Chapter 145: Does Eternal Kingdom Have a Third Effect?

A skill that was abnormally powerful, yet burdened with severe flaws, held a fatal temptation for any high-star player.

Simply because it was easy to manipulate.

Even if Qiu Yinong survived, once her activation phrase was exposed outside the Instance, the fate she would face was entirely predictable.

Therefore, the flaw in the Wheel of Time's activation phrase could become a sharp weapon to control Qiu Yinong.

Whether recruiting Qiu Yinong as a Reserve Teammate or reporting her to the higher-ups, they could reap unexpected benefits.

Of course, this was under the premise of silencing everyone else, including Chen Ran.

In other words, Chen Ran had cleverly ensnared them in this game, forcing the three spectators who had been waiting for the dust to settle to enter the fray ahead of schedule.

It was just like fishing. Fishing required chumming the waters in advance and setting the bait.

Chen Ran using his skill was chumming the waters, and Qiu Yinong using hers was the bait.

This also made Chen Ran realize just how formidable and cautious top-tier Two-Star Players were.

However.

What shocked him the most was...

He turned his head to look at his teammates.

His temporary teammates: Cao Xiu and Zhang Meili.

Neither of them was dead!

'They survived all that? Could these two be legendary ultimate survivalists?'

Meeting Chen Ran's gaze, both Cao Xiu and Zhang Meili offered unnatural smiles, wondering inwardly if they had been targeted by this guy.

Meanwhile.

Lin Xiuyuan, having remembered the entire sequence of events, glared with eyes spewing fire. Not only had he been innocently caught in the crossfire while being tracked by Chen Ran's team, but he had also lost three teammates he had personally trained.

If looks could kill, Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong would have long been reduced to a pair of skeletons.

But...

For Zhou Chen and Li Zhitong, this was a situation they were more than happy to see.

In the group, aside from them, all the One-Star and Two-Star Players were completely wiped out. Next, the Three-Star Trickster-Speaker and Dorje would most likely enter the stage early to deal with Chen Ran or the Three-Star Liar-Slayer in Chen Ran's team.

In short.

Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong, these two massive wildcard disruptors, had shattered the existing status quo. Next up was the showtime for the Three-Star Players.

In an instant.

The remaining ten people in the train car all harbored their own hidden agendas, calculating what role they should play in the upcoming power struggle.

Suddenly...

The Three-Star Trickster-Speaker slowly stood up, a movement that invariably made everyone tense.

Within the 18th Level, it was widely said that there was an insurmountable chasm between Two-Star and Three-Star Players.

Top-tier Three-Star Players were powerhouses who disdained Downward Compatibility. If not for this Hundred Ghost Feast, they would never have encountered one.

No one knew just what kind of power a top-tier Three-Star Player truly possessed.

The Three-Star Trickster-Speaker swept his gaze over the crowd, suddenly breaking into a wide grin. "My name is Long Hui."

He then looked at Chen Ran. "Your setup was beautiful. But, when I was young, the elders in my family told me that children shouldn't play with fire, or they'll end up wetting the bed."

With that said, he extended a finger, pointing it at Li Zhitong, and nonchalantly ordered, "You. Throw a Glass Bead at Lin Xiuyuan."

Everyone was well aware of the second effect of Li Zhitong's Skill. It could not target a group; it could only be applied to a single target.

Hearing this.

Although Li Zhitong did not understand his intention, he still followed the instruction, tossing a Glass Bead toward Lin Xiuyuan.

Even as the Glass Bead hit the ground, Lin Xiuyuan's eyes and expression remained unchanged.

"No effect?" Lin Xiuyuan asked uncertainly. "Did you put your Skill away?"

Li Zhitong frowned and shook his head. Suddenly, his heart constricted violently, and he looked at Chen Ran in sheer horror.

Long Hui said leisurely, "Although you hid it well, even pretending to be affected by Li Zhitong's Skill the second time we exited the train car, that little skirmish just now didn't just expose Qiu Yinong's Skill—it exposed yours, too."

