Card simulation, starting with the Goblin Deserter

The spotlight lingered on Hayes and Soraka.

Higher up in the audience area, two more lights illuminated a separate, suspended platform—where Gentry and his butler were tightly embracing, their figures still shaken!

The host, King, continued, "And of course, there's our Team B detectives!"

"But before that, let's give a warm round of applause to the detectives from Group A who just gave a fantastic performance!"

Below the stage, countless goblins, stretching as far as the eye could see, let out a strange cry in unison, which even sent chills down Hayes's spine!

Hayes turned to look at King, about to ask something, but Soraka broke free from his embrace.

Soraka, her eyes reddening, looked at Hayes's bloodied back and hurriedly pulled out a card from her pocket to try and heal him.

However, due to the rules, that valuable healing spell is now just for show.

Seeing Soraka trembling and sobbing, the host King chuckled and tried to smooth things over.

"Beautiful lady, you performed exceptionally well in the last round, so let me give you a small reward!"

With that, he snapped his fingers, and Hayes's back injury vanished instantly, even his torn clothes became perfectly intact!

Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, King smiled and said with obvious enjoyment.

"In this place, I am 'God'."

"Please abide by the program's rules and regulations, and don't do anything that makes things difficult for me, such as—"

He looked at Hayes and teased, "Something like sneaking up on me and hitting me on the back of the head with a stick..."

"This won't work. If any of you want to try, you can do it now!"

Upon hearing this, Hayes silently put the wooden stick behind his back. He had actually intended to do that, but he hadn't expected the other party to see through his plan...

Does this King possess a similar ability to "read minds"?

As they spoke, the floating platform carrying Gentry and the other man slowly drifted over.

King raised his hand and waved. Before the platform even got close, Gentry and the butler were lifted by an invisible force and brought to Hayes and the other man.

"Now, I will introduce the final segment of this program – the triathlon!"

King pulled out a card from somewhere and read it aloud in a serious manner: "The two detective teams will compete in three rounds to demonstrate their detective abilities!"

"The competition will be a best-of-three format! The winning detective team will receive the title of 'Great Detective' and a special prize personally sponsored by me!"

So, which team will come out on top and win the match?

"Let's wait and see!"

As soon as King finished speaking, all the goblins in the audience cheered, as if this were a recording studio for a variety show and they were the audience watching the show.

At this moment, having composed herself, Soraka turned her back to Hayes, deliberately avoiding looking at him, and asked King, "What happens to the team that loses the game?"

"Not getting the prize or the title... so going home?"

King was taken aback, then chuckled: "According to the original rules, the loser would stay here forever and become a member of our goblin family!"

"But beautiful ladies always have special privileges. If your team loses... just let Hayes stay!"

As he spoke, he smiled and winked at Hayes, though the gesture was not very noticeable because of the mask he was wearing.

Hearing this answer, Soraka became nervous, shaking her head vigorously: "No, no, we came together, of course we have to go back together! Even if, even if we really have to stay... we still have to go together!"

"Wow, what a touching camaraderie! It reminds me of my time serving in the army a long time ago!"

King whistled, his smile growing even wider.

Hayes, however, frowned, for some reason feeling a strange sense of familiarity with this King...

At the same time, through his "anticipation" perception, he vaguely sensed that... King's attitude towards him was different from that of the other three.

Before he could think it over, King, unwilling to waste any more words, directly read out the rules for the first competition.

"As a detective, a strong physique is essential! So the first competition is boxing!"

"Who wants to watch a boxing match? Answer me, you little ones!!"

The goblins below responded with heart-wrenching roars, and Hayes even saw one goblin scream so hard it lost its brain and fainted on the spot.

But the first round is boxing?! This is no joke!

Hayes chuckled, glancing at Gentry and the butler with a friendly smile: "Competition first, friendship second."

"It's normal to break an arm or leg in boxing, don't worry..."

Seeing the look in his eyes, Gentry and the butler were almost in tears. They cried out in unison to King, "It's not fair!"

"This guy can break iron with his bare hands. Fighting him is practically the same as forcing us to lose!"

King stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment: "Rules are rules, and the rules for boxing have already been set and cannot be changed..."

Upon hearing this, the two men turned ashen-faced.

"However, you have a point!"

Seeing Hayes's determined expression, a wicked smile suddenly appeared on King's face.

"A new rule has been added to boxing matches—both competitors will be placed in the same physical weight class!"

"What?!" Hayes was now in a panic.

He glared indignantly at King: "You yourself said that detectives need a strong physique, but who modifies their physique to the same level before competing?"

"This is unfair! It's a rigged competition! I want to withdraw from the competition!"

However, in response to Hayes's taunts, King chuckled and said, "I reserve the right to final interpretation of this program. You have no right to withdraw from the competition unless..."

"You want to grow old with that beautiful lady as goblins here? Tsk tsk, isn't that enviable?"

Without waiting for Hayes's response, King waved his right hand, and a standard-sized boxing ring appeared out of thin air in front of everyone.

He wasn't lying; in this world, he is "God"!

"This match is a one-on-one duel with no time limit, continuing until the opponent concedes or is defeated!"

King then materialized two pairs of boxing gloves and threw them into Hayes and Gentry's hands, as if acknowledging that these were the two teams' starting lineups.

Seeing this, the butler volunteered, "Young Master, you are delicate and fragile, let me do it!"

"Brand, get out of the way. Without my physical disadvantage, I'm not afraid of that kid at all!"

Gentry pushed the butler aside, put on his boxing gloves, and stepped into the ring first.

On the other side, Soraka didn't rush to step in and cause trouble for Hayes; she simply helped him carefully put on his boxing gloves and then looked at him attentively.

"be safe!"

"At worst, we'll just become goblins together here!"

Hayes chuckled twice, thinking to himself, "I've been playing the goblin in the Sims every night, and I'm really getting tired of it..."

He watched Gentry stretching his muscles in the stands, seemingly ready to make a big splash, and suddenly an idea struck him.

"Soraka, what you're going to say later..."