The league medical robot nearby rushed to the scene upon hearing the commotion.
“What happened?” Lin Yu and the others in the rest area came over with puzzled expressions.
As soon as they arrived, they saw Nana lying on the ground, and their faces turned to panic.
“What happened?”
Qin Dongzhu wore a troubled look and shook his head helplessly.
He couldn’t figure it out either.
Normally, substitutes were supposed to be members of the team.
But a few days ago, the Soul Binding Department said they had found a powerful Deck and could lend it to the team.
He had thought “What a lucky break!”
But then they said it was a test Deck.
A “test Deck” referred to Decks with suspicious origins, ones that might be tainted by curses or resentful Kas.
These required long-term testing and purification before they could be safely used.
And of course, it had to break down not before the match, but during the match, right when the team was at a major disadvantage and needed it most.
Talk about perfect timing!
Qin Dongzhu felt like he was losing his mind.
The medical robot scanned the unconscious Nana, and after half a minute, gave a diagnosis: [Acute myocardial infarction, patient in shock.]
“Shock?!” The Bianyuelong team burst into exclamations.
“At a time like this?!”
“I swear.” Mickey said, removing Nana’s duel disk and putting on an innocent expression.
“She was perfectly fine just a moment ago.”
Le Tong, an agent from the Soul Binding Department, let out a long sigh.
“Nothing ever goes smoothly when I’m teamed up with you.”
“You blaming me now?” Mickey pointed to himself.
“You said there wouldn’t be a problem too.”
“Enough bickering!” Qin Dongzhu barked sharply, his breathing becoming more rapid.
There were only 10 minutes in the pause.
Stay calm.
Stay calm.
But what should he do?
What could he do?
After a moment of steadying himself, Qin Dongzhu turned to Lin Yu.
“Go report the substitute’s withdrawal to the organizers.”
“I’ll…
I’ll go find someone.”
According to league rules, as long as the substitute isn’t a citizen of another fortress, they’re acceptable.
Wanderers and numbered citizens count as unaffiliated and are within the permitted range.
If a substitute is unable to perform due to force majeure, the team is allowed one emergency replacement.
“Captain…” Lin Yu roughly guessed what Qin Dongzhu was planning.
He lowered his head with a helpless sigh.
“Got it.”
Bianyuelong hadn’t arranged a secondary backup.
What happened to Nana was completely unexpected.
Who could they possibly find in just 10 minutes?
Only the scapegoats in the prisoner transport truck.
Qin Dongzhu dialed a number and got straight to the point.
“Something went wrong in the league.
I need a stand-in.” This chapter is updated first at g.com.
[I got someone.
Don’t worry, I’ve got people.]
“I want a death row inmate.”
[They’re all cannon fodder anyway.
Just throw in a numbered citizen.
I’ll give you a discount.]
Qin Dongzhu thought for a moment, then said grimly, “150,000.”
[Deal!
I’ll be there ASAP.
Half an hour tops.]
“I’ll give you 10 minutes!” Qin Dongzhu snapped and ended the call.
Mickey looked at the unconscious Nana being carried away and let out a long sigh.
“Another mission down the drain.”
Even someone like Nana, specifically deployed by the Soul Binding Department, couldn’t handle the Deck.
And now they were going to pull in a random scapegoat?
“Another month with no performance bonus.” Le Tong echoed with a sigh.
Qin Dongzhu glared at the two of them, beyond furious.
“You two really gave me a heck of a surprise.”
“Sorry.” Le Tong said casually.
“But your team’s losing streak isn’t our fault.”
“We just failed to help.
Wasted a substitute slot, that’s all.”
“At least we didn’t lose any points.”
She tilted her head slightly and looked in a certain direction.
“Those two girls are so scared, their faces have gone pale.”
“I’m sorry.” Tang Xin said quietly, lowering her head.
Mu Ningning shut her eyes in shame.
“If no one shows up in 10 minutes, I’ll go.”
The air fell silent, everyone gloomy and defeated.
