It's so painful! So hard! So difficult!

Just as Bai Lin had thought, Ling Qing's skill level wasn't necessarily that much higher than Bai Lin's. It was just that Ling Qing had maintained her composure, having saved a round in the previous challenge, which convinced Bai Lin that she was in better shape. She had also demonstrated her speed advantage. It seemed she had already been preparing for the second round, and she had a firm grasp on Bai Lin's mind.

Even though I lost, it wasn't in vain.

This round of matches also unfolded slowly in this unhurried atmosphere. The audience didn't seem disappointed; who wouldn't want to see a full best-of-three? The humility of one player giving way showed that both players were leaving themselves ample room for maneuver. Naturally, this final round was bound to be bloody!

"That's enough. There's no need to try too hard in the next round. Even if we lose, it's no big deal."

At the rest area, the poet handed Bai Lin some water. Bai Lin took it and drank a big sip.

"Boss, it's really rare for you to say that. Looks like I'm doomed, right?"

Bai Lin asked with a smile, but the poet did not say it directly. She just patted Bai Lin's shoulder and said lightly,

"You're still not as enthusiastic about this game as they are."

Chapter 985 You Have No Determination to Win

"Or rather, you simply don't have the determination to win."

As Bai Lin herself had said, this wasn't part of her grand determination to save the world, so no matter what, she couldn't take herself too seriously. She didn't enjoy spicy food as much as a mermaid, just as humans couldn't enjoy eating insects more than birds did. She kind of wanted to win, and was curious about the prize. But she didn't really know what the grand prize was, as the mermaids did.

Simply put, it’s because the “desire” is not strong enough.

"Then you, tell me something?"

Bai Lin seemed to have received some hint and moved closer to the poet. The poet took a step back in surprise, then shook his head.

"Come on."

"Tsk, so ruthless."

Bai Lin smiled helplessly, gathered himself together again, and walked towards the ring.

"On this fiery night, our competition is finally reaching its most exciting moment! After two rounds of competition, will the final crown be taken by the powerful Saint Son who has traveled this far? Or will it be taken by Ling Qing, our local, who has been immersed in our culture since childhood?"

The passionate commentary continued to be delivered, and in the stands of the teahouse, there were many people cheering for both sides.

"I think I've heard your answers. As for what the answers are, we'll soon find out!"

The evil spirit put away her exaggerated expression, sat back in her seat, pressed her legs, and narrated,

"The rules of this final round of combat remain simple. After a head-on clash, with both sides suffering heavy casualties, the final showdown will naturally become the focal point of the entire arena. On a stage littered with corpses, a swansong dance will unfold, watched only by the two sides."

"The competition will alternate between three different formats. There's the one-breath chili stew, to see who can eat the most in one breath; the ten-second dried chili stew, to see who can eat the most in ten seconds; and the five-basket race, similar to the previous round, which is about eating faster. The second and third methods involve both teams competing simultaneously, while the first method involves both teams competing separately."

This obviously improves the tactical position of the "one breath, one pepper" technique. If you feel that the opponent has eaten too much, you can naturally stop and give up this round of attack.

"The winner of each round of the mini-game has the right to choose the format for the next round. Furthermore, the same format cannot be chosen repeatedly between rounds. Losing three games in a row will result in the final defeat."

Just like a grueling duel on the battlefield, whoever gained the advantage in the previous round naturally has the right to lead the attack or defense. And only those who pursued the opponent relentlessly, suffocating the opponent until the last breath, could ultimately achieve victory. Bai Lin seemed to have a vague answer in his mind.

She looked at the smiling Ling Qing and saw that she made a gesture of invitation. Bai Lin also nodded. Seeing this, the chief host, the evil spirit, took a deep breath.

"The most exciting moment is finally here! So without further ado, the decisive battle begins now!"

Since Ling Qing had won the previous round by a large margin, she preferred the first format, with Bai Lin taking the lead. This was a clear tactic; knowing she might not be able to match Bai Lin in terms of strength, she still gave in, most likely wanting to wear her down first.

But was Bai Lin the type to be afraid? She crouched like a toad, gathering her strength and sucking in the peppers, one on each side, like a sea. A large amount of red liquid poured into her mouth, and soon, all seven baskets were empty. She wiped her mouth sharply and returned her gaze to the other person.

