Chapter 22.3
“No…” Yang Ming hadn’t even finished his final plea of dissatisfaction when the health bar above his head turned a cold gray, and he instantly became a lifeless corpse, falling heavily to the ground and raising up a cloud of dust.
There was not a trace of pity in An Wujiu’s eyes.
Not exciting enough.
It was as if he felt no emotions at all, not even a flicker of joy at his enemy’s death.
This joy was like looking through frosted glass, shrouded in a fog, not quite clear enough.
Far from enough.
He turned his head to look at Lao Yu outside the duel threshold. The expression on Lao Yu’s face was quite interesting, filled with shock.
Old Yu muttered, “You did all this.”
“Yep.” An Wujiu spread his arms, nodded indifferently, and said, “It was me.”
He had no intention of admitting guilt or facing any consequences, and he was even proud of his actions.
“But the cultist…”
An Wujiu looked at Wu You. “Little brat, you directed this whole show. It’s your turn to explain.”
Wu You spoke softly, “There were no cultists to begin with.”
“It was the inspiration from that painting, ‘The Last Supper’. What’s more stirring than a traitor in our midst?” An Wujiu burst into laughter and took a step forward, leaving the duel threshold and facing Lao Yu. He said something that sent shivers down Lao Yu’s spine.
“Don’t you understand yet? The cultist is you and Wu You.”
Lao Yu couldn’t believe it, “What?”
It turned out that his ankle injuries and the wear on his back all had reasons behind them.
“You must be wondering how Wu You managed to get into your room and dragged you out. If you were in your room, and he was outside your door, he wouldn’t even be able to open your door.”
Indeed, he had hit the point of confusion in Lao Yu’s heart.
An Wujiu shrugged, “Actually, he didn’t open the door of your room by himself; he didn’t need to.”
Lao Yu still frowned, not understanding the point.
“I just said it; have you forgotten it now?” An Wujiu wiped away the blood on the lower half of his face with his hand, “Time is my tool.”
“In the morning, I adjusted the quartz clock to run faster. So, what you thought was 9 o’clock is not actually 9 o’clock. But this isn’t the first time I’ve changed the time.”
An Wujiu tilted his head, his bloodied face showing an innocent yet cruel expression, creating a subtle and paradoxical feeling.
“On the first day we entered the bunker, I slowed down the quartz clock in the living room by five minutes.”
After he had been humiliated by Ueno and Liu Chengwei.
“So, when the clock displayed midnight, it wasn’t really midnight, but 12:05.”
“These five minutes were enough to make you fall asleep from the sleeping gas.”
It turned out… he created a time difference, making himself believe it wasn’t time for mandatory sleep yet, so he was forced to fall asleep outside.
An Wujiu continued patiently and gently as if explaining how to dissect livestock like a professional butcher.
“I instructed Wu You to chat with you at night, keeping you engaged until almost 11:50, and then he casually mentioned that it was getting late and time to go back. When you walked through various corridors side by side, standing at the door of the rest area and exchanging goodnights, the sleeping gas was about to take control of your brain.”
He made a thumping sound, mimicking the situation.
“When you opened the door, you passed out on the ground, and Wu You dragged you to Yang Ming’s door, pulled your hand to open Yang Ming’s door, and then dragged both of you to the duel threshold.”
At this point, An Wujiu revealed a relieved smile. “Do you know what’s so clever about it? You didn’t have any weapons for your duel.”
Lao Yu looked astonished in Wu You’s direction.
Wu You unburdened himself along the way and spoke softly, “That’s right, so I used your hand to cover Yang Ming’s mouth and nose, suffocating him to death and then dragged both of you back.”
“But when I woke up, I was in bed.”
“Yeah,” Wu You said, “So I used your hand to open Yang Ming’s door, then dragged him in and put him back on the bed. By that time, my energy bar had lost half its capacity, so I went back to the storage room, ate bread and drank water, used medication, and waited until my energy bar gradually recovered enough to withstand another violation, then came out and put you back in your bed. After doing all this, I restocked supplies.”
