Chapter 117: Democracy x Anarchism - Hatred and Rage! Destiny Suggests Carnage!
Emma immediately sprints toward the other players, screaming, "HELP! HE WANTS TO KILL ME! PROTECT ME, PLEASE!"
Alex laughs. "She's such an insane, bad actor. She's finally gone mad! She just tried to extort me and manipulate you into letting me stay a bit longer so she can profit even more!"
Despite his confident tone, Alex is doubting himself. Shit, I just missed my chance. I shouldn't have said I could do it—I should've just killed her. Will I get another chance? She has a wall of flesh surrounding her!
Emma screams, "Number 7, I order you to give me your weapons!"
Alex shrugs and flips her off. "Go to hell, bitch!"
The other players exchange confused looks. Emma, equally baffled, screams toward the cameras at the top of the building. "SEE? HE REFUSED MY ORDER! DISQUALIFY HIM!"
Amused, Alex talks down to her. "Are you stupid? The rules are clear. You can't force me to give you stuff! You can only order me to stop eating, clean the room, or do other things related to the room. No way in hell am I giving you any of my possessions. Well, if you want, I can spit in your face, you vile, manipulative bitch, but that's sure as hell all you're gonna get."
One of the rougher-looking candidates bursts out laughing, drawing a malicious glare from Emma.
"See? The guy who just laughed—you'll be next on her list to be eliminated. Just look at her! Is this someone you can trust?" Alex continues, trying to sow discord in the group.
"I FORBID YOU, NUMBER 7, FROM SPEAKING!" Emma suddenly commands, a smug smile spreading across her face.
Shit, Alex thinks. I think I'm gonna have to swallow that order. It shouldn't be against the rules.
Alex grabs a bottle of water, takes a swig, and then spits it directly in Emma's face. He flips her off again before sitting down in a corner. Openly holding his sword and shield, he makes a throat-cutting gesture toward Emma, who looks utterly bamboozled and terrified.
Emma, steaming with rage, and the other candidates huddle together, whispering among themselves and silently discussing the situation.
Meanwhile, Alex contemplates his next move. What do I do? Should I go for the kill? This is hopeless… I have no idea how to get out of this situation. I should just give up… It's not like I have a system to tell me what to do. The only response I'll get from Mustrano is to kill—which is smart, but it'll get me disqualified immediately!
Then it hits him. WAIT A MINUTE! There is something that can tell me what to do!
Alex pulls out his [Destiny Watch] and carefully examines its third effect.
[Destiny Watch]
World: Hunter x Hunter
Quality: Light Purple
Type: Trinket (pocket watch)
Required Stats: LUK - 10
Effect: Increases LUK by 1 (If LUK is below 10, just carrying this item will reduce your LUK by 1, and the other effects will remain inactive, displaying random information instead.)
Effect2: Always shows the current day, weekday, month, year, temperature, humidity, and contains a 100% reliable compass. Works in any world—circles may adjust in worlds with alternative interpretations of days, months, or years.
Effect3: Once per mission, you can activate this item to give you a random hint. Following the hint always leads to a good outcome!
Note: All-knowing, mysterious, and magical, this watch holds powers that provide accurate information regardless of location. However, if the wearer's LUK is low, it won't work at all and even decreases the wearer's LUK.
Note2: If you look carefully at this watch, you may discover the source of its mysterious power.
Alex decides to use the time while Emma and the rest are busy discussing things to activate his [Destiny Watch].
He focuses his mind and says, "ACTIVATE!"
The Destiny Watch glows, and suddenly, Alex sees rainbow-colored fragments appear before his eyes. They look like colorful fireflies flitting through the room. The other nine examinees are oblivious to them. The glowing fragments appear to playfully dance around before finally gathering and flying toward the entrance to the voting room. There, they align themselves to form a shimmering rainbow line across the doorway.
What is this supposed to mean? Alex wonders. A line… a border? He recalls Bushidora's explanation of the rules. When he said no attacking, he specifically mentioned this room. The voting room is technically a different space… and the leader loses all power during voting time. Could it really be this simple? No way, right?
Alex clenches his fists. I don't have any other options… I'll go with it. Better to go out fighting in style than to not even try. Either way, I'll take this bitch down! His mind is made up.
Time drags on. Emma and the others appear relaxed, seemingly unworried. Emma positions herself in a far corner of the room, shielded by at least two other players sitting in front of her. Feeling confident in her safety, Emma bombards Alex with commands.
