Chapter 320
It could be said that with this round, their cycle had come to a halt. If they failed to successfully eliminate a player midway, the next time they entered the safe zone, they would have to play the game for Karting Coins, as merely relying on thievery wouldn’t accumulate enough coins.
Had it not been for the 83 Karting Coins they had initially gathered from the game "Karting Bump" and the elimination of two players, they would have run out of options long ago.
Of course, they had another choice: to wait until their fuel and Karting Coins ran out and simply stop by the roadside until the game ended.
The safest option was to leave the safe zone now and stop by the roadside once their fuel was depleted.
The countdown on the game monument showed 2 minutes remaining.
But Yu Xunge had already made up her mind.
Stay!
From the perspective of safety in the battle zones, the later zones encountered stronger players.
Yu Xunge had already seen several players like Ze Lan Feng Tang and Ze Lan Wu Ren, whose names most players recognized.
This battle zone was the most dangerous one so far, but it was also the safest among all the upcoming zones.
More importantly, this game was perfect for Tu Lan.
It could be said that after playing for so long and witnessing so many players drive, she had never seen anyone better than Tu Lan behind the wheel.
This dragon was something else; in combat games, she played like a novice, yet her scores in puzzle games and racing were astonishingly high. And when it came to actually driving a go-kart in reality, she was just as impressive.
Yu Xunge couldn’t bear to quit this game.
Giving up here was not an option for her either.
Let them call her stubborn…
Yu Xunge asked Tu Lan, “Can you hold on?”
She could see that Tu Lan was already quite exhausted, having been intensely focused for nearly 10 hours, occasionally battling strong opponents. Even a dragon would tire, let alone Tu Lan, who had been injured in the last game.
Tu Lan replied, “Of course! I can do it! You can count on me!”
Yu Xunge noticed the urgency in Tu Lan’s eyes. “You really want to play this game? Alright, I get it. But do you have confidence?”
Tu Lan pointed her wing towards the sky, her profile turned towards Yu Xunge, and said solemnly, “Have you heard of the God of Driving?”
Yu Xunge gasped, covering her mouth. “Could it be you?!!”
Tu Lan waved her wing, nearly poking Yu Xunge. “Indeed, it is I!”
Yu Xunge exclaimed, “Alright! Let’s play this round!”
If the penalty for exceeding the time limit was a one-time deal, they could save it for the end. If it was a minute-by-minute punishment, they would need to leave early.
However…
She silently asked Tu Lan, “You know the curse of the Thorn of Hatred, right?”
Tu Lan replied, “Of course, what’s up?”
Yu Xunge continued, “If we keep playing, we might encounter the Thorn of Hatred in the next battle zone and obtain the dragon blood needed to lift the curse. But if we stay in this zone and something goes wrong, we’ll be stuck here.”
“In other words, if you want to recover, you’ll have to wait for the next time.”
She hated Dong Hai Sha Leng and the Thorn of Hatred, wishing for them to be tormented by the curse forever. But that wasn’t contingent on Tu Lan being unable to recover.
Once the curse on the Thorn of Hatred was lifted, she could easily place another curse on it, without needing to cling to this one.
Tu Lan hesitated for two seconds. She truly wanted to recover, but she also wanted to play this game—real, with the constant threat of severe punishment and death. And working with Yu Xunge brought her genuine joy.
Tu Lan said, “I want to play this game. Can we wait for recovery next time?”
Yu Xunge replied, “Sure.”
What she didn’t say was that even if they made it to the end, they might not encounter Sha Leng, as he was ranked over five hundred.
Although the safe zones were random, and those entering from the same track could end up in completely different safe zones, as the game progressed, the Divine Game still categorized players based on their skills.
For instance, the strongest player Yu Xunge saw in this safe zone, Mai Mang Xie Xie, was ranked beyond five thousand.
But this crab had a terrifying combat power of level 17; perhaps it was just that he wasn’t very good at driving go-karts, which explained why he was only ranked five thousand after all this time.
Yu Xunge and Tu Lan drove their go-kart nearby, observing the roads and parking spots to familiarize themselves with the course.
Soon, the countdown reached the final 3 seconds.
With a whoosh, a mechanical voice announced:
**“Question 1: Please park sideways in the same color parking spot while in nitro boost.”**
Tu Lan pulled out a stick from somewhere, clenching it in her mouth, and shouted with a dragon-like voice, “Hold on tight! Make sure all the parts and fuel are ready!”
Yu Xunge yelled back, “Haven’t you already done that?”
Tu Lan: ???
There was no time for banter! A new storm was upon them. Tu Lan pressed the gas and shot out, weaving between the go-karts that hadn’t yet reacted, alternating between accelerating and braking, steering left and right like a DJ mixing tracks.
