Chapter 553: Chu Mo Island (Nineteen)
Chapter 553: Chu Mo Island (Nineteen)
The darkness before Hong Hu’s eyes suddenly vanished, and his hearing and sense of touch returned almost simultaneously.
He opened his eyes to find himself sprawled face-down on the ground.
In the next instant, he rolled over and sat up sharply. What met his gaze was a giant black hand—and a familiar figure standing beside it.
"Do you remember what happened?" Feng Bu Jue tilted his head, watching Hong Hu with a question.
Hong Hu furrowed his brows, pausing briefly before replying, "I was..." He shifted his gaze toward the Imprint Hand, "slammed into the ground by it."
As Hong Hu spoke, he instinctively glanced back at the ground. His imprint shadow had already disappeared, but the shadows of Fei Chai Shu, Tian Ma Xing Kong, and Ji Bu were still fixed on the stone path.
"What's going on?" Hong Hu turned back to Feng Bu Jue, asking, "Did you save me?"
"No kidding. Who else would it be?" Feng Bu Jue shrugged casually.
"Hmm... How much time remains until the time limit?" Hong Hu pressed quickly.
His first reaction wasn't to thank Feng Bu Jue but to prioritize asking practical questions to determine their next steps.
Naturally, Feng Bu Jue had no objections. In fact, he wholeheartedly agreed with this approach—his own reaction would have been the same.
"Don't worry, there's still fifteen minutes left", Feng Bu Jue replied, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb. "From what I know, we're already very close to the Shrine—just over that small slope three hundred meters ahead." He paused, then tapped the Imprint Hand in front of them with his index finger. "I can finish off this thing within ten minutes and free Brother Horse and the others. So... we’ll have about five minutes to spare for getting there. Yeah, no problem."
"Hmph... Got lucky and beat me twice, and now you're getting cocky?" The Imprint Hand listened with growing irritation, its voice rising. "I won't lose to you again!"
"Oh? Isn't that a familiar line?" Feng Bu Jue retorted mockingly. "Oh right, you said nearly the same thing a few minutes ago. The only difference now is 'once' has become 'twice.'"
"Stop yapping! Let's go again!" the Imprint Hand roared.
"Fine by me", Feng Bu Jue replied, raising a hand and preparing to strike.
At this moment, Hong Hu felt a mix of shock and confusion. What's going on...? He actually beat this thing... twice? How did he manage that?
His confusion was understandable.
Earlier, Hong Hu and the other three team members had faced the Imprint Hand and engaged in the same rock-paper-scissors duel. But they had all lost. They had taken turns fighting, each one defeated in succession. In other words, the last person in line—the one with three full rounds of observation (at least nine games)—had still failed to defeat the Imprint Hand.
Incidentally, Hong Hu had been the last in line... because the other three believed that even if they lost, Hong Hu would surely discern some pattern or trick from their matches and defeat this mini-boss.
Unfortunately, Hong Hu had discovered nothing, which led to the current situation...
"Come on! Stone... scissors... cloth!"
As Hong Hu pondered, Feng Bu Jue and the Imprint Hand had already begun another round.
"Aha!" Feng Bu Jue smirked, smugly licking his lips. "Another win. That’s seven straight victories now."
"Damn you..." The Imprint Hand, though lacking a mouth, managed to sound like it was gnashing its teeth.
"What’s going on... Is this just luck? Or strategy?" Hong Hu watched the unfolding scene with rising tension. But rock-paper-scissors usually doesn’t allow for much strategy. I've heard the "beginners often throw stone first" trick, but that’s useless in a prolonged match like this. Plus, the opponent isn't even human—there's no way to predict its moves from gestures, eyes, or subtle tells.
"You're thinking too naively", Feng Bu Jue suddenly turned to Hong Hu.
"Huh?" Hong Hu blinked in surprise.
"The look on your face tells me you're wondering how I got so many wins", Feng Bu Jue continued. "Hmph... Obviously, it's not luck. If it were luck, I'd be flattened like you guys by now."
"So... how?" Hong Hu asked, puzzled.
"I simply did the same thing as it", Feng Bu Jue glanced at the Imprint Hand. "Anticipated the opponent's move ahead of time, then countered with the winning gesture."
"What?!" Hong Hu exclaimed.
"Hah... That's why I said you're naive", Feng Bu Jue chuckled dryly. "Did you really think it was playing fair rock-paper-scissors with you?"
Hong Hu turned sharply to glare at the Imprint Hand. "Tch... So you have some instant precognition ability? That’s cheating!"
"Shut up!" the Imprint Hand snapped. "I never said I didn’t have that ability, and I never said it was off-limits!"
