Chapter 1661: Don't force me to kill you

“If you think this can buy time, then you are wrong. I won’t give you this opportunity.”

The voice from the mechanical combat puppet replied two seconds after Ye Zhongming finished speaking.

As he spoke, his mechanical combat puppet troops began moving as a whole. Those few imposing puppets strode forward, clearly preparing to join the battle.

“It’s actually quite a pity. If your puppets weren’t connected to you in real-time, you would be the one staying here today.”

Ye Zhongming’s tone now mirrored his opponent’s earlier demeanor, which unsettled the person inside the mechanical puppet.

“You damned bastard, you fu—”

His words cut off abruptly, unfinished.

All the moving machinery… the iron chains still locked in struggle with Cloud Peak’s warriors… the two eerie combat puppets attacking Ye Zhongming—everything froze at that moment.

“You… how did you…”

The person only managed half a question before falling silent.

Because he had figured out the reason and couldn’t bring himself to speak further.

“You set up this trap, and I must say, it’s genius. To grasp the situation so quickly, first securing an invincible position for yourself, then challenging us with such overwhelming confidence—all of this, if not the work of a genius, a self-assured genius, would be too unfair.”

“Some of your words were true, some false, making it hard to judge. For instance, when you said you killed 4,999 people, that was a lie. You didn’t kill that many. You were just creating tension, trying to make us panic.”

Ye Zhongming spoke the truth.

This faction, this young man whose voice was heard but never seen, had been thinking from a vantage point since the trial began. While others were still figuring out how to pass, he had already considered how to control others’ passage.

The wheel space provided four ways to pass, but this person instantly saw through everything. While others desperately tried to advance through the first two methods, he had already planned it all, becoming both the ‘player’ and the ‘dealer’ here.

Moreover, this person wasn’t just clever—he was fiercely confident. Since he was monitoring everything here, he couldn’t have been unaware of Cloud Peak’s strength. Yet he still dared to challenge Cloud Peak Mountain Villa. Such courage was something others lacked.

However, geniuses often have flaws, and this person was no exception. Ye Zhongming didn’t know what his specific flaws were, but one thing was certain: this person was arrogant, even narcissistic, as evident from his words. His own success intoxicated him.

Such people are the most prone to mistakes, the easiest to overturn.

And now, this person had been overturned.

Because he overlooked the most basic fact—the mountain path was circular!

The young man, overconfident, believed he held absolute control and could toy with Cloud Peak as he pleased. But he forgot the unique terrain of this place.

To consider everything so thoroughly, he was a genius. To forget the simplest detail, he was a fool.

During Cloud Peak’s battle, there had been no sign of Yellow Ball. By the time both sides were locked in confrontation and the young man was boasting about his achievements and declaring Cloud Peak’s defeat, Yellow Ball had already been gone for a while.

Perhaps Ye Zhongming hadn’t appeared as ‘far-sighted’ as the young man today, but the moment he realized the truth, he had already taken countermeasures.

Now, Yellow Ball had destroyed the first mechanical combat puppet sent by the young man and killed the evolved being with it. The young man had lost his first card.

Soon, Yellow Ball would reach the second checkpoint and dismantle the second card of the mechanical puppet army.

By the time the young man tried to send reinforcements, it would already be too late.

“Are you going to kill him?” Ye Zhongming shrugged, looking at the captured evolved.

This sentence infuriated the young man.

He could indeed kill this person now and pass the trial, but he would no longer be able to stop Cloud Peak’s advance. He interpreted Ye Zhongming’s words as mockery.

…And it was indeed mockery.

“It makes no difference. Once we kill the person on the second path, we’ll all be sent to the next round together!”

As Ye Zhongming spoke, he felt no relief. Though they had passed this stage, they would still face this person and his mechanical puppet army at the mountaintop during the final trial. This was a formidable enemy.

The young man fell silent for a moment before replying, “Yes, you’re right. I can no longer stop you from passing this trial. But… I still have a little time left, don’t I?”

As if remembering something, his voice regained a hint of levity.

“I’ll drag this out as long as possible and use that time to make you suffer the consequences of angering me.”

He clearly intended to keep fighting.

“Don’t force me… to kill you.”

Ye Zhongming spoke softly, his gaze fixed on the mechanical combat puppet.

The scene was eerily quiet, broken only by the occasional crackle of sparks from damaged mechanical puppets.

The Cloud Peak King had said, Don’t force me to kill you—and he meant it.

Those who knew Ye Zhongming understood that if he said it, he could do it.

But the young man didn’t know. He could only judge for himself.

If he stubbornly continued attacking Cloud Peak, could Ye Zhongming really kill him?

This was a gamble that seemed simple but required immense courage.

Win, and all would be well. Lose, and he’d be dead.

“Fine. You’re good.” The young man’s voice sounded like an order as the mechanical puppets began retreating.

“You win this round. We’ll meet at the top.”

With that, he coldly executed the evolved he controlled and remotely ordered the mechanical puppet on the second path to kill its captive as well. The entire force gradually vanished from the mountain path, becoming the sixth team to pass the trial.

As their opponents disappeared, Cloud Peak received a prompt from the wheel space—they were the seventh team to pass.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief before being plunged into brief darkness. When light returned, they found themselves in a vast hall. Ye Zhongming scanned the area and saw the other six teams.

Cloud Peak, Cannibal Chain, Great America, Mechanical Genius, Women Guard, Motley Crusaders, and Gyanendra.

Seeing Cloud Peak arrive, Wu Xiu and Ruan Xiao relaxed. The situation was still unclear, and they weren’t entirely confident.

“Check your rewards. They’re right in front.”

Though the seven factions could see each other, they were each enclosed in a massive transparent energy dome. Facing the direction of the Mountain King Disk was an exquisitely crafted box, about one cubic meter in size.

This was likely the reward for clearing the Death Staircase.