This Character is Suspected of Cheating! [Unlimited Flow]

Eugene: "..."

He blinked innocently, then slowly raised a hand.

"I've been wronged! I didn't do anything. Look—I never even went near you."

—I was just watching. Don't frame me.

He Yu looked at him and smiled faintly.

"Do you think I'd believe that?"

Eugene: "..."

What was the most important thing in life?

He suddenly rushed over, hugged He Yu's leg, and wailed,

"I was wrong! I'm sorry! I just thought we should celebrate a little. I only made a tiny suggestion—they were the ones who insisted on doing it!"

The most important thing in life was knowing when to admit defeat!

He Yu lowered his eyes, still smiling.

Eugene looked utterly pitiful.

"I really know I was wrong..."

He Yu lifted a foot and kicked him away.

Naturally, He Yu didn't have enough strength to actually move Eugene.

But Eugene exaggeratedly flew backward along with the force of the kick, making the whole scene rather comical.

He Yu couldn't help himself.

A smile appeared in his eyes, and the corners of his lips lifted slightly.

The moment he smiled, Zhen Xing, Ling Buchen, and the others smiled as well.

The rest had already been laughing.

Soon, every contestant in the entire Transfer Station was smiling.

For a brief moment, the atmosphere became exceptionally warm.

Such a scene was extraordinarily rare inside the <Top Talent Show>.

Even the furious audience couldn't help smiling along with them.

However—

At that exact moment—

【Ding! Since all contestants advanced in the previous semifinal instance, <Are They Teammates?>, the required semifinal quota of fifty contestants has not been reached. An additional 12-hour elimination match has been added to determine the fifty contestants who will advance to the next semifinal stage.】

【Teleportation will begin shortly. Contestants, please prepare yourselves.】

Instantly, the warm atmosphere inside the Transfer Station vanished.

The smiles froze on everyone's faces.

How ruthless.

The previous instance hadn't eliminated fifty contestants, so an additional match was immediately added.

And not just any match—

An urgent elimination battle.

The smiles disappeared from everyone's faces.

Their gazes once again became cold and guarded.

—This was the <Top Talent Show>.

Only one person could survive.

—Contestants could only be temporary teammates.

But they were lifelong enemies.

The smile had long since vanished from He Yu's face.

His expression returned to its usual calmness as he said lightly,

"It's only natural. The competition is still ongoing. Everyone, make your preparations."

Eugene slowly stood up.

The exaggerated joking demeanor from moments ago disappeared.

His expression became serious as he let out a long sigh, his mechanical arm twisting slightly.

"All right."

"Let's prepare."

"In the additional match, everyone relies on their own abilities."

Duan Yuchen smiled bitterly.

"I really didn't expect them to be in such a hurry. They won't even give us time for a discussion."

He Yu had only just advanced.

The notification for the next instance arrived immediately, and teleportation was about to begin.

It was obvious they had no intention of allowing everyone to discuss clues.

Nor were they planning to let anyone question He Yu.

The Transfer Station once again returned to its cold indifference.

Everyone stood silently in place, waiting for teleportation.

Zhen Xing and Ling Buchen stood to either side of He Yu.

Wanrenzhan had no room left beside him and could only stand behind He Yu.

The Bullet Screen exploded with anger.

【"Damn it! That's disgusting!!"】

【"Couldn't they let them enjoy the moment a little longer? We know they'll have to fight again eventually, but did it have to happen immediately?!"】

【"Exactly! The transfer periods used to get longer and longer. Now they're getting shorter? They won't even let them peacefully discuss anything!"】

【"AHHH! Couldn't they have enjoyed that warm atmosphere for just a little longer? The mood had finally improved, and then this notification appeared immediately. They're deliberately ruining it!"】

【"Speechless."】

【"What's with this additional match?"】

【"Actually, that's normal. It's part of the <Top Talent Show> rules. There was another season that had an additional match too."】

【"Even if it happened before, I still don't believe the mastermind didn't interfere!!"】

【"@ProductionTeam What exactly is going on?"】

...