Ten kilometers away, the prisoner transport truck was speeding down the road.
Inside the vehicle, Li Guanqi was in full-blown panic, his breathing erratic.
“This is bad, so bad…”
Just thinking about what the driver had said sent chills down his spine.
“I’m going to be a scapegoat…”
“What do I do?
What do I do…”
He frantically glanced around, countless thoughts flashing through his mind, only to reject each one.
There was nothing in the carriage, not a shred of hope in sight.
“Are you a doctor?” the irritable young man, Nanyang Ming, suddenly asked.
Li Guanqi was stunned, unsure why he was being asked that.
He nodded blankly.
Nanyang Ming let out a heavy breath and said in a low voice, “When we get off, I’ll try to speak up for you.”
“Don’t get your hopes up too much.”
With that, he closed his eyes slightly, as if resting.
“This guy’s…
actually pretty decent.” Li Guanqi was surprised, and a faint warmth rose in his chest.
Though he didn’t really believe Nanyang Ming’s words would do much, after all, they were all people at the bottom.
A few minutes later, the transport truck jolted to a stop again. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
Li Guanqi’s heart immediately leapt into his throat.
If nothing went wrong, the moment the doors opened, someone would slap a hood over his head and send him off to some unknown place, executed in the dark.
With a metal gag in his mouth, there would be no chance to plead his case.
Clang!
The door swung open.
A large robot dragged Li Guanqi out of the truck.
Bai Zhi hesitated for a moment but fumbled her way out too.
No one stopped her.
As soon as he was out, Li Guanqi quickly scanned his surroundings.
It was already past 9 PM, and he couldn’t see clearly, but ahead loomed a giant stadium, shaped like a bird’s nest.
Its lights were dazzling, and in the distance, he could faintly hear the roar of a crowd.
“A sports meet?”
“Are they going to execute me with a hood on…
in front of a crowd?”
“Not just killing me, gotta crush my spirit too?”
He wanted to curse out loud, but all that came from his gagged mouth was a pitiful muffled noise.
“They’re here, stop rushing me!” the burly driver snapped, ending a call impatiently.
He turned to the robot beside him, jerked his head toward the venue, and gave the order: “Escort him over.”
From inside the carriage, Nanyang Ming’s voice rang out: “He’s a doctor.”
Hearing that, the driver froze for a second, falling into brief contemplation.
But a moment later, a flash of cruelty passed through his eyes.
He shouted toward the carriage, “You’re just a convict now, trying to tell me what to do?”
“Strip his clothes!”
He gave the order to the robot.
Two towering robots immediately stepped forward and forcibly tore off Li Guanqi’s white coat with swift, rough movements.
“He’s not a doctor anymore.” the driver sneered coldly, a smug tone in his voice.
Hearing that, Nanyang Ming closed his eyes helplessly and sighed softly.
“How evil.”
Persuasion was useless.
A wave of despair surged in Li Guanqi’s heart as he stared at the controller in the driver’s hand, and a look of grim determination slowly surfaced in his eyes.
He still had a small knife on him.
He was waiting———- for a chance to fight for his life!
The robot escorted Li Guanqi to the entrance of the stadium.
Just then, a tall man in a white uniform approached from the opposite direction.
“Hurry up!” Qin Dongzhu urged.
The pudgy driver replied lazily, “150,000.”
Qin Dongzhu, holding back his anger, used his supercomputer ring to transfer 150,000 gold points.
“How generous.” the pudgy driver said, tossing over the controller before turning to leave.
“Good luck in the league.”
Li Guanqi watched the entire transaction unfold, his brow slowly furrowing, then relaxing, then furrowing again, then relaxing.
His first instinct was to complain about his own 150,000 price tag.
But then he realized, there was something even more absurd going on.
Countless question marks flashed through his mind.
How was he supposed to interpret what he just saw?
The buyer, Qin Dongzhu, was wearing something both unfamiliar and oddly familiar———–
A Duel Disk?