Chapter 187

Chapter 187

Lila&Walter’s POV

"If you all have understood the rules, please take your positions. For the following instructions, please listen to the in-room broadcast."

I heard over the radio that Beta Dog had arranged everyone and came to the front desk alone. In both corridors, everyone was already in position.

The "senders" were all sitting in the first room of the corridor, where the "spies" sent by the other side were standing, while the "recipients" and "hostages" were in the last room.

The rules of this game seemed very simple. That is, the "sender" hands the password to the "spy," the "spy" hands it to the "recipient," the "recipient" checks the password and finally opens the door.

But the rules that could be explained in just a few words made me feel uneasy. After all, the most crucial part of this game lay in the opponent's team.

Moreover, I wasn't by Eve's side, which made me feel very insecure.

"Everyone." Beta Dog said at the front desk, holding a microphone.

At the same moment, his voice came from the loudspeakers in every room and corridor.

"The game will start in ten minutes. Now, please have the 'spies' contact the 'sender.'"

I was in the room, looking at various props, constantly thinking of countermeasures in my mind.

Box, lock, key, letter.

Three out of the four items were likely to be crushed by the shredder.

To avoid the shredder, you had to put the envelope in a box and then lock it.

This way, the entire box couldn't be thrown into the shredder, and the "spy" could only deliver it to the opposite side.

But the question was, what about the "key"?

Although I didn't know what tools Lila had at hand, judging from the game's setting, it was impossible for her to have a matching key or any lock-picking tool.

How was I going to open the box after receiving it?

"Knock, knock, knock..."

A faint knock on the door rang out, and the "spy" girl opened it from outside.

"Ready?" she asked expressionlessly.

I looked at the girl. "What's your name?"

"Amy, are you okay?"

"Amy, would you like to join us?" I asked straightforwardly.

The young girl named Amy thought for a moment. "Joining you is too risky. I can't take the risk."

"Risk?"

"Exactly." She nodded. "If I help you win the game and you choose not to accept me at the last minute, I'll die too."

Her expression was very serious, as if she'd thought about this question long ago.

"Your concern isn't without reason." I nodded and began my most proficient way of talking. "But let's make an assumption. In your understanding, if your team wants to win the game, what method would they use?"

Amy frowned slightly. "You mean... will they also cooperate with 'spies'?"

"Well, that's exactly what it means." I said. "Just like an interview, we are now in a 'mutual selection' process. The same goes for you. What you need to consider isn't whether we will abandon you, but whether your original team will abandon you."

"They won't." Amy said firmly. "It's impossible to abandon me for an old man no matter how you think about it."

"They're not 'for an old man,' but 'to survive.'" I tried to slow down my tone as much as possible, which could keep the other person's guard down. "Most people would take their lives into their own hands rather than those of others, wouldn't they?"

Amy was clearly hesitant this time.

She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but remained silent.

"And I cooperate with you just to survive."

"Then what about the spy you sent out?" Amy said. "He's clearly your teammate. Can you just give him up directly?"

"I've known him for no more than four hours, and it's even more impossible for me to risk my life just because of this four-hour acquaintance." I said seriously. "And how long have you known your teammates? Would they choose to take risks for you?"

Amy was stunned for a while.

After much deliberation, she still didn't agree to my request.

"I can't trust you. Get the letter ready quickly. I suggest you make it solid. I'll do everything possible to destroy the letter inside." Amy shook her head. "Don't say anything else."

"May I ask what the reason is for your persistence?" I asked finally.

"Jackson is my boyfriend. Is there any other reason needed?"

As someone who'd studied psychology, I knew it was almost impossible to break down a person's defenses within a few minutes. This was a plot that only occurred in movies.

Normal people had an extremely strong sense of wariness toward strangers, especially in such life-threatening situations. Every word spoken by both sides might cost the other's life, and they would be even more cautious than usual.

I no longer wasted time either. Instead, I focused my attention on the box in front of me.

If I didn't consider cooperating with the "spy" at all, was there any way for me to get the letter delivered?

......

Walter’s Part

I was sitting in the "sender's" room. As our spy, he'd already met Jackson, that green-haired thug.

"Hey, buddy, give me the stuff right away." Walter held onto the door frame with one hand and said very impatiently.

Jackson scratched his emerald green hair and cast a contemptuous look at him.

I noticed he didn't look at the things on the table. Instead, he thought for a while. "Old man, how about ten Holy Grails to buy your companion's life?"

"What the hell...?" Walter was taken aback. "Ten Holy Grails?"

"You don't look like a fool. Of course you know the survival rules here, don't you?"

Walter thought for a long time before slowly speaking. "What stupid words are you saying, young man? How could one betray their teammates for the sake of ten Holy Grails? Besides, I paid for all the tickets..."

"Fifteen." Jackson continued. "Apart from the rewards you should have received in this game, I'll give you another fifteen Holy Grails."

This was no small sum.

Walter's eyes slowly turned to the ground, and his face was filled with hesitation.

"Stop thinking about it, old man. You should know how to survive 'one hundred percent.'" Jackson tapped the table with his fingers, his voice full of warning. "We'll take you in and let you survive. After we leave, we'll go our separate ways."

Walter asked cautiously, "Give me fifteen Holy Grails... have you gained nothing?"

"It doesn't matter." Jackson shook his head nonchalantly. "Since we took each other's lives, we can get the spoils from them. We can't say we got nothing."

"What about that woman?" Walter asked again. "Isn't she your girlfriend?"

"Just a woman!" Jackson leaned forward and glared at Walter viciously. "I'll look for another woman when she's dead. But once I die, things will be a bit bad..."

I felt the man before Walter was very dangerous.

But on second thought, Walter couldn't even take out fifteen Holy Grails from his body. If he agreed to the other party's request here, he would make a fortune.

"I want a deposit." Walter said. "Give me five Holy Grails right now."

"What...?"

"Then you can't kill me." Walter smiled, and cold sweat slid down his face. "Killing for Holy Grails won't work, will it?"

"Old dog, you're quite smart." Jackson's expression darkened instantly.

"Sure... I'm very smart at critical moments." Walter wore an ugly smile.

"I really hope your teammates can see this face of yours." Jackson took out five Holy Grails from his chest and scattered them on the ground like feeding pigeons.

Walter quickly lay on the ground and picked up the Holy Grails one by one, then put them in his pocket.

"Hehe... my teammates will understand me." Walter brushed the dust off his hands. "I had long reminded them, 'I'm smart at critical moments.' They themselves didn't expect me to rebel. There's nothing I can do about it."

Jackson put on a forced smile and handed the locked box along with the golden key to me

"Then the rest is up to you."