《Survivorship Bias》


 CH 1

    Start Override


    A red laser beam moved to the forehead of the man beside him. With a thud, the semi-viscous blood plasma mixture splattered onto his wrist.


    That was the scene in front of him when he awakened. It was as terrible as a nightmare.


    Blank-headed, he sat on a chair and stared at the man whose head was blown off and had fallen to the ground. The man¡¯s eyes, like his own, were wide open.


    ¡°This is what happens when you try to force your way out of [Altar].¡±


    Along with the noise in his brain that resembled an out-of-tune signal, he heard an entirely pure and clear voice similar to a church choir.


    He discovered his reaction was abnormally slow, and it took a lot of energy to shift his gaze to his wrist.


    The wrist was seriously injured, the flesh was everted, and the mechanical bones and hydraulic joints inside were exposed. With a metallic luster, the blood of the man who died thirty seconds ago slowly flowed along the arc of his wrist towards the silvery bones.


    His hands were shaking, and he was unable to stop them.


    He raised his hand and rubbed it on the hem of his clothes, trying to wipe off the other person¡¯s blood, but he didn¡¯t feel the pain of the wound rubbing against his clothes. An abundance of blood seemed to have stained the black shirt, but he couldn¡¯t see it clearly.


    Looking around, he saw several unknown people. Facing the person who died in front of them, everyone¡¯s expressions were different. Plain fear was on some faces, while others only contained numbness.


    When he cast his eyes, several looked away as if they were afraid to meet him in the eye.


    He wanted to see these faces more clearly, but his vision seemed to be immersed in water, and his eyes were sore. The next second, tears rolled down without warning. He raised his hands to dry them in confusion.


    The voice appeared again.


    ¡°Congratulations to the survivors for entering this game round. Let us settle the results of the previous game first.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps you¡¯ll be acquainted with a new round of friends.¡±


    As soon as they spoke, he heard a subtle ¡°drip¨C¡± sound within the white noise in his brain. Then, a virtual holographic panel emerged in his left field of vision, which appeared to display information about himself:


    [Variable Name: An Wujiu


    Attribute: Male, 20 years old


    Game Rounds: 5


    ¡­


    Win Rate: 100/100


    Danger Rank: SSS]


    An Wujiu.


    Seeing the name, a large amount of information poured into his brain instantly, like an overload of data. The appearance and malformed workings of the world, memories from birth to adulthood, every passing face in the street, the chaotic red-light district, artificial blue skies, and endless acid rain.


    The sheer volume of information made An Wujiu breathless, and a new projection panel appeared on his right side, showing that he had obtained 10,000 holy coins.


    All the early impressions began to piece together some contours of what happened¨Che seemed to have entered a game where the winner would obtain the so-called holy coins during settlement. Lose the game¡­


    Thinking of the man who just fell to the ground because he didn¡¯t follow the rules, the result of losing was probably the same.


    The five senses were genuine, and he could certainly feel the pain caused by the injury. Was this some new virtual reality game?


    Shortly after, An Wujiu realized that his amnesia seemed less conventional and more like it had been artificially edited, with only part of it incomplete.


    He remembered his time, a world where administrative organizations collapsed, national boundaries blurred, and nearly anyone could turn into merchandise. He even recalled the few people who stood at the top, those business giants who were big enough to trample the state machinery under their feet.


    What about himself?


    All the pictures in his memory were warm, genuine, and clear from the first perspective, with the same person in them. The beautiful and gentle woman hugged him as a child, put him to sleep, taught him to read and write, and smiled at him.


    Frame by frame, she gradually aged, but the care she gave was the same. She softly called him An An, which was his nickname.


    But everything ended in front of the hospital bed where she was dying, covered with transparent and slender tubes, the ventilator concealing the smile she tried to show.


    She was his mother.


    From infancy to adulthood, all the memories associated with it and the love he received flowed back into this body.


    His mother from the bedside seemed to be trying to tell him something.


    The image began shaking, and everything distorted.


    ""


    She moved her lips, but the sharp noise in An Wujiu¡¯s head completely masked the sounds she made.


    Passively withdrawing from the memory fragment, An Wujiu was in constant pain. The blue veins on his neck bulged outward, and his temples were still faintly throbbing.


    He wondered if his brain¡¯s hippocampus had been damaged or if anything had been inserted. An Wujiu wanted to check if there was a neural interface on his body with a microprocessor tucked in, but the severely injured right hand was difficult to lift. Perhaps the still trembling hand had a broken bone.


    With his left hand raised, he reached behind his ears and head, only to realize that his hair had grown to his waist, but he was oblivious to it.


    He didn¡¯t want his hands to keep shaking like this. An Wujiu bit the tip of his right finger, frowned, and glanced at the man wearing a mask.


    The man was standing farthest away from him. He was tall, wore a black trench coat, and looked like a young man. He did not show his true face, wearing a mechanical mask made of synthetic material. The surface was as smooth and white as a kind of long-lost lovely white glaze, both glossy and spotlessly white with a warm luster. But the mask retained traces of spliced parts.


    The front of the mask resembled Avalokitesvara1, with drooping gentle eyes, slightly raised corners of the mouth, and a red dot in the center of the eyebrows. The horizontally and vertically spliced coalescing lines and the metal buckles connecting behind the head gave the image of Avalokitesvara a subtle sense of fragmentation and machinery.


    Ostensibly unable to touch the interface, An Wujiu put down his left hand.


    He was puzzled by everything that had been going on here. He remembered every bit of being with his mother, growing up, his father dying early, him and his mother depending on each other, and a lovely younger sister.


    At this time, he should be accompanying his mother in the ward. Why did he appear here?


    ¡°As before, we¡¯ve prepared a warm-up game for you before the official battle begins. The survivor who wins the warm-up game can gain a game advantage or the right to choose a solo or team match.¡±


    The white void in front of him began to flicker when the sound appeared, like a flashing color bar after a TV malfunction. Before them, a round table with eight high chairs appeared.


    ¡°Please take a seat.¡±


    The rest of the group took their seats as instructed. An Wujiu didn¡¯t want to get shot dead when he was still confused, so he sat down with the other people as required.


    The moment he sat down, pulsating digital bars and afterimages with highly saturated colors appeared on the surrounding white background. After the flickering, they were placed on the rooftop of a skyscraper. Intermingling neon beams dazzled the dark and gloomy sky. The aircraft, the intertwining rails near the high-rise buildings, and the holographic projections of advertisements almost equivalent to the amount of pollution were dizzying.


    An Wujiu felt that he also had impaired vision. He squinted slightly under the stimulating lights and could see a part of the enormous hologram thirty to forty meters high in his field of vision. It was a virtual huadan2 wearing headpieces with pearls and green jades.


    They were at the top of the world, and all they could see were lights filled with bustling sounds. There were no gutters flowing with chemicals in the slums, piles of abandoned prosthetic limbs, nor disregarded rotten corpses in the corners.


    Retracting their vision, the people on the round table looked at each other, each with ulterior moves. Compared with the outside world that drowned itself in debauchery, it was much simpler here¨Ceight people and eight chairs, with display screens embedded on the table in front of each seat, nothing else.


    At least it wasn¡¯t a game that required force to determine the outcome.


    An Wujiu thought about his injury and looked at the others.


    The other seven people were of different ages. At first glance, they had nothing in common. From right to left, the seven were: a young woman wearing a cheongsam3, a robust man, a platinum-haired elderly man with a western face, a man wearing an Avalokitesvara mask, a skinny middle-aged man in a suit, a young man with freckles on his cheeks and black-rimmed glasses, and a red-haired boy who looked only fifteen or sixteen.


    An Wujiu frowned.


    Why was he the only one badly injured?


    The noise in his head grew louder and louder, causing him a headache. He turned his face and looked left.


    Sitting on his left was a boy who looked very small, with red fire-like hair. He wore a loosely-fitted, shabby baseball jacket and a black hat, appearing to be an amiable person. His eyes were large, staring at the old Rubik¡¯s Cube that kept turning in his hands.


    An Wujiu began to observe almost instinctively and saw that the boy¡¯s two feet were on the edge of the chair, his whole body was curled upwards, his fingers were flexible, he had no thick calluses, and his arm muscles weren¡¯t prominent. He shouldn¡¯t be very good at fighting and using weapons.


    An Wujiu stretched his left hand towards the boy. ¡°Hello.¡±


    He wanted to say, ¡°Let¡¯s get to know each other,¡± but as soon as he spoke, he found himself talking at a questionable rhythm as if he had a speech impediment.


    The boy froze, still holding his Rubik¡¯s cube in both hands. His fingers were still, like a bionic rabbit that tried to mimic eating but got jammed.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± An Wujiu asked softly. He didn¡¯t think his attitude was scary, not to mention he hid his bloody right hand under the table.


    The boy¡¯s eyes showed defensiveness, and he didn¡¯t answer, but An Wujiu saw him glance uneasily at the middle-aged man with glasses sitting diagonally across from him. The man at the end of his line of sight looked at least forty years old with sunken cheeks and eyes that were sharp.


    ¡°Asking what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Before An Wujiu could say anything, the middle-aged man pushed the glasses on the bridge of his nose, holding his arms in both hands, a typical defensive gesture. ¡°An Wujiu, you killed so many people ruthlessly, and now you pretend to be innocent. Do you think anyone will believe you?¡±


    When he finished talking, the rest of the people at the table looked at An Wujiu. It was as if they were waiting for something.


    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ remember,¡± An Wujiu answered truthfully. He spoke slowly, and his pause was not quite right.


    In other people¡¯s eyes, this long-haired man was born with outstanding skin, but his beauty gave no artificial feeling. His skin was as fair and clean as the moon over the city when there was no pollution, but his complexion was poor, and his lips were pale.


    His eyes were pure and soft, slightly out of focus, and his fingers trembled slightly. He looked frightened but didn¡¯t seem to be. The tremor was more like he had anxiety or some other mental disorder.


    This look didn¡¯t resemble the awful man from Yang Ming¡¯s mouth, nor did it look like someone who could win in [Altar].


    An Wujiu lowered his eyes in thought. Judging from the boy¡¯s reaction, long before the man opened his mouth to say these words, the people here had already recognized that [An Wujiu was very dangerous].


    Whether the man was telling the truth or not, this was not a good situation for him.


    The middle-aged man sneered. ¡°Pretending to have amnesia this time?¡± He set his hand on the table, raised his eyebrows, and gnashed his teeth. ¡°Don¡¯t take people for fools.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re undeniably a guy with an unchanging, rigid personality. It was the same before. With a pretty face, he pretended to be unaware of how pure and virtuous he was, and he won over other people to form an alliance. Anyone could take advantage of them by any means.¡±


    Regarding this description, An Wujiu sensed a feeling of disconnection that did not belong to him and felt somewhat helpless.


    But he noticed that the mechanical Avalokitesvara on the opposite side rested his chin on his hand and leaned forward as though interested in the person¡¯s accusation against him. It seemed to be the first time he had seen this person move since he came in. Otherwise, he would have suspected the person was a machine.


    The middle-aged man clenched his hands on the table into fists. ¡°I met him in the last round, and the game was a bloody casino. An Wujiu vowed that he could save everyone¡¯s life and let many people join his camp. However, in the end, he figured out the rules himself but didn¡¯t tell anyone. He just watched the people who believed in him die one by one. Finally, he survived with all the casino tokens in their camp!¡±


    There was a trembling between words in his voice as if from fear. He pointed at An Wujiu, filled with emotion. ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, you can check the number of sacred coins from his last settlement. It must be ten times more than mine.¡±


    After saying that, An Wujiu felt increasingly far from good.


    ¡°It turns out that your last round was so intense?¡±


    These words came from An Wujiu¡¯s right side.


    He turned his head, and to his right sat a young woman in a pink cheongsam, with a snake-shaped necklace around her neck, a stunning face, and thick, beautiful curly black hair with a natural luster. She was a rarity in this day and age.


    With a smile, she stared at the nail polish on her fingertips, looked at An Wujiu, and deliberately shook. ¡°So scary. It seems that not all handsome guys can be trusted.¡±


    An Wujiu had some thoughts because of her last sentence.


    The battle was incredibly fierce, and it shouldn¡¯t have been easy for the people who survived.


    ¡°In any case, the winner of this game cannot be An Wujiu. The rest of us must work together to exclude him first, or anyone could fall victim to him.¡±


    He spoke loudly, and the others fell silent for a moment as if tacitly agreeing.


    An Wujiu knew that whatever he¡¯d say now would be useless.


    Because it was a really compelling proposition. Although it was unclear what the game and the rules were, it was best to be able to mount a public target, lest the muzzle be aimed at any of them.


    At this moment, the voice appeared again, ¡°Since everyone has taken their seats, let¡¯s get acquainted with each other¡¯s names first.¡±


    As soon as the voice fell, a blue light appeared in front of everyone. The light gradually transformed into characters, which were their respective names.


    From An Wujiu¡¯s point of view, his name was floating in the dense night, almost overlapping with the person¡¯s name on the opposite side.


    The clamor in his head paused for a moment.


    [Shen Ti]


    It was the mysterious man with the mechanical Avalokitesvara.


    Hello readers! I was shocked to see such a good novel had no translation on NovelUpdates, so I decided to translate it. Currently still reading it, but I¡¯m really enjoying the book. Update schedule probably won¡¯t be consistent because I¡¯m translating two novels and I have school, but I¡¯m aiming for at least one chapter per week. The author is very knowledgeable, writes wonderful descriptions, and great at writing characters. Please leave a rating and review at NovelUpdates because the novel is much better than what the rating makes it seem like! Thank you and enjoy the novel (¡¡£Þ?£Þ)

 CH 2

    The battle of intelligence and prediction.


    ¡°It turned out to be the character for blame1.¡± The boy beside him finally spoke.


