Chapter 251: Health Bar (6)

Ling Buchen was in the middle of a fight.

His blue zither floated before him, and the gentleness that usually filled his black eyes had vanished, replaced by razor-sharp determination. To avoid exposing his position, he normally made sure the zither remained completely silent while fighting inside the Infinite Maze.

But now...

He couldn't afford to care.

Wanrenzhan had just appeared.

Yet after taking a single glance, he had immediately turned around and fled.

Ling Buchen immediately sensed something unusual.

Of course...

Wanrenzhan ignoring him was perfectly normal.

But directly running away?

Even his retreating figure carried the air of fleeing in panic.

He had been far too eager to leave.

That gave Ling Buchen a suspicion.

And that suspicion forced him to end the battle as quickly as possible.

The music finally rang out.

His opponent instantly lost all strength to resist and collapsed straight to the ground.

【Battle Planet contestant Horace eliminated! Remaining instance time: 3 hours 46 minutes. Remaining contestants: 59/100.】

Three hours and forty-six minutes remained.

Nine more contestants still had to be eliminated.

Without another glance, Ling Buchen turned around.

His eyes immediately met He Yu's.

Above He Yu's head floated the absurdly gigantic HP bar.

The one-minute countdown began.

Clearly, He Yu had only just arrived as well.

Behind him...

Wanrenzhan followed unwillingly, his face full of resistance.

Sure enough.

Wanrenzhan had been traveling together with He Yu.

The moment he discovered Ling Buchen, he had immediately turned around and left, trying to prevent the two from meeting.

In the entire Top Talent Show...

Besides Blue Eyes...

The people Wanrenzhan least wanted He Yu to meet were Ling Buchen, Zhen Xing, and Bo Jingshan.

Especially...

Ling Buchen.

Always acting as though he understood He Yu so well...

It was incredibly irritating.

Bullet Screen:

"Hahaha, the idiot is still an endless source of entertainment."

"I'm still heartbroken over Siya's death. Only this idiot can cheer me up."

"As if he could stop He Yu from meeting Ling Buchen. Even if he blocked them once, he couldn't block them forever."

Ling Buchen's eyes rested on the HP bar above He Yu's head.

Like everyone else, his first reaction was brief surprise.

But almost immediately...

Understanding flashed through his eyes.

His gaze shifted from the HP bar—which practically stretched beyond the tunnel itself—to He Yu's face.

He smiled.

"Yes. This is perfect."

"He Yu... you're brilliant."

The audience:

"..."

As expected...

The Blackhearted Duo truly understood one another.

Yes.

The Blackhearted Duo.

That was the nickname the audience had given He Yu and Ling Buchen.

Both looked gentle and harmless...

But everyone was now convinced that both of them were blackhearted to the core.

People had overlooked Ling Buchen before.

But now...

Even with equipment that reduced his presence...

No one could ignore someone wielding a divine-grade treasure.

And after watching the way he'd handled multiple incidents...

Everyone had reached the same conclusion.

This guy...

Was absolutely blackhearted.

The Blackhearted Duo.

He Yu.

Ling Buchen.

Wanrenzhan:

"..."

Damn it.

Ling Buchen really did understand He Yu!

He hadn't questioned the HP bar even once.

He understood its purpose immediately!

Wanrenzhan ground his teeth.

Then his eyes rolled as another thought occurred to him.

Quietly...

He began backing away.

He intended to secretly reset his minute.

He wasn't going to remind Ling Buchen.

If Ling Buchen were forced into combat with He Yu...

Wanrenzhan believed he and He Yu together could definitely defeat Ling Buchen.

Of course...

That was only wishful thinking.

Deep down...

He knew perfectly well it was impossible.

Ling Buchen didn't yet know about the one-minute reset mechanic.

But He Yu would almost certainly tell him.

Even if He Yu didn't...

Ling Buchen wasn't an idiot who ignored the rules.

He would definitely leave before the minute expired.

And that...

Was exactly what Wanrenzhan wanted.

Just as Wanrenzhan began retreating, he heard Ling Buchen say,

"He Yu, wait a moment."

"I'll leave briefly to reset the minute."

Wanrenzhan:

"..."

His disappointment was written all over his face.

So...

He wasn't the only one who'd thought of that trick.

Even Ling Buchen had figured it out.

When everyone returned again...

The three met once more.

