The crowd exchanged glances and fell into a brief silence.
The old man said, "Since no one has any objections..."
At this moment, Bai Lu, who had been sitting at the bar, raised her hand and asked, "We can start fighting now, can't we?"
The old man nodded. "If no one has any issues, we can indeed begin fighting."
Bai Lu continued, "We can start fighting from this very spot, correct?"
The old man nodded again. "Yes."
Bai Lu's expression suddenly contorted into a malicious grin as she leered at her surroundings.
In that instant, including Bai Ye, everyone felt a sense of impending danger. And just then...
Bai Lu suddenly stood up, a detonator appearing out of nowhere in her hand.
"If that's the case..." Bai Lu's pupils dilated, revealing a hint of excitement as she declared, "Then all of you shall die!"
Boom, boom, boom!
As Bai Lu pressed the detonator, explosions erupted.
The surrounding walls and the floor beneath their feet began to detonate continuously. The entire floor trembled and shook, walls collapsed one after another, and the ground cracked open.
Then...
Boom!
A deafening roar sounded again, followed by a large section of the floor sinking downwards. Everyone began to plummet.
This sudden act of demolition caught everyone off guard.
Bai Ye, however, was somewhat better prepared. From the moment Bai Lu started asking questions, Bai Ye suspected something bad was about to happen, for that woman's nickname was the Queen of Munitions!
As the explosions began, Bai Ye understood what was going on; Bai Lu must have planted bombs everywhere on their way up.
While thinking, Bai Ye took out a Daoist charm and quickly threw it as he fell.
"Earth Curse!"
The Daoist charm quickly ignited. As Bai Ye landed on the lower floor, three earthen walls rose diagonally, interlocking to prop up the falling debris and shield him beneath.
Moments later, as the explosions subsided, Bai Ye crawled out from the gaps in the earthen walls. He looked around; it was a complete ruin. The 22nd floor where they had been was almost entirely collapsed. Looking up, he saw only a gaping hole.
Immediately after, Bai Lu walked to the edge of the hole, holding a Vulcan Gatling gun in one hand and a glass of red wine in the other.
The night wind blew through the shattered walls, causing Bai Lu's red evening gown to flutter.
In the next second, Bai Lu finished her wine, tossed the empty glass aside, and lifted the Gatling gun.
"Hi, boys!" Bai Lu grinned. "Let's dance a tango together!"
As she laughed, Bai Lu pulled the trigger of the Gatling gun!
Brrrrt, brrrrt, brrrrt!
The muzzle spun rapidly, spewing flames as bullets rained down, firing ferociously below.
Almost instantly, those who had just emerged from the rubble scattered.
"Crazy woman!"
Bai Ye cursed and also bolted, spotting a twisted and deformed emergency staircase door to the side. With a mighty leap, he slammed into it with his shoulder, forcing it open, and rolled inside.
Bai Ye breathed a sigh of relief. The emergency staircase was outside the sweep of the gunfire, but...
Boom!
Just as Bai Ye's heart began to settle, another explosion occurred, causing the floor to shake again.
"Is that woman out of her mind?" Bai Ye cursed, spitting on the ground. "How many bombs did she set off?"
Glancing at the ruins outside the emergency staircase, Bai Ye decisively began to descend.
Bai Ye had no intention of engaging Bai Lu here. The woman was clearly prepared, and he didn't know how many more bombs she had. Fighting her now would be too disadvantageous.
The most important factor was the chaos!
Although everyone seemed to have scattered after Bai Lu's rampage, they should still be within the building. A direct confrontation could easily devolve into a free-for-all.
A free-for-all meant unpredictability!
Bai Ye was confident in his own strength. Therefore, compared to a chaotic battle where accidents were likely to occur, Bai Ye preferred to pick them off one by one.
Thinking this, Bai Ye continued to descend. However, after only three floors, he had to stop. The emergency staircase ahead had collapsed.
Bai Ye took a deep breath and pushed open the door to the side.
Next to the entrance of the emergency staircase were two elevator doors. Bai Ye pressed one of them, and it still worked!
The area where Bai Lu had planted the bombs was the 22nd and 21st floors, which had now become complete ruins. However, the areas below seemed to have been unaffected by the explosions.
The elevator by the emergency staircase was not the same one that led directly to the ballroom, so it had not been damaged by the explosion.
Since that was the case, he could take the elevator directly to the first floor. Bai Ye decided to leave the building first.
The Twelve Great Battles, the victor is the one who survives until the end!
The phrase "survives until the end" was crucial. Even if one could kill ten opponents, being killed in the final battle meant being a loser.
And as the elevator floors slowly ticked by...
Suddenly, Bai Ye sensed an anomaly and quickly moved aside.
In the next instant, a massive fist grazed Bai Ye's cheek and shot forward, slamming into the elevator door and leaving a dent.
Bai Ye quickly turned and swept his leg at the opponent's waist, knocking them back.
The person was nearly two meters tall and incredibly muscular, their clothes straining against their imposing physique, revealing clearly defined lines.
Bai Ye recognized him; in the banquet hall, he had been alone in a corner, playing darts. And the zodiac sign he represented was...
"The Rooster is this muscular..." Bai Ye shook his head. "He really doesn't look the part!"
The Rooster pouted. "I didn't expect the Dragon to be so small either!"
The twelve participants did not know each other's names, of course, except for Bai Ye, who possessed memories from a past life and recognized a few familiar faces.
However, even without knowing names, they could discern each other's zodiac signs. After receiving their identities, each person's clothing would bear a corresponding zodiac imprint.
This differentiation of identities was not without purpose. Identities were assigned based on the number of Forbidden Zone missions completed, so while it couldn't entirely represent strength, it could indeed be considered a ranking of power. The more Forbidden Zone missions completed, the higher the zodiac order received.
Thus, one could, to a certain extent, infer the enemy's strength based on their zodiac sign and plan their strategy accordingly.
After all, this was a murder game, not a duel!
And killing didn't always have to be a frontal assault!
...