People in Yu-Gi-Oh! The hyper-converged audience is also integrated

Chapter 265 Three-Way Dribbling (7K)

"Turn back?" The clown man, Chu Linfeng's voice came through the tattered mask, each word like a poisoned needle, piercing the old scars that Chu Chan least wanted to touch.

"Chu Chan, did you think about this when you killed Dad?"

"Does he still have a chance to turn back?!" the clown suddenly roared.

Chu Chan was taken aback. His raised fist froze in mid-air, his arm muscles bulging, yet he couldn't bring it down.

Her whole body was trembling slightly.

That day, the air in my father's hospital room reeked of disinfectant, the monotonous ticking of the medical equipment was deafening, and I saw my father's last, cloudy, frantic yet pleading eyes... and myself, for the sake of "order" and "the bigger picture," personally...

"Who do you think you are? A savior? You'd even lay a hand on your own father for your bullshit justice!" Chu Linfeng's laughter grew increasingly manic. He seemed to relish Chu Chan's expression at that moment, that struggle of wanting to vent but having nowhere to do so, wanting to destroy but unable to bring himself to do it.

He even leaned forward, his mud-like face almost touching Chu Chan's fist: "Come on, brother, kill me again! Just like you killed Father back then! Aren't you very capable?"

"You're so amazing, using your own father's life as a performance indicator!"

"Speak—!" Chu Chan suddenly roared, interrupting the clown man's grotesque laughter. He grabbed the clown man's shoulder, his nails digging deep into his flesh, his turbulent emotions like a leopard out of control.

Where did you run off to?

"Where are the other accomplices?!"

The clown let out a sinister, cackling laugh: "Accomplices? Bro, you think too highly of us."

"We are nothing but maggots at the bottom of society, how can we stop your high technology?"

"You've caught them all, aren't you? You're really something, catching them all in one fell swoop, hahaha." He spread his hands, making an exaggerated gesture, and his sarcastic tone was almost overflowing.

Chu Chan frowned slightly. Judging from the transaction clues and the surveillance footage along the way, the twelve-member "clown" gang had indeed been completely apprehended. The surveillance footage clearly recorded their group crime-solving and well-defined division of labor.

But this is Chu Linfeng, his scheming and vengeful younger brother.

He would never put all his eggs in one basket. The twelve men are just pawns in the open, targets to draw fire. He must still be hiding a real poison needle, a lone wolf roaming outside.

With a sudden thought, Chu Chan's eyes sharpened, and without further hesitation, he unleashed his accumulated power, punching the clown man's mask with the force of wind and thunder!

"Crack——!"

The dull thuds of ceramics and bones mingling together.

"Ahhhh——!"

A piercing scream erupted from the clown man's mouth, completely different from the previous frenzied, inhuman roars. This was a pure wail, born from excruciating physical pain, sharp and real.

The mask shattered completely, the eyeballs fell out, revealing a bloody, mangled face underneath. As the mask was removed, the mental link between Chu Linfeng and the clown man also snapped.

The clown man covered his face, rolling and convulsing on the ground in pain, uttering incoherent curses and groans. His life force value plummeted rapidly in Chu Chan's view, quickly falling below the 30% warning line.

The barrier of the dueling arena rose silently. Chu Chan tapped the supercomputing ring a few times, teleporting the still wailing clown man to the interrogation room.

His immediate priority is to find the last lone wolf.

This person must absolutely not be allowed into the Soul-Binding Division!

A thousand miles away, in a dimly lit room.

"Oh." Chu Linfeng sat in front of the screen, raised his hand, and gently touched his left cheek with his fingertips, where a faint stinging pain came from.

He chuckled softly, a laugh that sounded particularly eerie.

"My dear brother, hehehe, you still hit me so hard..."

"Ouch, that really hurts..."

He murmured, shifting his gaze from Chu Chan's cold, hard profile on the small screen in front of him to the jungle and trench on the edge screen.

On the map, the countdown is flashing continuously. In just over a minute, the safe zone will shrink to the sea area between the two islands.