Pressing his lips together, Ling Buchen looked at He Yu with a serious expression.

"With Wanrenzhan beside you, I can rest easy."

"Be careful."

"I'm going back to find more people."

Both he and He Yu had black hair and black eyes.

But while He Yu possessed a fragile, sickly beauty...

Ling Buchen resembled a flawless piece of warm white jade.

Gentle.

Inclusive.

Of course...

That was only on the surface.

Inside...

Both were thoroughly blackhearted.

Wanrenzhan blinked.

Confused, he asked,

"You're not staying with He Yu?"

Since Ling Buchen had already figured out a way to remain beside He Yu...

Why wasn't he doing exactly that?

He'd assumed this guy would cling to He Yu no matter what.

Ling Buchen shook his head.

"There are still nine people left to eliminate."

More than three hours remained.

A quarter of the allotted time.

But...

The remaining contestants would be far harder to kill.

Many had already hidden themselves, waiting for advancement.

Some ranked below fiftieth.

Others hovered right around fiftieth.

Enough stronger contestants had already died that they might successfully advance simply because of their starting HP bars.

So...

They would never come out voluntarily.

Time was running out.

No matter how much Ling Buchen wanted to say to He Yu...

It wasn't urgent.

First...

He had to ensure He Yu survived.

Just like Zhen Xing and the others were doing.

They had all abandoned their search for He Yu.

They had stopped investigating Siya's death.

Instead...

They were hunting contestants.

Securing enough eliminations for He Yu to advance.

The countdown could not be allowed to reach zero.

Because if it did...

He Yu would definitely be eliminated.

Faced with the choice between He Yu's life...

And the lives of everyone else...

They were sorry.

But they would choose He Yu.

He was their captain.

Their leader.

Their friend.

The one who had saved their lives time and time again.

Compared to everyone else...

They trusted He Yu.

It was He Yu who had united all of them.

If He Yu died...

Their team would immediately fall apart.

The secrets behind the Top Talent Show...

Might never be uncovered.

This entire competition...

Might once again end with only one insignificant, lucky survivor escaping...

While everyone else was buried here forever.

Every reason pointed toward the same conclusion.

He Yu could not die.

And they would do everything possible to keep him alive.

This was a death match.

All of them had been raised within the Federation's philosophy that strength ruled above all.

Why would they show mercy toward their opponents?

Why hesitate?

Given the opportunity...

The other contestants would kill them without hesitation.

If only fifty people could survive this instance...

Then everyone on their team had to be among those fifty.

Siya...

Had already died.

There could not be another casualty.

They were killers.

But the true culprit behind all of this...

Was the rules.

The mastermind.

The Top Talent Show itself.

Wanrenzhan finally understood what Ling Buchen meant.

Pressing his lips together, he surprisingly didn't argue back.

Instead, he looked deeply at Ling Buchen.

His expression complicated.

"I understand."

"I'll protect He Yu."

Satisfied, Ling Buchen nodded.

Then he looked back at He Yu.

His gaze burned intensely.

He Yu looked back at him.

After a long silence, he asked,

"What do you want?"

Looking at him like that...

Ling Buchen clearly already had a plan.

Ling Buchen smiled.

"A map."

He Yu immediately understood.

Nodding knowingly...

The two exchanged a glance.

At the same moment...

Both smiled faintly.

Everything had already been communicated.

Without a single unnecessary word.

Wanrenzhan:

"???"

He looked completely bewildered.

"What do you mean?"

Bullet Screen:

"The chemistry between the Blackhearted Duo is unbelievable."

"Exactly. I have no idea what they're talking about either. Only the two of them understand."

Nothing had been fully explained.

Yet both understood perfectly.

What incredible tacit understanding.

He Yu simply raised one hand, signaling them to reset the minute.

Ling Buchen instantly disappeared.

Still utterly confused, Wanrenzhan also left before returning once more.

When he came back...

He Yu was already drawing on paper.

Ling Buchen stood beside him.

"What exactly does it mean?"

"What map?"

Ling Buchen explained,

"You'll stay here protecting He Yu."

"The rest of us will hunt people."

"He Yu will draw a map of the maze, reducing our search area."

Wanrenzhan still looked confused.

"But... we're inside the Infinite Maze."

What use was a map?

The maze had no boundaries.

He Yu looked up.

His dark eyes gazed over the rim of his glasses.

His expression remained calm.

"The Infinite Maze means the maze has no boundaries."

