Chapter 436 - Last Man Standing II

One minute before the battle started, the three were assisted to different locations. When they reached their starting point, they were given earpieces so they could hear Paul's voice. After settling the earpiece in their ears, they placed their tinted visors that shut their vision.

"The game starts in 10 seconds…" As soon as they placed their visors, they all heard Paul's voice through the earpiece.

"Man… I feel like I have my eyes closed." Owen muttered under his breath. His heart suddenly thumped loudly as seeing nothing gave a different vibe to him. It was as if it induced his non-existent anxiety to envelop his heart.

"Uh, it feels different in actuality." From another part of the first floor, Ryan commented, sharing the same feelings as Owen unknowingly. 

Meanwhile, Carter's Adam's apple moved as he gulped down a mouthful of saliva. Yet, he didn't say anything and remained standing in his spot.

"Three… two…" There was a brief pause from Paul's end, making the three anticipate the green signal for them to start. "One. Try to have fun." He remarked, the signal they were waiting for as the clock on the screen where it was being broadcasted started.

"Uh… man…" Owen cracked his neck, stretching it in a circular motion as he held his rifle down. 'Kitchen,' He thought, visualizing the area he was in before placing the visor. 

Just like him, Ryan, who was in the wine cellar, and Carter, who was in the gym, didn't move a muscle for the first three minutes. They just stood there motionlessly in silence.

"I told you, it is harder than you think." Meanwhile, Matthew turned to Zoey as the three remained rooted on the floor. 

In his perspective, the three equally remembered the place they were in. To him, the three were equally quick-witted and flexible to adapt. Thus, seeing that neither of them moved for three minutes, he knew this would take longer than Zoey told him.

"I never said it's easy." Zoey didn't glance at him, her gaze fixed on the screen where there were three display cameras on each of them. "It can be easy. Look, that guy started to move." Zoey perked her chin towards the monitor, staring at Ryan who had begun walking while avoiding everything.

If one didn't know, they would have mistaken that he could see as he walked normally yet cautiously. He was holding a rifle in his hand, his every step grew lighter until there was barely any sound to it.

"Not bad." She commented, nodding approvingly. On the other hand, Matthew could not help but glance at her in amusement.

He couldn't focus his eyes on the monitor as he was drawn to her solemn side profile. Zoey seemed to take this more seriously than anyone. He could see her eyes move across the three displays, watching their each and every movement, and seemed to study them.

"I hope he doesn't die first." She added, sighing heavily the next second while shaking her head sideways. Her change of reaction piqued his interest. Thus, Matthew averted his gaze from her to the mini theater screen in front of them.

There, Ryan was still walking in the same manner; rifle in his hand, holding it down. Just then, he stopped in the middle of the long corridor that was leading to the kitchen. 

Meanwhile, Carter also started moving. Unlike Ryan, he was extra cautious, as if he would step on a landmine if he wasn't careful enough. Still, he started picking up his pace with a pistol in his hand while his other one groped on the walls outside of the gym.

On the other hand. Owen still didn't move. As the other two started moving, he didn't. Instead, he scratched the back of his head, seemingly annoyed at something only he knew about.

As Zoey watched the three, the side of her lips curled into a smirk. Matthew who was very attentive to her furrowed his brows, darting his gaze from the screen to her side profile. "What's his name?' Suddenly, Zoey asked. Her index finger pointing at Owen's direction.

"Wei Owen." Without a second thought, Matthew answered. "Why?" And then asked in return, curious to know what was going on inside her mind.

"He is impatient…" This time, Zoey glanced back at him. An inexplicable gleam flickered across her eyes. 

"He is," Matthew nodded, agreeing with her as Owen's temperament was shorter among the three. Still, no one could beat Matthew's as he has the shortest temper than anyone. "Do you think he has less chances?" He queried, arching his right brow.

However, Zoey just chuckled. Slowly, she returned her eyes back to him. "What I think is, he will be either the winner or he will be the first one to die if he didn't use his short temper to his advantage." Zoey shrugged, humoring Matthew with her conclusion about the said man.

"To his advantage, huh?" Matthew nodded his head lightly, her last remarks repeated inside his head, which he pondered over. For some reason, he couldn't understand what she meant by that.

After all, to him, working with clear-headedness, was the best. Although he could be temperamental and unpredictable with the shortest patience, Matthew could always compromise.

For example, no one could disturb him whenever he was working. Aside from Paul, even Vivian, his mother, wouldn't disturb him unless it was an urgent matter. Not just that, but he would cut off anyone if the documents arriving on his desk were full of mistakes. To him, they were wasting his time and losing the company's money.

Therefore, considering this was being treated like a battlefield, having a short temper was not something Matthew could recommend. Owen should be cautious, just like the other two.

Just as Matthew was busy organizing his thoughts, there was a sudden shattering noise from the screen. It snapped his train of thoughts, bringing him back from his trance as his gaze focused on the monitor before him.

"He's good." When Matthew laid his eyes on the screen, searching which display it came from, Zoey's voice reached his ear. "I like him." Zoey offered him a side glance, the side of her lips stretched into a smirk before returning her eyes back to where it was looking.

There, Owen grabbed a glass near him and threw it on the wall. In this eerily silent place, the noise echoed, reaching the two. The sound was relatively faint for Carter, but for Ryan, it was loud as he was nearby.

"I'm here! Come and get me!" The next second, Owen shouted loudly, hearing his own voice in the resounding echoes.