They're All Beasts

As soon as the words fell, six goblets appeared in the middle of the long table.

There were two in front of each person, one black and one white.

The white goblets held clear water.

The black goblets held thick red wine.

[Banquet rules being generated.]

[The three guests may choose their own fates.]

[Choose the white goblet: personal sacrifice. Surrender all items and equipment, reset all skills and base attributes to zero, retaining only life and the qualification to leave.]

[Choose the black goblet: accept sacrifice. If at least one companion chooses the white goblet, the black goblet holder will be exempt from all penalties and may obtain all items, equipment, skills, and base attributes of the white goblet holder.]

[If multiple guests choose the black goblet, they will divide the gains from the white goblet holder.]

[If all three guests choose the white goblet, judgment ends, and all three may leave the ancient castle.]

[If all three guests choose the black goblet, the worst ending will be triggered.]

[Countdown: 120 seconds.]

Watching the terror on their faces, the surging hatred in Isolde's heart gradually cooled instead.

Of course, she remembered every detail of how they had persecuted her in her past life.

But at this point in time, they had not yet had the chance to do those things. Even if she exhausted every means to torture them, she would not be able to make them feel true remorse and regret.

Instead, it would turn her into a slave controlled by her emotions.

She did not like that.

But it did not matter.

Even if they truly managed to choose survival together,

she would not mind kicking them out of the ancient castle and throwing them to those arrogant squads, letting them personally experience the pain she had suffered in her past life. Perhaps that would make her happier.

The banquet hall was terrifyingly silent.

Zheng Chuan stared at the rules, searching his mind for useful details.

The white goblet allowed them to live, but the price was too steep.

It was practically the same as sending them back to when they had first entered the game—perhaps even worse.

They were injured now, and their potions were nearly depleted.

Once everything was reset to zero, even if they left alive, they could easily be trampled to death in the next danger they encountered.

But the black goblet was different.

As long as someone chose white, those who chose black would be exempt from all punishment and could seize the other person's items and every skill.

Meng Yinyin looked up at the other two across the table and said,

"Let's choose white."

Zheng Chuan looked at her, while Luo Qi said nothing.

As if she had truly been driven into a corner, Meng Yinyin cried,

"We can farm more items if we lose them, and we can train our attributes back up if they're gone. Even if we lose our skills, we can choose new classes again."

"We came in together, so let's leave together, okay?"

Having all three choose the white goblet was currently the best solution.

That way, they could advance and retreat together. No one would blame anyone else, and no one would easily abandon the others.

Zheng Chuan clenched his teeth, the veins at his temples throbbing.

He glanced at the white goblet, then at the black goblet, his voice hoarse.

"I have no objection."

Luo Qi sneered and looked at Meng Yinyin. "Don't think I don't know what you two are thinking!"

"You must have planned it already. You'll both choose black and make me choose white, right? When Valen grabbed me earlier, I saw it clearly. Your first reaction was to heal Zheng Chuan. You never even thought about saving me."

"I had no choice." Meng Yinyin panicked. "Zheng Chuan is on the front line. If he went down, we'd all die."

"You always have an explanation." Luo Qi curled his lip. "Anyway, you're never the one who gets screwed over in the end."

Zheng Chuan slapped the table irritably.

"Enough!"

He kept his voice low and heavy.

"What's the point of arguing about this now? We all choose white. No one gets any crooked ideas. We get out alive first, and we can talk about everything else later."

It sounded convincing enough.

Zheng Chuan even moved his hand closer to the white goblet, as though proving he had truly made up his mind.

Sitting at the head of the table, Isolde watched them quietly and found it amusing.

When they talked about loyalty, each of them looked more human than the last.

But the more critical the moment, the easier it was for that human skin of disguise to peel away.

Luo Qi stared at him suspiciously. "You're really willing?"

Zheng Chuan fell silent for a second, then gritted his molars. "Even if I'm not willing, I have to be. No matter how important those things are, can they be more important than life?"

Luo Qi's expression shifted several times. He seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he said nothing.

Finally, he slowly let out a breath.

"Fine."

He looked up at the other two, and even a trace of exhausted misery surfaced in his eyes.

"Then we all choose white. Whoever chooses black is an animal."

Meng Yinyin immediately nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I won't."

She looked at the two of them as if she had truly wagered her last shred of hope on them.

"We've already made it this far. Don't die at the hands of our own people."

Zheng Chuan held out his hand, palm down, and placed it in the center of the table.

"Choose white."

Meng Yinyin hesitated before placing her hand over his.

"Choose white."

Luo Qi stared at them for several seconds, then slowly pressed his hand down as well.

"Choose white."

The three hands stacked together.

Battered, filthy, and stained with blood.

Yet in that instant, they actually looked a little like comrades who would live and die together.

Honestly, the performance was not bad.

The emotions were in place, the lines were sincere, and their eyes were moist.

If Isolde had not seen so many ugly faces in her past life, she might almost have believed them.

[Countdown: 10 seconds.]

The three of them looked at the goblets before them at the same time and each reached for a white goblet.

Meng Yinyin's fingertips began to tremble.

She looked at the white goblet, then secretly glanced at the black one.

If she alone chose white while the other two chose black, they would devour her down to the bone.

She could not gamble. She wanted to live together.

But she could not place her life in the hands of these two.

At nearly the same moment, Zheng Chuan thought of the same thing.

He had taken the most damage and fought this far. Why should he be the one reset to zero in the end?

Even if someone had to pay the price, it should not be him.

Luo Qi was even less likely to accept it. He hated it most when others took advantage of him, especially such an obvious advantage right in front of him.

[Countdown: 5 seconds.]

Meng Yinyin's lips turned pale. "Choose white, all of you, hear me? Choose white."

Zheng Chuan's voice was hoarse. "Of course."

Luo Qi smiled. "We're teammates."

In the final three seconds, they raised their eyes at the same time.

In that instant, the three of them saw the same thing in each other's eyes.

Why should I have to start over?

Why can't you be the ones to sacrifice?

In the final second, all three hands changed course and grabbed the black goblets together.

[Guest Zheng Chuan chose: Black Goblet.]

[Guest Luo Qi chose: Black Goblet.]

[Guest Meng Yinyin chose: Black Goblet.]

The banquet hall fell dead silent.

The expressions on all three faces froze at the same time.

Meng Yinyin's pupils contracted sharply, as though someone had stabbed her through the chest.

"You..."

Zheng Chuan's eyes widened as he roared, "Didn't you say you'd choose white?"

Luo Qi froze for a moment, then burst into wild laughter. "Hahahaha, animals! We're all animals!"

The three black goblets lit up simultaneously.

The thick red wine began to boil, as if something were screaming at the bottom of the cups.

[Detected that all three guests chose the black goblet.]

[Judgment: All participants refused sacrifice.]

[Worst ending triggered.]

[Black Goblet Triple: Soul Confiscation]