The "Survivor's" Trump Card? He Did Have One

At the edge of the pit, Saha stared at the bottom, which was covered with stark white skulls, his face quite grim.

He never expected his luck to be so bad.

He cursed under his breath, glanced back at the two people standing not far away waiting for him to "challenge" them first, gritted his teeth, and jumped down, bracing himself on the ground.

He had intended to wait for others to test the waters first, but he was forced to become the first pawn to probe the minefield.

Although unwilling, he remained highly vigilant upon landing, managing to barely maintain his balance amidst the pile of skulls.

Even though Saha prided himself on his extensive experience, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine at this moment.

The skulls were so densely packed that they made a series of soft clicking sounds when they collided with each other, making him afraid to move at all.

Who knows what will happen if you step on it?

Saha carefully lay down on his back, suppressing his breathing to be long and slow, while all the muscles in his body were taut like a fully drawn bowstring.

He was prepared to respond to any sudden changes at any time.

Above, Yurien and Ichimura Kōta remained vigilant.

Before anyone knew it, a finely crafted silver coin appeared between Yurien's fingers, moving nimbly between his knuckles with each movement.

Ichimura Kōta glanced briefly at the silver coin being played with, then subtly slipped his left hand into his suit's inner pocket.

The two men stared intently at the Black player who had been the first to initiate the "challenge."

One minute, two minutes...

Time passed slowly.

Suddenly, they saw the black player convulse violently as if he had seen something incredible, writhing wildly like a fish thrown ashore in a pile of skulls.

However, the other person seemed to be bound by something, unable to get up no matter how much they struggled, and could only stare wide-eyed.

Yurien gripped the silver coin tightly in astonishment; the once cool touch now felt scalding hot, as if it would burn through his palm.

Ichimura Kōta noticed his unusual expression and immediately asked, "What's wrong?"

Yurien shook his head, his tone more serious than ever before. "The silver coin is wailing... I've never seen it so terrified."

He gazed at Saha's contorted face, which seemed to be suffocating, and the bulging veins on his forehead, and slowly said:

"I'm afraid we can't complete this challenge."

"Let's call the Production Team."

--

Lobby.

The remaining six players stood silently to the side, watching the medical personnel come and go carrying stretchers.

"Both of these contestants have fallen into a coma and are unable to continue the competition," the head of the medical team casually announced after checking Polina and Saha's conditions. "Elimination."

As the medical staff left once again, the earlier commotion subsided.

Six pairs of eyes met in the stagnant atmosphere, each seeing the surprise and doubt in the other's eyes.

"Alright everyone, now that we've come this far, I think we should all be frank." Winniever clapped his hands. "You should all be able to see how serious the situation is right now."

There were eleven players in total, and on the first day alone, after deducting two players who withdrew, only six remained.

And they haven't even figured out the specific elimination rules for this Dungeon yet.

"Let's share what each team has been through," Daisy said, rubbing her temples. "If this continues, we'll all be wiped out here."

Geseling and Kuxiya exchanged a glance. "Let's go first."

--

Inside the monitoring room.

After the slovenly man announced the start of the challenge over the loudspeaker, Xu Xi focused intently on the screen.

The Dungeon has finally entered a crucial phase.

Although his perspective is severely lacking in some information, it cannot be said to be completely useless.

However, when Xu Xi saw the player in the leather jacket nearly drown in the shallow pool, the conspicuous black player convulsing wildly in the pile of skulls as if having an epileptic seizure, and the bearded man dodging and weaving in the small torture chamber, he paused for a moment, but still couldn't help clicking his tongue.

Damn it, what's inside?

"Where's the medical team? Quickly, let them go in and check!"

"Hey, how come you can't stand up in such a small pool?"

What exactly caused these players to react so strongly?

"I knew it must be haunted..."

Ignoring the noisy discussions, Briman quickly walked over and sat down next to Xu Xi.

Please forgive me for bothering you again, but I have something I'd like to talk to you about.

He deliberately lowered his voice, his tone full of seduction. "Hey, if you ask me, given our current... special situation, perhaps I can dare to suggest that we seem to be in a... well, let's just call it a situation of interdependence?"

Xu Xi was initially curious about what the brown-haired, blue-eyed youth wanted to see him again, but upon hearing this, he instantly understood.

"You want to cooperate?" Xu Xi's gaze lingered for a moment on the other person's seemingly sincere face.

Briman nodded slightly. "My dear friend, I know this kind of relationship seems dangerous in this Dungeon, but it's clear now that lone wolves don't last long here, and I think you understand that."

"Oh, I refuse," Xu Xi said without hesitation.

"?" Briman's composed smile froze on his face, his blue pupils contracted slightly, and a hint of unexpected surprise flashed across his face.

He clearly hadn't expected such a decisive rejection. In any Dungeon fraught with danger and extremely difficult, cooperation was almost the unspoken survival rule for all surviving players.

"Friend," Briman quickly composed himself, his tone becoming earnest and persuasive, "Please reconsider. I know you're wary of me, which is normal, but please believe me, cooperation will benefit both of us."

"Not interested." Xu Xi genuinely wasn't interested.

Regardless of how sincere the other party's words were, at this point in the game, he was practically doomed.

He didn't know if the other party would die, but for him, if the other party died, this project would be over, so there was no need to go through any troublesome cooperation.

Of course, if he discovers upon death that the Dungeon truly requires cooperation to complete, then he'll save the game and try again later.

Completely unaware of Xu Xi's thoughts, Briman's smile finally cracked slightly.

He paused for two seconds, and when he spoke again, the superficial friendliness in his voice had completely vanished. "Aren't you curious?"

Aren't you curious about what exactly happened to them?

Xu Xi asked in confusion, "So you know?"

"..." Briman's previous air of confidence vanished. "I don't know."

He saw in the East Asia youth's eyes an emotion that seemed to say, "If you don't know, then what are you saying?"

Taking a deep breath, Briman stood up. "Friend, if you change your mind, feel free to come find me again."

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the door of the monitoring room.

Now that the players' first round of challenges is over, he's taking advantage of this break to observe the "eliminated" players.

After taking two steps, he turned back and whispered, "Your trump cards might let you survive tonight, or even tomorrow night, but trump cards always run out eventually."

Briman mistook Xu Xi's confidence for some extraordinary Item he possessed; otherwise, he couldn't understand why this person was so... fearless.

Could it be that the other party is really a suicidal madman?

He shook his head and strode away.

Xu Xi's response was simply that she did not comment.

Hidden cards?

He does have it.

Cooldown: None; Usage Restriction: Dead.

As for when it will run out?

Anyway, he's still alive.