—

Production Team.

Qiu Dao rubbed the single remaining strand of hair on his head, looking utterly miserable.

"What now...? Did you just issue that notification?"

Abier stood up.

"Don't say nonsense."

"We're not insane."

"Why would we release an additional-match notification at a time like this?"

Another technician pointed toward the display on the control console.

"Look."

"According to the backend records, the additional-match notification was triggered automatically by the system."

"There are too many contestants advancing."

"The next semifinal stage only has fifty slots."

"Now there are one hundred contestants."

"So the additional-match rule was automatically activated."

Emile quietly added,

"Of course... that's only what the backend shows."

"As for whether someone secretly interfered..."

"That's hard to say."

The <Top Talent Show> truly functioned as an independent system.

The production team could only make minor adjustments and send notifications.

The contestants were all the Federation's greatest young elites.

How could their lives possibly be completely controlled by the production team?

The production team had always served only as assistants.

They could never be the ones making the decisions.

Whether an additional match was triggered...

What the next instance would be...

None of that was within their authority.

Of course, just as in the previous season, forcibly interfering wasn't impossible.

It was simply extremely troublesome.

And success still couldn't be guaranteed.

Qiu Dao sneered.

"A notification appearing at exactly this moment, immediately dragging them into another match..."

"How could there possibly have been no interference?"

"But the additional-match rule really was triggered."

"It's completely justified."

"So naturally, we're the ones who'll end up taking the blame."

Abier sighed helplessly.

Still, he was only this season's lead technician.

Qiu Dao was the overall director.

Whenever criticism came, it was always directed at Qiu Dao.

Someone beside them spoke up.

"An additional match is normal."

"The previous instance having everyone survive was already a miracle."

"That can't keep happening forever."

"And it's impossible for nobody to die forever."

"If there are fewer than fifty contestants eliminated, they can't enter the next semifinal stage."

No one had died in the previous instance entirely because of coincidence.

Or rather—

Because He Yu had become a bug.

Death inside the instance wasn't true death.

Rules like that were incredibly rare.

That was why it had been called a miracle.

It would never happen again.

Moreover...

It was absolutely impossible for all one hundred contestants to remain alive.

If too many contestants survived, the system would simply continue triggering additional matches.

Again and again.

Until only fifty contestants remained.

Only then would it stop.

So even though He Yu had broken the rules...

He could only break them within a limited scope.

Ultimately, this competition was still one where only a single contestant could leave alive.

Even two survivors were impossible.

—If they truly wanted to avoid elimination according to the rules, the best outcome would actually be for everyone to remain trapped forever inside the <Top Talent Show> system...

...constantly entering one additional instance after another.

With no end.

—That outcome would be even worse.

Qiu Dao sighed before looking toward Abier.

"Let's wait until we see the rules."

"If the rules are too outrageous, can we interfere?"

"It's a little troublesome."

Abier changed the subject.

"But the system's defenses have already been breached."

"We can make slight modifications."

"At the very least, after the system made He Yu into a bug once, we can correct that."

Qiu Dao smiled bitterly.

"He already won once by becoming a bug."

"The mastermind won't allow him to become a bug again."

"If he were made into a bug again..."

"...that might actually be a good thing."

Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to remain calm.

"Let's first see the rules of the next instance."

"If there are any problems..."

"...we'll make appropriate adjustments."

Problems themselves weren't frightening.

What truly worried him...

...was if everything looked completely normal.

Yet every single rule specifically targeted He Yu.

—

District One Government.

As the leader of District One, An Xu had almost no real authority because of the King's existence.

He had been thoroughly suppressed.

By rights, the King should have governed the Federation as a whole rather than involving himself in every district.

But over the years, several major planets had gradually slipped beyond his control.

As his influence over the other districts diminished, the King tightened his grip on District One, suppressing An Xu even more severely.

An Xu was an exceptionally capable man.

Anyone who could become the administrator of a major planet had to be outstanding in every respect.

