Translator: AnubisTL
"No, it won't," Wang Defa said, exhaling in relief as he scanned their surroundings. "My innate ability isn't restricted in these kinds of activities, just like it wasn't in Mist Paradise. I'm completely unhindered here."
"I've been wanting to enter one of these activities long before I met you all."
"Only within these activities can I operate without limitations."
"I see," Scar Dog nodded, letting out a slight sigh of relief.
At that moment, a mechanical voice echoed in every player's mind:
[Please listen carefully to the activity rules.]
[This Puppet Paradise activity will be conducted in squad format.]
[Players who gather together before entering the activity will automatically form a squad, with no limit to the number of members.]
[During non-combat stages, players cannot attack each other.]
[There are a total of eight stages. The squad that clears all stages will receive the final reward!]
[Stage 1: High Platform Tug-of-War!]
[Rule: Victory is achieved by pulling all members of the opposing squad off the high platform!]
Almost immediately, Chen Jiang and the others felt a flash of white light before finding themselves in a stadium-like viewing area, similar to the stands in a soccer stadium.
"Hmm."
Scar Dog glanced around, noting roughly a thousand people seated in a curved grandstand.
Before the grandstand stood two towering platforms, each nearly twenty meters high, connected by a rope tied with red cloth.
Two squads were already positioned on the platforms.
The squad on the left consisted of three members, while the one on the right had nine!
The pre-match preparations were underway.
It was clear that the three members of the left squad were in poor spirits, their faces pale and legs trembling.
The reason for their distress was obvious to anyone with a brain.
In a tug-of-war, how could three people possibly defeat nine?
The nine-member squad on the right was already brimming with excitement, rubbing their hands together in anticipation of the match's start.
"This competition... it's hardly fair," Scar Dog remarked, his expression thoughtful as he gazed at the two squads on the distant platforms.
He and his four companions had naturally been assigned to form a squad of their own.
Just as Scar Dog finished speaking, a man seated a few rows ahead turned around with a sneer. "Fairness? What's fairness got to do with the Ten Thousand Races Arena? You're a fool."
"Come on, brothers! Show them what fairness really means!"
The next moment—
Dozens of men sitting beside him stood up, pulled out plaques from their chests, and held them aloft, their eyes sweeping the crowd with defiant glares. "This is fairness."
Clearly, these men had been assigned to a single squad.
In a tug-of-war competition, a race that relies purely on individual strength, a squad of dozens of men could easily crush smaller teams with only nine or six members.
No wonder they were so arrogant.
They certainly had the power to back it up.
But...
Scar Dog shook his head with a wry smile and sighed. "Actually, what I meant was, this is incredibly unfair to you."
Indeed.
With Wang Defa on their side, even if the other thousand players joined forces, they probably couldn't out-tug him. This was the ruthless man who could lift a seven-story turret with his bare hands. Competing against him in tug-of-war?
Scar Dog figured Wang Defa's only concern during the match would be avoiding pulling too hard and snapping the rope.
Meanwhile, Chen Jiang, still seated, completely ignored the man's provocation below. Instead, he carefully scanned the players walking along the spectator stands.
They all appeared to be human or mechanical race players.
He didn't see any players from the titan race, insect race, or similar factions.
The most likely scenario was that these players had been found in a mechanical race city. They seemed to know each other, their clothing was relatively neat, and occasionally, mechanical organs could be spotted on a few of them.
Moreover, these players were the closest ones detected by his activity token.
So, there must be a mechanical race city near the world tree, Chen Jiang thought, nodding thoughtfully. I'll take a stroll around after this event ends.
Just then—
The two squads above had begun!
The three-player squad, as if they had planned their strategy in advance, immediately gripped the rope tightly, their faces contorted in fierce determination, and leaned back.
Veins bulged across their bodies as they roared repeatedly.
Clearly, this squad intended to make a desperate lunge, hoping to pull the opposing nine players off the platform before they could react at the very start of the competition.
Judging by the trio's crimson faces and ferocious expressions, they were giving it their all!
However...
