Chapter 699: Chapter 55: The Steady Qu Ping
Qu Ping’s attitude shifted incredibly quickly, from wanting to kill Su Changxing to inviting Su Changxing to travel together.
Su Changxing thought about it for a moment and understood the man’s intention: when encountering a tiger, one doesn’t need to run faster than the tiger, just faster than the person next to you.
He considered Su Changxing as the meat to be thrown to monsters when encountered.
Su Changxing also thought it was a good strategy, and this person had decent strength, capable of cooperation:
"Alright, let’s go together. I see that your strength is good, Brother, following you will surely be safer."
Qu Ping was stunned for a moment, feeling Su Changxing seemed like a pure novice. Did he not know this game was one of mutual slaughter? "Why did you join the Slaughter Game?"
Walking beside Qu Ping, Su Changxing replied without hesitation, "Why? I just arrived at the Eighth Dimension, and someone said newcomers could join this Slaughter Game, so I came."
"And then, I regretted it. Isn’t this just a perverted game? People here kill at sight, not listening at all. If I hadn’t been lucky, I’d have died earlier."
"It’s still good that you’re kind, not killing me and letting me follow. You’re such a good person!"
Qu Ping looked at Su Changxing, who seemed about to cry with gratitude, and fell silent, thinking Su Changxing was telling a ghost story, yet couldn’t help but believe it.
Such sincere emotion is perhaps impossible to fake.
He thought like this.
"Following me is useless; those meant to die will still die. With your level of strength, there’s no chance of survival, whereas I have a chance as long as I’m lucky," Qu Ping said with a comforting expression.
Su Changxing’s expression changed slightly, and he asked, "Brother Qu, why did you join this killing game?"
Qu Ping glanced at Su Changxing, thought for a bit, and replied, "The Extraordinary path has reached its end; there’s no other way for me to advance except by joining this Slaughter Game, surviving it might allow me to go further."
"Reached the end?" Su Changxing asked in confusion.
Qu Ping was clearly a seasoned Extraordinary, though he looked young, who knows how old he really was.
The lifespan of an Extraordinary isn’t uniform; it depends on the position. Some people live very long, while others don’t live as long as Ordinary People.
Qu Ping explained, "My Tier Nine position is of Middle Rank, which limits my path forward, and those positions afterward do not perfectly fit."
"When I prepared to advance to Tier Five, I found that even perfectly fitting positions couldn’t allow me to advance, and forcible advancement would only cause alienation."
"If I keep stagnating, it’s meaningless to me, just mere survival. Coming here, I’ve already resolved to die if I must, to either die here or advance."
His expression was exceptionally calm, speaking as if the matter had nothing to do with him.
Su Changxing knew it wasn’t "showing timidity" that changed his mind, but that he was initially hesitant about whether to kill Su Changxing, "So you’re not exactly a novice player?"
Qu Ping shook his head with a smile, "Of course not, but as long as I go to a dimension I’ve never been to, I’m considered a novice player there, so I can join the Slaughter Game."
"Can it be like that?" Su Changxing showed a surprised look.
Qu Ping waved his hand, saying, "Traveling to other dimensions isn’t simple, even extremely difficult. I went to another dimension only by coincidence."
"Most participating in the Slaughter Game should be novice players, considered their first time to high-dimensional spaces."
Su Changxing nodded thoughtfully, guessing that the Buddha Son might be an experienced player from other dimensions; otherwise, he shouldn’t know so much about the Land of Slaughter.
In fact, he might not be participating in the Slaughter Game for the first time.
The skin on the back of Qu Ping’s sword hand was already ulcerated, yet it seemed that the plague had no major effect on him.
Qu Ping noticed Su Changxing’s skin was smooth, not looking like he had caught the disease, whereas everyone he had encountered was infected.
"You haven’t caught that disease?" He gestured with his hand.
Su Changxing shook his head, "No, I’ve had pretty good luck, been well all the time."
Qu Ping showed a look of amazement, then said, "Then you’re quite lucky. Unfortunately, after contacting me, you might catch the disease."
"I initially suspected this disease was a curse of the Land of Slaughter, but seeing you uninfected makes it strange."
Su Changxing nodded, curiously asking, "Haven’t you thought that this disease might be man-made, a method by a participant?"
Qu Ping shook his head continuously, "That’s unlikely. No matter how powerful a participant is, they are just Tier Six Extraordinary. Even if stronger than me, not by much."
"Such terrifying means, only those high-level players can wield."
Su Changxing nodded affirmatively, "Makes sense; I thought it might be a participant’s method."
Qu Ping took on a knowledgeable appearance, "As a novice player, it’s normal to have limited knowledge. Extraordinary have limits and cannot do things beyond those limits."
Following Qu Ping’s suggestion, they moved along the edge of the red-light barrier, reducing the chance of encountering other participants.
"When they’ve almost killed each other, we’ll go over. If lucky, we might even pick up the scraps," Qu Ping said confidently, looking like an experienced opportunist.
Su Changxing followed beside him, submerging most of his body in the water, only exposing his eyes among the reeds.
In the process, they encountered several participants and saw them kill each other.
Yet Qu Ping, the veteran opportunist, refrained from action, even when seeing the heavily injured falling, showing no intention of going over.
The dark lake water completely concealed their presence, and indeed no one noticed their existence.
"I see those people are already critically wounded, why not strike now before they recover?" Su Changxing suggested.
Qu Ping shook his head, "No rush; I see them still hiding techniques, definitely capable of fighting."
...
"Only the last one is left, why not rush over and kill him now, taking the treasure?" Su Changxing suggested in a low voice.
Qu Ping waved his hand, "No rush; others might be hiding like us."
...
"He has already left," Su Changxing said, blinking.
Qu Ping calmly said, "Just as well, let him attract attention for us; when the barrier arrives, we’ll slip around from the side."
They were nearing the edge of the lake; ahead was a towering mountain, piercing the clouds, covered in white snow.
Next, they could no longer use the lake as a hiding place.
However.
Both Su Changxing and Qu Ping had exceptional hiding abilities, otherwise, they wouldn’t qualify as competent opportunists.
"Brother Su, your hiding skills are truly surprising, no wonder you survived earlier," Qu Ping exclaimed as Su Changxing vanished from his sight.
