The crowd exchanged glances, falling into a brief silence.
"Since no one..." the old man began.
At this moment, Bai Lu, who had been sitting by the bar, raised her hand and asked, "It's already possible to start fighting now, isn't it?"
The old man nodded. "If no one has any objections, then we can indeed begin the fight."
Bai Lu continued, "We can start fighting from this very spot, correct?"
The old man nodded again. "Yes."
Bai Lu's expression suddenly turned ferocious as she cast a malicious gaze around.
In that instant, everyone, including Bai Ye, felt a sense of impending danger. And just then...
Bai Lu abruptly stood up, a detonator suddenly appearing in her hand.
"In that case..." Bai Lu's pupils dilated, a hint of excitement showing as she said, "All of you can go to hell!"
*Boom, boom, boom!*
As Bai Lu pressed the detonator, the sound of explosions suddenly erupted.
The surrounding walls and the ground beneath their feet began to continuously explode, the entire floor trembling and shaking. Walls collapsed one after another, and the ground started to crack.
Then...
*Boom!*
A deafening roar sounded again, followed by a large section of the floor sinking downwards, sending everyone plummeting.
This sudden demolition caught everyone completely off guard.
Bai Ye fared slightly better. The moment Bai Lu started asking questions, Bai Ye sensed that something bad was about to happen. After all, that woman's nickname was the Queen of Explosives!
Then, upon hearing the explosions, Bai Ye understood. Bai Lu must have planted explosives in various locations while they were coming upstairs.
As Bai Ye mused, they took out a Taoist charm and quickly threw it out while falling downwards.
"Earth Spell!"
The charm rapidly burned, and as Bai Ye landed on the lower floor, three earthen walls rose at an angle, interweaving to push aside the falling debris and shield Bai Ye below.
Moments later, as the sounds of explosions began to subside, Bai Ye emerged from the gaps in the earthen walls. Looking around, it was a complete ruin. The 22nd floor where they had been had almost entirely collapsed. Looking up, only a large hole remained.
Immediately after, Bai Lu walked to the edge of the hole, holding a Vulcan Gatling gun in one hand and a glass of red wine in the other.
The night breeze blew through the broken walls, causing Bai Lu's red evening gown to flutter.
The next instant, Bai Lu finished her wine and casually tossed the empty glass aside, then hefted the Vulcan Gatling gun.
"Hi, boys!" Bai Lu grinned. "Shall we dance the tango together!"
As Bai Lu laughed, she pulled the trigger of the Vulcan Gatling gun!
*Brrrrt, brrrrt, brrrrt, brrrrt, brrrrt, brrrrt...*
The barrel spun rapidly and began spewing fire, bullets raining down like a storm, relentlessly firing downwards.
In almost an instant, those who had just emerged from the rubble began to scatter.
"Crazy woman!"
Bai Ye cursed, then bolted. Spotting the warped and twisted door to the emergency staircase on the side, they leaped forward and, with a downward shove of their shoulder, burst through the door and tumbled inside.
Bai Ye let out a small sigh of relief. The emergency staircase was outside the sweep of the gunfire, but...
*Boom!*
Just as Bai Ye's heart settled, another explosion sounded, and the floor shook again.
"Is that woman insane?" Bai Ye muttered, spitting on the ground. "How many bombs did she plant?"
Glancing at the ruins outside the emergency staircase, Bai Ye decisively began to descend.
Bai Ye had no intention of confronting Bai Lu here. That woman was clearly prepared, and who knew how many more bombs she had. Fighting here would be too disadvantageous.
Most importantly, there was the chaos!
Although everyone seemed to have scattered after Bai Lu's rampage, they should still be within this building. A direct confrontation would likely devolve into a free-for-all.
A free-for-all meant unpredictability!
Bai Ye was confident in their own strength, so compared to a chaotic battle where accidents were prone to happen, Bai Ye preferred to pick off opponents one by one.
As Bai Ye pondered, they continued to descend. However, after only three floors, Bai Ye was forced to stop. The emergency staircase ahead had collapsed.
Bai Ye took a deep breath and pushed open the door of the adjacent emergency staircase.
Next to the entrance of the emergency staircase were two elevator doors. Bai Ye pressed them, and they still worked!
The areas where Bai Lu had planted bombs were on the 22nd and 21st floors, which had now become ruins. However, the floors below seemed to have been unaffected by the explosions.
The elevator beside the emergency staircase was not the same one that led directly to the banquet hall, so it hadn't been damaged by the explosions.
Since that was the case, they could take the elevator directly to the first floor. Bai Ye decided to leave the building first.
The Twelve Great Battles: the winner is the one who survives until the end!
The phrase "survives until the end" needed emphasis. Even if one could kill ten other participants, if they were killed in the final battle, they would still be a loser.
And as the elevator floors slowly ascended...
Suddenly, Bai Ye felt something amiss and quickly dodged to the side.
The next instant, a massive fist whizzed past Bai Ye's cheek and slammed forward, striking the elevator door and leaving a fist-shaped dent.
Bai Ye swiftly spun around and delivered a roundhouse kick to the opponent's waist, knocking them back.
With a height of nearly two meters and a powerfully built physique, their clothes strained against formidable muscles, revealing sharp contours.
Bai Ye recognized the individual. Back in the banquet hall, they had been alone in a corner, playing darts. And the zodiac sign they represented was...
"The Rooster is this muscular..." Bai Ye shook their head. "It really doesn't look the part!"
The Rooster pouted. "I also didn't expect the Dragon to be so small!"
The twelve individuals didn't know each other's names, of course. Bai Ye, with memories from a previous life, who recognized a few familiar faces, was an exception.
However, even without knowing names, they could discern each other's zodiac signs. Upon receiving their identities, corresponding zodiac imprints would appear on everyone's clothing.
Such identity distinctions were not without purpose. The identities were assigned based on the number of forbidden zone missions completed. Therefore, while it couldn't completely represent strength, it could indeed be seen as a ranking of power. The more forbidden zone missions completed, the higher the zodiac order obtained.
This way, one could infer the enemy's strength to some extent based on their zodiac sign, thus strategizing.
After all, this was a killing game, not a martial arts tournament!
Killing didn't always have to come from the front!
...