God's imitator

Chapter 39 The Farmer's Walk
As the game introduction ended, the five people let out a sharp, low groan almost simultaneously.

"hiss……"

Wang Yongxin looked at the stinging spot on his wrist. It seemed as if a needle had pierced through the inside of the black visa bracelet, quickly penetrating his skin and injecting some kind of substance into his body.

A strange tingling sensation spread from the acupuncture point on my wrist.

"A chronic toxin...it will cause death within 2 hours..."

Wang Yongxin's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

Two hours is considered a relatively long gaming time.

Previously, the game time for "Blood Poker" was one and a half hours. Even so, many players still spent some time idling during the game.

But this time the situation is completely different.

In the face of a life-or-death crisis, two hours will seem too short.

Where are Attorney Lin and Officer Cao?

"They should have entered the game as well, but not in the passage."

Wang Yongxin looked around and realized that the long passage ahead was actually divided into five different paths.

Wang Yongxin, Ding Wenqiang, and Cai Zhiyuan are each on a different path, and there are two other complete strangers on two more distant paths.

The paths are separated by glass curtain walls several meters high, which cannot be broken or climbed over.

There was only one thing they could do at that moment.

Directly in front is a special mechanism, about 1.6 meters high and 1.2 meters wide, with some kind of special frame structure.

According to the game rules, these people must lift the traps in front of them and pass through the passage within a limited time.

The design of this mechanism is not complicated. It is somewhat similar to a carrying pole with heavy loads, or a machine specifically designed for farmers to carry loads on their shoulders.

It has specific positions for carrying on the shoulder and gripping with the hands, making it easy to identify.

In addition, there are a large number of irregular iron blocks used as counterweights on the mechanism.

According to the game rules, each person's mechanism is equal to their own weight, meaning that the heavier a person is, the heavier the mechanism they need to carry.

"Hey!"

Someone exclaimed in surprise. When Wang Yongxin looked up, he saw that Ding Wenqiang had already picked up the mechanism and was walking forward.

Wang Yongxin then looked up at the path above where he was standing, where there was a special timer sign every so often.

The sign had a 60-second countdown, and 5 seconds had already passed.

"Depend on!"

Wang Yongxin realized he had made a mistake by overthinking. He was focused on the game rules and the game venue, and unknowingly wasted time.

He hurriedly went to his own mechanism and crawled inside.

Then, Wang Yongxin gripped the vertical handles on both sides with both hands and pushed his shoulders upwards with all his might.

"Get up..."

Just that one moment made Wang Yongxin feel his blood rush to his head, his heart pound, and beads of sweat rolling down his face.

Although the design of this mechanism is relatively user-friendly, with special leather padding at the shoulder area to prevent the steel mechanism from causing pain and making it impossible to move, it is still a full-body weight of one's own.

Wang Yongxin tried his best to move forward.

As someone who is not short of money, Wang Yongxin has certainly been to the gym and even done training similar to the Farmer's Walk. But unfortunately, as he gets older, he has less and less time and becomes lazier, and he has long since given up the habit of exercising.

The only good news is that, in order to maintain his image as a business elite and leave a better impression on investors, he has been controlling his diet, so he has maintained a pretty good physique.

If he had gained another 20 pounds, he would probably have faced certain death.

"Huh...huh...huh..."

After walking a few steps, Wang Yongxin felt his breathing becoming more and more rapid. He gasped for breath but still couldn't catch his breath, and his heart was pounding as if it were about to explode.

Farmer's walk is a sport that requires a high level of strength throughout the body, including not only strong lower limb strength but also a strong core and good balance.

So after walking a few meters, Wang Yongxin was so tired that he could hardly breathe. As soon as he slumped slightly, the mechanism fell back to the ground.

When Wang Yongxin looked up again, he realized that Ding Wenqiang had already left everyone far behind.

“…This game is fucking unfair.” Wang Yongxin only had time to utter this one sentence, but after glancing at the countdown, he could only grit his teeth and carry the mechanism forward again.

