CHAPTER 1691: CHAPTER 9 ERASURE

Tang Zheng wasn’t aimlessly scribbling on the paper; instead, he acted after carefully observing the diary’s binding, noticing traces of tearing.

"Ceiling?" The Japanese woman looked at the text appearing on the paper, then glanced upwards. The old, creaky ceiling fan rattled as it spun, but apart from that, there didn’t seem to be anything unusual about the ceiling.

"We can’t reach it!" The Vietnamese man dragged a table over, stood on it, but was still more than a meter short. Even Tang Zheng, the tallest among them, couldn’t bridge the gap.

"How about forming a human ladder?" The Indian man reacted quickly, suggesting an idea that was immediately agreed upon.

"What are you waiting for? You, come over here!" The red-haired man barked orders at the newbies. For once, the Conquerors shared a united front, temporarily setting aside their animosities.

"Haven’t we already found the clue? Why are you still flipping through the diary?" The Japanese woman asked, puzzled.

"Just in case!" Tang Zheng, ever cautious, wouldn’t overlook any detail. Earlier, he had flipped through the pages from the front, noticed traces of tearing, and rubbed them. Now he needed to check the back pages.

"You’re too cautious. Sometimes you end up wasting time because of it." The Japanese woman tried to advise him, perhaps as an attempt to build rapport.

Tang Zheng’s composure had already earned her goodwill. She hoped to team up with him temporarily to resist the other groups.

Just as the Japanese woman opened her mouth to make a proposal, she saw Tang Zheng flip through the diary again, finding another trace of tearing. Silently, she closed her mouth, letting out a bitter smile.

"This Trojan is infuriating, using a psychological trap. Typically, once someone finds a clue, they’d eagerly rush to pursue it immediately. After all, the looming 20-hour obliteration penalty hangs over everyone like a slasher poised to strike, making them unwilling to waste time. Someone like you, who continues scrutinizing the diary, is certainly the minority." The Japanese woman complimented Tang Zheng, secretly admiring him.

"What does it say?" the Vietnamese man asked impatiently.

"The pencil’s out of lead!" Tang Zheng shook the pencil with a broken tip. Without a pencil sharpener, it was impossible to get more lead.

"Now what?" The Vietnamese man was dumbfounded. Even the mighty Conquerors couldn’t sharpen a pencil with their bare hands.

Before Tang Zheng could answer, a sudden jolt of electric current surged, numbing his entire body.

Everyone in the secret room suffered the same fate. The human ladder they had just formed collapsed, leaving the newbies crying out in pain.

"What’s wrong with you guys?" the Vietnamese man cursed.

"Lack of information!" The Indian man knocked on the ceiling, trying to see if it was hollow, but was electrocuted for his efforts. As the instigator, he received the strongest shock, leaving his hair standing on end.

"The clue must still be on this paper. But there’s no pencil lead to rub it with!" The Japanese woman looked around, "Could a pencil sharpener be hidden here too?"

"Stop dawdling and search for a pencil sharpener!" The Vietnamese man yelled.

The newbies quickly got to work, but less than a minute later, the Vietnamese man ordered them to stop and drove them into a corner.

Not only did they face punishment for damaging the room, but even searching for clues could occasionally trigger electrical shock penalties. After being attacked several times, even the Indian man didn’t want to move anymore.

"Useless lot! Everyone stop and let him do it!" The Vietnamese man, terrified of getting electrocuted again, pointed at Tang Zheng.

Tang Zheng approached the table, carefully examining it. He pulled out the drawer and reached inside, feeling around.

"Could there be a hidden compartment?" The Indian man pressed down on the drawer’s base—it was thin.

"You could try breaking it." Tang Zheng crouched beneath the table, inspecting it closely, using his right hand to lightly knock on the table leg.

"You do it!" The Indian man instructed a newbie to smash the drawer.

"Are you sure?" The Vietnamese man hesitated, torn between fearing electrocution and not wanting to miss a potential clue.

"You won’t know unless you try." The Indian man, eager to prove himself, urged, "Hurry up."

"You’d better wait until we’re certain there’s no obvious clue before breaking it!"

As Tang Zheng spoke, he pulled the table with one hand. With a crack, as the table shifted, a burst of electricity surged out, shocking everyone.

"FU~CK!" The Vietnamese man cursed, wanting Tang Zheng to rein it in. Instead, he watched Tang Zheng topple the table and, after inspecting it briefly, unexpectedly swing his hand to break one of the table legs.

The newbies flinched instinctively, pulling their necks back, but no electrical shock came.

"Impressive!" The Japanese woman exclaimed as Tang Zheng sifted through the wooden fragments and picked out a coin.

"One of the table legs was hollow after all—it hid something!" Tang Zheng pinched the coin between his fingers and held it up under the fluorescent light.

"Impressive? For what? A coin? What the hell can we do with this thing?" The Vietnamese man’s initial excitement over a potential discovery faded when he saw it was merely a coin. "Is this supposed to be the key that opens the iron gate?"

"Let me see it!"

The Indian man demanded, and Tang Zheng flicked the coin over with his thumb.

"Why is one edge thinned out?" The Japanese woman leaned in and noticed something unusual. "Could it be used as a pencil sharpener?"

"Impossible. With that thickness, it couldn’t sharpen a pencil." Even the Vietnamese man understood such a basic principle.

"Instead of wild guessing, why not ask the expert directly?" The red-haired man pointed out as he saw Tang Zheng walk over to the sink, then sit on the double bed. "What clue does this coin relate to?"

Tang Zheng extended his right hand beneath the bedding, his fingertip brushing against the steel frame as he slowly ran it along the surface.

