Haidu: Top of the Tower

Chapter 25
A reporter with a keen sense of smell may have realized within 10 minutes after Milady handed in the registration form that this year's trials will be different.

But only those who have personally experienced three rounds of games in the trial match can truly understand that this year's trial match has changed beyond recognition: Milady disrupted all the old rules of the trial match, and the domino effect she caused was so volatile Unpredictable corners.

If the trials in previous years were harmonious and united, then in this year's trials, shadows with different faces quietly appeared, and each shadow seemed to be spying and waiting for an opportunity.

For example, in the second round of "Survival in the Chamber of Secrets", a player from the Changge family who belonged to the Milady camp last time accidentally defeated his patriarch and was eliminated.

He repeatedly apologized and explained, and even showed his loyalty—but he still has forty points, and his patriarch still only has zero points.

After that, the patriarch Changge's taboo and politeness towards him were clearly seen by everyone.When the other patriarchs looked at the clansmen, they pretended to be nonchalant, and began to increase the distance of scrutiny and precaution; and when they looked at each other, they would remember that when they were fighting, the other party didn't care much about their position.

Every day, the Trials seemed to get closer to what it was: a silo.

This is undoubtedly worse for Luo Geng.

After he received help from the chiefs of the clans again and again, he failed again and again, which made his lobbying more and more difficult, and the cooperation he received became less and less.

Facing many obstacles, Luo Geng's friendliness and demeanor are like a thin old coat with sparse fabric, gradually unable to conceal the cold and damp nature underneath.

After successive failures in the warm-up match and "Kidnapping the King", his temper and attitude became worse every time; when Milady successfully scored another [-] points from the "Survival of the Chamber of Secrets", Luo Geng even suppressed his roar and angrily reprimanded Li Wei and Nava are incompetent—especially Li Wei, whose strengths could not be brought into full play in the "Survival of the Chamber of Secrets", and did not find an exit until the end of the game. Luo Geng and Nava managed to score [-] points each. Still zero.

All of this naturally satisfied Milady.

If you don't smash this closed system first, how can you let the outside wind blow in?
Thanks to the major newspapers in Haidu, the trials attracted more spectators every game; the most entertaining "Kidnapping the King" had almost no spectators, but when it came to the relatively calm guessing game, the trial committee The venue had to be changed temporarily, and the venue was replaced by the Li Opera House, the largest in Haidu—because only its more than [-] seats can accommodate the constant influx of spectators.

Twelve puzzles were published in newspapers, pasted on the exterior walls of theaters, and written on stage billboards; this year's trials inspired and gained unprecedented attention and interest, and became the topic of the entire Haidu for a while.

They were not attracted by pure riddle guessing, what they came to see was something other than guessing riddles, this point, everyone in the trial competition knew it in their hearts.

If the Trial Competition Committee wants to play tricks, it's impossible, right?

Before the start of the third game, Milady thought so.Dots of hot hope rolled in her chest: she was still twenty minutes away from qualifying, and she was a big step closer to her goal.

With so many eyes on her, she felt that she could finally relax a bit.Finally, once in a while, she can take it for granted to enjoy a chance of fair competition without having to worry about it and rack her brains.

10 minutes after the start of the game, she sat in her position with cold hands and feet.

She was wrong.

The third game, compared to the first few games, was desperately tilted.

Maybe it's because the situation of the three people in the tower is not good, and they can't afford to fail again. In "It's a simple answering game", Milady and Li Wei were assigned to the same camp, and Luo Geng and Nava were on the other side. ;In this way, no matter which side wins, Luo Geng's group can earn at least [-] points.

As long as she can qualify herself, it’s okay to give Li Wei [-] points; but shortly after the start of the puzzle solving game, Milady saw the puzzle and listened to the players from both camps discussing for a while, and realized that she Lost today.

No, the committee didn't reveal the answer in advance—they didn't have to take that risk.

The difficulty of the puzzles is not low, even smart people have to spend a lot of brainpower. It is not uncommon to spend more than ten minutes in order to solve a puzzle.

And in order to ensure the balance of strength, the chiefs of the various clans will try their best to select various types of talents to bring into the trial competition. A type of player who is good at using brains, coincidentally, they are all on the opposite side.