    An Wujiu turned his head and caught a small expression of satisfied curiosity on his exceedingly cold face. His name was also floating, and he was called Wu You.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m also curious about this.¡± The beauty on the right also spoke, with the words [Zhong Yirou] floating in front of her. She rested her chin with her palm and tapped her fingernails on her cheeks. ¡°This name doesn¡¯t look like a poor man who¡¯d come to compete at all.¡±


    She wore berry-colored lipstick, and her eyes were big and beautiful. ¡°Your neck¡­¡± Zhong Yirou stretched out her finger, pointed to the side of An Wujiu¡¯s neck, then moved closer. ¡°Are these flower tattoos?¡±


    ¡°Flowers?¡± An Wujiu lowered his head. Seeing that he couldn¡¯t see, Zhong Yirou spread out her left palm and placed it in front of An Wujiu. Embedded in her palm was a small circular mirror.


    ¡°Here, this white one is quite nice.¡±


    From the mirror reflection, An Wujiu found a large cluster of flowers on his neck. The snow-white thin edges outlined the blooming shape. The petals were complicated and layered, obliquely climbing from the left clavicle to the back of the right ear.


    But he didn¡¯t seem to have seen these flowers in his memory.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember either.¡± An Wujiu placed his fingers on it and rubbed the skin red, but he couldn¡¯t get it off.


    Was it really a tattoo?


    ¡°Chinese peony,¡± Wu You interjected from the side but quickly added in a low voice, ¡°It seems to be.¡±


    Zhong Yirou was shocked. ¡°Chinese peony? Have you seen a Chinese peony? Nowadays, this decorative flower is almost extinct.¡±


    In the world of polluted lands and waters, there was not much soil available for food crops, let alone ornamental vegetation.


    Wu You pursed his lips. ¡°My mother¡­¡± He seemed to think he had said something wrong, stopped, and explained perfunctorily, ¡°My family has a collection¡­¡±


    Zhong Yirou felt even more stupefied after hearing this. ¡°What kind of rich and noble family are you?¡±


    ¡°A bogus.¡± Wu You pressed the brim of his hat and folded his hands on the table. ¡°Artificial.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± The doubt on Zhong Yirou¡¯s face didn¡¯t disappear completely. She put away her small mirror, observed the skin on An Wujiu¡¯s neck again, and said to herself, ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like a tattoo¡­ Nor does it seem to be artificial skin.¡±


    An Wujiu didn¡¯t think much about the strange peony pattern on his body anymore. After all, he had lost his memory, so thinking about it was useless.


    He bowed his head slightly and caught a glimpse of an opening in Zhong Yirou¡¯s cheongsam, revealing bandages on her legs. The skin on her left calf was unlike the other areas. It should be an entire piece of artificial graft skin made with polysaccharides from shark cartilage, which was strangely smooth.


    In addition, she carried a roll-shaped bag diagonally behind her. The index and middle fingers of both her hands had thin calluses, and there were slight cuts on the sides of her fingers. It was a narrow shape that only a very sharp blade could cause. The nails were short and applied with red polish, and on the edge of her pinkie had a tinge of something black.


    Engine oil?


    The voice sounded again, and An Wujiu stopped observing.


    ¡°This warm-up game is called The Golden Mean, and the rules are simple.¡±


    A holographic projection was projected on the table, displaying eight screens with a constantly changing number.


    ¡°From the natural numbers, one to 100, every one of you will pick a number of your choosing. Write it with your finger on the touchscreen in front of you.¡±


    The rotation on the eight monitors stopped, and eight numbers randomly appeared. Then, a new number appeared above the eight devices. ¡°Add these eight numbers and divide them by 8 to get an average value.¡±


    ¡°The one with the number closest to half the real average is the winner of the warm-up game and will have an official in-game advantage and the right to decide the competition format.¡±


    ¡°Everyone has five minutes to think and write down their answer.¡±


    ¡°In that case, the timer begins.¡±


    A timer appeared on the round table, which instantly became 4 minutes and 59 seconds, continuously decreasing. The noise, which had only recently subsided, came back. An Wujiu¡¯s forehead was soaked with cold sweat, and his hands began trembling again. He brought his hand under the table and tried to clench it tightly, only to hear a brawny man across from him say, ¡°Unexpectedly, Laozi has to do a math problem.¡±


    An Wujiu stared at the man who had just spoken. His name was displayed as Liu Chengwei, and he looked at least thirty years old, but he dressed like he was muddling around in society. He had many tiny pinholes on his arms and a metallic skeleton covering both fists, although the material was mediocre.


    ¡°Fuck, what I hate the most is counting.¡± Liu Chengwei bore an old scar on his face, sloping down from the middle of the brow bone to the cheekbone. His whole eye was injured, and the eyeball in the socket bone was somewhat atrophic and gray.


    Wu You was still playing with the Rubik¡¯s Cube in his hand, lowered his head, and didn¡¯t lift his eyes. ¡°Haven¡¯t you learned how to count?¡±


    The words were not pleasant to hear, and Liu Chengwei was immediately infuriated by him. ¡°Can you talk, kid?¡± He glanced at Wu You¡¯s ill-fitting old clothes. ¡°You think you look like a person who goes to school?¡±


    The world was entirely run by capital.


    Capitalists, who accounted for almost 90% of the world¡¯s wealth, enjoyed and wasted surplus resources, including education. The essence of class solidification was to master the cognitive abilities of the lower class, so the compulsory universal education system had long been dissolved. Fundamental mathematics education was expensive, and a comprehensive set of the basic subjects had deterred many poor people, not to mention physics, astronomy, and artificial intelligence.


    Want to understand the nature of the world?


    Just have money.


    Wu You rolled his eyes. ¡°At least I¡¯m not illiterate.¡±


    ¡°That, sorry to interrupt you all¡­¡± A freckled young man who looked silly and wore glasses couldn¡¯t help but speak out and persuade them. ¡°It¡¯s just guessing numbers. It¡¯s not a difficult question. Let¡¯s not argue.¡±


    The suspended name in front of him was [Ueno Taisei], a Japanese man. Judging by the mouth shape, it seemed he was speaking Japanese, but what An Wujiu heard was Chinese.


    Ueno¡¯s words did not relieve Liu Chengwei¡¯s anger. Instead, the other party poured their anger out on him. ¡°What are you talking about, poor bastard who can¡¯t even afford implantable glasses!¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± Ueno swallowed his words again and embarrassedly pushed the old glasses he had used for seven years on the bridge of his nose.


    ¡°What he said is not wrong. It¡¯s not a complicated problem. Do what the divine voice says. Finally, compare it with half the mean of everyone¡¯s numbers.¡± Zhong Yirou smiled daintily and pointed to the people on the table individually. ¡°You choose 10, you choose 20, and so on¡­¡± She turned her head to look at An Wujiu and pointed at him with her long fingers, ¡°Finally, it¡¯s your turn. If you choose 80, with eight people, the final average will be 45. Take half. The people who choose 22 and 23 will be the closest.¡±


    After speaking, Zhong Yirou smiled, ¡°It¡¯s not difficult to calculate, but who can guess which number each person will choose?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± The middle-aged man Yang Ming, who had been targeting An Wujiu, said, ¡°The warm-up game is also strange. It completely depends on luck.¡±


    An Wujiu stared at his face. The man could hide his tone when he spoke, but the subtle expression on his face was not well hidden.


    ¡°What kind of work does Mr. Yang do?¡± Zhong Yirou smiled and diverted the topic to an irrelevant direction, but it coincided with what An Wujiu had in mind. ¡°I noticed you¡¯re wearing a tie and shirt, and you¡¯re much more proper than the rest of us.¡±


    With her flirtatious and teasing banter, her voice did not sound serious.


    It was an excellent observation point. An Wujiu silently watched everyone in his view. Wu You didn¡¯t react much, still playing with the Rubik¡¯s cube. Liu Chengwei looked like he was watching a play, giving hints of interest towards the beautiful woman. The elderly man held a pen in his hand as if not paying much attention and thinking to himself. The freckled man with glasses glanced timidly at Zhong Yirou.


    Observing eyes fell on the face of the mechanical Avalokitesvara across from An Wujiu, only to find that the other person was motionlessly facing him with the image of Avalokitesvara and seemed to be staring at him.


    The beauty opened her mouth to flatter. Although cautious, Yang Ming subconsciously adjusted his tie knot across from her. ¡°It¡¯s not an important job, just an ordinary office worker.¡±


    ¡°Office workers are good,¡± Zhong Yirou said, smiling brightly, ¡°Our society wants to be office workers, but I don¡¯t know how highly educated we need to be. There¡¯s just so much competition.¡± She seemed to feel hot and deliberately untied the clasp of her cheongsam. ¡°When I saw you, I thought you looked like a white-collar worker, the kind¡­ in the financial industry.¡±


    An Wujiu stared at Yang Ming. He was evidently less cautious. His ever-taut lips lifted slightly, and his bony cheeks looked plump and moist by the flattering remarks. ¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s not so exaggerated.¡±


    He did not deny Zhong Yirou¡¯s guess.


    Aware of this, An Wujiu tilted his head in thought, but when he regained his senses, he found the masked man gazing at him.


    Wu You didn¡¯t stop playing the Rubik¡¯s Cube beside him and only mumbled, ¡°Who¡¯d come to the Altar if they were doing well¡­¡±


    On the left of Wu You sat an old man who had been silent for a long time. The man¡¯s platinum-colored hair was withering, and he looked at least sixty years old, but his physique was still impressive. An Wujiu didn¡¯t notice him until he opened his mouth.


    ¡°There¡¯s only three and a half minutes left. Why don¡¯t you guys talk more about the game?¡± He had a western face and a mouth that appeared to be talking in French, but like Ueno, they could hear Chinese.


    The name projected in front of him was [Lao Yu], with no foreign name.


    ¡°Talk about what?¡± Yang Ming¡¯s tie was crooked, and he glanced at Lao Yu. ¡°Could it be you want us to report all the numbers we need to fill in and then write after you have calculated them?¡±


    ¡°Can you do the calculations?¡± Liu Chengwei laughed loudly.


    The expression on Yang Ming¡¯s face was very relaxed, and he clasped his hands together. ¡°Actually, this is just a warm-up game. As long as the winner is not An Wujiu, it doesn¡¯t matter who. It¡¯ll be dangerous for everyone if he gets the official game advantage.¡±


    An Wujiu stayed silent.


    ¡°I agree.¡± Liu Chengwei cracked his fist and suggested, ¡°Or we can tie this kid up and keep him from answering the question so he can¡¯t get the advantage.¡±


    The noise in his brain became abnormally loud.


    Lao Yu hesitated. ¡°That¡­isn¡¯t that a foul?¡±


    Zhong Yirou raised an eyebrow. ¡°The person who commits the foul will die, just like the guy a while ago, or be pushed into the punishment stack ¢Ù. Be careful. Few people can come out of that hellish place with a sane mind. However¡­¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°If it can eliminate a dangerous element, I have no problem.¡±


    The competitors brazenly discussed their ¡°disposal methods,¡± but An Wujiu didn¡¯t pay attention. There was a countdown-like beeping sound in his mind.


    The sound stopped, but after the brief pause, a shrill noise forced him to lower his head. The next second, he heard an insubstantial electronically simulated female voice. Its content was incomplete, and it said only a few intermittent sentences.


    [It¡¯s not too late¡­¡­]


    [Trust me, you will find all your memories.]


    [¡­must survive. Come, see me alive.]


    [You need companions, must never be alone.]


    The sound abruptly ended, like a terminated ECG monitor, leaving only the single sound of eternal rest.


    Were these the final words his mother left?


    Where were his memory chips?


    An Wujiu held his head with his hands and gasped for breath, but that voice never appeared again.


    On his severely injured hand, a digital imprint appeared on the back of the hand, looking like the number¡ª99.


    His memory loss was contrived.


    Wu You noticed that something was amiss with him. ¡°What¡¯s gotten into you?¡±


    ¡°Leave him alone,¡± Yang Ming sneered, ¡°He has started to act again.¡±


    He smiled and rolled up the cuffs of his shirt. ¡°The game is about to start. Anyway, it¡¯s a matter of luck, so let¡¯s not dwell on it.¡±


    Was it? An Wujiu raised his head.


    Luck had nothing to do with this game.


    But intelligence.


    Not only was he aware of this, but he believed Yang Ming also knew it.


    Just by listening to the rules, this guessing game seemed to be about who could happen to hit the average, but essentially, it was a battle of intelligence and prediction.


    If the rest of his memory system was not too biased, the game was a model of the ¡°beauty contest game¡±¢Ú born from economics.


    The process of choosing the mean was like betting on the winner of a beauty contest. The most important thing was not whether she was the most beautiful in their hearts but the most beautiful in nearly everyone¡¯s hearts. The bet was not the game itself but the psychology of the other contestants.


    Under Zhong Yirou¡¯s flattery attack, Yang Ming did not deny his identity in the financial industry and continuously exaggerated the element of luck. He had at least an 80% chance of knowing this theory.


    An Wujiu¡¯s face showed little emotion, staring at the screen with black words in front of him.


    ¡°Final thirty seconds. The countdown begins.¡±


    ¡°30¨C¡°


    He was aware of his current situation. If what Yang Ming said before was true, according to his description of the previous game, it seemed that he was not the type to fight alone. If this were the case, even if he could win the warm-up game and gain an advantage, he would become the target of public criticism in the official game. With such a severe injury, he may not last long.


    ¡°29¡ª¡±


    Based on the unknown competition format, he cannot guarantee that he will survive as a public target.


    There was no benefit to being sharp-edged.


    ¡°28¡ª¡±


    It would be hard to dispel the others¡¯ fears.


    The best approach was to deflect the fear.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C


    The author has something to say:


    ¢Ù A stack is a data structure. A linear structure that inserts and deletes data at the same end. First, push the data in, and then pop it out.


    ¢Ú Beauty contest game, also known as the ¡°beauty guess,¡± was put together by economist Keynes in ¡°The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money.¡± ¡°Professional investment may be likened to those newspaper competitions in which the competitors have to pick out the six prettiest faces from a hundred photographs, the prize being awarded to the competitor whose choice most nearly corresponds to the average preferences of the competitors as a whole; so that each competitor has to pick, not those faces which he himself finds prettiest, but those which he thinks likeliest to catch the fancy of the other competitors¡­¡±


    Translation of our MC¡¯s and ML¡¯s names:


    An Wujiu (°²ÎÞ¾Ì): °² ¨C Safe; in good health, ÎÞ¾Ì ¨C Without blame


    Shen Ti (ÉòÌè): Éò ¨C Liquid; to pour, Ìè ¨C Fearful; respectful

 CH 3

    I pre-judged your pre-judgement of me.


