This Character is Suspected of Cheating! [Unlimited Flow]

Among the nine pieces of high-grade equipment, each person received one.

The further the competition progressed, the more valuable high-grade equipment became. Nearly all of it increased combat power, with only a very small number being support-type equipment.

Out of the nine items...

Only two were support equipment.

He Yu took one.

The other was taken by Bo Jingshan.

As for the special rewards, they all belonged exclusively to He Yu.

Both the Tree of Life and the Devil Vine had been killed by him. They had nothing to do with anyone else, so naturally there was no question of dividing those rewards.

Ever since the Devil Vine had completely died...

He Yu hadn't spoken another word.

He merely stood there quietly.

Calm.

Expressionless.

It was impossible to tell whether he felt no sadness at all...

Or whether he had simply hidden every trace of it.

"Hey... you're not actually sad, are you?"

Wanrenzhan cautiously leaned closer to ask.

A giant nearly two meters tall craning his neck and asking so carefully looked rather ridiculous.

But Wanrenzhan had never cared about how other people viewed him.

He Yu lazily lifted his eyelids to glance at him.

The lenses of his glasses...

And the eyes beneath them...

Were equally cold.

He ignored him.

Wanrenzhan curled his lips.

"What's there to be sad about? It was just a vine. It didn't even have a face, just an ugly black lump. Besides me... us, no creature inside an instance could possibly follow you into the next inst—"

He Yu smiled faintly and interrupted him.

"It seems you really want to contribute your spine to become my next weapon."

Wanrenzhan: "..."

He instinctively rubbed his back.

Then wisely shut up.

—

After the advancement announcement was made, the figures of the nine contestants gradually disappeared from Love Planet.

Just before vanishing, He Yu cast one last glance into the distance.

Everywhere he looked...

There was familiar green.

Although this world had lost both the Tree of Life and the Devil Vine...

It had become vibrant once more.

Overflowing with life.

He Yu lowered his eyes, concealing the thoughtful look within them.

When Xiao Lü died...

He had already lost both his vitality and his strength.

He couldn't speak.

He had merely rubbed gently against He Yu's palm.

But everyone seemed to have forgotten one thing—

They were still lovers.

And lovers possessed the Heart-Link Buff.

At the very instant He Yu disappeared...

Xiao Lü hadn't remained completely silent.

Inside He Yu's heart...

He softly whispered—

【Until we meet again.】

Until we meet again.

Those four words...

Carried a great deal of meaning.

The corners of He Yu's lips curved upward ever so slightly.

He wasn't sad.

Partly because sadness was useless.

And partly because...

He believed he had already found the greatest chess piece he could use against the one controlling everything from behind the scenes.

The next instance...

Suddenly seemed worth looking forward to.

—

Transit Station.

Because He Yu's group had been delayed, only nine advancement slots remained when they finally cleared the instance.

The instances weren't necessarily the same.

But among all the <Universal Romance> survival instances...

Theirs had undoubtedly finished the latest.

The enormous Transit Station wasn't crowded.

It resembled an island floating in space.

Although it appeared small, the station utilized folded space.

Despite its size, it could accommodate countless people.

Now that only two thousand contestants remained in the entire <Top Talent Show>...

How could it possibly run out of room?

The moment He Yu's group appeared...

Everyone looked toward them.

Their instance clearly had the largest number of survivors.

Many instances had only one or two contestants left.

Yet He Yu's instance still had nine survivors.

Peaceful.

Extremely peaceful.

That was everyone's first impression.

Duan Yuchen and the others felt rather conflicted.

Their instance really had been peaceful.

If someone asked them what that instance had been like...

None of them would know how to answer.

Thirty entire days.

Peaceful enough that it almost seemed as though nothing had happened.

The only painful part had probably been at the beginning—

When they had been forcibly paired with people they disliked as lovers.

That had certainly been torture.

Eugene glanced toward He Yu.

His silver hair shifted slightly as he proudly declared,

"I got carried again."

"I've been carried through yet another instance."

Qiong silently nodded.

That was true.

They had done absolutely nothing.

They had simply followed He Yu all the way to victory.

He Yu lowered his eyes.

Upon hearing that, he calmly looked up...

Then quietly took out a notebook.

"Since that's the case..."

"You may sign the bill."

"As agreed before, the price of high-grade equipment depends on the situation."

"Being carried through one instance costs five million."

"This time I'll give you a discount."

"Equipment plus clearing the instance..."

"A total of six million Federation Credits."

"Please sign."

Everyone: "..."

Duan Yuchen reacted almost instinctively.

He accepted the pen and notebook...

And signed.

Only after signing did he freeze.

Wonderful.

He'd actually developed a conditioned reflex.

Looking down...

He saw that he had already signed quite a long list of debts.

Although there wasn't a final total written anywhere...

A single glance was enough for him to estimate it.

An astronomical figure.

In any case...

There was no way his personal savings in the Federation could ever repay it.

