Futile

Gaoxin was somewhat disappointed that he had only chopped off an arm.

Both sides now had high attack and low defense. Even after losing an arm, his opponent had not so much as grunted, and his remaining might still lingered. Gaoxin did not dare pursue recklessly again,

so he only said, "What's wrong? Didn't you want the axe?"

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

Gaoxin sighed. "Weren't you the one who tricked me first?"

This time, no one mentioned giving him the axe in exchange for peace. They were all hacking away now!

Silver Hand had mainly been too terrifying before. No matter how they attacked him, they could not kill him. His body, charred by flames, looked like a vicious ghost from a nightmare.

Yet he had walked down as leisurely as if strolling through a courtyard, telling them how incredible his potential was.

Many people present had truly been frightened out of their wits. They felt that even with the axe, Gaoxin was no match for him, so they had focused entirely on seeking peace.

But just now, Silver Hand had shown fear, revealing his dread of the axe and the fact that he could not see.

Gaoxin had then exploded into action and torn off his opponent's last arm.

Judging from the situation, Silver Hand seemed to have temporarily lost confidence in killing them while Gaoxin held the axe.

If they could simply maintain this stalemate until the end, that would be fine too.

Silver Hand said heavily, "I truly agreed to your terms. I won't go back on my word. Killing you all no longer has any meaning to me."

Gaoxin sighed. "Is that so? Then why haven't you mentioned the collars?"

"Right now, I'm a cat."

Everyone froze. Right, Gaoxin was a cat.

Meimei reacted and growled at Silver Hand, "Only if you're Old Cat when the results are settled can you receive the hunting reward. But you're a mouse right now. Even if you hunted many mice earlier, you can only receive your own 100 survival points in the end."

"Even if the eight of us agree to give you 800 Redemption Vouchers afterward, you'll lose the rewards for the nine people you killed earlier. That's a full 900 points. Are you really willing to let them go?"

"You're an insanely greedy person. When the gains are the same, you still want to kill people. Why would you accept losing so much?"

"You're not asking for the collars because you know we have no way to remove them ourselves! You have to take them off personally!"

"But how could we let your hands rest on our necks? Wouldn't that be the same as handing our lives over to you?"

"Even if Gaoxin agreed, you'd still have reservations, because you know he has that Mechanical Battle Axe."

"If you approached him, he might kill you instead... That's why you insisted that Gaoxin hand over the axe first."

"This is a deadlock. In truth, you and he have no way to make peace..."

Her analysis left everyone enlightened.

Silver Hand said calmly, "That's basically correct. But have you considered that I truly don't want to kill him anymore?"

"Although I'd suffer some losses, I could accept it if I obtained the axe."

Everyone was startled. Right, he had said earlier that the axe was worth a thousand points.

Silver Hand continued, "That's why I said I couldn't take everything. At the very least, I have to obtain the axe for it not to be a loss."

Gaoxin added, "It wouldn't merely be no loss. If I handed you the axe, I'd lose my leverage. You could come straight over and take my collar... Then you could also recover the 900 points you originally lost."

Silver Hand sighed. "No. I can get another 200 points. I only killed that Korean who carried a sword, and I even ate his corpse."

"As for that short man and Big Beard, I didn't kill them. They're still barely alive."

"Otherwise, why do you think I came in carrying such serious injuries?"

"Glass Person's flesh is useless, but if those two died, I could use their corpses to recover. Even if I couldn't return to peak condition, it would still be enough to deal with all of you easily."

Everyone erupted. What? There were actually two Radiation Users still alive outside?

He had kept them alive so he could kill them after becoming a cat and gain another 200 points.

"You're incredibly greedy!"

Meimei clicked her tongue. "You could clearly have recovered some of your injuries before coming to deal with Gaoxin, but you came in carrying such serious wounds just for 200 extra points. I really don't know what to say..."

"Since that's the case, we can trust you even less! 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 pressed their lips together. They had not expected him to emphasize again and again that he did not want to kill Gaoxin. Even after losing an arm, he was still saying it.

He truly had the power to remove the collar without killing Gaoxin.

Could he really have changed? Had he decided to spare them? Indeed, killing them would not bring him any extra reward as long as he obtained the collar.

Gaoxin stared at Silver Hand. "You want me to give you the axe for your own sense of security, but what about mine?"

"Am I supposed to obediently put down my weapon and place my neck in your palm before I'm qualified to fight for even a chance to survive?"

