Chapter 21: Platform
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110, the subway station.
It had been several minutes since any new challengers entered.
Zhou Yunhui, He Lu, Dai Xiaoliang, and Cui Zhan, each leading their own group of followers, stood at the subway platform, looking up at the subway entrance on the escalator. However, all they saw was a strange silvery light.
Whether it was the escalator or the stairs, they could only go down, not up. The newcomers could do nothing but look upward in frustration.
“What’s going on?” Zhou Yunhui stroked his chin, muttering to himself.
The leader of the Huanxiang Society, Dai Xiaoliang, standing next to him, thought Zhou Yunhui was asking him and politely responded, “Maybe someone used stationery to block the entrance.”
He Lu, on the other side, didn’t engage in this meaningless discussion. He stood silently with his followers, looking stoic.
Cui Zhan sat on the ground with a group of his Ten Societies followers, not paying attention to the subway entrance. Instead, he was watching a group of people gathered about five or six meters away, beneath the stairs.
Strawberry Sweet Doughnuts.
There weren’t many of them, just six in total. Their leader appeared to be the weakest among them, a seemingly effeminate man with a name that sounded like a girl’s—Guan Lan. He was small in stature, with an even smaller face that looked as if it had been carefully sculpted from porcelain. His eyes were large, his eyelashes long, and his lips were moist from sucking on a lollipop.
Cui Zhan couldn’t help but stare at him openly, and Guan Lan soon noticed.
Guan Lan leaned against the wall, turned his head to look at Cui Zhan for a while, and then took the lollipop out of his mouth, shaking it as if greeting him. “I’ll give you three choices.”
Cui Zhan became intrigued. “Tell me.”
Guan Lan said, “a. You’re attracted to me; b. You want some lollipops too; c. You think I can become the leader of the Strawberry Doughnuts team and must have some exceptional qualities, so you want to play with me.”
Cui Zhan’s eyes lit up. “c, let’s play?”
Guan Lan shook his head regretfully. “I don’t want to kill anyone.”
Cui Zhan: “…”
“Leader Guan, don’t reject him. I really want to see him lying dead on the street.” Zhou Yunhui enjoyed watching the spectacle and didn’t mind causing trouble, even though there were two organizations between them.
Guan Lan found it amusing and smiled sweetly at Zhou Yunhui.
Zhou Yunhui squatted down, supporting his chin with one hand, and admired for a while. He was quite good-looking, much more pleasing to the eye than Cui Zhan.
Among the five major forces in the underground city, Strawberry Sweet Doughnuts was the most mysterious. Their members rarely showed themselves, and Guan Lan had only made a few appearances. They had very little interaction with the other four groups, let alone any combat.
Zhou Yunhui was as curious about Guan Lan’s Stationery Tree as Cui Zhan was.
After a long period of silence, the approaching footsteps finally reached the sealed subway station, and in the quiet underground space, they sounded very clear.
There were three or four people, leisurely strolling, sounding completely different from the usual desperate and urgent challengers. It was more like they were walking through a sightseeing passage.
Everyone present sensed that something unusual was happening.
Sky Lantern, Iron Blood Camp, Huanxiang Society, Ten Societies—dozens of people on the platform, including the four leaders, all instinctively straightened up.
The six members of Strawberry Sweet Donuts, though still lounging about, turned their gaze towards the entrance, where the silvery light flowed.
Four graceful figures entered leisurely, the men were tall and vigorous, the woman was tall and graceful. They walked in a single file, descending the stairs. All of them wore sunglasses, as if they were not walking down the subway entrance stairs but rather a runway at Milan Fashion Week.
“It’s them,” He Lu said in a deep voice.
Tang Lin, accompanied by Nan Ge, had used screaming to baptize all four major organizations, making it hard to forget.
Dai Xiaoliang sighed, “It seems they don’t need us to provide them with slots at all.”