Duan Yuchen stared at it for a long moment.

Only then did he pass it to the next person.

Siya took it.

After signing, she rolled her eyes.

"Why do you insist on doing something so meaningless?"

Gedai signed as well.

His mechanical face remained expressionless.

"To give yourself a moral justification?"

"If I were you..."

"I definitely wouldn't choose to make people sign IOUs."

He handed the notebook to Bo Jingshan.

Gedai's thoughts were shared by Siya and the others.

This really seemed meaningless.

He Yu probably felt that carrying them through the instance and giving away equipment without compensation wasn't worth it.

Yet asking them to pay during the competition obviously wouldn't work.

So he converted the payment into Federation Credits and had them sign debt notes instead.

But once they signed...

Even if those debts could never realistically be collected...

They would still feel as though they no longer owed He Yu anything.

Although they probably wouldn't have felt guilty anyway...

After signing...

They definitely wouldn't.

What an unprofitable trade.

Bo Jingshan signed.

Then passed it to Wanrenzhan.

Wanrenzhan didn't even bother reading it.

With bold, sweeping strokes, he signed both his name and the six-million-credit debt before tossing it toward Qiong.

"Completely meaningless."

"If I die..."

"Are you planning to collect the debt in the underworld?"

Faced with everyone's doubts...

He Yu merely pushed up his glasses.

"Are you all so certain..."

"...that it's meaningless?"

"Of course."

Eugene answered without hesitation.

"It's impossible for all of us to leave this competition alive."

After signing, Qiong paused.

She looked toward He Yu.

"If I survive and make it out..."

"I'll repay the debt."

"Should I give the money to someone from Blue Star?"

"Is there a specific person it has to go to?"

He Yu shook his head.

"No."

"Give it to me personally."

The money he earned...

Naturally belonged to him.

Besides...

There simply weren't any better conditions inside the competition.

Otherwise...

He Yu would have fully demonstrated his spending habits.

He had never been a frugal person.

So...

The more money, the better.

The Universe Federation contained countless planets.

Touring them all would certainly cost a fortune.

He was simply saving money in advance.

Gedai sneered.

"Have you forgotten?"

"Only one person can leave this competition alive."

Annie walked over from nearby, smiling.

"He Yu."

"They already owe you so much money."

"Maybe I'll owe you some too."

"Then, just so someone can repay you, you might consider giving the chance to live to one of us."

"Hahaha!"

Tang Ke also walked over, helplessly shaking their head.

Not far away...

Cheng Zhao watched the group with complete confusion.

Ever since He Yu and the others had arrived...

People gathered around the central Transit Station screen had been stealing glances at them.

Curious.

Puzzled.

—He Yu was truly impossible to understand.

Tilting his head slightly, He Yu smiled without smiling.

"Oh?"

"And you're so certain..."

"...that only one person can leave this competition?"

Everyone froze.

For some reason...

Ordinarily, they would have refuted that statement immediately.

But because it came from He Yu...

They found themselves actually thinking about it.

Then Annie burst into loud laughter.

"Hahaha!"

"Did I just hear the funniest joke ever?"

"More than one survivor?"

"Then go ahead and make the system release two people in the end!"

Duan Yuchen sighed helplessly before looking toward He Yu.

"There can only be one winner in this competition."

"Everyone else..."

"No matter how brilliant they are..."

"Exists only as a stepping stone for the victor."

"That's the rule."

"And rules cannot be resisted."

He Yu could exploit loopholes.

He could discover unconventional methods to clear instances.

But he couldn't violate the rules themselves.

Those were the system's settings.

They couldn't be changed.

Just like in the previous instance.

They had been forced into the "love and kill" mechanic.

When heavenly lightning struck...

They could block it with the Lovers' Protection Shield.

Or with defensive equipment.

But they could never stop the lightning from striking in the first place.

It was precisely because these unavoidable rules existed...

That everyone became calculating.

Scheming.

If you wanted to survive...

You had to throw away your humanity.

Either become the sole victor...

Or become someone else's stepping stone.

In the previous competition...

Only Wanrenzhan's name remained famous.

All those other experts...

Once dead...

Were forgotten.

Outside the competition...

Even though He Yu came from a Garbage Planet...

Duan Yuchen could have become his friend.

He could have praised him.

He wouldn't even have minded becoming He Yu's disciple to study forging.

But inside the competition...

Everything was different.

Except for the simple-minded Wanrenzhan...

Even if others admired He Yu...

None of them would ever say it aloud.

When even survival wasn't guaranteed...

Everything else became meaningless.

Duan Yuchen hoped He Yu understood that.

No one could truly be trusted.

In the next instance...

If they had the opportunity...

Every one of them would attack.

Yet He Yu...

Sometimes appeared a little too merciful.

Hearing that...

He Yu nodded.

"Mhm."

"I understand."

His voice remained calm.

He murmured softly,

"So..."

"Rules cannot be resisted..."

Eugene paused.

