Chapter 69: No Matter Where I Hide, That Guy Will Definitely Find Me

Chapter 69: No Matter Where I Hide, That Guy Will Definitely Find Me

Even though Starbearer Association member Gohn had already trapped Chen Kong and the others, he didn’t seem in any hurry to go after Isabelle.

As a professional “newbie crusher,” Gohn had absolute confidence in his own ability to bully weaker opponents.

Everything was under control.

Shaking the husky-head mask on his head and twirling the yellow card in his hand, he walked straight toward the center of the hotel lobby.

He looked completely defenseless, filled with openings from head to toe—as if a sneak attack at this moment would instantly succeed.

But in reality, Chen Kong and the others knew very well that this was nothing but a trap Gohn had deliberately set.

If they made the first move, the result would be the same as what just happened to Chen Xing.

The match hadn’t even started, and they’d already be slapped with a “yellow card.”

And after experiencing Chen Xing’s situation personally, the group was now extremely wary of the “yellow card” in Gohn’s hand.

After all, a single yellow card had reduced one-third of Chen Xing’s total attributes.

If they got hit by a few more, they might not even have the strength to stand.

Seeing that the group had already figured out his “newbie-crushing routine” and no longer rushed in like fools to attack him, Gohn realized that his yellow-card tactic was temporarily ineffective.

But he didn’t mind at all.

Because having forced the strongest of the three on paper—Chen Xing—to take one yellow card, his goal had already been accomplished.

[Referee’s Yellow Card: For each yellow card an “athlete” receives, their whole-body attributes drop by one-third. Upon accumulating four yellow cards, the athlete is immediately expelled from the match.]

“Everyone, it seems you’ve finally understood the seriousness of attacking the referee during a match.”

“In that case, allow me to explain the content and rules of the upcoming competition.”

Clap!

Gohn snapped his fingers.

Instantly, all the lights in the hotel lobby went dark.

The next second, a brilliant spotlight appeared, shining directly on Gohn in the center of the room.

At some point, Gohn had obtained a microphone.

With an excited expression, he began his pre-game announcement.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! I am your most trusted professional referee from Deep Blue Metropolis—Gohn Petar!!!”

“Welcome to today’s dodgeball tournament! Now, let us warmly welcome the players of the red and blue teams onto the field!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the spotlight shifted and locked onto Chen Xing of the red team.

Meanwhile, Gohn stood proudly in the center, microphone in hand, passionately pointing toward Chen Xing as he introduced her to the non-existent audience around them.

“First, allow me to introduce the red team’s strongest ace—Chen Xing!!!”

“Don’t underestimate her just because she’s young—she’s only twelve—but her strength is no joke.”

“Her Star Origin, Karmic Flames, is a top-tier Natural Type Star Origin, famous even across the entire Starbearer world.”

“The title of Red Team’s Ace is well deserved!”

After finishing, Gohn lowered the microphone and made a dramatic gesture, raising both hands and signaling the “audience” to applaud.

But the funny part was, there was only one spectator in the stands—Isabelle.

So even though she was extremely unwilling, as the only person defined as “audience,” she had no choice but to clap.

Yet even though Isabelle was mortified, her body still clapped uncontrollably—her embarrassment maxed out.

Once the applause ended, Gohn began introducing the next two: Chen Kong and Caroline.

“Next, the second player of the red team—the Machina Type genius girl, Caroline!”

“And the red team’s final member—the Trait Type ordinary boy, Chen Kong!”

Hearing how accurately Gohn could state the three of their Star Origins, Caroline, standing at the edge of the hall, immediately started analyzing.

They had been in Deep Blue Metropolis for some time now.But none of them had ever revealed their Star Origins in public. Nor had they registered any information with the Starbearer Association.

By all logic, Gohn should not know their Star Origins. Yet he had stated them perfectly.

Could it be… Does this guy’s Star Origin include some sort of information-probing function?