“Can you focus on the key point?” Zhou Yunhui really wanted to teach these two a lesson. “Sunglasses, the key point is that they are wearing sunglasses. Isn’t this provocation?”
Cui Zhan came over with a glance. “Shouldn’t the key point be how they got in….”
Strawberry Sweet Donuts was right at the bottom of the stairs, and to them, Tang Lin and the others were like they were descending directly toward them.
Beside Guan Lan, a bald guy who was munching on cookies said unclearly, “I mean, isn’t this position a bit awkward? It’s like we’re welcoming them intentionally.”
“Can you keep your mouth shut when you’re eating?” Another guy squatting beside him retorted irritably, fidgeting with his melancholic center-parted slightly wavy hair that covered his forehead to shake off the cookie crumbs.
Guan Lan actually quite liked this position, as it allowed him to see the new opponents clearly and greet them with a bright smile. “Welcome.”
The four of them stopped on the fifth-to-last level of stairs, gazing down at the six below.
Tang Lin was the first to take off his sunglasses, his gaze sweeping across the four major forces on the platform before finally returning to the soft and adorable face below. He said, “Strawberry Sweet Doughnuts?”
Guan Lan took out a new lollipop from his pocket and tossed it over.
Tang Lin caught it and raised an eyebrow, as if seeking confirmation.
Guan Lan cheerfully said, “A reward for the correct answer.”
The Strawberry Sweet Donuts members, in contrast to their leader’s good mood, had mixed reactions. Some crammed cookies into their mouths, some pondered with their heads tilted back, some sat on the ground picking their toes, some smoked pensively, and one was already dozing off, completely disengaged. They portrayed the resistance that went from their bodies to their souls, showing how much damage an irresponsible group name could do to team morale.
“Thanks,” Tang Lin carefully placed the lollipop in his pocket, giving it a last glance, pineapple flavor.
“Three questions,” Guan Lan asked straightforwardly, “a. How did you get in? b. What’s your group name? c. …” Guan Lan pointed to Fan Peiyang with the lollipop, “His height.”
Zheng Luozhu and Nan Ge: “…”
Seriously, the last question?
The two of them silently looked at Fan Peiyang, who stood there proudly in a black coat and sunglasses, indifferent to the sudden question involving himself.
Tang Lin asked Guan Lan calmly, “Why do we have to answer you?”
Guan Lan replied, “You accepted my lollipop.”
Tang Lin said, “If I remember correctly, that was a reward for guessing your group’s name.”
Guan Lan paused, “You’re right.”
You caught on too quickly!
The four major forces on the platform, who were equally curious about the answers to the first two questions, were completely speechless.
Unexpectedly, Tang Lin changed the subject, “One lollipop in exchange for one question.”
Guan Lan didn’t even blink, taking out three more lollipops from his pocket and tossing them over.
Mango flavor. Lemon flavor. Peach flavor.
Tang Lin distributed the spoils to his three companions and was satisfied. He then answered, “a. I am VIP. b. VIP. c. 192.”
Before Guan Lan could respond, Fan Peiyang, who had received the lemon-flavored one, spoke up, “193.”
Tang Lin turned to him, furrowing his brow. “I personally measured you at 192.”
Fan Peiyang also took off his sunglasses and put them back in his coat pocket along with the lollipop. “I’ve grown another centimeter in the past two years.”
Tang Lin: “…”
A lot had happened while he was sick.
Nan Ge quietly asked Zheng Luozhu, “Why did Tang Lin measure your boss’s height?”
“That’s the camaraderie between men,” Zheng Luozhu replied, savoring his mango-flavored lollipop. “You women wouldn’t understand.”
While the VIP members were communicating, the Strawberry Sweet Doughnuts members were not idle.
Melancholic center-parted hair, who had moved closer to Bald man, leaned in and asked the most senior member, who had only been in the group for three months, “Why did the leader ask about that guy’s height?”
Bald man crumpled the empty cookie bag, making it rustle, to mask the volume of his voice. “The leader hates anyone taller than 190.”
