Chapter 82 Live-Fed Park - Cliff

Bai Xiao continued walking forward. Another ten minutes passed, yet the surrounding scenery remained unchanged.

When people get lost in the wilderness, they often think they are walking in a straight line when they are actually walking in circles.

But Bai Xiao trusted her sense of direction; she didn't feel like she was going in circles.

It was very likely that the periphery of the park was simply a vast wilderness, acting as a natural labyrinth—an invisible barrier helping the park hinder the progress of escapees.

Bai Xiao continued in her determined direction. She thought this island was truly much larger than a typical small island. If she still couldn't see the edge after another half hour, she would turn back to find another path or a vehicle for transport.

With this in mind, she maintained her original pace. Fortunately, heaven rewards the diligent; fifteen minutes later, she finally spotted the sea behind the thin mist.

The good news was that she had finally reached the end of the island; the bad news was that the end of the island was a bottomless cliff.

The edge of the island was jagged with rocks. Looking down, she could only see layers of mist gathering like clouds below the cliff, a vast expanse of white that made it impossible to tell how high the cliff was.

Bai Xiao kicked a large rock off the cliff's edge to test the height, but after waiting a long while, she heard no echo.

The wind was strong at the cliff's edge, and the surging waves crashed against the giant boulders below. The sound of that large rock landing was like an embroidery needle dropped into the ocean—the sound was completely swallowed, failing to stir even a ripple. This method couldn't determine the cliff's height; it only suggested it was extremely high.

Bai Xiao gave up helplessly and chose a direction to walk along the cliff's edge. She figured that since the park's blood extracts and people had to move back and forth, it was impossible for this island not to have a ferry terminal.

She walked through wild grass and climbed over rock piles. After two kilometers of continuous cliffs, Bai Xiao couldn't help but curse inwardly; the location chosen for this park was truly bizarre.

She climbed over another pile of strangely shaped boulders. When she poked her head out from behind the rocks, she glanced up and immediately ducked back down.

A hundred or two hundred meters away, dozens of people were gathered together.

Bai Xiao pressed against the rock wall and carefully peeked out again to observe.

Most of the people in the distance were wearing the iconic gray tracksuits of the Blue-Bloods, while only a few wore Administrator uniforms or other park employee uniforms.

Seeing them standing together so harmoniously, it was clear that those wearing employee uniforms were also Blue-Bloods.

Bai Xiao saw them all looking in one direction, so she followed their gaze.

It was a giant platform at the cliff's edge with a large lift suspended outside it. The lift wasn't operating at the moment, but its presence was enough to prove to everyone that this lift was the park's transport tool to the outside world.

Therefore, the island might truly have no pier; it was likely an island surrounded by cliffs on all sides.

This realization weighed heavily on everyone's hearts. No wonder they hadn't encountered the park's perimeter wall after leaving; without a wall, how could there be a gate?

Here, the cliffs were the natural walls. In a sense, the gate was everywhere.

At this point, there was no longer any need for Bai Xiao to remain hidden. These people had clearly gathered here slowly after realizing they couldn't leave the island.

When her figure appeared in their sight, they saw her wearing Security Personnel clothing and initially raised their weapons in caution. However, seeing her raise her hands to signal no aggressive intent and realizing she was alone, they gradually came to believe they were all the same kind.

As she walked over, before she could even ask, an enthusiastic person provided an answer.

"This is the park's pier, or you could say its gate."

At this point, someone who had recently come down from the lift added: "We can pry open the lift's door, but we don't have the starter key or the password, so we can't use it at all."

Bai Xiao knew these people were being so helpful simply because they were out of options. When someone new arrived, everyone was willing to explain the situation, hoping that an extra person might bring a new idea or a way out.

The lift at the cliff's edge had a long boom extending over ten meters past the cliff. There was a steel cable reel on the boom with a large iron hook hanging from it. If it could be operated and the hook lowered, everyone could descend to the bottom of the cliff along the cable and hook.

As things stood, once they reached the bottom of the cliff, there was a high probability they would have successfully escaped the park.

Success was right before their eyes, so it was no wonder everyone was excited and anxious.

Bai Xiao unconsciously walked up to the lift at the cliff's edge. The lift's door had already been forced open, making everything inside clearly visible.

No one had the tools to crack the password or a key to start the machine, so the situation was at a stalemate.

After a while, someone suggested: "What if we take off our clothes and tie them together to use as a rope to go down?"

Someone shook their head: "Clothes aren't strong enough. They might hold a few people, but it's too dangerous. Besides, we don't know how high the cliff is. With just the few of us, the length of the clothes might not be enough."

"Then what do we do? Are we supposed to go back to the park to find the key and password? Isn't that like looking for a needle in a haystack?"

"We can only look around to see if there's any rope. Using clothes is just too unreliable."

"We have no weapons. We only managed to get out by luck. Going back now would be a suicide mission, wouldn't it?"

"Exactly. Who knows what the situation in the park is like now? If the park's people won, going back now would be like walking into a tiger's den."

Opinions were divided; most wanted to find rope but were unwilling to take the initiative to go back.

The people speaking gradually turned their gaze toward the four people who possessed park weapons, including Bai Xiao.

Someone was the first to suggest in a low voice: "Wouldn't it be better for those with weapons and park employee clothes to go back and find rope?"

"Yeah, you guys have identities that let you hide, and you have weapons for defense if you run into danger."

Such voices gradually grew more numerous.

Bai Xiao stood by the cliff's edge without moving, lost in thought.

Not far behind her, the several people with weapons heard the crowd's discussion and slowly gathered together. By now, the two groups stood clearly divided on either side.

On one side were the dozens of unarmed Blue-Bloods in gray tracksuits, away from the cliff's edge. On the other side were the four people holding Electric Bullet Guns, including Bai Xiao.

The larger group gradually began to take on a pressuring stance. Although they had no weapons, they had strength in numbers and weren't afraid of being worn down. After all, there were only four Electric Bullet Guns; two fists are no match for four hands. They believed the advantage was still on their side.

Clearly, the four people in front of Bai Xiao thought so too. Their Electric Bullet Guns indeed didn't have many bullets left, but they didn't dare show weakness or retreat, otherwise, the people in front of them would easily swarm them.

The scene grew tense. For a moment, the only thing left in the air was the sound of the wind and waves by the sea.

Bai Xiao looked down at the base of the cliff, her thoughts racing. She remembered the unusual ways she had cleared the previous two games. Clearly, the style of this game required players to break conventional thinking and possess an adventurous spirit. Often, the key to clearing the game and danger were separated by only a thin layer of paper.

"Jump down," she said coldly, staring at the base of the cliff.

"What?!" Everyone fixed their gazes on her in disbelief.

Jumping down would mean being smashed to pieces!

"This is insane!"

...

Bai Xiao ignored the clamor of opposition behind her. She slung her gun over her back and pressed the ring on her left hand with her right.

She thought that if she were truly wrong, she could only use her sword to wedge into the cliff crevices to slow her descent. Given the durability of the sword she bought in the game, her enhanced arm strength, and her physical agility, there should be at least a fifty percent chance of survival.

As for returning to the park, the round trip would waste a lot of time. Moreover, as everyone said, the situation inside the park was unknown. Perhaps the Blue-Bloods had won, or perhaps the park had. If the park won, the management would certainly be even stricter. Either way was a risk. Since she had already come this far, there was no reason to back down.

Thinking of this, looking at the bottomless cliff hidden in the vast white expanse, Bai Xiao took a deep breath. No longer hesitating, she leaped down.