Counter-Attack

The fifth round, the Black Faction's invitation was long overdue.

Clearly, something had caused a delay.

Anyway, they had ten minutes for editing. With the other side facing such a setback, they would definitely need time to recover and wouldn't want to finish this round so quickly.

This was a good opportunity for them to brief the ten newly added NPCs on the game.

They would explain the Yin and Yang gameplay, along with the priorities and responses for various options, giving them an emergency crash course. After all, invitations tested chemistry, and the more people there were, the harder it was to be in sync.

Dongfang Yi leaned against the window, trying to see what was happening on the other side.

But he couldn't see clearly. All he knew was that the two remaining players were standing on opposite sides of the round table, possibly in a standoff.

"The remaining players on the other side are Sophia and Luis, right? One black and one white! That's great."

However, Gaoxin shook his head. "Great? The best outcome would be if only one of them survived."

"It's actually very bad that there's exactly one black and one white left."

"If the two of them team up, then whether the Black Faction or the White Faction wants to defect, they'll be able to block it."

Dongfang Yi smiled. "What's there to be afraid of? Those two aren't on the same side, they're bound to fight."

"Even if they can't decide a winner for a while, they still can't win. With no Glass People, their defense is zero. They might not even dare to send anyone out if they're too busy restraining each other."

"Right now, it's like they're in a 'gu' ritual over there, and eventually, only one will be left alive."

Dongfang Yi's lips curved upwards as he spoke with conviction.

Gaoxin, however, looked grim. "Let's hope so."

"Don't underestimate the remaining two. Before, we were hidden in the shadows and caught them completely off guard."

"Now, they've suffered heavy losses and have felt the threat to their lives. Coupled with their deep hatred, they might completely unite and focus all their efforts on dealing with us."

"Dongfang Yi, don't be careless. We need to consider the worst-case scenario."

Dongfang Yi frowned. "I know the worst-case scenario you're talking about, but unite? How could they unite?"

"Take this matter of sending someone out to fight, for instance. Who would dare to go out, fearing a backstab?"

Gaoxin said solemnly, "If it were me, I wouldn't be afraid. I'd even find ways to protect the other person."

"Because their lives are actually tied together."

"If one dies, the other will have a hard time surviving alone. The initiative will be completely in our hands."

Dongfang Yi nodded. "I understand what you mean."

"But would they dare to gamble? This requires absolute trust between both of them. If even one of them is a little short-sighted, they definitely won't be able to reach an agreement."

"Since you're worried, let's give them a push."

"Let's have Xing Shiping connect now and tell Luis that our White Faction will attack with full force. We'll have him eliminate Sophia, and we'll all survive together."

Gaoxin immediately raised his hand. "No, don't say that. It might have the opposite effect."

"Let them think for themselves. If we don't say anything and don't do anything... that will put the most pressure on them."

"If Luis really wants to defect, he'll contact us proactively."

Time ticked by.

Finally, after nearly ten minutes of waiting, close to the end, they received the invitation.

"They really didn't fight?" Dongfang Yi's expression also turned serious.

Gaoxin waved his hand. "Let's vote first."

Everyone walked into the voting room one after another and soon saw the content of the invitation.

This time, it was longer than ever before: "To those in the other base, listen up. Sophia and I will go all out to complete the invitation card from now on, and we will no longer cast any defection votes."

"No matter how many Black Players or White Players remain among you, let this be the final distribution."

"From now on, we will engage in a pure test of tacit understanding until one base's blood runs dry!"

"When the game ends, Sophia and I will inevitably be instantly killed, along with all the Blacks, or all the Whites among you."

"So, let's fight to the death like this. In the end, whether Black or White wins or loses, who lives and who dies, will be up to each of you."

This lengthy invitation was essentially a declaration of war.

It was written in Luis's voice, stating his stance.

He would go all out to complete the invitation and would absolutely not cast any defection votes.

This locked in the 'faction assignment'.

In this way, both sides would attack each other until the end of the game. Luis and Sophia would indeed have one of them die, but it would also cause a pile of people on their side to be buried with them.

The White Faction would most likely lose, as they only had two points of health left.

And those who were still White on their side included Gaoxin's entire team, plus three people from Xing Shiping's team.

So, this invitation, declared as a war in Luis's voice, was equivalent to clearly stating, 'Though I will die, I will take you all down with me.'

"Well played..."

"They actually managed to... hold their ground."

Gaoxin sighed, the situation having devolved into the worst possible scenario.

The other side hadn't engaged in mutual killing; instead, they had turned a desperate situation into an advantage, gambling on the fact that their opponents had too many people with conflicting votes.

He looked at the options again, seeing simple text.

"I am Black, kill all."

"I am White, kill all."

"I am Black, kill all White."

"I am White, kill all Black."

"I am Black, kill all Black."

"I am White, kill all White."

