Hesitation Leads to Defeat!

"Are you Li Chou, third on the Resource Leaderboard?"

Colin loosened his grip on the axe and tossed it aside; that eerie feeling of being watched vanished instantly.

At the same time, he recalled seeing this person's name in the top three of the Resource Leaderboard.

Without waiting for a response, Colin glanced at Li Hang. There was no overwhelming aura of dominance, yet Li Hang felt his heart skip a beat for no apparent reason.

Clearly, if this guy hadn't leaked some information, Li Chou would never have locked onto him so decisively.

Outside the arena, Li Hang opened his mouth to explain something, but unfortunately, their voices could not pass through.

However, judging by his lip movements, Colin could tell he was likely saying: Boss, things aren't what you think they are, please listen to me.

What a scumbag-like line.

"It's me. I thought you, like most people, wouldn't remember me. After all, I'm just third place; people only ever remember the one in first."

Li Chou sounded like he was mocking himself, but the confidence on his face was plain to see. Standing out among billions to rank third was enough to make him proud.

He followed Colin's gaze to look at Li Hang:

"Brother Li Hang is a decent guy, even if his mouth runs a bit too much. Since you're his boss, I'll let you two continue as colleagues, working under me.

"Now, considering we're all poor wretches dragged here to play this 'game,' I'll give you a chance. Just apologize now, call me Brother Chou properly, surrender immediately, and hand over all your belongings, and I'll forgive you."

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

He had stumbled upon this set of gear in some ruins yesterday, and with it, he had already surpassed over ninety percent of the other contestants from the same period.

He had fought his way into the top three of the Resource Leaderboard and ninth on the Hunting Leaderboard, looking down on the vast majority of people.

"You seem to talk a lot. Nervous?"

Colin asked him with curiosity. There was still one minute left; the battle had not yet begun.

Aside from those three rules, this duel triggered by a mysterious item could at least be called fair.

"Nervous? Do you think that's possible? You don't actually think you can win, do you?"

Li Chou sneered. Although Colin's calm expression made him hesitate for a moment, there was almost nothing about Colin that suggested he could turn the tables.

This suit of armor granted him a 0.3 boost to all attributes, along with considerable protection, making it nearly impossible for him to be defeated.

Li Chou was confident; unless someone from the top ten of the Hunting Leaderboard showed up, he was practically invincible.

As of now, other than that mysterious Colin who firmly occupied the number one spot, everyone else in the top ten had appeared on the World Channel.

They weren't in his district, and even if they were, any survivor he locked onto could hardly stand a chance against him.

Unless, that mysterious number one on the leaderboard appeared before him.

But was that possible?

That was impossible.

Li Chou knew the probability was too low: "Friend, it's not too late to admit your mistake. I'm just doing to you what you did to me. Your subordinate is right—life is what matters, why hold on so stubbornly?"

"Won't we know once the fight is over?"

Colin smiled indifferently.

Through his prompt, he discovered that he could, it seemed, still use "Hunting Moment."

This thing was bound to him; it was a mysterious item, yet it didn't belong to the category of standard mysterious items.

This was quite interesting.

Hearing Colin's words, Li Chou laughed: "You've got to be kidding? You want to beat me empty-handed, without a weapon? Do you think you're Jackie Chan? Even Jackie Chan needs a prop shop.

"Surrender now, and I'll give you a dignified end. I won't touch your maid, just give me everything else. How about that? I'm taking care of you, aren't I?

"Otherwise, it'll be bad if I accidentally beat you to death later. Hurry up and surrender."

"Are you nervous? Afraid of killing someone? Using this method to bolster your own morale?"

Colin saw right through him; he was a rookie, just like himself, who had never killed anyone before.

Upon hearing this, the expression under Li Chou's helmet froze, and he then retorted in a fit of shame and anger:

"When I make my move later, let's see how tough your mouth is."

"Getting anxious?"

"You're dead!"

Colin ignored the other man's impotent rage, for at that moment, a voice echoed in both their minds simultaneously.

"Duel start!"

The words rang out in the ears of both Colin and Li Chou at the same time.

"Heh, it's too late to surrender now."

He rubbed his hands together.

Li Chou, wearing silver armor that looked heavy and worn but was actually not cumbersome due to its ingenious design, began to pace toward Colin.

He walked toward Colin step by step.

At the final ten-meter mark, his speed increased rapidly.

However, just as he was about to charge, Li Chou suddenly faltered in his steps.

This was because, all of a sudden, the aura emanating from Colin had undergone a change—a visible, undeniable change.

Ferocious, icy, and devoid of a shred of emotion.

It was completely different from his previous temperament.

If he had been gentle and steady before, then at this moment, the Colin he saw was filled with nothing but something that could only be described as "murderous intent."

Even though his movements hadn't changed at all and he was still just standing there, it made Li Chou feel as if he had become the prey.

But in that moment, he knew that hesitation would lead to defeat!

Amidst the sound of grinding metal, Li Chou charged toward Colin like a silver humanoid War Chariot, unstoppable.

"Too slow."

Under the effect of Hunting Moment, Colin felt as if he were watching a movie in slow motion, easily dodging Li Chou's attack.

This made Li Chou feel that something was not quite right.

But just then, he felt a sharp pain in his jaw; Colin, having dodged the attack, had swiftly used his right elbow to strike upward, slamming into Li Chou's chin.

Instantly, Li Chou's mind went blank, and he staggered backward, but Colin had no intention of giving him a chance to catch his breath.

He immediately pressed down on Li Chou's upper body, his knee slamming repeatedly into Li Chou's abdomen with heavy, continuous strikes.

Li Chou's already rusted armor showed slight indentations, and several ribs cracked under the blunt force, causing him excruciating pain.

His brain could no longer think; he could only focus on trying to dodge the attacks, but those hands held him like iron pincers, making it impossible to move.

Blood gushed from Li Chou's mouth, dripping from his helmet. When Colin finally let go, he swayed a few times before collapsing to the ground with a thud.

The battle was over.

Li Chou struggled to turn his eyes toward Colin, his gaze filled with four parts confusion, three parts shock, three parts fear, and one part disbelief.

The battle had lasted less than a minute before ending.

He didn't even know how he had lost.

By the time he realized what had happened, he was already lying on the ground, his entire body wracked with terrifying pain.

"What exactly are you?" he rasped out.

"Maybe I just got lucky?"

Colin wiped the blood that had splattered onto him. He then looked around; it seemed that everything was not yet over.

At this moment, Li Chou on the ground, whether remembering something or not, forced his eyes open despite his unfocused gaze and impending unconsciousness, using his last bit of strength to shout:

"I surrender!"

Having said that, he passed out.

He didn't know if he would ever wake up, but he was very clear that if he didn't verbally surrender and admit defeat before losing consciousness, the rules would execute him the moment the battle countdown ended!

At the same time, Colin felt his perception of the world return to normal, and Shana and the others were standing right beside him.

As for Li Chou, he lay on the ground about ten meters away.