“But where did you get all these supplies?”
“I provided them.” Zhong Yirou raised her hand. “We used the whole family’s efforts to support this little child laborer.”
No wonder.
During the first duel, Lao Yu was curious why Wu You’s energy bar was full when he entered the duel threshold.
By that time, everyone’s energy bars had been somewhat depleted due to not eating or drinking in time, unless they had a large supply of resources.
He never imagined that the teenager in front of him would meticulously plan such a complex scheme.
Even more unexpected was that An Wujiu, who appeared to be surrounded on all sides, had set up such a precise series of traps secretly from the first day.
“Liu Chengwei’s body was also moved by me,” Wu You confessed. “Wujiu-ge said it would scare you all and make everyone more confused due to the unnatural occurrence.”
Staying in a closed environment for a long time would dull one’s thinking and increase suspicion.
“I see.” Lao Yu smiled in relief after hearing this.
He looked at Shen Ti, “Did you join them to change my line?”
Shen Ti shrugged, “I wasn’t invited by anyone, maybe I’m not worthy.”
“I originally didn’t want to change your line because I never planned to enter the next round.”
“But then I changed my mind suddenly.”
His expression unexpectedly became serious.
“Forcing myself to secretly love someone I want to love is quite interesting.”
With that, the bunker suddenly shook, and the ceiling paintings, the holy books in the alcoves, and the dark red carpets covering the floor all seemed to be on the verge of collapse.
In an instant, the red light curtain in the duel room shattered into countless particles, and the walls followed suit.
Everything around them turned into chaos.
In the midst of this chaos, they heard the holy voice.
“Congratulations to all players for surviving this round of the game.”
“Now let’s calculate the survival value scores for each of you.”
“Player Lao Yu, your personal survival value is 3 points. After being forced to change lines, your red line was connected to Ueno, but Ueno died, so you can’t obtain his score. Your black line is connected to An Wujiu, but An Wujiu survived, so you can’t obtain his score either. Lao Yu’s total score is 3 points.”
“Player Wu You, your personal survival value is 5 points. Your red line is connected to Lao Yu, and Lao Yu survived, so you gain 3 survival points. Your black line is connected to Liu Chengwei, but Liu Chengwei died, so your survival value is 2 points. Wu You’s total score is 10 points.”
“Player Zhong Yirou, your personal survival value is 7 points. Your red line is connected to Wu You, and Wu You survived, so your survival value is 5 points. The black line is connected to Lao Yu, but Lao Yu survived, so you can’t obtain his score. Zhong Yirou’s total score is 12 points.”
“Player Shen Ti, your personal survival value is 1 point. After actively changing lines, your red line is connected to An Wujiu, and An Wujiu survived, so your survival value is 4 points. Your black line is connected to Ueno Taisei, but Ueno Taisei died, so your survival score is 6. Shen Ti’s total score is 11 points.”
“Player An Wujiu, your personal survival value is 4 points. After actively changing lines, your red line is connected to Shen Ti, and Shen Ti survived, so your survival value is 1 point. Your black line is connected to Yang Ming, but Yang Ming died, so your survival value is 8 points.”
“An Wujiu’s total score is 13 points.”
The surrounding chaos gradually turned into a clear, pure white.
The holy voice announced the final results.
“Congratulations to the top four players who successfully completed the round and became the survivors of ‘The Red and Black Carnage.'”
“After returning to reality, each of you will receive reward points for this game and your transaction points. At the same time, you will have 24 hours of free time.”
“Please abide by the rules of the Holy Altar and return to the game pod on time. Otherwise, we will directly ‘eliminate’ the survivors.”
“Please remember, survival is temporary, only death is eternal.”
As soon as the voice fell, the pure white surroundings turned completely black, and An Wujiu felt a tremendous gravitational force that made him fall heavily to the ground.
The moment his back touched the ground, he opened his eyes.
