GAMMT - Chapter 60
Chapter 60: What an Animal!
Fu Chuan wasn't in a hurry. She was surprisingly calm, only glancing quickly at the height of the cell door.
She had found it strange before—why were the ceilings in these cells so high?
Four meters.
Now it seemed it was to accommodate the Coffin Carrier's height.
Just like a game setting, certain bosses were bound to appear.
Three meters tall, clumsy, carrying a heavy coffin—its center of gravity was bound to be unstable.
She remembered seeing its posture while she was unconscious. It walked with its body leaning forward, afraid the coffin on its back would hit the ceiling.
The corridor height back then was also about four meters.
And this cell had a threshold.
Fu Chuan lowered her gaze, then suddenly bent down, pulled at a loose end of a chain, and casually handed it to Shen Qixi.
Her movement was nonchalant, exuding a certain elegance and the magnanimity of a boss.
It felt like being kept, and your sugar daddy had just casually tossed you a very thick jeweled necklace.
Shen Qixi: "?"
It was thick, exceptionally thick.
In cell 002, Barbara was mercilessly tormenting the prisoners, but their expressions suddenly filled with terror as they, too, heard the heavy, dreadful footsteps.
Lin Hangjing looked outside and soon saw a massive, three-meter-tall figure carrying a large coffin, walking slowly and heavily past the front of their cell.
Its head was still covered with a burlap sack, stained with what looked like dried blood.
It was terrifying.
As it passed, everyone instinctively held their breath.
The information available to cell 002 and the other cells was different from that of cell 001. They didn't know it was heading for 001, so they were especially panicked as it walked by, afraid it would detect their breathing and come inside…
Thankfully, it passed.
Lin Hangjing mentally counted its steps, determining where it stopped.
The next cell down the row.
That was cell 001.
Faced with such a terrifying Coffin Carrier, how many people in cell 001 could possibly survive?
After the Coffin Carrier had passed, Barbara suddenly said, "What are you looking at? Your turn will come soon enough. Though it's also possible you'll be dead before then."
"Alright, time for a question. First question: what color was the underwear of the monster that just passed by?"
Everyone: "???"
Lin Hangjing: "…"
While they were still reeling from the underwear question, the thirty-three people in cell 001 were the ones under real pressure.
The Coffin Carrier stopped, turned to face them, and then… stretched its long, ape-like arms.
It pulled a key from its pocket.
Click. Clack.
The lock on the iron cell door opened. It stepped inside, but because of the coffin on its back, it had to lean its body far forward to cross the threshold.
At that very moment, Shen Qixi, who was hiding in the corner by the door, quickly threw the chain she was holding to the other side. Lan Chenshuang, crouched in the opposite corner, caught the end. The two of them pulled the chain taut, then yanked it sideways in the opposite direction of its entry!
With an unstable center of gravity, even a martial arts master would fall for such a sneak attack.
It pitched forward, but just as it was about to hit the ground, its long arms shot out to brace itself. Not good!
This wasn't a stupid, clumsy BOSS; it had reflexes. It clearly wasn't going to be taken down so easily.
Lan Chenshuang knew how to seize an opportunity. He had planned to rush in and land the first blow if it fell, but seeing it extend its arms as if to push itself back up, he immediately retreated to protect himself.
But just as his foot moved back, a dark figure shot forward like a phantom. In the instant the creature fell and braced itself with its arms, she slid low to the ground. Her long leg hooked inside the Coffin Carrier's arm, and with a low, sweeping kick, she yanked outwards…
Crack!
With the heavy coffin pressing down on its back, the Coffin Carrier's arms were like supporting pillars. Two pillars in a structure are inherently unstable. With the force, timing, and angle calculated perfectly, it took just one move. Crack! Its palm slid outwards, and its body tilted to the left.
As its body tipped over, it tried to grab Fu Chuan's leg, but with a twist of her hand, she spun on the ground, leaped up, and vaulted over it, using its left arm as a springboard to clamp a hand around its neck.
"Roar!"
