Hesitate, and You Lose!

"You're Li Chou, third on the Resource Leaderboard?"

Colin let go of the axe and tossed it aside. That strange feeling of being watched disappeared.

At the same time, he remembered seeing this man's name among the top three on the Resource Leaderboard.

Without waiting for a reply, Colin glanced at Li Hang. There was no overwhelming aura or anything like that, yet Li Hang inexplicably felt his heart skip a beat.

Clearly, unless this guy had let something slip, Li Chou wouldn't have been so quick to lock on to him.

Outside the arena, Li Hang opened his mouth as if to explain something, but unfortunately, his voice couldn't reach them.

Still, Colin could tell from his lips what he was probably saying: Boss, it's not what you think. Just hear me out.

What a sleazy, boyfriend-like thing to say.

"That's me. I thought you'd be like most people and not remember me. After all, I'm only in third place. People only remember the one in first."

Li Chou sounded self-deprecating, but his face radiated confidence. He had stood out among billions of people and ranked third. He had every reason to be proud.

Following Colin's gaze, he looked over at Li Hang.

"Li Hang's a decent guy, even if he does talk a bit too much. Since you're his boss, I'll let you two keep working together under me after this."

"Now, since we're all unfortunate souls dragged into this 'game,' I'll give you a chance. Apologize right now, call me Brother Chou like you mean it, surrender, and hand over everything you own. Then I'll forgive you."

Li Chou's voice came from beneath his helmet, brimming with smugness.

He'd stumbled upon this set in some Ruins yesterday. With it, he'd already surpassed over ninety percent of the contestants at this stage.

He'd also made it into the top three on the Resource Leaderboard and ranked ninth on the Hunting Leaderboard, putting him above most people.

"You talk a lot. Nervous?"

Colin asked curiously. There was still a minute left, and the fight hadn't started.

Aside from those three rules, the duel triggered by this mysterious item could indeed be called reasonably fair.

"Nervous? Do you really think that's possible? Don't tell me you think you can win."

Li Chou scoffed. Colin's calm expression gave him some pause, but Colin had practically no chance of turning things around.

This armor boosted all his attributes by 0.3 and offered considerable protection, making him nearly impossible to defeat.

Li Chou was confident that he was practically invincible unless someone from the top ten on the Hunting Leaderboard showed up.

By now, everyone in the top ten had appeared in the World Channel—except for the mysterious Colin, who held first place by an iron grip.

None of them were in his district. Even if they were, any Survivor he locked onto would have almost no chance of beating him.

Unless the mysterious number one on the Leaderboard appeared right in front of him.

But what were the odds?

It wasn't going to happen.

Li Chou knew the chances were slim. "Friend, you can still admit you were wrong. I only did to you what you did to me. Your subordinate was right: staying alive matters. Why cling to your pride?"

"Why not find out after the fight?"

Colin smiled, unconcerned.

From the prompt, he'd realized that he might still be able to use Hunting Moment.

It was bound to him, and though it was a mysterious item, it didn't quite count as one.

Now that was interesting.

Hearing Colin, Li Chou laughed. "You've got to be kidding. You're going to beat me bare-handed, without a weapon? Who do you think you are, Jackie Chan? Even he'd need a prop warehouse."

"Surrender now, and I'll let you keep your dignity. I won't touch your maid, but I'll take everything else. How's that? I'm being pretty considerate, right?"

"Otherwise, I might accidentally beat you to death in a moment. So surrender already."

"You're nervous? Afraid to kill someone? Is this how you're trying to psych yourself up?"

Colin could tell at a glance that this was Li Chou's first time, just like him. He'd never killed anyone before.

At Colin's words, Li Chou's expression froze beneath his helmet. Then he said, sounding both embarrassed and furious,

"When I get my hands on you, let's see if you can keep running your mouth."

"Getting worked up?"

"You're dead!"

Colin ignored his impotent rage. Just then, the same voice sounded in both their heads.

"Duel begins!"

The words rang in Colin and Li Chou's ears at the same time.

"Heh. Too late to surrender now."

Li Chou cracked his knuckles.

His silver armor looked heavy and battered, but its clever design made it surprisingly unencumbering. He started striding toward Colin.

He walked toward him, step by step.

When he was ten meters away, he began to pick up speed.

But just as he was about to charge, Li Chou's steps suddenly faltered.

Colin's presence had changed in an instant, the shift plain to see.

Savage, cold, devoid of emotion.

He was nothing like before.

If Colin had seemed calm and steady before, now Li Chou saw nothing in him but a murderous aura.

Colin hadn't moved at all. He was still standing there, yet Li Chou felt as if he'd become the prey.

But at that moment, he knew that hesitation meant defeat!

With a metallic clatter, Li Chou charged toward Colin like a silver human War Chariot, unstoppable.

"Too slow."

Under Hunting Moment, Colin felt as if he were watching a movie in slow motion. He easily dodged Li Chou's attack.

Li Chou could tell something was wrong.

But just then, a sharp pain shot through his jaw. After dodging, Colin had swiftly driven his right elbow upward into Li Chou's chin.

Li Chou's mind went blank. He staggered backward, but Colin wasn't about to give him a chance to catch his breath.

Colin immediately forced his upper body down, then drove his knee into Li Chou's abdomen again and again.

The already rust-covered armor dented slightly, and several of Li Chou's ribs cracked under the blunt force. Pain tore through him.

His mind could no longer think. All he could do was try to evade the blows, but Colin's hands clamped around him like iron pincers, leaving him unable to move.

Blood welled from Li Chou's mouth and dripped from his helmet. When Colin let go, Li Chou swayed a few times, then hit the ground with a thud.

The fight was over.

Li Chou rolled his eyes toward Colin. His gaze held forty percent confusion, thirty percent shock, thirty percent fear, and ten percent disbelief.

The fight had ended in less than a minute.

He didn't even know how he'd lost.

By the time he realized what had happened, he was on the ground, his whole body wracked with terrible pain.

"What... what are you?" he rasped.

"Maybe I got lucky?"

Colin wiped the blood splattered on him. Then he looked around. It seemed like everything still wasn't over?

Just then, Li Chou on the ground seemed to remember something. Even though his vision was blurred and he was about to pass out, he forced his eyes open and shouted with his last bit of strength,

"I surrender!"

Then he lost consciousness.

He didn't know if he'd wake up, but he knew one thing for certain: if he passed out without saying "I surrender" aloud and acknowledging his defeat, the rules would kill him as soon as the duel's countdown ended!

At the same time, Colin felt the distance between himself and the outside world return to normal. Shana and the others were standing right beside him.

Li Chou lay on the ground about ten meters away.