His gaze suddenly turned cold, and he quickly tapped the supercomputing ring on his wrist a few times to contact Lin Chen.

【The winner is】

【Blue Square】

【Duel ends】

Half a minute ago, in the jungle arena.

"Take it down!" Lin Chen punched the air, his face flushed, and shouted excitedly.

Sweat trickled down his forehead, soaking his temples.

Across from him, his three disheveled opponents jumped up and down in exasperation: "How could you play that kind of card! Are you crazy?!"

They were outnumbered and killed in a three-on-one fight, and were repeatedly outmaneuvered by cards that normal players wouldn't use.

[Magic Bullet] This deck mainly uses spells and traps that target the opponent. Going first might prevent the lower-level effects from being triggered, so it's necessary to include some general-purpose spells and traps. As for which general-purpose ones to include, everyone has their own understanding.

Lin Chen had gotten used to it; every time he won a duel, his opponent would make a similar shout.

A good card is one that can win a duel!

He ignored those sore losers and got his hands on a few hundred thousand in credits, enough to buy some supplies!

He ran quickly toward the safe zone's light pillar not far away, calculating how to spend his credits. There was only a little over a minute left before the poison circle shrank again, and time was running out.

Just when he had hundreds of thousands in credit and was full of all sorts of expectations and hopes.

A slight vibration came from the communicator implanted in my right ear.

It was Chu Linfeng's direct superior, a secure direct connection.

Lin Chen frowned subconsciously, a sense of unease rising in his heart. Chu Linfeng contacting him at this time was definitely not a good thing.

Despite his reluctance, he dared not refuse and gently pressed his hand behind his ear.

On the other end of the communicator, Chu Linfeng's cold voice came through clearly: "No matter where you are right now, I'll send you some coordinates. Find the nearest one and locate the things I've placed beforehand."

Lin Chen glanced at the red countdown on the map and subconsciously retorted, "Sir, there's only one minute left in the final round, and I'm..."

"That's an order!" Chu Linfeng's voice suddenly rose, carrying an undeniable pressure. Then, as if changing his expression in Sichuan opera, his tone suddenly softened, taking on a coaxing tone: "Don't worry, that thing can help you escape the poison."

"Believe me, that is... the most wonderful thing in the world."

"I... understand." Lin Chen gritted his teeth and stopped arguing.

An order is an order, especially at this critical juncture.

He quickly changed direction and sprinted towards the nearest coordinate sent by Chu Linfeng, a straight-line distance of over two hundred meters.

Soon, near the coordinates, a figure dressed in the uniform of the Soul-Binding Division appeared in his field of vision—it was the invigilator.

"Invigilator spotted," Lin Chen reported in a low voice.

"The other party's name?" Chu Linfeng asked in return.

Lin Chen slightly raised his eyes and, with the aid of the D-view mirror, saw the words above the other person's head: "Shen Wubu Second Group, Bai Shu".

“Bai Shu…” In the dark room, Chu Linfeng quickly connected to the dark web database and entered this name.

The information quickly popped up on the screen.

The good news is that this person does exist and is a member of the Zhong family.

The bad news is that there's only this one character in the information about "Atractylodes macrocephala"—

"Ignore it." Chu Linfeng's voice came.

"Ignore?" Lin Chen repeated, his brows furrowing even more.

Ignoring the invigilators? Looking for something in front of the invigilators from the Exorcism Bureau?

Time was of the essence, so he didn't ask any more questions. Following the coordinates precisely, he found a black metal box half-buried in the soil under an inconspicuous broken tree stump.

"Report, found it."

He was about to reach out and open the box.

"Buzzing—"

The ground trembled slightly, and several metal pipes, as thick as bowls, slowly rose from the ground around him. The nozzles at the top began to spew out pale green mist, carrying a pungent, sweet, and fishy smell, which quickly spread in all directions.

The fourth poison circle is starting to shrink!

Lin Chen felt a tingling sensation on his scalp and his hair stand on end.

Wherever the green mist reached, the vegetation shrank at a visible speed, and the sweet, fishy smell in the air made him feel nauseous.