At this moment, he wasn’t on any ground, but inside the game pod that Zhong Yirou had mentioned.
This small game pod resembled a cryogenic chamber. His face was covered with a breathing apparatus, and there were many input tubes in his arms, presumably to provide nutrition during the game, specially designed for that purpose.
In the game, he had changed into a white shirt, but now he was wearing the initial black jacket.
The wound on his wrist was severe, and it hadn’t been stitched up.
His hair was still long.
An Wujiu removed the breathing apparatus and disconnected the tubes one by one before exiting the game pod.
When his feet touched the ground, his legs felt weak. He looked up and saw a huge, wide door in front of him.
It was a warehouse that surprised him with its size.
An Wujiu turned around, and his heart sank even further.
Behind him were countless game pods lying on the floor, on the second floor, and even hanging on the walls.
All of them contained living people.
He turned back and walked toward the large door, the long-lost light blinding him, and he had to shield his eyes with his hand.
Amidst the confusion, he heard a familiar voice.
“An Wujiu.”
He followed the voice and saw a tall figure. The aftereffects of the intense light made his current vision strange, filled with rainbow-colored halos.
A pair of familiar green eyes appeared.
“Long time no see.”
An Wujiu hesitated for a moment.
“…Has it been a long time?”
Shen Ti put his arm around An Wuji’s shoulder and smiled charmingly.
“Hey handsome, I’m homeless now. Can you take me in?”
An Wujiu looked up and stared at him silently for a long time.
Unlike himself, Shen Ti’s clothing hadn’t changed at all, and his hair length remained the same.
But Shen Ti was holding the Guanyin mask that had been split by An Wujiu in the game, and now the mask was intact, as if the duel had never happened.
An Wujiu lowered his head and touched his abdomen, but the wound that had been pierced by Yang Ming was gone.
Indeed, what happened in the game did not affect real life. Therefore, the injury on his wrist could only have occurred in reality, so it must have been brought into the game world during initialization.
“Hey.”
Hearing his voice, An Wujiu snapped back to reality and saw Shen Ti leaning very close to him, almost touching noses.
“Why are you ignoring me? I asked for your help.”
Looking at Shen Ti, who was now outside the game, An Wujiu felt like he was seeing a puppy that would wag its tail desperately to gain sympathy.
This strange fantasy amused and perplexed An Wujiu.
“I don’t believe you’re homeless.” His tone was simple and straightforward, with no consideration for the other’s feelings. “Most of what you say is not true.”
“How can you say that about me?” Shen Ti clutched his heart again, looking very aggrieved. “I have a deep affection for you, you know.”
Was it that kind of forced affection that aimed an unrequited love arrow at him?
An Wujiu still didn’t believe him and continued to leave the game factory on his own. The outside world felt both unfamiliar and familiar to him, with the grayish, damp air and the faint scent of chemicals. When he looked up, he could see the artificial blue sky.
The location of the factory seemed quite remote, surrounded by an endless wasteland with scattered aircraft wreckage. An Wujiu walked on a road that seemed to lead nowhere, with Shen Ti following behind him.
“Aren’t you going to check your points? You’re the first, so you should have quite a lot.”
Hearing Shen Ti’s words, An Wujiu stopped and realized that he could access his game panel even in the real world. At the top of the panel was a message about the results of the previous round.
[Holy Altar:
Congratulations to Player An Wujiu for achieving first place in “The Red and Black Carnage.” You have been awarded 20,000 Holy Coins, which have been added to your panel.
We hereby announce the scores of other players: second place goes to Player Zhong Yirou with 15,000 Holy Coins, third place goes to Player Shen Ti with 10,000 Holy Coins, and fourth place goes to Player Wu You with 5,000 Holy Coins.]
The gap between ranks was indeed substantial.
Next, An Wujiu saw his transaction information.
[The contract you signed has been executed, and the promised points will be distributed among other survivors.]
