Chapter 39: The Farmer's Walk

As the game introduction concluded, five people simultaneously let out sharp, stinging groans.

"Hiss..."

Wang Yongxin looked down at the stinging sensation on his wrist. On the inside of his black visa bracelet, it seemed a needle had pierced through, rapidly puncturing his skin and injecting some kind of substance into his body.

A strange, tingling numbness spread from the puncture site on his wrist.

"A slow-acting toxin... it will take effect and kill me in two hours..."

Wang Yongxin's expression turned grim.

Two hours was considered a relatively long game time.

Previously, the game time for "Blood Poker" was an hour and a half, and even then, many players had spent time idling or wasting time during the process.

But this situation was entirely different.

In the face of a life-and-death crisis, two hours would feel far too short.

"Where are Lawyer Lin and Officer Cao?

"They should have entered this game as well, but they aren't in the corridor."

Wang Yongxin looked around. The long corridor ahead was actually divided into five different paths.

Wang Yongxin, Ding Wenqiang, and Cai Zhiyuan were each on a different path, while two complete strangers were on two other, more distant paths.

The paths were separated by glass partitions several meters high, which could neither be broken nor climbed.

There was only one thing they could do right now.

Directly ahead was a special mechanism, about 1.6 meters high and 1.2 meters wide, consisting of a specific frame structure.

According to the game rules: these people had to shoulder the mechanism in front of them and traverse the corridor within the time limit.

The design of the mechanism was not complex; it was somewhat similar to a weighted yoke, or perhaps a piece of equipment specifically designed for farmer's walks.

There were specific positions for the shoulders and hands, making it easy to identify.

Additionally, the mechanism was fitted with a large number of irregular iron blocks used as counterweights.

According to the game rules, each person's mechanism weighed exactly their own body weight. In other words, the heavier the person, the heavier the mechanism they had to carry.

"Hey!"

Someone cried out in surprise. Wang Yongxin looked up and realized that Ding Wenqiang had already shouldered his mechanism and was walking forward.

Wang Yongxin then looked up at his own path. At regular intervals, there were special timer signs.

The signs showed a 60-second countdown, and 5 seconds had already passed.

"Damn it!"

Wang Yongxin realized he had lost precious time by overthinking. He had spent his first moments contemplating the rules and observing the arena, wasting time without even realizing it.

He hurried to his mechanism and stepped into it.

Then, Wang Yongxin gripped the vertical handles on both sides and pushed upward with his shoulders with all his might.

"Get up..."

That single effort caused Wang Yongxin's blood to rush to his head; his heart pounded violently, and beads of sweat rolled down.

Although the design of the mechanism was somewhat user-friendly—featuring special leather padding at the shoulder rests to prevent the steel from digging painfully into the skin and making movement impossible—it was still a solid weight equal to his own body mass.

Wang Yongxin struggled to move his steps forward.

As a man of means, Wang Yongxin had certainly been to gyms and had even performed farmer's walk training before. Unfortunately, as he aged, he had less time and became lazier, eventually abandoning his fitness habits.

The only good news was that to maintain his persona as a business elite and leave a good impression on investors, he had been controlling his diet, so his physique was still relatively decent.

If he had been twenty pounds heavier, he would likely be facing certain death right now.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

After only a few steps, Wang Yongxin felt his breathing grow increasingly rapid. Even with large gasps, he couldn't catch his breath, and his heart felt like it was about to explode.

The farmer's walk is an exercise that demands high full-body strength; it requires not only powerful lower limbs but also a strong core and excellent balance.

Consequently, after walking only a few meters, Wang Yongxin was so exhausted he could barely breathe. The moment his posture slumped slightly, the mechanism crashed back to the ground.

When Wang Yongxin looked up again, he saw that Ding Wenqiang had already pulled far ahead, leaving everyone else in the dust.

"...This game is fucking unfair."

Wang Yongxin only had time to mutter a complaint, but after glancing at the countdown, he could only grit his teeth and shoulder the mechanism to move forward again.