He doesn't have a gas mask!

"Don't be afraid," Chu Linfeng's voice rang out at the right moment, carrying a strange calmness. "Open the box."

Lin Chen did as instructed, his fingers trembling slightly as he pried open the lock on the black box.

The lid popped open, but inside there was no anti-gas equipment or powerful weaponry as expected; just one thing lying quietly.

A pure white mask.

Without any patterns or decorations, it was pure white to the extreme. The mask's texture looked exceptionally smooth, with an eerie, soft luster, like the skin of a newborn baby, or the face of a beautiful woman polished to perfection.

Lin Chen stared at the mask, his heart skipped a beat for no reason.

"Put it on." Chu Linfeng's voice was seductive, like the whisper of a serpent in the Garden of Eden. "Put it on, Lin Chen. The suffering, sorrow, and injustice of this world will be irrelevant to you. You will be reborn, gaining a kind of... unprecedented freedom and fairness."

"New life. Fairness." Lin Chen's gaze was fixed on that pure white mask, and his breathing became heavy.

The green poisonous fog had spread to his feet, and the grass beneath his feet was making a soft "sizzling" sound as it withered rapidly.

His life force began to decline at a visible rate.

Without a gas mask, it would be obsolete in less than half a minute.

"fair."

A bitter smile appeared on Lin Chen's face, carrying a hint of relief and a touch of resolve. He slowly reached out and picked up the cold, slippery mask.

"fair."

Then, slowly, he placed it on his face.

The moment the mask touched his skin, it seemed to come alive, quickly merging into his flesh and blood!
"Ahhhh——!"

Indescribable pain swept over Lin Chen's every nerve like a tidal wave!
He felt as if his face was being pressed down by countless red-hot irons, his bones were shattering inch by inch, and his flesh was being forcibly torn and reassembled!
He began to convulse uncontrollably, letting out a howl even more shrill and inhuman than the clown man before. He rolled wildly on the ground, scratching his face haphazardly with his hands, his fingernails drawing deep, bone-revealing bloody lines.

[The fusion begins...]

Integration completion rate: 30%

Integration completion rate: 45%

Integration completion rate: 62%

The mechanical and cold voice kept echoing in his mind.

As the degree of fusion increased, the effect of the green poisonous fog on him gradually weakened, and the rate at which his health bar dropped slowed significantly, as if he had truly put on an invisible gas mask.

Lin Chen's howls continued, but gradually, a faint, manic laugh began to appear in the pure screams of pain, growing clearer and louder until it almost drowned out the painful groans.

I don't know how much time passed; maybe a few seconds, maybe a lifetime.

Lin Chen stopped convulsing violently. He knelt on the ground, panting heavily, his head drooping limply, sweat mixed with blood dripping from his face.

Chu Linfeng's voice, tinged with amusement, came through the headset: "You made it? I wasn't lying to you, it felt... pretty good, right?"

"Hmm, very good," Lin Chen replied softly, panting.

Chu Linfeng chuckled softly and asked, "What is the final degree of fusion?"

"Forty-five percent," Lin Chen replied in a low voice, hoarse and devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

"Not bad," Chu Linfeng praised, "better than most of the test subjects. I knew I hadn't misjudged them."

A 45% mask fusion rate is enough to rank in the top 20% of the entire "Joker" project. Even Chu Linfeng himself is only at 60% fusion rate.

This is the mask made by the Joker using his powers – the 12 o'clock hand.

The higher the fusion level, the greater the increase in the wearer's resistance and defense. A 60% fusion level means that when the wearer is attacked, they will only suffer 40% of the damage, while the remaining 60% will be distributed to all other individuals wearing the clown mask through an unknown link. At the same time, the mask will also reshape the wearer's genes, greatly enhancing their sensory perception, physical abilities, and reaction speed.

The Joker's mask fusion is 100%, and he receives 100% damage reduction. Other mask wearers will take the damage instead. As long as there is a wearer, the Joker will not die.

"I need to get into the safe zone," Lin Chen said softly, his tone still calm. "The final circle is crowded, I need to disconnect to avoid suspicion."

