Chapter 42: Muddy the Waters
Translator: Atlas Studios | Editor: Atlas Studios
As she was worried that the sign would be snatched away by Bai Ling first, Tan Si pretended to be inadvertent and pulled Wang Li forward. She walked to the lush grass to block them. “Bai Ling, Lu Ting, what has your progress been like?”
Tan Si’s question was really quite nonsensical. Bai Ling thought that she would not say so even if she had found it. Otherwise, wouldn’t she make an enemy of herself?
Bai Ling was in charge of carrying their bamboo basket. She was very vigilant and kept a distance of five meters from Tan Si’s team at all times. She replied from afar, “We haven’t found it yet, but I bumped into Zhou Yan and his wife just now. They seemed a little mysterious. I wonder if they found any clues.”
Bai Ling was not stupid. Her team was all girls and were a little weak to begin with. Furthermore, Zhou Yan and his wife were ranked first. She wanted to divert the trouble. It would be best if she could attract Tan Si’s attention to Zhou Yan. If they managed to find the sign later, it would be less easy to arouse suspicion.
Tan Si’s eyes flickered as she pretended to believe her. After the two of them disappeared, she turned and looked around. Then, she revealed a surprised expression. “Mom, I found the sign.”
Wang Li also played along. The two of them went forward and placed the sign in the bamboo basket.
The sign was only half the height of a bamboo basket and was completely concealed.
On the other side, Jiang Huai and his sister walked around but still found nothing. They happened to find Tan Si and her mother.
At this moment, Zhou Yan’s group had also reached this place. Including Yuan Jing’s group, the four groups met. Other than Yuan Jing and her brother, everyone else looked very vigilant.
Just as Tan Si was thinking about how to escape quietly, Bai Ling and Lu Ting came back.
After Bai Ling left, the more she thought about it, the more she felt that Tan Si’s expression was a little unnatural just now. She did not expect a gathering of so many people the moment she returned.
[Wow! This scene is comparable to a battlefield arena. This round should be called the Desolate Island Battle!]
[Hahaha, Tan Si’s sign hasn’t felt the heat yet.]
[No one can see that sign. Who would think that she has it? I
[I feel that Yuan Jing and Yuan Shao are the same as us. They don’t care at all that their food could be snatched away for others to get bonus points. They’re especially at ease as spectators.]
[My Lingling is so smart! Luckily, she felt something was fishy, so she didn’t miss this sign-stealing duel.]
The game was to last two hours. Now, an hour and a half had already passed. Everyone was still peacefully coexisting. No team had taken the initiative to attack others to snatch their food. They all wanted to maintain their stamina until the end. After all, the points were calculated based on the outcome the moment the game ended.
Zhou Yan observed everyone’s expressions and took the initiative to break the stalemate. “It will end in half an hour. Let me express my position first. Our team hasn’t found the sign.”
Zhou Yan was now first place. Whether he could win the championship in the end depended on this round. The gap between the top three was too small. They were all most eager to get the sign.
The other four groups also said that they had not found it.
Tan Ming secretly suspected that someone was lying. “How can everyone prove that what they said is true? Yuan Jing’s team has been searching with us just now. We can testify for each other.”
Yuan Jing had been worrying about not having a chance to make herself known in front of Jiang Huai. Now that she heard Tan Ming’s words, she immediately raised three fingers and said loudly, “1 can swear to the heavens that our two teams really didn’t find the sign. If I’m lying, 1 won’t be popular for the rest of my life!”
When the other three teams heard Yuan Jing’s vicious oath, they had indescribable expressions on their faces. It was just a game. Was there a need to go so far?
The few groups looked at each other. They had all been independently searching. Where could they get a witness from?
Tan Si, on the other hand, did not dare to speak much because she was carrying the sign, and was afraid that she would be noticed.
Bai Ling glanced at Yuan Jing and Tan Ming. She was still a little suspicious. “We all want to win the game. Don’t blame me for being suspicious. After all, there are many people who make such oaths, but not many of them come true.”
Yuan Shao glanced at everyone and felt that this was a good opportunity.
If everyone was telling the truth, in order to fight for points without a sign would be for everyone to start snatching other people’s food. As long as everyone was fighting, he would take advantage of the confusion to push Tan Ming. It could be considered obeying Tan Si’s instructions, and it was also normal for there to be physical conflicts in such a competition. No one could say anything about him. The more Yuan Shao thought about it, the more he felt that this plan was wonderful.
Therefore, the most important thing now was to start the dispute first.
Yuan Shao quickly thought of a brilliant idea and was secretly smug. He had never thought that his mind could work so quickly, so he smiled at Bai Ling. “If you don’t believe me, 1 can show you my basket..”