Chapter 190 - 179

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"Congratulations Alliance for winning the mini event entitled Locked Room Escape! Record time is 20 minutes and 5 seconds." A cheerful voice rang out from a corner of the lounge room which a hidden speaker was located just behind a elegant painting..

There were frowns and confusions etched on their faces as Chun turned to look at her teammates. Immediately the surroundings rearranged itself and the bookshelves and cabinets disappeared while the wine shelves and bar counter emerged, even the dead body and bloodstains or more specifically the crime scene were nowhere to be found. Only the glass chess pieces and board was displayed on the small table.

Chun sighed in relief when finally it was over and when she heard with the total duration of time that they just spent on this event was so surprising because the silver haired young man felt that she spent racking her brain for a whole day but it was only twenty minutes? How could that be possible?

But she should just accept that time were trifling matter when it came to plots like this. A memory of her age not matching her appearance as the ninth prince resurfaced which Chun could only say that this was a proof.

By the way, the cheerful voice said that the Alliance won the game. It only meant that there was a time mechanics as well. Other than solving it, they must also be fast.

"Can you give me the results?" The silver haired young man said. She had known that the voice was surveiling them so it wouldn't be a guess that they also had a hearing devise in order for them to judge.

There was a momentary pause before the cheerful voice with a tone of pleasing the benefactor, reverberated.

"Your Highness, we had just sent the results in your communicator."

It was no big deal that the other knew her identity, it would be surprising if they weren't. The trusted people of the Supreme Ruler which stood as coordinators of the Intercompetition couldn't be trifled with.

"Hmm.. thank you."

While looking on her communicator, she spotted that the list of the teams in the result. It had the name then the duration and points. As the winner of the event, the Alliance was the first one on the list with a 20 mins and 5 secs record time and a total of 100 points. The next one was the Blues with a duration of 21 mins and 5 secs and their points were 80. 

Unexpectedly the third one was the Rose, time: 25 mins and 5 secs. Points: 50. While other teams lined up next.

The silver haired young man didn't expect that the imposing rival team was in the third placer. But the Blues had caught her eyes. They should not only focus on one opponent.

The other Alliance members had woken up while Chun was busy looking at the results. 

Feng Zi was the first one who reacted. His usually elegant and strict mouth unexpectedly cursed out 'rainbow' colored words. The memories came crashing in and he was so angry that his smile was so gentle with cold light. 

He wanted to kill that coordinator who put them through this. His character was so out of line with his princely and charming reputation. Maybe the Rose and them had colluded!

The second prince and the black mist girl tacitly looked at each other, deciding some scheme. They couldn't make a move on the coordinators but they could do it in the Intercompetition. Let's see if they would try to trap them, again.

Well, black schemes are black schemes. 

Lemon didn't react too much after he had woken up as he neared the silver haired young man and asked her about the process of the mini event.

As the Alliance analyst, he was in-charge of databasing and through this they could come up routes and plans if they had to encounter these mini events. The coordinators had started this then it wouldn't be surprising if they come up another round of this in the next Intercompetition.

Eliza who had been in dazed in her position ignored what humiliating thing that happened to her earlier like it wad didn't occur at all. 

Praises were coming out from the minds of Chun and the others. 'As expected of Captain! Even she was frozen stiff during half time of the event, she took it all head on!'

Chun noticed the slightly reddened neck of the expressionless girl but she turned a blind eye on it. It wouldn't do good if she revealed their Captain's 'high endurance'.

"So it was like this." Feng Zi nodded in understanding. 

The silver haired young man explained how she solved the puzzle. The clue that had already disappeared after the game was finished, she still remembered it.

'Kiln. Iceberg. Heart.'

'KilN. IceberG. HearT.' 

'KNIGHT'

It was the Knight chess piece and that said piece was the key. And where did she found the Knight?

Chun stood up while the others huddled over at the curly haired young man as he brought his ŀȧptop and started to put all their conjectures. It could be said that Captain had a formidable brain when coming up with tactics and routes.

She walked near the displayed glass chess board on the small table and decided to put back the Knight chess piece in between the Rook and the Bishop. That night, it had been the King was missing and when she saw the broken piece that was embedded in the dead man's back, she had a faint feeling about it but due to the influence of the game she ignored it.

But currently, that missing piece was now on the chess board complete and intact. The King was silently standing there with his Queen, they were observing their soldiers, waiting for a right opportunity to move. Chun grasped her pocket and felt that the Knight chess piece was still there, she put it on its rightful position and then the Empire could attack now.

"Chun?" The second prince called out which snapped her back from reverie. 

She went back to the discussing heads. 

"We have now a hundred points which meant that that we have a bigger advantage to the other teams," Notalie said while rubbing the head of the sleeping Lollipop. The said girl was still onto hibernate due to the exhaustion of her mental strength. 

Notalie reasoned that it was because Lollipop wasn't used on expending too much mental strength and she had just tried to probed everyone of them. It would be tiring for an empathy ability user to do something out of her league. As the gloomy girl was created and wanted to help her team, she came out with this method of waking up them. 

Originally, empathy supposed to feel and share the emotions of the person she directed her ability. It would soothe the person's emotional burdens but Lollipop tried a new kind of method which her first time to try out and she succeeded.

"She is really a genius!" Feng Zi also complemented. 

It could be said that all of them in the Alliance were geniuses but they had their own unique way of being one of it.

"Pay attention." Eliza said which silence the rowdy people. The seriousness of her tone entailed that they would be discussing the routes of the team battle. The theme of it, it would be just a speculation for the others but when it came to their great Captain. Nothing but accuracy.

They settled down as they listen of the clear and stern voice.

"If we draw it out for today's mini event and the previous Intercompetition, the three segments are a crime scene investigation, a night terrain, and a tower defense team play."

The curly haired young man raised his hand while his other hand was still typing on the keyboard, recording each of the keypoints that the long black haired girl had said.

Eliza nodded at Lemon.

"Captain, if team battle is a crime investigation scene then can it be connected to the earlier event play?" 

"Yes." The Captain confirmed with no hesitation. 

An alarmed expression emerged on the face of the curly haired young man while he didn't notice his other typing hand had also paused. "Then---"

"Yes... That would be the killer play." Eliza simply stated as if the notion wasn't important. She glanced at each of the her members while they looked back at her with confusion and some contemplative expression.

If that was it then the team battle could be a bit difficult for all of the teams. 

Eliza didn't want to delay on that one subject as they had other subjects to discuss. She cleared her throat, "The doubles is a night terrain. I am not sure what it be but I have two hunches, a survival game or a last team standing theme but it can be either of those two."

After she had said that she paused, waiting for any questions and affirming that they had understood she added, "Alright. The decided doubles are me and Chun." She turned to the silver haired young man and stated, "We will talk about it later."

Chun agreed in response. 

"The intellectual category is a tower defense team play which means that... Berry, you should cooperate well with the other teams."

It meant that this intellectual category could be said a team play but every teams would be sending out only one members which meant that those members would be teaming up with the others. Such a complicated category.