Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Song Qingxiao was deep in thought. She wondered why the doctor had not killed number two—the office lady. Number seven’s death cleared up the issue for her.
When the game officially started, Song Qingxiao had pinned the doctor and the burly chap as the most difficult people to beat. Similarly, the doctor had made a similar deduction about the trial situation. Number seven’s muscular physique made him everyone’s biggest foe.
If it were a game based on logic, the doctor would definitely not lose. However, in that game, the trial was not merely a test of intelligence but also physical strength and combat skills. If the doctor killed number two, he might not be able to win if he encountered number seven.
Even if he managed to kill number seven by sheer luck, the force of number seven’s retaliation would surely leave him severely injured. In that environment, his chances of survival would decrease once he was injured. He might lose his life in the hands of another survivor if he bumped into them. In that situation, if both of them formed an alliance temporarily, their chances of surviving would significantly increase.
None of the three survivors believed the nonsense uttered by the doctor earlier. It was complete nonsense for him to say that he did not set out to kill anyone because he did not want to bring trouble upon himself and that they only killed number seven because they were forced to. The fact that he had come searching for Song Qingxiao betrayed his words.
However, it was possible that number two completely understood the situation. She was not as naive and innocent as number one, nor did she have beauty on her side like number eight—the lady in the red dress. She must have been willing to partner with the doctor because she knew that if she went against him and set off alone as a woman in the space, she might not be able to survive.
To deal with a woman like that, a simple and straightforward provocation would not be enough to change her mind. She needed something more concrete! Song Qingxiao swallowed nervously and forced herself to be calm.
In the situation where the three of them faced each other, the only reason that she was still standing was because of her sheer willpower. After all, she had injured herself when she fell out of the tank, severely limiting her range of movement. In addition to that, she was tired and hungry. After she had spent so much time submerged in the sewage water in the tank, she feared that most of her strength had withered away.
The doctor and the office lady were injured from their fight with number seven, but their injuries did not seem to affect their ability to move. Even though the two of them were possibly suffering from hunger and tiredness like Song Qingxiao, their position was still superior compared to her. After all, the doctor was a guy, and the office lady was much stronger physically than Song Qingxiao’s skinny build.
“Number two, there’s only the three of us left in this space.”
Song Qingxiao thought carefully about what she wanted to say. She was afraid that if she said the wrong thing, it would lead to her doom. As she spoke, the doctor and the office lady continued moving towards her. The distance between the three of them shrank. At that moment, running away was not a smart decision for Song Qingxiao.
Song Qingxiao became more anxious. She thought about taking out her dagger numerous times. However, each time the idea popped into her head, she firmly quashed it down again.
If she revealed her dagger, all she would achieve was to startle the doctor and the office lady momentarily. However, once they knew that she possessed a weapon, she would instantly become a dangerous target, forcing them to stay in their alliance.
The dagger would only be able to help her achieve victory through the element of surprise. Based on her strength and ability, there was no way that she would be able to beat the two people before her and kill them.
“We’re both women. It would be extremely easy for the both of you to kill me.”
In that precarious situation, Song Qingxiao appeared calm. She continued to speak, “However, once I’m dead, how are you going to stay alive, number two?”
Song Qingxiao’s crisis was the problem that number two would have to face later. The doctor would have the upper hand against the office lady.
“Have you ever considered cooperating with me? You can think about what you’re going to do after we’ve killed the doctor, and there’s only the two of us left.”
Song Qingxiao discussed her fate calmly as she objectively broke down the situation for the office lady.
“Number two, you can see that the threat I pose is clearly much less compared to number four. You’re stronger than me. Hence, it would be much easier for you to kill me instead of number four.”
Her words made the doctor speechless. Number four seemed to be caught between laughter and tears. Out of the corner of his eye, the doctor saw that the office lady—who had been inching closer to Song Qingxiao—had stopped in her tracks.
This action proved that Song Qingxiao’s words had touched on a nerve. She had hit the point that number two was most worried about.
The smile on the doctor’s face froze. He said, “Oh? So it’s easy to kill you?” He turned to look at the office lady and said, “Number two, surely you don’t believe her do you?”
The doctor noticed that while speaking to Song Qingxiao, the office lady took a step back, increasing the distance between them. Initially, the doctor and the office lady were the closest to each other between the three of them, and they had been moving towards Song Qingxiao.
However, Song Qingxiao’s words had ruined the delicate balance, causing the office lady to put up her guard towards the doctor.
“She was in the same group as number one and number six. However, they are both dead now, and she is the only one who survived. She was also the first person to act by killing her teammates. Do you really think a dangerous person like her will be an easy opponent to face?”
The office lady took another small step back. The three of them stood in a triangle formation. There was an equal distance between all three of them, and the situation was a stalemate.
The doctor continued to speak, but he cursed inwardly. Number nine had been able to survive after killing number one and number six. It proved that she was not someone to be underestimated. He should not have been overthinking the situation and given her the chance to speak.
He should have gone ahead with the original plan to focus on killing number nine with the help of number two. After that, he would get rid of number two and leave the d*mn place.
Number two was full of uncertainty. It was not a normal betting situation where one would lose a couple bucks. If she placed the wrong bet, the thing that she would lose was her life.
Song Qingxiao looked at the situation and quickly piped up.
“Number six had the intent to kill us, so number one and I were forced to defend ourselves.”
Her words were intended to reveal that number six’s death resulted from her teaming up with number one. Her survival was merely a stroke of luck.
Her words seemed to give number two an idea. If she and number nine joined forces to kill the doctor, there was a chance that she might be as lucky as number nine. While they cooperated in killing the doctor, the doctor and number nine might become gravely injured and die. In that case, number two would become the final victor in this trial!
Number two finally made up her mind. Her confused and undecided expression became one full of killing intent and wariness.
The doctor sighed and looked a little disappointed. He said, “It looks like you’ve made up your mind.”
Number two’s eyes were as cold as ice. “I have no choice. I want to live too. After all, you intended on killing me too. Otherwise, why haven’t you asked for my name even though we’ve been working together for so long?”
The doctor did not ask for her name because he already knew that after he killed her, her card in his consciousness would flip over. Hence, he would learn her name sooner or later.
Since everyone had revealed their true colors, there was no longer any need to pretend. The situation was disadvantageous for the doctor, but it could not be avoided. The two women started to close in on him.
The doctor slowly retreated until he was backed up against the large water tank containing number six’s corpse. He could no longer retreat any further. The two women drew closer and closer. The doctor turned, and his gaze landed on Song Qingxiao.
He no longer concealed the killing intent within him. In that instant, Song Qingxiao felt as though she was staring right into the eyes of a serpent. She understood that the doctor had chosen her as his target because of her weak appearance.
He prepared to get rid of her first before he turned to deal with the office lady to reduce the pressure of being attacked by two people at once.
In the doctor’s eyes, she was a pushover that he would deal with first.
That was Song Qingxiao’s true crisis!