"It doesn't mean the maze itself moves."

"So a map is useful."

This maze...

Though endless...

Was different from Maze Chaos.

Maze Chaos had been a living maze beast.

Its tunnels constantly shifted.

Maps had been useless.

This maze, however, was inanimate.

Even without boundaries...

A map of explored regions could still be drawn.

Ling Buchen added,

"With a map, we avoid wasting time revisiting the same places."

"We can divide the work."

"And systematically sweep unexplored areas."

Wanrenzhan finally understood.

The concept itself wasn't difficult.

He had simply been trapped by the assumption that an Infinite Maze couldn't be mapped.

Once that assumption changed...

Everything immediately made sense.

But after understanding...

His expression became complicated.

These two...

Understood each other far too well.

He Yu looked at Ling Buchen.

"This marks our current position."

"Draw every area you've already explored."

Ling Buchen nodded.

Taking the notebook and pen, he left.

Wanrenzhan reset the timer five separate times before Ling Buchen finally returned.

Handing the notebook back, he said,

"I've kept a copy."

"I'm heading east."

"If I meet anyone else, I'll exchange map information with them."

He Yu nodded, accepting the notebook.

"Alright."

"I'll stay here."

Inside the Infinite Maze...

Once someone wandered too deep...

They easily lost all sense of direction.

Especially after spending a long time inside.

Eventually...

No one even remembered where they had started.

They needed...

An anchor.

He Yu remained where he was.

He himself became that anchor.

Sitting here...

Overseeing everything.

Providing everyone else with a fixed point from which to determine direction and territory.

Ling Buchen looked deeply at He Yu once more before turning away.

His back remained unwavering.

Only one sentence remained behind.

"Wait for us."

"And be careful."

"Trust no one completely."

Carrying the blue zither...

He disappeared into the maze after several swift movements.

Silence settled over the tunnels.

Wanrenzhan left to reset the minute before returning again.

He looked toward He Yu.

His eyes revealed faint unease.

"He Yu..."

"What did he mean?"

He Yu didn't answer.

He merely shook his head.

His delicate features appeared unusually cold.

Wanrenzhan knew.

It wasn't that He Yu failed to understand Ling Buchen's final warning.

It was simply...

That he didn't want to discuss it yet.

He tucked the notebook beneath his arm.

With a flick of his fingers...

The whistle Siya had given him appeared in his palm.

His eyes deepened.

Then he looked away.

Another flick.

The whistle rested between his lips.

He blew it.

—

The first person to answer the whistle was Duan Yuchen.

At that point...

Three hours and thirty minutes remained.

Fifty-eight contestants were still alive.

Advancement slots were becoming increasingly scarce.

Unlike everyone else...

The moment Duan Yuchen saw them...

He immediately strode forward.

His eyes locked onto He Yu.

"What exactly happened to Siya?"

"I ran into Qiong earlier."

"We only had one minute, so she couldn't explain much."

Qiong had only mentioned the reset mechanic.

She had also said Siya's death was extremely suspicious.

No one knew who had done it.

But it was definitely connected to the mastermind.

Duan Yuchen hadn't understood.

The questions had been bottled up ever since.

Now that he'd found He Yu...

He immediately asked.

He had been close friends with Siya and Gedai.

She wasn't just a teammate.

She was his friend.

Her death...

Had utterly shocked him.

He Yu shook his head.

"I don't know either."

"Siya died too suddenly."

"There's definitely a secret behind it."

"I need time to think."

"And all of you need time to exchange information."

Unfortunately...

They had no time.

Time was exactly what they lacked.

Resetting every minute was already troublesome enough.

They couldn't keep dragging things out.

Eventually...

The countdown would end.

And He Yu would be eliminated.

Duan Yuchen pressed his lips together.

Taking a deep breath...

He slowly exhaled.

"...Alright."

"We'll discuss it after clearing the instance."

His voice sounded dry.

"Siya..."

"She really died..."

She had died somewhere none of them could see.

At the hands of something unknown.

He Yu said nothing.

Only his eyes grew even darker.

Only seconds remained.

In a hoarse voice, Duan Yuchen said,

"This instance contains dangers beyond anything we imagined."

"He Yu..."

"You must be careful."

"Wanrenzhan, watch over He Yu."

"We have to eliminate another eight people within three hours."

"We're out of time."

"I'll get moving."