Chu Linfeng was slightly surprised upon hearing this: "Then, I'll wait for your good news."

After hanging up the call, Chu Linfeng stroked his chin.

This kid's emotions are pretty stable. When a normal person first puts on this kind of mask, after experiencing that extreme pain and rebirth, most people will fall into extreme excitement, laughing uncontrollably or making strange, incomprehensible noises.

But Lin Chen remained surprisingly calm.

So calm... it was as if the mask was meant to be a part of his body.

Integration completion rate: 99%

Welcome to Clown Network!

As Lin Chen listened to the mechanical voice in his mind, his gaze suddenly turned cold. He quickly ran towards the safe zone, leaving behind a few thousand in his credit limit, and used the rest to exchange for [Engraving Demon] and a gas mask.

We have to get back quickly!

He can withstand the poison, but there's someone waiting for him on the beach, and that person can't withstand it.

On Zhang Island, the poisonous fog, like an invisible behemoth, greedily devoured every inch of land.

On the third floor of the residential building, more than a dozen people were crammed together, their bodies emitting a mixture of sweat and fear.

"The poison is spreading! This is just waiting to die!" A burly man with a fierce face put away the gun he was aiming at Xia Sheng and the others, his chest heaving violently.

"Old Biao, what are you yelling about? Going to escape the poison gas now is just asking for death, isn't it?" the bespectacled man next to him retorted.

"I'm not guarding this grave anymore! I'm here to take an exam, not to guard a tomb!"

"Hey! You're saying you're not going to hold on now? We've held on for so long, and now we're going to lose everything!"

"Let's hold out a little longer. Those trying to escape the poison gas outside will definitely be the first to give up!" The bespectacled young man tried to bolster morale. "Eliminate them, and we can..."

"Wake up! Eliminating them won't be enough!"

"That's our only way to win! Look at this circle, it's fucking on the sea! If we try to run now, how can we keep up with those people at the port? We can't escape!"

"That's still better than dying of frustration here!"

The group argued heatedly, their faces turning red.

Is it a matter of risking one's life to rush out and escape the poison gas, hoping for a glimmer of hope, or staying on high ground to hunt down those trying to escape, and seeing who can hold out the longest?

Finally, Lao Biao stamped his foot: "I'm not waiting any longer! Anyone willing to charge with me, let's go now!"

Behind him, four people stood up, their faces a mixture of fear and determination, and turned to leave the operations room.

The remaining dozen or so men who insisted on holding their guns exchanged glances, a cold, unspoken understanding spreading silently between them.

The next second, gunshots suddenly rang out!

"Bang bang bang bang!"

Flames spewed, and a dense barrage of bullets instantly enveloped the five people determined to escape the poison gas.

Before Lao Biao and the other two could react, a barrier suddenly appeared on their bodies, their faces frozen in disbelief and astonishment.

"Hold!"

"Oh shit!"

The remaining two, one named A-Dao and the other named Monkey, almost instinctively rolled and tumbled behind the broken wall to hide.

Among the crowd firing shots, a man with a buzz cut, who appeared to be the leader, spoke in a low and cold voice, his gun still emitting smoke: "If we don't have enough people to eliminate from outside the circle, then we'll have to eliminate you."

In mid-air, the three eliminated men shouted hoarsely at the two behind cover, "A-Dao! Monkey! Run!"

However, instead of running away, A-Dao and the monkey behind the wall exchanged a knowing glance.

A glint of madness flashed in their eyes as they sprang up from behind cover, turning their weapons around to aim at the group of people on the same floor who had just been their "teammates"!
Two against twelve! Bullets crisscrossed in the narrow space like splashes of ink!
"Pfft!"

Two jets of blood spurted from A-Dao and the monkey's bodies at the same time, and their lives instantly plummeted.

-10%

-10%

Then, a strange scene happened.

【immunity】

【immunity】

Two huge notifications popped up above their heads.

The twelve men from the gun-bearing faction were completely dumbfounded, and even the gunfire paused for a moment.