At this point, his gaze burned brightly as he stared at the gloomy-faced Chen Ran. "You, One-Star Player Chen Ran, must be the owner of that True-Self Tier Skill, aren't you?"

Silence. The silence inside the train car was terrifying.

'Eternal Kingdom is True-Self Level?'

'Wait!'

'That actually makes sense.'

'Just now, the One-Star Player who used the Extreme Camouflage Skill had their time reset by Qiu Yinong's Wheel of Time.'

'Yet, Chen Ran's Eternal Kingdom was the sole exception—its duration was not reset.'

'What does this mean?'

'It means that Eternal Kingdom holds a higher Priority than the Wheel of Time!'

'The Wheel of Time belongs to the noble time category. And judging by its effects, it far surpasses any other time-based Skills that have appeared in the 18th Level.'

'This means the Wheel of Time is, at the very least, a top-tier Superego Skill!'

'To have a higher Priority than a top-tier Superego Skill, it can only be a True-Self Tier Skill!'

'No wonder Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong, just two mere One-Star Players, were able to trap and kill a bunch of Two-Star Players, acting more ferocious than if they were hopped up on stimulants. It turns out they are two peerless monsters.'

'It is not over yet!'

'Li Zhitong's Skill disappearing means the second effect of Eternal Kingdom is...'

'Nullifying already existing Skills!'

'Nullification and prohibition—with this combination of blows, regardless of who strikes first, players with even the strongest Skills can only battle Chen Ran with pure intellect.'

'At the same time, the buildings, food, items, and daily necessities in the 18th Level are all created by Skills...'

'Hypothetically, if Chen Ran stood on the streets of the 18th Level and activated Eternal Kingdom, it would mean all physical objects would be erased in a single second.'

'Ninety-nine percent of players would be indirectly killed by Eternal Kingdom.'

'This guy is a ticking time bomb! He absolutely cannot be allowed to remain in the 18th Level. He must be eliminated right here within the Instance!'

Even as fear gripped Lin Xiuyuan, the killing intent in his eyes overflowed.

It wasn't just him; every player present, including the three Three-Star Players, harbored murderous intent toward Chen Ran. If a person like this didn't die in the Instance and spent even one more day in the 18th Level, they would never be able to sleep peacefully. They were terrified that this madman might go crazy and pull a mutual destruction stunt right in the middle of the 18th Level.

Sensing everyone's murderous gaze.

Chen Ran pulled out his Cigarette Case and was just about to light one up when he glanced at the Iron Bucket sitting so closely by. After a moment of thought, he gestured for Qiu Yinong to keep an eye on the Iron Bucket, distanced himself, and only then lit a Cigarette.

He took a deep drag.

"Oh wow. It seems you guys have deduced my Skill."

"But I have a question. This is a One-Star Instance. If I do not speak, it will be extremely difficult for you to trap and kill me in the Secret Room."

"The problem is, if you try to use Skills to confuse me, make me speak unconsciously, and trick a lie out of me... I think that would also be very hard to pull off."

"To use your Skills, you have to sacrifice an opportunity for a guaranteed Judgment, which means someone must lie beforehand."

"So here is the problem."

"If someone lies, and I instantly use Eternal Kingdom, what could you possibly do to me?"

"Even if you leave the Instance and expose my Skill, high-star players can still only rely on Downward Compatibility to enter Instances meant for my level. I have previously cleared the hardest One-Star Instance. If I purposely cap my level at One-Star, get matched with high-star players, and simply refuse to speak... I am really curious, who could possibly kill me?"

"If you can't deal with me, do you think the higher-ups—once they know the effects of my Skill—might just order you silenced, and then turn a blind eye to my existence?"

"Perhaps, this is the third effect of Eternal Kingdom. As long as I focus on survival, no matter how powerful someone's Skill is, no one can kill me in an Instance of my own tier."