Meimei bit her lip. Exactly. That was the key, which was why she had said it was a deadlock.

The two of them basically had no chance of making peace.

Silver Hand chuckled softly. "Then how do you want me to give you a sense of security? Glass Person, I don't have any hands left now... You could remove the collar yourself and throw it to me."

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

Silver Hand raised his shattered right arm. It had not been cut off flush at the shoulder; half of it remained, with white bone exposed.

He said solemnly, "As long as the collar reaches me, I'll pry it onto my neck even if I have to use only my bones."

His desire for the Redemption Vouchers was completely undisguised!

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

"Wait. It isn't that the collars can't be removed. It's that at least two adult men have to work together to open them."

"Besides Gaoxin, there's still one person who can move..."

"Bald Man, get your ass out here!"

Everyone jolted. Right, there was still one more person!

They shouted one after another, "Brother Guang! Brother Guang, get out here!"

"We need you here. If you come out, we can all survive!"

Everyone yelled wildly, calling for Bald Man, but after a long while, there was still no movement.

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

Gaoxin sighed. "If he can't see the situation here, he won't come out just from hearing you call."

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

"He'll think Silver Hand probably doesn't have the energy to look for him anymore. He hid so well, and all he has to do is wait until time runs out to survive. Why take the risk?"

Everyone thought about it and realized he was right. They immediately felt frustrated.

Sule said angrily, "Damn it! That guy only thinks about himself. If he came out to help, we might all survive!"

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

"Huh?" Everyone was stunned.

Then they erupted with joy. Silver Hand's words were incredibly sincere!

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

After finding Bald Man, Bald Man and Gaoxin could work together to remove the collar and throw it to Silver Hand. He would then receive his 900 points.

Once they got out, everyone could pool another 900 points for him. If he wanted, he could also put Mouse Collar on the Radiation Users lying on the ground, kill them, and gain another 200 points.

Adding the survival reward, he would obtain 2,100 points. That was exactly the reward for Old Cat killing all the mice and winning normally. On top of that, he would get a Mechanical Battle Axe as spoils. In short, it would be a huge profit.

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

"I've already broken through twice during this game. If I can obtain another 2,100 points, I have no reason to refuse."

"Mm, I can feel your sincerity." Gaoxin nodded lightly.

Hearing that they had reached an agreement, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

If they truly fought to the death, the result would be hard to predict. That SR potential was far too absurd, leaving them shaken to the core. A peaceful ending would be best.

And so, the two who had been fighting desperately just moments ago began cooperating again.

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

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

The others joined in, telling Bald Man that Silver Hand and Gaoxin were searching for him together.

But Bald Man was hiding well and refused to come out.

Gaoxin held the axe and watched Silver Hand go upstairs. Only after he had gone up did Gaoxin exhale and immediately begin searching.

Big Beard had already turned the entire building upside down, even smashing many things apart, yet he had not found Bald Man. Where could that fellow be?

"Could he have found a hidden area?"

"Could he be outside?" The others also looked around, and Meimei made the suggestion.

Gaoxin carried the axe outside. In the courtyard, he first checked on the three Radiation Users.

The sword-carrying strongman was thoroughly dead. His bones had been smashed to pieces, leaving only a pile of wreckage.

Big Beard and the short man were also withered and emaciated, their hands and feet mangled.

But upon closer inspection, they truly were not dead.

Their chests still rose faintly, and their pupils had not completely lost focus. They were simply lying there paralyzed.

Gaoxin did not hurry to look for Bald Man. Instead, he dragged the two dying Radiation Users into the mansion and hid them in a secluded room.

Everyone understood his actions. What if Silver Hand had claimed he was searching for Bald Man but actually circled around to find these two?

After all, Silver Hand could kill them and eat their corpses to recover. Even recovering only ten or twenty percent of his strength would leave them completely at his mercy.

Gaoxin then searched everywhere on the first and second floors.

He kept the giant axe in his hands the whole time. It was truly heavy, leaving his hands and feet sore and swollen and consuming quite a bit of his stamina.

In the end, he found traces near a tree close to the courtyard gate.

"This tree... couldn't it be hollow?"

Gaoxin observed it carefully, then chopped straight into it with the axe.

He had already studied how to use the axe. It was simple. There was a hidden groove on the handle. When he pressed it hard, like pulling a trigger, the power source of the Mechanical Battle Axe immediately emitted a blue glow and blasted out a shock wave.

