Zhong Zhen’s room was now a stark contrast to before, splattered with patches of blood. The chair inside had been shattered, and Zhong Zhen gripped a broken chair leg in his hand, his cheeks flushed deeply.

Not long ago, he had driven this broken chair leg through both of his eardrums.

Aside from this, no recourse remains.

Even if he refused to answer the calls from that woman, he would still fall under her {Reverberation}’s control—a strange and formidable force that seemed only breakable by total loss of hearing.

He held the phone, endlessly repeating the same words, enduring waves of dizziness until his mouth went dry.

He fervently hoped someone had heard him.

The iron ball had just landed on {-1}, while the white-clad woman’s coordinate was {-7}. After two rounds, it should now be hanging right above her head.

Before the game ended, this was likely their last chance.

After hanging up the call, Zhong Zhen raised the receiver once more and held it before him.

Having completely lost his hearing, he could not allow the phone to remain disconnected—otherwise, if left unanswered for too long, the white-clad woman would dial the next person. The best strategy was to keep the line busy indefinitely.

Zhong Zhen exhaled deeply, wiped the fresh blood off his cheeks with his hand, then ran his bloodied fingers through his disheveled hair, slicking it back.

This worked far better than any hair gel.

"What a pity... my dear neighbor. Even though I found a way to break your hold, I can’t personally strangle you," Zhong Zhen muttered in frustration. "In this vast sea of people... if we miss each other now, where am I to hunt you down again?"

...

Meanwhile, the white-clad young woman looked up at the ceiling with a puzzled expression.

The iron ball striking unpredictably...what kind of rule had caused this?

What’s more, the ceiling's been making strange noises since a moment ago...

...

During round thirty-three, the iron ball landed on {-5}. Both Xu Qian and the white-clad young woman heard the disturbance at {-5}, as they were each one room away.

If memory served, that man was still alive—but now, he was dead.

It seemed only four remained on the scene:

Yun Yao, {0}.

Xu Qian, {-3}.

White Dress Female, {-7}.

Zhong Zhen, {-8}.

These four were connected end-to-end, passing questions among themselves, though Zhong Zhen was now completely deaf.

As well as... two additional individuals, whose presences remain lurking, unseen.

Terrestrial Snake, {-2}.

Chen Junnan, {Unknown}.

These two, clearly the contestants staking their lives, had both concealed themselves completely, refusing any contact with others.

Yun Yao understood that Chen Junnan must have employed some extraordinary means, for his method was so cunning that it allowed the iron ball to completely ignore its original trajectory and strike living players with surgical precision.

No {Reverberation} could wield such power.

Now the iron ball hovered over {-5}, poised to fall at any moment onto Xu Qian or the White Dress Female.

"In that case..." Yun Yao frowned in thought just as the phone suddenly rang.

She knew only Zhong Zhen could be calling her, so without hesitation, she picked up, preparing to hang up immediately.

She couldn’t trust Zhong Zhen.

But before she could disconnect, a roguish voice drifted out from the receiver.

"Hello, superstar!"

Yun Yao froze for a moment, then slowly moved the phone closer to her ear. "Che—Chen Junnan?"

"Hey! Long time no see!" Chen Junnan said, panting. "Hold on, give this young master a second to sit down; it kind of hurts to stand."

"Hurts...?" Yun Yao asked anxiously. "What exactly happened? What did you do?"

"Haa, don’t worry about that for now, give this young master some praise first." Chen Junnan took a deep breath and laughed. "Impressive, right? Did you see? This young master’s on a roll."

Yun Yao pondered for a few seconds before asking, "What is your {Reverberation}?"

"{Penalty Proxy}," Chen Junnan replied. "In this arena, if I so choose, the unlucky party will always be this young master."

"Un–Unlucky?" Yun Yao suddenly understood. "From what the name of this {Reverberation} implies, it only causes the iron ball to land on you—"

"Exactly." Chen Junnan nodded. "Truth be told, the iron ball had been striking me these last few rounds." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"What...?"

"Superstar, I’ve got a few questions." Chen Junnan took a few slow breaths and said, "Tell me... if a giant round ball came crashing into a room, would it destroy everything inside?"

"That goes without saying," Yun Yao remarked, "The sound of the iron ball landing alone tells you enough."

"But here’s the catch," Chen Junnan said, "Terrestrial Snake’s room has been struck by the iron ball, yet how is he able to answer calls... and answer questions?"