Just as Caroline was thinking this, she suddenly noticed Gohn looking directly at her on the field.

That half-smiling look of his clearly told her that he had already guessed what she was thinking.

And indeed, Gohn’s Star Origin “Referee” did have an ability similar to detection.

The principle wasn’t complicated, it was simply pre-game inspection.

【Referee—Pre-Match Check:

After selecting the participating athletes, the referee can view the opponent’s Star Origin type, base star energy level, and each of their fundamental physical attributes.】

A lion uses its full strength even when hunting a rabbit.

Why was Gohn one of the few Starbearers in the Association with a 100% mission completion rate?

First, because he was shameless enough.

He clearly had the ability to break through to the third-order, yet he insisted on staying at the second-order, refusing to advance no matter what.

Sure, breaking into third-order would make him stronger. But once a Starbearer reaches third-order, the difficulty of missions skyrockets. The enemies and situations also become more complex and dangerous.

And since Gohn’s Star Origin was specialized purely for “bullying the weak,” a newly advanced third-order version of him might not even have the combat power of some exceptionally talented second-orders.

Because of this, no matter how much the upper-ups encouraged him, he always clung to the same excuse—that he “didn’t have enough talent” and simply “couldn’t break through.”

His philosophy was simple:

If I have no dreams, no one can force me to chase dreams.

He happily swam in the comfortable pond that was second-order—his ideal environment for bulldozing weaker opponents.

The second reason for his 100% mission completion rate was that Gohn was extremely cautious.

Yes, despite his exaggerated behavior and unserious personality, whenever he received a mission, he always did thorough preparation beforehand to determine whether to accept it.

This included the “under-the-table” jobs he took for extra cash.

So it wasn’t that he always completed every mission he took—it was that he only accepted missions he was 100% sure he could complete.

No one understood “bullying the weak” better than Gohn.

Because in this field, he was a true professional.

While Caroline continued observing him, trying her best to gather information, Gohn had already begun announcing the rules of the match.

“Alright! Now that we’ve introduced all the members of the red team, let’s take a look at today’s match format!”

He snapped his fingers again.

A massive holographic projection screen appeared behind him.

On the screen, Chen Kong and the others appeared as chibi-style animated characters.

“Today’s match is a 1v1 dodgeball tournament, played in a best-of-three format. Whichever team wins two rounds first will be the final victor!”

“At the start of each round, each team will send out one player, and the two will engage in a dodgeball battle of evasion and attack.”

“Rule One: If the defender fails to catch the attacker’s ball, the attacker retains ball possession. If successful, possession switches.”

“Rule Two: If a player is hit three times in a single round, or if they step out of the designated match area, their side is considered the loser of that round.”

“Rule Three: During the match, attacking the referee in any form is forbidden. Violators will receive a yellow card. Accumulate three yellow cards, and you are immediately disqualified, and your team automatically loses that round.”

“Everyone, I now declare the match—”

“Wait.”

Before Gohn could announce the start, Caroline suddenly interrupted him.

Seeing her step out from the team lineup, Gohn narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Referee, before the match begins, we’re free to ask questions related to the competition, correct?”

“And as the referee, you have the obligation to truthfully answer us.”

“After all, if this were a real official match, everything I just mentioned would absolutely be part of the rules.”

“Tch. So you noticed.”

Gohn clicked his tongue in annoyance, clearly displeased.

“Fine, fine. Ask. As long as it’s related to the match, I’ll answer truthfully. Anything irrelevant? Sorry—no comment.”

Caroline nodded once.

“My first question: Is there any restriction on how many times a single player can participate in each round of this match?”

Gohn paused.

He genuinely didn’t expect Caroline to notice his hidden rule this quickly.

Because normally, in a best-of-three match with three available players, people subconsciously assume each player can only participate once per match.

As for why he could play consecutively?

Because the blue team only had one player—him. So to keep the match functioning, he was allowed to break that “restriction.”