Everyone’s gaze followed his movements, waiting for an answer.

"I’ve figured it out—a screwdriver!" For the first time, the Indian man’s deduction matched his elite status. "Disassemble the double bed and then prop it up—it’ll let us reach the ceiling."

"Correct, but there’s no bonus for you." Tang Zheng tapped the bed frame. "Since you’ve guessed it, start unscrewing!"

Tang Zheng wasn’t going to do the grunt work.

The Indian man didn’t object. His impression of Tang Zheng had transformed significantly—he now regarded him as a formidable rival.

"Even if we have a ’ladder,’ we still lack information. Can’t just go stabbing at the ceiling blindly!" The Vietnamese man spat out. "I’m guessing the answer is up there."

The next clue was far more obscure. Even after an hour of searching, Tang Zheng found nothing.

The atmosphere grew increasingly oppressive. The newbies were trembling with fear—some lost in despair, others already calculating how to maximize their survival chances.

*Ding dong!* A Trojan announcement suddenly blared, startling everyone. Despite their shock, the Conquerors frowned, knowing that whenever Silver spoke, it signaled trouble.

"It’s been two hours. Now commencing the voting game!"

"Please spend the next two minutes talking to each other, casting votes, and selecting three survivors!"

"What’s the purpose of picking them?" The Japanese woman felt a chill of foreboding.

"To kill them, of course!"

Silver Trojan’s matter-of-fact reply sent a shiver down the newbies’ spines. The two Filipinos immediately grabbed their guns, aiming them at everyone aggressively.

The newbies quickly drew their own guns, plunging the room into sudden tension.

"Countdown begins!"

"What happens if we don’t pick anyone?" The Japanese woman probed further.

"Then two individuals will be randomly selected for obliteration punishment!" Silver Trojan revealed a detail that made even the Conquerors pale. "Yes, even elite Third-order members would be included! Such a method of dying would really be a waste!"

Over the last two hours, the newbies had temporarily formed nationality-based teams. Under these circumstances, of course, they’d choose to sacrifice the group with the fewest members—the Filipinos.

"You’re basically sending us to our deaths!" One of the Filipinos shouted through gritted teeth.

"I haven’t even explained the rules yet, so why are you throwing a tantrum? Ahem, if two people die before the voting session ends, the vote will be canceled."

As soon as Silver Trojan finished speaking, one of the Filipinos prepared to open fire but was stopped by his companion.

"Why?"

"If you shoot, you’ll provoke everyone’s wrath, and we’ll unquestionably be killed!"

Surprisingly, one of the Filipinos wasn’t entirely brainless. He realized that, under these circumstances, survival was still possible. The ones truly panicking should be the Conquerors; their lives were far more valuable than those of the newbies, so they’d never let the countdown end and risk a random death.

"How does the vote work?" Tang Zheng inquired.

"Simply point your finger at your target!"

"Anyone who points at us—I’ll shoot and drag you down with me!" A Filipino held his rifle in one hand and a grenade in the other, biting down on the pin.

"You’re quite clever, huh?" The Indian man glared furiously at the Filipino, his headache worsening. The opposition’s constant vigilance made it difficult to act, leaving him to consider killing another newbie—a move that would inevitably anger, if not terrify, the others.

"Time is almost up!" Silver Trojan reminded them. Only thirty seconds remained.

Sweat covered everyone’s foreheads as the tension peaked. With such a short window, many found their minds incapable of formulating plans.

"In twenty seconds, if no one makes a move, I’ll start killing." Tang Zheng cast his gaze toward the Vietnamese man, whom he deemed least likely to remain calm. As for random punishments, avoiding that scenario was imperative. A ten-percent mortality rate was too risky; he dared not hope he’d escape it unscathed.

The room fell eerily silent, divided among the temporary nationality-based newbie teams. Everyone was on edge, keeping hostile watch over each other.

*Crack.* Sure enough, the Vietnamese man acted first. Previously stationed alongside his fellow countrymen, he suddenly struck, snapping the neck of someone next to him. Then he lifted the fallen man’s rifle, aiming it at the Filipinos.

With a meat shield in place to block incoming bullets, the Vietnamese man held a clear shot, but he ultimately didn’t pull the trigger. Too many of his compatriots stood in his firing line.

Despite her delicate appearance, the Japanese woman showed no hesitation, ruthlessly killing a compatriot. The Indian man followed suit, twisting at one of his fellow countrymen’s necks. However, he didn’t complete the kill, as the death toll was now sufficient.

*Eight, seven—countdown terminated. Congratulations to all of you for clearing the voting game. Please continue progressing through the secret room!*

Silver Trojan disappeared, leaving the room in a deathly silence, with two corpses searing the images into everyone’s minds.

Finally reacting, the Vietnamese and Japanese groups backed away a step, only now realizing that the Conquerors—or their supposed protectors—would not hesitate to stab them in the back during critical moments.

"Please, I’m begging you, let me go!" A man clutched by the Indian sobbed, his legs trembling as urine soaked his pants.

"Damn it!" The Indian man shoved him away, deeply regretting his miscalculations.

"What an undemocratic method of decision-making!" Tang Zheng remarked sarcastically, mocking the group.

The Chinese players froze momentarily before quickly flocking toward him. Tang Zheng, having spent the entire ordeal seated on the bed, hadn’t moved a muscle. His behavior clearly conveyed that he was harmless.

"The Chinese group came out on top!" The handful of newbies couldn’t contain their envy. (To be continued. If you enjoyed this work, please visit Qidian.com to cast your votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)