Absolute Death Game

The fissure was vast, wide enough for two trucks to pass side by side. The two of them walked about a hundred meters inside with their flashlights before reaching a dead end. A wall constructed of concrete and stones obstructed their path, built according to the natural shape of the crack, effectively blocking their way forward. In the center of the wall, a massive iron door about six or seven meters wide was tightly closed, painted with large red characters. Despite weathering over the years, the faded words "Military Restricted Area, No Unauthorized Access" could still be discerned.

The door was locked with a thick iron chain as thick as an arm that, due to age and lack of maintenance, was covered in red rust. The lock itself also appeared to be rusted shut.

Looking at the huge and seemingly very heavy iron gate, Xiao Buli knew that it would be extremely difficult for an ordinary person to get through. Not to mention breaking the thick iron chain, but the sheer effort to move such a massive object was daunting.

Xiao Buli didn't dwell on it. Since fate had granted him the opportunity to acquire superpowers, he might as well make good use of them. After asking Qin Shimoon to step aside, Xiao Buli assumed his stance and delivered a Mysterious Ice Slash to the chain. A single strike was enough to shatter the now brittle chain into several short segments.

He then put away his sword and summoned his Internal Energy. The iron door was almost rusted shut, but after three attempts at applying force, he finally heard a screeching sound as the door slowly opened a crack.

A blast of musty and damp air, long sealed away, hit their faces. The two stood still for a moment, allowing the interior and exterior air to circulate before turning on their flashlights and proceeding inside. Unlike the natural path outside, the corridor inside was paved with asphalt, and the sides of the mountain had been reinforced with steel and concrete. Sturdy concrete pillars were placed at regular intervals, showing that most parts of the base inside had been artificially excavated and thus reinforced.

At this moment, noticing that the two had walked past the iron gate, Hei suddenly let out a soft whining sound. This wild beast, filled with wilderness, seemed to have a certain fear of the underground world.

Seeing this, Xiao Buli scolded him, and only then did Hei reluctantly follow them in.

"Really, why do these bases always have to be built in such godforsaken places? It's like they're not mysterious enough otherwise," Xiao Buli joked with Qin Shimoon, trying to alleviate the eerie and mysterious vibe they felt.

"Generally speaking, experiments conducted in desolate areas are often dangerous, such as the nuclear tests at the outset of our nation's establishment which were set in the desert. Another reason might be the extreme secrecy of the experimental projects, built away from prying foreign spies," Qin Shimoon explained in a low voice, her cautiousness heightened by the surrounding darkness.

Xiao Buli nodded. He didn't have much interest in military matters, and had it not been for the possibility that the base's original experiments might be related to the Death Game, he probably would never have set foot in such a place.

The two walked through the tunnel, occasionally feeling a breeze, an indication that the ventilation system was still operating. It seemed that the quality of the construction from that time was quite good.

The few hundred-meter tunnel was quickly traversed, and another metal door obstructed their way. By the gap in the middle where two doors met, Xiao Buli knew these doors were designed to slide open. However, what was strange was the presence of a chessboard-sized metal panel in the center, which had twelve square metal blocks distributed on it. Ten of these squares were inscribed with the numbers 0 to 9, and the remaining two were just flat plates. At first glance, it appeared to be a sort of combination lock.

Xiao Buli gathered his Internal Energy and pushed the door, but it wouldn't budge. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the door was meant to slide sideways, meaning that opening it with brute force might take considerable effort.

"Stand back," Xiao Buli instructed Qin Shimoon, preparing to exert his Internal Energy again.

"Hold on," Qin Shimoon, who had been studying the lock intently without speaking, suddenly interrupted, preventing Xiao Buli from using brute force. She approached the lock and pried out the lowest flat plate, opening up one of the twelve squares. This allowed the numbers next to the empty space to slide in, much like a sliding puzzle Xiao Buli had played with before.

Xiao Buli paused, silently amazed by Qin Shimoon's actions.

With the continuous sliding of metal blocks, the inner workings of the door emitted creaking sounds. After about five minutes, Qin Shimoon stopped, taking another careful look before reinserting the metal block into the only gap. Following her action, the door began to move with a clattering sound.
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Though slightly sluggish due to its age, the door still managed to open, revealing the space inside. Qin Shimoon shone her flashlight inward, but what followed took both of them by surprise.