They stared blankly at A-Dao and the monkey, who were marked with the word "Immunity." The crew-cut man pointed at them, his fingers trembling, and a beast-like roar escaped his throat: "You...you fucking use duel bullets?!"

Duel Bullets!

Once hit, both players will be marked, immune to any other bullet damage, and unable to fire, forcing them into a 1v1 duel mode!
"What the hell?! A duel at this hour?!" another player hit by the duel bullet cried out in despair.

The poisonous fog had already licked at the windowsill, and the shadow of elimination loomed over everyone's hearts. At this moment, they actually wanted to duel?!

A-Dao and Monkey threw down their guns, the weapons slamming to the ground with a dull thud. With a defiant, reckless air about them, they simultaneously unfurled their dueling disks.

"Tch," the monkey, with a buzz cut and a silver ring on his earlobe, snorted and tilted his head, looking nonchalant. "If I don't pass, I'll just try again next year."

Ah Dao, a dark-skinned young man with sharp eyes, grinned, revealing gleaming white teeth, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists: "But today, if I don't give all of you backstabbing bastards a good beating..."

The two said in unison, "My Daoist heart is not stable!"

Seeing this, the three eliminated teammates in mid-air were so excited that they danced and shouted wildly:
"Kill them! Let them know why the flowers are so red!"

The crew-cut man, hit by the duel bullet, turned green with rage. Forced to throw away his gun, he reluctantly unfolded his duel disk, gritting his teeth: "Damn it, you guys are ruthless!"

"Then I can only annihilate you all in an instant!"

"You can wipe us out in an instant?" A-Dao and the monkey exchanged a glance and laughed.

Do you know what deck we're playing?

The monkey gave a thumbs-up and raised his chin slightly: "Listen up, you scoundrel! I am Bian Yuelong, the number one [Thunder King]!"

A-Dao, dressed in surfing shorts and a floral shirt with flip-flops, scratched his messy hair and said, "I am Bian Yuelong, Chief Surfing Inspector!"

The two spoke in unison again, their voices trailing off defiantly: "Kill us instantly—?"

"You guys—" The crew-cut man couldn't hold back any longer and bared his teeth.

"Thunder King? Surf Inspector?!"

"Those who play this kind of monstrous deck, your sons are all born without an anus!"

"They must all die! No one will live today!"

"Let's duel!" the monkey shouted dramatically, and the duel disk shone brightly.

Once internal strife breaks out, the entire team instantly falls apart. Their biggest advantage was their ample firepower, which allowed them to concentrate fire and quickly eliminate lone survivors running from the poison gas. But now, their firepower cannot be concentrated, and this tactic is completely ruined.

"Run, run—!"

The others who weren't involved in the duel didn't dare linger. They screamed and jumped out of the windows or rushed down the stairs as if they'd seen a ghost, joining the army running from the poison gas, leaving only the four unlucky guys locked on by the duel bullets.

As the gunfire subsided, Xia Sheng and his two companions, who had been hiding behind an airdrop crate not far away, finally peeked out and ran towards the beach in perfect unison.

Xia Sheng ran ahead and turned to Yu Wancha and Yu Wanyin: "Can you two hold out until you reach the sea?"

Yu Wancha nodded, his voice a little hoarse: "If you don't get shot, you should be fine."

“Alright then.” Xia Sheng said calmly, “You guys follow my lead, I’ll take the bullets for you.”

He spoke with an almost declarative tone, uttering a statement brimming with boundless pride.

"Take the bullet for me, brother..." Yu Wancha's Adam's apple bobbed as he stared blankly at Xia Sheng, this enigmatic young man. "May I ask... who exactly are you?"

He really had a hard time understanding Xia Sheng.

A score of 299 on the written test is ridiculously high, yet he can still ask a ridiculous question like, "Can I take the food from the cafeteria home?" Then, he inexplicably treats the brother and sister so well, and now he calmly says things like, "I'll take the bullet for you."

Yu Wancha secretly glanced at his younger sister beside him. Yu Wanyin's cheeks flushed slightly, and she turned her head away shyly, not daring to look directly at Xia Sheng.

