Eliminate the Radiation User

The moment everyone had finalized the invitation letter, a shout came from outside the building.

"Where is everyone? Come out!"

A muscular man from the Viking Gang came over, carrying an ax on his shoulder.

He crossed the Gladiator Arena and walked all the way to the entrance of the White Base. Through the floor-to-ceiling window, he looked straight inside.

Boom!

Then he swung his ax and smashed it directly into the window.

But the base was clearly made of extraordinary material. There was no way it would allow a gladiator to simply break into the other side's base.

The muscular man tried opening the door again, but it would not budge, let alone break. He decided not to waste any more energy.

When everyone saw him come so close, they immediately fell silent.

Gaoxin moved closer and looked at him through the window.

"We admit defeat this round. Please go back."

Seeing that they had no intention of sending anyone out, the muscular man's expression changed. "You can even refuse to fight?"

Clearly, he had only just realized that they could choose not to fight.

After thinking for a moment, he pointed at the door. "Open the door."

Gaoxin smiled. "You really want to come in? Sure. Just wait a bit. Once we lose health and the duel ends, we'll let you in."

He turned around and said a few words to Qiao Long and the others. Immediately, a group of people went upstairs and headed together to the Voting Room.

Only Gaoxin remained alone in front of the window, seemingly intending to open the door.

"You son of a—"

Killing intent erupted from the muscular man's eyes. He knew that once he entered, he would be in grave danger.

Inside the base of the losing faction, a single Eliminate Traitor Vote could be initiated to kill any member of the base. As long as the votes exceeded half, the elimination would succeed.

"Hmph. Do you think turning my Big Brother traitor to the White Faction will let you kill him?"

Gaoxin stroked his chin. "Looks like things are pretty harmonious in your base. Has your Big Brother dared to admit that he defected?"

The muscular man sneered. "Admit it? As long as we don't lose even once, traitors can't be eliminated in the base at all. What's there to say?"

"What? You want to tell her? Do you think Sophia will casually believe your 'sowing discord' and start fighting among ourselves? She couldn't even be bothered to send someone out to listen to your nonsense."

Gaoxin understood the situation now. The circumstances on the other side were rather subtle.

Luis, the man with the Big Hammer, did not dare expose his defection and had made no move. Sophia had not insisted on finding out who had defected, either. The entire Black Faction maintained a superficial harmony.

However, Gaoxin smiled. This was precisely the best situation for him.

A problem that was not brought up would remain a problem forever.

The muscular man said coldly, "Kid, what are you laughing at? The Black Faction can't lose. All of you are Glass People. Even if you're united enough, what can you do?"

"Without a Radiation User's help, even if you win the invitation letter, you can't damage our health! Hahaha! As long as we fully arm the gladiators and equip them with firearms, you probably won't even be able to defeat the Glass People."

"On the other hand, if you lose the invitation letter, you'll inevitably lose health!"

"And without my Big Brother's vote, any attempt to incite defection will fail. We only need to turn my Big Brother back to the Black Faction before the final duel."

"I want to see how long you can hold out! There are only two choices, and you've already failed both. With more and more choices later, your health will eventually be depleted."

"Then all of you White Faction people will be killed by vote."

"Hey, our side is feeling merciful and is willing to take in five of you. Whoever comes over first and opens the door gets to live!"

The muscular man sneered as if victory were already theirs.

Qiao Long and the others heard everything clearly from upstairs.

Indeed, according to what he had said, if things continued this way, the White Faction would lose sooner or later.

At most, their united voting would let them survive a few more rounds.

To this, Gaoxin actually nodded. "Since everyone on your side thinks you're certain to win, that makes things easier."

"Hm?" The muscular man was stunned.

Just then, the white number 5 inside the White Base suddenly popped and shattered, becoming 4.

The appearance time had ended. Since no one from the White Faction had appeared, they automatically lost. The White Faction lost 1 health point, leaving them with 4.

The duel was over, and the muscular man should return.

He sneered. "You even failed the first round. Stop putting on an act. Since you refuse to fight, keep hiding."

"It's just a shame about those Redemption Vouchers."

Just as he turned to leave, Gaoxin's faint voice came from behind him. "Do you really think that not losing means you can't vote to kill someone? Is it possible that gladiator voting can kill people too?"

"Hm?" The muscular man froze.