The Coffin Carrier's strength surged. With its legs on the ground, the arm that had been swept out slammed down, intending to heave its body up and violently throw Fu Chuan off its back. The force was immense; the ground vibrated, and the stone slabs cracked, sending fragments flying. However, before it could throw her, Fu Chuan's thumb and middle finger pressed into a point at the base of its ear. The force went into it.
Its brain went numb for a fraction of a second, its strength faltering for an instant.
At that moment, her other hand rose and fell.
All anyone saw was a flash of red from her hand. The speed was so great that the afterimage looked like a single red line.
Then came a soft squelch.
A sharp, slender object pierced its skin, plunged straight into its neck, and then… drove deep.
Its neck twitched. Its power, which had been about to erupt, deflated like a punctured ball. Right before everyone's eyes, it stiffened for two seconds. The head under the sack seemed to gasp as if hooked to a high-powered fan, and then… within two minutes of its appearance, it fell for the second time.
This time, there were no surprises. It just collapsed with a thud.
The scene fell silent for a moment. Lan Chenshuang and the others were unusually quiet… Shen Qixi looked bewildered, as if trying to figure something out.
This Xie Keli's skills were terrifying, but she had a feeling that someone else was just as terrifying.
Precise judgment, silky-smooth execution.
Fu Chuan got off its neck, pulling the vibrant red weapon from her hand.
Shlick… It was the only sound, so smooth and satisfying.
It was so red.
A red high-heeled shoe, its heel dripping with Green Blood. A spurting neck. A leather jacket stained green and looking somewhat disgusting.
Shen Qixi and the others were quieter than quails.
"Was it that easy to kill? Why does this mini-BOSS seem so weak?"
"That's too much. How did Lan Chenshuang lose out to Xie Keli?"
In the waiting hall, the quiet atmosphere was broken by a few murmurs.
They were displeased.
A dark horse was a dark horse precisely because the world didn't think they should perform so well.
The public consensus was that the top spot should belong to recognized talents like Lan Chenshuang, Jian Feilan, or Wu Long.
Zhang Juan, who had been eliminated early yet again, felt his heart ache once more as he watched the screen.
Yeah, was it that easy?
Zhang Juan couldn't help but touch his neck, which still seemed to ache. It had been healed, but the 50th-level master healer had reminded him that the trachea was one of the most fragile parts of the human body. He had survived only because he retreated in time. If he had foolishly delayed for another ten seconds, it would have been irreversible.
A pointless death.
So he had been just ten seconds from death. This Xie Keli had shown no intention of holding back.
If he was like that with a real person, what about a BOSS in here?
Being so ruthless seemed only natural.
Damned Xie Keli! Terrifying Xie Keli.
Hearing his own family members speak so ignorantly, Lan Luoqi's expression soured. He chided them in a low voice, "Idiots! Don't think it's simple just because there's no Arcane. The simpler it looks, the harder it is to execute. Skill and timing are indispensable. He predicted its weakness in advance. And in the end, do you really think he grabbed its neck just to control it?"
Wasn't that it?
Amateurs watch the special effects; experts see the technique. Why he grabbed the neck was the key to this swift, clean kill.
Lan Luoqi sneered. "With a physique that strong, what good would grabbing the neck do? It's more likely that the coffin on its back was the biggest constraint after it fell. The reason he grabbed its neck was to feel for the position of its trachea, judge the toughness and defense of its skin, and then precisely pierce the trachea with his heel for a fatal blow! And the spot he pinched was likely a pressure point behind the ear. If applied accurately, that point can drain the BOSS's strength for a second or two."
Many people had a sudden realization. So that's how it was.
"Look, he's opening the coffin."
"I wonder what's inside."
Fu Chuan had indeed lifted the coffin lid. As she did… a dark figure suddenly leaped out from inside.
"Ta-da! Your local Gnome Merchant is here!"
That one jump was enough to scare the living daylights out of both the examinees and the spectators.
What the hell was that?
It had a pointy mouth and chin, a large head, and a short, stout body. Its skin was an oily green, and its shifty, beady eyes made it look plain ugly.
But it carried a square backpack and wore a pair of very mechanical-looking glasses, much like a merchant.
Those who had studied biological taxonomy recognized it at a glance.
