Chapter 153: In Our Next Life, Let's Not Meet Again

In this world...

There are two types of people who are the most formidable: those who always win, and those who always lose.

Losing is not terrifying. What is terrifying is lacking the courage to clean up the mess.

Chen Ran's mindset had just been shaken by the three Three-Star Players, causing him to hesitate on whether to use his skills. This completely contradicted his usual adherence to the School of Military Momentum.

Hesitation leads to defeat. Precisely because he hesitated, a massive amount of his Common Sense was wiped out by Turned Upside Down, almost getting him killed.

In his heart, Chen Ran was very calm. He knew that this struggle seemed like a draw, but he had actually lost. He only barely managed to survive thanks to Cao Xiu's reminder, but Lady Luck would not linger on the same person for too long.

His train of thought, deductions, and pacing could no longer be led by the nose by the Three-Star Players.

Walking his own path was the true way to victory.

...

"Do you have any last words?"

Lin Xiuyuan closed his eyes in despair, but quickly opened them again, glaring at Chen Ran.

"I hope that in my next life... Well, I suppose I don't have a next life."

"But I still hope I never see your face again in my next life. I'm afraid I won't be able to resist killing you, only to end up right back in this damned Hell after I die."

"I've been screwed over so badly by you!"

As he said this, Lin Xiuyuan's expression turned frantic and hideous, radiating an overwhelming hatred.

"You lied."

Qiu Yinong uttered the command phrase. Accompanied by the crack of a gunshot, Lin Xiuyuan took a bullet to the forehead and collapsed onto the ground.

With this.

Lin Xiuyuan's team was completely wiped out!

All five people...

Were killed by Qiu Yinong.

The Instance started with twenty people.

Now, only nine remained.

The survivors were:

Chen Ran, Qiu Yinong, Cao Xiu, Diwu Zeyi, Zhang Meili, Long Hui, Dorje, Li Zhitong, and Zhou Chen.

It was clear how vicious the fighting had been.

However, when the other four saw that Chen Ran's temporary team of five were all still alive, their expressions turned odd, their gazes landing on Cao Xiu and Zhang Meili, the two masters of hiding.

"Ahem, well, what station have we arrived at?" Cao Xiu asked, changing the subject.

Chen Ran glanced at the information for the next stop and exchanged a look with Qiu Yinong. With tacit understanding, one picked up the bucket and the other grabbed the Shielding Plate. They moved to the side of the train car, putting some distance between themselves and the other seven.

He opened the Gasoline Drum and splashed all the gasoline inside forward, simply because...

The next stop was the twelfth station, and the subway was heading back.

It was obvious how much time they had just spent on deductions; the intermediate stations had likely all been solved by the three Three-Star Players.

The seven others were speechless: "..."

They looked at the gasoline pooling on the floor right in front of them, and then looked at Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong, who didn't have a single drop of gasoline in front of them.

'Shameless!'

Now they finally understood why Chen Ran had left the station a second time just to carry the Gasoline Drum back.

The train arrived at the twelfth station.

The doors opened, but showed no sign of closing for a long time. Seeing this, Chen Ran knew exactly what to do next.

He laid the drum down on its side in front of him, aiming the opening—which was about the size of a water bottle cap—toward himself.

With a heavy stomp, he crushed the middle of the Iron Bucket inwards. Seeing this scene, the three Three-Star Players opposite him silently took two steps to the side, ensuring they weren't facing the bottom of the drum.

Zhou Chen and Li Zhitong frowned; they didn't understand the purpose of Chen Ran's actions.

He lit another cigarette.

After taking a drag, Chen Ran pinched the cigarette butt, looked at the seven people across from him, and flashed two rows of bright white teeth. He smiled and said, "I wish you all the best of luck!"

With that, he flicked his finger. The cigarette butt traced an arc through the air, shooting perfectly and directly into the Gasoline Drum.

The residual gasoline inside the drum ignited in an instant. However, because the space was too confined, the moment the air pressure expanded, the dent he had stomped into the Gasoline Drum instantly popped back into its original shape.

And...