"The Holy Son is truly a force to be reckoned with. I know I can't defeat him in this round. Please?"

With these seven baskets, Bai Lin had actually left himself some wiggle room. Even so, Ling Qing still had no intention of continuing the match, instead immediately requesting a quick move to the next round. This confirmed Bai Lin's suspicions.

Well, knowing that the opponent's speed is faster than hers, the remaining two ways of playing are not very advantageous to her. Ling Qing only needs to rely on her speed advantage and alternate between the two games, and she will almost certainly lose. This situation makes Bai Lin feel very difficult. She rested for a while and then said,

"The second one."

Ten seconds—what can you do in ten seconds? You can play a music prelude, drink a glass of water, or even take a short break. But for these two, ten seconds can do a lot. It may not seem like a long time, but it can also be a test of endurance, not a complete race. Since choosing three would definitely mean you'd be outmatched, then choosing two might still offer a chance.

However, since there is no upper limit for both the first and second game modes, the consumption of state is naturally very high. In other words, even if he wins this round, Bai Lin still does not have the ability to kill the game.

"That's so refreshing. Let's get started then."

The smell of gunpowder gradually grew stronger, and the two glanced at each other and the surrounding peppers. As the countdown drums sounded, they immersed themselves in the sea of ​​red, lost in the shouts of the crowd, and began to tear the peppers apart frantically.

The result, not surprisingly, was Bai Lin's defeat. Although Ling Qing's performance declined from the seventh second onward, Bai Lin still couldn't gain an advantage in the final seconds. Ling Qing wiped the corner of her mouth. She looked particularly interested tonight, as if she was graciously entertaining this kind guest. Her eyes were also hazy and a little teasing.

"Thank you. Then let's continue."

She was unceremonious and seemed determined to chase him straight ahead, not giving Bai Lin any chance to breathe. Just as Bai Lin had expected, she chose the third way of playing.

"Ah... Second consecutive defeat, Shengzi, you're in crisis again. It was just a matter of milliseconds! But alas, a loss is a loss. Shengzi, you need to work harder!"

As the commentary sounded, Bai Lin's basket fell to the ground. She had tried her best in this round of competition, but the result was naturally not ideal. She panted, without raising her head.

Ouch, I was defeated in just one round, which is quite embarrassing. But, it’s no big deal…

"You don't seem to have much fighting spirit, Holy Son. This won't do."

At this moment, Ling Qing actually pressed her upper body onto the table and persuaded Bai Lin in a gentle tone. Bai Lin was a little surprised, but she only raised her head slowly, drank a glass of water, and replied,

Chapter 986 The Grand Prize is

"Honestly, I'm doing this mainly for fun. For your enjoyment, and for my own experience. Win or not... I'd love to win if I could, but you're just too strong."

The two of them were talking in low voices. When talking like this, Bai Lin naturally didn't want others to hear it, which would spoil the fun. Ling Qing tilted her head and replied,

"You still have a chance to win. There's no need to admit defeat just yet. It's truly fun to compete with you. Just think of it as something for me... maybe that's not a good way to put it. How about thinking about the grand prize?"

Bai Lin laughed dryly twice.

"Winning an award is certainly nice, but my boss hasn't told me I have to win one, so it shouldn't be that important."

"I'm surprised you've praised the grand prize we carefully prepared for the festival. Look around, everyone's eagerly waiting to see the crown land. There's no way this can't be something good."

Ling Qing leaned back a little, waved her hands around,

"Listen to the shouts, the beating of gongs and drums, and look at the towering bonfires outside the venue. This joyous atmosphere isn't just for the competition; it's a celebration of releasing people's inner desires and enjoying themselves to the fullest. And the prize is the essence of it all. You may not need it, may not value it, but it's definitely not something you don't care about just because your boss says it's unimportant."

"Everyone is following their hearts, forgetting everything else in life and immersing themselves in it. Shouldn't you also follow your heart's desires?"

Bai Lin was really shocked to hear Ling Qing say this. She was about to say, "Then my wish is to get off the stage and drink water and never want to eat chili peppers again in my life", but was interrupted by Ling Qing's action again. Ling Qing raised her hand and said,

"I choose the first way of playing!"

