Let’s rewind to the beginning and aim the camera at Number 9 to see exactly how she played this.
As soon as the countdown ended, she began jogging forward at a leisurely pace—left hand pressing down on her constantly bouncing chest, right hand holding the towel on her head to keep her hair in place.
A woman’s body really is troublesome in this regard.
Unlike men, who just need to adjust the angle of their mysterious stick-like thing before running around freely, women have other issues to manage.
Everyone’s eyes were basically glued to Number 2—the bald guy—which meant that, aside from Number 1, everyone was looking to the left.
Positioned far to the right, Hua Hualong was perfectly “invisible.”
Look at her—the corners of her mouth were practically splitting open from her grin.
But seeing everyone pass her up made her panic inside.
She still remembered what that “senior” in the QQ group had said: losing this kind of game could mean death.
And aside from pinning her hopes on the game’s rules, she had no other options.
In her current body, running a race was a guaranteed death sentence.
There was no way she could outrun the eight other grown men.
When Number 2, the bald guy, eliminated Number 1, it only confirmed Hua Hualong’s suspicions: everything was unfolding in her favor.
It looked like a race, but it wasn’t really about running.
Back when they were signaling each other, it seemed like nearly everyone wanted to take out the bald guy.
But once the game started, only Number 3 actually followed through.
The result?
No need to elaborate—his hand got brutally snapped.
It was a warning.
A warning to everyone else: this is what happens when you go against the flow.
But in a way, it also showed… guilt.
Yes, the bald guy felt guilty.
He was afraid—afraid of Number 5 and Number 6, who were jogging at a steady pace.
Even though he knew he was fast, without a clear comparison, he couldn’t be sure he could beat everyone.
Numbers 4, 7, and 8 had already used teleportation to leave the others in the dust.
They’d run so far ahead that it gave everyone the illusion that they were about to lose.
So the bald guy treated them as primary threats and gave chase.
And he did catch up.
Theoretically, if he had used teleportation at that moment and then relied on his speed, he could have won.
Why didn’t he teleport?
Cold sweat and hot sweat alike streamed down Hua Hualong’s face.
Her towel and bathrobe had vanished who knows when—she was now sprinting naked.
She was about to die; who the hell cared about maintaining a lady-like image anymore?
To be fair, abandoning her obstructive dignity did help her move a bit faster.
She ran with everything she had.
Even so, the gap between her and Number 5 and Number 6 only grew wider.
A turning point—where was the turning point?
Should she teleport?
Should she press the teleport button?
She wasn’t the only one scared out of her wits—Numbers 5 and 6 were, too.
They were all terrified the bald guy would teleport straight to the finish line.
But he didn’t.
He seemed intent on taking everyone out.
Why?
Why?
WHY?
He could’ve easily won—why didn’t he do it?
Could there be some other reward?
Could something be better than victory itself?
Or maybe he was sure he’d win and wanted to earn extra points?
Hua Hualong remembered something the Fortress Lieutenant Communications Officer said in the QQ group: “Each cleared round guarantees 500 base points, plus additional points based on game rules.”
Could it be that attacking others gives more points?
Or maybe you get bonus points based on the number of people you kill?
Wasn’t this kind of scoring system supposed to be explained?
Or was it up to the players to figure it out themselves?
No, no—maybe he was just battle-hungry?
Otherwise, why design such a combat-oriented body?
That physique was obviously built for fighting.
She couldn’t calm down to analyze things properly.
The bald man’s ridiculously deadly punches terrified her.
In her 25 years of life, she had never felt death so close.
All she could do was run—numbly, mindlessly forward.
She had no control over this game.
None.
She couldn’t influence its outcome at all.
Others were clearly more composed than she was—like LeftHandForFriendship and the barefoot man in a suit.
Compared to newbie Hua Hualong, they were calm veterans—people used to life-and-death situations.
Only after the bald guy and the suited man used teleportation did this still-naked girl finally regain a bit of rationality—and figured out how teleportation actually worked.
