Futile Effort

Gaoxin was somewhat disappointed that only an arm was severed.

Both sides now had high attack and low defense. The opponent, having lost an arm, didn't even grunt and still possessed residual power. Gaoxin didn't dare to pursue recklessly.

He simply said, "What's wrong? Didn't you want an axe?"

Silver Hand rasped, "You bastard, you knew I was blind and still tried to trick me, to sneak attack?"

Gaoxin sighed, "Didn't you deceive me first?"

This time, no one mentioned giving him the axe for peace anymore. They were already in a full-blown fight!

Before, it was mainly because Silver Hand was too terrifying, unkillable no matter what. His body, scorched by flames, looked like a terrifying ghoul from a nightmare.

Yet he walked down leisurely, talking about how amazing his potential was.

Many people present were truly scared out of their wits, feeling that even with the axe, Gaoxin wouldn't be a match for him, so they wholeheartedly sought peace.

But just now, Silver Hand had shown his fear, revealing his apprehension towards the axe and the fact that he couldn't see.

Gaoxin then exploded into action, dismembering the opponent's last arm.

Judging by the situation, facing Gaoxin with the axe, Silver Hand seemed to temporarily lack the confidence to kill them.

If things were to remain in this stalemate until the end, it would be quite good.

Silver Hand said in a deep voice, "Actually, I really promised you, I won't go back on my word. Killing you all has no meaning for me anymore."

Gaoxin sighed, "Is that so? Then why aren't you mentioning the collar?"

"Now, I'm a cat."

Everyone was stunned. That's right, Gaoxin was a cat.

Meimei reacted and growled at Silver Hand, "Only when settling the score are you an old cat, and you can get the hunting reward at the end. But you're a mouse now. Even if you hunted many mice before, you'll only get your own 100 survival points at the end."

"Even if the eight of us could promise to give you 800 redemption vouchers afterward, the rewards for the nine people you killed before would be gone – that's a full 900 points. Are you really willing to let it go?"

"You're someone who's greedy to death. For the same profit, you'd kill people, let alone such a huge loss?"

"You're not asking for the collar because you know we can't take it off ourselves! Only you can personally remove it!"

"But to put your hand on your neck, how can you do such a thing? Isn't that handing your life over to you?"

"Even if Gaoxin agrees to do so, you'd still have concerns because you know he has that Mechanical Battle Axe in his hand."

"If you get too close, he might kill you instead... which is why you insist on Gaoxin handing over the great axe to you first."

"This is a dead end. In reality, you and he can't possibly make peace..."

Her words, analyzed so thoroughly, made everyone suddenly understand.

Silver Hand said faintly, "That's basically correct, but have you ever considered that I genuinely don't want to kill him anymore?"

"Although I've lost some, if I can get the great axe, I can accept it."

Everyone was taken aback. Right, he had said before that the great axe was worth a thousand points.

Silver Hand continued, "This is why I said I can't have everything. At the very least, getting the great axe means I won't be at a loss."

Gaoxin added, "Not just not at a loss. If I hand over the axe to you, I'll lose my leverage. You can directly come up and take my collar... then you can get back the nine hundred points you originally lost."

Silver Hand sighed, "No, I can get another two hundred points. I only killed that Goryeo person carrying the sword, and I ate the body."

"As for the short one and Big Beard, I didn't kill them. They're still barely hanging on."

"Otherwise, why do you think I could come in with such heavy injuries?"

"The flesh of the Glass Person is useless, but if those two died, I could have used their bodies to recover myself. Even if I couldn't fully recover, I'd be strong enough to deal with you all easily."

The crowd was in an uproar. What? There were still two Radiators outside who weren't dead?

This was to save them for after becoming a cat, to kill them then, thus gaining an extra two hundred points.

"You bastard, you're truly too greedy!"

Meimei clicked her tongue, "You could have recovered some of your injuries before dealing with Gaoxin, but for an extra two hundred points, you came in with such severe wounds. I really don't know what to say about you..."

"If that's the case, we can't trust you! You'll definitely kill Gaoxin and take the cat's collar."

Silver Hand said coldly, "How many times do I have to say it? I don't want to kill him?"

Everyone pursed their lips. They hadn't expected him to emphasize again and again that he didn't want to kill Gaoxin, even after losing an arm.

He did indeed have the strength to remove the collar without killing Gaoxin.

Had he truly changed? Decided to let them go? Indeed, as long as he could obtain the collar, killing them wouldn't yield any additional profit.

Gaoxin stared at Silver Hand and said, "For your sense of security, you want me to give you the great axe. But what about my sense of security?"

