Chapter 29: A Moment of Crisis

After quickly watching Qin Chuan’s livestream, they fell into deep thought, recalling what their fellow countrymen had said.

Then they declared with absolute certainty, “Qin Chuan really is a child of our great Korean nation. We must bring him back to the embrace of his motherland.”

“What a fine child. How could his fellow countrymen have failed to look after him properly and allowed him to drift into China? This is truly unforgivable.”

When they returned to their own country, they discovered that their chosen contestant, Han Chengwu, had already been caught by a Shadow Cheetah and was locked in a desperate struggle with it. His entire body was covered in wounds from the beast’s bites.

“Han Chengwu, how can you be so useless? You’re not even as good as a little brat!”

“Our Qin Chuan could take down a Shadow Cheetah with a single slap, yet you’ve been bitten into this state. What a disgrace!”

“Get up and fight bravely! This leopard is all show and no substance. It isn’t nearly as powerful as it looks.”

After watching Qin Chuan deal with the Shadow Cheetah, the people of Stick Country firmly believed that the beast was not very strong. Otherwise, how could Qin Chuan have defeated it so easily?

Without comparison, there could be no sense of injury. As Han Chengwu was bitten until he was drenched in blood, countless people began voicing their dissatisfaction.

Only a very small number of viewers chose to look away from the bloody scene. It was all too realistic, and they were terrified by what they saw.

“Han Chengwu must be a spy sent by China. How hateful! Someone this weak couldn’t possibly be one of our people.”

“That makes perfect sense. Our chosen contestant is Qin Chuan. The two of them should exchange nationalities!”

…

When the Shadow Cheetah bit through Han Chengwu’s neck, the entire livestream suddenly turned gray, and the people of Stick Country immediately fell silent.

[Forbidden Zone Announcement: Both chosen contestants from Stick Country have died. As an additional punishment, the climate, environment, and geological disasters of the bound nation will be doubled.]

The people of Stick Country were stunned.

They stood frozen in place, unable to believe it.

Both of them had actually died?

They hurriedly looked toward the other chosen contestant, only to discover that his livestream had also turned gray. For a moment, they were left utterly speechless.

“What’s going on? Did the two of them arrange to die together?”

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“They were so perfectly in sync that I didn’t even have time to react.”

No one in Stick Country had imagined that both of their chosen contestants would encounter danger at the same time, with their deaths occurring within moments of each other.

They had already lost one chance at resurrection. With this latest loss, they sorrowfully realized that ten years had been taken from their lifespan.

And while some people in the real world were still preparing to curse them, the earth suddenly shook and the mountains swayed. Everything on the tables began rocking violently, and they cried out in terror:

“An earthquake!”

All of Stick Country descended into a chorus of mourning. Countless elderly people died in an instant. Earthquakes, tsunamis, and other natural disasters followed one after another, occurring frequently across the country.

Stick Country was finished.

The people of China naturally saw the many videos showing Stick Country’s destruction, and their hearts grew heavy once again.

Although Stick Country had always been shameless, constantly claiming that the finest things from other countries belonged to them, it had now collapsed completely, with the entire nation plunged into chaos and rioting.

No one wanted their own country to suffer the same fate. People flooded the internet, urging the government to introduce precautionary policies against every possible danger.

The state media promptly released an announcement, reassuring the public that thorough preparations had already been made. Everyone was urged not to be swayed by outside provocations and to continue doing what they needed to do. The nation would always be there to protect them.

After seeing the government’s message, the people of China finally felt reassured. Their country was certainly not like the others, which did nothing but make empty promises.

…

Before long, news broke online that the chosen contestants of several more countries had fallen.

Among the chosen contestants from the three hundred nations around the world, fewer and fewer remained.

People switched back and forth between the various livestreams, discovering more monsters, more dangers, and more traps within the Forbidden Zone.

Many viewers switched to the stream of another Chinese contestant, Shangguan Ruoyun. They soon discovered that she, too, had encountered danger. Deep in the forest, she was under attack from a pack of lynx-like monsters.

These lynx monsters were social creatures. They were also one-star creatures, but their defenses were weak, and they were slower than the Shadow Cheetah. This gave Shangguan Ruoyun a glimmer of hope that she might escape with her life.

But even two fists could not defeat four hands. Even the finest special-forces soldier would be injured and endangered when facing more than a dozen fast-moving, agile monsters.

Shangguan Ruoyun had already been traveling through the forest for a long time. Numerous obstacles blocked her path, and she had sustained several injuries while expending a great deal of her strength. If this continued, she would soon be in grave danger.

Countless viewers in the livestream room were worried about her and began cheering for the young woman.

“Ruoyun, stay strong! You have to survive!”

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“Fortunately, it’s her. If it had been anyone else, they would probably have died already.”

“Keep going, young lady! You’re the finest female special-forces soldier there is. You have to hold on!”

“You’ve already done incredibly well. Even if you die, you still have one chance left. We have to believe in her.”

“There are far too many of these monsters. Could Shangguan Ruoyun really lose her life here this time?”

“That’s certain. She’s already exhausted too much of her strength. Killing all these monsters will be practically impossible.”

…

Every time Shangguan Ruoyun fought the monsters, every time one of them wounded her, the hearts of the Chinese viewers tightened.

They had seen too many chosen contestants killed by monsters, triggering disasters in the real world. As a result, they were constantly worried about the lives of these contestants.

The lynx monsters surrounded Shangguan Ruoyun on all sides of the forest. Unless something unexpected happened, death was waiting for her.

She fought the lynxes again and again, repeatedly walking along the edge of death. She was strong and refused to accept defeat. She was a soldier, carrying the honor and responsibility of her nation.

She could not die here.

Shangguan Ruoyun searched for a chance to escape. Pretending to collapse and die, she watched as the lynxes around her rushed forward all at once.

At that very moment, Shangguan Ruoyun gripped her dagger and struck the monsters with brutal force.

The dagger slashed across the throats of four or five lynxes, sending blood spraying through the air. Seizing the opportunity, Shangguan Ruoyun broke into a sprint and fled toward the depths of the forest.

“She escaped! Miss Shangguan has broken through the encirclement!”

“The situation still isn’t good. The lynxes are chasing after her. Whether she can survive this remains unknown.”

“I believe she’ll be safe.”

“Miss Shangguan, you have to get away!”

Although Shangguan Ruoyun had broken through the lynxes’ blockade, the monsters had no intention of letting her go. They followed her trail of blood in relentless pursuit.

If they caught up with her, Shangguan Ruoyun would truly be finished.

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