Chapter 343: Burnt Out (Two in One)

Chapter 343 Burnout (Part 2)

Second floor.

Gao Lan stood on the second floor, looking at the four or five-star players who were there.

Suddenly, three of the four or five-star players disappeared.

In short, the remaining five-star player was none other than the real Shu Renjun.

"Lin Xuan said that when the Ice Room was planning to go bankrupt, he was constantly thinking about how he could defeat you. In the end, he decided he couldn't compete with you in intelligence, so he decided to compete with you in skill. Skills you don't know about. He'll devise a plan using his skills, and he doesn't believe you can break out of this predicament!"

There are two types of people who are the most terrifying in this world.

First: People like Chen Yang have never truly experienced defeat. Because they don't know what defeat feels like, they develop an invincible mindset and excessive self-confidence.

Secondly: You can defeat someone like Lin Xuan, but she quickly recovers from defeat, regroups, and becomes even bolder after each setback. In short, she possesses an unyielding spirit. Thinking, persevering, and summarizing are her motto until she defeats her opponents.

Everyone fears encountering these two types of opponents: one invincible, the other unkillable. You can never see the limits of the former, whereas you can clearly sense the development of the latter.

Shu Renjun's heart stopped for a moment.

Gao Lan continued, "Guess how many real cats there are in total across the six areas?"

Before he could answer, Gao Lan said:

"Eighteen!"

"What's even more interesting is that this building is only eighteen stories high!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Gao Lan's silhouette disappeared, replaced by...

Altı Qiu Hua!

Six Qiu Hua, standing about one and a half feet up on the second floor, were coldly watching Shu Renjun on the second floor.

It's not over yet!

Suddenly, six Ye Qian appeared in the left corridor on the second floor. Their facial expressions changed from surprise to focused attention on Shu Renjun.

It's not over yet!!!

Suddenly, six young men appeared in the corridor on the right side of the second floor. Shu Renjun's pupils narrowed considerably when he saw them.

At the very beginning of the cat-and-mouse game, Lin Xuan transformed into a short, chubby four-star teammate, guided by the woman using a frying pan to clean the secret room. Since this four-star teammate is actually Lin Xuan in disguise, where did the real four-star teammate go? (Please see Chapter 312 for details.)

The answer is now clear: Lin Xuan moved them somewhere else, so they're currently on the second floor...

There are eighteen real cats.

And a mouse!

Seeing this, Shu Renjun's expression turned serious, and he had to reconsider this rookie, Lin Xuan.

“I have a question. Chen Ran used the Eternal Kingdom before, and Lin Xuan’s spatial abilities were corrupted, but I didn’t see him anywhere in the building at that time.” Shu Renjun pointed to the four-star player on the right.

Even though Lin Xuan wasn't physically present, she knew she could sense everything that was happening in this place.

"The reason is simple." The voice was coming from upstairs, but it wasn't clear which floor it was from.

“There may be small deviations in each area. Like the butterfly effect, these small deviations can cause the plot to deviate significantly from its planned course.”

His words were vague, but Shu Renjun immediately implied that the four-star players in their area were most likely dead, and that one of the six four-star youths...

It was transformed from a mouse!

But that doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that he doesn't know who the mice are, so he has to treat the six young men like real cats.

[Eighteen real cats!]

[If each one is on a separate floor, I will be caught more often over time, and the number of floors I can hide on will decrease.]

[If I only allow one of the three types of people to be captured, that clearly wouldn't be realistic.]

Just as she understood this, the six Ye Qian on her left couldn't wait any longer and rushed towards her, trying to touch her to pass through the secret room.

Therefore, judging by the circumstances, it seems the one who was abandoned must have been Ye Qian.

Shu Renjun's mood was unpredictable, but in the end he still chose to point his gun at the ceiling.

"The Whisperer: The Forbidden Bookseller!"

This move caused eighteen people to frown. They had previously learned from Lin Xuan that Shu Renjun's nonsense had been exposed.

unless...

As the secret room fell into darkness, Lin Xuan, who was in another room, suddenly remembered that Shu Renjun had concealed his date of birth when he had previously shown his ID card.

Oh my God, what shamelessness!

[Anyone who sees the date of birth on the ID card will have their lie exposed. I didn't see it, Gao Lan didn't see it either, but Shu Renjun, who showed the ID card, must have seen it. However, I didn't expect even he not to have looked.]

The only sound that could be heard in the darkness was the crashing of the Liar Killer's protective mechanism against the wall.

When the light comes back on.