He turned around and said disdainfully, "Gladiator voting can kill someone? What, can I actually die at the hands of Glass People?"

Gaoxin stared at him. "Do you really think you can still make it back?"

Only then did the muscular man's expression finally change.

"W-What?"

He thought of something and suddenly looked toward the Black Base. Though the view was blurry, he could vaguely see... that they seemed to be fighting inside!

"Huh?"

The muscular man was horrified. He could not spare a thought for anything else and hurriedly charged toward the Black Base.

When he got closer, he could see clearly. They were indeed fighting, and the battle was intense!

"Hahaha!" Sophia blasted away with her dual pistols, chasing after one person and shooting.

The other four Black Vests were also terrifyingly powerful, surrounding Luis and another brother in a group attack.

"Big Brother! Open the door!" The muscular man desperately smashed at the door.

But his three companions were already struggling to survive.

They had already lost one person at the start, and now he was outside as well.

Only Luis and two other brothers remained, fighting five against three in a precarious situation. How could they spare the strength to open the door?

More terrifyingly...

The winner of the Gladiator Arena had to return to the base within one minute. Violators would be killed by vote.

"Damn! Damn!"

The muscular man frantically smashed the door. He swung his ax, activated his power boost, and tensed every muscle until white smoke even rose from his body. He activated Organ Overclocking.

Yet he still could not smash the door open!

"Open the door! Open the door!"

He went berserk. Through the window, he saw a Glass Person curled up in a corner on the ground and hurriedly shouted at him.

But the Glass Person was trembling in fear and did not dare move at all, terrified that some attack might hit him. Why would he pay attention to the person outside?

The muscular man was utterly horrified and shouted at Luis again. "Big Brother! Big Brother! Open the door!"

Inside, Luis had also activated Organ Overclocking and was using every method at his disposal.

Gritting his teeth, he charged toward the entrance despite the heavy injuries he would suffer.

"Hahaha!"

Boom!

Twin Tails Sophia had already been guarding the entrance and firing. She moved in a flash and blocked Luis's path, unleashing a barrage from both pistols.

Every shot produced a small explosion. To open the door, Luis used his Big Hammer to block one shot, but another struck him. His body was torn apart on the spot, and he was sent flying while trailing black smoke.

The person outside stared in fury, but there was nothing he could do.

"Hey! Over here!" Suddenly, Gaoxin's voice rang out.

The muscular man turned around and saw that the door of the White Base had been opened.

He had no other choice. He could only seize this lifeline and desperately rush into the White Base.

Finally, before the countdown kill descended, he threw himself through the entrance of the White Base.

When no kill came, he breathed a sigh of relief.

But when he saw that no one was on the first floor, he was horrified and shouted upstairs, "Wait, don't vote! Let's talk!"

Gaoxin appeared halfway from the end of the staircase and looked down at him. "There's at least one thing you need to say."

The muscular man's lips twitched. He lowered his head. "We shouldn't have underestimated you."

"That's not it." Gaoxin's voice was calm.

The muscular man frowned. "We can cooperate and deal with Sophia together."

Gaoxin shook his head. "Not that, either."

The muscular man stared at him. "I have five hundred points. I'll give them all to you after the game ends."

"Five hundred?" Gaoxin smiled. In the previous game, a Radiation User had also offered him five hundred. Was that the standard price?

At that moment, Dongfang Yi appeared beside Gaoxin and whispered a few words to him.

Gaoxin said, "Say it louder."

Dongfang Yi announced loudly, "The votes are finished. You're the only one left."

The muscular man flew into a rage and hurled the ax in his hand. "Fuck! What the hell do you want me to say?"

Gaoxin and Dongfang Yi had been prepared. They immediately moved into a blind spot.

When the muscular man chased them to the second floor, he saw Gaoxin standing in the Voting Room. The door had already closed, leaving only a narrow crack.

"Say bye-bye."

Bang. The door locked.

The muscular man's features twisted with rage, but there was nothing he could do.

"Eliminate Traitor Vote complete."

"No!"

A beam of light descended, turning him into ashes on the spot.

Before long, everyone emerged from the room.

Dongfang Yi said directly, "Good riddance!"

Meimei calculated the rewards. "He was killed by a unanimous vote. Everyone gets one thousand this time. Ten people makes ten thousand."

