first?" Zhihao stopped laughing as he asked. 

"Why don't we both start running together?" Li Ling suggested as he looked back at the man. 

Zhihao pursed his lips into a thin smile and gave a nod as he turned and faced the corridor in front of him as he prepared himself, looking as if he was going to be racing anytime soon. 

Li Ling chuckled as he looked at Zhihao and got ready to run as well. 

"Let's do a countdown," Zhihao spoke and smiled when he got a nod from Li Ling. 

"In one," Zhihao started the countdown but after just the first number, Li Ling started running as he exclaimed loudly for Zhihao to hear. 

"Countdown is a waste!" 

Zhihao was left shocked for a few seconds as he looked at the man's running back and when he finally managed to snap out of the shock, his legs started moving and Zhihao also ran as he estimated the way towards the middle of the maze. 

Running was certainly going to help them save a lot of time, however, it was still a bit risky considering the fact that there were various traps that had been layed down throughout the maze. 

If they were to fall into any one of those traps, they would surely be getting themselves in trouble. 

The closer the traps were to the center, the more dangerous the traps were going to become. 

By this time around, no other player had any headstart left. 

Huang Zhen, a.k.a., Jiangshi who was the one who had managed to save the most time used as the headstart had also run out of those safe nine minutes so it could be said that the game was completely fair at this moment. 

Every player had an equal chance of winning the final game and taking home the winning one million dollar cash prize of T.I.A.D. 

Jiangshi. 

Kaze17. 

Yingli.

Richlord. 

Mastermo. 

The remaining five players fighting to win against the gamemaster: Devilmagiclover. 

Speed and intellect, both were going to be tested as the final five fought for the final win. 

"This final level came out of nowhere but it looks to be really thrilling!" Kevin announced and his excitement that was clearly shown on his face could not have been faked. 

"Tonight, we have been receiving so may shocks. First it was the relationship between the top player and his partner. Then it was the identity of the gamemaster and now we move to the finale where we would get to see the five players battling it out to reach the center of the maze first!" Dave also seemed to be just as enthusiastic as he announced. 

"Damn! This adrenaline rush I'm feeling at this moment is really not a joke! The tension is real! The expectations are real! And the curiosity is definitely real!" 

"Just who is going to win that one million dollars?!~ Stay tuned to watch it together with us!" 

"And make sure to go down to the voting poll to pick your winner!~" Kevin added. 

"You know, I'm still voting for Mastermo," Dave chuckled as he commented. 

"Mastermo certainly looks to be promising but with everything that happened, fans are left to question whether the man would actually be soft enough to let his boyfriend win~" 

Dave's face cringed up as he looked at Kevin and asked, "Why the hell are you blushing?" 

"I can't help it!" Kevin exclaimed, "These two are really the power couple of the decade! They are too darn cute together! I feel like a young teenage girl crushing over their relationship!" 

"And this is the part where I realize I learned a bit too much about Kevin," Dave sighed as he shook his head in disbelief. 

"Just look at them!~ Oh lord my eyes have been blessed!" Kevin shamelessly announced. 

"Well they do make a good couple. There's no doubt about that," In the end, Dave agreed with his partner with a chuckle as he admitted the truth. 

"Their followers have surely been going crazy. There's even a fund me raised to make their figurines," Kevin chuckled as he spoke and Dave's eyes widened ever so slightly as he got surprised. 

"Figurines?! Don't they need permission for that stuff?" 

"It's considered to be fan merchandize so I'm not sure if it would be considered illegal or not." 

"Well I hope they keep themselves out of jail," Dave chuckled as he responded, "The last thing we would want to report about would be fans going to jail because they overdid their worship." 

"Yeah, let's hope that we don't go to jail for that," Kevin chuckled awkwardly and Dave suddenly got a bit suspicious of the man. 

"Don't tell me you joining the fund me for those figurines...?!" 

Kevin gulped as he shook his head. 

"Are you sure you didn't?" 

"Those figurines look really cute so can you really blame me?" Kevin shrugged his shoulder as he indirectly confirmed Dave's suspicions. 

"Damn you!" Dave chuckled as he playfully cursed. 

"But on a serious note though, tonight is going to be the last broadcast about T.I.A.D.," Kevin sighed as he spoke up. 

Dave nodded his head and looked to be a little sad as he agreed with the man, "Once the winner is announced, I guess we would be forced to go back to our old talk shows. No more reporting on T.I.A.D." 

"I'm a grown ass man but I can't hide my tears," Kevin chuckled dryly as he spoke, "This journey has really been special for us and it's all thanks to the support of the fans who kept on bombarding us with comments." 

"That's right," Dave nodded his head as he added, "Although most of the comments were about girls wanting to lick Mastermo's chocolate bar abs."

Kevin snickered as he heard this comment that was certainly true. 

"But there were also some comments saying that you guys really loved the two of us so that made us really happy. Thank you for all your support and appreciation!" Dave announced happily. 

"I would also like to thank you guys. We have been here since day one and in the blink of an eye, we are already at the last day. For all you guys out there that supported us through this reporting journey, I promise to send you all a box filled with heart-shaped chocolates!" 

"Really?!" Dave asked in shock as his eyes widened. 

"Virtual chocolates," Kevin added with a thin smile, "It costs less money and I'm broke."

"..."