In the waiting area, countless people spat out their coffee or crushed their milk tea cups. Once they got a clear look at the creature, a chorus of curses erupted.
Holy shit!
Damn the Education Ministry! Bunch of lunatics!
Fu Chuan glanced at the others, who were cowering against the wall, and her lips turned down in a slight, disdainful frown. "Getting scared by this? You're all so pathetic."
Lan Chenshuang and the others looked embarrassed.
The Gnome Merchant, however, pushed up its heavy mechanical glasses and said, "Kid, I saw your heart rate spike just now. Who are you trying to fool?"
Fu Chuan, who had indeed almost had a heart attack, was speechless. "…"
She did not like this Gnome Merchant.
The Gnome Merchant continued, "Alright, as participants in killing and assisting in the kill of the BOSS, you have the right to trade with me. You can exchange all your points for a treasure. The more points, the higher the treasure's level. A reminder: these treasures are not limited to use in this instance! You can take them out with you, including Blue Tier treasures. There is only one of each treasure, first come, first served."
"Do you want to trade? This is an opportunity you don't want to miss!"
Fu Chuan was taken aback. Was there really such a good deal?
But with all elements sealed here, these treasures would be useless. And… wasn't there any point reward for killing the Coffin Carrier?
She also remembered seeing a number on the bottom of the coffin lid when she opened it.
03.
Coffin Carrier #03. Just like the puppets, they each had their own number. But Barbara didn't. This meant the so-called Coffin Carriers were likely controlled puppets as well.
The puppet was dead, but she hadn't received a reward.
Where was the real master?
Fu Chuan's gaze flickered to the massive corpse on the ground.
There was still blood on its neck. It was emerald green, not like that of a normal person.
The Gnome Merchant's words were too tempting. The opportunity had everyone's heart racing. The parents were also discussing it animatedly. So there was this kind of setup inside the coffin. For those who killed the BOSS, it was indeed a massive opportunity, enough to boost their strength and further their progress in clearing the instance.
Lan Chenshuang's eyes lit up. He stepped forward, wanting to be the first to buy something good. "What do you have? I want to trade…"
Suddenly, he saw the gnome's expression change. It shrieked in terror and rage, "Wait, what are you doing!"
Swoosh!
Fu Chuan, who was standing to the side, had suddenly ripped the sack off the Coffin Carrier's head.
Everyone instantly saw the Coffin Carrier's face.
No, its face looked like…
Another red shadow flashed, followed by a piercing scream.
Lan Chenshuang and the others were close, and a spray of emerald liquid splattered onto their faces.
The liquid felt somewhat familiar, even its earthy, fishy smell was similar.
Of course, the method of death was also very similar.
A high-heeled shoe was sticking out of its neck, the heel precisely embedded in its throat.
In, then out. Its heel was dripping blood again.
The mad high heel, a stunning encore.
Lan Chenshuang's face was pale, his voice weak as he asked, "Why did you kill him?"
That question alone, from its content to its tone, revealed the limits of his character.
Not enough judgment, not enough courage. He didn't even dare to attack Xie Keli for the missed opportunity.
But it was also possible that, deep down, he already believed Xie Keli was right to kill the Gnome Merchant; he just didn't know why.
If so, it meant that he subconsciously believed he was inferior to Xie Keli, and therefore, Xie Keli was right.
The interesting thing was that Xie Keli didn't care. He didn't even look at Lan Chenshuang, nor did he deign to respond.
With a frown, he placed a hand on the Gnome Merchant's head, as if looting a corpse. Sure enough, a notification appeared.
"Ding! Primary kill of Coffin Carrier #03, +1000 points. Primary kill of the cunning lackey, the Gnome Merchant controlling the Coffin Carrier, +500 points."
Now that was more like it. What kind of kill was it without a reward?
Fu Chuan felt a sense of relief. She grabbed the Gnome Merchant's large head, stuffed it into the coffin, and slammed the lid shut with a click.
The body vanished, and so did the coffin.
The notification Shen Qixi and the other person received was for an assisted kill, granting them +100 points.
Shen Qixi's expression was complicated, but Lan Chenshuang felt a profound sense of humiliation as he saw the leaderboard change.
1700!
Xie Keli had earned a total of 1700 points!