Qiao Long pondered. "The other side still killed one another."

Dongfang Yi said loudly, "It's normal for Radiation Users to kill one another, especially the Viking Gang. They started with one fewer person than Sophia's group."

"But Sophia probably felt that even five against four did not give her an absolute advantage. She was worried about losing people on her side, so she first stabilized the other side, then used gladiator voting to draw one of them out..."

"Then she attacked while the other side was trying to return, creating a five-against-three situation. At the same time, she could use the kill vote to eliminate one person."

Gaoxin looked at him. "Actually, the Viking Gang member was right. If the two groups of Radiation Users truly joined forces, the Black Faction would almost certainly win. The White Faction could only delay things and would lose sooner or later."

"But the hidden danger lies in inciting defection. If our people are very united and can work together, we can turn someone on their side, disrupt their voting, and possibly use invitation-letter votes to drag things out for a long time."

"And the alliance between Radiation Users is extremely fragile. Once someone defects, it means everyone around them belongs to the opposing faction. Killing them earns Redemption Vouchers."

"That is the eternal threat."

Meimei was somewhat confused and asked, "I understand all that, but if that's the case, shouldn't we find a way to tell Sophia that we turned Luis?"

Dongfang Yi smiled. "If we tell her, does she have to listen?"

"If we went to great lengths to send the message through gladiators, thrown secret letters, shouting, or some other method, it would look far too much like sowing discord. It would be almost as if we had written 'I can't wait for you to kill one another' across our faces."

"It might also make us seem very united and reveal that we have some strategy for winning... She would take those things into consideration."

"In that situation, unless Luis made a reckless move himself, Sophia wouldn't be in a hurry to act. She might continue watching for another round or two."

"Because with the alliance in plain sight, we White Faction members are the true enemies."

Everyone nodded. They had to secure their advantage in the game first. As for engaging in a bloody fight with the other group of Radiation Users, there was no need to hurry. After all, Sophia had more people and held the initiative.

Gaoxin gazed out the window at the chaotic battle unfolding across from them.

He sighed. "If they were honest with each other and joined forces against us, that would be troublesome."

"By then, the Black Faction could use Luis's identity as a member of the White Faction to prevent us from turning anyone else. That is what we truly can't accept."

"Fortunately, Luis didn't dare confess, and Sophia didn't ask. The two sides are in a subtle situation, both pretending that nothing happened."

"The less willing people are to speak up and resolve a problem, the more serious the hidden danger becomes."

"At a time like this, as long as we give things a push and make Sophia believe that our side is not united and poses no threat..."

"She'll consider dealing with the hidden threat beside her first."

"Right, Xing Shiping? Did you tell the other side the contents of our next invitation letter?"

At those words, everyone turned to look at Xing Shiping.

Meimei exclaimed, "Did he defect?"

Xing Shiping's expression changed. "What?"

Gaoxin stared at him. "I'm asking you, did you give the other side the answer?"

"I..." Xing Shiping realized that his drastic change in expression was no different from an admission.

He immediately said frankly, "Yes! I defected. When I came out of the Voting Room earlier, I had already become part of the Black Faction!"

The curly-haired youth and the others stared at Xing Shiping in shock. They recalled that they had sensed something strange at the time. After Xing Shiping came out of the room, he had remained solemn and gloomy.

"Brother Xing, you told us not to lie, but you were lying then?" The square-faced man was dumbfounded.

Xing Shiping said solemnly, "I wasn't lying. I really did vote for the square. It was only after I left the room that I suddenly saw the message saying I had defected."

"I simply didn't take the initiative to say anything. You didn't ask, either."

Meimei shouted, "I was about to ask..."

Gaoxin held her back. "I know. That's why I stopped you. At the time, we needed the same superficial harmony as the other side."

"Harmony?" Xing Shiping grew agitated. "I only hid the truth, but you lied!"

"Your claim that you would let all the Glass People survive simply doesn't hold up."

"I repeatedly asked whether you truly wanted all the Glass People on the other side to survive, and you said yes. If that isn't lying, what is?"

The curly-haired youth was stunned. "Huh? Brother Xing, didn't we say earlier that we could refuse to fight?"

"As long as we don't become gladiators, we don't have to follow the rules of the death match. We didn't send anyone out just now and simply lost one health point. Nothing else happened."