He held the notebook in one hand and the pen in the other.

For some reason...

He looked strangely at He Yu.

Then lowered his head to the pages filled with IOUs.

An inexplicable thought crossed his mind.

Subconsciously, he asked,

"Can we negotiate?"

"Could you lower the price a little?"

"Six million is too expensive."

His mechanical face was completely serious.

He genuinely looked as though he intended to bargain.

Everyone: "..."

Whether they bargained or not...

The debts would probably never be repaid.

What was the point?

He Yu answered simply,

"No."

Eugene tilted his head.

His perfectly smooth metallic features looked unusually sharp.

His deep voice asked,

"Then..."

"What if I refuse to sign?"

"Or simply refuse to repay the debt?"

He Yu suddenly looked directly at him.

His gaze became razor-sharp.

His face remained expressionless.

"Oh."

"So you intend to cheat me out of my money?"

Eugene opened his mouth.

"I was thinking—"

Before he could finish...

He Yu interrupted.

"In that case..."

"Starting from the next instance..."

"To prevent you from defaulting..."

"I'll simply kill you first."

His expression was extraordinarily serious.

Even stubborn.

Eugene clearly understood the message being conveyed—

If you dared default on his debt...

He would pursue you to the bitter end.

A chill ran through Eugene.

He immediately filled in every detail of his debt before signing his name properly.

His voice became firm.

"I wouldn't even think about it!"

"Defaulting on a debt is completely immoral."

"I wouldn't entertain such a thought for even a second."

"If I survive..."

"I'll remember everything I promised in the <Death Countdown> instance."

"And I'll repay this debt to Blue Star."

The promise from the <Death Countdown> instance...

Referred to helping He Yu threaten the Keli Hai family.

He Yu carefully examined Eugene from head to toe.

Only after making Eugene increasingly uncomfortable did he nod.

"If you can't pay..."

"Then come work for me as a robot."

"Or..."

"I'll dismantle you and sell the parts."

Having a Mechanical Planet citizen as an actual robot...

Would certainly be convenient.

Eugene: "..."

His fists itched.

He suddenly wanted to hit someone.

—He Yu actually wanted to treat a Mechanical Planet citizen like a household robot!!

After everyone finished signing...

He Yu put away the notebook and pen.

The others began chatting.

About their instances.

Their experiences.

Methods of clearing them.

Rewards.

And the new system bugs they had encountered.

Everything was worth discussing.

He Yu paid no attention.

Instead...

His gaze slowly swept across the crowd.

As expected.

Not far behind him stood Ling Buchen.

Ling Buchen had always possessed almost no presence.

This time...

He had deliberately remained at a distance as well.

Even He Yu hadn't noticed him immediately.

As for everyone else...

They probably hadn't noticed him at all.

He Yu slowly walked over.

Seeing him approach...

Ling Buchen revealed his usual gentle smile.

His naturally refined appearance made that smile even warmer.

Yet...

His complexion looked strangely pale.

No matter what contestants experienced inside an instance...

As long as they survived and advanced...

Their injuries would disappear.

Their physical condition would be restored.

No one arrived at the Transit Station still wounded.

Physical injuries never carried over.

Experiences did.

Those experiences inevitably left traces on their expressions.

Walking over, He Yu reached out...

And lightly patted Ling Buchen's arm.

Ling Buchen instinctively hugged his own arm.

The strange paleness on his face deepened.

He Yu frowned.

"What happened?"

"What did you encounter?"

They had already been separated for two instances.

No...

Strictly speaking...

They had only ever entered the same instance once.

Ling Buchen took a deep breath.

He didn't hide anything.

"I ran into Gao Jianming."

"We were paired as lovers for one day."

Gao Jianming?

The name sounded vaguely familiar to He Yu.

He had learned about him before entering the competition.

At the time...

Although He Yu had possessed extraordinary intelligence...

It hadn't yet reached its current level.

Only after his intellect continued evolving...

Did those fleeting memories become clearer and clearer.

Gao Jianming.

A Blue Star contestant.

A serial murderer.

A death-row inmate.

He had entered the <Top Talent Show> immediately after being sentenced.

Like Earlie...

Like Keli Hai...

He was a genuine psychopath.

He Yu never asked whether Gao Jianming had betrayed Ling Buchen.

To him...

The answer was obvious.

Aside from Federation citizens, whose understanding of the competition had long since become deeply ingrained...

Who adapted to the <Top Talent Show> the fastest?

People like Gao Jianming.

Becoming a serial killer on the peaceful Blue Star proved one thing—

Killing made him excited.

Made him happy.

He killed because he wanted to.

Not because he feared anything.

Someone who had never possessed any moral boundaries to begin with...

Would immediately adapt to the completely shattered morality of the <Top Talent Show>.

He would become a true monster.

So He Yu never asked whether Gao Jianming had betrayed him.

Instead...

He directly asked Ling Buchen—

"How did he hurt you?"

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