Six options, directly presenting the combinations for two faction identities.

This was another hint for people on their side to think carefully about their own identities.

With 'factions locked,' everyone's identity was fixed, and ending the game now would inevitably lead to a purge.

Think carefully about how you want to play, and whether you want Black to be wiped out or White to be wiped out.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." Gaoxin lamented.

He then selected, "I am White, kill all White."

He ignored whatever the invitation said and voted according to the agreed-upon Yin-Yang concept.

White represented Yang. This option with two Whites was the most Yang of all, so of course, he chose it.

"Voting results are inconsistent. Select a Gladiator within three minutes. Only Glass People are allowed." The prompt sounded.

Gaoxin's expression turned grave.

They couldn't afford to make a mistake this round.

And they shouldn't have! The Yin-Yang method had already been taught.

They had covered all the likely scenarios. If the other side presented some tricky option, that was one thing, but colors were a guaranteed question!

There was no reason to get it wrong; White was the most representative of Yang!

He walked out of the Voting Room, and the others followed one by one.

Dongfang Yi, Qiao Long, and Xing Shiping also had grim expressions.

Sule shouted, "You can get this wrong too? We should have picked White-White!"

"Didn't we predict this kind of question?"

Everyone looked at each other. Without a doubt, someone had deliberately chosen incorrectly this round!

"Who was it! Who didn't vote for double White!" Dongfang Yi stared intently at the NPCs they had just rescued.

"It's impossible to get this round wrong; someone must have deliberately wanted White to die!"

"So the person who chose incorrectly must be one of you Black faction members!"

Xing Shiping and the man with the square face were both Black.

In addition to the ten NPCs, they were all Black.

The NPCs panicked and waved their hands frantically, "Abba abba!"

Xing Shiping and the others also stated they had voted for double White and had not betrayed them.

Gaoxin stared intently at everyone's eyes and expressions, finally locking onto two NPCs.

His gaze darted back and forth between their eyes, making them very flustered.

Gaoxin was almost certain it was these two who had chosen incorrectly.

The premise that NPCs would obey was because they only wanted to live; they would follow whoever could help them survive.

So Gaoxin had rescued them, and these people were deeply grateful and would undoubtedly listen because Gaoxin would lead them to survival.

But when 'factions locked' and Luis, as White, made his stance clear.

The situation had changed.

For the NPCs, survival had become a matter of their own choice.

White only had two HP left. As Black, if they voted incorrectly twice, they would win, and they could live.

As long as someone was foolish enough to think this way, they would deliberately vote incorrectly.

Meimei anxiously turned to the man with the square face, "Was it you? Did you vote incorrectly and refuse to admit it?"

The man with the square face flushed red, "No! I chose double White."

They argued, all looking wronged, unable to figure out who had betrayed them.

In an instant, their previously unbreakable alliance was filled with suspicion.

"The other side is playing it cool."

"Those two Radiators realized we definitely kept Black players, because we'd obviously prefer to win as Black."

"They're saying that deliberately to tear apart our alliance, to make us suspicious and... have traitors."

As Gaoxin said the word "traitors," he stared directly at the two NPCs.

The stare made their scalps tingle and goosebumps rise, almost making them want to kneel.

Dongfang Yi said menacingly, "Are they forcing us to kill all the Black players then?"

"Actually, the safest choice is to kill them all after bringing the NPCs back."

"It's precisely because I wanted to keep all of you alive that I kept you for the vote... but you're not listening, so go die then."

Gaoxin grabbed him, "Shut up! Don't say things that hurt unity."

"Killing them is just avoiding the problem, not solving it."

Dongfang Yi narrowed his eyes. Indeed, there was also Xing Shiping's team.

There were two Black players in it. What he just said about killing all the Black players was very divisive.

If they really killed all the NPCs, or even just one, the others would panic, creating a hidden danger.

From a rational perspective, killing one was no different from killing ten. Either kill none, or leave none alive.

Dongfang Yi said in a deep voice, "It seems they only have Xing Shiping, the square-faced guy, and that curly-haired youth who have undergone reinforcement and are Superior Glass People..."

The implication was clear: they should just go all the way and take out Xing Shiping's team as well.

That way, only the five of them would remain, ensuring they could work together.

"Let's just take them all out, it's better than having an inside mole."

Gaoxin shoved Dongfang Yi away, roaring, "I told you to shut up, didn't you hear me?"

"I'll say it again, don't say things that hurt unity."

"You call me Boss Gao, so are you listening to me or not?"

Dongfang Yi looked at Gaoxin in surprise, then gritted his teeth and said, "I am!"

Gaoxin released him, scanning everyone with a determined gaze.

"Now, I'll be upfront with all of you. This game, from the moment the White Faction lost its first drop of blood..."

"My only goal has been the victory of the Black Faction!"

"If I can't achieve it, I'd rather die!"

p.s: Sorry.