Is this picture of my sister?
Not like ah.

He and his sister had been on the run for so many years, they had seen all sorts of despicable looks, but Xia Sheng's eyes were clear and honest, he was definitely not that kind of person.

But what kind of person would go to such lengths?
"boom!"

Just as Wancha was lost in thought, a muffled gunshot suddenly rang out from not far away!

Xia Sheng reacted incredibly quickly. The instant the gunshot rang out, he had already raised his arm to shield Yu Wanyin.

"Pfft!" A bullet hit his arm, creating a faint ripple of energy, and his life bar dropped a little.

Xia Sheng lowered his hand, his expression remaining calm and composed, and silently continued to lead the race, his steps steady and firm.

"I am--"

After a long pause, he slowly spoke.

"An older brother."

Yu Wancha and Yu Wanyin's eyes widened suddenly, their hearts feeling as if they had been gently bumped by something.

He's not anyone; he says he's an older brother.

"Hurry up!" Xia Sheng shouted, his pace suddenly quickening. "The ship should be leaving soon!"

Each island has a pier, and each pier has three ships docked at it. It requires a huge amount of energy to operate, and it takes about fifty or sixty people working together to sense the energy to barely start them.

"Eighth Brother!"

Meanwhile, on the shore of Zhi Island, Tang Xin sat anxiously in the driver's seat of a speedboat, shouting at Li Guanqi, "Their boat is about to leave!"

"Don't let your mind wander." Li Guanqi pressed down on her trembling hand, which was resting on the sensor, his eyes still closed as he focused all his energy on sensing the Qi.

A few seconds later, the speedboat's control panel emitted a slight hum, and several indicator lights lit up one after another, filling the entire cockpit with a soft blue light.

The two men completed the energy injection into their engines and the Qi sensing was finished.

Tang Xin's eyes lit up: "It's done!"

Li Guanqi opened his eyes, a sharp glint in them. He took a deep breath and shouted, "Semi-autonomous driving mode, activate!"

Tang Xin immediately gripped the handrail beside her tightly and subconsciously closed her eyes.

The speedboat emitted a deep roar, followed by an automated announcement:

【Received the instruction】

[Semi-autonomous driving mode activated... Route planning in progress... Target: Center of safe zone.]

"Shh-!"

The speedboat shot off like an arrow, leaving the ever-spreading poisonous fog far behind.

Tang Xin felt the oncoming gale, mixed with the salty smell of the sea. She excitedly opened her eyes, couldn't help but spread her arms, and let out a joyful shout: "Wuhu—!"

However, before her cheers had even subsided, the speedboat suddenly slowed down.

Tang Xin stumbled and almost hit the windshield. She looked at Li Guanqi in confusion and asked, "Brother Ba? Why did you suddenly slow down? At this rate, we won't be able to catch up with that big ship."

Li Guanqi steered the speedboat at a distance that was neither too close nor too far from the large cargo ship that was slowly starting to move ahead, his expression showing a hint of solemnity.

"It's best to stay away from them."

"Stay away from them?" Tang Xin was even more confused.

Li Guanqi's gaze swept over the other small speedboats scattered across the sea, as well as the ships preparing to depart from Zhangdao Wharf in the distance. He lowered his voice and said, "Don't you think all of this is too much of a coincidence?"

"The safe zone shrinks right to the center of the sea. There is a pier on Zhi Island where we are and Zhang Island opposite us, and each pier has three boats, one large and two small."

"Most importantly, these ships can be used directly without any quota."

As Tang Xin listened to Li Guanqi's analysis, the excitement on her face slowly faded, and a chill rose from the bottom of her heart: "Hiss—Myth Brother, you mean to say..."

"These ships are a trap?!"

Li Guanqi skillfully maneuvered the speedboat, dodging hidden reefs amidst the waves, his gaze fixed intently on the large ship that was receding into the distance.

"What's free is often the most expensive."

"Based on my understanding of the organizers, they'd rather put the test takers on a scorching hot bench than provide them with free boats?"

"Don't get blood on yourself."

(End of this chapter)