He turned to leave.

He Yu raised an eyebrow.

"Wait."

"The map."

Duan Yuchen spun around.

His eyes suddenly lit up.

The whistle still rested between He Yu's lips.

Meeting his gaze...

He smiled.

A smile whose meaning was impossible to decipher.

The instance rules...

The mastermind...

Wanted him dead?

Too bad.

He intended to live.

And as long as he lived...

There were countless things he could do.

For example...

Drag the hidden mastermind into the light.

Ten minutes later...

Duan Yuchen departed with an updated version of the map.

Heading toward a direction Ling Buchen wouldn't cover...

He disappeared into the tunnels like lightning.

—

After Duan Yuchen left...

He Yu remained leaning lazily against the wall.

One leg bent.

One hand idly spinning a pen.

His gaze rested on a certain point upon the map.

The entire map had been divided into three sections.

Each connected through He Yu's location.

That point had been specially marked.

It served as the origin.

Yet...

He Yu's attention remained fixed on one utterly unremarkable spot.

No one else knew what it represented.

But He Yu did.

It was...

The place where Siya had died.

His gaze darkened.

Wanrenzhan continued running back and forth to reset the minute.

Every fifty-nine seconds...

The same routine repeated.

Fortunately...

His physical abilities were absurdly strong.

He never seemed tired.

After another reset...

Wanrenzhan muttered irritably,

"Why hasn't anyone shown up yet?"

Only two hours and forty minutes remained.

Seven more eliminations were still needed.

Time was rapidly disappearing.

Anyone still hiding now...

Was either exceptionally good at hiding...

Or an extraordinarily powerful expert.

Neither would be easy to kill.

Wanrenzhan couldn't help becoming anxious.

He desperately wanted He Yu to advance.

Among everyone participating in this additional match...

He Yu was unquestionably in the greatest danger.

Unfortunately...

Luck wasn't on their side.

No opponents appeared.

After Wanrenzhan ran off once more and prepared to return...

He suddenly stopped.

His ears twitched.

Carefully listening.

Not missing the slightest sound.

Nothing...

No.

Something was wrong.

He instantly swung his axe, blocking the tunnel leading toward He Yu.

Clang!

Another weapon slammed into it.

Wanrenzhan's eyes turned vicious.

He shoved the other person backward and immediately prepared to kill.

Finally.

He'd caught someone.

However...

The moment their eyes met...

Both froze.

Wanrenzhan rolled his eyes.

"So it's you."

"Tang Ke."

Tang Ke lowered their weapon with a helpless sigh.

"I thought I'd finally found an opponent."

"Who would've guessed it'd be you..."

Wanrenzhan lowered his axe.

Because it was Tang Ke...

He stopped fighting.

But he neither stepped aside...

Nor revealed anything.

Although they came from the same district...

He couldn't trust Tang Ke completely.

Siya's death was far too strange.

Until the truth was uncovered...

Aside from himself and He Yu...

He trusted no one.

Tang Ke made no attempt to force their way through.

Instead, they raised a hand.

"I just ran into Duan Yuchen."

"He told me He Yu was here."

"I came to update the map."

With only a little over two hours remaining...

Finding another seven people wasn't guaranteed.

Once everyone learned Zhen Xing's group was hunting contestants...

They immediately hid.

Many even abandoned hunting altogether.

No one could see the rankings.

Everyone gambled they were among the top fifty HP bars.

Stepping out now meant death.

If they simply hid until the instance ended...

There was still roughly a fifty-percent chance of advancing.

That was why everyone hid.

They still had a chance.

He Yu...

Did not.

The moment time expired...

Even if fifty-one contestants remained...

The one eliminated would unquestionably be He Yu.

Tang Ke understood that.

Which was exactly why they were so worried.

Fortunately...

They'd met Duan Yuchen.

After seeing the map...

Tang Ke immediately turned back.

If they couldn't find seven more opponents...

Then they'd have to try another method.

Hearing that...

Wanrenzhan finally stepped aside.

After resetting another minute...

The two headed toward He Yu.

When they arrived...

Qiong and Zhante were already there.

He Yu was updating the map.

Zhante asked,

"Can you forge equipment for yourself?"

"Something that increases your HP bar?"

Without even looking up, He Yu continued drawing.

The whistle remained between his lips, making his voice slightly muffled.

"Pointless."

"The rules specify the initial HP bar."

