As the game introduction concluded, the five people almost simultaneously let out a low groan of pain.

"Hiss..."

Wang Yongxin looked at the stinging spot on his wrist, where it seemed a needle had pierced the inside of the black visa bracelet, quickly puncturing the skin and injecting some substance into his body.

A strange tingling sensation spread from the puncture site on the wrist.

"Chronic toxin... It will lead to death in 2 hours..."

Wang Yongxin's expression turned somewhat grim.

2 hours, this is considered a relatively long game time.

Previously, the game time for "Blood Poker" was an hour and a half, yet many players idled away some time during the process.

But this time the situation is completely different.

In the face of a life-and-death crisis, 2 hours would only seem too short.

"Where are Lawyer Lin and Officer Cao?"

"They should have also entered this game but are not in the passage."

Wang Yongxin glanced around; the long path ahead was actually divided into different paths for each of them.

Wang Yongxin, Ding Wenqiang, and Cai Zhiyuan were each on different paths, besides two unfamiliar people on the more distant paths.

The paths were separated by several meters high glass walls, impossible to break or climb over.

There was only one thing they could do at this moment.

In front of them was a special mechanism, about 1.6 meters high and 1.2 meters wide, a special framework structure.

According to the game rules: they needed to carry the mechanism in front of them and pass through the passageway within the time limit.

The design of this mechanism was not complex; it resembled a yoke carrying heavy objects or equipment specifically designed for shoulder-carrying Farmer's Walk exercises.

There were specific spots for shoulder carrying and hand gripping, easy to identify.

Besides, the mechanism contained many irregular iron blocks for weight balancing.

According to the game rules introduction, each person's mechanism weighs one times their own body weight, meaning the heavier a person is, the heavier the mechanism they need to carry.

"Hey!"

Someone suddenly exclaimed, and Wang Yongxin looked up to find Ding Wenqiang had already lifted the mechanism and was moving forward.

Wang Yongxin looked above the path he was on, seeing a special timer sign every few meters.

The sign showed a 60-second countdown, and 5 seconds had already elapsed.

"Damn!"

Wang Yongxin realized he had wasted time overthinking the game rules and observing the arena.

He hurried in front of his mechanism and squeezed himself in.

Then, Wang Yongxin gripped the vertical handles on both sides with his hands, pushing up with all his might using his shoulders.

"Get up for me..."

Just this action alone made him feel his blood surge, heart pounding, and sweat beads rolling down.

Though the mechanism design was quite humane, with special leather padding at the shoulder carrying position preventing painful iron chafing and immobilization, it was still a full body weight.

Wang Yongxin struggled to move his steps forward.

Being financially well-off, Wang Yongxin had, of course, been to the gym before and even done similar Farmer's Walk training. But unfortunately, as he aged, time became more scarce, and he grew more lazy, letting go of the habit of working out long ago.

The only good news was that to maintain his image as a business elite and leave a better impression on investors, he constantly controlled his diet, maintaining a decent figure.

If he were 20 pounds heavier, he'd probably have no way out but death now.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

After just a few steps, Wang Yongxin felt his breathing growing more and more labored, gasping couldn't catch his breath, and his heart beating as if it would explode.

The Farmer's Walk is an exercise demanding great full-body strength, requiring not only strong lower limb strength but also a strong core and excellent balance.

After walking a few meters, Wang Yongxin was so exhausted he could hardly breathe, and just as his body slumped slightly, the mechanism fell to the ground again.

When Wang Yongxin looked up again, he saw that Ding Wenqiang had already left everyone far behind.

"... This game is really damn unfair."

Wang Yongxin only had time to complain but, seeing the countdown, could only grit his teeth and lift the mechanism again, moving forward.

Of course, he quickly realized his claim was somewhat cynical because Walkway never limited games to particular types.

In "Blood Poker," a game encouraging speculation and rule studying, Wang Yongxin had prevailed, while now in a game emphasizing physical fitness, it's reasonable for Ding Wenqiang to have the upper hand.

As an experienced manual laborer, Ding Wenqiang possessed physical fitness far superior to the average person and had exaggerated endurance.

This challenge seemed tailor-made for him.

...

Through the surveillance screen, Lin Sizhi could clearly see everyone's situation.

The current ranking was: Ding Wenqiang, Zhang Peng, Gao Zhankui, Wang Yongxin, Cai Zhiyuan.

Zhang Peng was a young unemployed man with dyed yellow hair. Although quite skinny, his physical fitness should surpass that of the average office worker.

Additionally, since the mechanism's weight is determined by one's body weight, people with low body fat, even if skinny, still have some advantage.

Gao Zhankui was a middle-aged man with a face full of flesh. Though he appeared strong, the weight dragged him behind Zhang Peng by a few positions.

He seemed to have done some manual labor as well, with physical fitness better than Wang Yongxin and Cai Zhiyuan.

Cai Zhiyuan was the worst off among them. Although he had lifted the mechanism to move forward first, being a programmer who doesn't exercise much, he was in a suboptimal health state, neglecting body management.

With multiple unfavorable factors accumulating, he fell to the last position.

The entire passageway was divided into three stages, the first stage being 20 meters, and the countdown was 60 seconds.

According to game rules, if unable to complete in 60 seconds, spikes will extend from the mechanism, encouraging players to advance through pain.

If another 60 seconds pass without completion, an instant-death penalty will ensue.

Fortunately, from the current situation, even Cai Zhiyuan in the last position should manage to complete it.

At this moment, Lin Sizhi heard another broadcast only audible to the audience.

Because the broadcasts directed at all players in the field and those only for the audience used different speakers, it was easy to distinguish them by tone and volume.

[Audience No. 9 bet on 'Prisoners'.]

Before the identities of King and Prisoners were finally determined, someone had already placed a bet.

But this time, the bet was on the Prisoners side.

Lin Sizhi pondered for a moment: "Audience No. 9... could it be Officer Cao?"

"The only reason I can think of for betting on the Prisoners now is that among the five people below, there's more than one acquaintance. So naturally, the audience's stance is on the side of the acquaintances, hoping for their survival.

"And from Community 17, only Officer Cao and I successfully entered this game as audiences."

Lin Sizhi silently noted it in his mind.

...

Ding Wenqiang was the first to reach the end of the first stage.

Beyond the finish line was a one-meter-long rest area. Ding Wenqiang immediately set the mechanism down and took deep breaths.

Yet, upon reaching the rest area, the minute countdown didn't instantly stop.

Ding Wenqiang perplexedly looked around and found a special button on the rest area's wall, with several noticeable large words next to it: [Press to stop the countdown.]

Ding Wenqiang immediately pressed the button, freezing the countdown on his path at 22 seconds.

Soon enough, the other four arrived at the rest area too.

Cai Zhiyuan barely made it in the last second of the countdown, his last steps feeling entirely exhausted, wishing he'd collapse immediately upon setting down the mechanism.

With pure willpower supporting him, he slapped the wall button.

Although Ding Wenqiang's physical fitness surpassed Cai Zhiyuan's greatly, the journey was short at only 20 meters, making it challenging to create a significant gap.

Cai Zhiyuan leaned against the wall retching.

However, the game rules obviously left him no room to breathe; the very second after he hit the button, all signboards on everyone's paths changed.

The remaining time they completed turned into a new, unified countdown.

38 seconds.

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