Suddenly, he felt warm breath near his ear, and An Wujiu turned his head to find that Shen Ti was right next to him, his nose almost brushing against his cheek.
He took a step back defensively. “What are you doing?”
But Shen Ti assumed a serious tone. “You really were lying. I found it strange when you signed the contract. You kept saying you had 50,000 points, but you didn’t specify the exact number in the contract.”
With a swipe of his hand to the right, Shen Ti displayed a panel visible to An Wuji. It showed the transaction points he had received from An Wujiu—only 1428.6 points.
“That’s too unfair. You killed three and eliminated one, but you still divided it into seven equal parts. It’s really unfair.”
Surprisingly, An Wujiu felt no guilt about this. He pursed his lips and a long-lost sense of elation surged within him.
“I did lie.” He blinked slowly. “But everyone was lying.”
A new transaction message appeared on Shen Ti’s panel, showing an income of 5,000 points.
“What’s this now?” An Wujiu asked.
Shen Ti tilted his head. “This is, of course, my reward for deceiving people.”
As they were talking, a loud engine roar approached. An Wujiu turned his head and saw a motorcycle racing toward them on the road near the game factory.
However, instead of heading straight out, the motorcycle performed a drift-like maneuver and came to a stop in front of the two of them.
On the bike was a slim figure wearing a tight-fitting motorcycle suit.
She dismounted, removed her motorcycle helmet, and shook her head, revealing a head of glossy black hair.
“You guys are slow.”
Zhong Yirou flashed a brilliant smile.
She could ride a motorcycle.
This contrast surprised An Wujiu a bit.
Zhong Yirou tucked the helmet under her arm and approached An Wujiu. “Where are you going? Can I give you a ride?”
Before An Wujiu could respond, Shen Ti inserted himself between them.
“If you’re giving him a ride, what about me? Should I just run behind you guys?”
Zhong Yirou burst into laughter. “Well, that’s also an option! With legs as long as yours, you should be much faster than us.”
An Wujiu couldn’t help but chuckle and glance at Shen Ti. He didn’t seem to be taking any offense.
Shen Ti pulled An Wujiu closer to him. “The beauty can go home by herself.”
Although Shen Ti was eccentric, An Wujiu thought about it and felt that it wouldn’t be fair to him if he took a ride with Zhong Yirou.
He looked ahead. The road was so long. Would it be safe for him to walk alone?
“I’ll go with him,” An Wujiu said with an exceptionally docile expression, which surprised Zhong Yirou.
“Really?” Zhong Yirou looked at the two of them with a strange expression. “You two aren’t actually… involved, are you?”
“Uh, that?” An Wujiu was still a bit confused, but Shen Ti promptly gestured for Zhong Yirou to leave. “Go ahead, little sister. Be careful on the road, and if you see speed cameras, make sure to hide.”
Zhong Yirou had no choice but to step onto the motorcycle, don her helmet, and then look at them with a worried expression.
“Um, about that. I can’t control what you do, but you two… just remember to take precautions for your safety.”
An Wujiu didn’t understand. “Precautions?”
“Oh, right.” Zhong Yirou remembered something, opened her own panel, made a few selections, and then started the motorcycle.
“I sent you my address; make sure to come to me for treatment of your injuries.” She turned her head, gripping the handlebars with one hand and waving to the two behind her with the other.
“See you later!”
An Wujiu opened the message section of his panel and indeed found a location-sharing message that displayed an address and a map.
Below the sharing message, there was a friend request from Zhong Yirou.
“Don’t add her,” Shen Ti said before An Wujiu could respond. “She obviously doesn’t like guys like us.”
This statement was completely out of the blue, but it piqued An Wujiu’s curiosity.
He intentionally accepted the request and then asked Shen Ti, “Why do you say that?”
“It’s just a gut feeling,” Shen Ti emphasized. “The gut feeling I get from the motorcycle.”
This reason made absolutely no sense.
