Ninth class citizen

Chapter 291 The True Colors Revealed
"Don't be discouraged, everyone." Chen Hao finally finished his calculations and looked up at his teammates who were staring at him expectantly:
"We can't be completely sure what difficulty level we're at right now. But based on past experience, it's very likely that it's only level one. If everyone works together, we still have a good chance of successfully completing it."

The team continued moving forward, and the temperature continued to rise.

Aside from team members wearing fire-resistant clothing, only those who have activated ice and water-attribute extraordinary items can feel somewhat comfortable.

As for the others, their skin was basically red and hot, and even their hair had become curled and charred.

The pungent smell grew stronger and stronger, and the sweat on everyone's bodies dried up as soon as it came out. Their lungs were filled with hot air, making it increasingly difficult to breathe.

After turning another bend, the view suddenly opened up ahead.

A scorching wave of sulfurous heat, carrying sparks, rushed towards us. Within a space of over a thousand square meters, there was a fiery red lava lake.

The only passage was a dark red rock bridge, crisscrossing like the skeleton of a lava behemoth.

The constantly gushing columns of lava turned the dome blood red, and the splashing liquid flames etched hideous scorch marks on the rock walls.

"Oh my god! It's a lava lake!" someone cried out in despair.

Chen Hao stopped in his tracks, his face expressionless.

"Lava Lake!" he repeated, word by word, "How could it possibly be Hell difficulty again!"

"Hell level?! No! I want to go back, I don't want to be burned to death!" A low-level gladiator suddenly broke down and shouted, turning around and running back the way he came.

Chen Hao didn't stop him, but coldly counted: "Three, two, one!"

A cold, electronic voice echoed throughout the venue: "One deserter has been confirmed. He will be executed by burning at the stake according to regulations."

The extremely shrill screams came from afar and lasted for nearly a minute before slowly stopping.

Looking at the pale faces of the crowd, Chen Hao calmly reminded them, "Our every move is under the watchful eyes of the arena and the VIPs. Any action that might be considered 'escape' will be punished severely. Do you understand?"

“But there’s only one path ahead,” a low-ranking gladiator said, trembling. “The temperature on the bridge over the lake is at least a thousand degrees; we’ll die the same way if we go up there!”

“There’s another way,” Chen Hao said meaningfully. “You all know it, don’t you?”

"Sacrifice, sacrifice?" The low-ranking gladiator trembled even more violently.

“That’s right. If we sacrifice two more people and lower the difficulty from Hell to Normal, the rock bridge will rise and the temperature will drop to 300 or 400 degrees Celsius.”

Upon hearing this, the intermediate gladiators all perked up.

Their clothing was mostly made of resistant materials, and with the addition of extraordinary items, crossing the rock bridge at a depth of three to four hundred degrees was not difficult.

"Stop wasting time!"

"We'll do as the captain says, we'll apply for a sacrifice right away!"

Soon, the cold electronic voice sounded again: "More than half of the members agree to the sacrifice. We are now entering the voting protection period."

A square, transparent dome appeared out of thin air, isolating the unbearable heat.

"Please complete your vote within 3 minutes. The number of votes for the sacrificed person must exceed half of the votes from the team members present; otherwise, the vote will be considered invalid, protection will be immediately canceled, and the application will not be able to be submitted again."

"Who should we sacrifice this time?" Chen Hao's gaze swept over everyone before finally settling on Nan Rong's face.

Even at this point, the woman still maintained an indifferent expression, her gaze towards him remaining detached, completely disregarding him as the team leader.

A hint of mockery flashed in Chen Hao's eyes. In truth, no matter what she did, she had to die here today. This was the order from above; he could not, and dared not, disobey it.

“Nan Rong,” he said bluntly, “she was the last to leave in the last round, almost dragging the whole team down. Furthermore, her dual wind and fire elemental abilities are of no benefit to the team in this round, therefore I have designated her as the first sacrifice. Any objections?”

"Agree."

"no disagreement."

The three extraordinary individuals who had been saved by Nan Rong all lowered their heads, not daring to look into Nan Rong's eyes.

"We all agree," the metal and fire elemental superhumans said in unison.

Ji Jun glanced at Nan Rong and said softly, "I'm sorry, sister. I'll listen to the captain too."

Nan Rong lowered her eyes and didn't say a word, seemingly understanding that no matter what she said or did, she wouldn't change other people's decisions.

"Time is limited." Chen Hao smirked. "Everyone, hurry up and vote. As for the second sacrifice, you can choose for yourselves. I won't be the bad guy."

"Voting complete." The cold electronic voice quickly announced: "The vote count is as follows. Two team members received more than half of the surviving members' votes: Nan Rong (16 votes) and Ji Jun (11 votes), both of whom meet the conditions for sacrifice."

As soon as she finished speaking, Nan Rong remained calm, but Ji Jun stared wide-eyed in disbelief, as if struck by lightning.
"How could I be here? I don't want to die, and I can't die!"

He looked up and around, only to be met with cold, indifferent eyes; no one was willing to explain a single word to him.

Tears streamed down Ji Jun's face as he turned and rushed towards Chen Hao, pleading, "Brother Hao, please help me! I always listen to you! You said before that my extraordinary abilities are very rare, and ordinary people can't compare to them at all."

He cried as he reached out to hug Chen Hao, simultaneously unleashing a manipulation-based supernatural skill in an attempt to penetrate the other's mind and alter his will.

But both his hand and his extraordinary skills were pushed back by an invisible force, unable to even touch Chen Hao.

A mid-level gladiator laughed: "It's in protection mode now. No one can touch anyone else. The only thing we're doing is for the sacrificers to fight back desperately. You'd better save your energy."

Chen Hao's expression remained unchanged, showing not even a trace of pity.

"This is everyone's choice, and there's nothing I can do about it," he said.

The electronic sound continues:
"Randomly selecting execution method. Once selected, the character will be thrown into the lava lake. Execution commenced."

Nan Rong and Ji Jun were enveloped by a powerless force and flew towards the lava lake ahead.

In the chaotic star field, on an inconspicuous asteroid.

A man with skin as white as snow stood with his hands behind his back, dressed in white against the wind. From a distance, he resembled a snow-capped mountain peak with a bright moon hanging in the sky, exuding a sense of indifference that looked down upon all living beings.

Before him, a vast expanse of void transformed into a massive light screen, displaying the actual scene of Nan Rong and the others in the blood-red maze.

The man in black robes stood respectfully behind him: "My lord, your wishes have been perfectly executed. The people's reactions were exactly as you predicted. This time, you will surely get what you want."

A clear, cool voice, like the sound of striking jade, rang out softly: "Well done."

"Selfishness, greed, and ingratitude. The baseness of human nature is amplified infinitely in such a place."

"Having experienced the trampling of kindness and the betrayal of sincerity, she will inevitably be assimilated and fall step by step into the dark quagmire."

"By that time, even if she were still alive, it would be no different from being dead."

It was no longer possible for him to achieve his destiny through the "trials" issued by that incredibly mysterious place.