    No one wanted to die for nothing.


    An Wujiu¡¯s purpose at this moment was the same as everyone present, to become a survivor in the game. In this warm-up game, he needed to do two things.


    Losing was very simple. The choice of 1 or 100 would definitely result in a loss, but it was too obvious. At first glance, it meant giving up. In this game, the challenge was to make it seem like An Wujiu wasn¡¯t trying to lose and convince Yang Ming and the others to believe he wasn¡¯t as ¡°strong¡± as claimed. By doing so, he can alleviate other people¡¯s fear and guard of him.


    The thin rain fell on the round table, enveloped in the scent of soil and raw materials, which was terrifyingly realistic.


    Time was running out.


    The original purpose of playing this game with forward-thinking was to predict the results of others through analysis so that the number chosen was closer to the mean of the numbers selected by everyone.


    What about the opposite?


    If he wanted Yang Ming to be the person closest to half the mean, he needed to predict the numbers of other people and the number Yang Ming may choose before finally deciding which number he wanted to write.


    To achieve the desired result, An Wujiu needed to guess the range of numbers for each candidate as accurately as possible.


    The options are between 1 and 100. Assuming that the game has enough rational participants, where people¡¯s preferences can be ignored, then the numbers will be evenly distributed between 1 to 100, and the average will be around 50. After taking half, the selectable numbers are further reduced, from [1 and 100] to [1 and 50], and it was impossible to choose a number over 50 to become half of the mean. By probability or median, it was common to guess that the number in question is half the mean of 50, or 25.


    Pick numbers above 25, and there will be a much lower chance of winning.


    Choosing a number that is too large will cause a psychological burden and fear of losing the average. Under this psychology, selecting a smaller number is a safe card.


    But this was only the first level of logic.


    If everyone realizes this and follows this logic, the selected number will typically fall below 25, so the final half of the mean will shift down again, becoming around 12.5. By analogy, the next level will be 6.25¡­


    Players in the first level will guess what half of the mean is in their minds.


    Players on the second level will guess what they think is half the mean in the minds of others.


    Even half of what they think other people think others think¡­


    As the player¡¯s level of logic deepens, the final guess becomes smaller and smaller until the number 1 because no player will think that others will choose a smaller number than themselves. This state of equilibrium was the Nash equilibrium.


    So the most challenging thing in this game was not to guess the mean but to guess which floor of thinking the eight contestants are presently on.


    Therefore, after learning the game rules, An Wujiu spent all his energy on observation, which was the only way he could get information about strangers within a short period. Nurture largely shapes their thinking pattern, depending on personal experiences and education. Moreover, their thinking will affect how they dress and their behavior.


    Having never attended school or received a basic education, Liu Chengwei probably didn¡¯t know anything about game theory.


    An Wujiu glanced at Liu Chengwei and found that he did not decisively write an answer but scratched his head and thought hard for a while.


    However, when facing such a question, it was common to think of a number near the middle. For Liu Chengwei¡¯s level, the probability of the mean value being 50 was the greatest.


    When looking at the others, An Wujiu suddenly realized that he woke up with the fifth round on his screen. He didn¡¯t know if it was the same with the other players, but at least one thing was definite¨C¨Cno one was a novice. Nobody was overly panicked, unfamiliar with the rules, or broke down when they saw the violator shot.


    These people have experienced previous rounds and survived. It was not a round for rookies. Based on the difficulty of this warm-up game, similar events may have occurred in the past.


    None of the survivors who were alive now were fools.


    Wu You, the youngest¡­ An Wujiu found it peculiar that such a young child could enter this game of life or death. From the look of his clothes, he didn¡¯t seem like someone who could afford the cost of education. But when it came to the decorative pattern on An Wujiu¡¯s neck, Wu You first mentioned the type of flower, which at least showed that his family was not ordinary.


    He must have expected the mean to be 25, but if he had chosen 25, he would have worried that someone would pick a smaller number and push the average down.


    His answer was probably closer to 12.5.


    Ueno and Old Yu seemed to belong to the same kind of people. They were cautious, afraid of violating the rules, and thoughtful. Ueno wore glasses and had thin calluses on his fingertips from typing on the keyboard. It was likely a trace of long-term use of the keyboard, so he should have received education, possibly even higher education. They should stand at a higher level of logic than Liu Chengwei and Wu You, so about 6.25, and they could only choose natural numbers, which was 6.


    An Wujiu fell into deep thought. It was not easy to consider six or so. It was risky continuing to go down because everyone¡¯s depth of thinking was different. Even if someone could think of more profound logic, they worry others won¡¯t, so they forgo smaller numbers.


    What about Zhong Yirou?


    She was intelligent. That was An Wujiu¡¯s impression of her. In terms of interpersonal relationships and observation, she was highly skilled. Before others understood the key to the game, she had already guessed Yang Ming¡¯s career. This kind of intelligence-gathering ability was definitely not ordinary.


    Additionally, she didn¡¯t have the same distribution of finger calluses as someone using a computer, and with the small scars, it was more like she used a fine blade.


    An Wujiu looked at the tool bag on her, the artificial skin of her calf, and the modified palm.


    It should be related to prosthetic modification or precision machinery.


    But precisely because she is smart enough, her analysis of the previous people should be the same as his. For her, she needed to be on guard against Yang Ming and himself.


    According to Yang Ming¡¯s information on An Wujiu, he was deceitful in many ways, both sinister and cunning. Such an image would lead Zhong Yirou to believe that [An Wujiu would make an unexpected decision, such as selecting a very low number.]


    Her ultimate score may be in the vicinity of 6. If someone chooses a smaller number, it may balance with Liu Chengwei and others earlier and reach her position.


    At present, he could only speculate what everyone¡¯s thoughts were. An Wujiu knew he was guessing, and the outcome may be neither.


    Nevertheless, there were easy guesses and difficult guesses. The most difficult one was Shen Ti.


    This man was the only person on the field with no flaws.


    Wearing a mask on his face, An Wujiu couldn¡¯t see his appearance. His clothes weren¡¯t unique, and he had not made a single comment. An Wujiu couldn¡¯t resist raising his head while musing and looking in the opposite direction, only to find that the other party was staring at him.


    The two men looked at each other again, and An Wujiu narrowed his eyes.


    The other person was also watching him.


    For everyone on the field, An Wujiu, dubbed a lunatic, was undoubtedly a dangerous time bomb, and it seemed Shen Ti was also very curious.


    In both person¡¯s eyes, they were each other¡¯s most uncertain factor and the opposite side¡¯s fault tolerance. Only one had no flaws, and one person had been completely exposed.


    Wrong. An Wujiu looked down at the table.


    Having no flaw was the biggest flaw.


    Shen Ti chose to expose nothing, indicating that he understood the fundamentals of the game. Then he could also predict the choices of the past few people. There were at least two people who¡¯d choose a number higher than 6, so if Shen Ti wanted to win, he would not choose a number that was too low.


    However, the specific number between 6 and 12.5, An Wujiu could only bet.


    Currently, there may be one number appearing around 25, one number appearing around 12, and three numbers appearing around 6. Not counting Shen Ti, Yang Ming, and himself, the mean value was about 11, so half of the mean will appear on either 5 or 6.


    It stands to reason that if the remaining three were people good at deep thinking, the number they would choose should be low, even to the third level. But it was because of this that they understood the rules of how this game works, and what they¡¯d do was not go deeper and guess but get closer to other people¡¯s answers.


    The fully equipped Shen Ti gave An Wujiu a feeling, and his intuition made him think that the other party would choose a lower number.


    Since he could feel it, Yang Ming must also be able to.


    The final number will not exceed 6.


    What would Yang Ming choose?


    No, how would Yang Ming guess An Wujiu?


    An Wujiu looked at Yang Ming. The other party stared at the display screen and did not raise his head. Frowning, he seemed lost in thought.


    ¡°Time to calculate. The results of ¡®The Golden Mean¡¯ will now be announced.¡±


    The screens in front of each of them cast a new projection with a hand-written font.


    ¡°Wu You: 13, Yu Guang: 6, Zhong Yirou: 6, Ueno Taisei: 7, Liu Chengwei: 25.


    Yang Ming: 5, Shen Ti: 6, An Wujiu: 8.¡±


    ¡°Half of the final mean is 4.75, and Yang Ming¡¯s result is the closest. Yang Ming wins.¡±


    Seeing the expected complacency and rare relaxation on Yang Ming¡¯s face, An Wujiu¡¯s heart calmed down.


    His prediction was correct.


    Yang Ming was at the same level as he imagined. Yang Ming could make an educated guess about the range of the mean, but his estimation was meaningless because there was a person he feared.


    After the previous conversation, he already knew how dangerous he was in Yang Ming¡¯s heart. An Wujiu was very cunning and good at disguises. He didn¡¯t play cards according to common sense and disdained everyone.


    Therefore, playing slow and steady was not in line with his expectations.


    The character of ¡®angelic face with a fiendish heart¡¯ was given to him by Yang Ming. An Wujiu had no choice but to use it.


    He calculated Yang Ming¡¯s calculation of him and finally wrote a result on the paper that should meet the other party¡¯s expectations. 8, a number that, at first glance, underestimates the others¡¯ abilities.


    Although this might hardly be considered an upright tactic, An Wujiu had no other choice. He just wanted to protect himself.


    The final result was not too bad as imagined, but he was a little surprised that Shen Ti just happened to choose a 6. Shen Ti could not have guessed that the results would not be evenly distributed.


    It was likely intentional.


    ¡°As expected of Yang-ge.¡± Zhong Yirou changed her words, brushed the hair hanging from her shoulders, and smiled sweetly. ¡°Truly amazing.¡±


    ¡°Luck, luck.¡± Yang Ming couldn¡¯t conceal his smile. Self-confidence was usually easy to build. All it took was a powerful opponent, who he once avoided, to lose to him in the eyes of the public.


    ¡°Tch, I thought some people were so outstanding.¡± Liu Chengwei sneered, ¡°They¡¯re no different from people like us. In the end, they lost the warm-up game.¡±


    That was what An Wujiu expected. Having achieved his goal, he felt a sense of relief when Liu Chengwei spoke out.


    Dramatically, Yang Ming, who regarded An Wujiu as a thorn in his side, was the one who defended him.


    ¡°It¡¯s just an occasional misstep.¡± He raised an eyebrow. ¡°I didn¡¯t work for nothing all those years.¡±


    Sitting quietly, An Wujiu stared at his slightly trembling fingers.


    As a result of winning, a gift box popped up in front of Yang Ming and landed on his hand with a blue glow.


    ¡°Congratulations. Initializing the game for everyone before announcing the advantage you have for this round.¡±


    As soon as the voice fell, the people on the round table floated up. With dizziness, like an illusion caused by taking excessive hallucinogens, the world, shrouded in light pollution and atmospheric dust, began to spin and collapse. Eventually, it became a dot, a white particle.


    Like an explosion, the particle expanded into an entirely new world.


    The divine voice began introducing the world outlook of the new game round. ¡°This game is called the Killing of Red and Black. Terrorists launched a gas attack on Miami, Florida. The density of this poison gas was lower than air, and the casualties above the surface were heavy. At the moment of life and death, you eight accidentally arrived at a safe bunker under the office building through the civil air-defense passage.¡±


    ¡°Here is a mini nuclear bunker secretly excavated and developed by the founder of Camiki Corporation. The bunker is 18 meters deep underground. It is safe but sealed. The exit is damaged and can only be detonated from the outside. Survival resources here are limited, just enough to support you eight for five days and four nights.¡±


    Dust-like particles gradually gathered into fragments, which converged and spliced together.


    ¡°In the bunker, each of you will display a yellow energy bar above your head. Initially full, but with starvation, thirst, and other problems due to shortage of supplies, the energy bar will decrease. When it reaches zero, you are considered dead.¡±


    ¡°The current system time is 9:00 am, and on the fifth day at 9:00 am, a rescue team will arrive to rescue everyone. Of course, everyone who is alive.¡±


    As long as it reached 9 o¡¯clock, it meant success in survival.


    ¡°Will the rescue team take five days to dig with just a few people?¡± It was Zhong Yirou¡¯s voice. ¡°Is it saving people or archaeology?¡±


    The sight in front of him was too dazzling. An Wujiu¡¯s damaged vision made it difficult for him to adapt, and it took nearly ten seconds for his vision to clear.


    He heard Ueno¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Coming to our rescue on the fifth day, aren¡¯t the supplies enough¡­¡±


    After a while, the modeled world finally appeared before their eyes.


    An Wujiu stared at the closed door in front of him, the Passion of Jesus ¢Ù painted on it.


    It couldn¡¯t be that simple.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C


    The author has something to say:


    ¢Ù A painting of Raphael¡¯s, depicting the scene of Jesus crucified on the cross1

 CH 4

    Survival game


    ¡°Initialization completed, variables created successfully, number before running: 8.¡±


    This statement made An Wujiu feel uncomfortable.


    They were real people, yet cold words described them as program variables.


    By counting the pre-launch number of survivors, it presumably suggested that the number of survivors here may not be eight after the game begins.


    The divine voice continued. ¡°8 variables have been given eight identities, including capitalists with great wealth and homeless people with nothing. The convertible value of each identity varies, and their strength value is also different. For example, capitalists have the highest convertible value after surviving, but the lowest strength value.¡±


    ¡°On top of that, each of you will be given completely different capabilities that may play an unexpected role in this battle for survival.¡±


    ¡°Also, taking the capitalist example, this role will have the ability to occupy half of the resources of the entire safety bunker.¡±


    Hearing this sentence, An Wijiu immediately had a realization.


    Yang Ming, on the side, grinned proudly, ¡°Can I use the rewards from the announced warm-up game now?¡±


    ""


    There was no turbulence in the divine voice, but every word of the announcement dictated the fate of these people.