"Hehe... Well said..." Feng Bu Jue grinned sinisterly. "Let's continue."
Without waiting for a reply, he engaged in another round with the Imprint Hand—and won again.
"Urgh... Dammit..." the Imprint Hand grumbled, frustrated.
"Again!" Feng Bu Jue declared.
Another round followed, and Feng Bu Jue triumphed once more, freeing Fei Chai Shu from his imprint shadow.
Though the Imprint Hand fumed, it continued the game round after round as Feng Bu Jue demanded, releasing one player from their shadow prison every time it lost a full set (three rounds).
Soon, all four players trapped on the ground had been restored. With Hong Hu’s explanation, the other three quickly grasped the general situation.
"Hmph... You win this time", the Imprint Hand growled bitterly, having lost all its bargaining chips. "Today, I’ll admit defeat... End the game and take your companions away."
"I refuse", Feng Bu Jue replied bluntly, delivering a shocking answer.
"What?!" The Imprint Hand and the other four players all reacted in unison.
"Let's continue", Feng Bu Jue said, raising his hand again.
"Wa... Wait..." The sharp voice of the Imprint Hand began trembling. "Your companions are already free. You still—"
"You can continue, right?" Feng Bu Jue interrupted.
"Uh... Ye-yes..." The Imprint Hand clearly hesitated, stammering its reply.
"Then tell me... What happens when I win this round?" Feng Bu Jue pressed, his tone menacing.
"Don't push your luck!" the Imprint Hand roared.
"Hehehe... Actually, you don't need to answer—I already know", Feng Bu Jue laughed wickedly. "It'll be you getting flattened this time, right?"
"Urgh..." The Imprint Hand couldn’t deny it, only letting out a low growl of frustration.
"As expected..." Feng Bu Jue grinned menacingly. "Come on! Let’s play! Rock-paper-scissors!"
A rather eerie scene unfolded. Though clearly reluctant, the Imprint Hand still engaged Feng Bu Jue in another round of rock-paper-scissors, as if Feng Bu Jue had become the true master of this "Rock-Paper-Scissors Domain."
Two seconds later, both made their moves. The result was revealed—Feng Bu Jue won once more.
"No... Don't do this..." the Imprint Hand trembled. "Stop!"
"Again!" Feng Bu Jue shouted, launching into another round and winning yet again.
"No! Please!" the Imprint Hand finally begged. "Let’s make a deal! Ask for anything you want! As long as it’s within my power..."
"Heh..." Feng Bu Jue smiled faintly. "Right now... I only want one thing..." He stared directly at the Imprint Hand. "But that something doesn’t require anyone to give it to me—I’ll just take it myself..." With that, he raised his hand again. "Let’s go!"
The Imprint Hand let out a terrified howl but still threw its final move—the last rock-paper-scissors of its existence.
When defeat arrived, the Imprint Hand flipped its palm downward and plummeted toward the ground. It crashed into the earth and flattened out, like a 3D model forcibly compressed into a 2D paper cutout.
"You... you madman..." the Imprint Hand groaned one last time before being completely imprinted into the ground.
"Say what you like. I still got what I wanted..." Feng Bu Jue gazed down at the giant hand shadow, teasing. "...Fun."
Two seconds later, the space around the players suddenly expanded outward. It felt as if a massive amount of solid physical matter had instantaneously vaporized, though the matter itself had been invisible.
"Ah... Good, the barrier’s gone", Feng Bu Jue noted. "Just as I predicted, we still have five minutes left to reach the Faith Shrine." He turned around as he spoke. "I’ll lead the way. I know the general direction."
"Uh... Well..." Ji Bu couldn’t help but interject. "Aren’t you going to explain... what just happened back there?"
The other three were now giving Feng Bu Jue wary looks, as if he were some strange monster, keeping their distance.
Initially, they had only been astonished by Feng Bu Jue's capabilities. But later—especially during the last two minutes of Feng Bu Jue’s actions and words—their fear factor had skyrocketed. They couldn’t help but get the impression that Feng Bu Jue was the real antagonist boss, and the Imprint Hand had been the victim.
"Of course I’ll explain", Feng Bu Jue replied, drawing out the words playfully. It was actually the truth—he loved bragging about his achievements. "But with less than five minutes remaining for our main quest, how about we save the explanation until we reach the Faith Shrine?"
"Yeah, good point", Hong Hu quickly regained his composure. "Let’s get moving first."
Hong Hu’s response eased the tension slightly. Upon hearing his words, the others hesitated for half a second before hurrying to follow Feng Bu Jue’s lead, quickening their pace.
(End of Chapter)
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