An Wujiu continued walking ahead, and the desolate yellow desert on both sides of the open road looked particularly bleak as if it were a no-man’s land after a nuclear explosion.
He thought about how many people would choose a place like this to seek death. During extreme weather conditions, dust storms and tornadoes would come to collect their bodies, making their deaths seem grandiose.
Thinking of this, he suddenly remembered the words Shen Ti said at the end of the game.
“Why did you say you hadn’t thought about entering the next round?”
After asking his question, the usually nonchalant guy fell silent.
An Wujiu began to wonder if he had been too direct and had touched on a sensitive topic. A sense of guilt welled up in him, and he blurted out an apology.
“Sorry.” / “It’s simple. I just didn’t want to live.”
Two voices overlapped and were scattered by the winds of the wilderness.
An Wujiu stopped in his tracks, looked at him, and, after a moment of contemplation, chose to ask straightforwardly.
“Why?”
Did he participate in this cruel game just to commit suicide?
“There’s nothing to apologize for.” Shen Ti responded first.
His hair was tousled by the wind, and there was a faint smile on his face, making him appear more youthful.
“They all say this game is cruel, and you might die in the first round. So, I came to participate. I want to know what it feels like to die…”
After saying this, he turned his head, and those incredibly beautiful eyes stared at An Wujiu, revealing an indescribable sense of vulnerability.
“My father was a habitual drunkard. He used to beat me and my mother, and he killed my mother. He took her kidney and sold it on the black market for 1,000 yuan. Then he bought a lot of alcohol and drugs and drank himself into a stupor at home. When he woke up, he would beat me.”
As he spoke, he saw tears shimmering in An Wujiu’s dark eyes.
It seemed like in the next moment, this guy who had been effortlessly surviving in the game was about to be moved by his tragic story. The overwhelming sympathy could almost make him cry.
Suddenly, Shen Ti burst into laughter, even clutching his stomach in amusement. “What do you think of this story? Does it sound convincing enough?”
The abrupt change left An Wujiu somewhat bewildered. “Convincing of what?”
“Convincing as in real,” Shen Ti stretched out in a lazy yawn, wearing an expression of complete nonchalance on his face. “If it doesn’t sound convincing, I can come up with another one.”
He straightforwardly told An Wujiu that he was lying and that every word he had just spoken was false.
Not only that, Shen Ti took pride in it with an exuberant smile.
“I can come up with a hundred different ones, each unique.”
“Do you want to hear another one?”
The author has something to say:
Lao Yu: So the real antagonist…
After completing the first subplot, let’s return to reality to develop some relationships.
Let’s reveal the final red-black lines:
(Capitalist) Yang Ming: Secret Crush — (Robber) Liu Chengwei
(Capitalist) Yang Ming: Curse — (Rich Heiress) Zhong Yirou
(Rich Heiress) Zhong Yirou: Secret Crush — (Employee) Wu You
(Rich Heiress) Zhong Yirou: Curse — (Wanderer) Lao Yu
(Researcher) Ueno: Secret Crush — (Capitalist) Yang Ming
(Researcher) Ueno: Curse — (AI) Shen Ti
(Company Employee) Wu You: Secret Crush — (Wanderer) Lao Yu (after being swapped by An Wujiu)
(Company Employee) Wu You: Curse — (Robber) Liu Chengwei
(Intern) An Wujiu: Secret Crush — (AI) Shen Ti (forced secret crush)
(Intern) An Wujiu: Curse — (Capitalist) Yang Ming
(AI) Shen Ti: Secret Crush — (Intern) An Wujiu (forced secret crush)
(AI) Shen Ti: Curse — (Researcher) Ueno
(Wanderer) Lao Yu: Secret Crush — (Researcher) Ueno (after being swapped by Shen Ti)
(Wanderer) Lao Yu: Curse — (Intern) An Wujiu
(Robber) Liu Chengwei: Secret Crush — (Rich Heiress) Zhong Yirou
(Robber) Liu Chengwei: Curse — (Employee) Wu You
