Chapter 280: Chapter 280: Bottled Prisoner (Four)_1
There’s nothing exciting to watch anymore.
Seeing the redhead’s frenzied departure from the hall, Fu Qian finally stood up from his seat,
The two girls seemed to have taken a route that let others draw the fire, and it was clear that the wartime allies dared not lay a hand on him.
Staying here any longer was pointless.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Fu Qian left without looking back.
…
This sleeping chamber of the Goddess of Sin and Punishment looks quite shabby!
Stepping outside, Fu Qian surveyed his surroundings and couldn’t help but sigh with genuine feeling.
The hall he had just been in was indeed part of a grand construction, a pity that now it lay mostly in ruins, broken and dilapidated.
Only from the vague silhouettes of high walls and pointed rooftops could one faintly imagine its former glory.
Looking further afield, there were continuous ruins to be seen, walls broken and columns shattered, all eerie and decaying.
More importantly, above his head, there wasn’t a patch of sky to be seen—could this place be underground?
No wonder there was no worry about prisoners just quitting the game and running off.
It’s likely that the exit had been sealed off layer by layer after the game started.
At this moment, the surroundings were vast and empty, with all structures shrouded in an indescribable quiet and ghostly glow.
The prisoners who had come out earlier were nowhere to be seen.
This didn’t come as a surprise, considering the vastness of the space; finding a place to hide wouldn’t be difficult.
“Hello.”
As Fu Qian was looking around, a cheerful call came from behind him.
Turning around, it was the girl in the white dress who had followed him out, now standing at a distance that wouldn’t seem threatening, smiling charmingly in greeting.
Her companion, the young man with a cold face, was still at her side, staring intently at him.
“Hello there.”
As a polite person, Fu Qian amiably responded.
“I hope I don’t intrude, but may I ask how to address you?”
The girl performed an impeccable curtsy.
“Just call me Mr. Fu.”
Fu Qian continued in his cultured and amiable manner.
“Alright, Mr. Fu, I’m Ailina, and this is Cross.”
The girl in the white dress introduced herself politely and then gestured to her companion.
“Pleased to meet you.”
She actually made this deathmatch seem like a cultural salon—quite interesting.
Fu Qian looked at the pair with curiosity.
Wondering how they resolved their conflicts, as in theory, it should be a life-and-death situation between the two of them.
“Good evening to you both.”
If what William said about the banquet ending was true, then it was undoubtedly evening now.
Yet Cross, whom Ailina had introduced, didn’t share her gracefulness. Apparently annoyed by Fu Qian’s scrutiny, he just turned his head and snorted, not even bothering to greet him.
“May I know why you’ve sought me out?”
Fu Qian wasn’t bothered by this.
“Well, it’s like this,”
Ailina chuckled, covering her mouth.
“I was wondering if you’d be interested in joining forces with us?”
“Join forces?”
Fu Qian looked curiously at her, then pointed toward the direction of the hall.
“If you’re looking for strength in numbers, I remember there being quite a large group inside?”
“But being many doesn’t necessarily mean being strong.”
Ailina shook her head upon hearing this.
“That’s just a motley crew, a flock of sheep huddling together for warmth.”
“They might barely unite against a common threat now, but it would only take a small mishap for them to fall apart instantly.”
“I do agree with that.”
Fu Qian nodded, acknowledging the understanding of this person.
“Now you can give me another reason to cooperate with you.”
“It’s quite simple. You seem to be unfamiliar with this death game?”
Ailina’s smile did not fade.
“Although you are exceptionally strong, lack of information will undoubtedly increase the difficulty of your victory, and it happens that I am all too familiar with the content of the game.”
“So, by working with us, you can effectively avoid unnecessary waste of energy. Is that reason good enough?”
“That does sound quite good.”
Fu Qian agreed with Ailina’s argument.
This person had discerning eyes; from the performance earlier in the hall, she deduced that he himself had not been an audience of this kind of death game before.
“Although at the end of the game, we will inevitably become opponents, until that time comes, cooperation is beneficial for both parties.”
“Additionally, I am a person of my word and can promise never to backstab.”
With Fu Qian’s approval, Ailina’s smile grew even sweeter.
“That’s no problem. You can certainly try that when you think the time is right.”
This time, however, Fu Qian shook his head.
“Because when the time is right, I will also kill you.”
…
As soon as these words were uttered, not only did Cross by his side instantly bristle with killing intent, but even the always sweet-smiling Ailina seemed somewhat taken aback.
“Promises are the most useless things, especially between competitors. The foundation of cooperation is the consensus on situational awareness.”
Fu Qian was indifferent, tapping his temple.
“I thought you understood this principle.”
“Once the momentum turns to where backstabbing an ally is more advantageous, then the alliance effectively disappears.”
Fu Qian did not believe this mysterious young woman who came to him was any saint.
But if she was clear-headed enough, a temporary alliance would be fine.
As she said, having an experienced guide could save him a lot of trouble.
“Pleasure doing business.”
Surprised by Fu Qian’s response, Ailina extended her fair, slender hand after several seconds.
“Pleasure doing business.”
Fu Qian also extended his hand and shook hers.
…
“Mr. Fu, do you know where you were planning to go?”
After this peculiar cooperation was established, Ailina looked at Fu Qian and asked politely.
“To find the Statue of the Goddess of Sin and Punishment.”
Fu Qian answered very honestly.
“That aligns quite well with our plans.”
Ailina’s eyes lit up at his words.
“We were also planning to find the location of the statue first and monitor the situation there.”
What she said was likely true.
Fu Qian was not surprised by their plan.
From their actions just now, it was obvious they intended to lie low at the start rather than indiscriminately hunting to quickly accumulate an advantage.
The benefit was that they would not attract too much attention and allow types like the slaughterers to draw the focus and deal with the Sin Seekers first.
Of course, the downside was equally clear: if the growth of certain opponents became unstoppable, they might miss the initiative and end up nurturing a threat.
In such a scenario, real-time control over the situation became incredibly important.
And to achieve that, there was no better choice than staying around the Goddess Statue.
“By the way, to avoid any misunderstandings, there’s something I need to clarify.”
Ailina continued.
“This is the Broken Lands, a space filled with chaos and danger.”
“This causes the location of the Goddess Statue to be unfixed each time it appears.”
“So we also do not know where the statue is right now.”