Two days' journey could not be completed in one day, but in order to conserve energy, Steve and the others had to discard excess supplies from their backpacks to lighten their load.

Ye Zi, who was chasing them, saw a lot of abandoned supplies along the way and realized that Steve and his men were reducing their load and conserving their strength to prepare for the final battle.

Ye Zi intensified the pursuit, initially expecting it to last a week or even longer, but Steve couldn't hold on for more than three days.

Steve's initial plan was to get away from Leaf as quickly as possible, and once he was a certain distance away, Leaf would have to spend time finding a water source to replenish its water supply while chasing him.

Given Ye Zi's performance in the Leaf Arena, the possibility of being ambushed should be considered.

In order to deplete Leaf's resources, Steve deliberately started the match early to prevent Leaf from eating breakfast, thus delaying the pursuit and allowing him to find a way to replenish his water and food.

But to his surprise, Ye Zi was so decisive, completely disregarding the fact that he had lost too much water and was hungry during the chase, forcing him to turn back and start the final battle.

On the third night, when Steve took a headcount, he discovered that the number of men lost that day was equal to the total of the previous two days.

If he continues at this pace, by the time he returns to the open space where the match started, his men will have dwindled to around 180.

And they were 180 exhausted people.

Steve immediately made a bold decision: to travel through the night, abandoning the outer perimeter guards, in order to gain some rest time.

When they heard about this decision, most people were initially opposed, since more people meant more strength.

But without enough rest, even if they could kill Leaf, the losses wouldn't be small, so they eventually agreed to Steve's decision.

And so, led by Sato Hanzo, and without the knowledge of the outer perimeter guards in the direction Ye Zi was pursuing, Steve and his group traveled through the night.

In the middle of the night, Ye Zi launched another surprise attack, taking out a guard team before finding a place to rest.

As dawn broke, Steve and the others returned to the open area, panting. Several guards, unaware of the situation, also returned to the open area.

Drink water, eat, replenish your energy, and then rest.

When Ye Zi leisurely appeared at the edge of the open space, it was already noon, and Steve and the others had almost recovered.

But in order to get more rest, Steve once again faced the leaves.

"Wow... you must be exhausted. How was the nerve-wracking feeling?"

Before Steve could speak, Ye Zi joked first.

"You're very capable. It was worth it for me to gather so many allies to deal with you."

Ye Zi grinned and said:

"In the face of absolute power, any strategy is futile."

Steve looked at Ye Zi with a complicated expression.

Neither of them mentioned anything despicable or trashy. It wasn't the first or second time that they had been targeted at Guimenguan; everyone who watched the match knew about it.

Although malicious teaming is despicable, in the eyes of both white and black people, China has always been the most threatening country, and the dark force in China known as the "Gate of Hell" is equally threatening.

Therefore, they are not surprised by any means used to deal with China, nor do they feel ashamed.

For China and the Gates of Hell, those bets are something they are determined to get back by any means necessary, and China has never been afraid of challenges.

"Quantitative change leads to qualitative change, and you will become a corpse here," Steve began to threaten.

Steve didn't try to persuade them to surrender, and Ye Zi certainly wouldn't; their goal was simply to eliminate the other side.

In Ye Zi's eyes, only Steve had any value and could be exchanged for some ransom; everyone else was simply an enemy.

"Looks like this is the last match," Ye Zi casually remarked.

"Pretty much. After all, if a player is too strong, the competition becomes meaningless and there's no suspense."

Steve was telling the truth, and Ye Zi knew it was true.

Once or twice is acceptable, but there's no third or fourth time. The first win might have an element of luck, but the second win is all about skill.

Ye Zi fooled Steve and James once with her acting skills, but it would be difficult for her to fool them again with her acting skills.

Ye Zi took off her backpack, sat down on the ground, took out a bottle of water, took two sips, and then said:

"If you lose this time, how much do you think you're worth?"

"Are you so confident you can take us all down?" Steve retorted.

"Of course, I have the confidence to participate in the competition alone, and the source of that confidence is my strength."

You don't actually think we can't even pull out four people from the Gates of Hell, do you?

Steve had only come over to chat with Ye Zi in order to get some rest time, so he wasn't in a hurry to start a fight when Ye Zi sat down.

He sat down and tentatively asked:

"It seems you didn't go all out in the last match."

Ye Zi pretended to be surprised:

Is it that obvious?

Steve was taken aback, then gave a wry smile. If what Ye Zi said was true, then none of the people James had brought back might be able to return, including him.

Then he turned his head and glanced at the nearly two hundred men who were already preparing for battle, most of whom were citizens of the United States.

If these people die, not only will there be a gap in the domestic fighting scene, but the international standing of the Bald Eagle will also decline. Most importantly, he and James will become sinners.

By then, he will have lost everything—his wealth, his fame, and even his life.

"You still haven't said how much you're worth if you lose this time," Ye Zi continued.

"I will be worthless."

Ye Zi grinned. He wasn't sitting here chatting to give Steve and the others a rest; he was trying to win them over psychologically.

Ye Zi knew perfectly well what Steve's purpose was in coming over to talk to her. Originally, she was going to start a fight directly, but on a whim, she decided to play a psychological game.

"I must say you have absolutely no respect for life. If anyone loses at our Gate of Hell, the team leader will spare no effort to ensure we leave alive."

So-called freedom and democracy become worthless in the face of self-interest.

Steve suddenly felt a pang of heartache, because what Ye Zi said was true. Yang Dali and the other two were just minor characters with average combat power and no impressive record. But even so, Wu Dongheng still paid a high price to save their lives.

In contrast, James and others were only willing to pay the price to save the lives of useful people; everyone else was someone to be discarded.

Seeing Steve's expression, Ye Zi knew the power struggle was almost over, and smiled:

"How long will it take you to recover? An hour? Or a whole night?"

Steve's train of thought was interrupted, and then he said:

"If I said one night, would you really wait for us all night?"

"Alright, I'll do as you say. We'll start the battle again tomorrow morning," Ye Zi said nonchalantly.

Steve stared wide-eyed at Ye Zi in disbelief, but Ye Zi had already taken out her army rations and was preparing to eat.