But the truth was, that restriction never existed in the first place.

If such a rule did exist, Gohn would’ve stated it clearly during the “public rules” segment.

He hid it for two reasons:

1, He had no obligation to tell them.

2, He wanted to exploit their subconscious assumptions to create hidden advantages for himself.

Even though he didn’t want to tell her the truth, his Star Origin forced him to give accurate answers.

“Yes. A player can participate multiple times. As long as the other team members agree, that person can even play all three rounds.”

“However, if that person is already holding a yellow card, it does not reset after each round. The yellow card persists until the entire match is over.”

After getting her answer, Caroline pointed toward one of the lobby clocks.

“My second question: The time of this arena—is it flowing in real-time from the outside world… or is it the time of a special sub-space?”

“…”

Silence.

A dead, heavy silence.

Gohn stared at Caroline as if he was seeing her for the first time.

After a moment, his playful expression vanished completely. In its place was a serious, low voice.

“…When did you realize?”

Caroline answered calmly:

“From the moment you leisurely dragged out your rule explanation.”

“Why?”

At that question, Caroline suddenly smiled.

“Because I believe a certain idiot would never be stalled by you people for that long.”

“And if nothing is wrong on his end, yet he still hasn’t appeared after so long…”

“Then the only ones in trouble must be us.”

“Either he can’t find us… or we’re in a space where time flows differently.”

“But the first option is impossible.”

“And once all impossible explanations are eliminated…”

“No matter how absurd the remaining answer seems, it must be the truth.”

“Combining that with the current situation—this entire hotel being completely empty—the only reasonable explanation I can think of is a sub-space that exists somewhere between virtual and real.”

Hearing this, Gohn couldn’t help but retort:

“Why is it ‘impossible’ for him to fail to find you? That guy may be strong, but he’s still only a first-order Starbearer. I, on the other hand, am a second-order one, you know.”

Caroline gave him an answer he never expected—because as a Machina Type Starbearer, she abandoned all objectivity and logic, and instead gave a completely idealistic response.

“Because I firmly believe that no matter where I hide, he will always find me. Just like I firmly believe that no matter where he runs off to, I will always find him, too.”

“…”

Gohn let out a long sigh, then said helplessly:

“You really don’t act like a Machina Type Starbearer at all. Only humans mix their own subjective thoughts into objective analysis, toss aside every practical factor, and treat it as valid reasoning.”

Caroline smiled lightly.

“Is that so? Then I guess I’m doing a good job. After all, that idiot once told me that rather than acting like a machine, he thinks it’s much more fun if I act like a person.”

“If that’s how he thinks, then he really is an idiot. Once a Machina Type Starbearer develops independent thought, it becomes way harder to use.”

“I agree. But—”

Caroline looked at Gohn and said softly:

“That’s exactly what makes him charming, isn’t it?”

“Because it’s thanks to him that I feel like I’m truly alive in this world.”

“And also because of him… I now want to live on as a person.”

“…”

Gohn stared at Caroline for a long, speechless moment before finally saying:

“For someone known for being rational and calm, you’ve really been sweet-talked into a whole new person. This guy you’re talking about must be insanely good at running his mouth.”

Caroline thought for a moment, then nodded.

“He is pretty good with words. And I don’t know how his brain works, but he always says things no one else can come up with.”

“But words alone wouldn’t be enough to make me like this.”

“Because unlike humans, we Machina Type Starbearers value objective actions more than verbal promises—which can be lies.”

“And in that regard… he has always done very, very well.”

Gohn couldn’t help but respond:

“And what if even his actions are lies? There’s no shortage of people in this world who can deceive others with their actions as well.”

“Well, if that’s the case…”

Caroline paused, thought for a moment, and then answered without hesitation:

“Then he can lie to me for a lifetime.”

“…”

Kuh—!!!

Damn it!!!

Why the hell did I even ask that!!!

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