Chapter 1402 - Life and Death Stakes

Published Mar 9, 2026, 04:44 AM

Chapter 1402: Life and Death Stakes Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Han Sen brought the fifty fruits he had been given by Yu Xuan inside the shelter with him, bringing them along as food to sustain him. Just one of those fruits could keep a man’s belly feeling full for a number of days, so if they were to get trapped inside the shelter for any reason, Han Sen would be able to keep himself going for quite some time. Han Sen munched on one while examining The Wall of Destiny, then he frowned. He remembered one of the creepy mural sides mentioned something about luck, destiny, and a cycle. According to what that text said, it was not supposed to be difficult to determine whether or not a person was lucky. “Do you need luck to find a path that bypasses this wall?” Han Sen wondered to himself. After the break was over, Wang Zhao suggested he should take the lead—map in hand. There were no grand objections, and Mister Li thought it best for him to see for himself that the map was of no help now. And that was exactly what came to pass. Before long, Wang Zhao’s fruitless guidance had brought them back to exactly where they started: The Wall of Destiny. They did this many times after that, and they didn’t encounter any danger. The only thing that threatened them was frustration, for no matter which way they walked, they always ended up back at The Wall of Destiny. They had obviously been trapped there, and there seemed to be no way out except one that involved flying. However, they did not dare fly. That seemed like an obvious way to skip the challenge, and they might be subject to punishment if they attempted to cheat in such an obvious fashion. But that meant they were stuck, and it seemed as if they lacked the luck needed to escape. Most people who had come to this shelter had been forced, after all. That in itself was brought about through misfortune and being plain unlucky. Yu Zhiyou’s death still hung over them, stoking the fires of their fear. “Wait a minute; it’s a wall! Why don’t we just smash through it and bring it down?” Xu Yanmeng said. “Don’t be reckless. That might seem like an obvious way to get through, but do you think the creator of this wretched place didn’t think of that? You might get yourself killed!” Mister Li stopped him, and then he asked Han Sen, “Little Han, do you recall what was written on that mural we went to look at?” “I remember excerpts of it, yes,” Han Sen answered. The others leaned in closer to hear what was spoken between the two, as they had all been absent for what was now being discussed. Mister Li cleared his throat before addressing the others, and he said, “Destiny and a cycle, including the need for luck in its breaking. We seem to be in some sort of loop, so if luck is what we need, it should not be difficult for us to discern which one of us has the most.” “Wait, are you suggesting we find the luckiest amongst us and have them open the wall?” Wang Zhao asked. Mister Li nodded and said, “We can’t get out via any other means, so for now, it seems like a sound suggestion.” Zhong Sanxiao then balked, but asked, “And how do we find out who the luckiest amongst us is? Toss a coin?” “The text said a person with much luck can obtain stuff others usually cannot. It’s sort of like the lottery,” Mister Li explained. “Did you see any lottery ticket vendors in this maze of doom?” Zhong Sanxiao scoffed. “No, but we can do it ourselves,” Mister Li said. “Okay. We’re stuck in here no matter what we do, so we might as well try this,” Xu Yanmeng said. “If this is the only way, then sure,” Wang Zhao said. He then proceeded to pull out a notebook and tear eight pages from out of it. He wrote the word luck on one of the sheets of paper and said, “Whoever gets the one with the word luck can open the door. Everyone else pick, I’ll choose whatever is last.” After that, Wang Zhao placed the eight folded pieces of paper in a bag and shuffled them. Then, he said, “Who wants to go first?” The person who went first would have the slimmest chance, but everyone doubted this method would work, anyway. “If no one wants to try, then I’ll go first.” Old Qiu went to the middle and picked up a piece of paper. There were no words on it, so the chances had been reduced to one-in-seven now. “I’ll go second,” Xiao Liuyu said. After grabbing a sheet of folded paper, his face changed. The paper had the word luck written on it. “Liuyu...” Liuyu was Wang Zhao’s best friend. “This is fate; I am sure it will let me live,” Xiao Liuyu said, with a wry smile. “Just... be careful, with whatever you have to do,” Wang Zhao said. It was impossible for him not to go forward, as they had all seen him beat the odds and take the winning piece of paper. He seemed like the luckiest, and as such, the prime candidate to try to access the way forward. Even those from Sacred Shelter would have forced him to go, and being best buds wouldn’t change this. If Xiao Liuyu didn’t go, then someone else eventually would, anyway. And their luck might not have been as fair. Xiao Liuyu nodded and pulled out his geno core, which was a jade sword. Xiao Liuyu’s body glowed with a protection that accompanied him on his way towards the door. “Don’t do it; you’ll die!” Han Sen exclaimed. Xiao Liuyu looked at Han Sen, thinking it to be a strange thing to suddenly call out. “If he doesn’t go, will you?” Xu Yanmeng asked. Han Sen coldly said, “He picked the paper, and he is now going to risk his life. You guys have got it backwards; that would give him the worst luck.” Xiao Liuyu’s eyebrows touched the sky, and he began to produce a cold sweat. That logic made a lot of sense. Everyone could understand where Han Sen was coming from, but someone had to try the door. They couldn’t differentiate between good luck and bad luck when it came to this. There were no other alternative ideas or plans they could consult and enact, anyway. “You’re saying whoever gets that paper is unlucky, yes? Because they have to then risk their life, correct?” Xu Yanmeng said, to confirm. Everyone else started to become of this opinion now, but if Xiao Liuyu didn’t commit to trying the door, then that meant the lottery was pointless.

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