Chapter 9: The Predetermined Game Rules: Battle Royale

Chapter 9: The Predetermined Game Rules: Battle Royale

Judging by his appearance, Hu Biao was indeed the strongest among the 20 individuals, and his combat skills in martial arts made him a formidable opponent.

As a result, 14 of the remaining 19 individuals had already formed an alliance around Hu Biao.

For those who didn't join this alliance, isolation was a likely outcome.

Su Muyu was a bit worried and whispered to Lu Heng, "Should we join them?"

Lu Heng shook his head and spoke softly, audible only to the two of them, "Joining them won't help. This mode is a battle royale.

"When the Horned Demon Commander appears, everyone will have to flee. The more we cluster together, the faster we'll die."

Without the experience from his previous life, Lu Heng might have joined Hu Biao's team to discuss strategies for the Abyss Battlefield.

However, with the knowledge from his previous life, some things were simply beyond human capability.

Hu Biao's recruitment pitch was indeed tempting, promising to keep everyone alive.

But in a battle royale mode with 20 participants, this was an impossible task.

The problem didn't lie with the Abyssal Demons but with the 20 individuals themselves.

20 strangers couldn't possibly trust each other.

No one knew what kind of people had gathered here.

Not to mention the two or three thugs with their tough demeanor.

There might even be criminals, drug addicts, or even "demons" living among them.

When facing the Horned Demon Commander, anyone could be attacked from behind by their own teammates, rendering alliances meaningless.

Lu Heng had witnessed it himself in battle royale modes; some metahumans would break others' legs to ensure their own survival.

In the cruel logic of a battle royale, staying alive didn't necessarily mean outrunning demons but outrunning other players.

Lu Heng scanned the 15 members of Hu Biao's team and noticed that almost half of them weren't trustworthy.

"What should we do then?" Su Muyu started to feel anxious.

Lu Heng began to plan their survival strategy:

"The danger level in this world is too high; we must give it our all to survive.

"After we leave this iron cage, we'll go in a different direction from this group.

"This building is filled with clutter; after we get out, search through the piles for any survival supplies.

"The highest priority is medicines, followed by weapons, ropes, food, and water...

"If someone tries to take the same item as you, give it to them immediately and run out of this building as fast as you can."

Lu Heng placed food and water lower on the priority list for survival supplies.

Usually, water was the most critical for outdoor survival, but in the Abyss Battlefield, it wasn't always the case; it depended on the situation.

This time, the Abyss Battlefield was a survival mode, and the primary mission was to survive for three days.

Even without food and water, there was a chance to endure for those three days.

Of course, finding food and water would be ideal.

Time ticked by.

Lu Heng's mind raced, instructing Su Muyu accordingly, all for the sake of survival.

As for the challenge missions on the task panel, he didn't even consider them.

The first Abyss Battlefield with 20 participants had a danger level of 3.

Lu Heng knew these statistics all too well; there was a 99% chance of a total party wipeout.

Hu Biao's team of 15 had already formed an alliance, leaving Lu Heng, Su Muyu, and three others outside of it.

Among these three, two seemed to have decent strength, but in a world with a danger level of 3, it wasn't enough.

Hu Biao, realizing he had gathered a group of cannon fodder, noticed Lu Heng whispering and approached him, "Brother, do you want to join us?"

Not wanting to cause conflict, Lu Heng pointed at Su Muyu and replied with a friendly tone, "We're together, and I don't want to slow you down."

Hu Biao glanced at Su Muyu and thought that Lu Heng would surely die because of a woman.

If this were another place, seeing such a beautiful girl, he could have flexed his muscles and protected her without a second thought. But in a world where death was always around the corner, using his brain was a sure way to invite death.

Hu Biao gave up on Lu Heng and turned to persuade another scholarly youth wearing rimless glasses, but to no avail.

After trying to persuade everyone, none of the remaining individuals were willing to join.

Hu Biao stopped wasting time and addressed his team:

"Everyone, listen to me. In a moment, we'll split into groups of three and scatter to find weapons. Return here in ten minutes.

"When we encounter demons, follow my commands, and we'll take them down together.

"The dropped demon crystal cores will be distributed by me. I'll assign the most suitable skill crystal cores based on everyone's talents and abilities."

Hearing his plan, Lu Heng sighed imperceptibly.

Hu Biao had formed the largest team, but they hadn't even started addressing the iron cage issue.

Lu Heng had to speak up and remind them, "Everyone, pay attention to the Horned Demon Commander's feeding countdown. It's best to open the iron cage before then."

"I'll do it! I'm good at lockpicking." The yellow-haired thug wanted to show off his skills, smiling obsequiously at Hu Biao, then took out a piece of wire and approached the lock to try opening it.

He inserted the wire into the keyhole and began to fiddle with it.