    ¡°Of course. Yang Ming, the winner of the warm-up game, is asked to look at each character panel first and choose his own desired role and competition format. The system will randomly assign everyone except him.¡±


    ¡°This! This¡­¡± Liu Chengwei shouted in dissatisfaction, but he probably also realized that no matter how much he protested, Yang Ming¡¯s great advantage had already been determined, and offending him would be detrimental. Liu Chengwei¡¯s face was terrible as he forced the last of his profanities back down his throat.


    The expressions of the remaining few people were not much better, but they were helpless.


    With a wave of his hands, Yang Ming squeezed from the edge of several people to the middle, adjusted his tie, and then told the system that he was ready.


    ¡°Okay, displaying to you the character panels.¡±


    Yang Ming stood up straight. The gift box appeared again, opening in front of him. He stretched out a forefinger and slid it into the void. No one else could see these character panels, so it looked comical.


    Soon, Yang Ming chose the role of a capitalist. No one was surprised when the system made an announcement.


    When Yang Ming turned around, An Wujiu saw a trace of disdain for him on the man¡¯s face.


    ¡°How about Yang-ge? Isn¡¯t he powerful?¡± Even Liu Chengwei, who felt strong at first, was attentively smiling when facing Yang Ming. His fierce-looking face scrunched up when he smiled, and he couldn¡¯t wait to inject some flattering light into that blind and atrophied eye. ¡°What are the other roles?¡±


    ""


    Yang Ming snapped his thin fingers like Liu Chengwei did, with a smile of a successful person on his face. ¡°You¡¯ll see it later when the system randomly assigns it.¡±


    Zhong Yirou smiled as she approached Yang Ming, lifted her hand, and softly touched Yang Ming¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Aiya, Yang-ge, you¡¯ve been keeping secrets too long.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t just these two. An Wujiu sensed that nearly everyone in the cramped area was fixated on Yang Ming, like insects pursuing a light. Even the timid Ueno was much closer to Yang Ming, even though he couldn¡¯t speak.


    His eyes inadvertently fell on the guy named Shen Ti.


    Unexpectedly, the other party was so bored that his left and right hand were playing rock-paper-scissors. He seemed to notice that someone was watching. He raised his head, his left hand still comparing its scissors to the right hand¡¯s paper.


    What a strange man.


    ¡°Then¡­¡± Old Yu hesitated for a long time and couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Yang Ming, the next competition format¡­¡±


    In the small space, everyone was surrounding Yang Ming. The brief silence was like a blunt knife slowly cutting a nerve.


    An Wujiu knew that as long as Yang Ming said a word, no matter what role these people held, they would advance wave after wave for him and stand unswervingly in his team.


    Yang Ming smiled, and the brilliance in his turbid pupils made them resemble a pair of valuable artificial eyes.


    ¡°I choose single battle.¡±


    Self-preservation was the first law of nature.


    A team battle would likely result in the winning team¡¯s score being divided evenly. Despite the possibility of forming a stronger alliance, Yang Ming chose a role with tremendous advantages. Leading a team was undoubtedly doing charity.


    The choice of single battle spoiled many people¡¯s enthusiasm, as evident from their faces.


    But for An Wujiu, this result was not necessarily a bad thing.


    ¡°Role assignment and information loading now.¡±


    Within seconds, several blue lasers appeared in the air. A suspended green fluorescent font appeared within the darkness, continuously scrolling through codes.


    ¡°Publishing all variable assignment results:


    Yang Ming ¡ª Capitalist


    Wu You ¡ª Company employee


    An Wujiu ¡ª Intern of the Cyber Security Department


    Zhong Yirou ¡ª Chairman¡¯s daughter


    Ueno ¡ª Researcher


    Old Yu ¡ª Vagrant


    Liu Chengwei ¨C Robber


    Shen Ti ¨C Security robot.¡±


    Then, a virtual character panel appeared in front of them, and An Wujiu stared at the information printed out by the blue laser.


    [Role: Intern of the Cyber ??Security Department


    Survival Value: 4


    Health Bars: 3


    Ability: Select a player to invade their panel and swap oneself¡¯s own red and black lines with the other party¡¯s red and black lines. It is a one-time skill.]


    ¡°Everyone has obtained their character information. Next is the actual rules of the game.¡±


    After the voice finished speaking, the thick, sturdy steel door in front of them slowly opened from left to right, revealing a dark passageway with no light, like an endless borehole, the inside filled with dwindling desire.


    ¡°The bunker survival battle consists of five days and four nights. During the day, each player distributes the survival materials by themselves. If there is a disagreement during the distribution process, the players can duel ¢Ù and cannot refuse anyone¡¯s challenge. The initiator may prompt verbally or enter the duel threshold by pressing the start button.¡±


    ¡°Please keep in mind. The number of duels every 24 hours is limited, and the duel threshold will enter a dormant period after the number exceeds.


    Duels are not just one-on-one. Other players can choose to join a side or sit on the sidelines.¡±


    ¡°The health bars of all players on the same side will be superimposed on the player who initially initiated or accepted the duel. Two players will fight, and the side with the more health bars wins and obtains supplies, while everyone on the other side loses one health bar each.¡±


    ¡°After eleven o¡¯clock in the evening, all players will be forced to return to their dedicated rooms to rest. The order of the rooms will range from 1 to 8. Sleeping gas will be released in the bunker between midnight and six in the morning, forcing everyone to sleep.


    Players with depleted health bars will die. Just like in previous games, once you¡¯re dead on the Altar, you will also be brain-dead in reality. After 9 o¡¯clock on the fifth day, the final survival value will be given to everyone¡­¡±


    Wu You, who had been very silent, asked with slight confusion, ¡°Settlement?¡±


    An Wujiu also found it strange that the survival value in each character panel was a fixed constant, and duels in the game would not cause a loss in survival value, yet the settlement was at the end.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Here we will announce the hidden parameters on the character panel: the black line and red line. ¢Ú The black line connects to the person you curse, and the red line connects to the person you secretly love. The system will randomly assign this parameter, and there will be no situation where you curse or secretly love yourself. Each person can be linked by someone else¡¯s red or black lines.¡±


    ¡°No one can see your red and black lines except yourself unless you voluntarily disclose it.


    If you survive, and the person you have a crush on also lives, you can acquire the survival value of your secret love, and if you¡¯re cursed person dies, you can also obtain their survival value.¡±


    That was what red and black meant.


    ¡°In the end, the players who have accumulated the top four survival values will advance to the next round.¡±


    The dark passage suddenly lit up, illuminating the road ahead.


    ¡°The pilgrimage has once again begun, wishing everyone a pleasant journey.¡±


    Hanging on both sides of the walls were antique chandeliers, the milky yellow light hitting the concrete walls. The wallpaper on both sides was full of Bible-themed murals, unlike the decorations of this century.


    Walking down the aisle, An Wujiu paid attention to the walls. At the center of the right mural was Jesus, the god humans worshiped in the early years, but now Christianity has become a minority belief. Sitting on either side of Jesus were the twelve apostles, each with different expressions.


    ¡°The Last Supper1.¡°


    On the side, Zheng Yirou opened her mouth and said what An Wujiu thought. Then, she smiled again. ¡°I have a fake. It took a minute to 3D print it. It¡¯s very noble and elegant.¡±


    An Wujiu nodded. Looking to the side, he saw the masked man bent over, holding a magnifying glass from nowhere, and looking at the mural in front of his face. It looked a bit funny.


    Zhong Yirou placed her hands on her hips and turned to look at the mural on the left. At the center of the picture was the Virgin Mary holding the Holy Child, surrounded by pilgrims. She wasn¡¯t very familiar with it as this was beyond her knowledge of classical oil paintings, but An Wujiu, who had been staying silent, said the name first.


    ¡°This is the Adoration of the Magi2. It¡¯s Leonardo da Vinci¡¯s.¡±


    Shen Ti also turned the hand with the magnifying glass. An Wujiu couldn¡¯t describe the subtle feeling the mechanical Avalokitesvara on his face gave with this silly movement.


    ¡°How do you know?¡± Zhong Yirou crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you have amnesia?¡±


    ¡°My memory¡­a part of my memory is missing, but it seems¡­it doesn¡¯t affect my cognition.¡± The statement was a bit lengthy, so An Wujiu could only say it slowly. It was a bit laborious, and he appeared more sincere.


    ¡°You mean you forgot your memory after you came to the Altar?¡±


    An Wujiu was not sure. He shook his head and wanted to continue, but he heard Liu Chengwei, who was at the front with Yang Ming and the others, roar, ¡°What are you guys doing sneaking around in the back? Still not coming?!¡±


    Under such game rules, they had to take orders from Yang Ming for the time being.


    The group of people walked through a long passage unfamiliarly dark to them. They lived in a world of illumination with everlasting neon lights and lingering ghost-like streetlights. Even light polluted the dampest, most grimy corners.


    Humans were naturally afraid of unfamiliar things.


    Everyone groped to the end of the passage in unusual silence, each harboring their own ulterior moves. There was only a smooth black door, like a mirror reflecting the sea of oil in the glow of the chandelier.


    ¡°How do you open this?¡± Liu Chengwei made a fuss in the back.


    Wu You muttered in a low voice, ¡°Only know how to open your mouth and ask¡­¡±


    The angered Liu Chengwei stretched out his hand and shoved Wu You¡¯s shoulder hard from behind. ¡°Do you fucking want to die?!¡±


    With such a thrust forward, the Rubik¡¯s cube in Wu You¡¯s hand fell to the ground, rolled half a circle, and wound up inside the door. The cube was cleanly engulfed, from its corners and edges to its entire surface. Fluorescent blue lines of data appeared where the cube contacted the door, spreading through the damaged walls before gradually fading.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. What are you doing standing there?¡± Zhong Yirou walked in her high heels and stepped towards the black door. The others followed while An Wujiu walked in the rear.


    The view inside was a far cry from the darkened passageway. The foyer was expansive and luminous, with a delicate dome overhead, angels and saints emblazoned on its edges as divine authority, asleep in the lights and shadows. The center dome was a whole ornate fresco imprinted with the brilliance of religion. Gilded granite columns, arc-shaped structures, a confessional-like room, everything here was less like a miniature nuclear bunker and more like a baroque underground church.


    Long, dark-red carpets covered every inch of the ground. Even the sofas were arranged in rows, similar to the rows of seats used in worship.


    The strong sense of religion made An Wujiu feel strangely uncomfortable.


    ¡°Everybody.¡± Yang Ming¡¯s voice broke the silence of everyone in awe of the bunker. ¡°Let¡¯s get to know each other¡¯s character panel first, shall we?¡±


    He spoke as if negotiating but in a voice that meant no discussion. Now that he possessed the most powerful role, he naturally became the dominating player in the game, and no one else dared oppose him.


    Character panels were simultaneously displayed, with everyone peering at each other¡¯s screens, especially the ability column. An Wujiu was no exception. He noted down other people¡¯s information at the swiftest speed.


    In addition to the ability to grasp half of the resources, Yang Ming, who acquired [Capitalist], also had a very ridiculously special feature for the red and black lines¨Che could discover [company employee] (Wu You)¡¯s red line and black line the following day.


    ¡°The role of a capitalist is the same as in reality. To work for him is to sell personal dignity.¡±


    Zhong Yirou joked that she got the identity card of [Rich family¡¯s daughter], but the Chairman¡¯s daughter studied medicine so she could restore the health of others or herself. However, she had only two opportunities and could restore one health bar at a time. If the two chances were both used on herself, there would be a reduction of 10,000 coins during settlement.


    She turned her head and saw that Ueno got the role of [Researcher] inside the company. With an envious expression, she said, ¡°I like people who do scientific research the most.¡±


    Ueno¡¯s cheeks became red with shock, and he quickly lowered his head. His acquired ability also corresponded to his role¨Che could double his survival resources after three days of research and development side tasks.


    These abilities were crucial in this survival game, either related to resources or health bars. In contrast, Wu You¡¯s [Employee] card was weak, and his ability was just a chance of staying up every other night.


    An Wujiu looked at Liu Chengwei on the other side. He was poking at the holographic panel projected in front of him.


    The role he matched with was [Robber], who snuck into the building to prepare for a crime but was caught off guard by the gas attack. His ability was commensurate with his role, and he had two opportunities to plunder other people¡¯s food. The other party will be unable to resist, but he could only act in person.


    What Old Yu got was the [Vagrant]. The ability matched the name, and he could move freely to other people¡¯s rooms during the night from 7:00 pm to 5:00 am.


    The last thing An Wujiu noticed was Shen Ti sitting cross-legged on the carpet. The mask on the other party prevented anyone from seeing his expression as he fixed his attention on the character display.


    He didn¡¯t have an incredible role. It was the [AI] in the company building, a security robot, to put it bluntly. The survival value was the lowest of all, only 1 point.


    Such a setting clearly highlighted the arrogance of human beings as creators.


    Suddenly, Shen Ti raised his arms and gave a big stretch.


    His ability was also somewhat passive¨Che could copy the opponent¡¯s skill when attacked, but there was only one precious chance.


    ¡°Why!¡±


    Liu Chengwei violently shattered the quietness. ¡°Why is my survival value only 2 points?¡±


    ¡°Because your role is a robber.¡± Zhong Yirou laughed. ¡°But it¡¯s also fair. Look at the parameters of these characters. The rules are obvious.¡±


    As Wu You lowered his head and played the Rubik¡¯s Cube, he whispered, ¡°The higher the survival value, the lower the health bar and force value.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s balanced.¡± Old Yu nodded. ¡°My survival value is only 3, but I have six health bars.¡±


    Zong Yirou nodded and explained her role. ¡°My role is a rich lady, which is the opposite of you. My survival value is 7, but my health bar is only one. Fortunately, I can heal myself, or I¡¯d be too brittle. Yang Ming is still stronger than me and has a higher survival value than me with 8 points and 2 points in the health bar.¡± After she finished speaking, her arm rested on Wu You¡¯s shoulder, who bowed his head and played with a Rubik¡¯s cube. ¡°The child is not yet an adult but has already become a corporate slave, with four health bars and a survival value of 5, which is not bad.¡±


    Wu You¡¯s hand paused for a second and then continued to turn the Rubik¡¯s cube with a straight face.


