Chapter 1700: Chapter 16: The Rescue Round

Tang Zheng was panting heavily, not just his coat torn to shreds, but even the Xuanwu Protective Clothing couldn’t withstand the assault—large-scale damage had occurred. Coupled with his blood-soaked figure, he looked utterly disheveled.

The temporary team was stunned by Tang Zheng’s ferocious slaughter of the South Americans. They didn’t even dare to make a move.

Tang Zheng turned his head and looked at the passers-by.

“Don’t misunderstand, we mean no harm!” A man shouted while quickly retreating from the passage. The others followed suit, worried Tang Zheng might pursue them.

Inside the lobby, everyone quieted down, their gazes fixed on the Hero Ranking, as if they could glimpse the battle through it. Suddenly, Tang Zheng’s score surged dramatically, leaving Di Jingfei in second place far behind.

“It’s decided—the South Americans are dead!”

With murmurs spreading, the tension in the room began to ease.

Tang Zheng pushed open the door to the gathering point’s lobby and walked a few steps. Hundreds of pairs of eyes immediately scanned him from all directions.

Curiosity, scrutiny, probing—all mixed together.

“That’s Tang Zheng? The notorious bleeding-heart guy?”

“He’s so young! His Protective Clothing is in tatters—it looks like he’s been through a bloody battle!”

“Wait a second, though. His body has quite a few wounds, but none are life-threatening. Could the intelligence be wrong? Did he really fight South America’s second-ranked person?”

The Conquerors whispered among themselves. With their discerning eyes, they could naturally tell if Tang Zheng was severely injured. They simply couldn’t imagine the scene where Tang Zheng utterly crushed the second-ranked warrior of the South America Region. If he could truly achieve this, it would mean he already possessed Fourth Order strength, wouldn’t it?

Keep in mind, within the Trojan World, Fourth Order heroes are extremely rare—no more than ten at best. Of course, some particularly reclusive figures might also be at this level.

Tang Zheng’s modified body exhibited astonishing recovery power. Combined with the potion he had taken, by the time he reached the lobby, his wounds had mostly scabbed over, and even his damaged visceral organs had healed.

The members of the Warhammer Team came forward to welcome their leader back. Lu Fan, clinging to him like a koala, didn’t let go.

“Still half a step away, huh?” Tang Zheng frowned. He realized that despite getting this far, he still couldn’t face the deaths of his team members calmly.

“Who died?” Dantai asked matter-of-factly.

“Qing Shuang!”

The group fell silent. Just as they were about to inquire about the situation at the time, a Trojan announcement suddenly echoed.

“Every team has at least one member who has arrived. Mission objectives achieved. The first game—Secret Room Survival—has concluded. Those who failed to arrive at the gathering point on time will be eliminated entirely!”

“What? You’ve got to be kidding!”

“Five-thirds elimination in the first round?”

The lobby instantly erupted into a storm of debates. Even the seven major Seeds couldn’t remain composed since, up until now, not one team had fully assembled.

Deductive reasoning isn’t something you can generate on command. This round was insidious—so much so that even some Third Order heroes were still trapped in the Secret Room. If they were wiped out, it would be more unjust than Dou E’s wrongful death.

“Shut up!” Trojan bellowed, intentionally creating grating static noise.

“The first overtime begins now. All Group Leaders are offered the chance to enter the Punishment Game. If they complete the mission, they can gain one opportunity to communicate with captured team members still in the Secret Room.”

Though the game is brutal, it doesn’t permit meaningless massacres.

“What happens if our Group Leader doesn’t come out?” One team grew anxious.

“Face death!” Trojan sneered. “If a Group Leader isn’t the team’s best member, can’t turn the tide, and fails to inspire confidence in their group, what’s the point of having such fight scum around?”

“You have thirty seconds to decide. If you refuse to enter, press NO!”

As Trojan concluded its remarks, virtual screens popped up on the wristwatches of all the Group Leaders, displaying YES and NO buttons.

“Dantai, you’re in charge of the overall situation!” Tang Zheng said, then swiftly pressed YES without any hesitation.

White flashes streaked across the room as some Group Leaders disappeared, teleported away, while a minority remained.

“Why are you staring? It’s just tactics. The team members who didn’t arrive lack strength and aren’t worth rescuing!” One Group Leader snapped, annoyed by the persistent gazes, and roared. “Do you think the overtime round is easy? The moment your Group Leader gets injured inside, they lose part of their advantage.”

None of the Group Leaders who qualified for the Holy Land War were cowards. They were merely more calculative and ruthless in pursuing victory by any means necessary.

As the Group Leaders departed, hundreds of virtual screens appeared in the lobby, displaying their actions!

Survivors hurried to locate their own Group Leaders’ screens while dispatching scouts to observe other teams’ leaders. Among them, the screens of the seven Seeds attracted the most onlookers—it couldn’t be helped; their reputations were just too massive.

Because Tang Zheng had killed South America’s second-ranked warrior, a considerable crowd also gathered to watch his screen.

Even if some team members tried to intervene, they were powerless. Trojan made these broadcasts to weaken the Group Leaders’ threatening aura, share critical intel, and make the game fairer.

Dantai dispersed the team members, instructing them to collect intelligence.

As Tang Zheng’s vision cleared, he found himself inside a prison cell. Before he could inspect his surroundings, someone opened the door.

“Get out!” The prison guard used a police baton to hit the cell door and shouted angrily at Tang Zheng.

As Tang Zheng stepped out, the guard swung the baton toward his skull—a move aimed to kill.