This was clearly a chance for Bai Lin to survive. Enjoy! This was absolute enjoyment, not letting her win. To the audience, her declaration undoubtedly meant to deal Bai Lin a final blow from many aspects, putting a perfect end to the story.

But Bai Lin finally understood Ling Qing's intentions. In this desperate situation, in this desperate situation where she was completely defeated, in this moment where no one was optimistic about her, this meant that this was the absolute moment for a decisive counterattack. She wanted Bai Lin to defend the advantage she had previously demonstrated, then press on to build on it, reaching the decisive climax and making the battle even more intense.

After that, Bai Lin would burst into an even stronger fighting spirit amidst the roars of the crowd. She also wanted Bai Lin to completely immerse himself in this competition, so as Bai Lin's opponent, Ling Qing was the one who most hoped that Bai Lin could survive.

"Wow! Contestant Ling Qing actually ate eight baskets of chili peppers in one breath. That's exactly one basket more than the previous Saint Son! So, can Saint Son really surpass her? Or will he be completely defeated here?!"

Ling Qing quickly ended her action. She insisted on using one hand to defeat Gao Bailin, but only one hand. Bailin smiled slightly.

Thank you very much for your unique hospitality. I will definitely get through this.

Bai Lin thought so in his heart, then his eyes fixed and he slammed the table and stood up.

"Oh, one basket, two baskets! The Holy Son player is getting faster and faster, as if he wants to finish this faster before the heat takes over, so as to achieve a numerical advantage. What a great tactic! Keep up the momentum and charge forward!"

"Holy Son, come on."

"Come on, Lord Saint—"

"Come on, Saint Son."

Commentators, poets, spectators, princesses—everyone was focused on this match point, and Bai Lin lived up to expectations, quickly reaching the sixth basket. However, because his spicy food consumption tonight was truly beyond his usual frenzy, even after he'd gathered some strength, Bai Lin's throat still unexpectedly trembled.

"Is this... going to choke me?!"

The evil spirit's explanation was filled with surprise and doubt. Bai Lin lowered herself slightly, stabilizing her stance. She felt the fiery emotions surrounding her, felt Ling Qing's fiery gaze. Bai Lin knew best; she couldn't afford to collapse at this moment.

She quickly recovered from the unexpected situation, which caused everyone to scream in surprise. However, it was only after the next basket that she was able to catch up and tie the game.

Excessive trauma forced Bai Lin to slow down her pace. This made her look as if she had reached the end of her rope. A few long seconds passed in a flash, and Ling Qing realized that Bai Lin had really reached her limit. She no longer paid attention, but moved closer.

"Holy Son, think about it again. What exactly do you want to win for? For yourself, get through this!"

But if Bai Lin could get through it with just two words, she wouldn't be stuck here. Just like herself at that time, Ling Qing had some understanding... Thinking of this, she seemed to understand something.

In the past, the Son of God and the poet mistakenly identified the object of their distrust. So does the Son of God also need other words?

"Oh, right! You still don't know what the grand prize is. Listen carefully, the grand prize is—"

As she spoke, Ling Qing leaned closer to Bai Lin's ear and whispered a few words. Her tone became softer and more ambiguous, and her eyes and eyebrows conveyed her true meaning. It seemed that she really wanted to use her words to ignite the fire of victory in Bai Lin's heart. However -

The next moment, Bai Lin's eyeballs contracted, she twitched instantly, gasping wildly, and then fell to the ground beside her.

"Ah, we never expected that the Saint Son contestant we placed such high hopes on would actually fail in her strongest event. Let us congratulate her..."

This was the last sound Bai Lin heard before he fainted.

-

Leaving the noisy venue, Bai Lin breathed in the fresh air with a refreshing feeling. While the seawater wasn't particularly salty, the salty breeze that brushed against his face was a truly unique experience.

The night sea certainly seemed bottomless and oppressive. However, in the distance, there were joyful voices. The people of Cheongdam City were gradually recovering and returning to their normal lives. Everything was as peaceful as the night.

This night was peaceful and tranquil, and so was the sea breeze blowing across my face.

Although Bai Lin had lived in a coastal city during her lifetime, she wasn't often near the sea. This night felt like a rare break from the seaside for a party.

