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Chapter 651 - 650: 173 Successfully Contained

They waited for about two minutes, during which everyone kept their eyes closed as devoutly as if they were praying to Buddha.

The electronic voice did not announce any information about someone being taken out.

In other words — 173 has been contained.

Mu Qiu was the first to open her eyes, leaning sideways to rest on Zhao Yu’s body.

"Containment successful, finally! Emma, it’s been hard, let me rest for a bit."

Zhao Yu hugged her back, their heads resting on each other’s shoulders, sticking together like glue.

Their pale, slender waists lightly touched each other, and if you looked closely, you could see sweat trickling down from the hem of their short white tops.

Cheng Zhirang opened his eyes only then. When turning his head, he accidentally saw them and paused for a second before quickly looking away.

"Does this mean we’ve avoided the attack range of 173?"

Mu Qiu lay on Zhao Yu, raising her eyes to look at him, "Yeah, as long as no one stupidly reopens that door, 173 won’t be a threat anymore... I suppose."

Among these five monsters, 049 the Plague Doctor identifies plague information and stops the physiological functions of those it affects by direct contact, and its containment method is quite special, requiring a shot of tranquilizer, and then it must be securely bound and placed in a humanoid containment unit.

This is very difficult to achieve.

As for 813 Broken Glass, to contain it, one must use a special steel box filled with foam, and this box must be suspended in the air.

This is essentially impossible to accomplish here.

The third monster, 902 Countdown, is even trickier, as it’s kept at the North Pole in a Foundation article, guarded by soldiers and a nuclear bomb. Destroying it is the only option.

As for the fourth monster, 173 the Statue, it should be considered the easiest one to contain.

Fortunately, this monster can be re-contained; otherwise, once this card comes out, everyone would be doomed.

"There’s no such thing as ’supposed,’ it’s a must."

Chu Qiu plopped down on the ground, breathing heavily with his head tilted upwards.

"This is really amazing; if it weren’t for our seamless cooperation, we would all have died at the hands of this big-headed peanut freak."

"The synergy was impeccable," Zhao Yu also chimed in, "I can hardly believe that the four of us managed to deal with this thing by wasting only one revival opportunity."

She would call this a highlight moment, the best cooperative battle of the season. During the editing, she would definitely add some rousing music to reflect the spirit of unity and cooperation.

They stood at the doorway, talking and laughing as they caught their breath, marveling at their synergy, feeling a newfound sense of survival.

The atmosphere was surprisingly good, nothing like the vibe enemies about to engage in a final battle should have.

Once they had enough rest, Mu Qiu finally let go of Zhao Yu, stood up straight, wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, and although listless, she was actually warily watching Cheng Zhirang and Chu Qiu while considering her next steps against the wall.

Just then, an icy electronic voice rang out at the perfect moment, breaking the harmonious atmosphere.

"Fifth round self-report time! Please all guests return to your starting positions!"

This was equivalent to a ceasefire signal, and Mu Qiu relaxed a bit, looking at Cheng Zhirang and Chu Qiu, "Let’s go, we’ll talk once we’re outside."

"Let’s go, then."

Chu Qiu got up, carefully dusted off any possible dirt from his jeans, and walked forward.

The four of them sat in the fast-food restaurant’s dining area, leaving an empty seat between each other, even between Mu Qiu and Zhao Yu.

The game of strategy was initiated by Chu Qiu.

"Now it’s just the four of us left, it’s kind of quiet."

So quiet that you could even hear the faint sound of each person’s stomach growling.

Mu Qiu placed her hands on the table and directly said, "This might be the last round, so let’s be honest with each other."

"How do we do that?" Cheng Zhirang asked.

"Each of us should talk about our current analysis and path to victory. Clarity on the field will allow everyone to see that perhaps some conflicts are unnecessary," Zhao Yu said.

After playing for so long, our minds were getting muddled; having everyone analyze could help clear our thoughts.

This proposal received unanimous approval from everyone.

The first to speak was the de facto leader, Cheng Zhirang. His fingers interlaced on the edge of the table, appearing more distinct in the natural light and shadow.

Sitting up straight and leaning forward was a posture for serious negotiations.

"I don’t know if you had plans for a hidden alliance before meeting me or not. It’s best if there weren’t.

Currently, my 813 can’t do much, and the only ones who might be taken out by it are you, Chu Qiu, and Mu Qiu.

But since one of you has the Guardian Aura by virtue of having a teammate, although unsure if it’s truly parasitic, and the other has been parasitic for a short time, if the effective time of 813 is fixed, calculated from Shu Ran’s parasitization to her elimination, Mu Qiu isn’t at risk from 813 in the short term.

The only instant kill options left are 049 and the fifth card. The fifth card is with you, Chu Qiu, and I’m not familiar with it, so I can’t use or avoid it.

Factoring in the attribute that the cardholder is immune to current monster attacks, my only option now is to use 049 against you, Chu Qiu."

It was a sincere analysis, revealing everything with probably no secrets left.

He sounded like an honest person.

The second to speak was Chu Qiu.

"By the same reasoning, I could use the fifth card against all three of you, or just use 049 against Brother Cheng. And now neither of us has a revival opportunity left. The likely outcomes of the current battle are:

One, I start fighting with Brother Cheng, and he uses 049 on me first, which results in my elimination, placing me fourth.

Two, I start fighting with Brother Cheng again, but this time I win, and I reveal the fifth card in front of the defenseless Mu Qiu and Zhao Yu, ideally making me first."

Analyzing it this way, his next move would be to eliminate Cheng Zhirang first.

It all sounds plausible, but there’s no doubt someone isn’t telling the complete truth.

For instance, Chu Qiu.

Mu Qiu tapped the table, mimicking Chu Qiu’s speech format and hastily making adjustments.

"Likewise, I’m the Purifier, I can only save people, not kill them, and my only trump card is the two remaining self-revival opportunities I have left.

But due to a lack of counterattack capabilities, the main function of this trump card is to allow me to be killed two more times in your massacre. Conservatively estimated, third place."

The microphone passed to Zhao Yu, who also made slight modifications before speaking.

"I’m just an ordinary person, with defensive and offensive abilities similar to this Purifier, but without self-preservation or counterattack abilities. Other than the Purifier saving me out of desperation, either of you could easily take me out, conservatively estimated, fourth place."

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ps: I heard people in the SCP community say that there used to be a first-person horror puzzle game called "SCP: Containment Breach." Our show this season is somewhat similar, like a game leading to an apocalypse caused by the failure of containment of these five monsters.

If you’re interested, you can look into this game type, which seems to be a combination of murder mystery and escape room game.