Uncle Zhao, call the names

At those words...

Among the crowd...

Countless people who had not made a [Choice] in ages suddenly turned pale, despair rising in their hearts.

It was over!

Completely over!

Zhou Mei was one of them. Her face was pale as she hid in the crowd with her head lowered, utterly terrified...

She had not taken part in a [Choice] for a long time.

She had only survived by selling her body.

But...

As a woman, and a fairly attractive one at that, surely she deserved some preferential treatment?

At least... at least she could use her body to please others.

Even if the Transcendents had no interest in her.

She could still make plenty of ordinary survivors happy and relieve their stress. That helped keep the squad stable, too. How could that count as useless?

In fact...

That was precisely why she had stayed alive.

Otherwise, she would have been dragged off to make a forced [Choice] long ago.

A stir ran through the survivors, but no one stepped forward.

Stepping forward meant going to their deaths!

Who would volunteer to die...

Shen Sui's gaze remained calm as he slowly spoke:

"Since you won't go with dignity, I'll help you along."

"Uncle Zhao, call the names."

Shen Sui turned his back.

Uncle Zhao nodded and stepped out of the crowd. Turning to face the survivors, he shook his head slightly, his eyes full of regret. Then he began calling the roll of death.

"Wang Zhu, Li Tong, Sun Daniu..."

With his terrifying memory, Uncle Zhao clearly remembered when every single person had last taken part in a [Choice].

He missed no one!

The people whose names were called suddenly turned pale, instinctively wanting to flee.

But before they could run, people beside them blocked their way, sneering with vicious looks:

"What were you thinking when you were freeloading? Now you want to run? Too late!"

"Listen to the captain and go die quietly."

"Sacrificing useless trash like you for those of us who dare to make a [Choice]? That's well worth it!"

"This is your fate. Stop fighting it!"

Most of those blocking them were missing a hand. They had been agonized and desperate over losing that hand, but at this moment, they felt incredibly lucky.

If they had not been forced to participate in the previous [Choice] and lost a hand...

Now...

They would have been the ones being forced!

Yellow Hair strode over with a vicious expression, cursing:

"Holy shit, you still want to run? You've got some fucking nerve!"

Yellow Hair hauled the named people out of the crowd one by one and hurled them toward the clearing as though tossing cargo, giving them a taste of free fall.

Zhai Guang stood beside the clearing, licking his lips with a cruel expression!

He was waiting for someone to run!

If anyone tried to escape...

He could kill them outright!

Meanwhile, Uncle Zhao kept calling names.

Nine, ten, eleven...

Just as the roll call was about to end, Lin Yu suddenly patted Uncle Zhao's shoulder and said calmly, "Uncle Zhao, there's someone else who hasn't taken part in a [Choice] for a long time. Let me call this one."

Uncle Zhao froze for a moment and glanced at Lin Yu. Realizing something, he smiled and said:

"All right. Go ahead."

At that little interruption...

An ominous feeling suddenly rose in Zhou Mei's heart as she stood in the crowd.

No...

This wasn't good...

Why had Lin Yu suddenly interrupted Uncle Zhao?

Could it be...

Just then...

Lin Yu's gaze fell squarely on Zhou Mei, and he said calmly:

"Come out on your own, Zhou Mei."

At those words...

Zhou Mei's face went deathly pale. Despair surged through her as her body trembled and her pupils contracted sharply. She kept backing away. "No... no..."

"You're abusing your authority to settle a personal grudge!"

"You..."

Just as she turned to flee, a vicious glint flashed in Scarface's eyes—the same man who had been riding her the night before. He grabbed her hair with one hand and dragged her toward the clearing like a dead dog.

As he dragged her, he gave Lin Yu a fawning look:

"Mr. Lin!"

"I'll drag this bitch out for you!"

Lin Yu gazed calmly at the survivors and said:

"As far as I know, Zhou Mei hasn't taken part in a single [Choice] since joining the Survival Squad. I assume no one objects to having her contribute for once?"

Scarface was the first to shout:

"No objections!"

The other survivors shouted as well:

"No objections!"

Especially those who had not participated in a [Choice] for a long time. They had been trembling in fear, worried that their names would be called next, but now Lin Yu had singled out Zhou Mei.

That was wonderful!

Smack!

Scarface flung Zhou Mei hard onto the clearing, gave Lin Yu another ingratiating smile, then hurried back into the crowd.

He had done that to distance himself from Zhou Mei.

He did not want Lin Yu holding a grudge against him.

Lying on the ground, Zhou Mei felt a fierce pain in her scalp and utter despair in her heart. Her eyes were filled with resentment as she stared at Lin Yu and protested:

"Why me!"

"You're abusing your authority to settle a personal grudge!"

"You..."

Before she could finish, Lin Yu pivoted and suddenly appeared in front of Zhou Mei, crouching down to look at her.

Zhou Mei's heart jolted.

With a dagger in his hand, Lin Yu suddenly drove it hard into Zhou Mei's heart.

Squelch...

Blood gushed out.

Zhou Mei's eyes widened as she stared at Lin Yu in disbelief.

"You..."

Looking at Zhou Mei's bloodless face, Lin Yu smiled and said with gentlemanly grace:

"I, Lin Yu, never hold a grudge."

The moment Zhou Mei had mocked Lin Yu in the vehicle, her fate had been sealed.

Lin Yu had no desire to let someone who resented him remain alive in the squad.

Although...

Even now, Lin Yu still did not know why Zhou Mei hated him so much. Was it just because he had rejected her?

But that did not matter.

Because he would personally eliminate every threat to him.

Lin Yu stood up, took out a tissue, and wiped the blood from his dagger. Without even lifting his head, he said flatly, "I'll play the villain first and set an example for everyone. Those who have been picked, please choose A yourselves."

"That way, you'll suffer less, too."

On the light screen...

The first name soon appeared after option A.

Zhou Mei.

The others who had been thrown into the clearing were pale. They looked at Lin Yu as though he were a demon, their eyes filled with fear and terror...

But in the end...

In pain and tears, they reluctantly made their choices.

"I choose A..."

"A..."

They knew.

They had no other choice left.

They were already inside the instance, unable to leave.

And with Transcendents like Lin Yu here, resisting...

How could that possibly work?

Their deaths were already certain.

Better to choose willingly, preserve a little dignity, and suffer less.

And from that moment on...

Everyone in the squad saw Lin Yu differently.

Lin Yu did not merely look cold and indifferent.

His heart was as cold as steel.

To him, killing a person seemed no different from killing a chicken...

And...

There was one other thing...

Lin Yu seemed to hold grudges!