Lured In to Be Killed

At the break of dawn, the system broadcast a message:

[The Energy Core has been seized by Moye Military Academy.]

Due and Shaji erupted in chaos, and so did the live-streaming viewers and the arena.

[Too bold. I thought Xu Lingqu would just lie low until the end, but she straight-up told Shaji and Due, "You've been played, you idiots."]

[I love it. Xu Lingqu's style is totally my cup of tea.]

The remaining seven hours are going to be hell for Shaji and Due...]

[I have a feeling Xu Lingqu might lure them into the pyramid and kill them.]

[I want to see how Jinfang Taibai reacts. Last night he was so sure Xu Lingqu was lying, now he must be dumbfounded...]

At six in the morning, the match's popularity was still soaring, even higher than other matches during peak hours. Everyone was too curious about what Xu Lingqu was going to do.

Guan Chuanjun's hands shook as he sent a communication request to Li Muyi.

"Xu Lingqu, she... when... why... how could she...?" Li Muyi's eyes were wide, losing his basic ability to string words together.

Jinfang Taibai, sitting nearby, recounted what had happened in the middle of the night, looking like he'd lost his soul.

"We were completely played by her." Guan Chuanjun slammed his fist on the vehicle seat. "She must have known where the Energy Core was all along. That talk about the advantaged side not needing the Energy Core—she was just messing with us!"

Shaji and Due had basically put on a clown show for her.

"We might still have time if we start looking for her ourselves now," Li Muyi said, trying to calm down and think of a solution. "Sure, she's definitely hidden herself somewhere very secluded, but the only way to fix this is to find her."

In their minds, Xu Lingqu was now holding the Energy Core inside an armored vehicle, a constantly moving target—much harder to find than the original huge, fixed Energy Core point.

But what choice did they have? They'd been completely misled from the start. All they could do was swallow their teeth and accept the consequences of their own stupidity.

Shaji and Due gave up trying to intercept Moye, but now Moye's people were on the move.

They wanted to find Xu Lingqu, but Moye's people wouldn't let them. They turned into a nuisance, chasing after them and harassing their search efforts. With three hours left in the match, Shaji and Due had barely made any progress.

Moye's people were like sticky candy—no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't shake them off!

Jinfang Taibai was frantic, but Moye's command channel remained quiet. They were operating independently by squad, but with perfect coordination—when they acted, they did so together, covering each other.

Just as he was getting restless, that voice rang out again:

[Moye Cadet No. 001, Commander-in-Chief Xu Lingqu, has joined this channel.]

That woman again!

Now, Jinfang Taibai was eavesdropping on Moye, but he was no longer the one in control.

Now he knew Xu Lingqu was up to something, yet he had to listen. He couldn't tell if she was telling the truth or lying.

If it was a lie, he'd fall for it; but if it was true, like last night, the regret would be unbearable.

This time, he was mentally prepared.

"Jinfang Taibai."

Sure enough, Xu Lingqu called his name again. She was clearly targeting him.

"I've proven I wasn't lying, haven't I?" Xu Lingqu tossed her combat knife into the air and caught it smoothly. "Now will you believe me?"

Jinfang Taibai's anger was skyrocketing, and Li Muyi quickly patted his back to calm him down.

Calm down! Calm down! Play along and see what she wants.

"I believe you," Jinfang Taibai said through gritted teeth.

Ever since he entered the league and made a name for himself with his hacking skills, he was the one everyone feared and tried to guard against, the one who tormented others mercilessly.

Now his prized eavesdropping technique was being used by Xu Lingqu to toy with them in return. It was heartbreaking.

"Then I'll just give you a location, and you come," Xu Lingqu continued. "I guarantee this location is real, and I will definitely set up an ambush along the way. You heard that, Moye? Once I give the location, you move out first and set up the ambush."

Xu Lingqu's tone was calm, but the arrogance of that statement...

Jia Xianglan's "open scheme" strategy from before was child's play compared to this.

He had counted on his sister falling for his provocation, and a cool-headed person would just avoid his star sector, that was all.

Xu Lingqu was directly grasping at the last shred of hope for Due and Shaji. If they went, they'd face ambushes; and if this turned out to be another fake location, it would be all for nothing. If they didn't go, they'd be left feeling frustrated and in a slow, self-defeating losing position.

She offered a cruel choice, and then made the other option even crueler, forcing them to choose.

Xu Lingqu announced the location of the pyramid. Jinfang Taibai, looking like he'd lost his soul, relayed it to Li Muyi and Guan Chuanjun, then swore he wouldn't keep eavesdropping on Moye's channel anymore.

He'd been beaten down enough.

Finally, Guan Chuanjun made the call: they'd go, damn it. They had to fight to the end, even if they died!

Li Muyi agreed, and Due and Shaji headed for the location Xu Lingqu had given. Along the way, they were indeed ambushed by Moye time and again. Their numbers dwindled rapidly, until it was Shaji 34, Due 22, Moye 36.

Shaji and Due finally reached the pyramid.

With one hour left in the match, ten people were needed to enter.

Guan Chuanjun, Li Muyi, Jinfang Taibai, and Peng Yue personally led the group, pulling in six more soldiers to make a ten-person squad and began entering the pyramid.

As soon as they entered that narrow passage, the poisonous mummies dropped from above and took out two of them instantly.

At the Feathered Serpent, Xu Lingqu had taught it how to truly lay an ambush. It was like feeding time—it devoured four people in one go, and only Peng Yue managed to escape with her grappling hook into a small passage up in the air.

The Feathered Serpent would have eaten the remaining three—Guan Chuanjun, Li Muyi, and Jinfang Taibai—but the Pharaoh used telepathy to tell it to spare those three. Xu Lingqu needed them alive. So it let them go, but stripped them of their weapons and sent them on their way.

Peng Yue was subdued by Horus and Set working together, also disarmed. Her hourglass was hidden under a pile of animal bones that Xu Lingqu had set up, so she had no way to strike.

Finally, all four were brought to the Pharaoh's palace. The Pharaoh made his appearance with a smile, but this time he didn't push his coffins. Instead, he told them he was taking them to meet the king of the desert.

The four were escorted to the throne, and they looked up to see the master of this pyramid.

Xu Lingqu was holding her combat knife, looking at them with a faint, mocking smile.