    Zhong Yirou swept her beautiful eyes on Ueno, who had never ventured to speak, suddenly jumped in front of him, and tilted her head. ¡°Your parameters look beautiful.¡±


    ¡°The survival value is 6, and there are also five health bars. It¡¯s really unbalanced.¡± She smiled. ¡°You can also duplicate resources.¡±


    Ueno stuttered and explained, ¡°But if I fail the side tasks, the ability will also fail¡­¡±


    Zhong Yirou shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s unlikely to fail this kind of thing, don¡¯t be nervous. Your overall strength is impressive. When the time comes, maybe it¡¯ll depend on you.¡±


    Hearing this sentence, Yang Ming couldn¡¯t sit still from the side. His eyes flicked on Ueno¡¯s face a few times and finally fell on An Wujiu.


    An Wujiu had become accustomed to this man¡¯s mocking and slightly frightened eyes, but he couldn¡¯t understand Yang Ming¡¯s source of fear.


    At least, the character card he got this time was not great. The sum of the survival value and health bar ranked at the bottom of the eight people. It was impossible for him to gain the upper hand, whether it was control of resources or a duel by force. There wasn¡¯t really anything to fear.


    But even if he won the warm-up game and picked the best character, he¡¯d definitely be killed by a duel at the beginning of the game. No one would choose his side.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯m the greatest just looking at the force value.¡± After listening for a round, Liu Chengwei began to accept that his survival value was low, but he also prided himself on the high value of power. He rolled up his sleeves to reveal his strong arms. ¡°I have seven health bars.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Zhong Yirou said with a playful voice. She sat on a sofa, pointing her finger to the mechanical Avalokitesvara, who sat cross-legged on the carpet with his back to the crowd. He inclined his head as if meditating.


    ¡°Shen Ti is not a human. He¡¯s full of health bars, with eight in total.¡±


    An Wujiu looked in his direction.


    With his back facing everyone, the man stretched out his right hand and compared it to a pair of scissors.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C


    The author has something to say:


    ¢Ù¢ÚThis is a board game¡ªLifeboat ñ”ÀËÇóÉú (similar to Werewolf). It mainly focuses on the duels for survival and the setting of love cards and dislike cards.


    Adding ¢Ù ¢Ú ¢Û in the text is often not for the sake of so-called popular science or pretense but mainly for marking. For example, the first two chapters have applied beauty contest games, and I have specifically marked them. The original text also directly states what game it is and where it originates. However, some people will still label it. Many works apply the beauty contest game, whether it is film and television animation, as well as the Gunslingers game3, the Wisdom Pig game4, and the Prisoner¡¯s Dilemma5There are many applications. I¡¯ve never said that these are my knowledge points. I don¡¯t deserve it. I only hope that you can have a little look at the labels to avoid misunderstanding.


    For the convenience of everyone, I have listed the situation of the characters:


    1. Capitalist of a monopoly enterprise: Yang Ming (Survival value: 8, Force value: 2; Ability: 1/2 resources, aware of employee¡¯s (Wu You) red and black lines)


    2. Rich family¡¯s daughter: Zhong Yirou (Survival value: 7, Force value: 1; Ability: Two chances to increase the health bar of others or oneself by one, two times on oneself will deduct 10,000 holy coins)


    3. Researcher: Ueno Taisei (Survival value: 6, Force value: 5; Ability: After completing side tasks, survival resources can be doubled)


    4. Company employee: Wu You (Survival value: 5, Force value: 4; Ability: Can stay up every other night for the entire time)


    5. Intern of the Cyber ??Security Department: An Wujiu (Survival value: 4, Force Value 3; Ability: Can invade the panel and exchange the red and black lines between yourself and another, only one chance)


    6. Security AI: Shen Ti (Survival value: 1, Force value: 8; Ability: Can copy the skill of another when they take the initiative to attack, only one chance)


    7. Vagrant: Old Yu (Survival value: 3, Force value: 6; Ability: Can move freely to other people¡¯s rooms at night from 7:00 pm to 5:00 am)


    8. Robber terrorist taking advantage of chaos: Liu Chengwei (Survival value 2, Force value 7; Ability: Two opportunities to rob others¡¯ food in person without resistance)


    The rules look complicated. In fact, they aren¡¯t as complex as you¡¯ll see later. They only need to be introduced more.

 CH 5

    Are you really that kind?


    Apart from the absence of electronics, everything was complete here.


    The whole area retained the classicality of the previous century. However, the underground stronghold was perennially insulated from the sun, and the air smelled wet with decay, like a coffin trapping the dying people inside. The dark crimson patterns on the beige wallpaper resembled dried blood stains, waiting for death and sacrifice in the dust-filled room for many years.


    In a daze, An Wujiu stared at the desk. An old clock hung on the wall behind the red solid wood table. The upper part was a quartz clock covered with glass, while the lower portion was a wooden box with two doors. Only this time, the two small doors remained securely shut.


    It was now 9:31 a.m.


    ¡°Found it. Water and food.¡±


    The storage cabinets stored the necessary survival resources, but half of them were labeled [capitalist]. Ueno Taisei reached out and tried to get them, but he couldn¡¯t pick them up until Yang Ming came and took them out.


    The so-called survival resources were only the simplest bread, bottled water, anti-inflammatory drugs, painkillers, and gauze bandages. There didn¡¯t seem to be much weight in these items, and most of them belonged to the capitalist Yang Ming. The other people¡¯s food consisted of only seven loaves the size of an adult man¡¯s palm and seven water bottles.


    Old Yu sighed. ¡°A loaf of bread can last for five days in reality, but the Altar must have adjusted the parameters.¡±


    Liu Chengwei picked up two loaves of bread and two bottles of water in one hand and wanted to leave, but Zhong Yirou intercepted him. ¡°What are you doing, grabbing things so quickly?¡±


    ¡°First come, first serve,¡± quibbled Liu Chengwei.


    Wu You let out a sigh. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say it¡¯s based on survival value?¡±


    Liu Chengwei grew immediately annoyed. ¡°I¡¯m worthless in survival value, while your life is valuable? Come on, come and snatch it from me. See who can rob me.¡±


    Ueno immediately grabbed Wu You, ¡°Little brother, don¡¯t say such things¡­¡±


    ¡°What did I say?¡± Wu You frowned and broke away from Ueno Taisei¡¯s hand. ¡°You¡¯re with them, don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t hear you two talking together.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t quarrel.¡± Old Yu also began to smooth things out. ¡°This is just the beginning. Everyone, save your energy and stay calm.¡±


    The more he repeated it, the more people argued. An Wujiu took a deep breath and noticed Shen Ti, who had been sitting on the carpet in the distance, suddenly moved up to them and sat upright. Shen Ti would gently applaud whenever there was an argument, stunning the onlooker An Wujiu.


    ¡°You think it¡¯s great that your survival value is higher?¡± Liu Chengwei sneered at Wu You. ¡°If the person you secretly love dies and the person you curse is alive, then you won¡¯t know where you¡¯ll rank. Playing dumb here. While Laozi was struggling in the repechage, you were still crying for your mommy.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, it was as if he had flipped a switch. Wu You flung himself forward and punched Liu Chengwei. If it weren¡¯t for Zhong Yirou¡¯s quick reaction, the two would have had a terrible fight.


    Sitting there motionless, listening to Liu Chengwei, An Wujiu suddenly called something to mind.


    Repechage1.


    That is to say, the ¡°four bottom-ranking people who can survive to the end¡± that the divine voice didn¡¯t mention may not necessarily die.


    They still had a chance to enter the repechage so long as they didn¡¯t die in the game.


    Several other people couldn¡¯t hold on, and Liu Chengwei¡¯s fist fell upon Wu You as he shouted, ¡°Come on, duel right now!¡±


    ¡°I have a suggestion.¡± An Wujiu hurriedly opened his mouth. Fearing that others might not hear him, he deliberately raised his voice.


    Everyone settled down and turned to face An Wujiu, who spoke. He clutched the upper portion of his damaged wrist. His face stayed the same, but his speaking remained sluggish and distinctive from the other people.


    ¡°The half that belongs to the capitalist role¡­ is left to Yang Ming to handle, and the leftover half is divided equally among everyone, so at least nobody starves to death before the end of the game.¡±


    This proposal was not unexpected and even wandered silently in everyone¡¯s minds, but they all doubted whether this rule would be fulfilled as promised.


    Wu You replied, ¡°You mean¡­ we¡¯ll share it equally, and we won¡¯t fight? But there¡¯ll be a settlement at the end, and it will always have losers.


    An Wujiu sat back on the sofa and said slowly, ¡°Right. But the rules announced a while ago clearly said that those who died during the game would also be brain-dead in reality, right?¡±


    He looked at everyone. His dark pupils reflected the warm yellow lights in the bunker, and he struggled to speak, yet every word was sincere. ¡°But the voice didn¡¯t explicitly say what would happen to the last four people in the final settlement. They may enter a repechage game.¡±


    ¡°But.¡± Wu You had gotten punched. His cheekbone was red, and his expression was stubborn. ¡°A loaf of bread won¡¯t last to the end.¡±


    ¡°I think so too, but at least it can last for a few days,¡± An Wujiu said, ¡°This is not a zero-sum game, and there is no inevitability of life and death. It is also a victory to survive one day. And one day, there¡¯s a possibility that we¡¯ll discuss other survival strategies. If we work together, perhaps we¡¯ll all be able to exit in one piece.¡±


    After hearing this, the others fell silent.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s fairly right.¡± Zhong Yirou smiled. ¡°Death is the worst thing to happen here, right? There¡¯s no chance of resurrection.¡±


    When everyone began considering An Wujiu¡¯s peaceful division, Yang Ming stood up and slowly walked towards An Wujiu. ¡°You¡¯re so great at acting.¡±


    ¡°Every time you pretend to be beneficial for everyone, gain trust by helping others, and then incite and sway everyone.¡±


    An Wujiu looked up at him but said nothing.


    The two faced each other like this for a while. Finally, Yang Ming turned around, summoned his panel, and clicked on it with his finger.


    ¡°I accept equal division.¡±


    He smiled open-mindedly. ¡°Besides, I must give one-third of my resources to everyone.¡± He canceled the labels of these resources, and they became accessible public resources.


    Wu You, who was always silent, was the first to ask, ¡°Would you be so kind?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Zhong Yirou laughed. ¡°One-third of the half, one-sixth of the entire resources, is more than enough for one person. If this is the case, as we said before, perhaps we¡¯ll make it to the end.¡±


    In reality, it also implied that the rest couldn¡¯t survive until the end if Yang Ming didn¡¯t give it.


    Yang Ming¡¯s supplies were their life-saving straw, and An Wujiu was fully aware of this. He just hoped everyone could maintain a united attitude, so persuasion or defeating Yang Ming was possible.


    After all, the materials here were enough for everyone to survive. If someone died because of a lack of supplies, it would be a death in vain.


    ¡°I said I¡¯ll give it, but I have one condition.¡±


    ¡°These things can only be divided equally among the six of you.¡± Yang Ming raised the corners of his mouth. ¡°An Wujiu can¡¯t take any.¡±


    It was an unequivocal decision. As long as the people agreed, they could acquire additional resources and a more stable situation, as opposed to the previous even distribution method.


    Instead of coercing with power and forcing everyone to obey him, Yang Ming took the initiative to cede part of his own resources as a bargaining chip in this solitary gamble.


    With the exception of An Wujiu, everyone would win.


    ¡°I agree! Who could say no to such a good deal?!¡± Liu Chengwei was the first person to make a statement. He didn¡¯t think too deeply before proceeding to count all resources.


    ¡°I agree with what Mr. Yang said.¡± Ueno Taisei also raised his hand weakly, but he couldn¡¯t hide the smile on his face.


    They completely forgot the previous peaceful strategy and compassion of An Wujiu, only excited to obtain extra gifts.


    Yang Ming returned these supplies to the panel and unexpectedly showed complete tolerance for Liu Chengwei¡¯s recklessness. ¡°Wait.¡± He looked at the others. ¡°I¡¯ll give each of you these supplies twice. Don¡¯t worry. I will give it when I say so.¡±


    He squatted down and grabbed the bread on the ground. ¡°Even if you people don¡¯t duel, you won¡¯t be able to eat the last of the provisions, and there will be less water. What I¡¯ll give you at that time are life-saving rations.¡±


    ¡°I repeat, no one is allowed to help An Wujiu, understand?¡±


    Liu Chengwei responded with a flattering smile and said, ¡°I know. I¡¯ll start with the unlabeled ones.¡± He began dividing on his own. The others did not directly agree with Yang Ming¡¯s coercion and inducement, but no one spoke out against it. Even Old Yu, who would initially refute Yang Ming¡¯s words, chose silence in the face of the survival battle and his own disadvantages.


    An Wujiu sat on the sofa three or four meters away, quietly watching the other people portion their lives. He had no regrets, however. If given another chance, An Wujiu would also put forward suggestions for everyone to strive to survive.


    Feeling that someone was staring at him, An Wujiu followed his intuition and looked over.


    It was the mechanical Avalokitesvara again.


    He leaned against the wall, his head cocked, and his gaze never leaving An Wujiu as if he were a test subject that needed observation. The man was like a ghost, silent yet always following him.


    Liu Chengwei and Ueno handed the distributed supplies to the remaining few. Wu You and Zhong Yirou glanced at An Wujiu, but Yang Ming soon discovered them.


    ¡°I put forward such a small condition. I hope everyone can follow it and not go against my good intentions.¡±


    Yang Ming walked to An Wujiu¡¯s side, bent down, and smiled at him.


    ¡°Want food? Duel, bah.¡±


    An Wujiu¡¯s face was expressionless, his eyes clear.