Naturally...

He had never been willing to accept this situation.

And now—

This was the perfect opportunity.

Ever since people had surrounded the Royal Palace demanding answers, An Xu had been working tirelessly behind the scenes.

Originally, he intended to solve the <Top Talent Show> crisis.

If he succeeded...

He could become the new King.

But after investigating, they discovered that even several major planets working together had failed to solve it.

No one knew who the mastermind truly was.

There were countless theories...

Yet none could be confirmed.

So An Xu abandoned that path.

Instead, he followed public opinion and began searching for the King's secrets.

And finally—

They found one.

Yet at the same time...

Everyone felt their scalps go numb.

One of An Xu's supporters spoke with a trembling voice.

"Has it been confirmed that Blue Eyes is actually Zhan Shen, Li Zhan?"

The secretary slowly nodded.

"Confirmed."

"There are too many obvious clues."

"The black Tangyuan dropped Li Zhan's zither."

"Various other signs."

"And intelligence gathered from the major planets."

"They all point to the same conclusion."

The truth was simply too unbelievable.

Despite all the evidence...

They still hadn't dared believe it.

The supporter immediately asked,

"They were unbelievably bold!"

He turned toward the secretary and raised his voice.

"Do we have evidence?"

"If we do, we can replace the King immediately."

"We could even strike against the major planets!"

An Xu shook his head.

His expression was complicated, his voice calm.

"We don't have conclusive evidence."

"This matter is too unbelievable."

"And the consequences are too enormous."

"If we can't produce undeniable proof..."

"...the Federation's citizens will never believe us."

The supporter frowned.

"But where could we possibly get evidence?"

"The major planets acted together."

"Every trace and every clue must have already been destroyed."

He paused.

"So..."

"Unless Zhan Shen himself appears."

Someone immediately replied,

"Impossible."

"If he could appear, he would have done so long ago."

"He would have torn those people to pieces."

"It's precisely because he can't appear that they've become so rampant."

An Xu suddenly spoke.

"Not necessarily."

"Blue Eyes has already appeared many times."

"And all the evidence suggests..."

"...he knows who he is now."

"He Yu and the others know as well."

He looked toward the livestream projection ahead.

"They simply haven't said it."

"The important parts of He Yu's discussion sessions were all conducted after the livestream was turned off."

"Blue Eyes has appeared many times."

"But never in human form."

"And never showing his face."

The supporter froze.

Then his voice suddenly rose.

"So they're doing it deliberately!"

"They refuse to reveal Li Zhan's identity to the audience!"

"And Zhan Shen himself is deliberately hiding!"

The secretary spoke softly.

"It's not that they refuse."

"They can't."

An Xu nodded in agreement and sighed.

"The moment Li Zhan appears and reveals the truth..."

"...the consequences will be enormous."

"The previous season had its broadcast interrupted."

"What if this season's livestream is cut off as well?"

The supporter frowned.

"Who would cut it off?"

An Xu answered,

"Anyone."

"The King and the major planets might cut the broadcast to protect themselves and blame it on the mastermind."

"The mastermind might also cut the broadcast and blame it on the King and the major planets."

"If that happens..."

"...everything will descend into complete chaos."

As for the people still inside the competition...

No one knew what awaited them.

That was why they didn't dare speak.

Likewise, An Xu himself had no evidence.

He also didn't dare speak.

The situation had reached a complete stalemate.

Looking toward He Yu's livestream, he murmured,

"If only I could communicate with him..."

"We could cooperate from inside and outside..."

"...and expose the truth together."

The supporter asked,

"So who exactly is the mastermind?"

An Xu shook his head.

"They're extremely powerful."

"They're capable of accomplishing impossible things."

"And they're extraordinarily well hidden."

"There are too many suspicious factions."

"We simply can't determine who it is."

—

The identity of the mastermind wasn't being discussed only by Federation citizens and An Xu.

The Royal Palace was discussing it as well.

The King had summoned representatives from all the major planets and the major factions.