"Must I just obediently drop my weapon and put my neck into your hand to have a chance at surviving?"

Meimei bit her lip. That's right, that was the crux of the issue, which was why she said it was a dead end.

There was basically no possibility of peace between the two.

Silver Hand chuckled, "Then how do you want me to give you security? Glass Person, I don't have hands anymore... You can take off your own collar and throw it to me, that works too."

Gaoxin frowned, "Is that so? You don't have hands now, how will you put it on?"

Silver Hand raised his shattered right arm. It wasn't severed at the shoulder, but still had half an arm remaining, with bone exposed.

He said sternly, "As long as I can get the collar, I'll pry it onto my neck with nothing but bone if I have to."

His desire for redemption vouchers was unconcealed!

Meimei pondered, then suddenly froze, her eyes lighting up.

"Wait a minute, the collar isn't impossible to remove, it just requires at least two adult men working together to open."

"Besides Gaoxin, there's one other person who can act..."

"Bald man, get the hell out here!"

Everyone jolted. That's right, there was still one more person!

For a moment, they all shouted, "Brother Guang, Brother Guang, come out quickly!"

"We need you here, if you come, we can all live!"

They all screamed, calling for the bald man, but after shouting for a long time, there was no response.

"Damn it, why isn't he coming out?" Sule said anxiously.

Gaoxin sighed, "If he can't see the situation here and only hears your shouts, he won't come out."

"And if he can see the situation here, he won't come out either."

"Because he'll think Silver Hand is probably no longer capable of finding him. He's hidden so well, as long as he waits for time to run out, he'll live. Why take the risk?"

Everyone thought about it and realized it made sense, immediately feeling annoyed.

Sule said angrily, "Damn it, this guy only thinks of himself! If he came out to help now, maybe we could all live!"

Silver Hand said loudly, "Who says I don't have the energy to find him? Why don't we go find him together right now?"

"Huh?" Everyone was shocked.

Then they were ecstatic. Silver Hand's words were so sincere!

If he truly only wanted the collar and not their lives, he could completely cooperate with Gaoxin and they could search together.

After finding him, they could have the bald man and Gaoxin work together to remove the collar and throw it to Silver Hand, and he would get his 900 points.

After leaving, they could collectively give him another 900 points. If he wanted, he could even put a mouse collar on the Radiator lying on the ground, kill him, and get another 200 points.

Finally, adding the survival bonus, he would have 2100 points in hand. This was exactly the reward for old cat killing all the mice for a normal victory. Besides that, he could get a Mechanical Battle Axe as loot. In short, it was a huge profit.

Silver Hand said calmly, "As long as you can remove the collar and give it to me, I really won't kill you."

"I've already broken through two layers in this game. If I can get another 2100 points, I have no reason to refuse."

"Hmm, I feel your sincerity," Gaoxin nodded gently.

Hearing they had come to an agreement, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

If they had fought to the death, the outcome would have been unpredictable. That SR potential was too heaven-defying; they were still shaken. It was best if it could end peacefully.

Thus, the two who had been fighting to the death moments before now cooperated again.

Gaoxin searched the first and second floors, while Silver Hand searched the third and fourth floors.

"Bald man, you'd better come out yourself now!" Sule kept shouting.

Everyone else chimed in, telling the bald man that Silver Hand and Gaoxin were now looking for him.

But the bald man hid too well and just wouldn't come out.

Gaoxin, holding his axe, watched Silver Hand go upstairs before letting out a sigh of relief and immediately began searching.

Big Beard had already turned the entire building upside down, even smashing many things, but he hadn't found the bald man. Where could this guy be?

"Could he have found a hidden area?"

"Could he be outside?" Others were also observing their surroundings. Meimei suggested.

Gaoxin walked out holding his axe. In the courtyard, he first checked the condition of the three Radiators.

The sword-carrying strongman was completely dead, his bones shattered into a pile of remains.

Big Beard and the short one were also emaciated, their limbs mangled.

However, upon closer inspection, they were indeed not dead.

There were still faint fluctuations in their chests, their pupils hadn't completely dilated, they were just paralyzed.

Gaoxin didn't rush to find the bald man. Instead, he dragged the two near-death Radiators into the mansion and hid them in a secluded small room.

Everyone understood his actions. What if Silver Hand, under the pretense of looking for the bald man, circled back to deal with these two?

After all, Silver Hand could kill them and recover by eating their corpses. Even a small recovery of one or two percent of his strength would leave them at his mercy.

Next, Gaoxin searched everywhere on the first and second floors.

He carried the giant axe with him. It was indeed heavy, making his limbs sore and tired, consuming a lot of stamina.