There were many people on the second floor, while others were scattered across the eighth, twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth floors. Their appearances had transformed into those of Gao Lan, Lin Xuan, Chen Ran, and the other actors from previous scenes.

Simply put, they continued to play the same scenario that Chen Ran and the others had previously displayed.

However, Lin Xuan, who possessed a godlike perspective, discovered something different.

There are a lot of players on the second floor, so logically no one should be there right now.

[The script only had eight actors; were the extra actors left on the second floor?]

【But so many people...】

【Are there twenty people on the second floor?!】

[Before using his ability, there were only nineteen people in this building. After using his ability, eight people acted out the scenario, but there are still twenty people on the second floor. What about the locked room...?]

[A total of twenty-eight people?]

【Moreover, they all resemble Qiu Hua, Ye Qian, and the other four-star youngsters.】

Lin Xuan soon realized that nine people were blocking the stairwell entrance to the second floor, preventing the other players from going up to catch Shu Renjun.

[And now, the eight people above don't know who Shu Renjun is while they're staging the script.]

【Wow, how quickly did they find this solution, a five-star player...】

Is this an exaggerated claim?

[According to the previous scenario, Chen Ran and the short, fat man who got into the elevator are protected by the Liar Killer's security mechanism. Does this mean that all the other players are also protected by the Liar Killer?]

"Touch them one by one!"

Lin Xuan appeared on the fifth floor and called out to Qiu Hua, Ye Qian, and the four-star youth on the second floor.

Hearing this, those on the second floor hesitated for a moment before deciding to touch the players blocking the stairwell, but Ye Qian, Qiu Hua, and the four-star youth didn't step forward to touch them.

Bang bang bang!

The players were eliminated one by one and waited silently. But three minutes passed, and not a single person managed to escape the escape room.

This situation indicated that the person blocking the stairwell wasn't Shu Renjun, but most likely someone acting out a scenario upstairs. Seeing this, Lin Xuan didn't hesitate.

Use this ability again!

Move all the players on the second floor to other areas, then move them back to the second floor from those other areas.

Transfer it back!

But this was far from ideal reality, because all nineteen previous players had been drawn into the forbidden book.

He can't move at all!

【Super Ego!】

【This guy's abilities are superhuman, I'll knock you to the ground!!!】

[Calm down!]

[Calm down!]

[It makes sense when you think about it. Since Shu Renjun was able to gain his freedom from the floor owner, he must be one of the best potential teammates. And since the floor owner likes to gather arrogant players, it's likely he's one of them.]

【wrong!】

【wrong!】

[If they were all drawn into the Forbidden Book, I wouldn't be able to sense what was happening in that place, which means...]

Lin Xuan, who was in another room, suddenly looked up at the ceiling of the eighteenth floor.

There, a white book floated in the air as if someone were taking notes.

[Not good!]

[The forbidden books of Shu Renjun from other dimensions have always existed.]

[In other words, after Chen Ran's Eternal Kingdom ended, I used my spatial abilities to create six realms containing Shu Renjun...]

【They all used the Forbidden Books, but I transferred three of them to other dimensions, so the Forbidden Books couldn't be retrieved!】

[Meanwhile, Shu Renjun noticed that both Qiu Hua and Ye Qian had been moved to the same location by me, and that's why they chose not to retrieve the Forbidden Book.]

【My god!】

[Prejudices exist in different contexts, and my intervention is only exacerbating these prejudices, leading to different outcomes.]

Tap tap tap.

Footsteps drew closer, and Shu Renjun, who was in the room, smiled and went upstairs, glancing at Lin Xuan, who had a displeased expression on her face.

"I will give you two options."

"First: Many events are being recorded in this area. If I use this ability again, do you think you can survive? Even if you survive the first round, if I continue to use this ability indefinitely, the two-minute rest period in each round will become a scenario, and the scenario will increase indefinitely. How many rounds do you think you can survive?"

"Secondly: Let each of us take a step back. If we both set aside our abilities, I can allow Qiu Hua to clear the dungeon safely and leave Ye Qian behind."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xuan coldly asked, "You were created by me, so why are you helping Shu Renjun instead of me?"

"Don't tell me such things. I've killed myself countless times in one- and two-star dungeons, so I've built a defense system in my mind. In this situation, I'm only helping myself."

At the same time.

In another room, Shu Renjun and Lin Xuan were having the same conversation.

In short, Lin Xuan was controlled by Shu Renjun in every aspect.

As long as Lin Xuan dares to use her abilities, they will first use their own abilities to draw Lin Xuan into the Forbidden Book.