Of course, he soon realized that his statement was a bit sarcastic, because the arcade never restricted itself to a specific type of game.

In games like "Blood Poker," which encourage speculation and rule-following, Wang Yongxin had a clear advantage. So it's not unreasonable for Ding Wenqiang to have a clear advantage now that they've encountered a game that emphasizes physical strength.

As an experienced manual laborer, Ding Wenqiang not only possesses physical qualities far exceeding those of ordinary people, but also an extraordinary level of endurance.

This challenge seemed tailor-made for him.

……

Through the monitoring screen, Lin Sizhi could clearly see the situation of everyone.

The current rankings are: Ding Wenqiang, Zhang Peng, Gao Zhankui, Wang Yongxin, and Cai Zhiyuan.

Zhang Peng was that unemployed young man with blond hair. Although he was rather thin, his physical fitness was probably better than that of the average office worker.

Furthermore, each person's body mass is calculated based on their own weight, so people with low body fat still have a certain advantage even if they are thin.

Gao Zhankui was a middle-aged man with a face full of scars. Although he looked very strong, his weight made him several steps behind Zhang Peng.

Of course, he also seemed to have done some manual labor, and his physical fitness was much better than that of Wang Yongxin and Cai Zhiyuan.

Cai Zhiyuan is the most unfortunate one here. Although he took up the task and moved forward immediately, as a programmer, he doesn't exercise much and is in a sub-healthy state, and he also neglects his physical condition.

With numerous unfavorable factors combined, it has fallen to the very end.

The entire passage is divided into three stages. The first stage is 20 meters long, with a 60-second countdown.

According to the game rules, if the task cannot be completed within 60 seconds, spikes will extend from the mechanism, causing excruciating pain to urge the player to continue.

If the task cannot be completed within 60 seconds, the user will be subject to an instant death penalty.

Fortunately, judging from the current situation, even Cai Zhiyuan, who is lagging behind, should be able to complete the task.

Just then, Lin Sizhi heard another system broadcast that could only be heard by the audience.

Because the announcements broadcast to all players and those broadcast to the audience are played through different speakers, there are obvious differences in timbre and volume, making them easy to distinguish.

[Viewer number 9 bet on 'The Prisoner'.]

Before the identities of the king and the prisoner were finally determined, some people placed bets in advance.

This time, however, the bet is placed on the prisoners.

Lin Sizhi pondered for a moment: "Could audience member number 9 be Officer Cao?"
"The only reason I can think of to bet on the prisoners now is that there is more than one acquaintance among the five people below, so as a spectator, I naturally stand on the side of the acquaintances and hope that they all survive."

"Among the 17th community members who successfully entered the game as spectators, only Officer Cao and I were able to do so."

Lin Sizhi silently kept it in mind.

……

Ding Wenqiang was the first to reach the finish line of the first stage.

After crossing the finish line, there was a rest area about one meter long. Ding Wenqiang immediately put the device on the ground and started panting heavily.

But after arriving at the rest area, the one-minute countdown did not stop immediately.

Ding Wenqiang looked around, somewhat puzzled, and noticed a special button on the wall of the rest area, next to which were several eye-catching words: [Press to stop the countdown.]

Ding Wenqiang immediately pressed the button, and the countdown for his path stopped at 22 seconds.

Not long after, the other four people also arrived at the rest area.

Cai Zhiyuan arrived almost at the last second of the countdown. In the last few steps, he seemed completely exhausted. As soon as he put the mechanism on the ground, he wanted to lie down on the spot.

It was only through sheer willpower that I managed to press the button on the wall.

Although Ding Wenqiang's physical fitness was much better than Cai Zhiyuan's, the distance was very short, only 20 meters, so it was difficult to create a significant gap.

Cai Zhiyuan leaned against the wall and began to dry heave.

However, the rules of the game clearly left him no room to breathe; the moment he pressed the button, the signs on everyone's paths changed.

What was originally the remaining time after everyone finished has become a new, unified countdown.

38 seconds.

(End of this chapter)