"Vmmm!"

The giant axe dragged Gaoxin's entire body along. With a whoosh, it slammed into the large tree beside him.

"Boom!"

The blow was heavy and forceful, sending splinters flying and cutting a deep groove into the tree.

The blade was extremely sharp. Fortunately, he had struck at an angle, or it would have embedded itself again.

Of course, he had also deliberately avoided an angle that might kill the person inside.

"It really is hollow..." Gaoxin smiled. That strike had opened a hole at the bottom of the tree. The inside was pitch-black, clearly hollow.

The hole was very deep. Its bottom seemed not to be soil, but steel plating.

Gaoxin stuck the axe inside and activated it again, blasting directly at the steel plate.

"Bang!" The steel plate twisted.

"Come out yourself!" Gaoxin shouted.

"Is that you? How did you find me? What do you want?" Bald Man's muffled voice rang out. From the sound, he was directly beneath the steel plate.

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

"You bastard..."

"Bang!" Gaoxin struck again, and the steel plate split open.

"Wait, wait, I'm coming out."

Gaoxin waited silently, thinking that it was no wonder he had failed to find Bald Man. This hiding place was too well concealed.

First, Big Beard had only searched through the building and had not properly checked the main courtyard.

After all, people had been fighting in the front courtyard at the time.

Moreover, who would easily think of a hollow tree?

"Click!"

The steel plate was lifted, and a bald head poked out. Bald Man then pushed open a small wooden door inside the trunk.

What a hiding place. When the wooden door was closed, it became one with the trunk, fitting perfectly. There was no visible flaw at all.

Once opened, the hole could be seen extending deeply downward through the small door, connecting to the underground.

There was another room down there, probably a large one, enough to hide at least dozens of people. It was practically a mouse nest.

This was an enhanced super version of that earlier guy who had hidden in the open.

Unless the final remaining cat went around destroying things and simply chopped down every tree, it would truly be difficult to find.

"Is this the so-called hidden area? It's quite a trap." Gaoxin surveyed the surroundings.

This place could easily hide twenty people, but it was located right by the main gate...

That meant it was impossible to hide here at the start. Otherwise, it would be the same as entering a 'mouse nest' right in front of the cat and dog.

As for afterward, it would also be difficult to get everyone inside. Silver Hand had fought the other two people in the front courtyard for a long time. There was no way he could have crawled into the tree right in front of them.

Making good use of this hidden area itself required considerable thought.

And even if they successfully hid inside, there was no guarantee the cat would not go berserk in the end, dig three feet into the ground, and chop down trees everywhere.

In short, it looked concealed, but sooner or later it would be exposed.

"What the... What are you doing? You... you became the cat?"

Bald Man looked at Gaoxin angrily, but when he saw Gaoxin's two collars, he was instantly dumbfounded.

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

"You didn't just become the cat—you also teamed up with Silver Hand?"

"You two came together to find me? What the hell..."

Bald Man was stunned. He had never imagined something like this could happen.

He had finally found a perfect hiding place, only to be discovered because of this.

"That guy wasn't determined to kill us all? How could he agree? He's deceiving you!"

After hearing the situation, Bald Man cried out in alarm.

Then he suggested, "Why don't we not go back? Hide in here with me... There's a clock inside, and it's close to the entrance. Once time's up, we can run straight out."

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

"I discovered it when I was in the courtyard at the start," Bald Man said.

Gaoxin looked at him. So this fellow had discovered the place right at the beginning while searching for Dog Collar in the front courtyard, but he had kept it hidden.

Afterward, when he heard Gaoxin mention the hidden area, he had also pretended to be surprised.

Later, when he realized that Silver Hand had torn up the agreement and gone on a killing spree, he had simply abandoned the newcomers following him, then found a chance to sneak over here and crawl inside alone.

No wonder Silver Hand had easily killed five people in a row on the third floor. They were all newcomers who had trusted the bald man, only to be ruthlessly abandoned and left without time to find a good hiding place.

Maybe he had deliberately sacrificed those newcomers to lure Silver Hand to the third floor and buy himself time to get into the tree.

"How about it? Don't go back. Let's hide by ourselves. According to what you said, Silver Hand definitely doesn't have the energy to search everywhere and destroy things anymore. Our chances of survival are pretty high!" The bald man grew more excited as he spoke.

Although the tree trunk had been chopped open, the opening was at the bottom, so they could also find stones to block it.