"How about a speed race?" Shu Renjun looked intently at Lin Xuan, but Lin Xuan didn't dare look him in the eyes because there was an insurmountable chasm between them.

Based on this alone, Lin Xuan's weapon drawing speed should be slower than Shu Renjun's.

Meanwhile, in the place where Shu Renjun was, Lin Xuan was drawn into the Forbidden Book and didn't dare lie to use her abilities.

Ultimately, he was excluded from the script in The Forbidden Book. If he dared to lie and use his abilities, who knew if he would be teleported before actors from other dimensions to judge him to death?

Lin Xuan was controlled by Shu Renjun in all six locations and had no chance to use her abilities. She didn't dare use them because lying would mean instant death.

At that moment, he deeply understood the limitations of the Liar Killer. If he were a Trickster, he could use his abilities directly without lying, so why was he in such a predicament?

Now they are both competing to see who is willing to take more risks.

Lin Xuanruo was determined to do everything in her power to prevent Shu Renjun from escaping. In real space, Shu Renjun would constantly be caught, and the area where he could hide would gradually shrink. When the real Qiu Hua and Ye Qian passed the four-star youth level, he would be trapped in this secret room forever.

If Shu Renjun uses all his power, he will use the Forbidden Bookstore in all six locations simultaneously, causing Lin Xuan to continuously implement the entropy increase scenario. Sooner or later, all six Lin Xuan will get lost in the Forbidden Bookstore.

Lin Xuan, a professional gambler, hesitated at this moment.

He didn't dare gamble, because Shu Renjun was already prepared to die alongside him.

【I've been preparing this plan with great care all this time, but could he really ruin it so easily?】

Are five-star characters really that powerful?

All six Lin Xuan felt this sense of despair and hopelessness.

If a person doesn't suppress their emotions, this despair can consume them; however, Lin Xuan, who becomes braver with each setback, instead savors this despair.

Throughout his life, he struggled with difficulties, and despair became the driving force behind his growth.

[I want to be the cancel speaker!]

Lin Xuan's expression was resolute; she didn't want to encounter anything like this again.

[However, to escape the control of the master on the ninth floor, the next dungeon is definitely...]

【Very difficult!】

Many people think he's lucky, but only he knows the truth. Both alliance leaders are more concerned with their interests than their emotions.

You benefited from the protection of the lord on the ninth floor.

Want to join the Whisperers Alliance now?

Of course, this requires a lot of effort.

However, once Lin Xuan makes a decision, she sticks to it.

I brought myself back to reality.

Lin Xuan lit a cigarette and asked, "I don't believe this is a coincidence."

"In this case, there's a logic behind everything that seems counterintuitive. In the real world, wouldn't Shu Renjun be alarmed if he discovered you were the twelfth cat?"

"Didn't you notice Shu Renjun used an ability on the first floor too? Did you think it was camouflage to help the other rats escape?"

"Being recorded!"

"This event was interrupted by Chen Ran's Eternal Kingdom."

What he wanted to say was clear: I noticed you made a move too early, so I did the same and made a move too early. If Chen Ran's Eternal Kingdom hadn't intervened, I could have easily defeated you.

The difference is now glaringly obvious. How could five-star player Shu Renjun, who has already reached the threshold of his own mindset, not notice even this small detail?

It could be argued that Lin Xuan was inexperienced in fighting against a five-star player for the first time, which is why she engaged in such futile efforts.

It's all for nothing. He no longer dares to gamble and has no choice but to let the money go.

In short, even if the two later reach an agreement and Lin Xuan subsequently uses her spatial abilities to erase the lie, it will all be in vain, because...

In each of the six locations, a banned book hangs suspended in the air above the eighteenth-floor ceiling.

No matter where Lin Xuan hides, he will be drawn into the Forbidden Book.

Lin Xuan took a deep breath.

You won!

They suffered a complete and utter defeat in this match.

But he had done his best, and in the end, he still lost to Five Star. It's nothing to exaggerate; he's not someone who can't accept defeat.

…

In real space.

Lin Xuan shouted loudly:

"I lost!"

The next moment, the Forbidden Bookstore closed, and the people blocking the second-floor entrance vanished. Lin Xuan lied, drew her weapon, and used her ability to teleport the people on the second floor back to their original locations.

Furthermore, the real Qiu Hua was transferred to another location, allowing him to complete the secret room there. Meanwhile, Lin Xuan and Gao Lan finished the game in that other location.

At this point, the only remaining gap is between Zhen Shurenjun and Zhen Yeqian.

On the eighteenth floor, Zhen Yeqian's attempt to capture Zhen Shurenjun was entirely a figment of his imagination.