The scholarly-looking youth in a hoodie and rimless glasses standing beside him tapped the spot on the iron cage where the flames had welded the door shut. "Take a good look and see what this is. Don't waste time."

Everyone turned to look in the direction the scholarly youth was pointing, and indeed, they saw that the iron door had been welded shut. Even if they unlocked it, they couldn't open the door.

There were only 15 minutes left before the Horned Demon Commander's feeding time, and time was running out.

The sooner they opened the iron door, the safer it would be.

Lu Heng had no interest in waiting for them to figure out the solution. He directly offered a solution, "When I woke up just now, I saw someone hiding a bottle of water, and there's a steel bar outside the cage."

"Find someone with long-range telekinetic abilities to bring the steel bar inside. Then, take off a piece of clothing, wet it with water, and use the steel bar as a handle to twist the grating of the cage."

Hu Biao scanned the crowd and asked, "Who hid the water? Bring it out."

The yellow-haired thug nodded and bowed, taking the bottle of water from his crotch and handing it to Hu Biao, "Brother Biao, I was planning to save it for you."

Hu Biao didn't say anything. Instead, he pointed at the steel bar outside the cage and asked, "Who has telekinetic abilities to bring the steel bar inside?"

The steel bar was about one and a half meters away from the cage, out of reach for a normal person to grab.

The scholarly youth walked up to the cage and said, "I'll give it a try."

He extended his hand outside the cage, trying to reach the steel bar, but his fingers were still 20 centimeters away, not close enough to touch it.

He held his breath and exerted himself.

Suddenly, the steel bar moved slightly, inching closer to his fingers.

As the distance closed, the suction increased, and the steel bar moved faster until the scholarly youth grasped it.

Immediately, Hu Biao, eager to demonstrate his leadership, took off his athletic vest, soaked it in water, and began to twist the grating of the cage.

After bending the grating bars, people could pass through.

Lu Heng spoke first, "Let the girl go first, and the rest of you line up. Be quick and don't dawdle."

The reason for letting the girl go first wasn't due to any priority principle.

Lu Heng wanted to ensure Su Muyu's safety.

Otherwise, if a demon appeared, a stampede was likely to occur within the cage, and Su Muyu would definitely be pushed to the back, if not injured.

Moreover, letting Su Muyu go out served another crucial purpose.

Hu Biao glanced around; the floor was still relatively quiet at the moment. He also wanted to display some gentlemanly demeanor and agreed with Lu Heng's arrangement, "Let the girl go first, and the rest of you line up."

Out of the 20 people, there were only three females, and all three women managed to squeeze out of the cage smoothly.

Then, the remaining people lined up to exit.

After Su Muyu squeezed out, she anxiously watched Lu Heng through the cage grating.

Lu Heng whispered, "Find supplies, but don't leave my sight."

In truth, Su Muyu was a bit scared, but she knew that fear wouldn't help now. Finding supplies was the most crucial for survival.

She immediately turned and jogged to the piles of miscellaneous items on the floor, starting to search for useful things.

The others in the cage, upon seeing this, immediately urged the other two women outside, "Hurry and find things! Look for weapons!"

The two women finally realized and rushed out to search for supplies.

From then on, each person who left the cage immediately dashed out to look for weapons and supplies.

Since Lu Heng and the scholarly youth weren't part of Hu Biao's team, and Hu Biao guarded the exit, it was natural for his team to exit first.

Lu Heng and the scholarly youth understood this, so they didn't argue with them.

Before any danger emerged, an internal conflict would only make matters worse.

After Hu Biao ensured all his team members had exited, he didn't allow the remaining four people to leave immediately.

With only four people left in the cage, they could all exit within seconds, so there was no need to argue over the order.

Lu Heng didn't yield; he directly squeezed out.

The scholarly youth was the last to leave. As he squeezed out of the cage, a roar echoed through the building, followed by the sound of an earthquake-like footstep.

A four-meter-tall, three-meter-wide Horned Demon Commander with horns on its head appeared.

This Horned Demon Commander was incredibly robust, resembling a giant gorilla with horns and a shell.

It discovered that its food had escaped the cage and jumped into its "dining hall," letting out an angry roar as it pounced on the nearest "food."

"Ah!"

"Damn! What is this thing?!"

Upon seeing the terrifying Horned Demon Commander, the metahumans immediately threw their promise of mutual cooperation out the window and turned to flee.

Lu Heng recognized the Horned Demon Commander as a high-rank devil, with a level above 20.

At this point in time, human metahumans were generally only level 3 or 4, making it impossible to confront this Horned Demon Commander.

Not even 200 or 2,000 people could do much more than tire the Horned Demon Commander to death.

The "Last Man Standing" mode had its game rules set from the beginning.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end