Time passed, second by second.

Leonid stood rigid on the stage. Aside from his mouth and eyes, the rest of him was like a wooden plank — completely without sensation.

At first he still had the energy to curse, but eventually he seemed to run out of new insults and simply shut his mouth to rest.

The players were startled at first, then gradually grew restless.

Because the two people on stage couldn’t decide a winner, the brawl match couldn’t continue.

The inspector made no move to intervene, smiling pleasantly. “This round has no time limit~”

Everyone had no choice but to wait patiently.

The short man on stage pulled out a compressed biscuit and took a few bites.

A bad feeling rose in everyone’s hearts.

Sure enough, after finishing the biscuit, the man pulled out a small canteen and took two sips of water — clearly settling in for a long, drawn-out fight.

Tan Xiao stood below the stage, watching with longing eyes. He couldn’t help swallowing and said, “I’m thirsty too.”

He and Shen Mo had been through two labyrinths together — going a day or two without food was nothing, but going a long time without water was genuinely miserable.

The other players were also disgruntled. “This guy actually brought food and water! Damn it! Is he trying to outlast us all to death?!”

Shen Mo frowned slightly, turned, and walked toward the spectator seating. He said to Tan Xiao, “Come sit down and rest.”

Tan Xiao glanced at the stage, then followed Shen Mo to the spectator area and sighed. “It’d be great if Sister Wei were here.”

— Once the dollhouse opened, who would ever worry about food or drink?

Shen Mo thought of Bai Youwei, and for a moment he was a little lost in his thoughts.

He had originally wanted to resolve things quickly. Gathering these powerful fighters was meant to push through with a wave of brute force — but he hadn’t expected to have his rhythm thrown off by all manner of props.

The werewolf earlier had already cost them twelve hours. Now this wooden statue had appeared, and who knew how much longer it would drag on.

If they got out late and she didn’t see him, she’d definitely be very worried.

Shen Mo turned these scattered thoughts over in his mind, his mood rising and falling, and he found himself growing restless.

He closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down and rest.

Tan Xiao glanced at Shen Mo, then looked around at the other players nearby. Bored with nothing to do, he could only stare blankly at the stage.

……

The short man had only brought a small amount of food and water. Once he finished eating and drinking, he lay down on the stage and went to sleep.

Quite a few players below felt contempt for this stalling tactic, but there was nothing they could do about it.

They assumed that once the opponent had rested, the match would begin — but after sleeping a full seven or eight hours, the man still showed no intention of making a move.

Leonid stood on the stage the whole time; naturally he couldn’t sleep. He was haggard, his eyes red from exhaustion.

Shen Mo spoke to him from below. “Your opponent is trying to drain your stamina. Don’t worry — it won’t last too long. Two days at most. Otherwise his own stamina won’t hold up either. This is a tactic that harms a thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of your own.”

Leonid scowled and glared. “Two days and you call that not long?!”

No matter how furious he was, it was useless. Unable to move meant unable to move.

Tan Xiao marveled, “That prop is incredible — it can last this long…”

“Actually, it’s quite limited in use,” Shen Mo said flatly. “Against a team with allies, a prop like that has no value whatsoever.”

The reason the big-bearded man was in such a difficult situation was that no one else could go up and help him — otherwise a single touch would restore his freedom, and the binding effect would naturally become meaningless.

Right now Leonid couldn’t move, his opponent couldn’t touch him, and the match couldn’t proceed.

Anxious tension spread throughout the arena.

Everyone went from urgent, to agitated, to helpless resignation and numbness, with nothing to do but continue waiting.

……

After a full thirty-six hours, Leonid’s body swayed, and he suddenly collapsed to the ground.

His opponent had been waiting a long time. The moment the time was up, he charged over and launched an attack on the fallen Leonid!

—