He was now in first place.
First again.
As Xie Keli walked past him, he suddenly reached out to grab him. "You still haven't explained what's going on! What if it could have traded treasures with us? You sacrificed our interests for your own reward, you…"
Before he could touch Fu Chuan's arm, she suddenly spun around, evading his hand. Then, she hooked her foot under the chain on the floor, flicking it up. She grabbed one end and moved with incredible speed.
In a flash, she was at the door.
"Wait!" Shen Qixi reacted, but it was too late.
The person was already outside. With a clang, she pulled the iron door shut. Not only did the lock click twice, but she also threaded the chain through the bars, wrapping it around and tying it into a thick, tight knot on the outside.
The people who rushed forward could only watch as the door was sealed, trapping them inside.
Wait, weren't they just allies? What the hell are you doing now?
You animal!
"Xie Keli, you bastard! Dammit! You…" Lan Chenshuang finally lost his composure, his image shattered as he gripped the bars and roared at him.
He had lost control.
After locking the door, Fu Chuan looked up at him and simply lifted… her foot, sticking it through the gap in the iron bars.
Thump!
A vicious kick landed squarely on Lan Chenshuang's abdomen.
The force was immense. A single kick sent Lan Chenshuang flying three or four meters, and he slammed into the wall, coughing up several mouthfuls of hot blood. He couldn't get up for a long time.
Everyone: "…"
The people in the waiting area: "!!!"
The faces of the Lan Clan members were exceptionally ugly.
Shen Qixi stood by the door and asked Fu Chuan in a low voice, "Second Young Master Xie, I thought we were teammates."
Fu Chuan: "I, Xie Keli, never team up with dwarfs."
Although Fu Chuan would, and with two of them at that.
But I'm not Fu Chuan right now.
Perhaps the insult was too devastating. Shen Qixi, the young girl who was mature beyond her years, who carried the mind of a 51-year-old in the body of a 15-year-old, was stunned.
She had been scorned.
Dwarf? Who's a dwarf!
Your whole family are dwarfs!
Her slender fingers gripped the iron bars, tightening until her knuckles turned white. Shen Qixi lowered her eyes and bit down on her back teeth.
Xie Keli, you dead scumbag, ptui!
"That girl is angry." No one knows a daughter better than her mother. Shen Yunyi could tell at a glance that her daughter had also lost her composure.
Her height was indeed… a sore spot.
Among the girls in her class, she was a late bloomer and a bit shorter.
But this was the first time she had been scorned for it like this. This Xie Keli didn't seem like a playboy at all; he had no idea how to talk to girls.
"That dead scumbag. What's wrong with being short? Does being short mean you're not capable? He's so full of himself! He really doesn't know how to talk."
"Ptui!"
At that moment, Groundhog, who was in the waiting area holding a bucket of popcorn and a large can of soda, was also furious. He seemed to have been personally offended, reacting more emotionally than some of the actual short people.
He was cursing under his breath, frantically stuffing popcorn into his mouth and chugging his drink. Suddenly, he realized someone was looking at him. He turned his head and saw Shen Yunyi and the other woman.
"What are you two old ladies looking at me for? I'm not short!"
Shen Yunyi and Qin Yu: "…"
Old ladies? Who are you calling old ladies?
How dare this short melon say others don't know how to talk?
Perhaps the two women's glares were too sharp, because Groundhog felt inexplicably intimidated. He turned his face away, pretending to be busy drinking his soda. But as he gulped it down… his stomach bloated. A button on his overalls couldn't take the strain and popped off, hitting a member of the Lan Clan on the forehead.
He saw it happen. In a flash, Groundhog quickly ducked and hid under his chair.
The Lan Clan disciple who got hit started cursing.
The people nearby: "…"
The people in the other cells all saw the leaderboard change. That many points?
How did Xie Keli get them?
Was it from Barbara's five questions?
In a certain cell, Lin Chengxiu's expression was grave. He was fairly certain that the last question had to be related to that Coffin Carrier.
And it had to be combat-related.
No matter how tricky the Education Ministry was, they wouldn't deviate from the core of combat.
So…
His fingers twitched slightly as he silently looked at the wall lamp.