Almost everyone present had been connected to the interruption of the previous <Top Talent Show>.

They were all tied together now.

The King's very first sentence was,

"Someone has already figured out who Blue Eyes is."

His voice remained calm.

His eyes lowered slightly, concealing the emotions within.

The conference room fell into an eerie silence.

Only after a long while did someone ask hoarsely,

"Your Majesty... what have you decided?"

After another long silence, the King finally looked up.

Without hiding it any longer, the exhaustion and pressure in his eyes were fully exposed.

His hoarse voice answered,

"Confess."

In truth...

He had already made that decision.

When He Yu had asked him and the Federation to protect Blue Star...

The King had immediately issued one order after another.

At that moment...

He had already decided to stand against the mastermind.

He had already made one mistake.

He could not continue making more.

He had once believed he could bypass Li Zhan's incident...

Uncover the mastermind...

Promote the energy cultivation system...

But after listening to He Yu's deductions...

And after understanding the relationship between the energy cultivation system and the combat power system...

The King finally realized—

God was connected to the energy cultivation system.

Li Zhan's case...

The energy cultivation system...

The mastermind...

All of them were inseparably linked.

There was no way around it.

Sure enough...

People had already begun to discover the truth.

Some had already guessed it.

He would not continue making the same mistake.

After a long silence, someone from District Four spoke softly.

"Your Majesty..."

"What we did back then..."

"If it becomes public..."

"...the Federation will put us on trial."

"We'll be executed."

Everyone's expressions darkened.

The King's eyes suddenly sharpened.

Hope reappeared within them.

"Then we must do everything possible to stay alive."

"And do everything we can to make amends."

"After all..."

"Of the Four Gods..."

"...only Li Zhan's case involved us."

"You mean..."

"Find the mastermind."

"Save Li Zhan."

The King's voice was unwavering.

Everyone unconsciously clenched their fists.

A faint spark of hope ignited in their eyes.

Yes.

They had wronged Li Zhan.

The only way to atone...

...was through Li Zhan himself.

Someone from District Two took a deep breath.

"That's right."

"We can rescue Li Zhan."

"We don't know what happened to the other three Gods."

"But Li Zhan suffered because of us."

"We'll save him."

That would never erase their crimes.

But perhaps...

It could lessen them.

At this point...

There was no longer any way to conceal the truth.

All they could do now was make amends.

Someone from District Three said,

"When we made that decision back then..."

"...perhaps we were misled by the mastermind."

"We didn't understand the energy cultivation system."

"That's why we made such a terrible mistake."

"We must uncover the mastermind."

"They're the real culprit."

At this stage...

All they could do was shift part of the responsibility.

Of course...

It wasn't entirely shifting blame.

The mastermind truly was the greatest culprit.

"So how do we find them?"

someone from District Five asked.

"We've been searching this whole time."

"But we've found nothing."

"They're hiding far too well."

The King's gaze swept across everyone present.

His eyes darkened.

"Perhaps..."

"It's not that they're hiding well."

"But that..."

"...they're hiding among us."

He turned toward the head of District Two.

His gaze filled with suspicion.

"Is it you?"

"The Mechanical Planet controls technology."

"You're the technical department of the <Top Talent Show>."

"You can interfere with the rules."

"You can manipulate the competition..."

The District Two representative froze.

Then he shot to his feet in fury.

He almost exploded in anger before forcing himself to sit back down.

With a cold laugh, he replied,

"So because we're the technical department, that means we're manipulating the competition?"

"Your Majesty..."

"You're quite skilled at redirecting blame."

"The competition system belongs to the entire Federation."

"It's located in District One."

"It doesn't belong to District Two."

"The Mechanical Planet technicians assigned as consultants are different every season."

"Every single operation we perform happens under your supervision."

"We're merely operators."

"The production team gives the orders."

"This season's director is Qiu Dao."

"He's from District One."

"The previous season's director came from District Three."

"And if I remember correctly..."

"...the season when Li Zhan became a God..."

