He suddenly looked at the dealer, Diplomat, who was quietly counting the seconds.
He was absolutely certain that neither he nor Monkey had chosen sixty seconds.
That ant Frankenstein must have anticipated this situation and chosen fifty-nine or fifty-eight seconds—
And Diplomat, thinking one step behind him, had chosen the full sixty seconds to beco the dealer!
That was why, after thirty-eight seconds had passed, Frankenstein unhurriedly let another eighteen seconds tick away!
Because his safe zone was at least around fifty-eight seconds!
Protector pondered, his face flushed red.
As if to amplify their anxiety—
Beep, beep, beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep—
At so point, the beeps that had initially sounded more than a second apart grew exceptionally frantic. Now, the interval had dropped to less than 0.8 seconds, sounding exactly like a bomb on the verge of detonating—
Click.
Right at that mont, Lin Ya pressed terminate.
As the frantic beeping abruptly ceased.
For a fleeting mont, Monkey felt as though he had entered a tranquil paradise.
"The dealer is Diplomat,"
the Host announced. "Please input your ti within five seconds. 5, 4, 3—"
"Big brother, how much ti is left above my head?"
Lin Ya asked Monkey urgently.
"It's two—"
Montarily bewitched by her looks, Monkey almost answered on pure reflex.
"Monkey!"
Protector suddenly barked a harsh reprimand, cutting him off.
In an instant, Monkey snapped back to reality.
They were currently standing against the dealer!
He clamped his mouth shut, cold sweat trailing down his back.
"—Tsk, so you two know each other."
Lin Ya narrowed her eyes, her right hand swiftly punching in the new ti: fifty-five seconds!
It was the lowest possible ti she could enter!
"Damn it—"
Monkey realized his mistake had exposed their secret alliance.
He dejectedly apologized to Protector, "I'm sorry, brother."
"It's fine—I expected this to happen eventually."
Protector didn't bla Monkey. Instead, he calmly and earnestly watched the counter above Monkey's head. "I'll count for you, and you count for ."
Since they were exposed, they might as well stand and fight!
—Hmph.
The corners of Lin Ya's lips curled up slightly.
Although Monkey had been cut off, she had heard enough to know the number was in the twenties—
In other words, the Sunflower had likely stayed with her for about thirty to forty seconds just now. This matched her own internal count.
To account for any margin of error, Lin Ya cautiously calculated based on thirty seconds having passed.
That ant her remaining ti should be eighty-five seconds.
But she hadn't bet it all—
Because right as she was inputting the numbers, a new idea had sparked in her mind.
From the probing in the first round, Lin Ya could roughly tell that the other three players were not particularly aggressive; they could even be considered relatively mild.
The first round had also tested out everyone's betting ranges. Monkey's range was likely between fifteen and twenty-nine seconds.
Protector's panic clearly stemd from the ti exceeding his safe zone—thus, his bet must have been under thirty-eight seconds.
There had been around fifteen beeps. If he assud one beep equaled one second, it was highly probable his actual betting ti was thirty seconds.
As for Frankenstein—that Title was clearly not sothing players at their Hour's Red Copper level could possess.
As an expert, if she estimated on the high end, she would calculate his ti as one second less than hers—aning fifty-four seconds.
Lin Ya could see the ti flowing above each of their heads, allowing her to precisely count the seconds like a stopwatch.
If the ti happened to return to her, she could instantly press [Terminate]!
During the first round, Lin Ya had intentionally set her ti high.
If the others followed that habitual thinking, assuming she wanted to let the clock run a little longer—
If Frankenstein was even slightly arrogant, or if she distracted him by chatting—
She could blow him up directly!
Lin Ya certainly hadn't forgotten.
The Host had explicitly stated that if soone was blown up, the dealer—aside from taking that one chip—could distribute all of their remaining chips!
Although no one had been eliminated yet—
Lin Ya wasn't entirely sure how the distribution would work in this scenario.
Would it be calculated based on remaining ti ranking?
Or would it simply not be distributed at all?
Should she put on an act first, eliminate two of them—and then hog all the rewards as the third person?
But her mind was already clouded by the enormous potential profits.
Whatever!
That was the entire savings of a high-level player!
But right at that mont, Frankenstein suddenly turned around, casting a deeply aningful glance at her.
Perhaps because she was actively plotting how to kill him, just being stared at filled her with such tension that she couldn't help but squeeze her legs tightly together.
This was, after all, Lin Ya's first ti attempting to murder another player in a ga.
Her heart pounded wildly, and she even felt a ringing in her ears.
That calm, profound gaze gave Lin Ya a slight sense of familiarity.
"Indeed."
Much like that gaze, Frankenstein's voice also gradually grew familiar to her. "Those two must know each other—"
"Because only then would the ga be fair."
"You—"
Lin Ya blurted out, her eyes twisting with sheer terror.
The instant she heard that voice, she finally understood—why she found Frankenstein's eyes so familiar.
Lin Ya rembered, she rembered it all!
Those were the exact sa eyes that always haunted her nightmares—it was the Wolf!
Upon realizing this, the Host's voice from when they entered the ga echoed in her mind:
[Co, little wolf cub. Why don't you demonstrate—]
[Press the terminate button with your left hand, little rabbit.]
She had harbored doubts at the ti, wondering why the Host called her a little rabbit—but she simply assud it was an affectionate nickna.
After all, she was the lucky survivor who had made it out of that bloody ga wearing the mask of a harmless, herbivorous 'rabbit'.
But now, she understood—that had been the Host's hint!
Monkey and Protector were teammates who knew each other beforehand, pretending to be strangers.
So, for the sake of fairness—
The Host had also hinted at the Wolf's identity to give her a clue!
No wonder she had entered a ga that clearly required cooperation all by herself.
It turned out she actually had a teammate all along!
"The remaining ti above your head is twenty-three seconds."
Ming Po glanced at the digital clock above Lin Ya's head. "Therefore, you have consud thirty-seven seconds."
"Protector is right—since we're exposed, let's just stand up and fight. It's nothing more than a fair two-on-two battle—"
"How long did you set it for just now?"
For a split second, Lin Ya hesitated.
Should she—say it?
State the actual set ti—fifty-five seconds.
She felt as though ti itself had slowed down.
Her heartbeat grew ever more frantic.
Ming Po's question made her realize one thing—
She was holding the key to safely killing the Wolf right in her hands!
As long as she wanted to, she could seize his legacy.
And the ga would imdiately end.
She wouldn't bear any responsibility.
She wouldn't face any retaliation.
She wouldn't take on any risks—
In a flash, stagnant ti began to flow once more.
It was rely a shift in thought, a fleeting instant in her mind.
She blinked and looked at Ming Po.
"Sixty seconds,"
Lin Ya replied. "The sa as my bet."
"—It's the minimum ti I could set."
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