Chapter 1298
Just as the robotic arms were about to seize Robin, Scarface Man lowered his voice again, “Serpentine motion, now!”
Robin had no reason to doubt Scarface Man anymore. He gripped Eleanor’s hand, and with a swift serpentine movement, they bolted towards the exit of the
arcade.
The mechanical arms, besides moving in a straight line, could swerve. Under Robin’s quick zigzagging maneuvers, they extended endlessly and turned infinitely.
Blue’s programming was clear: it had to sever an arm before retracting. Otherwise, the relentless automaton would keep chasing him until its mission was accomplished.
The unfortunate one was Eleanor. Handcuffed to Robin, their fate was intertwined. While Robin was still able to run, Eleanor, frail and weak, was quickly running
out of breath.
She had considered using Blue’s metal blade to cut their handcuffs, hoping it might stop the robot. But the blade was too wide, and their cuffs were too close-it was too risky and could end in them losing their arms.
Considering that Blue’s programming required human contact to activate, Eleanor immediately dismissed the idea. Gritting her teeth, she kept running with Robin, racking her brain for a plan.
Seeing their dwindling energy, Scarface Man sprinted to the opposite game booth number three, snatched an arm from a loud-mouthed man, and rushed back to them. Just as Blue was about to grab Robin’s arm, Scarface Man swiftly shoved the severed limb into Blue’s clasp.
Upon contact, Blue snapped the arm in two with a loud crunch. Tasting the metallic tang of blood, it swiftly retracted its arm.
In an instant, danger was averted for Robin. Eleanor’s heart, lodged in her throat, fell back into place. The only one cursing was the loud-mouthed man, cursing them.
Seeing their strategy, the rest of the players began to follow suit. Even those who had chosen the death door began using those who had chosen the life door as their scapegoats.
In game booth number four, only Eleanor, who had just returned, hadn’t had a chance to press the number button. The others tried to rush in and grab her as they ran past the booth, but were promptly kicked out by Scarface Man and Robin.
Protected by the two men, Eleanor followed Scarface Man’s previous instruction and quickly pressed the number two button. Sure enough, the word “Life” appeared on the red door opposite to them.
Seeing this, Robin breathed a sigh of relief. The look he gave Scarface Man changed from suspicion to trust. “Why?” he asked.
His question was about why Scarface Man was helping them. Scarface Man simply shook his head in response. Robin understood that they were being watched and did not press further.
“The first round is over. Please, all winners, choose your rewards.”
Five minutes later, the mechanical voice rang out again, and two reward options appeared on the screen.
Both Eleanor and Robin chose the first option: fifty million dollars. Scarface Man, however, chose the second option.
“Please retrieve your invitations and proceed to the doors of life and death.”
After the electronic voice faded, the black box on the control panel retracted and a golden leaf popped out.
Eleanor and Robin retrieved their golden leaves. Before entering the life door, both turned to look at Scarface Man, who was following closely behind.
He had not only helped them, but he also knew where the apple was. This indicated that he had received information beforehand.
Or someone, based on the countdown number, had relayed accurate information to him after the game had started.
If that was the case, it meant Scarface Man knew someone behind the scenes.
Who could it be? It couldn’t be Sophie, who wanted revenge on Eleanor. Could it be Bernard?
That seemed unlikely. If it were Bernard, he would have stopped them from entering in the first place, rather than sending Scarface Man to assist them.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: A Second Chance At Forever novel (Eleanor and Bernard)
Loved the story, many times caught in so much actually crying with the situation. Wish had more chapters to a better ending....
It's weird that the story went from narrative to slang use. Good story so far though...