Yu Xunge couldn’t fathom how Tu Lan managed it; in just a few seconds, the go-kart slid sideways into a parking spot outlined by four white lines.
With a screech, the go-kart came to a steady stop.
Tu Lan slammed on the brakes, resting a small claw on the steering wheel, and turned to ask, “What’s up, sis? Are you throwing shade at me?”
Yu Xunge, who had just straightened up, clutched her hat tightly. “No, no! I wouldn’t dare!”
Tu Lan huffed.
Yu Xunge had been meaning to ask, “Where did you get that little stick in your mouth?”
Tu Lan casually pointed to the road in the parking lot. “I picked it up while familiarizing myself with the area.”
Yu Xunge glanced in the direction Tu Lan pointed, and her gaze froze.
Tu Lan, puzzled, turned to look as well, only to see an oval-shaped creature covered in small wooden sticks.
At first glance, this creature resembled a cactus, but while cacti are green, this one was entirely wooden, complete with wood grain, a small white flower on its head, and densely packed wooden thorns all over its body.
This cactus-like player was sitting in its go-kart, staring at Tu Lan with a mournful expression.
Tu Lan examined the stick in her mouth, then looked at the creature named Za Ba, and asked, “Is it really that big of a deal? It’s just a little stick that fell on the ground.”
Just then, a screeching sound echoed as a blue go-kart successfully parked next to them.
The driver couldn’t believe it. “I actually did it in one go!”
Tian Xie language?
Yu Xunge happened to understand this. She turned to see a seemingly overcooked orange-red crab—Mai Mang Xie Xie—sitting in the parking spot.
The crab was quite friendly and looked at Yu Xunge. “Ah, Zai Jiu Xun Ge, huh? Why is your dragon carrying a baby from the Wood Palm tribe that just hatched?”
Huh?
Yu Xunge focused closely and noticed that the little stick indeed had two tiny black dot-like eyes.
Her eyes lit up. After whispering something to Tu Lan, Tu Lan looked at the stick and nodded at her.
Yu Xunge spoke to Mai Mang Xie Xie in Tian Xie language, “Xie Xie, do you understand Wood Palm language?”
Mai Mang Xie Xie scratched its face with its claw. “Don’t be so familiar! Here, please call me Mai Mang Xie Xie. I understand, what’s up?”
Yu Xunge pointed at the little stick in Tu Lan’s mouth. “Is it hard to hatch one of those?”
Mai Mang Xie Xie replied, “It’s somewhat difficult. The Wood Palm tribe has thorns all over; maybe only two or three can hatch.”
Yu Xunge offered, “How about I sell you two Karting Coins? You can ask that Wood Palm if it wants its baby back and how much it would pay. I don’t care; I just want my two Karting Coins.”
Mai Mang Xie Xie: …
Mai Mang Xie Xie asked sincerely, “Why wouldn’t I just take it by force?”
Yu Xunge answered earnestly, “Then there wouldn’t be any fun in the transaction, would there?” She was just trying her luck; after all, it didn’t hurt to try.
Mai Mang Xie Xie asked with even more sincerity, “Do I look stupid to you?”
Yu Xunge replied with genuine sincerity, “Not at all! I never underestimate any strong being. I just feel a sense of kinship when I see you. We have a race like yours on Zai Jiu Xing, and I really like it.”
Mai Mang Xie Xie felt something was off about Zai Jiu Xun Ge’s words, but his instincts told him she was speaking the truth.
In the end, Mai Mang Xie Xie was surprisingly willing to pay for it…
Because the Wood Palm tribe had something that could only be obtained if they willingly gave it, and it couldn’t be taken by force. But there was no need to explain that to Zai Jiu Xun Ge.
As for why he wouldn’t just take it from Zai Jiu Xun Ge…
Mai Mang Xie Xie held two Karting Coins and asked, “You answer me one question, and I’ll buy it from you.”
Yu Xunge replied, “Go ahead!”
Mai Mang Xie Xie asked, “Did Ze Lan Feng Tang really deceive your sister-in-law’s feelings?”
Yu Xunge’s expression turned serious:
“It’s hard to say, but my sister-in-law nearly killed her entire family for him. She even invited me to join their family, which I found absurd. When I called her foolish, she said she was willing to be a fool! If there’s even a hint of a lie, may the heavens strike me down!”
As she spoke, she handed over the stick and received the two Karting Coins from the astonished Mai Mang Xie Xie.
Tu Lan silently asked Yu Xunge, “What did you say to make him so shocked?”
After Yu Xunge explained, Tu Lan fell silent, now aware of the truth behind the matter.
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