Given Silver Hand's current condition, the two of them really might survive.

"There are still seven people in the hall."

The bald man said disdainfully, "Why bother with them?"

Gaoxin could not be bothered to explain further and swung his ax at the tree again.

With a boom, he made a horizontal chop this time. Since the inside was hollow, the blow cut straight through.

With a creak, the tree toppled to the ground.

"You!" The bald man looked at the huge ax with fear and envy, then had no choice but to nod. "I'll do it, I'll do it..."

Gaoxin nodded and pointed at his neck. "You pull one end, and I'll pull the other. Don't get any funny ideas."

After all, working with him was dangerous for Gaoxin too. The man would certainly harbor ulterior motives, so Gaoxin had chopped down the tree first to intimidate him.

The bald man nodded, reached out beside Gaoxin's neck, and gripped the Cat Collar tightly.

Gaoxin leaned to one side, and the two gradually increased their strength. But soon, Gaoxin called for them to stop. "No, no! My neck's about to break!"

Earlier, he and Sule had worked together to pry it open. They had stood on opposite sides, using their hands and exerting all their strength.

But now, the Cat Collar was around Gaoxin's neck, with the point of force on his neck...

"Put down the ax and use your hands to protect your neck. Try again," the bald man suggested.

Gaoxin darkened his expression, then suddenly asked, "Do you have a rope?"

The bald man shook his head.

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

Under his threats, the two returned to the mansion's hall. When everyone saw the bald man, they were delighted.

But after hearing that the two of them could not pry it open either, the corners of their mouths twitched. What were they supposed to do? There was no one else. The others were all crippled.

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

She had been the last one Big Beard found. He had merely broken her legs before running off to deal with Silver Hand.

Thus, among all the captured mice, Liu Xu was the only one whose upper body was completely unharmed.

She immediately gripped one side, while the bald man gripped the other. The two pulled together.

As a result, Liu Xu was dragged along, Gaoxin staggered two steps, and the bald man fell flat on his butt...

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

How could Gaoxin not know that? But doing so meant freeing both his hands.

Fine. He would risk it.

Gaoxin drove the huge ax into the ground in front of Sule, gripped the Cat Collar with both hands, and turned to the bald man. "Again!"

The bald man immediately pulled. Gaoxin also used all his strength to lean toward the other side, while Liu Xu gripped tightly from Gaoxin's side.

She did not need to pull, since her lower body was sprawled on the ground. She was already using every ounce of strength in her body.

"How is it? Can you get it off?" Silver Hand walked over at that moment.

His terrifying appearance frightened the bald man, who thought he had seen a ghost.

His legs went weak, and a whole group of people collapsed into a heap.

"Damn it, if only I could move!" Sule was frantic. He might have looked lean, but he was probably the strongest of all the mice. He had worked with Gaoxin to open it before.

Now that Silver Hand had arrived, Gaoxin stared at him for a while before suddenly furrowing his brows.

Then he roared, "Don't stop! Again! Get more people on it!"

Everyone tried again. This time, they all wriggled over and worked together, using their own body weight to add force to both sides.

Unfortunately, most of them could not help. Instead, they pressed Liu Xu down until she could barely breathe, and her hands scraped until the skin broke.

"Gaaaah!" Gaoxin exerted all his strength.

At last, everyone saw that the Cat Collar had been opened wide enough for a neck to pass through.

But when Gaoxin tried to move his neck out, the opening suddenly closed partway again, slicing his neck and drawing blood.

The two of them had managed to pry it open before only because they had braced their feet against each other and exerted all their strength.

Now, with their scattered efforts, they had barely pried it open, leaving it in a delicate state. As one of the points of force, Gaoxin simply had no strength left to pull his neck out.

Everyone howled and tried one more time.

But they still failed. Even Liu Xu lost her grip, and another heap of people tumbled to the ground.

"Fuck! Fucking hell!"

"Why won't it open? Why the hell won't it open?"

Sule roared, frantic and furious, and slammed his head against the ground.

Gaoxin lowered his head and began to laugh bitterly as he slowly got to his feet.

A whole group of them had struggled so miserably just to pry open a collar. The people behind the crystal ball were probably laughing themselves sick.

Hearing this, Silver Hand also chuckled. His vocal cords were damaged, making his laughter exceptionally terrifying.

The others fell into despair as well, their minds on the verge of collapse.

P.S. Sorry.