    ¡°You are¡­ scared of me?¡±


    Even the way he asked seemed extremely simple, his talking speed was still sluggish, and his sentences were oddly constructed and not eloquent, but Yang Ming seemed to have been stabbed by something and grabbed him by the collar. ¡°An Wujiu, I warn you, don¡¯t fucking look at me like that! Don¡¯t think you can still control everyone like before. I can let you die if I want you to die now.¡±


    An Wujiu¡¯s face didn¡¯t change. He just closed his eyes in consent.


    This appearance irritated Yang Ming even more, and he was about to get angered when he heard a ¡°buh¡ª¡± sound from behind him, followed by a small and hard object striking his head from behind.


    ¡°Who?!¡±


    Yang Ming immediately released An Wujiu and turned around. An Wujiu adjusted his collar and looked up to see Shen Ti not far away, carrying a bottle of champagne he had obtained from somewhere. The corkless wine kept pouring out and dripping onto the floor.


    ¡°Ah.¡± Shen Ti made a slightly surprised and bewildered sound, covering his mouth underneath the mask with his black-gloved hand.


    But the next second, he covered his mouth and bent down to laugh, laughing incessantly. Yang Ming had nothing to say because of his neurotic appearance.


    Shen Tiao¡¯s mask made a snapping sound as he laughed. He raised his hand to remove the lower part and drank a mouthful of freshly opened champagne, a gesture of enjoyment.


    But the enjoyment didn¡¯t last long. Shen Ti choked and coughed. His lips were tight, and he was visibly disgusted.


    An Wujiu sat on the spot and suddenly began giggling like a child.


    ¡°Lunatic.¡± Despite Yang Ming¡¯s disdain for An Wujiu, Shen Ti was present. Yang Ming didn¡¯t know the other¡¯s strength and couldn¡¯t guess Shen Ti¡¯s faction. Additionally, Shen Ti was the individual on the field with the most health. Yang Ming knew that if Shen Ti became furious, Yang Ming would attract trouble, so he just pulled on his wet suit jacket and walked away with a frown.


    Not long after, Shen Ti also left, humming an unknown tune.


    As Yang Ming anticipated, An Wujiu did not ultimately get water and food. He walked to the front of the storage cabinet where the supplies were stored and squatted, only to discover a small amount of gauze and bandages remaining. Crouched at the cabinet door, he barely wrapped his wrists with the remains.


    Looking at this shocking injury, An Wujiu felt slightly puzzled about his abnormal pain tolerance. Although it wasn¡¯t that painful, he snapped off the bandage and held his right arm over his chest.


    It wasn¡¯t an exaggeration to say he was in the worst situation.


    He was the only one of the eight who lacked both water and food. It was absolutely impossible to hold out until the end of the game. If he opted to fight, he only had three miserable health bars, and the only two with lower force values were Zhong Yirou at one and Yang Ming at two. Given Yang Ming¡¯s level of dread towards him, unfortunately, it seems once a person duels with him, Yang Ming will intervene with the purpose of killing him.


    Time passed by gradually. An Wujiu leaned on the sofa and gazed at the decorative designs on the ceiling in silence.


    What had been fostered in the dark and confined space was breaking through the ground and beginning to stir.


    After distributing the supplies, the people in the room lost their motivation to communicate. They scattered in every corner of the bunker, guarding the resources they had just obtained.


    As a result of the red and black lines, it was difficult for the people trapped in the confined underground space to communicate confidentially. Trust had become a scarce thing. No one knew whether the person standing beside them was secretly cursing them, wishing they would die immediately.


    It was almost 10:30 when Ueno and Liu Chengwei returned and stepped in front of An Wujiu. An Wuju sat upright, lifted his eyes, and looked at them despite not knowing their purpose.


    ¡°I¡­¡± Ueno¡¯s face was concerned. He broke off more than half of the bread and handed it to An Wujiu.


    An Wujiu looked at him calmly and did not immediately take it.


    Just recently, he didn¡¯t hesitate to join Yang Ming¡¯s team, promising to provide no escape for An Wujiu, yet now he has arrived to send charcoal in snowy weather.


    ¡°I think what you just said is true. It¡¯s not a zero-sum game here.¡± Ueno¡¯s expression became a little uneasy when he noticed An Wujiu didn¡¯t accept it. While bringing the bread closer, he licked his lips. ¡°You can take it. Although it¡¯s not much, it can last for a day or two.¡±


    An Wujiu looked down at the bread with the label [Ueno Taisei] in his hand, looked up at him again, and said nothing.


    Liu Chengwei grew impatient and shouted at him, ¡°Take it if you want it. So slow.¡± Then he grabbed the bread from Ueno¡¯s hand and threw it into An Wujiu¡¯s arms.


    But it wasn¡¯t known if it was because of poor accuracy or deliberately, the bread struck An Wujiu¡¯s face.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C


    The author has something to say:


    Shen Ti: Oops, how did I just hit him? Let¡¯s apologize first with a tea-like ¡°ah.¡± Today, I was also attracted to my future wife, who can remain calm in the face of events.

 CH 6

    ¡°Is this man mute?¡±


    The bread fell and landed on An Wujiu¡¯s lap. He glanced down, then looked up at them.


    Ueno didn¡¯t comment on Liu Chengwei¡¯s actions just now. He even smiled and urged, ¡°Take a bite.¡±


    But An Wujiu had no appetite at the moment. He smiled at Ueno. ¡°No, thank you.¡±


    Ueno didn¡¯t respond, only glancing at Liu Chengwei. Liu Chengwei clicked his tongue irritably, picked up the bread on An Wujiu¡¯s lap, and suddenly grabbed An Wujiu¡¯s chin with his other hand.


    ¡°Why are you doing there staring blankly?!¡± He kicked An Wujiu¡¯s lower abdomen, pressed his knee against An Wujiu¡¯s legs, using a harsh manner to fix him on the sofa so he couldn¡¯t flee, then turned to Ueno and shouted, ¡°Give me a hand!¡±


    An Wujiu guessed they weren¡¯t only here to feed him, but Liu Chengwei pressed him fiercely. The man¡¯s other leg¡¯s knee crushed against his severely injured wrist, and An Wujiu couldn¡¯t resist. When he saw Ueno stuffing the dry and hard bread into his mouth, he shook his head in defiance, but Liu Chengwei gripped it even harder, nearly crushing his face.


    ¡°Cough! Cough, cough!¡± The bread nearly blocked his air pipe, and An Wujiu swallowed it while continuously hacking.


    ¡°It should do¡­¡± Ueno told Liu Chengwei, ¡°As long as he eats it, the task will be successful.¡±


    Task.


    Sure enough, it was to complete his task.


    An Wujiu bowed his head and coughed, blushing. The stuffed food, along with the humiliation, suffocated him.


    Liu Chengwei laughed. ¡°That means I can also rob? I¡¯ll try.¡±


    ¡°You only have two chances.¡± Ueno was afraid that he would incur losses and tried to stop Liu Chengwei.


    Liu Chengwei didn¡¯t care at all. On the one hand, he urgently wanted to beat and humiliate this supposedly ¡°powerful¡± man because it would give him enormous pleasure. On the other hand, he had faith in his skills and was confident he wouldn¡¯t run out of supplies.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just grab it.¡±


    He grabbed half of the bread that Ueno ¡°generously¡± provided, which An Wujiu didn¡¯t finish, and the bread¡¯s floating label changed to [Liu Chengwei].


    Liu Chengwei laughed. ¡°I really can!¡±


    Ueno stood on his tiptoes and took a glance. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s yours so soon.¡±


    ¡°What are you afraid of? Haven¡¯t you already completed the task of sharing food? There¡¯s still tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. By then, your supplies will double, and you¡¯ll be much stronger than me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    They left, talking and laughing. An Wujiu spat bread onto Liu Chengwei¡¯s shoes, causing Liu Chengwei to kick him before departing.


    Leaning on the sofa, the low-spirited An Wujiu suddenly thought of a strategy that could save himself but was rather vicious.


    However, he gave up quickly, as determined as an extinguished cigarette butt. He even had some self-doubt, feeling strange that he could think of such a method.


    An Wujiu sat silently for some time. By the time he arose, it was already eleven o¡¯clock. Thirst compelled him to move instinctively, and he approached the area where Shen Ti stood, but the other party had disappeared.


    Finally, he stopped in front of a low cabinet, picked up the bottle of champagne abandoned by Shen Ti, and took a sip.


    The taste wasn¡¯t bad.


    After wiping the corner of his mouth, he picked up the wine bottle and proceeded to a door in the living room that opened onto another lengthy, twisting corridor. The path was gloomy, with no end in sight. Installed in every meter of the walls was a circular device An Wujiu couldn¡¯t see clearly. Whenever he passed one, the thing would suddenly illuminate. It was a lamp in the shape of a youthful angel but with only the head.


    They glowed behind An Wujiu one after the other, then went out.


    As he walked deeper, he realized a corner was ahead of him, not a straight hall.


    There were voices of dialogue, but they were so quiet that An Wujiu couldn¡¯t make out what they were saying. He instantly retreated before passing a lamp and stood in the shadows.


    Because his footsteps were scarcely audible, the other party didn¡¯t notice him. He could faintly identify Yang Ming and Ueno based on his memories of the voices.


    Even though he couldn¡¯t hear the conversation clearly, An Wujiu noticed something strange. In contrast to Yang Ming¡¯s earlier condition of trying to control everything, the timid Ueno spoke more, while Yang Ming just responded without saying anything.


    He needed to move closer if he wanted to listen, but An Wujiu didn¡¯t want to take any risks.


    The voices gradually faded and then vanished. An Wujiu heard the footsteps of two people inside dispersing.


    He stood quietly in the corridor for a while before walking in.


    The interior structure was more intricate. At the end of the corridor was a small square-shaped portico with four or five doorways, including a Baroque-style circular arch with a beautifully carved angel statue and [Lounge] projected over the archway. The white archway should have evoked feelings of delicateness and divine artistry, but it was still early in the morning. Because there was no light here, the dark green projection became the only illumination on the dreary portico. Even the holy angel grew unsettling.


    An Wujiu turned his head. The other doorways projected [Piano Room], [Reading Room], [Reference Room], and [Meeting Room]. Behind the doors was another winding and circuitous corridor.


    The bunker¡¯s design made it quite ideal for secret gatherings.


    Inside the [Lounge] entrance was another portico. An Wujiu noticed Zhong Yirou¡¯s back as soon as he pushed the door open.


    The porch was bigger and brighter than the previous one, with eight different carved arches labeled with numbers 1 through 8 and people¡¯s names.


    [1 Yang Ming], [2 Zhong Yirou], [3 Ueno Taisei], [4 Wu You], [5 An Wujiu], [6 Old Yu], [7 Shen Ti], [8 Liu Chengwei]


    ¡°It¡¯s not exactly in order of survival value, right?¡± Zhong Yirou said without turning her head.


    An Wujiu didn¡¯t pretend and gave a soft hum.


    She turned her head and smiled at An Wujiu. ¡°You don¡¯t make a sound when you walk.¡±


    ¡°Then how did you find out?¡± An Wujiu asked.


    Zhong Yirou cocked her brow. ¡°Women¡¯s intuition.¡± Her eyes revealed some purposeful sadness once she finished speaking. ¡°What should I do? You¡¯re being completely targeted.¡±


    An Wujiu remained silent. He was assessing this woman¡¯s current attitude.


    ¡°I said it clearly.¡± Zhong Yirou raised her hands. ¡°At the moment, I am unable to help you.¡±


    She retrieved her data, and a fluorescent green health bar appeared on top of her head. ¡°My force value is the lowest. Even if I use my two chances to nurse myself, I only have three health bars. If I duel, I¡¯ll be unable to protect myself.¡±


    Hearing her so direct, An Wujiu felt much more relaxed. He thought of something and slowly asked, ¡°What happens when you die?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t the divine voice say it? Brain-dead.¡± She tapped her temples. ¡°Aren¡¯t we all in a game cabin in reality? That thing is like a capsule. If we die, and there¡¯s a confirmation we¡¯re not in suspended animation 24 hours later, the mechanism in the capsule will automatically eject us into the processing factory. We¡¯ll be recycled and turned into fertilizer.¡±


    With disgust, she added, ¡°This style of death is not elegant at all.¡±


    ¡°How do you know?¡± An Wujiu asked.


    Zhong Yirou paused, and her usually bright and amorously thought-filled face took on a rare dismal countenance.


    ¡°I saw it with my own eyes.¡±


    She frowned slightly, then immediately let it go. Her magnanimous look quickly returned. ¡°When I entered the capsule, my little sister was next to me, and we made an appointment to come out together, but she¡­ left first.¡±


    Hearing this, An Wujiu was a bit moved. He had already begun formulating words of comfort in his mind, but his mouth couldn¡¯t keep up, so Zhong Yirou took the lead.


    ¡°So.¡± She didn¡¯t hide it. ¡°To survive, I won¡¯t necessarily stand on Yang Ming¡¯s side.¡±


    An Wujiu nodded silently.


    His well-behaved and sensible appearance made Zhong Yirou even more suspicious of Yang Ming¡¯s words. She kindly offered a strategy. ¡°Since you¡¯re like this, it¡¯s best to get along with Ueno or Liu Chengwei. One can duplicate the supplies, while the other can seize them, and perhaps, they¡¯ll offer you some.¡±


    An Wujiu did not respond and did not intend to inform Zhong Yirou of what had occurred. However, Zhong Yirou was too sharp, and she kept staring at his red cheeks.


    This feeling of being scrutinized was not very comfortable, and An Wujiu tried to walk away. He noticed a thick-looking book fastened to the wall next to door 8 and walked towards it.


    ¡°You don¡¯t actually intend to let everyone survive safe and sound.¡± Zhong Yirou followed him and stood before the book.


    An Wujiu stretched out a hand towards the book. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m¡­ lying?¡±


    The book seemed to have been around for a long time, and he couldn¡¯t turn the page. It was as if the book had been frozen for a lengthy period, coated in a thick layer of dust.


    ¡°Yang Ming said many similar things, but my heart was still touched when you said those words. I haven¡¯t encountered a good person on the Altar in a long time, even if they were pretending to be good like that.¡±


    An Wujiu smiled and said nothing.


