Chapter 219: Is the essence of cooperation backstabbing teammates?

Is the essence of cooperation backstabbing teammates?

One man and one mouse, against one man and one mouse.

When Gao San and Su Wu saw Cheng Shi land with such a massive commotion, they immediately tightened their heartstrings to the limit. Their vigilant gazes not only sized up Cheng Shi and the mouse in his hand, but their peripheral vision also kept looking toward the door, fearing that the noise would summon the guards in the laboratory.

Any laboratory would have guards; this was common sense. And the more hidden the laboratory, the more formidable the guards.

Thus, the situation that was just a 1v1 negotiation instantly collapsed into a four-way standoff that could be caught by guards at any moment.

Of course, Cheng Shi didn't know there were four people at the scene. Although he saw the mouse beside Gao San, his first thought wasn't of a Beast Tamer, but of Li Wu—another Li Wu.

Cheng Shi had been deceived too many times and was used to being deceived; he had even gained experience from being deceived.

So when he saw this "man and mouse" in the exact same state as himself, he instinctively felt that he had been backstabbed again, lured here by Li Wu's "sweet talk," and pitted against Gao San in this unknown office.

Of course, looking at the other party, it seemed Gao San was also one of the deceived.

This explained something: Li Wu was indeed very good at deceiving people, and he might have more than one mouse clone.

When Cheng Shi discovered that he had trusted a liar again, he became "angry"—"shame" turning into "anger."

Although he didn't know how much of this anger was real and how much was just an excuse to vent, his reaction was very decisive and also very... unexpected.

Just as the dust from the ceiling collapse hadn't yet settled, he used the cover of the dust to extend his right hand toward the mouse at Gao San's feet, and then...

"Boom—"

Thunder roared, plasma surged!

The previous explosion had provided the Joy Ring with sufficient nourishment from the fear of the audience in the arena, so at this moment, the 【Thunder Verdict】 was exceptionally swift and fierce.

According to past experience, although 【Thunder Verdict】 wouldn't hit a target that hadn't provided fear nourishment with 100% accuracy, that depended on the "person."

Some people had agile figures and quick reactions, so they dodged it, like Gao San.

Some... mice, had short legs and feet, and were bluffing on the surface but had no resistance, so they didn't dodge it, like... Su Wu.

Therefore, Su Wu died.

Before he could say a word to these two teammates he was meeting again, before he could utter a single syllable of the negotiations and calculations he had been mulling over, he died in the unexpected thunder.

He died inexplicably, died without rhyme or reason.

When the roaring thunder landed on the ground, turning the mouse into a pile of charred ash, Cheng Shi looked at Li Wu in the cage with a contemptuous gaze and sneered:

"Very well, I have felt your fear. Fear is the foundation upon which we can continue to cooperate.

But don't let there be a next time, otherwise, this thunder will land on you.

As for this clone of yours, heh, I assume you wouldn't feel heartache over one clone, right?"

Li Wu did indeed feel the power of the thunder and was indeed trembling, but he still endured the terror and tremblingly wrote four characters on the bottom of the cage:

"That wasn't me."

"?"

When I type a question mark, it doesn't mean I have a question, but rather that I feel something is wrong with this world.

Cheng Shi was stunned.

He turned his head in astonishment to look at the ground, blinked his eyes blankly, and then looked up in confusion at Gao San opposite him, only to see Gao San unfolding a defensive posture with a solemn expression, seemingly prepared to leave this place through the duct he came from at any moment.

That wasn't Li Wu?

Then who was it?

Su Wu? The Beast Tamer?

Dead?

Huh?

That's impossible, right?

Why didn't he dodge?

He couldn't have only had one mouse clone, could he?

However... it's good that he's really dead, saving him from suffering other hardships elsewhere. After all, he didn't survive in his own prophecy either.

My unintentional action released his tight heartstrings early. Thinking about it this way, sigh, I can be considered a great philanthropist.

It wasn't just Cheng Shi who was confused; Gao San was also slightly bewildered. He never expected that this teammate who stole his identity would have semi-artifact-level output capability.

Could it be that he wasn't a warrior, but a mage? A 【Deception】 mage?

Su Wu's death didn't look like an illusion either!

Gao San's face was somewhat ugly; the situation seemed even worse for him.

But for Su Wu...

Forget it, no need to say anything; it was meaningless.

The "Fate Period" he found had buried him once again.

It must be said that always borrowing the name of Fate to commit acts of blasphemy would eventually lead to retribution.

【Fate】 never tolerates anyone who blasphemes against Him, and Su Wu was the best example.

Cheng Shi didn't know what the acrobat was thinking. He recovered from his momentary stupor, and then couldn't help but chuckle, pointing at the small pile of charred ash on the ground:

"How about it, shall we talk about cooperation?

You also saw it; I helped you solve a big problem, didn't I?"