Melancholic center-parted hair stole a glance at Guan Lan and whispered, “Is 190 the limit… I’m 171, so I’m taller than him, right…”
Guan Lan turned to look at him.
Bald man suddenly jumped up, realizing he was holding an empty cookie bag and urgently said, “I need to find a trash can—”
Melancholic center-parted hair swallowed his saliva, lowered his head, and let his wavy hair hide his anxious expression.
“I am VIP, what’s that all about?”
In the ranks of Sky Lantern, the Ten Societies, and the Huanxiang Society, there were murmurs among the members.
The Iron Blood Camp was disciplined, and no one dared to whisper, but that didn’t mean they weren’t curious.
Dai Xiaoliang turned around and explained to his team members, “That’s a unique stationery that can only be obtained in the later stages of the challenge level. It allows the user to enter the challenge portal directly.”
A member of the Huanxiang Society widened his eyes and said, “Then why don’t the leaders above get us a few of them? Why do we have to fight so hard for a slot?”
Dai Xiaoliang explained frankly, “There are not many of these stationery, and they are usually kept upstairs. It’s extravagant for us to use them in the Underground City. Our forces in the Underground City are strong enough to enter the challenge portal, so using this stationery would be excessive.”
A member of the Huanxiang Society looked at the VIP from a distance and said, “But they used four of them at once…”
Dai Xiaoliang fell silent.
He Lu became more serious, while Zhou Yunhui and Cui Zhan put away their leisurely demeanor and kept their eyes on Tang Lin and his group.
The members had limited access to information, but as leaders, they were well aware of it. Being able to use stationery that were only available from upstairs, and using four of them at once, could only mean one thing—they had connections upstairs, and perhaps, deep roots as well.
The VIP were unaware that they had acquired some kind of mysterious background. After exchanging greetings with the Strawberry Sweet Doughnuts leader, they arrived at the platform and found an empty spot next to the four major forces, waiting for what was to come.
Tang Lin and Nan Ge nodded slightly to the four faction leaders as a form of greeting.
Afterwards, they began to observe the surroundings.
This was a very normal subway station with stairs, escalators, marble floors, wall advertisements, trash bins—everything you would expect
Just by looking at this place, one would almost believe they were back in reality. Despite only being separated by a challenge portal, it was difficult to connect this place with the steampunk-style Underground City outside.
The stairs led to the end of the platform, and because the challenge content involved advancing from the last subway car forward, there were only five doors open on the last car. So, challengers would gather at these five boarding points, just like the four major forces and them right now.
As the last trace of silver light at the subway entrance dissipated, the station became noisy again, and soon new challengers flooded in, making the subway station bustling.
Only then did the Strawberry Sweet Doughnuts members start moving, lazily strolling to the platform.
Not long after, the Nightwalker trio appeared.
Tao Wenyu slid down the handrail of the escalator and headed straight for Tang Lin’s group. “Your stationery caused real jealousy——”
Tang Lin hadn’t expected them to be this fast. With just three of them, they managed to enter among the last hundred or so, their strength was not to be underestimated.
As Tao Wenyu approached, Zheng Luozhu greeted him with a smile, “And there’s something even more jealousy-inducing. Want to hear it?”
Tao Wenyu asked, “What is it?”
Zheng Luozhu continued, “Three hundred thousand, one each.”
Tao Wenyu sighed, “….I don’t want to talk to you guys for a while.”
As time passed, more and more people arrived on the platform, the four major forces also entered with additional members.
At 12:33 AM, the last five people arrived, led by Lu Jue.
He was still dressed in an all-white shirt.
Tang Lin watched them descend the escalator, blend into the crowd, and remain composed despite being among the last few to arrive.
The challenge portal was now completely closed.
200 challengers were clearly divided into seven major groups: Sky Lantern (36 people), Iron Blood Camp (37 people), Ten Societies (29 people), Huanxiang Society (41 people), Strawberry Sweet Doughnuts (6 people), VIP (4 people), and other challengers (47 people).
