At the foot of the mountain.

The snowball finally came to a stop. Zhen Xing dug several robots out from the snow. He had reacted the fastest. Although he had been carried down as well, he had stuck close to the side of the snowball and hadn't been wrapped inside it.

Cheng Zhao and Yuan Ze weakly crawled out of the snowball, their bodies trembling, looking utterly miserable.

They had been trapped inside the giant snowball the whole way down. Along the way, they had suffered countless collisions and crushing impacts, barely able to breathe and enduring endless torment.

If not for Federation warriors possessing extraordinarily strong physiques, an ordinary person would have died from that ordeal.

Even so, they were dizzy and nauseated, too weak to vomit, unable to even stand.

Yuan Ze's voice was hoarse.

“What attacked us? That snowball was too fast. Damn it, we couldn't react at all.”

Zhen Xing said, “Probably the Ice Beast.”

Cheng Zhao raised his head with difficulty.

“So what do we do now?”

Eugene had already crashed mentally. Hearing that, he laboriously extended his mechanical arm to support himself. Looking ahead blankly, traces of despair hidden in his eyes, he asked in a daze—

“Do we... have to climb again?”

Everyone: “......”

Ah—

Collective breakdown.

It was already dark, and time waited for no one. Plenty of people had already advanced. There were only ten thousand spots in total. If they delayed any longer, they might fail to pass.

So there was only one choice.

Climb again.

Dragging their exhausted, aching bodies, the group set off up the mountain once more.

“This time we must be careful. We can't get knocked down again without even seeing what hit us!” Eugene gritted his teeth.

Everyone nodded together.

Federation viewers watched the group struggling up the mountain, staggering with every step, and then looked at the neighboring livestream, where He Yu was curled up atop the Ice Beast's head, sleeping soundly...

—The contrast was so damn striking.

“This familiar contrast... feels like the preliminaries all over again.”

“Back then He Yu rode the giant fish around everywhere. Nobody knew what was happening, and he'd just leisurely pass by on the fish...”

“Eugene and the others are really miserable. Wanrenzhan and the others only just escaped He Yu's influence, and now Eugene's group has stepped into the nightmare.”

“As expected, there's only worse, never the worst.”

“Damn it, He Yu really makes people surrender. I got slapped in the face again. A guaranteed death situation, and he somehow turned it into this!”

...

Transit Station.

Siya and Qiao Yuan exchanged glances.

Siya shuddered.

“It feels like being eliminated early and reaching the sixth stage wouldn't have made much difference?”

Qiao Yuan nodded.

“We missed some equipment, but twenty thousand votes would've been spent anyway.”

Duan Yuchen looked relaxed. The indignation from before had completely disappeared. Instead, seeing others suffering even more brought him a strange sense of satisfaction. Smiling, he said,

“Excellent. Now we can sit back and watch what Zhen Xing and the others experience next.”

—The more miserable, the better!

The more miserable they became, the less miserable Duan Yuchen's group seemed in comparison.

After all, happiness came from comparison.

Wanrenzhan muttered,

“Why is that Ice Beast so stupid?”

Zhante interjected,

“Not really. The Ice Beast isn't stupid. He Yu just has too many tricks. It's just like the preliminaries. Only he could ride the giant fish, while we could only struggle to survive.”

Facing the Ice Beast, they would only think of confronting it head-on. Taming it would never even cross their minds.

The He Yu capable of taming the Ice Beast truly was extraordinary.

In a corner, Ling Buchen, whose presence was almost nonexistent, rested his chin on his hand and blinked.

—He Yu really knows how to pet cats.

—He wanted to pet one too. Wuwuwu.

Day broke.

The sun slowly rose, heralding beautiful weather. Yet even with sunlight shining down, there wasn't the slightest warmth.

In the world of ice and snow, there was only cold.

After an agonizing night, Zhen Xing, Eugene, and the others finally climbed back up.

They had truly climbed.

The ascent became harder and harder, especially the second time around. Their stamina had declined, their conditions worsened, and in the second half of the night, the temperature had dropped even further.

They wanted to stop climbing.

But stopping meant the possibility of freezing to death.

With no choice, they gritted their teeth and kept going.

At last, dawn came.

And they reached the summit.

Hands pressed into the snow, heads poking out, they cautiously looked around, afraid another snowball might suddenly appear.

The mountaintop was broad and spacious, remarkably flat.

Other than two raised “snow mounds,” there seemed to be nothing else.

At least, nothing visible.

Cheng Zhao let out a long breath and climbed up.

Yuan Ze followed, his voice hoarse.

“We're finally up. The Ice Beast isn't visible yet. It's safe for now. Anyone with potions, drink them and recover some energy.”

As he spoke, he downed a three-star potion.

Although it couldn't compare to high-level potions, supplies were scarce. It would do.

Gedai had nothing.

Keeping a grim face, he said,

“He Yu has plenty of good stuff. If he isn't dead, he's definitely hiding somewhere. We must find him and take his equipment!”

During the second elimination round, because of He Yu, he had gained nothing and spent one hundred thousand votes just to leave.

Now, in this round, he only had one hundred eighty thousand votes left.

He couldn't afford any accidents.

Furthermore, throughout the third round, He Yu's group had always stayed ahead of them, leaving behind nothing.