Fu Chuan currently had no intention of teaming up with anyone. This instance was too tricky, full of unexpected twists at every turn. In this kind of environment, a larger group meant a larger target, making it easy to be singled out. It was more convenient to act alone. Most importantly, she sensed that Shen Qixi was starting to suspect her.
The Xie Clan's background was unfathomably deep. She couldn't afford to expose any more of her weaknesses. Her only option was to pull a move that would make Shen Qixi stay away from her.
After leaving the cell, Fu Chuan knew time was short. Hearing screams from the direction of cell 002, she checked the leaderboard again and saw that the rankings had changed. Some people had moved up, obviously because they were in 002 and had earned points by answering questions.
Fu Chuan didn't think she was the only capable person in the world. She avoided the location of cell 002, because Barbara was there.
She decisively ran in the other direction.
Along the way, she saw other people in the cells: Jian Feilan, Guan Zizai, Wu Long, as well as Zhang Fulan, Chen He, and Yun Cangcang, who had distinguished themselves in the second stage of the exam.
They all looked at Fu Chuan with suspicion and uncertainty.
Fu Chuan ignored them and continued down the outer corridor, observing her surroundings. The element count was still zero.
Soon, she found a door. At the end of the corridor were nine doors.
She took out a key she had found on the Coffin Carrier's body. It surely corresponded to one of the doors.
Fu Chuan tried them one by one.
Zhou Linlang was holding a glass of milk, drinking it for breakfast. After all, she had been busy with various matters all morning and had only just managed to free up time to watch the exam.
Quite interesting, an unexpected delight.
This little sister was indeed full of surprises.
It was just that her luck was consistently bad.
On one side of the screen, the geniuses in 002 were starting to show their prowess, continuously answering Barbara's questions. Their scoring rate was no lower than Xie Keli's group, and far fewer people had died.
In comparison, Fu Chuan's side, where she was trying the key on each door one by one, seemed much more tedious. Even the anxious yet sharp-witted expressions of the candidates in the other cells were more interesting than her.
Wrong, wrong again, still wrong…
Until she reached the very last door.
She confidently inserted the key… How could she not be confident? It was the last one.
With a click, the lock opened.
Her expression was calm as she suddenly walked back.
Everyone: "?"
They watched as she picked up some trash from the floor—pieces of stone, bits of wire—and stuffed them into the keyholes…
She went from one door to the next, quick and practiced.
A man earnestly engaged in mischief had a special kind of charm.
Having been caught in the rain herself, she'd had a grand epiphany and decided to start tearing everyone else's umbrellas, hadn't she?
"My daughter is still in there."
"Barbara hasn't even arrived yet, and my son was carefully scouting for danger, only to find the exit lock has already been blocked."
"Is he a devil?"
"More twisted than Barbara!"
Everyone was breathless. The parents couldn't hold back any longer, feeling heartbroken for their unfortunate children. They cursed endlessly, with all sorts of "fucking scum" and "animal"…
Zhou Linlang silently drank her milk, thinking that it was a good thing she hadn't gotten involved with this person last time. It would have been detrimental to her pristine reputation.
It was a good thing the little sister was wearing someone else's skin. Otherwise, how would she ever show her face in public?
"But why didn't Xie Keli kill Lan Chenshuang?" a little boy who had come to watch his older brother's exam couldn't help but ask his parents.
In the world of Arcane, there was no such thing as a naive and innocent upbringing.
So the parents couldn't answer right away. The mother eventually said, "Maybe he doesn't want to offend the Lan Clan? Or maybe, deep down, he's not that cruel?"
Zhou Linlang finished her milk and casually tossed the bottle into a trash can ten meters away.
The bottle clattered inside the bin. She lowered her eyes, her thoughts quiet.
It was simply to preserve some of the candidates' overall strength. But she didn't want them to catch up to her advantage and shrink her room for survival, so she only blocked the keyholes instead of starting to kill them off now.
After finishing her work, Fu Chuan opened the door. She suddenly heard the sounds of an intense fight from the corridor behind her, followed by a dull thud.
Huh? That was fast.
The people in 002 were no pushovers.
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