Chapter 987 Why did you suddenly appear?

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It was like a bonfire party—there actually was a bonfire tonight. They sang and danced around the bonfire, and even the poet, holding hands with Bai Lin, formed a circle, though for some reason he seemed a little shy.

However, the hand holding the other side was that of an evil ghost, who seemed like a naughty child who wanted to compete with him, so it was not that interesting.

That guy has quite a lot of strength in his hands. Luckily, I'm a bit more skilled, hehe.

Bai Lin thought this, letting the sea breeze blow away many of his worries. But he suddenly remembered the previous fire-ignition competition and couldn't help but choke on his own saliva, and his PTSD attack occurred.

"It seems that you are in a good mood tonight, Holy Son."

Seeing Bai Lin's rich emotional changes, the poet couldn't help but comment. And it was at this moment that Bai Lin remembered the reason why he went to the beach.

She is here, so why bother worrying so much?

Bai Lin stopped coughing and smiled slightly. Then, he turned his gaze to the distant starry sky.

"It's not bad, is it? Seeing the changes this week, I'm really happy to see them recover to their current state. I'm not saying I'm some saint, but seeing how they looked when we first arrived, it was a bit hard for me to watch."

"Now that the festival has begun, it's time to relax. Let's relax. It also makes us feel that everything we did before was not in vain...even though we didn't do too much this time."

Bai Lin said so. And the poet replied,

"You can't think that way. In fact, to this world, whether you fight with all your might or simply overcome the difficulties like this time and bring them the right words, it doesn't make much difference in essence. After all, the world is too vast. What does blowing up an island or destroying a city mean?"

"But the impact was real. With just a few words and a helping hand from us, we resolved a problem that was troubling their entire clan. Things are never judged by size, but by correctness. We handled critical events correctly, and that's exactly what we did."

Hearing the boss being so serious, Bai Lin laughed dryly.

"Hey, boss, I understand everything you're saying. Let's not talk about this for now and not be so serious tonight, okay?"

"Today is a festival. Don't think too much. Just relax tonight."

On this rare day of the festival, after hearing Bai Lin's words, the poet stopped talking. She didn't reply, but just looked ahead. Bai Lin came closer, tilted his head and asked,

"What's wrong? Are you unhappy?"

"……No."

"Then why did you suddenly run out?"

It turned out that the celebration was still going on at the venue. The reason why Bai Lin and the poet appeared at the beach was because she found that the poet had disappeared and chased him out. The poet tilted his face and replied,

"I'm just not used to this feeling. Besides, do you want to be involved in what's going to happen next? Are you obsessed with your big prize?"

Hearing this, Bai Lin couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. She even retorted,

"Hey, hey, hey, you can't just say that. I didn't know what the grand prize was. Lingqing told me at the last minute, so I choked on the chili and lost the game. Don't you know that too?"

Bai Lin's tongue was a little tied. She seemed to have never been so embarrassed in front of a poet before. It seemed that she really hadn't recovered from this incident.

What Ling Qing said at the end was actually a very simple matter. She did not use any tricks to trap Bai Lin, but simply announced the true content of the grand prize openly. And the content that could make Bai Lin fall into such a situation must naturally be extremely shocking -

The grand prize, if explained in a way that is easier for humans to understand, is the right to mate.

For humans, singing, dancing, chatting, and watching performances are typical festival entertainment. But for mermaids, there seems to be something even more special. For a race comprised entirely of women, their views on chastity seem surprisingly open. This is also the festival's late-night evening event.

The winner of the fire-ignition competition will have the highest mating rights, which means they can have sex with anyone they want. There is no limit on the number of people they can have sex with. However, if you can't have sex with everyone else and leave your own people alone, you will be doomed.

Of course, guests like Bai Lin and others have the right to refuse, but the other party mistakenly thought that the poet knew everything and let Bai Lin participate in the project after telling Bai Lin the details, so that situation happened.

As for local customs, they were quite outrageous for a human like Bai Lin, which made her realize that Cheongdam City was indeed a somewhat "traditional" settlement with a rich folk atmosphere. However, compared to most customs in this world, they seemed quite mild. Therefore, Bai Lin was only slightly embarrassed and did not have any other thoughts.