He didn't know at all what Su Wu and Gao San were doing, but since things had reached this point, not utilizing Su Wu's death would be too unfair to this teammate who died so confusedly. Thus, Cheng Shi continued:

"Hmm, perhaps you don't have any other choice, because..."

"Boom—"

Cheng Shi casually fired another 【Thunder Verdict】. This thunder punishment landed precisely where Su Wu had turned into charred ash, causing the ash that still maintained the mouse "form" to completely scatter into dust.

"I'm fiercer than you."

Cheng Shi looked at the terror in Gao San's eyes and smiled happily.

Gao San looked at Cheng Shi with a solemn expression, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke in a low voice:

"How to cooperate?"

"There are many documents here. If you are willing to let these documents to me, then I will give you a chance to leave safely. How about it?"

Cheng Shi walked to the office desk while picking his iron nostril, his peripheral vision looking at the documents on the table, while his eyes remained fixed on Gao San's every move.

However, that glance at the desktop still shook his heart!

Because he also saw that emblem of the Tower of Reason!

The Tower of Reason again!

Wherever there was an experiment, it seemed one couldn't escape the presence of the Tower of Reason!

How could they build a laboratory in the underground of the Grand Tribunal?

One had to know that Gaoshan County was located in the heart of the Grand Tribunal and didn't border the Tower of Reason at all. Even if there were unofficial cooperation, it was impossible to build it here, let alone build it underground, beneath an arena!

What secret was hidden here?

Cheng Shi's constricted pupils were noticed by Gao San. Even if they hadn't been noticed, Cheng Shi's lie had already been seen through, because the Master of Deception told him that Cheng Shi had no intention of letting him go.

The situation had reversed; he had become the disadvantaged party. In order to survive, Gao San could only tentatively say:

"To figure out the secret inside here, you need a helper."

"?"

Cheng Shi frowned, and his gaze toward Gao San became somewhat playful: "So?"

"I can help you."

Cheng Shi lifted the cage in his hand and smiled: "I already have a helper."

Gao San had long seen the mouse in the cage and the poker card stuck to it. He didn't seem shocked by Li Wu's methods, but continued: "Compared to a magician full of lies, I am more trustworthy."

"Laughable, what liar doesn't tell lies? Magicians tell lies, and acrobats don't?

Do you think I'll believe you?"

"No, but one more person means one more bit of strength."

"......"

Gao San hit the mark. Cheng Shi was indeed deeply interested in this laboratory buried beneath the arena. The reason he didn't reject cooperation with Gao San was that when he saw Gao San and Su Wu here, he could be certain that the explosion wasn't caused by the two of them.

If they had arranged an explosion and still had to escape so miserably, it would simply have no meaning.

But this wasn't the most important thing. The most important thing was:

Cheng Shi had received too many "gifts" from the Tower of Reason before. Every time he encountered an experiment by the Tower of Reason, he could make a profit from it. After one or two times, this sense of satisfaction from a great harvest made Cheng Shi very tempted.

He wanted to gamble, gamble that there were good things in this laboratory.

Usually, this kind of thought would quickly be negated by his cautious personality, but this time, once the addiction came up, he couldn't control it at all.

Could it be that this was another guidance from 【Fate】?

Cheng Shi frowned slightly, his hand behind his back secretly rolled a die, while he thought in his heart: "As long as it's not a 1, I won't take the risk."

Afterward, the die rolled for a moment and helplessly rolled a 1.

Thus, Cheng Shi smiled. He looked at Gao San, hid the die, and extended his hand.

"I wish us a happy cooperation."

As soon as he finished speaking, the extended hand turned back to pick his iron nostril.

"......"

It was just, quite awkward.

Fortunately, Gao San didn't want to shake hands with this liar teammate either. He just nodded and then withdrew his defensive posture.

"How do you want to... there's sound in the corridor, someone is coming!"

Cheng Shi's ears twitched twice, and he also heard hurried footsteps; it seemed there were three people.

He looked up at the large hole in the ceiling, knowing that this hole couldn't be covered up no matter what, but there might still be a chance to clear the other traces. Thus, he immediately moved to start cleaning up every trace in the room.

Gao San understood instantly and also began to erase the proof of everyone's existence.

"I have a plan that happens to allow us to have one more helper, but the premise is that you must have a prop that can conceal our tracks. This can also be considered part of the cooperation. How about it, do you accept?"

"......" Gao San smiled politely and took out a piece of transparent long cloth from his personal space.

Cheng Shi only took one look and saw that it was the skin of a Silent Lizard.

He had seen this A-rank prop in a previous end-of-month settlement. As long as one covered oneself with this lizard skin, one could completely blend into the environment, even having no collision volume, and even sounds would be masked. It was truly a must-have prop for doing some dirty work.

Unfortunately, there had been better flavorful food at the time, so Cheng Shi had painfully given it up.

Thus, under the cover of the lizard skin, amidst the tense atmosphere of approaching footsteps, the two men and one mouse changed positions and completely blended into the shadows of the corner. ===== CHAPTER 220 =====