"Clean this! Move that table to the other side of the room!" she orders relentlessly, never letting up.
The group eats numerous meals, and Emma forbids Alex from eating. At one point, she takes his meal, eats it in front of him, and spits some of it onto the ground.
"Use your tongue to clean it!" she demands with a cruel smile.
Alex simply shakes his head, doing nothing, and looks confidently toward the ceiling.
Surprisingly, a voice interrupts from the speakers: "Invalid order. We have been through this. If it happens again, I will disqualify you, Number 1."
Emma stomps the ground in anger before turning her frustration on Alex again. "Fine! Move that table back and forth across the room until I order you to stop!"
Alex obeys, moving the table endlessly for hours. Eight hours pass, and he can barely stand, silently cursing. Shit. If I'm too tired, I won't be able to carry out my strategy!
Suddenly, one of the other players yells, "I can't sleep! Emma, order him to stop already!"
"Fine!" Emma snaps. "Stop making any noise, and continue cleaning. Do it silently!" she commands with a smug expression.
The night passes in agony for Alex. He continues cleaning—or more accurately, scraping the spotless floor down to its metal surface. His anger simmers as exhaustion weighs him down.
Finally, a message echoes through the speakers: "Examinees, it is now 12 AM. Please vote within the next hour for who should be the next leader and who should be eliminated."
As soon as Alex hears the announcement, he sprints as fast as he can through the door to the voting room, which has just opened, surprising the other examinees and Emma.
Laughing like a maniac, Alex feels his body finally relax after enduring hours of physical labor. He quickly hides behind the door, conjures Mustrano's Malice Mauler lvl 3, draws his [Sword of Pluto], and readies himself to strike down anyone foolish enough to enter.
However, no one follows immediately.
Suddenly, he hears Emma scream, "STOP! DO NOT ENTER FOR NOW!"
A man, presumably the one who had laughed at Emma earlier and clearly hates her arrogant attitude, retorts, "Shut up! You're not our leader anymore. I'm getting real tired of your bossy attitude!"
"Guys, stop. I'm not trying to boss anyone around. I think this guy is planning something!" Emma responds, attempting to sound calm.
"What can he do? Violence isn't allowed, and as soon as the vote is done, he'll be disqualified. Let's get it over with. I want to sleep some more. Let's vote him out, pick a new leader—how about me?—and then get some rest," the man replies, sounding irritated.
Emma, with a cruel smile, says, "I'm sorry. You're right. Let's do it, everyone. You go ahead."
Alex hears footsteps approaching and deduces the man is doing as Emma suggested. Just as the man crosses into the voting room, Alex immediately activates Toxic Breakthrough lvl 3 and thrusts his claw toward him.
You have dealt 57 damage to Examinee No. 965.
You have caused bleeding to Examinee No. 965.
You have poisoned Examinee No. 965.
The man's face contorts with shock and surprise as he tries to dodge, but fails. Alex moves to make a follow up slash with his sword, but the man quickly gathers himself and stumbles back into the main room, clutching his wound and screaming in pain: "HELP! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH HIM? HELP! I NEED HELP!"
Alex considers using his [Mr. 5's .44 Caliber 6-Shot Revolver] to finish him off and attack the rest but hesitates. No, I can't take such a stupid risk. If I keep this up, I'll win! He hides behind the door again, staying out of sight and untargetable.
"SHIT! EXAMINERS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? IMMEDIATELY ARREST AND DISQUALIFY THIS MURDERER!" Emma screams in panic, her voice filled with shock and rage.
But no response comes.
The wounded examinee continues screaming, blood pouring from his wound as the poison takes hold. He desperately gasps, "Save me, I give—" before collapsing. Moments later, he dies.
You have killed Examinee No. 965.
Alex shouts loudly, "She knew I was going to do that and sent one of you idiots ahead to die instead of her! Look—one of you is already dead! Do you want to keep this up? If you abandon her, I'll play by the rules and stop this!"
Of course, Alex thinks to himself, No way in hell I'd stop, but I can't resist making them panic and doubt each other even more.
Chaos erupts in the room. Examinees scream at each other, one shaking the dead man's body while the others glare at Emma with rage-filled faces. Finally, someone shouts what everyone is thinking: "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"
Alex smiles smugly. I've got this! I just need to hold out for another 50 minutes, and I'll win!
Then Emma screams: "STOP NOW YOU LOWLIVES! I'VE GOT A PLAN!"
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