In such a high-stakes event, even if someone wore a carefree smile, the tension in their heart would be stretched taut. There was no chance anyone would be caught off guard at the start of the competition.
And then—
The moment the activity began,
Both sides, their faces contorted in ferocious determination, yanked on the rope and leaned back simultaneously. No one wanted to be dragged off the high platform.
No one wanted to die; they all wanted to live.
It was clear that the three-player squad was fighting with every ounce of their strength. Unfortunately, three people simply couldn't match nine.
The numerical disadvantage was too great.
Soon—
The three-player squad couldn't hold on any longer and were dragged off the high platform!
"Ahhh!!!"
A piercing scream filled with terror echoed through the air!
Thud!
The three players crashed onto the ground almost simultaneously, blood slowly pooling beneath them.
It was clear they wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.
They were dead.
The squad on the right-hand platform collapsed to the ground, collectively sighing in relief.
Just then—
A voice echoed in everyone's ears.
[Congratulations to the 'Gotta Fight!' squad for successfully clearing the first stage and advancing to the second stage waiting room.]
Soon after,
A long plank extended from the distance, connecting to the high platform. The surviving squad, nine strong, encouraged each other as they stepped onto the plank.
Reaching the end of the plank, they sat in the waiting room, watching the others.
The distance between the high platform and the second checkpoint's waiting room was roughly the same as the distance between the first checkpoint's spectator stands and the high platform.
At least, that's how it appeared to the naked eye.
Immediately afterward, another squad ascended the high platform on the left.
This squad consisted of only four members: two women and two young men who didn't look particularly strong.
As soon as they reached the platform, the group peered over the edge, then recoiled in terror.
One of the women, wearing white socks, couldn't contain her emotions and began to sob, covering her mouth. She clearly understood or had guessed her impending fate.
In tug-of-war, a purely physical contest, smaller men are at a severe disadvantage, let alone with two women and an insufficient number of team members.
It was virtually certain that these four were doomed.
"Brother Jiang," Scar Dog said, propping his chin on one hand as he stared at the four-person squad on the platform. "This activity groups players together who were already gathered before entering, right?"
"What kind of relationship do you think could bring two men and two women together in the middle of the night?"
"Perfectly normal," Brother Jiang replied.
Li Hao shrugged casually. "Maybe they're just friends getting together to play cards or something."
"Is that so..." Scar Dog clicked his tongue and shook his head. "You might be right. Maybe my mind's just in the gutter."
Meanwhile, on the high platform, two members of the four-person squad—a girl and a boy—had already fallen to their knees, their faces contorted with fear as they began to pray. If you listened closely, you could hear them pleading for the system to match them against a weaker squad.
It was obvious: if no weaker squad appeared, this group was doomed.
Perhaps some passing deity heard their prayers.
As the opposing squad climbed onto the high platform, a blindingly intense light of hope suddenly erupted in the eyes of the four-person squad!
The opposing squad consisted of only two people!
And they were both elderly!
An elderly couple!
Instantly, the four young people leaped to their feet, gripping the ropes tightly, wiping away their tears, and regaining their confidence.
The young man at the front shouted excitedly, "We've got this! We're going to win! We're going to win!"
"Ha ha ha! Victory is ours!"
"Prepare to die, you old geezers!"
"You've lived long enough! You should have died long ago! We can't die—we're young! How could we die so soon?!"
The competition began!
The instant the match started, the four youths, brimming with adrenaline, gripped the rope, ready to yank the two old-timers off the platform.
But something was wrong.
No matter how hard they pulled, the rope wouldn't budge an inch.
The young man at the front stared in disbelief at the opposite platform. The old man there was holding the rope with just one hand, yet they couldn't move it at all.
The old woman beside him wasn't even holding the rope. Instead, she had her arm around the old man's shoulder, her head resting gently against his, silent.
Even as the audience watched, puzzled by the unfolding scene, the old man, his wrinkled face and slightly hunched back, shook his head with a hint of displeasure. "These young people these days... they truly lack respect for the elderly."
Suddenly, a crimson light flashed from his right hand, and he yanked the rope backward with tremendous force!
