Chapter 1431: Lin Sanjiu"s Had Her Fill of Thrills
After Chen Hanwu"s voice faded, Lin Sanjiu couldn"t help but let out a slightly anxious sigh.
At the beginning of the game, she felt like she was being pushed forward step by step, her mind a complete fog. But now, she had finally gotten a clearer understanding of the situation. While Silvan"s team had no idea about Advaita"s shelf, Advaita"s team had discovered Silvan"s. Right from the beginning of the game, Silvan"s team was at a disadvantage.
Thinking back to Advaita"s calm and composed manner during their earlier negotiations, Lin Sanjiu realized that Advaita must have planned everything in advance. She had wanted Silvan"s team to take the lead so that she could discreetly follow and locate their shelf. She even antic.i.p.ated Silvan intercepting them. The main reason she chose to confront Silvan was to allow her teammates, especially Chen Hanwu, to track the positions of the opposing team members.
Lin Sanjiu was amazed that she hadn"t noticed when or how Advaita had coordinated with Chen Hanwu.
She glanced at Caster.
The item appeared completely oblivious, playing with a crystal ball, seemingly unaware that it was currently less useful than a loaf of bread.
Lin Sanjiu had heard Caster speak normally before. Perhaps getting it to talk sensibly again wasn"t entirely out of the question.
"Lin Sanjiu!" Advaita shouted from a distance, startling her back to reality. "Go over there!"
Had the fight ended? Where was she supposed to go?
Before she could ponder further, a firework shot up from a distant shelf, exploding into a shower of golden-red sparks in the sky. From the direction of the explosion, it was apparent it came from where Chen Hanwu had shouted earlier, on the opposite end of the mall — likely one of Silvan"s shelves.
Still unsure of Advaita"s intentions, Lin Sanjiu quickly grabbed Caster by the collar. As her hand made contact with its skin, Caster, who had just started to mutter a confused query, obediently transformed into a card that disappeared into her palm.
As she swiftly moved towards where the firework had ignited, she looked up and finally understood why Advaita had asked her to head in that direction.
Under the ceiling, Silvan"s golden hair trailed behind him as he bounded over the tops of aisles, like a cheetah leaping across the vast land, heading in the same direction. When she arrived, she became the last pillar supporting this standoff; Advaita, Chen Hanwu, and Silvan were all standing in the aisle. Hearing her approach, Advaita, without turning her head, chuckled softly. "You"re quite fast. We"ll block him, and Chen Hanwu will search the shelf."
Silvan stretched his neck slightly, licked his lips, and smiled. He had always been gentle and courteous to women, even to Advaita. But his current gentleness was like a thin mist on ice, carrying a chilly undertone, almost intangible and distant.
Lin Sanjiu took a deep breath, stepped past Advaita, and moved forward.
"Is their shelf here?" she asked Chen Hanwu while continuing to lock eyes with Silvan, whose expression remained unchanged.
"The one on the right, H7," Chen Hanwu"s tight voice came from the farthest distance from Silvan. "I saw the girl in the green top take a ream of printing paper from H7. When she saw me, she turned and ran."
The round-faced girl in the green top. H7 was one of Silvan"s shelf territories, which meant Advaita"s target items might also appear there. Yet, with Advaita behind her, she couldn"t think of any way to prevent Chen Hanwu from searching H7.
Nevertheless, the showdown had to commence.
Though it was merely for show, Lin Sanjiu charged at Silvan with all her might.
As she tore through the air, creating a fierce whirlpool, every vein and nerve in her body vibrated with uncontrollable excitement. Advaita and the game were thrown aside, leaving only the formidable man before her — a pinnacle she had once covertly wished to overturn. What exploded within her was an almost uncontrollable, beastly combat instinct. She desired to unleash her full strength upon him, tear at him, and challenge him.
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Deep within a corner of her mind, through her Higher Consciousness, she vaguely sensed Chen Hanwu lunging at the H7 shelf, swiftly sifting through items. Yet, at this moment, she simply didn"t care.
If she were a beast, her only goal now was to sink her fangs deep into Silvan.
How often did one get a chance to face an opponent far stronger than oneself? To fight without fear of consequences and to truly surrender to their instincts?
Lin Sanjiu knew that her body, extensively trained by Hei Zeji, had taken full control. Her consciousness seemed to scatter, melding with her limbs, shoulders, and waist. She had never been so focused or blank — she almost grasped Advaita"s [The Spirit of All Things] state. Although they hadn"t agreed upon it prior, both chose to engage in physical combat, forgoing the power of their abilities and Special Items. Silvan showed no mercy. Seizing an opening, he landed a fierce punch into Lin Sanjiu"s abdomen. In a split second, she twisted, deflecting much of the impact, yet still felt a blow so powerful it darkened her vision, causing her to stagger back.
With a "thud," Lin Sanjiu"s back violently hit another shelf. The rush of pain snapped her out of her previous battle l.u.s.t. She hadn"t expected to lose her balance so completely that she"d knocked the shelf askew, causing various items to tumble down. Lying amidst the scattered products, she gasped for breath and, for a moment, was immobilized. Raising her eyes, she looked at Silvan.
The blonde man was slightly out of breath; his vivid green eyes shone so brightly they were almost suffocating to look at. Glimmers of light sparkled on his collarbones and skin. Their eyes met, and like her, he couldn"t help but lower his head and silently laugh.
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"I...I didn"t find it."
Chen Hanwu"s report drew Lin Sanjiu"s attention. Only then did she realize she must have been tangled with Silvan for quite a while, even if it felt like just a few seconds. Chen Hanwu had searched the entire H7 shelf but came empty-handed.
"It"s quite normal, isn"t it?" She caught her breath while still sitting amidst the fallen items, not rus.h.i.+ng to stand. "Thirty shelves, thirty items. The girl from their team has already taken one, so the chances of there being another are slim, right?"
She admired herself for coming up with such an excuse in such a short time.
She finally understood Silvan"s move.
One of the items Lin Sanjiu had knocked over was currently pressed against her lower back. Silvan"s decision to hit her in this particular direction wasn"t random.
Behind her was another reamof A4 paper.