Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

  Zhao Yao, the Serval cat, Matcha, Xiao Yu and her husky simply sat at the foot of a tree.

  Zhao Yao’s eyes remained tightly shut together as he began to brainstorm his next course of action.

  “My power of timefreeze is enough for me to steal the sapphires from any contestants. My road to victory is simple and clear, just steal three sapphires.”


  “However, what if I take this to the next level? If we are the only three contestants to make it through this round, we will automatically win the top three prizes.” Zhao Yao’s brows started to knit together as he pondered, “So I just have to use timefreeze to get rid of the remaining sapphires. Should I absorb them into the extradimensional belly? No. These sapphires are embedded with a tracking device. Absorbing them into the belly will be as good as flouting the rules.

  If the organizers realize that I am cheating so blatantly, they will simply change the rules to work against me.

  I need to come up with an even less conspicuous method, something smarter. I need to eliminate everyone without destroying the sapphires ……”


  The commentator stared at the screen with his forehead furrowed together as he muttered, “This is very strange. All the contestants should already be fighting against the toy soldiers or locating the sapphires, so what exactly are these people up to? Let me take a look, they are King George and Daniel Wu, the quintessential fake names.

  Beside them are cat king Tiny, cat king Noodle and his apostle, Xiaolongnü.

  “I didn’t even know that dogs could also be awakened. As a matter of fact, this is the first time I have even heard of a superdog.” The commentator looked towards the crowd and asked, “How do you think they will fare in the competition?”


  The crowd simply stared at them before erupting into their small discussions.

  “I think they are just moments from giving up.”


  “I would also give up if I found myself caught in this situation. Why would I throw my life away for something as stupid as this?”


  “I think that guy has the ability to control marine life but I don’t think that girl has any useful abilities. I’m sure she will give up.”


  Liu Yun’s forehead creased together as she listened to their conversations. She could not help but worry about them.

  At this moment, Zhao Yao disappeared from the screen as the cameras focused on Explosive Man. With streams of air current exploding from his feet, he was already making his way back to the beach from the forest. From the minimap at the corner of the screen, the red dot was returning with the blue dot.

  “Haha, everyone! Take a look! Explosive Man has already found the sapphire. I guess he is the first contestant to make it past this round of competition. He is truly remarkable!” The commentator announced.

  Because of Zhao Yao’s position, Explosive Man sped past him when making his way back to the starting point.

  When Explosive Man whizzed past Zhao Yao, their eyes actually met for a split second. However, Explosive Man could not even be bothered by either Zhao Yao or Xiao Yu. He simply cocked his head towards his destination and continued flying back at warp speed.

  According to the rules, the participant must return to the beach with the sapphire in hand in order to advance to the next stage.

  Explosive Man reached his hand into the pocket only to realize that it was empty.

  “What happened?”


  At the same time, the viewers in the elimination zone were equally baffled by this scene.

  The commentator stroked his chin thoughtfully as he observed the minimap, “This is interesting.”
……

  On the other hand, while Explosive Man was fuming with anger as he made his way past Zhao Yao, Zhao Yao simply looked into Xiao Yu’s eyes before muttering, “Take a look at your pocket.”


  Xiao Yu’s eyelids quivered when she reached her hands into her pocket. She could feel the jagged edges of the precious gem and was so surprised to find it lying in her pocket. With a face of astonishment, she asked Zhao Yao, “How did you even do that? Weren’t you just sitting down here the entire time? Where is this sapphire from? Don’t tell me it’s a forgery.”


  Zhao Yao grabbed the sapphire from her hands and replied, “You are the only forgery around here. If you don’t want it, I can just throw it away.”


  “I want it!” Xiao Yu cried as she snatched the sapphire back from Zhao Yao before cradling it in her arms. Her lips curled into a smile as she stared at her ticket to the next round of competition. However, a tinge of fear crossed her eyes as she looked towards him, “What will happen to you then?”


  “You are simply a burden if you stay here. I have already come up with a flawless plan. If it works, we will be the only contestants making it through to the next stage. We will instantly become the top three winners. Then, we will just decide the champion, first runner-up, second runner-up amongst ourselves.” Zhao Yao bit on his lower lip when he recalled his mission before retracting his statement, “However, I must be the champion.” He then nudged Xiao Yu to make her way to the finishing point.

  Xiao Yu was staring at Zhao Yao with a very serious and solemn expression. Suddenly, her lips parted as she muttered, “Yao Er, if you do not make it through this round and I successfully claim the top three prizes, I will ……” Her forehead creased together at this moment as a hint of hesitation flashed across her eyes, “I will …… split the prize with you.” It took her lots of effort to say that.

  “Alright, stop your stupid blabbering. I can win the title whenever I want.”


  The husky shot out his tongue before screaming at Xiao Yu, “Let’s go Xiao Yu! We will get the reward the moment we advance through the first round. The reward is the cat food that we had just now and an autograph signed by cat king of the north himself!”


  Bam! Zhao Yao sent a slap across his head as the Husky collapsed to the ground, with a dejected face.

  Suddenly, Nekomata slowly appeared from the husky’s back and whispered to himself, “Illusion, timefreeze, and also that ability called extradimensional belly ……” Other than Zhao Yao himself, Nekomata was the most knowledge about his abilities. He had witnessed how strong Zhao Yao was and had absolute confidence in him.

  “There’s nothing for me to worry if Zhao Yao’s around. I better make sure he doesn’t realize that I’m also here.”


  Zhao Yao could finally breathe a sigh of relief with Xiao Yu returning to the beach. He asked the Serval cat telepathically, “How’s the situation in the forest?”
……

  The commentator’s jaw went slack as he roared, “Huh? Everyone, something extremely strange occurred just now when Explosive Man’s sapphire disappeared. Somehow, a sapphire magically appeared in Xiaolongnü’s hands. This means that she had stolen the sapphire using some sort of power.

  However, she is a heartless woman, leaving her companion alone while she advances to the next stage.”


  Xiao Yu rasied the sapphire in her hands after reaching the beach to a chorus of applause as the commentator announced, “Let’s welcome our first participant!”


  Xiao Yu was completely indifferent to the applause as she set on the ground with her head nestled in Noodle’s belly. Because of her status as an active participant, she was not allowed to return to the elimination zone after completing this round. Hence, she could not watch the live broadcast of the competition from the screen.

  Meanwhile, Fish Ball who was resting in Liu Yun’s arms stared at the screen when a glimmer flashed across his eyes, “At this rate, everyone’s eyes will be on Zhao Yao. Judging from his character, he is definitely up to something evil. However, I don’t think he knows about the tracking device in the race bib.”


  With that thought in his head, he craned his neck upwards and saw lots of seagulls encircling the island.

  Suddenly, Fish Ball sprang from Liu Yun’s arms before making his way to a secluded part of the elimination zone.

  Liu Yun gave chase only to find him shooting a beam of light at the sky.

  “Fish Ball, what are you doing?”