A powerful jet of gas blasted out from the opening, propelling the Gasoline Drum forward. It moved so incredibly fast that this group of people—who primarily relied on their brains—had absolutely no time to react before the drum was already rocketing straight toward Li Zhitong's abdomen.

Clang!

Because this was a man-made attack, it triggered the protection of Li Zhitong's Liar-Slayer.

But the Gasoline Drum was moving too fast. The very second it made contact with the Liar-Slayer's protection, it exploded right in front of Li Zhitong.

Although she herself was unharmed, the remaining gasoline inside the drum splashed all around her.

Li Zhitong's eyes widened. She realized she was completely surrounded by gasoline, just as she saw Chen Ran light a second cigarette and flick it onto the ground...

Boom!

Inside the train car, the area in front of Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong instantly turned into a sea of fire. The two of them raised their prepared Shielding Plate, blocking the front to prevent the seven people engulfed in the flames from rushing over to seek safety.

Even though the fire was ignited by Chen Ran, it was inherently a part of the Instance's mechanics, so the seven people trapped in the sea of fire were not shielded by the Liar-Slayer's protection.

The subway train doors closed.

And it continued moving forward.

The two schemers smelled waves of roasting meat spreading through the car. Before long, the savory aroma morphed into the sickening stench of burning flesh, incredibly unpleasant.

Qiu Yinong gave Chen Ran a thumbs-up.

However, they felt quite disappointed when they didn't hear a single scream coming from the blazing inferno.

'As expected, they are all Veteran Players who have fought hundreds of battles. It's impossible to scheme them to death that easily.'

'At most, this will just disgust them a bit.'

'Wait, what about that smell of roasting meat from just now?'

Chen Ran felt a twinge of guilt.

'Ahem, Brother Lin, it really is best if we don't meet again in our next life...'

'You're already dead, and I accidentally burned your corpse to ashes.'

'To show my apologies, I'll light one up for you!'

Chen Ran fished out his Cigarette Case with one hand, plucked a cigarette out with his lips, leaned his face toward the blazing fire in front of them, and lit it.

Qiu Yinong: "..."

She realized that Chen Ran had many strange habits. If his hands were occupied or injured, he would use his mouth to fish a cigarette straight out of the case.

She couldn't understand it.

'Why not just skip smoking it altogether?'

...

About two and a half minutes later, the train arrived at the eleventh station, which was also their final destination.

First People's Hospital.

Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong were the first to dash out the doors. Immediately following them, six people rushed out of the sea of fire one after another. Aside from the three Three-Star Players, the other three glared furiously at Chen Ran, who was calmly smoking his cigarette.

The six of them were not in good condition. Every single one had their hair curled and singed from the heat. Their backpacks were nowhere to be seen, and their clothes were burned full of holes.

"No way, it was that intense and you guys actually didn't burn to death?"

Hearing this, the anger on Zhou Chen and the other two's faces intensified. However, Diwu Zeyi simply smiled, borrowed a light from Chen Ran, smoothly pocketed the lighter, and explained, "Have you heard of a Fireproof Sleeping Bag? Veteran Players will basically always prepare one before entering an Instance. After all, no one can predict if the Instance they match into will involve a fire hazard."

"Fireproof, waterproof, and anti-poison—it's best to prepare these three types of related items in advance before entering an Instance."

Chen Ran nodded. "I've learned something new."

At that moment, another person bolted out of the train car. It was Li Zhitong.

Her condition was surprisingly even better than the other six. She was hardly burned at all, and even her hair wasn't singed.

However, Li Zhitong's expression...

Looked like she wanted to eat Chen Ran alive.

Diwu Zeyi seemed to realize something and asked uncertainly, "Don't tell me you just used a Fire-Avoidance Charm?"

"What else could I do? I have a massive bounty on my head from the Liar-Slayer Alliance. If I didn't have a few trump cards, how could I have survived until now?"

After saying that, she looked at Chen Ran, trying her hardest to suppress the boiling anger inside her. She wanted to say something, but ultimately gave up. She knew that throwing out empty threats right now was meaningless. In the upcoming second Secret Room, Chen Ran's situation would not be pleasant. All she had to do was wait patiently...