The next moment—
"Ahhh!!!"
With just that single tug, the four young people on the opposite platform were yanked off their perch, screaming as they plummeted to the ground and collapsed into a pool of blood.
One move, and the battle was decided.
"It's alright," the old man said, gently covering the eyes of the old woman beside him. He patted her shoulder and whispered in her ear, "Don't look down. You'll faint at the sight of blood."
At that moment, a voice echoed in everyone's ears:
[Congratulations to the Lao Clan squad for successfully clearing the first stage and advancing to the second stage waiting room.]
"Whoa," Scar Dog grinned, watching the scene unfold with interest. "A mechanical arm? Not bad. It actually looks like it's got some power. This is the first time I've seen the true potential of mechanical organs."
"So, Wang Defa, can you outdraw him?"
"Him?" Wang Defa pondered for a moment before nodding. "I'm not sure how to answer that right now. It feels like you're doubting my abilities."
"Hahaha, not at all."
Just then, a notification sounded in the ears of Chen Jiang and the others:
[Please Chen Jiang, Scar Dog, Li Hao, Zhao Ritian, and Wang Defa, proceed to the left-hand platform!]
"Let's go." Chen Jiang slowly rose, leaning on his cane as he made his way toward the platform.
"Let's do this." Scar Dog stood up and clapped Wang Defa on the shoulder. "Time for your show, brother. Let these mechanical race bastards see what human pillar power truly means."
"Heh." Wang Defa stood up, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. He cracked his knuckles and stretched his limbs, casting a cruel grin at the surrounding mechanical race players. "Don't worry," he snarled, "I'll make sure they understand exactly what human pillar power is!"
As Chen Jiang and his group prepared to head to the left-hand platform...
The man sitting a few rows ahead of Scar Dog turned his head and, with a vicious grin, drew his thumb across his throat. "Human trash," he sneered, "pray you don't cross paths with us. Otherwise, you'll learn the true meaning of absolute injustice!"
The dozens of men around him erupted in mocking laughter.
This group was clearly a gang that had formed a squad for the event, at least for the first round of high-platform tug-of-war. They possessed overwhelming strength against most other squads.
"Oh?" Scar Dog couldn't help but chuckle. "So you know we're human, but you clearly have no idea who we are."
If there was one human player who was most famous among the mechanical race, it would undoubtedly be Chen Jiang.
If those men had known Chen Jiang was among the human players, they wouldn't have dared to taunt him like that. They'd be lucky if they weren't kneeling and kowtowing in fear.
Soon, Chen Jiang's group of five ascended the high platform on the left.
Another squad quickly took their place on the right platform.
"Too bad," Scar Dog muttered, shaking his head regretfully. This squad wasn't the group that had mocked them earlier, so he couldn't exact immediate revenge.
Instead, it was another ten-person squad: eight men and two women.
Their numbers were overwhelming, outnumbering Chen Jiang's squad by double.
After climbing onto the high platform, the ten-member squad quickly pulled out ropes from their pockets during the pre-match preparation time and tightly bound their hands to the tug-of-war rope.
This precaution would prevent the rope from slipping out of their hands due to weakness, sweat, or other unexpected circumstances, thus increasing their chances of victory.
Clearly, this squad had learned a lot from observing previous matches.
Even with their overwhelming numerical advantage over Chen Jiang's team, they still took such meticulous measures.
But—
Wang Defa glanced at the opposing team with a strange expression. "They've tied their hands to the rope?"
"Hmm, I suddenly had a fun idea."
"I think I know what you're getting at," Scar Dog said, feigning seriousness. "But wouldn't that be a bit too cruel? Against the spirit of peace?"
"A bit cruel?"
"Maybe a little."
"Can you even call it 'cruel' when it comes to the mechanical race?"
"True, good point. So, what's your plan?"
"I'm going to make a pancake."
"I think that's perfect."
As the words faded, Scar Dog and Wang Defa exchanged a knowing glance, their grins widening as they saw the anticipation in each other's eyes.
(End of the Chapter)
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