Farmer's Walk

As the game introduction ended, five people let out a pained groan almost simultaneously.

"Hiss..."

Wang Yongxin looked at the stinging spot on his wrist. A needle seemed to have emerged from the inside of the black visa bracelet, piercing his skin and injecting something into his body.

A strange tingling sensation spread from the needle prick on his wrist.

"A slow-acting poison... it'll kill me in 2 hours..."

Wang Yongxin's expression turned grim.

Two hours. That was a relatively long game time.

The previous "Blood Poker" game had lasted an hour and a half, and even then, many players had idled around, wasting some of that time.

But this situation was completely different.

Faced with a life-or-death crisis, two hours would feel far too short.

"Where are Lawyer Lin and Officer Cao?"

"They should have entered this game too, but they're not in the passageway."

Wang Yongxin looked around. The long passageway ahead was actually divided into five different paths.

Wang Yongxin, Ding Wenqiang, and Cai Zhiyuan were each on a different path. In addition, there were two complete strangers on two other, more distant paths.

The paths were separated by glass walls several meters high, impossible to break or climb over.

There was only one thing they could do at the moment.

Directly ahead was a special contraption, about 1.6 meters high and 1.2 meters wide, a kind of special frame structure.

According to the game rules: they had to lift the contraption in front of them and pass through the passageway within the time limit.

The design of this contraption was not complicated. It resembled a carrying pole with weights, or perhaps equipment specifically for a Farmer's Walk.

There were designated spots for shouldering and gripping, easy to identify.

In addition, the contraption had numerous irregular iron blocks for counterweights.

According to the game's rules, each person's contraption weighed twice their own body weight. This meant that the heavier a person was, the heavier the contraption they had to carry.

"Hey!"

Someone exclaimed. Wang Yongxin looked up and saw that Ding Wenqiang had already lifted his contraption and was walking forward.

Wang Yongxin then looked up at his own path. Every so often, there was a special timer sign.

The sign displayed a 60-second countdown, and 5 seconds had already passed.

"Damn it!"

Wang Yongxin realized he had lost time by overthinking. His first impulse was to analyze the game rules and survey the area, and he had unconsciously wasted time.

He hurried to his contraption, positioning himself underneath it.

Then, Wang Yongxin gripped the vertical handles on either side with both hands, pushing his shoulder up with all his might.

"Get up..."

Just that effort made Wang Yongxin feel a surge of blood, his heart pounding, sweat dripping.

Although the contraption's design was somewhat user-friendly, with special leather padding at the shoulder rest, preventing him from being painfully bruised by the steel and being completely unable to move, it was still literally twice his body weight.

Wang Yongxin struggled to move his feet forward.

As someone who wasn't short on money, Wang Yongxin had certainly been to the gym and even done training similar to Farmer's Walks. But unfortunately, as he got older, he had less time and became lazier, abandoning his fitness habits long ago.

The only good news was that, to maintain his image as a business elite and leave a better impression on investors, he had been controlling his diet, so his physique was still quite good.

If he had gained another twenty pounds, he would likely be doomed right now.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

After only a few steps, Wang Yongxin felt his breathing becoming rapid. He gasped for air but still couldn't get enough, his heart pounding as if it would explode.

Farmer's Walk is a demanding exercise that requires full-body strength, not only strong lower body muscles but also a powerful core and excellent balance.

So after walking a few meters, Wang Yongxin was so exhausted he could barely breathe. As soon as his body sagged slightly, the contraption fell back to the ground.

When Wang Yongxin looked up again, he saw that Ding Wenqiang had already left everyone far behind.

"...This game is so damn unfair."

Wang Yongxin only had time to mutter this complaint before glancing at the countdown and gritting his teeth to lift the contraption and move forward again.

Of course, he quickly realized his remark was a bit sour. The Gallery had never stipulated that only a certain type of game would be played.

In "Blood Poker," which encouraged speculation and rule-breaking, Wang Yongxin had the advantage. So, encountering a game that emphasized physical fitness, it was only reasonable for Ding Wenqiang to have the advantage.

As an experienced laborer, Ding Wenqiang not only possessed physical fitness far beyond that of ordinary people but also had incredible endurance.

This challenge seemed tailor-made for him.

Through the monitor screen, Lin Sizhi could clearly see everyone's situation.

The current ranking is: Ding Wenqiang, Zhang Peng, Gao Zhankui, Wang Yongxin, Cai Zhiyuan.

Zhang Peng is that unemployed young man with dyed hair. Although he's quite thin, his physical condition should be better than that of an average office worker.

Furthermore, each person's mechanism is calculated based on their own body weight, so even if someone is thin, those with low body fat still have a certain advantage.

Gao Zhankui is a middle-aged man with a face full of rough flesh. Although he looks strong, he's been held back by his weight and has fallen behind Zhang Peng by several body lengths.

Of course, he seems to have done some physical labor before, as his physical condition is much better than Wang Yongxin and Cai Zhiyuan's.

Cai Zhiyuan is the most miserable among them. Although he picked up his mechanism and started moving at the very first moment, as a programmer, he doesn't exercise much, is in a sub-healthy state, and neglects his physical fitness.

With all these unfavorable factors combined, he has fallen to the very end.

The entire passage is divided into three stages. The first stage is 20 meters, with a countdown of 60 seconds.

According to the game rules, if the stage cannot be completed within 60 seconds, spikes will extend from the mechanism, inflicting excruciating pain to urge the player forward.

If it's still not completed after another 60 seconds, the player will directly face the Instant Death Punishment.

Fortunately, based on the current situation, even Cai Zhiyuan, who is in last place, should be able to complete it.

Just then, Lin Sizhi heard another system broadcast that only Spectators could hear.

Because the broadcasts for all players within the venue and those exclusively for Spectators are played through different speakers, with distinct tones and volumes, it's easy to tell them apart.

[Spectator No. 9 bet on "Prisoner".]

Someone had placed a bet in advance before the identities of the King and Prisoner were finalized.

This time, however, the bet was placed on the Prisoner's side.

Lin Sizhi pondered for a moment: "Spectator No. 9... could that be Officer Cao?

"The only reason I can think of for betting on the Prisoner now is that there's more than one acquaintance among the five people below. Therefore, as a Spectator, my stance is naturally on the side of my acquaintances, hoping they all survive.

"And in Community No. 17, only Officer Cao and I have successfully entered this game as Spectators."

Lin Sizhi silently noted this down.

Ding Wenqiang was the first to reach the end of the first stage.

Beyond the finish line was a resting area about a meter long. Ding Wenqiang immediately placed his mechanism on the ground and gasped for air.

However, the one-minute countdown did not stop immediately upon reaching the resting area.

Ding Wenqiang looked around in confusion and found a special button on the wall of the resting area, with several prominent characters next to it: [Press to stop the countdown.]

Ding Wenqiang immediately pressed the button, and the countdown for his path froze at 22 seconds.

Not long after, the other four people also arrived at the resting area.

Cai Zhiyuan arrived almost in the last second of the countdown. His final few steps were as if he had completely exhausted himself; as soon as he placed his mechanism on the ground, he wished he could just lie down.

It was only by sheer willpower that he managed to press the button on the wall.

Although Ding Wenqiang's physical condition was much better than Cai Zhiyuan's, this section was very short, only 20 meters, so it was difficult to create a significant gap.

Cai Zhiyuan leaned against the wall, retching.

However, the game rules clearly left him no room to breathe. The second he pressed the button, the signs on everyone's paths changed.

From the remaining time after everyone had finished, it turned into a new, unified countdown.

38 seconds.