"...the director came from District Four."

"So by your logic..."

"...shouldn't I suspect all of you as well?"

"Trying to dump all the blame on us tool-users..."

"That's completely unreasonable."

Every action taken by the technicians was permanently recorded.

Whether something had been altered was immediately obvious.

No wonder District Two was furious.

They were essentially just tools.

If they modified the rules...

How could everyone else possibly fail to notice?

Qiu Dao would certainly be the first to know.

And he wasn't even from the Mechanical Planet.

There was no reason for him to protect District Two.

The King then looked toward District Three.

His gaze remained equally suspicious.

"The previous season was under your responsibility."

"For years you've wanted District Three to become the Federation's leading district."

"You've always wanted to replace us."

"What exactly have you done for that goal?"

He was clearly suspicious of every district from Two through Five.

After all...

The mastermind's influence was simply too enormous.

The representative from District Three remained expressionless.

"Evidence?"

"Even if you're the King..."

"...you can't make accusations without proof."

"District Three has always developed steadily."

"And we desperately want the truth ourselves."

"That's why we sent Cheng Zhao into the competition."

"If you suspect us..."

"Then we can just as easily suspect you."

"Or District Two."

"Or District Four."

"Or District Five."

The representative from District Five immediately jumped to his feet.

"That's nonsense!"

"I didn't even know about Li Zhan before this!"

"What does any of this have to do with District Five?"

The King immediately countered,

"You didn't know."

"That doesn't mean your predecessors didn't."

"Your district manufactures equipment."

"You profit from equipment."

"Why wouldn't it be possible?"

The District Five representative slammed the table.

"Even without equipment, we'd still be able to use the energy cultivation system!"

"We could forge equipment with energy!"

"Duan Yuchen has already done it!"

"The energy cultivation system wouldn't affect us at all!"

Someone from District Four said quietly,

"Not necessarily."

"That forging method only appeared because He Yu inspired it."

"Before that..."

"...none of you had even considered it."

"In fact..."

"...even now, only Duan Yuchen has mastered that forging method."

"Your own private research hasn't been going very well."

District Five immediately fired back,

"Oh?"

"And District Four is completely innocent?"

"Wasn't it District Four that originally proposed the plan?"

"You already had one God."

"Naturally you'd fear an even stronger God appearing."

After a pause, the District Five representative added,

"Besides..."

"...who knows whether your God has problems too?"

The previous discussion between He Yu and the others about the Gods had taken place after the livestream was disabled.

But the major districts constantly investigated one another.

Naturally...

They had reached some of their own conclusions.

District Four erupted in anger.

"Nonsense!"

"We've already produced a God."

"That's precisely why we aren't afraid of another God appearing."

"Leaving aside the fact that our God is perfectly fine..."

"...even if something had happened to our God..."

"...wouldn't that make us even more eager for a new God to appear?"

"Why would we possibly attack Li Zhan?"

Once again, the representatives of the major districts descended into argument.

Every one of them was a suspect.

And they had never gotten along.

Naturally, each tried to shift the blame onto the others.

None of them, however...

...could produce any actual evidence.

Someone from District Three looked toward the King and quietly added,

"Your Majesty..."

"District One..."

"And you yourself..."

"...are also possible suspects."

The King's expression darkened.

He slowly closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, they were perfectly clear.

"Enough."

"Stop these baseless suspicions."

"Whoever it is..."

"...they cannot remain hidden forever."

"We'll investigate."

"Thoroughly."

"They're very likely to target Blue Star."

"We've already placed Blue Star under complete surveillance."

"The moment they appear..."

"...we'll find them."

The District Two representative nodded.

"I'll have Abier and the others monitor everything."

"The instant we detect any interference with the competition..."

"...we'll trace it."

District Three replied,

"Agreed."

"We'll investigate ourselves."

"But we'll also investigate all of you."

District Four declared,

"District Four will capture the mastermind."

"And rescue Li Zhan."

"No one will stop us."