    ¡°Idealists are short-lived here.¡±


    Seeing him open the book, Zhong Yirou also leaned in, blew off the dust on it, and read the contents of the two pages aloud. There was a lot of blank space and little text, appearing to be the written requirements.


    After reading, Zhong Yirou pondered for a while.


    ¡°What a strange rule. It¡¯s like playing chess.¡± She turned to look at An Wujiu with an expression that her views needed to be accepted.


    To satisfy her, An Wujiu also nodded.


    ¡°So, for instance, you.¡± She stood at the door of Room 5. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to go to your room tonight, you can only go to Room 4 or Room 6, and the next night, you can only enter¡­¡±


    ¡°Go to room 3 or 7,¡± An Wujiu replied.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Zhong Yirou thought, ¡°It¡¯s written in the regulations that you¡¯ll forcibly fall asleep at midnight. Even if you go to another person¡¯s room, what can you do? Is it possible to even do something indescribable?¡±


    It was obviously a dirty joke, but An Wujiu¡¯s face didn¡¯t waver, and his eyes were even pure. He repeated Zhong Yirou¡¯s words with a slightly questioning voice. ¡°Indescribable¡­¡±


    After saying the word, the seventh door suddenly opened from the inside.


    It was Shen Ti.


    He came out wearing red headphones and bobbing his head.


    For a brief moment, Zhong Yirou was frightened by him. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    Shen Ti pointed to the number 7 on the door and his name, opened it, shut it again, and then proceeded to room 5. He reached out and tried to open the door by twisting the handle, but it wouldn¡¯t budge. Afterward, he turned around to face the two, raised his arms above his chest, and crossed his arms into a ¡°no¡± gesture.


    Zhong Yirou narrowed her eyes and turned her head to look at An Wujiu, her voice low.


    ¡°¡­Is this man mute?¡±


    An Wujiu shook his head and debunked it. ¡°He¡­ recently spoke.¡±


    Shen Ti tilted his head to An Wujiu and placed his hand on his hips to express his dissatisfaction.


    Zhong Yirou ignored his actions and continued questioning, ¡°What did he say?¡±


    An Wujiu hesitated for two seconds before ultimately inhaling, setting the wine bottle in his hand on the floor, and raising his hand to his lips.


    ¡°¡®Ah.''¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C


    The author has something to say:


    Shen Ti, you are really good at finding the ideal moment to come out.


    Shen Ti: I wanted to go to my wife¡¯s room, but I was greeted.

 CH 7

    Can I return to reality every time the game ends?


    Zhong Yirou looked at An Wujiu and then at Shen Ti¡¯s mask.


    ¡°You two are playing with me.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± An Wujiu shook his head with a solemn expression.


    Zhong Yirou stared at him suspiciously. An Wujiu bent down and picked up the wine bottle, only to find that he was holding a bottle of champagne. Zhong Yirou asked, somewhat incredulously, ¡°Where did this come from? I recall there were none in the supplies.¡±


    An Wujiu pointed at Shen Ti with the bottle and answered honestly, ¡°His.¡±


    ¡°You dare drink what¡¯s his. What if it was poison?¡± Zhong Yirou almost rolled her eyes, feeling that the little white rabbit-like boy in front of her didn¡¯t resemble the person Yang Ming described.


    He shouldn¡¯t be a fraud, picking a beginning point and eliminating each target.


    An Wujiu explained, ¡°I only drank it after he drank it.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Zhong Yirou understood and looked at Shen Ti. ¡°Then where did you get it?¡±


    Questioned, Shen Tiao retrieved the virtual panel, turned to the interface of points exchange, slid his fingers around, found the same champagne, and showed it to both of them.


    An Wujiu could perceive a hint of pride in his actions.


    Zhong Yirou¡¯s reaction was more intense than An Wujiu imagined. ¡°Are you crazy? Everyone gets a chance to exchange for something in each round, and you use it to buy wine?¡±


    She glanced at the price tag under the champagne on the screen and wanted to pinch herself. ¡°This bottle of wine sells for 3,000 holy coins! I got 5,000 coins in the last game. Why grab it when the price is outrageous?¡±


    With that, she made an angry gesture. ¡°No, don¡¯t lose your temper. It¡¯s not elegant.¡±


    Shen Ti shrugged and slid his fingers casually as if showing her other product interfaces.


    An Wujiu paid close attention and understood why Shen Ti didn¡¯t buy anything else. They were most likely unable to purchase the food and drinks on the products page due to the nature of the game. The only item available for purchase was this high-priced wine.


    ¡°It¡¯s so expensive.¡± He muttered to himself and then took the initiative to hand the wine in his hand back to Shen Ti. If not for the injury to his right hand, he would have given it back with both hands. ¡°Sorry, I¡­ just took a sip.¡±


    But Shen Ti only stared at An Wujiu¡¯s hand, then raised his head and crossed his hands, expressing his refusal to accept it.


    ¡°It must be that he¡¯s not used to drinking. What a loser.¡± Zhong Yirou shook her head and said to An Wujiu, ¡°You take it. You don¡¯t have any other supplies either.¡±


    Her tone made An Wujiu think for a moment. It sounded both comforting and a little apologetic.


    After speaking, Zhong Yirou tapped An Wujiu¡¯s cheek with her slender fingers. ¡°I want to ask, what¡¯s wrong with your face? It¡¯s so red, and there are fingerprints on it.¡± She leaned closer. An Wujiu¡¯s skin was too white and thin. She didn¡¯t know how much power the other party had, leaving conspicuous marks.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± An Wujiu shook his head gently.


    Zhong Yirou didn¡¯t believe it, and she raised an eyebrow. ¡°Someone is bullying you!¡±


    An Wujiu didn¡¯t reply. He stared at Zhong Yirou¡¯s face.


    He didn¡¯t say it was a display of power, but he hoped to show his vulnerability and innocence in front of the people targeting him.


    He could sense resentment and loyalty on her face, but he wasn¡¯t sure whether this woman would be convinced. However, if he measured the current perception, the [trusted] side should have tilted slightly.


    If becoming isolated under the direction of Yang Ming was inevitable, then An Wujiu needed to use this isolation to create the illusion of being unable to resist.


    In the end, An Wujiu did not respond to Zhong Yirou¡¯s words but instead asked another question, ¡°Why did you guys enter this game?¡±


    Zhong Yirou raised her eyes and glanced at him, then corrected, ¡°It¡¯s not ¡®you,¡¯ it¡¯s us.¡±


    Because of An Wujiu¡¯s statement, she seemed to accept the possibility of his amnesia, and her face relaxed. ¡°Everyone comes in for different purposes. Some are for money, wanting to live in a rich area, breathe clean air, and see the sun. Then there are those who want to save other people¡¯s lives and save their own¡­¡±


    She smiled. ¡°It¡¯s all the same. It¡¯s all about satisfying oneself¡¯s desire.¡±


    Save.


    This keyword drew An Wujii¡¯s attention.


    He guessed that the purpose of his initial entry was most likely to save his mother, who was on her deathbed. He was a little surprised since he expected many of these participating players had been forced to enter, yet they all participated voluntarily.


    Was it the same for him at that time?


    Regular medical resources were astronomical for ordinary people, and a terminally ill mother could only spend lots of money if she wanted to survive.


    It might have been his only option.


    ¡°Did you know? After I won the first game and returned to reality, I converted all my holy coins into money, a full 20,000 yuan, which I took to buy beautiful clothes and have a big meal.¡± Zhong Yirou¡¯s face was not as happy and excited as her words. ¡°It was the first time I had a real steak, not a cheap synthetic protein but meat. I also opened a bottle of wine and had the special luxury of pouring two glasses full and one on the floor.¡± With a small expression of fear of being called wasteful, she explained, ¡°For my friend.¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡± An Wujiu said softly.


    Zhong Yirou smiled, ¡°Why are you apologizing? It has nothing to do with you.¡±


    An Wujiu asked again, ¡°Can I return to reality every time the game ends?¡±


    Zhong Yirou nodded. ¡°Yes. But only for 24 hours. You¡¯ll be executed if you don¡¯t return after that time.¡± She stretched out her finger and tapped her forehead, ¡°Remember the man before the warm-up game, the same fate.¡±


    24 hours


    At least they could see each other.


    Zhong Yirou crossed her arms and glanced at An Wujiu¡¯s raised hand, ¡°How did you get your injury? You don¡¯t remember?¡±


    An Wujiu returned to his senses and shook his head at her.


    ¡°How tragic was the last level to suffer such a serious injury.¡±


    The entire right arm had severe contusions, and the flesh on the right wrist was split open. The wound was neat yet jagged as if sawed through with a chainsaw. An Wujiu¡¯s hand would have been gone if it hadn¡¯t been for the metal skeleton.


    Zhong Yirou said something, but An Wujiu fell into deep thought.


    If, as Yang Ming said, they were on the same level and he was the one who controlled the entire situation to achieve the best victory, why was he gravely wounded while Yang Ming was fine, his suit showing no signs of damage?


    It was unreasonable. But if what Yang Ming said was a lie, it would be difficult to disguise the terror in his eyes.


    When he looked up, An Wujiu noticed Zhong Yirou¡¯s slightly narrowed eyes. She stared at his wrist, frowning, more precisely, at the mechanical wrist bone.


    It was an expression of discovery.


    But she quickly raised her hand, found a reason to turn away, then looked to Shen Ti silently standing nearby and said, ¡°By the way, I want to go to your room to take a look.¡± She walked to Room 7 and couldn¡¯t move the handle.


    An Wujiu said to her calmly, ¡°You forgot the rules.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Zhong Yirou swatted her head. ¡°You can¡¯t enter other rooms arbitrarily.¡±


    Her strange behavior made the balance in An Wujiu¡¯s heart tilt towards [distrust] again.


    But, among these people, he considered Shen Ti, who acted oddly and did not talk, to be even less trustworthy. However, Shen Ti was standing in front, not taking a single step.


    An Wujiu thought he was already very tall, but he didn¡¯t expect that Shen Ti was half a head taller than him. Shen Ti constantly dressed tightly, even his hands wore gloves, and only his neck showed.


    An Wujiu suddenly noticed a design imprinted on his Adam¡¯s apple ¡ª a sun tattoo, but the center was an eye.


    Hearing a sigh, An Wujiu turned his eyes away and saw Zhong Yi Rou taking off the rolled bag on her back.


    ¡°I can¡¯t give you supplies. It¡¯s a clear stand which is equivalent to dying,¡± Zhong Yirou said pragmatically, ¡°But I can help you with your injuries, consider it a favor.¡±


    She hooked the corners of her mouth and smiled beautifully. ¡°Remember to pay it back.¡±


    Zhong Yirou opened the rolled bag, and inside was a surprisingly complete row of tools, from scalpels to screwdrivers and even pipe wrenches.


    An Wujiu only frowned slightly.


    When Zhong Yirou stretched out her hand, An Wujiu realized her left palm had been severely damaged and replaced with artificial skin. Embedded in the center of her palm was a circular mirror. The metal circle and the skin¡¯s sketched edges were crudely blended. Presumably, because she disliked it, she dyed the artificial skin of her entire palm fluorescent pink, producing some bizarre beauty.


    ¡°Why install a mirror?¡± An Wujiu asked softly.


    ¡°Because of the love of beauty.¡± Zhong Yirou pointed her left palm at herself. ¡°It¡¯s very convenient.¡±


    After speaking, she lowered her hand and took out a small spray bottle of disinfectant. ¡°I¡¯m a professional prosthetic doctor. There¡¯ll be a bit of pain. Please bear with it.¡±


    Even though An Wujiu had a close guess, he was still surprised by her candid help.


    Zhong Yirou sterilized An Wujiu¡¯s wrist neatly and muttered, ¡°This injury is really¡­ If only there were debriding micro-robots.¡±


    ¡°Hey, masked man.¡± She called to Shen Ti, found a small flashlight, and threw it into his arms. ¡°Do me a favor and shine the light.¡±


    ¡°How are you so white?¡± Zhong Yirou lowered her head and stared at An Wujiu¡¯s forearm. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be this white if I was dead for three days.¡±


    Shen Ti coughed in the mask as though choked by Zhong Yirou¡¯s words and laughed softly. Just listening to the laughter, he didn¡¯t seem so strange anymore.


    He turned on his flashlight and aimed it at An Wujiu¡¯s wrist, shivering afterward as if frightened by the injury.


    After sterilizing the suture needle, Zhong Yirou pursed her lips, and her expression grew serious.


    ¡°There¡¯s no anesthesia needle. I¡¯ll sew it up quickly.¡±


    ¡°Mm, thank you.¡± An Wujiu¡¯s face was calm, and he even concentrated on observing the process of being healed, watching how the thin needle pierced his skin and threaded the needle to sew up the wounded flesh.


    ¡°What happened to your wrist bone?¡± Zhong Yirou¡¯s eyes remained on the wound as she stitched it up, but she inquired about An Wujiu¡¯s past, even though he probably couldn¡¯t respond.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember,¡± replied An Wujiu.


    ¡°Ordinary people don¡¯t replace their intact wrist bones with mechanical ones. This operation is dangerous.¡± She sewed carefully, not wanting to leave conspicuous scars on the person in front of her. ¡°Unless¡­¡±


    An Wujiu asked, ¡°Unless what?¡±


    Standing beside him, Shen Ti extended his arm and waved it between them, but his cuff concealed his gloved hand.


    Zhong Yirou raised her eyes and nodded. ¡°A disabled person.¡± But soon, she denied the possibility. ¡°But your hand isn¡¯t a complete prosthesis. The skin and muscle tissues are naturally growing. The severed hand couldn¡¯t have directly connected to a new one.¡±


    It was strange.


    ¡°What is this¡­¡± Zhong Yirou opened An Wujiu¡¯s arm to check the inside and found a very thin old wound, a scar with a slight protrusion, going up along the bone. She rolled up his sleeve, and the trace continued upwards.


