Survival Game: Call Me an Honest Businessman

The other trial participants all followed Hena's gaze and parted to make way for him.

Hena's eyes were icy: "The trophy I want is the Emerald Heart."

[Henna, the first ring defender, has the following ring rules: Any item possessed by the challenger is locked as loot.]

Loot successfully locked

Your Emerald Heart has been taken over by the Seventh Trial Grounds.

Li Zhi felt a chill run down his spine.

It wasn't because of Hena's challenge.

Instead, she turned the Emerald Heart into a card. If the Emerald Heart were to appear in front of everyone like this, her talent would most likely be exposed.

Her consciousness sank into the spatial pendant, only to find that the three Emerald Heart cards were still there.

However, one of them had actually turned gray.

Li Zhi quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, the Emerald Heart wasn't taken directly from her space.

But this also deepened her apprehension.

The fact that any single rule of this game can directly lock down the items in her space means that the game can take away everything she has worked so hard for whenever it wants.

At this moment, Li Zhicai truly understood the meaning of this sentence:

—Qiyuan knows everything, Qiyuan monitors everything, Qiyuan is everywhere.

This also explains why merchants like Celia are so resistant to online transactions.

It wasn't the so-called surveillance by Qiyuan, but the fear of losing everything at any moment.

Celia once said, "Everyone has their own answer to what the Origin is."

Now, Li Zhi's understanding is that Qiyuan is the rule.

He is like the most precise gear in a rusty machine, filling in the perfectly fitting rules at will in this extreme world.

Rules don't respect morality; rules respect the strong.

The rules... encourage fighting.

Li Zhi and Hena locked eyes.

I saw the raw, bloodthirsty killing intent in her eyes.

"Hernar, what do you mean? You're saying she has the Emerald Heart? But the Emerald Heart isn't on the map anymore."

It was Ashi who spoke.

Bai Xue frowned, looking at Li Zhi and then at Hena, her expression shifting between suspicion and anger.

Hena: "Why should I explain to you?"

Hena turned and left, not caring at all whether Li Zhi followed.

But Li Zhi had no choice but to follow.

Being challenged first in the arena is equivalent to being locked in the seventh trial zone; if she doesn't accept the challenge, she will never be able to leave.

Return to the training grounds.

There are far fewer people here.

But soon, it was filled with trial participants who came to watch the spectacle.

Two beams of light propelled Li Zhi and Hena onto the first arena.

Li Zhi observed the environment while considering countermeasures.

Whether on Earth or the Apocalypse Continent, this was her first real fight with another person.

It's fair to say that they had absolutely no confidence.

Combat requires talent.

To improve herself, she learned some self-defense techniques, practiced rock climbing, and participated in marathons.

However, his physical fitness is generally average. Apart from his good perseverance and endurance, he is only at the average level in other aspects.

She was well aware that no matter how much she practiced, she would never reach the level of Master Hao and his ability to "match the right person".

Therefore, except when necessary, she almost never adds attribute points to strength.

Li Zhi was very clear about her own position; she didn't belong to the category of relying on physical strength, especially close combat.

—When playing games, she only plays marksman and mage, feeling safer the further away they are.

In reality, if she were to engage in close-quarters combat, especially against orcs with sharp claws and teeth, Li Zhi's first thought would be to surrender immediately upon the start of the fight.

A jade heart is important, but it's not some rare resource that can never be obtained again; it's certainly not more important than her life.

The rules of the trial arena also allow surrendering at the start, but it only requires paying 300 points.

Just as Li Zhi had devised a plan, a cold voice rang out above the arena, accompanied by a dialogue box:

[Henna, the defender of the first arena, has chosen the deathmatch mode. Unless the winner voluntarily gives up killing the loser, the first arena will collect another soul.]

[Preparation time for both sides: 1 minute]

[Countdown to the life-or-death battle: 00:59]

"A fight to the death?"

Li Zhi's pupils contracted sharply, and his mind went blank for a moment.

She quickly turned to look at Hena.

Hena was stretching her body, completely ignoring Li Zhi's gaze.

Li Zhi's heart sank.

This is a complete refusal to negotiate.

Hyena beastmen harbor deep hatred for humans.

Hena most likely learned and confirmed from the beast-eared woman that she had obtained the Emerald Heart, which deepened his dislike for her.

Li didn't know how the beast-eared woman knew she had obtained the Jade Heart, but that wasn't important at the moment. What mattered was that she had to find a way to resolve this crisis.

She used a telepathic card to say, "Henna, I'm willing to spend 100 gold to save my life. In addition, I'm willing to provide the hyena orc race with enough supplies and fuel to survive this extreme cold. What do you say?"

Hena turned his head, his eyes devoid of any emotion: "No amount of money can buy your life back. I will slaughter every single one of your newborn races; you are just one of them."

[Countdown to the life-or-death battle: 00:49]

Li Zhi: "200 gold."

Hena sneered, unmoved.

[Countdown to the life-or-death battle: 00:45]

Li Zhi: "500 gold."

Hena slowly retreated, his eyes locked on Li Zhi, and he assumed an attack stance.

[Countdown to the life-or-death battle: 00:42]

Li Zhi: "1000 gold."

Hena stopped responding and only let out a low growl.

[Countdown to the life-or-death battle: 00:39]

There's no point in raising the price any further.

Just as she initially judged.

Hena completely refused to negotiate.

It's a matter of life and death, so we have to give it a try.

Li Zhi took a deep breath, abandoning any remaining hope.

She put on another protective shield for herself, placing Blindness, Luck, Doppelganger, and Berserk separately in the pendant space and different pockets, ensuring that she could accurately activate the card the moment she needed it.

He took the cloak out of his backpack and put it on, then put the two buttons into his two pockets to ensure he could use all the supplies in his five spaces immediately.

Finally, Li Zhi took out the "Turning Waste into Treasure" card.

Nothing she carries with her is considered "junk".

But she habitually makes thorough preparations.

Even if it means wasting a one-time talent card and a weapon, she needs to ensure all possibilities are realized before she can make adequate contingency plans.

Li Zhizhen only had three pieces of equipment that could truly be called weapons.

A D-grade fire source gun, a dagger and crossbow discarded by Master Odin.

She's already mastered the crossbow; using it to turn trash into treasure now would be too risky and could easily backfire.

A D-grade fire source gun is never useless, and it's one of her key weapons in this battle.

The only thing that meets the requirements for turning trash into treasure is this discarded dagger.

[Countdown to the life-or-death battle: 00:09]

Li Zhi no longer hesitated and activated the transformation from waste to treasure.

[One-time talent turned from waste into treasure has been used]

[The discarded daggers of the Forging Clan are being upgraded...]