Volume Two, Demon Game Chapter Three, The Game Begins

“Oh, what a fortunate group of contestants—this is one of the most easygoing guardians in the game. She is a gentle and elegant lady, surrounded by the fragrance of flowers. I wonder if the contestants will get along peacefully with such a beautiful woman?” As the host spoke, a magic array appeared in one corner of the sand table. He placed the sphere onto the array, which immediately emitted a burst of red light. Then the sphere slowly sank into the array.

“The game is about to begin. Allow me to provide an introduction. Our program’s online streaming platform is now live. Alongside the main stage following the guardian, we have opened individual live rooms for each contestant. We’ve also thoughtfully activated picture-in-picture mode, so even if the contestant you’re watching isn’t in danger, you won’t miss any activity from the main stage guardian.

Additionally, you can support your favorite contestant in their respective live room by sending messages or gifts. If the contestant you support survives until the end of the game, they will receive a portion of the rewards according to the ranking of contributions. If your chosen contestant performs best and survives to the end, we will also select several supporters from both the live audience and their streaming room to receive special prizes.

Do you hope your favorite contestant will keep going and deliver an even more impressive performance? Then act now!” The host tossed aside his card, then made a sweeping gesture in the air. Instantly, a clear projection rose from the sand table, displaying Lu Yi and the others.

Watching Cui Xin, who was still hot-headed, Lu Yi shook his head—such behavior was utterly pointless. The seasoned trial-goers and those with gifted abilities hadn’t spoken up; relying on the weakest contestants alone would never get this plan off the ground. As for why those people hadn’t spoken, the reason was simple—not everyone is willing to follow someone else’s lead, especially if that person isn’t even as capable as themselves.

While Lu Yi was deep in thought, the protective shield surrounding the group suddenly shattered.

“The task has begun.” Lu Yi’s relaxed demeanor vanished, his body tensing up.

“Look! What is that?” Shi Xiaolu cried out, pointing at an open space a dozen meters away.

Lu Yi turned his gaze and saw a blood-red magic array manifesting on that ground.

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Under his watchful eye, red energy arms extended from the array, pressed tightly together, continually emerging. Once the arms had reached two meters, they slowly toppled outward, unfurling like blossoming flowers.

As the petals unfolded layer by layer, a corner of pristine white fabric was revealed. Soon, a girl appeared before the group, dressed in a white dress and carrying a basket of flowers. Lifting the hem of her skirt, she gracefully bowed, “Greetings, everyone.”

During her bow, the arms that had fallen outside the array slowly withdrew back into the formation, and the red magic array vanished.

Lu Yi was taken aback—is this the guardian? Judging by her entrance, he could never have imagined she’d be a frail young girl.

He glanced at the others; their expressions mirrored his own confusion.

“We can communicate, huh? Miss, let’s talk this over,” Cui Xin said, stepping forward.

At that moment, the girl with the flower basket released her skirt hem and raised her head, her eyes suddenly blazing with a chilling red light.

Thump, thump—Lu Yi immediately felt a deadly threat, his heart pounding uncontrollably.

The girl swiftly reached into her flower basket, pulling out a blossom, gripping its stem, and hurled it like a dart straight at Cui Xin.

“Run!” Lu Yi and several others shouted, and the group of sixteen dashed off in unison.

“Ouch!” Cui Xin yelped as the flower struck him, then quickly joined the flight.

“Don’t bunch together, spread out!” Seeing everyone huddled in a heap, Lu Yi shouted urgently, veering off in a random direction.

“Scatter, smaller targets!” Meanwhile, Ge Wendong, captain of the Windchaser Squad, also bellowed from the middle of the group.

But most of the newcomers, who had yet to awaken any gifted abilities and had gained little from the previous trial, still clung tightly to them.

Ge Wendong glanced at the mage in his team, who nodded and cast a buff on himself and the others. The five of them soon broke free from the cluster of rookies.

Lu Yi kept running and gradually noticed the absence of flower projectiles whistling past him. He stopped, intending to look back.

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“Hey! Ah!” As Lu Yi turned around, he collided head-on with someone who hadn’t managed to stop. A figure fell to the ground. Rubbing his aching nose, Lu Yi looked at the person.

The one who had fallen was Shen Yixue, now propped on one hand, the other pressing down her short skirt, glaring at Lu Yi in indignation.

“Oh, sorry.” Lu Yi extended his left hand to help Shen Yixue up, and was inwardly shocked—he hadn’t expected this girl in a short skirt to keep up with his pace.

Though she possessed a gifted ability, according to her, it wasn’t speed-related. If Wang Xun, with his speed talent, had caught up, Lu Yi wouldn’t have been surprised, but this girl was different. Xu Anxuan’s performance had also been impressive, but she was only about equal to Lu Yi in the dream world.

Lu Yi had a vague sense that Shen Yixue was more complicated than she let on, and perhaps not much of what she said was true.

Shen Yixue brushed off the dust from her clothes and shot Lu Yi a look, then noticed that the guardian wasn’t chasing them.

“Looks like it’s just the two of us in this direction—a stroke of fate, really.” Shen Yixue smiled, extending her hand to Lu Yi. “Let’s get acquainted properly. I’m Shen Yixue, and my ability is manipulating star force to enhance myself. I look forward to working with you.”

Seeing her smile, Lu Yi felt his heart skip a beat, but having faced life and death, he quickly recovered his composure. He lightly shook her delicate hand, “I’m Lu Yi—no awakened gifted ability.”

“No way!” Shen Yixue exclaimed in surprise, “No awakened talent, but you outran me? Come on, handsome, don’t be so tight-lipped—give me a hint, or how are we supposed to cooperate?” She fixed her bright eyes on Lu Yi.

Lu Yi found it hard to handle, and wondered why he was so flustered in front of Shen Yixue, despite having met several beautiful women before. He waved his hands, “I just acquired a cultivation method and trained a certain power, so I can run a bit faster.”

“Oh, I see.” Shen Yixue nodded, not pressing further. “Look, there are some houses over there—let’s open some chests. If we find useful items, it’ll be a lot easier.”

Lu Yi followed her finger and saw rows of houses. He tried to recall the map he’d seen earlier, and soon realized where he was.

This was the northeast corner of the map; a bit further ahead was a commercial street built around the park, and beyond that, the park itself.

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