Originally, Tang Lin and his group should have belonged to the “Other Challengers” category, considering that the five major forces were widely recognized. Within the “Other Challengers,” there were many groups of three to five people, like Nightwalker. However, the VIP group’s entry into the challenge was too confident and stylish, making them stand out from the rest of the challengers.
[The subway is about to arrive——]
The platform resounded with announcement chimes, and a cool breeze blew in from the depths of the tunnel.
In the last compartment of the subway, there were five boarding points. Each of the four major forces occupied one, while Tang Lin’s group and the Strawberry Sweet Doughnuts team took the fifth. Nightwalker, entering later, stood behind them, and the remaining challengers distributed themselves according to the availability of space at the five boarding points.
Although one compartment with five doors could accommodate more than 200 people comfortably, Zheng Luozhu couldn’t help but feel a headache as he looked at the crowded platform.
Nan Ge stared straight ahead, stretching her arms and joints, warming up seriously. “To be able to enter the challenge level for the first time, we should appreciate our good fortune.”
Zheng Luozhu suddenly remembered what she had said earlier about waiting for six years.
Tang Lin walked over and had a quiet conversation with the two of them.
This was a plan they had established in advance, and Zheng Luozhu understood it very well. “Understood.”
Nan Ge, hearing it for the first time, didn’t expect them to have prepared an emergency plan for possible unexpected situations. She nodded in understanding, “Got it.”
Only then did Tang Lin feel at ease.
Even though the information from Torn T-shirt and other sources indicated that once they entered the challenge level, taking the subway wouldn’t be an issue, they still had to be prepared for unexpected events.
In case someone decided to sabotage and create chaos here to reduce the number of competitors, they couldn’t afford to be unprepared for such a situation.
Returning to the side of Fan Peiyang, Tang Lin confirmed their plan once more and concluded, “If we detect any risk of being unable to board the subway, we take action.”
Fan Peiyang wasn’t worried about executing the emergency plan but was concerned about something else, “Once I start using the stationery, I won’t be able to look out for you, so be careful.”
Tang Lin teased, “You’re the one who should be careful. If you can’t squeeze onto the subway, I won’t come down to find you.”
Fan Peiyang remained unperturbed, “That’s impossible to happen.”
Tang Lin：“……”
Tang Lin sighed internally, realizing that when it came to confidence, both President Tang and President Fan were at the top of their game. However, Tang Lin’s confidence often stemmed from meticulous analysis and a cool-headed approach, while Fan Peiyang’s confidence was a unique and unwavering self-assuredness.
The subway finally arrived.
The front of the train appeared first, swiftly passing the end of the platform, carrying the carriages further ahead. The speed gradually slowed down until the last carriage stopped in front of the two hundred people.
The crowd shifted slightly, but remained mostly quiet, all waiting for the moment when the subway doors would open.
However, a full minute passed, and not even a crack appeared in the subway doors.
“Ding—”
Two hundred notification sounds chimed simultaneously, jolting everyone awake.
All two hundred individuals raised their arms to check their notifications, creating a spectacular scene.
: [Password Grid]
Without any additional hints, the interface projected in mid-air updated with just this.
Tang Lin raised his hand and continued to tap on the [Password Grid].
The interface transformed into a grid of “10×10,” with each cell containing a different animal, ranging from elephants, lions, tigers, leopards, wolves, cats, and dogs to snakes, insects, mice, ants, butterflies, moths, and fish. Even legendary creatures like the qilin, flying dragons, and unicorns were included. Although there were only a hundred species, it covered creatures from the heavens, earth, water, and myths, encompassing a wide range of species.
Just as everyone was bewildered by their interfaces, a certain advertisement screen on the platform wall suddenly vanished, replaced by a round-headed and round-eyed owl, joyfully tilting its head left and right, and even having a rhythmic motion.
[Hello, dear challengers~~]
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