A Second Chance at Forever novel (Eleanor and Bernard)

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.

And he certainly wouldn’t have waited until they entered and confirmed the game before passing a note

advising them to leave.

Robin thought that if Bernard were alive and had managed to get behind the scenes, then the note

must have come from him.

Bernard must have seen him and Eleanor on the surveillance cameras, realized they had entered Area

Opaca, and tried to send them a note to get out. Unfortunately, he was too late.

£ 3 2 8 5 2 5683

As for Scarface Man, he had been in the room before the game started, meaning someone had sent

him in as a player to assist them from the beginning. Under the watchful eyes of the surveillance

cameras, Robin couldn’t just go and ask Scarface Man directly. He would have to seize the right

moment in the midst of chaos to whisper a question or two, just like Scarface Man had done earlier.

In the spectator area behind the scenes, the screens of the four games turned off, displaying the

results and betting amounts.

Out of the eighteen invitees, only Mr. Quartus’ invitees had won, which naturally drew some sarcastic

comments.

“Mr. Quartus, your invitees worked pretty well together. Did they know each other beforehand?”

“Yeah, and that Scarface, he seemed to know how to avoid risks. You didn’t plant him there in advance,

did you?”