"So any changes afterward don't count."

Tch.

How ruthless.

That rule had clearly been created specifically to stop him.

Increasing his HP bar wasn't difficult.

So the rules simply counted only the initial value...

Leaving him no loophole to exploit.

Zhante looked disappointed.

Fortunately...

He Yu continued redrawing the map.

Fifteen minutes later...

A new map was complete.

It incorporated the exploration routes of He Yu, Ling Buchen, Duan Yuchen, Wanrenzhan, Qiong, Zhante, and Tang Ke.

He Yu's location remained circled.

The anchor point.

He tore off several copies and handed them out.

"Qiong. Southeast."

"Zhante. Northwest."

"Tang Ke. West."

Qiong nodded.

"Alright."

Zhante nodded.

"No problem."

Tang Ke answered,

"Got it."

The three immediately vanished...

Racing off in three separate directions.

Wanrenzhan looked at He Yu.

"Will this work?"

"Only two hours and twenty-five minutes remain."

"And we're still at fifty-seven people..."

He pressed his lips together.

A trace of ruthlessness entered his eyes.

If the final moments arrived...

And they still couldn't find enough people...

Even Wanrenzhan wasn't sure what he might do.

The whistle remained between He Yu's lips.

Without looking up, he answered quietly,

"I don't know."

"We do everything we can."

Wanrenzhan licked his dry lips.

Time was slipping away.

He couldn't stop himself from growing more anxious.

Meanwhile...

The five who had already departed...

Along with the five who still lacked updated maps...

Were sprinting through the maze.

Doing absolutely everything possible to find opponents.

Bullet Screen:

"Everyone's working so hard just to get He Yu through."

"Back in the previous instance, He Yu risked his own life helping them advance. He's earned every bit of this support."

"I'm actually tearing up. The instance split them apart, yet they're still fighting together... just in different tunnels."

"If only Siya were still alive... Their thirteen-person team is down to twelve."

"No. It was a sixteen-person team. Don't forget Cheng Zhao, Qu Wu, and Annie."

—

Only two hours remained.

Fifty-seven contestants still remained.

During the past several dozen minutes...

Not a single opponent had been found.

Yuan Ze stopped.

Taking a deep breath...

He listened carefully.

Silence.

The Infinite Maze was simply too vast.

Anyone could hide anywhere.

There were endless tunnels.

An endless maze.

Trying to randomly encounter the exact people they wanted...

Was nearly impossible.

This wouldn't work.

Yuan Ze frowned.

Searching for another solution.

Twenty minutes later...

He encountered Zhante.

Zhante carried two maps and was clearly heading toward a specific destination.

Yuan Ze looked surprised.

"What's that?"

Zhante's eyes immediately lit up.

"A map."

"He Yu drew it."

"You're too far away from He Yu, so don't bother returning."

"Take this."

"Mark every route you've explored."

"This marks He Yu's location."

"And this is where we currently are."

After a pause, he added,

"It doesn't have to be perfectly accurate."

"A little deviation is fine."

Even Federation elites with incredible memories...

Couldn't possibly remember every tunnel perfectly.

There would inevitably be small errors.

Fortunately...

That wasn't important.

As long as everyone searched different areas...

The maps served their purpose.

Yuan Ze's eyes lit up as well.

Taking the map, he glanced over it.

"...This is incredibly clear."

"I could never draw something this good."

"Mine would be a complete mess."

The Federation intentionally designed mazes to confuse people with exceptional memories.

Zhante smiled.

"Well..."

"It was drawn by He Yu."

Holding the map, Yuan Ze immediately turned around.

He Yu's importance to all of them...

Needed no explanation.

Anyone could die inside this instance.

Anyone...

Except He Yu.

Ten minutes later...

The two separated again with newly updated maps.

Each headed toward unexplored territory.

Countdown:

1 hour 30 minutes.

Remaining contestants:

57.

Yuan Ze later encountered Eugene.

With the astonishing memory unique to someone from Mechanical Planet...

Eugene added further corrections.

Then he departed toward another unexplored area.

The map...

Had become indispensable.

It greatly reduced wasted search time.

And led everyone into entirely new regions.

Countdown:

1 hour 20 minutes.

Zhante entered a new area...

And was ambushed.

His arm was cut.

Blood immediately poured out.

Yet instead of panicking...

His eyes suddenly lit up.

His entire expression brightened.

Found one.