On the opposite side, there are four or five main problem-solving players, including Xi Yadu, Luo Geng, and Mai Ya, who can attack separately at the same time, but she can only rely on herself, and she has to answer the questions of her teammates from time to time and reject their guesses... When Milady finally solved the two questions, she felt a shadow move in her peripheral vision, and when she looked up, she found that Siyado had left her seat, as if she had already finished answering the questions assigned to him.

He walked slowly across the theater stage, and without a word pulled back the chair beside Milady.

When he sat down, there was a special breath: like the dull air before the storm, or like the gloom when the twilight is about to sink into darkness.

The reporters and audience in the theater, seeing this, let out buzzing whispers, and then dispersed like ripples, returning to a calm water surface.

During the process of answering questions, players can chat freely regardless of camp, and even use chat as a strategy.Only less than half an hour after the start of the game, Xiyado came over to disturb her?Or is it a way to show how smooth they are?

"I won't talk to you," said Milady, through gritted teeth.

Even if she alone can't keep up with the progress of the four or five people on the opposite side, she is not willing to give up, so that Luo Geng and Xi Yadu can feel even a little bit of satisfaction.Even if she knew that she was bound to lose, she would never take the initiative to take the pressure off Luo Geng.

"Then let me tell." Xiyado didn't care about her attitude at all, and said with a good temper: "I have already solved my problem, and their progress is also good. You can still struggle for 10 minutes at most."

……10 minutes?

Milady stared at the numbers surrounded by circles and connected by lines on the paper in front of her, trying to find out the regularity between them and fill in the only empty circle.Perhaps this question was particularly difficult. She felt that her eyes were about to poke through the paper, but her mind was still as blank as the place where she filled in the answer.

"You know very well that Luo Geng would not dare to let you win another round, otherwise you will qualify."

72, 27, 99, forming the first triangle in the arrangement... But the law of more than a dozen numbers is not adding and subtracting each other. She tried it just once and knew it was wrong. What is it?
"Look, it's such a coincidence that he has to win this game, and he happened to occupy the conditions for winning the game."

The next number - Milady raised her head abruptly, looked at him coldly and said, "Whether it's a coincidence or not, you and I know in our hearts."

Xiyado leaned back on the back of the chair with a relaxed attitude, as if the two were old friends.

"You're right. Of course it wasn't a coincidence. It was arranged by the committee."

Even if Milady tried to focus on the numbers again, she couldn't help being surprised.After all, there were thousands of spectators a few feet away; the loudspeaker was on Luo Geng's table opposite.Xiyado's confession came from the edge of taboo, and the only one who heard it was himself.

"When the king was kidnapped in the first game, the committee didn't give him much extra care. Although I was indeed prepared to let him win, that was only my personal decision and had nothing to do with the committee." Siyado said slowly, "The second game is also Same. But in the third game, don't you find it curious that there is such a big partiality suddenly?"

Milady didn't know where this conversation was going to go. She only knew that she couldn't solve her problem no matter what.

If Xiyado came to interfere with her, then he was too successful.

"It's just the difference between helping early and helping later," she whispered, "does it matter?"

That being said, she also knew it was wrong.

As early as when she kidnapped the king, she knew that in the next camp battle, the lineups of both sides would not change, so that each family could get points as evenly as possible.

But in the puzzle game, the committee broke this principle that had been maintained for many years; they did not move many people, less than half, but they did cause a few dissatisfied faces and one or two low-pitched complaints.

It can be said that the committee saved Luo Geng's victory in this round by sacrificing dozens of points from several families-this degree of partiality is indeed different.

"Tea Rose?" she guessed again.

Xiyado shook his head. "You are wrong. If Tea Ross could decide where to go, you would have lost when you kidnapped the king. You forgot that the trial match was held by the trial family... Who said that the interests of the trial family and the chiefs would be Unity all the time?"

Milady was taken aback.

"We are willing to hand over the position of patriarch to obedient and loyal people, but we also don't want to let them live too comfortably in the position. Once a person has been at ease for a long time, it is easy to think that this comfort is what he deserves."

Xiyado smiled lightly, not at all, but it was so sharp and cold that it was frightening.

"So, let them be properly worried and afraid, and break out in a cold sweat, so that they can better remember their position, remember that the judge family above them is the one who gave them everything, and naturally they can take everything away at any time .

