Chapter 22: Chapter 9: Death Hide and Seek
The game had just begun, and the four Radiations were already at sharp odds.
The organizer threw four identities onto the ground, directly causing them to fight for possession, and they quickly came to blows.
Of course, all this was hardly without the provocation of the Silver Hand Youth.
He monopolized the four, naturally provoking the other three to gang up against him.
But by monopolizing the four and then destroying two before releasing one, he effectively forced the other three into a deadly brawl among themselves.
A single dog collar caused the three to fight bloodily, and the youth who caused it all simply watched like an unconcerned bystander, which was truly ironic.
The newcomers were all stunned, both by the power of the few and the ruthlessness of the Silver Hand Youth, causing them to shudder.
And what was the content of this game? It was cat and mouse, and they...were the mice.
They didn't even have a choice; the identities were directly placed around their necks.
It appeared that the organizer clearly understood that these people weren't even qualified to participate in an 'identity grab', and simply skipped this step for them.
"Where's Brother Xin?" Su Lei realized they were fighting only then and turned around but found that Gao Xin had already disappeared.
As it turned out, Gao Xin had run into the mansion as soon as the game started.
"Oh..." Su Lei couldn't afford to watch any longer and rushed through the door, following closely on Gao Xin's heels.
The courtyard was vast, with lush greenery, fresh lawns, flowers, and small bushes, along with a few banana trees.
On the inner side of the courtyard wall, there was also a large circle of crystal decorations, exuding opulence.
Right in front stood a large mansion in the center of the garden, four stories tall, with lavish decorations.
As Su Lei followed him, he searched the lawn: "Where's the thrown dog collar?"
Meanwhile, other mice had also run in, searching around the courtyard.
Su Lei glanced around without seeing it and decided to catch up with Gao Xin first.
Gao Xin smirked and showed him something in his hand: "I grabbed it early."
He was the first to enter. By then, the Silver Hand Youth hadn't even thrown the collar yet, and a group of people were still watching the drama unfold outside.
After that, Silver Hand throwing the collar was practically throwing it right into his face.
Seeing this, Su Lei said, "Without these two collars, at least two people would die outside!"
Gao Xin nodded and said, "These two collars are crucial."
Su Lei asked, "Brother Xin, are you planning to trade these two collars with the people outside later, so the old dog can protect us from being killed by the old cat?"
Gao Xin looked at Su Lei in surprise: "Why wouldn't you consider wearing it yourself?"
"Eh?" Su Lei was startled: "We are mice, can we have two identities at the same time?"
Gao Xin shook his head: "I don't know, but why not try it?"
Su Lei's eyes lit up: "I see, you mean we could survive by playing the role of a dog!"
Gao Xin's face darkened. Why did he have to put it so crudely?
But he indeed had thought about it. Since the rules didn't say you couldn't wear two identities, and they now had two dog collars, why not try?
Immediately, as he ran, he tried to pry open a dog collar with his hands.
But even as he rushed into the grand hall of the mansion, he couldn't pry it open.
It was too hard, why did it clamp down so tightly? The bearded man had opened it effortlessly before.
Gao Xin shut the mansion's door and looked around the lushly decorated hall.
"Let me try." Su Lei extended his hand.
Gao Xin handed him one, and Su Lei suddenly tensed up, veins bulging on his forehead.
And sure enough, he managed to pry open a gap, about as wide as a child's wrist.
But he couldn't maintain it for long, and the alloy collar immediately snapped back tight.
"Whew...no good, Brother Xin, it's too tight." Su Lei gasped for breath.
Gao Xin felt embarrassed; this youth was much stronger than he was.
"Let's do it together!"
Gao Xin said and held one half with Su Lei, their bodies nearly collapsing as they frantically pulled in opposite directions.
This time, with the combined effort of the two, they finally pried the collar open wider, barely enough to fit a person's neck.
But their bodies had already tilted, their feet braced against each other, using all their strength, including their body weight... how could they wear it?
As soon as they stood straight, they couldn't maintain it, and the collar snapped shut.
"Damn! Why is it so hard to open?" Su Lei exclaimed incredulously.
Gao Xin gritted his teeth: "The organizer must have considered the possibility of a mouse getting a dog's collar and didn't give us a chance to wear it."
"It's as if they're saying, without the power of a dog, you don't even deserve to be one..."
Su Lei looked down dejectedly, while outside, the Radiations effortlessly wore them.
The two of them together couldn't pry it open; how frustrating.
It's as if a mouse is just a mouse, born to be a mouse, only meant to be a mouse, and must skulk around here, hoping not to be hunted by the cat.
"Brother Xin, it looks like we can only negotiate with the outside people using the dog collars." Su Lei said.
Gao Xin couldn't argue, but it was indeed too risky.
Although giving the collars to someone outside could save a life, hoping that the person would protect them in return was somewhat presumptuous.
There was no binding agreement, and they were the absolute weaker party.
"It's still not possible now, there are still cats outside, and the cat was the first to come in! That guy, too ruthless...and smart."
"So you say, negotiating with the dog can only happen during that ten minutes after the cat comes in and before the dog does... we'll do it then."
Su Lei was somewhat confused, why wait until then?
Isn't it precisely the opposite? Shouldn't they quickly negotiate with the dog while the cat can't yet come in?
But Su Lei nodded anyway: "Brother Xin, I'll follow your lead."