Method one: Teleport to ambush someone.
The downside is that you can’t reach the full teleportation distance.
Method two: Teleport for mobility. You can move up to 100 meters, but you lose the chance to ambush.
After the bald man was temporarily knocked down, Hua Hualong originally intended to sprint past him.
But a flicker of a gamble made her slow down slightly and observe the fallen man.
As expected, he wasn’t dead.
The moment he got up, he began charging straight toward Number 5, the suited man, who hadn’t realized what was happening yet.
Just as disaster seemed imminent, Number 5 suddenly teleported away, narrowly avoiding death.
At this point, the bald man briefly paused to assess the situation.
Yes, he wasn’t acting blindly — he was analyzing.
And only Hua Hualong, running at the very back, saw all of this unfold.
In the span of just one second, she saw that the bald man had initially been watching Number 6, LeftHandForFriendship.
But almost immediately, he switched targets and locked onto Number 5 — because the suited man had just used the full 100-meter teleport, putting him in first place.
The bald man made his decision in an instant: he teleported behind Number 5 and swung a devastating punch.
The terrifying force of it was enough to break his opponent’s neck.
Too much had happened in that single second, but Hua Hualong noticed it all.
She couldn’t help but laugh again, her face glowing with the confidence of someone who saw victory within reach.
But her whole body was trembling, too — from sheer fear of the world she was now in.
In that moment, she felt like she could already see what was coming next.
Number 2, the bald man, was definitely not some mindless brute.
His earlier decisions proved that he was a calculating thinker.
So… why was he attacking others?
Why would he give up a guaranteed win just to take others down?
Could it be a system-imposed restriction?
Maybe he was too powerful, so the system prevented him from winning unless he defeated other players?
No.
That wasn’t it.
Before he was attacked, the bald man had been aiming for the finish line.
In fact, it was precisely because he made that move toward the goal that Number 6, LeftHandForFriendship, ambushed him.
Which meant — no, the system didn’t restrict him.
He chose to start taking others out.
So then — why?
Given his physical abilities, he could’ve easily won.
Why attack Numbers 4, 7, and 8 — players who hadn’t even teleported?
The answer was now obvious: rewards.
Attacking other players must be a way to earn bonus points.
Which meant the bald man’s next actions were now predictable.
Numbers 6 and 7 — the ones who hadn’t yet used teleport — would absolutely be targeted.
His ambition was too big.
The 500-point reward for victory wasn’t enough for him.
His goal was far beyond that.
And just as Hua Hualong had predicted, the final three players ended up fighting each other.
Even though the battle lasted less than 20 seconds, that was more than enough.
Her own feet were now raw and bleeding — perhaps in even worse shape than the suited man who had removed his shoes earlier.
But there was no time to worry about injuries.
As long as she was alive, she had to keep running — or she would die.
Just as LeftHandForFriendship was about to cross the finish line, Hua Hualong finally hit the teleportation button.
She didn’t know exactly how far she still had to go.
She just knew that if she didn’t teleport now, she would definitely lose.
Thankfully, she had run 900 meters.
The teleport took her just past the finish line.
She collapsed instantly onto the ground, not caring about appearances anymore.
The feeling of having survived was too sweet to ignore.
“Ahahahaha…” She laughed aloud.
The hard, dry floor scraped against her soft skin — it should’ve hurt, but she barely felt a thing.
Gradually, her laughter faded.
Two lines of tears slid down her cheeks.
Her expression twisted with pain.
Her hands clenched tightly into fists, fingernails digging into her palms.
She was stained with blood.
Not far from her lay two headless corpses.
In the end, she couldn’t hold it in anymore and began crying uncontrollably.
She tried wiping her face with her blood-smeared right hand… but her face only got dirtier.
The whole space now held only her trembling body — trembling from terror — along with her cold, mechanical-sounding sobs and the emotionless voice announcing the final point tally.