Finally, in the courtyard, near a tree by the gate, he found a trace.

"This tree... it's not hollow, is it?"

Gaoxin observed carefully, then swung his axe.

He had already figured out how to use the axe; it was simple. There was a hidden groove on the handle. With a firm press, it was like pulling a trigger. The power source on the mechanical great axe immediately emitted a faint blue glow and unleashed a shockwave.

"Buzz!"

Gaoxin was pulled along by the giant axe, and with a whoosh, he struck a large tree nearby.

"Boom!"

The blow was powerful and heavy, sending wood chips flying from the tree and carving a deep groove.

The axe blade was very sharp. Fortunately, he had chopped at an angle, which prevented it from getting stuck.

Of course, he had also deliberately avoided an angle that would have killed anyone inside.

"It really is hollow..." Gaoxin chuckled. With that swing, he had cut a hole at the base of the tree. It was pitch black inside, clearly hollow.

The hole was deep, and the bottom didn't seem to be dirt, but steel plate.

Seeing this, Gaoxin inserted the axe into the hole and activated it again, directly striking the steel plate.

"Thud!" The steel plate buckled.

"Come out yourself!" Gaoxin shouted.

"It's you? How did you find me? What are you doing?" The bald man's voice sounded muffled, clearly from beneath the steel plate.

"Come out, or I'll set it on fire," Gaoxin threatened.

"You bastard..."

"Thud!" Gaoxin struck again, and the steel plate cracked.

"No, no, no, I'm coming out."

Gaoxin waited silently, thinking it was no wonder he couldn't find the bald man; he had hidden too well.

First, Big Beard had only searched the buildings and hadn't really looked in the courtyard area.

After all, there had been a fierce fight in the front of the courtyard at the time.

Moreover, this tree was hollow; who would have easily thought of that?

"Crack!"

The steel plate lifted, and a bald head emerged. He then pushed open a small wooden door from inside the tree trunk.

My goodness, when this wooden door was closed, it blended seamlessly with the tree trunk, leaving no visible flaw.

When opened, looking down through the small door, the hole was deep and connected to the underground.

There was another room down there, probably quite large, capable of hiding dozens of people, like a mouse hole.

This was simply a super-enhanced version of that "hiding in plain sight" trick from before.

Unless the remaining cats went around causing trouble and chopped down all the trees, it would be truly hard to find.

"This is the so-called hidden area? It's quite a trap." Gaoxin observed his surroundings.

This place could easily hide twenty people, but its location was right by the main entrance...

This meant it was impossible to hide here at the start, as it would be like entering a "mouse hole" right in front of the cats and dogs.

What about afterward? It would be difficult to find an opportunity to hide here, as Silver Hand had been fighting with the other two in the front yard for a long time. One couldn't just crawl into a tree in front of them, could they?

To utilize this hidden area effectively would require some thought.

And even if one successfully hid, there was no guarantee the cats wouldn't go berserk in the end, digging three feet of earth and chopping down trees everywhere.

In short, it was a place that seemed hidden but would inevitably be exposed sooner or later.

"You... what the hell are you doing? You... you became a cat?"

The bald man looked at Gaoxin, very angry, but upon seeing Gaoxin's two collars, he was stunned.

Seeing that he had no idea what had happened, Gaoxin quickly explained.

"You not only became a cat, but you also cooperated with Silver Hand?"

"You two were looking for me together? Damn it..."

The bald man was dumbfounded, never expecting such a thing.

He had finally found a perfect hiding spot, only to be discovered for this reason.

"That guy, doesn't he want to kill all of us? How could I agree? He's lying to you!"

The bald man exclaimed after hearing the situation.

He then suggested, "Why don't you not go back? Come hide in here with me... There's a bell inside, and it's close to the door. We can run as soon as the time is up."

Gaoxin frowned and asked instead, "When did you discover this place?"

"I found it when I was in the courtyard at the start," the bald man said.

Gaoxin looked at him, realizing this guy had discovered this place early on when searching for dog collars in the front yard, but had kept it to himself.

Later, when he heard Gaoxin mention a hidden area, he had feigned surprise.

Later, it was discovered that Silver Hand had torn up the agreement and gone on a killing spree. He directly abandoned the newcomers who followed him and slipped in here alone.

It's no wonder Silver Hand could easily kill five people on the third floor. They were newcomers who had trusted the bald man, were ruthlessly abandoned by him, and didn't have time to find a good hiding spot.

Perhaps he deliberately harmed those newcomers to attract Silver Hand and create an opportunity for himself to get into the tree.

"How about it? Let's not go back. We'll hide ourselves. If Silver Hand is as you say, he definitely won't have the energy to search everywhere for us. Our chances of survival are very high!" the bald man said, getting more excited.