The District Five representative added,

"We'll cooperate fully."

"But I also propose something else."

"We should cooperate with He Yu."

"We should even find a way to establish contact with him."

"We've searched for so long without discovering anything."

"What if..."

"...he really does have clues?"

Everyone looked toward him.

Then they fell silent in thought.

It actually made sense.

They had to admit it.

He Yu's mind had already surpassed theirs.

If they couldn't solve the mystery...

What if they simply cooperated with him?

He lacked data.

He lacked historical records.

Those were precisely the things they possessed.

The reason they had failed to uncover the mastermind...

...was because every time the rules were manipulated...

...not a single trace had been left behind.

—The mastermind was unimaginably powerful.

—Or there was some reason they still didn't understand.

Whichever it was...

Unless the mastermind voluntarily exposed themselves...

It would be nearly impossible to uncover them.

Meanwhile, He Yu remained inside the competition.

The mastermind continued targeting him directly.

He was very likely to deduce the mastermind's identity before anyone in the Federation.

The King nodded and concluded,

"We must obtain clues before the secret is exposed."

"We can't wait until someone makes the first move before responding."

—

【Welcome to the <Top Talent Show> Semifinal Additional Match: One Hundred to Fifty! This round will eliminate half the contestants at high speed. Strength alone determines survival. Places are limited, so contestants, please give it your all.】

【The theme of the semifinal additional match is—<Health Bar>.】

【This is a 12-hour elimination battle arena. Time is limited, and the competition will be fierce.】

【The battle arena is an infinite cave labyrinth. Countless intersecting passageways spread throughout the maze. This labyrinth is your battlefield. Contestants may fight freely within it. The maze has infinite paths and no boundaries.】

【All contestants will spawn at the labyrinth entrance. The spawn area will exist for only five minutes. Any contestant still remaining there after five minutes will be erased, and the spawn area will disappear.】

【Every contestant has a Health Bar above their head. The Health Bar equals the sum of combat power and defensive power. It also represents the contestant's life value.】

【Taking damage will reduce the Health Bar. Once it reaches zero, the contestant dies.】

【To prevent contestants from forming groups to oppress others, cooperation is forbidden during the elimination battle. If any two contestants remain together for longer than one minute, they will be forced to begin fighting.】

【There are no missions in this elimination battle. Victory conditions are as follows:

1. The competition ends automatically once only fifty contestants remain.

2. If twelve hours pass, the fifty contestants with the longest remaining Health Bars will advance.】

【If contestants have Health Bars of equal length, ranking will be determined by their initial Health Bar values.】

【There is no audience voting in this round. There are only twelve hours, and only fifty contestants may advance. Contestants, rely on your own abilities.】

【The <Health Bar> instance has begun. Good luck, contestants!】

After reading the rules...

Everyone fell silent.

It seemed fair.

Perhaps this was the only instance so far where everything truly depended on strength.

And individual strength at that.

There was no audience voting.

No cooperation.

If Health Bars were equal, contestants would be ranked according to their starting Health Bars.

Every possible situation had already been taken into consideration.

This instance...

...actually seemed perfectly fair.

But—

What about He Yu?

The Bullet Screen instantly filled with messages.

【"AHHHH! What is my Yu Yu supposed to do?!"】

【"Damn it! He's the strongest support. That basically means no one can help him!"】

【"Can we hope the other contestants just won't attack him?"】

【"Impossible! Every slot He Yu takes means someone else loses a slot."】

【"I'm so worried..."】

【"To be fair, though, this pure battle instance really doesn't leave any loopholes. Even ties have been eliminated."】

...

He Yu and the others had already entered the spawn area.

Looking ahead...

There were countless dense cave passages stretching into every direction.

The endless labyrinth truly lived up to its name.

They had only five minutes of safety.

No one had time to analyze the instance.

No one had time to think about advancement strategies.

Almost instinctively...

Everyone looked toward the Health Bars above everyone else's heads.

—Long or short...

The bars represented both combat power...

...and life itself.

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