They only obtained a few items when they joined forces to kill the giant tree and expose the mole in the fourth stage, and they almost fought over the distribution.

How could Gedai not resent it?

He Yu's group had been ahead the whole time.

Their equipment must be plentiful.

Cheng Zhao nodded heavily.

Their goal was now unified—

Kill He Yu.

Take his equipment.

Zhen Xing had no objections to killing He Yu.

But deep down, he knew—

They couldn't kill him.

A man who had survived this long alone wasn't someone who could be easily killed.

Trying would more likely result in disaster.

Still, Zhen Xing wanted to find him.

Looking around, he asked,

“How do we find him? Anyone got an idea?”

Eugene suddenly laughed sinisterly.

“Hehehe, I actually do!”

Instantly full of spirit, he stood up with malicious excitement.

“And I have to thank He Yu. He inspired me in the last instance.”

As he spoke, he removed his own head.

Everyone: “......”

—Accepting that you can function as a machine this quickly... is that really okay?

[Bullet Comment: “...He Yu unlocked a new function for Mechanical Planet people.”]

[Bullet Comment: “Think back to the last instance. Eugene exploded with rage when he was used like a machine. And now... tsk tsk.”]

[Bullet Comment: “He Yu changed them without anyone noticing.”]

Ignoring everyone's reactions, Eugene skillfully tapped with his fingers.

“I don't have Qiong's abilities, but this is my own head. It works pretty well.”

Gedai suddenly understood.

“You converted your head into a detector?”

“Correct.”

His mechanical fingers moved nonstop.

“This mountaintop obviously doesn't have many living creatures. The detector can detect human life signs. It'll definitely find He Yu.”

Eugene laughed.

“Hehehe! No matter how deeply he hides, he never imagined I could find him!”

Cheng Zhao also smiled, narrowing his eyes.

“Exactly. He played us like fools. Let's see how we deal with him.”

Gedai coldly curled his lips.

“When I find him, I'll make him kneel and beg!”

No matter how strong He Yu was, could he really surpass all of them combined?

Imagining He Yu kneeling and begging, everyone wore malicious smiles.

Zhen Xing: “......”

He had a bad feeling.

Sunlight shone upon his face.

After sleeping comfortably through the night, He Yu opened his eyes.

Wrapped in the Ice Beast's warm fur, he felt nothing but comfort.

After a night's rest, his condition had completely recovered.

The giant cat's fur beneath him felt like the softest blanket imaginable, maintaining a constant temperature. Even during the freezing second half of the night, it had remained wonderfully warm.

He yawned and stretched lazily.

Before he could sit up, however, he heard a familiar voice—

“He Yu is in this direction!” Eugene shouted excitedly. “I've detected him!”

Cheng Zhao asked,

“Behind the snow mound?”

Yuan Ze ran around from behind and shook his head.

“No. He's not hiding there.”

“Then is he inside?”

Gedai frowned.

“Eugene, is your detector reliable or not?”

Annoyed, Eugene snapped,

“Don't question my detection skills... Huh? Why am I detecting something else too? What is it?”

His voice gradually became puzzled.

Gedai snorted.

“If your detector is accurate, then where is He Yu?”

At those words, He Yu poked his head out.

Pushing up his glasses, he smiled warmly.

“You were looking for me? I'm right here.”

Everyone froze and instinctively raised their heads.

Atop the snow mound, He Yu looked down at them.

For some reason, Zhen Xing's ominous feeling intensified. He subconsciously stepped back.

Then stepped back again.

Everyone was focused on He Yu. No one noticed Zhen Xing's movements.

Eugene reattached his head and put his hands on his hips.

“Hahaha!! Found you at last, He Yu!”

Yuan Ze said,

“You can't beat all of us together. Let's see what tricks you have left.”

Gedai transformed his mechanical arm into a blade and stared at him sinisterly.

“You've got guts. You knew we were looking for you and still dared show yourself?”

He Yu simply smiled.

“I've been waiting for you.”

Everyone froze.

Eugene instinctively asked,

“Waiting for us for what?”

He Yu blinked innocently.

“At first, I waited for you to bring me up the mountain.”

“Now, I'm waiting for you to play with my big cat.”

Everyone: “?”

—What was he saying?

—Why couldn't they understand?

Zhen Xing's pupils shook violently.

He staggered backward again.

Eugene frowned.

“What nonsense are you—”

His tone changed.

“He Yu! If you beg for mercy, maybe we'll spare you. Otherwise—hehehe...”

He stared at He Yu, waiting for his expression to change.

But He Yu remained calm.

He even reached out and tugged on something black beside him.

Gedai flew upward.

“Enough talking. Kill him and take the equipment!”

He charged toward the summit.

Yet although he was flying upward, the distance between him and He Yu grew farther and farther.

Gedai froze.

Stopping midair, he looked upward blankly.

Everyone on the ground wore the same expression.

Their heads tilted higher and higher.

Not because they had become shorter—

But because He Yu was rising.

The “snow mound” stood up, lifting He Yu even higher.

At the same time, the “snow mound” lowered its head.

A pair of icy blue eyes stared down at them.

An overwhelming aura of a supreme predator spread through the air.

Killing intent descended.

Everyone: “???”

Everyone: “!!!”

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