Since they had entered the tunnel, they had relied solely on their flashlights for light, and the interior had remained pitch-black. But with the doors opening, a buzzing of electric current could be heard before, and suddenly, accompanied by crackling sounds, the corridor lit up with blinding lights.

This sudden burst of light immediately put Xiao Buli on alert, his hand instinctively reaching for his sword as he backed against the wall, warily surveying the surroundings. Everyone knew that to switch on lights someone had to flip the switch, yet here stood both he and Qin Shimoon, so it clearly wasn't their doing. Could there be someone else in the base, and could it be that he had fallen into a trap set by Qin Shimoon?

Hei was even more nervous than Xiao Buli. Having lived in the wild and never encountering so many inexplicable sources of light, Hei crouched low to the ground, baring its fangs and uttering low, warning growls from its throat.

"Hahaha," while it seemed verbose, in reality, all these changes were completed in an instant. Qin Shimoon watched the reactions of the man and the wolf before her and suddenly burst into laughter. "Don't worry, the lighting is synchronized with this big door. Since the password was correctly entered, it means it's someone from the base, and that's why the lights are on."

Xiao Buli heard this and felt a bit embarrassed. Still, a flicker of alertness crossed his mind. "How did you know the password?"

Qin Shimoon turned around to look at him, her eyes brimming with laughter, "It was written in the documents, didn't you see it?"

Xiao Buli, taking her words at face value, paused, then tried to recall but couldn't find any similar memory. Could it be that he had been too focused on searching for the address and game records and missed it?

"Stop thinking about it, she's clearly playing with you, can't you tell?" that voice taunted again, taking pleasure in his misfortune.

If Xiao Buli had chosen to ignore that voice whenever it appeared before, this time he could no longer afford to.

He was vaguely suspicious; things were not that simple, and Qin Shimoon seemed too knowledgeable about this base.

Watching Qin Shimoon continue to walk inside, Xiao Buli grabbed her wrist in a flash, "Wait, tell me, what are you hiding from me? This is an order." Xiao Buli stared intently into Qin Shimoon's eyes.

Qin Shimoon looked back at him with a smile, calm and composed, "I've never hidden anything from you. Isn't this base exactly what you were looking for?"

Something was off, definitely off. Without needing any prompting from that voice, Xiao Buli could sense there was something unreliable about Qin Shimoon's words. Was it her confidence that everything was under control or the barely concealed mirth in her eyes?

"Tell me everything you know about this base, and don't hide anything. This—is an order!" By the time he reached the last four words, Xiao Buli was speaking with almost a halting emphasis, as though the forceful tone would enhance the function of the Soul Contract.

But Qin Shimoon just shook her head slightly, "My understanding of this base is no different from yours, and I've told you everything."

After speaking, she arched an eyebrow, "Satisfied?"

Qin Shimoon's hand slipped out of Xiao Buli's grip as she turned and continued walking forward. "Oh, I get it, what you saw earlier, those columns might be the wind power generators for the base. Otherwise, how could it have retained power after so many years, you think so?"

Watching the woman's receding figure, Xiao Buli didn't pay attention to her words. No, there was definitely a problem. Qin Shimoon's response to him just now wasn't the straightforward kind mandated by the Soul Contract.

Could there be a problem with the Soul Contract itself? The thought startled him; it wasn't impossible. After all, the contract was given to them, and although Wu Min'er had been adamant, who knew if the contract had a time limit or if its effects were now weakening? Regardless, it was essential to verify this further.

With this in mind, Xiao Buli suddenly called out loudly to Qin Shimoon's retreating figure, "Come back and kiss me, this is an order."

Qin Shimoon, who was walking ahead, stopped abruptly. Xiao Buli could see her back shudder—was it from anger or the command's influence?

The woman whirled around fiercely, her eyes nearly shooting flames, glaring at him intensely. Xiao Buli provocatively raised his eyebrows, and though Qin Shimoon clenched her teeth, she had no choice but to walk over step by step. She had to play her part completely; having come this far, she couldn't let a kiss ruin everything, could she? As a soldier, Qin Shimoon had made greater sacrifices for her missions, but as a woman, she truly didn't want to kiss a man she didn't like at all.

Despite the turmoil in her heart, she still walked towards him. Her conflicted demeanor, seen in Xiao Buli's eyes, was naturally assumed to be her struggling against the Soul Contract.

It seemed the Soul Contract's effect hadn't vanished, Xiao Buli felt relieved, and as the red lips slowly approached him, his heart couldn't help but flutter. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please vote and support it at qidian.com. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)