"Because of this, we see what you are doing now, but we don't care about you. It doesn't hurt to make Luo more anxious for a while. It is enough for us to help him a few small favors in critical moments. Solve the puzzle The distribution of camp members in the game is just such a small favor..."

Xi Yadu is obviously only a contestant in name, but he knows everything. "Did you know that it only took the committee more than ten minutes to decide on the method and the list for you to lose the game."

Ten minutes?

Milady put down the pen in her hand with a snap.

"After experiencing you, Luo Geng will be the most loyal patriarch of the Judgment Family in the Sea Wave Concerto." Xiyado looked at the pen rolling away and said with a sigh, "To be honest, Luo Geng originally had the advantage, but still Being pressed by you step by step into the current predicament can only show that his ability is not as good as yours, and he can't blame anyone if he loses."

The other players of the same camp, including the staff, sat far away, as if they knew not to interfere with the two people's open and aboveboard conversation in front of thousands of Haidu spectators, which no one heard.

"But such an important position as the patriarch just needs someone like Luo Geng. He is capable enough, but not too high. After this battle, he will be both grateful and loyal to the Judgment Family." Xi Yadu said slowly , "The most important thing is that he has a very clear set of power ladders in his heart. He is very clear about which level of this power system he was born in, and he is willing to do his best to maintain it..."

Milady knew what he was going to say. "I don't have this."

"You see," Siddho said appreciatively, "that's why we allowed him to be the head of the Tower, but you couldn't."

"So you want to tell me that under the will of the trial family, I will definitely lose?" Milady asked as calmly as possible.

"That's right. You compete in the rules set by the Judgment Family, even if the whole sea is watching, you will still lose. We let you play for a while, you have fun, and the role you should play has also worked , it's time to leave."

Siyado said as if suddenly remembered: "Oh, yes, the committee decided not to let you qualify for the fourth game. You can listen carefully to the game settings for the fourth game, if you don't believe me."

"No." Milady shook her head, staring at the whitish knuckles in her hand, and said, "You have come here to tell me so much, there must be a purpose..."

Xiyado let out a clear laugh for the first time, and even made many people on the stage turn their eyes.

Milady seemed to be able to hear someone in the audience in the front row saying "that girl has been distracted" - they didn't know that their attention was no longer the decisive factor in this game .

"Of course there is!" He stopped laughing and said. "I'll tell you your failure ahead of time, and you'll accelerate your own failure. More importantly...I like being the one who reports the bad news."

Siyado said as he stood up again.

"Especially when that person blocked me."

Milady watched him walk back to the opposite camp, then turned her head almost numbly, watching Luo Geng rang the silver bell and reported nine answers.She watched the host Amelia check the answers one by one; only two of them were wrong, and the remaining seven proved the defeat of Milady's camp.

At the end of the third round, she still only had [-] points—in the opposite camp, Siyado and Mai Ya had already scored [-] points so far, and they could qualify smoothly.

Luo Geng is also forty, but his complexion is much better than Milady's; he seems to be dying of thirst and suddenly tastes sweet water, and the pieces that are about to burst have returned to their original places, and he looks like Luo Geng from before .

People have hope, it is really different.

Li Wei was the unluckiest of the three. After three games in a row, he still had zero points.Nawa also scored [-] points; that is to say, in the next round of "tearing down the east wall to make up the west wall", the high tower team pooled up points with each other, which was enough for Luo Geng to qualify.

Before he qualify, he will definitely try his best to kill Milady together with Li Wei and Nawa.Who knows, although Xi Yadu has qualified, maybe his clansmen are also willing to sharpen their knives on themselves?

After the contestants returned to their dormitories, Milady sat on the end of the bed and thought for half an hour.

It only takes a few words to fall from hope into darkness.

It's so strange, every word Siyado said is so logical and logical, it stands to reason that she should have thought of it herself; but after he said it, Milady had a sudden realization that "this is really the case". .And the more she thought about it, the more she felt that what he said was the truth.

She clearly knew that the trials were organized by the Judgment Family, but why did she subconsciously think that they might allow the competition to develop freely and give her a chance to compete fairly?
When the fourth game started, was it her end?
Milady laughed and covered her eyes.

(End of this chapter)