Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Everyone froze, then exchanged stunned looks.

The Mastermind behind this game was among them? One of the tourists?

Chen Nuo realized in horror that if this was true, one person had been acting from the very beginning.

That person knew the whole truth and had established these vicious rules: one person was certain to die in every day’s contest.

And the Mastermind had personally entered this brutal competition, all for the sake of thrills and a challenge?

What kind of person would do that?

Could anyone normal create something like this?

But what Tina said next shocked Chen Nuo and the others even more.

“To demonstrate the fairness of the game, the Mastermind is subject to the same rules as everyone else. If they lose a contest, they too will face elimination, which means death.

“In addition, the group will have three opportunities to hold a Mastermind vote during the game. If you suspect someone of being the Mastermind, you can initiate a vote against that person.

“If the person you vote for really is the Mastermind, the Mastermind will be eliminated and the game will end. Everyone left alive can split the prize money and leave safely!”

Tina paused briefly.

“In other words, as soon as the Mastermind dies, the game ends. That is the Final Objective! Everyone, work hard to achieve it! Ganbatte! Do your best!”

Tina raised her right hand, practically vibrating with excitement. She looked like an organizing committee member at the opening ceremony of the Olympics, eagerly anticipating every contest to come.

The contestants themselves felt no such excitement.

Each was calculating their chances of winning and the likelihood that they would ever leave alive.

Chen Nuo’s mind raced.

Every person who chose a contest would select something they were relatively good at, their personal strength.

On the surface, that seemed to favor the Featured Player in each contest. But on closer examination, the Featured Player would be facing a large number of opponents.

Every one of them would want the Featured Player to lose.

And only one of them had to beat the Featured Player.

It was just like the card game Fight the Landlord. The Landlord held the stronger hand but had to face two Peasants working together. If either Peasant won, the Landlord lost.

In this game, however, the Landlord would face twenty Peasants.

Later, the number of Peasants would gradually fall because one person would die every day. But the Landlord would still be alone against many.

If even one contestant happened to share the Featured Player’s strength, the Featured Player’s chances would be grim.

Only someone with an extremely unusual skill, one that could guarantee victory, would be safe. Yet judging from the reactions just now, most of them were ordinary people. None possessed any special expertise.

It appeared that winning one’s own round would be anything but easy.

Worse, winning that round would not make anyone safe. They would still have to compete in everyone else’s contests.

In other words, even if a contestant went to extraordinary lengths to win their own contest, they could still face random elimination later if another Featured Player won theirs.
In other words, from this moment on, they would spend every day in constant fear. The shadow of death would hang over each of them at all times.

Was the Mastermind some kind of psychopath? Who else could invent such a torturous game?

Chen Nuo was cursing silently when the heavily built man’s question interrupted his thoughts.

“Hey, you keep mentioning prize money. Where is it?” the man asked Tina.

“Right in front of you!”

The man stared. “In front of us? Where?”

Tina pointed at the wall holding the display. Like the other walls in the hotel lobby, it consisted of many expensive marble tiles patterned with natural veins.

The group studied it for a while. Then the heavily built man said, “Are you messing with us? This is obviously just a marble wall…”

Before he could finish, someone gasped and pointed to the upper-left corner. “Look!”

Every head turned. The first square tile in the upper-left corner had begun to retract into the wall, revealing a square black opening. A few seconds later, another “tile” slid into place to fill the hole.

This new “tile” was actually a transparent glass cube. Inside, neatly stacked bundles of American currency faced the crowd. Benjamin Franklin’s portrait was visible on every bill, identifying them as hundred-dollar notes, the largest denomination.

Everyone stared in amazement.

“The glass case that replaced that tile contains ten million dollars,” Tina said. “It is the death benefit provided by the K Organization for someone who faces elimination, and it also becomes part of the winners’ prize. When the game ends, all surviving winners will split the entire accumulated prize pool!”

Song Xue’s eyes widened. “That ten million dollars is the death benefit for my husband?”

“That’s right. Although your husband died before officially taking part in the game, the K Organization thoughtfully prepared a ten-million-dollar death benefit for him anyway. Miss Song Xue, if you survive the game, you’ll be able to take a share of that money,” Tina said.

“Every person who dies adds another ten million dollars?” Tang Ying asked.

“Yes,” Tina replied.

“Under the rules, one person will face elimination in every day’s contest, whether the Featured Player wins or someone else does. In other words, someone will die and another ten million dollars will be added each day. Then, when the game ends, the survivors divide the money?” Tang Ying’s voice trembled slightly.

“Exactly right! Miss Tang Ying catches on very quickly!”

The tall, thin college student took out his phone and tapped rapidly on the calculator.

“Suppose we identify the Mastermind today. The other twenty people, excluding the Mastermind, would each receive almost five hundred thousand dollars. Converted to yuan, that’s around three and a half million each, right?”

“That’s right!” Tina winked her left eye. “Does that mean you’d like to test your luck and initiate a vote right now? Remember, though, you only have three Mastermind votes in total. If you guess blindly, you probably won’t get it right on the first try. But who knows? You might be extraordinarily lucky!”