When Yi Xing announced the start of the game, he quietly walked to the end of the crowd, consciously taking on the important task of being the last to leave, listening to the conversations of those in front.
“Are you also planning to be the last to leave with me?” he asked Ju Jingyi, who had been following him, while stretching his body.
“Didn’t you tell me to stay by your side? But, are you really going to be the one to cover the rear?”
“Of course! Who told me I’m young?”
He had a clear understanding of himself; among all the adults, he was the youngest and the most agile. Instead of discussing it back and forth, he might as well take on this arduous task himself.
He spoke to the group in front, who had been discussing for a long time without reaching a conclusion: “How about this? I’ll go last, and let the girls draw first. That way, there’s a higher chance of drawing ‘safe’.”
“I think that’s a good idea. Then I’ll be the second to last,” Liu Xuhui echoed. He supported his brother’s decision without any hesitation, standing on the same front.
Huang Xiaoming, the elder brother in the team, made the final decision and arranged everyone’s order: “Girls and boys first. We men can discuss it later.”
He didn’t intend to let the two young people shoulder such a difficult task. If someone absolutely had to go, he would rather it be himself.
“Did you hear that? Hurry to the front of the line, get in early, find a good place to hide, and remember to contact me then so I can hide too.”
Yi Xing turned his head and spoke to the person next to him, urging her to quickly go to the front and line up, as the rope drawing was about to begin.
Jingyi understood his good intentions and no longer insisted on following him: “Okay, then I’ll go in and wait for you.”
“Go.”
Listening to their conversation, it seemed they weren't at all worried about drawing the Hunter’s Eye. But then again, with a one in over ten chance, winning that prize would be too difficult.
Soon, the first lucky person stood in front of the hunter’s box. She spoke in standard Hong Kong-accented Mandarin, trembling as she placed her hand on the rope, muttering to herself.
“This empress is Ulanara-shi, Yi Sou, give this empress a tissue, let this empress leave.”
She pulled the rope out forcefully, stood still, stared at the words written on it, and read aloud: “Safe!”
“Ada Choi-jie, since you’re safe, why aren’t you hurrying inside to hide?” Huang Xiaoming’s voice came from the starting point. He saw Ada Choi standing motionless and thought she had drawn something bad.
The girls lined up in order of age. Jingyi was the second to last to stand in front of the box, and behind her, Yi Xing’s cheering voice rang out.
“Jingyi, go for it!”
Because among the first few, some had average luck and drew ropes that advanced them 2 meters, causing the entire team to get closer and closer to the hunters.
The others also started shouting encouragement. Then Jia Nailiang looked at him with a teasing gaze and joked, “Yi Xing, why haven’t I seen you cheering for other girls? Is there something going on between you and her?”
“Yeah, yeah, Xiao Xing Ge, when did you and Jingyi-jie meet? How long has it been?”
Yi Yang Qianxi followed with a string of questions. Since he could remember, he had never heard of his cousin being in a relationship. Now, with gossip about him right in front of his eyes, when else would be a better time to inquire?
“Don’t talk nonsense. All told, today is only my second time meeting her. As for Xiao Liang Ge, you ask why I don’t cheer for others? I haven’t even greeted them.”
“Some people I don’t even know their names! And you! Stop gossiping about your brother’s affairs. Remember to read all the information I sent you carefully. I’ll conduct random checks. Now, pay close attention to what she draws.”
Yi Xing, being questioned, calmly explained, clearly and with good reason. Everything he said was the truth. Indeed, among so many people present, the only girl he could chat with was the one in front of him.
After Jingyi drew the rope, she walked over somewhat guiltily, bowing slightly: “I’m really sorry, I accidentally drew ‘advance 2 meters’ too.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. As long as we don’t draw the Hunter’s Eye, everything else is good news for us.”
After she entered the game area, the rope-drawing game continued until only three people were left on the field: Yi Xing, Liu Xuhui, and Huang Xiaoming. They all wanted to be the last to enter.
For a while, they stood in a stalemate. After a moment, Yi Xing, seeing that he couldn’t outmaneuver the elder brother, proactively walked to the hunter’s box and picked up one of the four ropes.
“I don’t know if hunters will be released. When I yell ‘run,’ remember to run quickly!”
He held his breath and forcefully pulled out the rope. The moment it left the box, the mechanism next to it sprayed dry ice, and the hunter’s box opened accordingly.
“Run!”
Without waiting for Yi Xing to speak, Huang Xiaoming and Liu Xuhui had already turned and run into the ancient city the moment they saw the dry ice. Their earlier reluctance to go first vanished without a trace.
The four hunters stood still for one second, then locked onto the fleeing people through their sunglasses and gave chase. A tense and exciting pursuit began.
Fortunately, there were many winding paths in the ancient city. In a short while, Yi Xing disappeared from the hunters’ sight. He truly lived up to his reputation as the man who dared to volunteer to cover the rear; he indeed had some skill.
As the hunters were released, the phones on the arms of the other accelerating teammates wandering inside rang, notifying them that the hunters had been released.
The game officially began, with a countdown in the upper right corner showing 89:30, indicating a long time until it completely ended.
Yi Xing, panting heavily in a corner, received a call from Liu Xuhui.
“You weren’t caught, were you?”
“No. If I were caught, who would be talking to you on the phone right now?”
“That’s good. Where are you now? I’ll come find you to meet up.”
“Not necessary for now. Let’s explore separately first, and then meet up after a mission is announced.” Yi Xing refused the other party’s suggestion. Too many people would make them a bigger target and more likely to attract the hunters.
“Alright, see you later then.”
While these two were on the phone, a group of people had already gathered outside. Huang Xiaoming, leading the three young ones and Fan Tiantian, walked cautiously down the street.
“Xiao Ming Ge, are the hunters fast?”
“Yeah, Xiao Ming Ge, if the hunters come, which way should we run?”
“Are the hunters handsome?”
In this small team, Huang Xiaoming was the only one who had directly faced the hunters’ speed, so he naturally received a barrage of questions from everyone. It seemed something strange had also snuck into the questions.
“They run very fast in a straight line. I saw Yi Xing constantly taking turns, using the curves to create distance between himself and the hunters.”
“So, if we encounter hunters, we need to run separately, not all in one direction. As for whether they’re handsome, I don’t know, but if you get caught, you can personally take off their sunglasses and see for yourself.”
While he was running, he didn’t forget to look back to see if anyone was catching up, and he happened to witness how Yi Xing escaped the pursuit, which is why he could now speak so eloquently.
Xu Ke, sitting in the monitoring room, couldn’t take it anymore. Through the walkie-talkie, he instructed the nearest hunter to head in that direction. He really wanted to see their panicked expressions.