Of course, he quickly realized his complaint was a bit bitter. The corridors had never specified that they had to be a certain type of game.

In a game like "Blood Poker," which encouraged speculation and rule-studying, Wang Yongxin held the advantage. So, in a game that emphasized physical stamina where Ding Wenqiang held the advantage, there was nothing unreasonable about it.

As an experienced manual laborer, Ding Wenqiang possessed not only physical fitness far exceeding the average person but also exaggerated endurance.

This challenge seemed almost tailor-made for him.

...

Through the monitoring screens, Lin Sizhi could clearly see everyone's situation.

The current ranking was: Ding Wenqiang, Zhang Peng, Gao Zhankui, Wang Yongxin, and Cai Zhiyuan.

Zhang Peng was the unemployed blonde youth; although somewhat thin, his physical fitness should be stronger than that of an average office worker.

Furthermore, since each person's mechanism was calculated based on their own body weight, those with low body fat still held an advantage even if they were thin.

Gao Zhankui was a middle-aged man with a rugged, fleshy face. Although he looked strong, he was weighed down by his mass and trailed Zhang Peng by several positions.

However, he also seemed to have performed manual labor, as his physical condition was much better than Wang Yongxin's or Cai Zhiyuan's.

Cai Zhiyuan was the most miserable of the lot. Although he had shouldered his mechanism and started moving immediately, as a programmer, he rarely exercised, was in a state of sub-health, and neglected his physical management.

With all these unfavorable factors combined, he had fallen to last place.

The entire corridor was divided into three stages. The first stage was 20 meters long, with a 60-second countdown.

According to the game rules, if the stage was not completed within 60 seconds, spikes would extend from the mechanism, using intense pain to force the players to continue moving.

If they still failed to complete it after another 60 seconds, they would suffer an immediate death penalty.

Fortunately, from the current situation, even Cai Zhiyuan, who was in last place, should be able to finish.

Just then, Lin Sizhi heard a system broadcast that only the audience could hear.

Because the broadcasts facing the players and those facing only the audience were played through different speakers, there was a distinct difference in tone and volume, making them easy to distinguish.

【Audience No. 9 bets on "Prisoner."】

Before the identities of the King and the Prisoner were finalized, someone had placed a bet early.

However, this time, the bet was on the Prisoner side.

Lin Sizhi thought for a moment: "Audience No. 9... could it be Officer Cao?

"The only reason I can think of for betting on the Prisoner now is that among the five people below, there is more than one acquaintance. Therefore, from the perspective of an audience member, they are naturally siding with their acquaintances, hoping for everyone to survive.

"And the only two people from Community 17 who successfully entered this game as audience members are Officer Cao and myself."

Lin Sizhi silently noted this in his mind.

...

Ding Wenqiang was the first to reach the end of the first stage.

Crossing the finish line, there was a rest area about one meter long. Ding Wenqiang immediately set the mechanism on the ground and gasped for air.

However, after reaching the rest area, the one-minute countdown did not stop immediately.

Confused, Ding Wenqiang looked around and found a special button on the wall of the rest area, with several prominent words next to it: 【Press to stop the countdown.】

Ding Wenqiang immediately pressed the button, and the countdown for his path froze at 22 seconds.

Not long after, the other four arrived at the rest area.

Cai Zhiyuan arrived almost at the very last second of the countdown. His final steps looked as if he had completely exhausted himself; the moment he set the mechanism down, he looked ready to collapse on the spot.

He relied entirely on willpower to slap the button on the wall.

Although Ding Wenqiang's physical fitness was much stronger than Cai Zhiyuan's, the distance was quite short—only 20 meters—so it was difficult to create a massive gap.

Cai Zhiyuan leaned against the wall, retching.

However, the game rules clearly left him no room to breathe. The second after he pressed the button, the signs on everyone's paths changed.

Instead of the remaining time from when they finished, it became a new, unified countdown.

38 seconds.