Chapter 119: The Match Begins

As soon as Shen Feng’s words fell, a thunderous boom echoed through the entire underground space, causing it to vibrate ominously. An immensely thick transparent wall suddenly dropped from a crack in the ceiling, crashing heavily onto the floor and completely separating the red and blue teams.

The wall was as smooth as a mirror yet unbreakable, dividing the hundred participants into two independent cages of fifty each. They could clearly see every expression on the opposing team’s faces, but no contact could be made. Above the wall, a line of crimson numbers lit up mysteriously:

[00:29:59]

A thirty-minute countdown began mercilessly, like the relentless pulse of death itself.

Everyone was still in a daze, unable to fathom what new trick this was.

Then, a creeping, unsettling rustling sound emerged from the half-open circular hole above their heads. The sound was faint but felt as if countless tiny insects were crawling directly into their ears, burrowing into their brains.

Suddenly, a torrent of small, white soft-bodied creatures began pouring down in a waterfall from the edge of the opening. They fell onto the ground, onto people’s hair and shoulders.

“What the hell is this?” a man closest to the hole instinctively reached out and touched it. The substance was sticky and somewhat elastic. Bringing it close to his eyes, his pupils sharply contracted the next moment.

“Ah—!!!”

A heart-wrenching scream tore through the space.

Chen Yu shuddered and looked up. Just a single glance sent a chill racing from his tailbone to the crown of his head.

Maggots!

White maggots, countless and endless, were pouring out wildly from the dark hole above like a rain of filth.

Damn! This sick twisted joke really never changes over the years! Chen Yu’s mind screamed in protest, his stomach churning violently.

“Ahhhh!!”

“Bugs! They’re bugs!”

“Get them off me! Don’t touch me!!”

The red team, with many women already present, saw their mental defenses collapse instantly. Screams echoed one after another as the women frantically slapped their bodies, some even collapsing to the ground, giving up resistance and allowing the disgusting creatures to crawl all over them.

On the other side, the blue team also erupted in terrified screams through the transparent wall.

But soon, Chen Yu noticed a critical change.

The hole above the blue team’s heads, amid their instinctive attempts to escape and struggle forward, began to slowly close.

Meanwhile, on their own side…

Chen Yu looked up and saw the red team’s hole expanding visibly, growing larger by the second!

More maggots, accompanied by a stench of rot, poured down like a flood!

“Pull! Everyone pull with all your might!”

Chen Yu shouted fiercely, planting his feet firmly and suddenly jerking the rope tied around his waist hard forward.

A few rational men in front of him, awakened by his roar, gritted their teeth and pulled with all their strength.

The usual roguish grin on Chen Yu’s face had completely vanished, his gaze dark and intense.

He calculated rapidly in his mind.

The blue team was indeed packed with muscle, and in pure strength, the red team was at a disadvantage. But the gap wasn’t insurmountable.

What was truly deadly was morale.

Look at their side: most of the women had been terrified by the maggots, unable to cooperate or even stand properly, becoming a serious burden.

At this rate, the blue team would close their hole completely in less than thirty minutes.

At most, five minutes.

When that happened, although the game wouldn’t technically be over, the hole above their heads would open to its maximum size, and the torrent of maggots would erupt like a flash flood, completely flooding the place.

Losing meant being buried alive in a mass of maggots!

Chen Yu turned to exchange a glance with Li Qing beside him.

Li Qing’s face was pale but still composed; she had clearly realized the gravity of the situation as well.

Without words, their tacit understanding was clear.

“Keep screaming if you want to be buried alive by bugs!” Chen Yu’s voice thundered, overpowering all the screams. “Look at the other side! They’re about to win! If they do, every one of us will die here!”

“If you don’t want to die, then pull that rope!” Li Qing’s voice followed sharply. “They’re just bugs — they can’t kill you! It’s losing the game that will!”

Their voices harmonized, finally restoring some of those gripped by fear to their senses.

Tears streaming and trembling, they struggled to stand and grasped the waist ropes anew.

Tug-of-war is never just a contest of raw strength.

Skill is the key to victory.

Chen Yu’s mind raced, and a simple yet effective plan surfaced.

“Everyone listen carefully!”

“When I say ‘one, two,’ get ready to pull!”

“When I shout ‘pull,’ use every ounce of strength and fall forward together!”

“Got it?”

No one answered, but their actions spoke volumes.

“Good!”

Chen Yu took a deep breath and let out a bellow, emptying his lungs.

“One!”

“Two!”

“Pull—!!!”

A surge of dozens of forces twisted into one in an instant.

The taut giant hemp rope suddenly dropped forward with a heavy thud!

It worked!

Chen Yu looked up. The expanding hole above them suddenly halted, then began to shrink visibly!

There was hope!

Everyone’s spirits lifted.

“Keep going! Don’t stop!”

“One!”

“Two!”

“Pull—!!!”

Another synchronized burst.

The hole shrank faster!

Chen Yu glanced at the timer on the wall.

[00:24:58]

Five minutes had passed.

The maggots inside the space were endless, completely covering everyone’s ankles.

Every step felt sticky and writhing, a nauseating sensation.

Even the bravest strongman felt his scalp tingle and his body shudder.

But now, the will to survive outweighed everything.

Under Chen Yu’s command, the red team’s rhythm improved steadily, and their cooperation became more seamless.

The hole above had shrunk from mostly open to just half its original size.

The scales of victory seemed to be tipping in their favor.

Then!

“One! Two! Pull!”

The blue team next door suddenly shouted the same command!

They had copied them!

Moreover, their chants were rougher, more brutal, filled with raw power.

Chen Yu’s expression changed.

He could clearly feel the pulling force on the rope multiply several times in an instant!

The hole that had been slowly closing abruptly stopped, then began inching wider again!

“Damn it!” a man spat, veins bulging on his face. “They’re chanting too!”

“They’re stronger than us! We can’t outlast them!”

The hope that had just sparked was instantly doused with cold water.

Panic began to spread anew.

Chen Yu’s arm muscles ached, sweat mingled with fallen maggots slid down his forehead into his eyes, stinging and blurring his vision.

He fixed his gaze on the grimacing strongmen on the other side, teeth clenched.

“Hold on, damn it!”

With every ounce of strength left, Chen Yu roared like a beast.

“The game has only just begun!”