Although the tree trunk had been cut open, they could still find rocks to hide behind at the bottom.

Given Silver Hand's current situation, the two of them might actually survive.

"There are seven more people in the hall."

The bald man scoffed, "Who cares about them?"

Gaoxin couldn't be bothered to explain further and swung his axe at the tree again.

With a boom, this time it was a horizontal slash. Since the inside was hollow, it cut straight through.

Creak, the tree fell to the ground.

"You!" The bald man looked at the giant axe with fear and envy, then nodded, "I'll do it, I'll do it..."

Gaoxin nodded and pointed to his neck, "You pull one end, I'll pull the other. Don't try anything funny."

After all, Gaoxin cooperating with him was also dangerous. This guy would definitely have ulterior motives, so he decided to cut down the tree first to intimidate him.

The bald man nodded, reached out, and touched Gaoxin's neck, gripping the collar tightly.

Gaoxin then leaned to one side, and as they gradually exerted force, Gaoxin quickly called out to stop, "No, no, my neck is going to break!"

Before, when he and Sule pried it open together, they both used their hands on opposite sides and exerted all their strength.

But now, the cat collar was on Gaoxin's neck, and the fulcrum was on his neck...

"Put down the axe and try again with your hands protecting your neck?" the bald man suggested.

Gaoxin's face darkened, and he suddenly asked, "Do you have any rope?"

The bald man shook his head.

Gaoxin glanced at the mansion, "Let's go inside first. There are other people."

Under his coercion, the two returned to the mansion's hall. Everyone saw the bald man and was overjoyed.

However, when they heard that the two couldn't pry it open either, their mouths twitched. What should they do? There was no one else left, and everyone else was injured.

Suddenly, Liu Xu raised her hand and said, "My hands aren't injured!"

She was the last one found by Big Beard. He had only broken her leg before running off to fight Silver Hand.

Therefore, Liu Xu was the only one among all the captured mice who had no injuries on her upper body.

Immediately, she reached out and held one side, while the bald man held the other. They pulled together.

As a result, Liu Xu was dragged along, Gaoxin stumbled a couple of steps, and the bald man fell flat on his backside...

"This won't work. Liu Xu is too light and not strong enough. You need to add your own strength," Meimei said anxiously.

Gaoxin knew this too, but it would require him to free up his hands.

Fine, he'd risk it.

Gaoxin plunged the giant axe in front of Sule, gripped the collar with both hands, and turned to the bald man, "Again!"

The bald man immediately pulled, Gaoxin also leaned with all his might to the other side, while Liu Xu held on tightly on Gaoxin's side.

She didn't need to pull; her lower body was paralyzed on the ground, and she was using all her strength.

"How is it? Can you get it off?" Silver Hand said, walking over at this moment.

His terrifying appearance scared the bald man half to death; he thought he had seen a ghost.

His legs went weak, and everyone fell into a heap.

"Damn it, if only I could move," Sule said anxiously. Despite his lean build, his strength might have been the greatest among the mice. He had managed to pry it open with Gaoxin before.

Seeing Silver Hand arrive, Gaoxin stared at him for a moment, then frowned.

He then roared, "Don't stop, keep going, more people!"

Everyone tried again, and this time all of them crawled up, working together, using their body weight to add force for the people on both sides.

Unfortunately, most people couldn't help. Instead, they pressed down on Liu Xu, making it hard for her to breathe, and her hands were scraped raw.

"Ughhhhh!" Gaoxin exerted all his strength.

Finally, everyone saw that the collar had been pried open enough for a neck to pass through.

But as Gaoxin tried to move his neck out, the opening suddenly closed a bit, scratching Gaoxin's neck and drawing blood.

Back then, they were able to pry it open by bracing their feet against each other and exerting all their strength.

Now, with this makeshift effort, they had barely managed to pry it open, but it was in a precarious state. Gaoxin, as one of the points of force, was too weak to move his neck out.

Everyone roared to try one more time.

But they failed again. Liu Xu even lost her grip, and a pile of people fell into a mess.

"Damn it! Goddamn it!"

"Why won't it break! Why won't it break!"

Sule roared, anxious and furious, slamming his head against the ground.

Gaoxin lowered his head and let out a miserable, chuckling laugh as he slowly got to his feet.

Their group, struggling to break a collar, was so pathetic that the people behind the crystal ball screen were probably laughing their heads off.

Silver Hand chuckled upon hearing this. His vocal cords were damaged, making his laughter sound terrifying.

The others were also in despair, their minds on the verge of collapse.

P.S. Sorry.