Xing Shiping grabbed him and shouted, "Yes, we can refuse to fight, but our health still decreases!"

"When a faction's health reaches zero, everyone in it is killed by vote."

"So we have to deplete the other side's health, and the defender has to send out a Glass Person. They can't send out a Radiation User."

"In other words, to win this game, we have to sacrifice all five Glass People on the opposing side."

"Although I know it can't be helped, sacrificing those NPCs is still better than sacrificing us."

"But you said you wanted to keep the opposing Glass People alive too. That's ridiculous. If we don't sacrifice them, are we supposed to sacrifice ourselves?"

"Who knows what you're plotting? I can only prioritize protecting myself and my companions!"

Gaoxin said calmly, "The opposing side can avoid fighting too."

"Or, before the White Faction's HP is depleted, all the Glass People could turn Black. That works too."

Xing Shiping and the others were speechless. After thinking it over, it did seem to make sense.

But then they said, "B-but that's too idealistic! How could the opposing side possibly avoid fighting?"

"In the Redemption Game, as long as Radiation Users and Glass People are on the same battlefield, such a harmonious outcome is impossible."

"Are you saying they can't bear to see the Glass People die at our hands, so they plan to keep them around and kill them themselves? And lose HP for nothing?"

"They won't. Losing one point of HP means everyone loses one thousand. Killing one person from the opposing faction only gives a single player one thousand."

"The opposing side's Radiation Users all came as a group. Why would they do that?"

"As for everyone turning Black, it would take too many rounds, and there would be too many variables. As you said earlier, we simply can't maintain a tacit battle for that long."

Looking at Xing Shiping's worried yet resolute expression, Gaoxin shook his head slightly.

He said firmly, "I completely understand how you feel. You want to keep your companions alive. As long as all five of you become Black, you can win alongside them."

"But in the Redemption Game, Glass People should never expect Radiation Users to grant them a way to live!"

"Because trusting them with every step is like gambling with your life."

"The more desperately you hope they'll conveniently keep you alive, the more they'll look down on you and the less they'll care about your life."

"Only by respecting yourselves first and treating yourselves as true players—by being more ruthless than them—can you do that."

"You say the Radiation Users won't do it? Then why don't you ask whether I will?"

"I won't do it either!"

"I want to achieve the ending where 'all Glass People survive.' If the Radiation Users disagree, eliminate the Radiation Users!"

Xing Shiping and the others stared blankly. At last, they sensed how different their approach to the game was from Gaoxin's.

All Glass People naturally considered themselves inferior. They had never thought about killing the Radiation Users; they only wanted to find the winner among the Radiation Users and stay alive by following him.

Gaoxin, however, placed himself on an equal—or even higher—level. He never cared whether the Radiation Users agreed. If they disagreed, they were enemies. No matter how powerful those enemies were, they were still enemies.

Gaoxin patted Xing Shiping on the shoulder. "As long as no Radiation User is forcing them, why would those Glass People come out to throw their lives away?"

"In this game, the ten NPCs on the opposing side absolutely have no Redemption Vouchers to obtain. Their greatest and only desire is to stay alive!"

"Whoever can keep them alive, they'll follow!"

Everyone nodded. Indeed, it was self-evident.

For NPCs, staying alive was all that mattered. As long as they could live, they would do whatever they were told.

If they could successfully eliminate all the Radiation Users, the situation would become... ten Glass People on the Black side and ten Glass People on the White side.

At that point, the game could end however they wanted.

Xing Shiping came back to himself and stared at Gaoxin. He hadn't expected Gaoxin to really intend to keep the NPCs on the opposing side alive too.

"Y-you're serious? We can barely protect ourselves, yet you still want to risk everything to save those ten people on the opposing side? You're even willing to fight all the opposing side's Radiation Users to the death for this? Wipe them all out?"

Gaoxin gazed at him. "You've got the logic backward."

"It's precisely because we can barely protect ourselves that we have to save the opposing side!"

"In this game, if we try to defeat the opposing side on our own, it'll be extremely difficult. If we can unite all the NPCs on the opposing side, we can eliminate the Radiation Users."

"Conversely, only by eliminating the Radiation Users can we save the NPCs on the opposing side."

"And we can survive too, possibly even obtain substantial rewards. These things complement one another. The benefits are enormous, so why wouldn't we do it?"

P.S. Sorry.