Chapter 931

The wolf steward’s description of the rules was simple: the fourth game would be a survival competition.

Including Su Xiao, seven players would enter the Forest of the Strong, and must survive within it for five days; when the five days ended, the game would be over.

But merely surviving five days wasn’t enough—the fourth game had only six slots for passage, meaning one of the seven would definitely be eliminated, and elimination in the Demon Castle game meant death.

No one wanted to die; at the end of the fourth game, the player with the lowest score would be eliminated, and from the wolf steward’s tone, the creatures and “guests” inside the Forest of the Strong were likely all powerful, though their exact numbers were unknown.

Of course, besides earning points, there was another way to pass the fourth game: players killing each other; if that happened, the remaining six wouldn’t have to worry about passage slots.

Alice was a scheming bitch who enjoyed watching this game, so she added a reward to fuel competition among players: after the five-day survival ended, the player with the highest score could choose any single item from Alice’s treasure vault—what an irresistible reward.

Survival, competition, deceit, tempting rewards, “guests” lying in wait in the forest, and various creatures lurking within.

The fourth game’s premise seemed simple—only survival—but it was far from it.

Compared to the first three games, the fourth game offered vastly greater freedom; though dangerous, this danger could be avoided through strength, and Su Xiao preferred this type of game—blood on every blade, life and death accepted, if you disagree, fight; the previous third game had been too mentally exhausting.

Su Xiao understood the game rules well, but he still couldn’t grasp the purpose of the backpack in his hands—he didn’t need these material goods; he carried ample food, fresh water, and recovery potions in his storage space.

Su Xiao took out a piece of dried meat from the backpack and tried to check its properties.

[Deer Jerky]

Quality: White

Type: Food

Effect: Alleviates hunger, restores stamina.

Rating: 8

Description: Deer jerky blessed with the protection of the Demon Castle, capable of remaining fresh for extended periods within the Forest of the Strong.

…

Seeing the properties of the jerky in his hand, Su Xiao’s pupils contracted; he immediately pulled out a piece of dried meat from his storage space—also dried meat.

The moment the jerky left his storage space, before Su Xiao could even see its appearance, it began to rot, and in an instant, it turned to dust in his hands, slipping through his fingers.

Seeing this, Pi Pang and the others immediately tried the same—no matter what food they took out, it instantly rotted and turned to ash; fresh water evaporated into vapor in the same instant.

“Your personal supplies cannot withstand the environment of the Forest of the Strong—not even those strange and exotic potions.”

The wolf steward’s lips curled slightly, as if he had anticipated this exact outcome.

Was it truly the Forest of the Strong’s environment causing this? Su Xiao felt it wasn’t— if all external items rotted within the forest, his clothing would rot too; this was definitely Alice’s doing.

Su Xiao pulled out a white-quality potion—he’d had it since his newbie days, and after his stamina exceeded 50 points, its recovery effect became negligible, so he’d just left it in storage.

The moment he took out the white potion, it began evaporating rapidly, and even the glass bottle holding it rotted away.

After several attempts, Su Xiao discovered that food, fresh water, and recovery potions—all three items instantly rotted upon removal from storage; functional gear and equipment remained unaffected, as did ordinary daily items like flint, tents, and so on.

Su Xiao understood the wolf steward’s reason for distributing the backpacks: the food, water, and potions inside could be used within the Forest of the Strong.

Water wasn’t a major issue—such a dense forest must have water sources; but food and potions would be scarce—who knew what species the creatures and “guests” inside the forest were? If they were energy-based or summoned beings, their flesh would be inedible.

That’s right—most summoned creatures’ flesh couldn’t be eaten; summoned entities inherently possessed spatial properties and were often infused with their masters’ buffs—poison, curses, and similar effects were common; eating such flesh might not kill you, but it was a miracle if it didn’t, let alone restore stamina.

Su Xiao estimated the quantity of jerky in the pack; with his and Bubu Wang’s appetites, it was uncertain whether it would even last one meal; to obtain food, the path was simple: steal or kill.

Su Xiao wasn’t good at reasoning, but stealing or killing—he excelled at that; his gaze unconsciously drifted toward others’ backpacks—not out of deliberate intent, but purely instinctive.

Once inside the Forest of the Strong, food and recovery items wouldn’t be guaranteed; thus, combat became extremely costly—combat meant stamina consumption + risk of injury + accelerated hunger = slow death.

Su Xiao’s physical condition was undeniably strong, but such strength demanded massive energy; he wasn’t a cultivator who could abstain from food; the stronger he became, the more terrifying his energy consumption grew—power didn’t appear without cause; that wasn’t supernatural, it was fantasy.

Under Su Xiao’s current conditions, if he avoided combat and had sufficient water, he could maintain combat readiness for about two days; after two days, he’d grow weaker, his combat power plummeting rapidly.

But water wasn’t sufficient; under these conditions, he could maintain peak condition for roughly six hours.

“This fucking feels like a joke.”

A voice filled with anger came from Pi Pang—his fat cheeks twitched; for him, fat was combat power, and without food, his strength would dwindle.

“Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to enter the Forest of the Strong—you go first.”

The wolf steward pointed at Detective Xiao Luoli; she understood the situation clearly and sprinted into the forest with her backpack, running faster than ever.

“Five minutes later, the next player departs.”

The wolf steward was preventing a chaotic brawl at the departure point.

Su Xiao tossed his backpack to Bubu Wang—this supply was too precious; if lost during fierce combat, it would be a devastating loss.

Five minutes later, the gold-rimmed glasses man departed, vanishing quickly into the forest; the next to leave was Guozu Lao San.

While waiting to enter the Forest of the Strong, Su Xiao subtly approached the Demon Servant—he hadn’t forgotten Sha’s warning.

The Demon Servant sat motionless on the wooden post; the gold-rimmed glasses man had previously tried to negotiate with it, but his charm stat suffered a total collapse—the Demon Servant didn’t even glance at him.

Su Xiao neared the Demon Servant; it showed no reaction. As the wolf steward wasn’t watching, Su Xiao activated the Demon Seal on his arm, drawing out a thread of demonic energy while gathering a stream of Qinggangyingsuo energy at his fingertip.