Tang Zheng struck back with a punch, sending the baton flying and delivered a powerful kick to the guard’s abdomen.

“Don’t move!” Six guards were startled and immediately drew their firearms, with one even preparing to inject him with a syringe to sedate him.

Tang Zheng swiftly snatched the syringe, grabbed the guard by the neck, and restrained him.

“Death-row inmate Tang Zheng, cease all violent actions immediately, or face instant disqualification!” Trojan’s voice commanded. Tang Zheng glanced around and realized the guards couldn’t hear it—all their gazes were fixed on him like predators sizing up prey.

Crushing the syringe in his hand, Tang Zheng released the guard. The other guards quickly rushed forward to shackle both his hands and feet.

Simultaneously, similar scenes unfolded among other Group Leaders, particularly those from Africa and South America. The native Group Leaders were exceptionally savage, resorting to direct killings. Yan Chiyang wasn’t to be outdone, vaporizing his enemies into thin air.

Bingxu hypnotized the guards to interrogate them for information. Among all the leaders, his demeanor was the most leisurely, leaving the Conquerors observing him in awe and even greater apprehension.

After enduring a beating, the prison guards became much more docile and stopped bothering Tang Zheng. About ten minutes later, they arrived in front of a gate.

“Go in!”

As the guard opened the gate, a wave of putrid, rotting stench hit Tang Zheng’s nostrils. He entered without hesitation, ignoring the sound of the door locking behind him, and started examining the dozen or so prisoners sitting on benches on either side.

“Keep staring, and I’ll dig out your eyeballs!” One prisoner leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, hands clasped together under his chin, glaring at Tang Zheng with a gangster-like aura.

Tang Zheng said nothing and walked toward the empty seat ahead.

The prisoners, mistaking his silence for timidity, burst into mocking laughter. Some even extended their legs to provoke him. The next second, their laughter froze.

Tang Zheng suddenly kicked the gangster square in the head and slammed him against the wall alongside him.

Bang! Blood splattered everywhere. The gangster’s skull deformed as blood poured from his orifices. He collapsed like a dead dog, unconscious.

“Now, could someone kindly tell me what we’re supposed to do next?” Tang Zheng’s cold gaze swept over the prisoners.

The prisoners instinctively shivered.

“Kill people. Soon, we’ll be entering the gladiator arena. If we kill them all, we’ll survive and receive abundant supplies!” A shrewd prisoner spoke up.

“Is this really the kind of ‘quality’ you offer?” Tang Zheng frowned. If this was the case, it didn’t seem particularly challenging.

“Yes, Boss! With you here, we’re guaranteed to win this time.” The prisoners started flattering Tang Zheng, hoping he’d become their sacrificial pawn.

Within less than five minutes, the windowless gates at one end opened, and the prisoners, experienced as they were, filed out.

The setting was the interior of a mine, entirely hollowed out—a space about the size of a football field, littered with rotting, decaying corpses and pools of blood everywhere.

The opposition’s gates also opened, releasing a group of people. Instead of immediately engaging in combat, they scavenged through the corpse heaps, searching for weapons.

Tang Zheng acted decisively. He knew that every second wasted increased the danger for his team members.

Boom—Tang Zheng picked up a bone and, empowered by gravity, launched it like an arrow toward the targets.

“Scatter!” The prisoners hadn’t even finished shouting when they felt their bodies sink like they’d dropped into a swamp. Just as they were formulating a strategy, a figure appeared before them.

Bam—a single punch exploded the head of the first prisoner, and Tang Zheng shot forward toward the next target.

As Tang Zheng massacred their enemies, his own prisoners stood dumbfounded. This was arguably the easiest death-match gladiator round they’d ever witnessed.

The enemies were weaklings, yet Tang Zheng remained on high alert. As expected, during his attempt to kill the final opponent, the man launched a ferocious counterattack.

“Roughly at the early stage of English Third Order strength!” After some brief probing, Tang Zheng found that the man lacked any particular skill, relying solely on raw physical power. Tang Zheng unleashed his full force.

In just five seconds, Tang Zheng reduced the man to a pile of mangled flesh.

“Absolutely living up to his reputation. That last prisoner must’ve been at the Third Order. Dispatching him so effortlessly proves Tang Zheng truly has Fourth Order strength,”

“Maybe even the Seeds wouldn’t be his match!”

“That’s impossible! Didn’t you see Nuclear Flame and Dragon King’s low strike? Instant kills!”

Just as Tang Zheng was about to return to the prisoners, he was teleported back to the lobby.

“Tang Zheng completed the overtime round and earned three minutes of communication privileges!”

Tang Zheng wasted no time, immediately initiating the communication.

“If I had known it was this straightforward, I would’ve tried it myself!” The Group Leaders who had hesitated regretted their decision.

“Straightforward, my ass! Can you guarantee killing a Third Order prisoner without sustaining any injury?”

Every game Trojan orchestrated had its purpose. The overtime round tested the bond within teams, especially whether Group Leaders were willing to risk themselves for their members.

For Dantai and others, the footage provided insights into the Group Leaders’ combat styles and decision-making tendencies, laying the groundwork for future tactical planning.

Vasily, true to his reputation as the most protective Group Leader, was the first to emerge, earning five minutes of talk time. Subsequent Group Leaders completing the overtime round found their communication privileges gradually reduced.

In frustration, Chu Baichuan scratched his head, desperately searching for a way out. Suddenly, a screen appeared, showing Tang Zheng’s profile picture. (To be continued. If you enjoy this story, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)