Chapter 803: Tampering

On the lonely, deserted street, the assassin walked forward in silence with his head bowed.

He didn't look back at those two young monsters, and he knew they wouldn't chase after him. His mood was very complex right now... The successive "injuries" brought to him by Chen Ling, Jian Changsheng, and Sun Bumian would probably only be healed if he killed a dozen ordinary participants.

Just as he was racking his brains to recall his previous hard training and reflecting on whether he had been lazy, a figure in a fluorescent robe walked toward him from the opposite direction, unhurriedly.

It was a referee with "06" written on his chest. He just glanced at the assassin indifferently, then withdrew his gaze and walked straight ahead.

The assassin naturally didn't have any other reaction and continued on his way...

The two passed each other in silence.

……

At the same time.

"Phew..."

The exhausted Jian Changsheng sat slowly by the roadside, finally letting out a long, relaxed breath.

"How about that? I saved your life, so we're even now, right?" Sun Bumian bent down, looking into Jian Changsheng's eyes with a smile.

"You..."

Although Jian Changsheng's anger had indeed dissipated for the most part, seeing that grinning face made him inexplicably want to punch him... Perhaps it was because this guy's smile was just too punchable, Jian Changsheng felt it was hard to stay calm.

"Who says we're even?" Jian Changsheng gritted his teeth. "You saving me this time only offsets the grudge from last time when you almost got me killed by the Dragon-Twisting Warrior... But that kick in the Gray Realm hasn't been settled yet!"

Sun Bumian looked a bit helpless and spread his hands.

"Then what else do you want? Shall we fight again now?"

"Now... not now." Jian Changsheng waved his hand weakly. "We'll fight next time; consider this debt owed."

“……”

Sun Bumian seemed to remember something and conjured up the four candied hawthorn skewers from earlier, grabbing them in his palm. "Right, I made these for you... don't waste them."

"No, where were you hiding those four skewers?" Jian Changsheng couldn't help but retort.

"Hehe, it's the Drama God Path, it's normal to be able to conjure small things."

Sun Bumian's eyes crinkled into two slits as he smiled.

Jian Changsheng looked at him and the four skewers in his hand, hesitated for a moment, then took them.

Having maintained the domain for so long, Jian Changsheng's consumption was indeed significant; if he could replenish some energy, that would naturally be best.

Jian Changsheng took a bite of a candied hawthorn and found the taste was actually quite good. After finishing one skewer, he kept one for himself and handed the other two to Sun Bumian:

"Don't just watch me eat. You made these, you eat two as well."

Hearing this, Sun Bumian's face suddenly turned pale. After looking at the two bright red skewers with a strange expression, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly...

"—Ugh!!"

He turned his head and began to retch.

Jian Changsheng: ???????

No, buddy, what do you mean by that?!

Are these candied hawthorns of yours even proper candied hawthorns? Huh?!!

Seeing Sun Bumian's reaction, Jian Changsheng felt the skewers in his hand suddenly lost their appeal. For a moment, he didn't know whether to eat them or not...

Just as he was struggling, a figure as conspicuous as a firefly walked over from the distance.

"...Referee?"

Jian Changsheng and the retching Sun Bumian both looked at the person, but didn't react much.

During the competition in the Old District, referees were often seen. They wouldn't interfere in battles, only record things and notify the medical team to collect bodies... Therefore, the two didn't think much of it.

Until they noticed the referee walking straight toward them, their hearts tightened.

"What's the situation? We didn't break any rules, did we?"

Jian Changsheng was bewildered. He suddenly looked at the skewers in his hand, turned his head to ask Sun Bumian, and asked impulsively, "Did you put stimulants in these?"

"? What kind of nonsense are you talking about?"

Under their puzzled gazes, the referee stopped slowly in front of them.

His gaze met Sun Bumian's for a long time, then turned to Jian Changsheng. Whether it was Little Jian's imagination or not, he seemed to see "disdain," "resentment," and a trace of "killing intent" in the referee's eyes...

The referee raised his hand and patted Jian Changsheng on the shoulder.

"You did well, child."

Jian Changsheng: ?

After saying this, the referee ignored the two and continued walking forward, his firefly-like robe gradually disappearing from their field of vision.

"This referee is so inexplicable." Sun Bumian's eyes were full of confusion.

But looking at Jian Changsheng beside him, his expression had changed from bewilderment to dullness. After his pupils contracted slightly, he wore a look of having seen a ghost!

"He... he he he he... he actually..."

"What?" Sun Bumian was puzzled.

"He he he..." Jian Changsheng stammered, finally organizing his thoughts and dropping a bombshell:

"He is Heart 6!!!"

……

Not bad, this kid isn't stupid.

Chen Ling thought to himself as he walked away.

Ever since he dealt with Referee No. 6 and took his identity, Chen Ling had slashed the original referee's face with a knife, dumped him by the roadside, and notified the medical team to collect the body.

With the face mutilated, the medical team wouldn't be able to confirm the identity in the short term and would likely assume it was just some unlucky participant. By the time they repaired the facial tissue and reported it, the competition would probably be over...

However, it wouldn't matter even if his actions were discovered; after all, the manual stated "by any means necessary," so he wouldn't be punished for it. The reason Chen Ling blurred the referee's face to delay his exposure was because he still needed to use this referee's identity to do something bigger.

As for Jian Changsheng... although Chen Ling was full of resentment toward him, this wasn't the time for revenge.

Subtly hinting at his current identity was beneficial for him, Sun Bumian, and himself... at least it avoided infighting among the three 6-series members.

A flash of aurora flickered deep in Chen Ling's eyes, and a series of voices sounded from the walkie-talkie:

"Static..."

"It's been almost ten hours since the competition started. What's the situation now?"

"Forty-six people have been eliminated so far. These people were killed by a few specific individuals. Most are still hiding their strength, lurking in the shadows."

"The progress is too slow... We need to give them some stimulation."

"Has anyone discovered the 'Dark Palace'?"

"Not yet. Do we need to manually release the 'Dark Palace' ahead of schedule?"

"It's too early to release it now... Let's wait another two hours."

Hearing this, Chen Ling's eyes narrowed!

He pinched his fingertips in the void, and the walkie-talkie signal he intercepted from mid-air was instantly tampered with, cutting off for a moment before reaching the other referees' walkie-talkies!

"Static..."

"Director, Director? Is the signal bad on your end?"

"Static... It's fine now, it should be better." The Director's voice sounded again in all the referees' walkie-talkies. "I said, it's too early to release it now, we have to wait a while... But before that, it's best to send someone to confirm the layout of the 'Dark Palace' to avoid any accidents."

"Okay, Director, who should we send?"

"Send... No. 6."

Chen Ling held the walkie-talkie, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.