    ¡°Let me see.¡± She took An Wujiu¡¯s other arm and continued to check, then frowned and asked with a serious face, ¡°An Wujiu, you really don¡¯t remember anything? Do you know who you are or where you¡¯re from?¡±


    An Wujiu was certain Zhong Yirou had found something, but he honestly had no memory.


    ¡°I forgot how I entered the game and what happened after I entered the game. But I have memories from birth to before I entered. I come from an ordinary background, and my mother raised my sister and me alone. The education I received as a child came from my mother, and then I became an adult, went to a normal university, and when I was a sophomore, my mother became seriously ill.¡±


    Zhong Yirou asked again, ¡°What kind of illness?¡±


    An Wujiu tried hard to recall, and it seemed that he finally found an electronic medical record from his memory.


    ¡°Brain tumor¡­ She has hallucinations and auditory hallucinations, and she¡¯s blind.¡±


    Zhong Yirou fell into silence.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have the money to treat her, so you came in.¡± She came to this conclusion and stared at him suspiciously. ¡°You really aren¡¯t lying?¡±


    An Wujiu shook his head.


    Shen Ti stood aside and shook his head. An Wujiu didn¡¯t know if he had listened to these conversations, but he cooperated with the atmosphere.


    However, An Wujiu was stunned.


    He had just heard a sound that reminded him of the crash of wind chimes made of shells he had seen as a child, but it was extremely faint, nearly inaudible.


    Following the noise, An Wu Jiu looked at Shen Ti wearing the mask.


    But Shen Ti acted seriously on the operating table, head lowered, reflecting the light.

 CH 8

    ¡°Why do you think I¡¯m lying?¡± An Wujiu asked.


    ¡°No reason.¡± Zhong Yirou changed the topic. ¡°Fortunately, there¡¯s this mechanical skeleton made of hard synthetic metal. Otherwise, your wrist would be a wreck.¡± Zhong Yirou craned her head, grabbed An Wujiu¡¯s intact hand, and shook his wrist and his five fingers.


    She muttered, ¡°It would be great if I could cut open your hand¡­¡±


    A dazzling light blinded Zhong Yirou as soon as she finished speaking. She covered her eyes with her hands. ¡°Why, mask man?! I didn¡¯t say I needed to cut it right away!¡±


    Only then did Shen Ti point the flashlight back at An Wujiu¡¯s wrist.


    Zhong Yirou rolled her eyes. ¡°I was just thinking his bones weren¡¯t exactly alright. I want to see what¡¯s wrong, but I can¡¯t scan it right now.¡±


    Although Zhong Yirou didn¡¯t say it clearly, An Wujiu understood her implication to some extent. His wrist bones were composed of synthetic metal. What about his other bones?


    ¡°My memories were probably artificially erased as well.¡± An Wujiu confessed his suspicions to her.


    Zhong Yirou cocked an eyebrow, expression seemingly dubious. ¡°The neurons in your hippocampus have been tampered with?¡±


    She was, after all, a prosthetist and had seen all kinds of strange surgeries, so after thinking about it, she stated another possibility, ¡°Maybe it was selectively removed and then inserted with a new code.¡±


    After hearing this, Shen Ti started to shine the flashlight on the back of An Wujiu¡¯s head, but Zhong Yirou called him back, closing the ends, cutting the thread with scissors, wiping away the blood on An Wujiu¡¯s skin, and applying medication.


    ¡°Does it hurt?¡± Zhong Yirou asked, ¡°Want me to give you a shot of endorphins?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay.¡± An Wujiu replied truthfully, speaking slowly, but he seemed very calm.


    ¡°Alright. That stuff is so expensive, and I¡¯m still reluctant to part with it.¡± Zhong Yirou didn¡¯t know what to say. The individual in front of her didn¡¯t react after experiencing this amount of harm. Even the deep sutures performed without anesthetic were only slightly painful.


    Observing Zhong Yirou calmly, An Wujiu realized that the virtual machine interface in her brain was exposed. Behind the ear, a black carbon arc ring extending from the interface went around the right earlobe as if she were wearing some unique jewelry.


    Subconsciously, An Wujiu looked at Shen Ti again, but he was wearing a helmet, so An Wujiu found nothing.


    Zhong Yirou discovered his intentions and told him directly, ¡°Ours were all installed before entering Altar. If someone had drilled through your head and implanted a device, it would¡¯ve been removed before coming in, no matter how good the money was. Outside Altar, they¡¯re all virtual experience machines.¡±


    She turned her head to look at the side of An Wujiu¡¯s ear, but it wasn¡¯t the same as hers. His ear had no sensory hub ring.


    ¡°Let me see. Where¡¯s your interface?¡± She mumbled. After putting away the tools, she turned and held An Wujiu¡¯s hair gently. ¡°Your hair is longer than mine.¡± She twirled his hair, a little surprised. ¡°It¡¯s surprisingly true.¡± After speaking, she seemed to remember something. ¡°Right, I wanted to check it.¡±


    Zhong Yirou turned around, pinched An Wujiu¡¯s face with her hands, tugged at it, and carefully observed the pores and tiny light-colored hairs on his face.


    ¡°Your face is also real. Not bought.¡± She couldn¡¯t help but sigh. ¡°Nowadays, there are too few purely natural handsome guys, so many have changed their faces before adulthood.¡±


    ¡°Is the face important?¡± An Wujiu asked.


    Zhong Yirou raised her eyebrows. ¡°Of course, what are you thinking?¡± She shook her head. ¡°Nowadays, in this world, violence, hallucinogens, and sex are all hard currency, and frankly, isn¡¯t beauty a form of sexual power? Especially natural beauty. Those rich people hate squeezing out uniform cellular faces. Do you know what a cellular face is? It¡¯s the epidermis cultivated from human skin tissue. It sounds okay, but the skin in the Petri dish is weird and rubber-like¡­¡±


    When talking about her profession, Zhong Yirou spoke a lot. But An Wujiu didn¡¯t feel much about his appearance and didn¡¯t think it was a rare feature.


    Zhong Yirou supported An Wujiu¡¯s chin, scrutinized his face, and concluded, ¡°However, it appears that current technology can¡¯t make a face of your level. This skull and the shape of the eyes, really not bad¡­¡±


    Shen Ti¡¯s flashlight frantically swept over An Wujiu¡¯s head, reminding Zhong Yirou that it was time to do the main task. But Zhong Yirou glanced at him. ¡°Mask man, why are you wearing a mask? It couldn¡¯t be disfigurement, right?¡±


    An Wujiu also turned to look at him, only to see Shen Ti shrugging his shoulders as if acquiescing. A bit of insincere pity appeared on Zhong Yirou¡¯s face. ¡°I have good plastic surgery skills, and I guarantee you¡¯ll have a good face. Although you can¡¯t become an incredibly handsome guy, you won¡¯t need to wear a mask.¡±


    ¡°And the price is fair, cheating neither the old nor the young. How about it? Consider giving it a go?¡± Zhong Yirou¡¯s beautiful eyes began to shine as soon as money was mentioned.


    However, Shen Ti just shook his head and pointed the flashlight at An Wujiu¡¯s head.


    ¡°Forget it.¡± Zhong Yirou¡¯s mouth twitched. She stopped promoting her plastic surgery technology and lowered her head to concentrate on examining the back of An Wujiu¡¯s head.


    ¡°I touched it.¡±


    The two interfaces were located an inch above An Wujiu¡¯s two ear tips at an angle of 45 degrees, hidden in his hair. A small square protrusion was the sealing threshold of the liquid metal electrodes. ¡°Your virtual machine is not the same as ours. The electrodes are also different. Why?¡±


    She was puzzled and tried to open the closed threshold but found that the entire virtual machine was currently in a terminated program state.


    ¡°I can¡¯t open it.¡± Zhong Yirou tried using several tools, including a force-open code but failed. ¡°Not working. This startup program has a built-in encryption program, and I can¡¯t do anything about it.¡±


    An Wujiu understood. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. The fact that I¡¯m in Altar right now means it¡¯s working internally. Maybe part of the program has been suspended.¡±


    Being unable to fix it completely, Zhong Yirou was a bit dissatisfied. After all, she regarded herself as a prosthetic doctor with excellent professional ability. After some thought, Zhong Yirou clapped her hands. ¡°Right, I can help you install a sensory hub ring. Your analgesia might have something to do with that.¡±


    She retrieved a space-gray streamlined ring with a metallic luster from her tool bag. One end was attached to An Wujiu¡¯s outer ear, and the magnetic reaction device on the other end was linked to the outside of his hidden interface.


    ¡°This is the latest generation of outer space silicon carbide. It¡¯s much easier to use than the ones installed in our heads. I originally reserved it for myself. It won¡¯t take effect on Altar with this sort of installation. If you can leave this round alive, I¡¯ll load it for you in the real world and scan your bones again.¡±


    An Wujiu also expressed his gratitude to Zhong Yirou.


    ¡°I will help you.¡± His voice was gentle and sincere. Zhong Yirou still wasn¡¯t used to it, so she just smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no need. Just give me money, ten thousand holy coins.¡±


    Zhong Yirou just casually spoke and stretched out a hand. After all, 10,000 holy coins were enough to smuggle half a box of space silicon carbide materials into the real world.


    Unexpectedly, An Wujiu silently retrieved the panel after hearing this, entered Zhong Yirou¡¯s name on the transfer interface, and transferred the money without hesitation after confirming the personal information.


    It was only when Zhong Yirou heard the immediate reminder that she, a miser, was speechless for a moment.


    What kind of wedding day was this, encountering a pair of squanderers at once?


    As she was lamenting, a fourth person barged into the lounge porch. It was Wu You.


    ¡°You¡­ why are you all here?¡± He held the door with his hands, hesitating on whether to enter.


    ¡°To see what the lounge looks like, ah.¡± Zhong Yirou fixed the tool bag on her back again, holding the strap with both hands, and tied a knot.


    Wu You¡¯s eyes swept around somewhat defensively, and he suddenly asked bluntly, bringing up a topic several people had not consulted and even avoided discussing.


    ¡°Will you be in an alliance with Yang Ming?¡±


    Zhong Yirou froze for a moment, then laughed. ¡°Children are so direct.¡±


    I am not a child.¡± Wu You stood upright and frowned slightly. ¡°I¡¯m sixteen years old.¡±


    ¡°Pfft, okay.¡± She had to raise both hands in surrender. ¡°You¡¯re not, you¡¯re not.¡±


    But the look of someone revealing their wishes to a stranger didn¡¯t appear mature.


    ¡°At the very least, he won¡¯t ally with me.¡± An Wujiu said slowly, ¡°No matter the stance.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Zhong Yirou nodded. ¡°Yang Ming is probably scheming in desperation right now, thinking about how he can kill you.¡±


    Wu You looked at Zhong Yirou and asked, ¡°What about you? Why are you so ingratiating yourself with An Wujiu? It can¡¯t be your red line is connected to him, right?¡±


    Zhong Yirou showed a puzzled expression. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    Wu You pointed to the toolkit she was carrying. ¡°I saw it all. You sewed up the wound on his hand. You have a crush on An Wujiu.¡±


    ¡°I have a crush on him?¡± Zhong Yirou sneered. ¡°I also have a crush on you.¡±


    Seeing their little fight, An Wujiu had the illusion that this wasn¡¯t a survival game, but only for a second. Although he, at first, wasn¡¯t used to it, he also understood the laws of this game now.


    Zhong Yirou patted his shoulder. ¡°I told you, you can¡¯t just give up so easily. If you did lose your memory, you¡¯re a novice in this game. I¡¯ll be merciful and tell you that you can¡¯t be soft-hearted when participating in any game in Altar. Otherwise, you will definitely lose.¡±


    The corners of An Wujiu¡¯s mouth lifted slightly. ¡°But you can¡¯t be reckless either.¡±


    Zhong Yirou froze. ¡°¡­that¡¯s true. But whatever the game, if you get the worst card and still don¡¯t resist, the situation will get worse. How can you survive as a worthless person?¡±


    An Wujiu didn¡¯t reply.


    It is indeed difficult for worthless people to survive.


    But worthless people could hide from intrigues. Especially the legendary invincible and dangerous person; once they lose and retreat repeatedly, their opponent will relax as pride inflates and turn a blind eye to them, a worthless person.


    It was the only way for the current An Wujiu to retreat in one piece.


    He was severely wounded, lacked supplies, and didn¡¯t have many health bars, while everyone regarded him as the strongest person and the biggest obstacle to victory.


    To win, he had to lose.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± Zhong Yirou sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a guy like you in Altar who can¡¯t analyze people. Don¡¯t look at Yang Ming¡¯s health bars. He won¡¯t duel you directly, but he¡¯ll definitely use others¡­¡±


    Before she could finish speaking, a piercing alarm sounded in the room, followed by the familiar divine voice.


    ¡°Player initiates a duel.¡±


    Shen Ti, standing aside, blew a whistle, but it didn¡¯t sound, which was a bit embarrassing.


    No one expected peace to be so short-lived.


    ¡°Initiating party: Robber ¡ª Liu Chengwei.¡±


    ¡°Responding party: Intern ¡ª An Wujiu.¡±


    ¡°The duel will start in three minutes. Requesting both parties to come to the dueling room on the right side of the living room. The responding party may not refuse the duel, or else the health bar of the current round will be deducted.¡±


    Sure enough, it came.

 CH 9

    A colosseum of Darwinism


    Wu You stared at Zhong Yirou and said after a few seconds, ¡°Crow¡¯s mouth1.¡±


    Zhong Yirou choked on his remark, ¡°No, who would have thought it¡¯d be so soon?¡±


    ¡°It must be Yang Ming¡¯s instigation,¡± Wu You concluded without hesitation, but soon he frowned again, puzzled by the development of the situation. ¡°But you don¡¯t even have supplies. A duel is meaningless.¡±


    An Wujiu didn¡¯t have many expressions on his face. He looked more like a well-trained AI than a human.


    ¡°In many cases, the plundering of life is more meaningful than the plundering of goods.¡±


    An Wujiu thought that the current situation was because of three possibilities:


    The simplest one. He was attached to Liu Chengwei¡¯s black line.


    The second one was more roundabout. Yang Ming was the one who cursed him.


    The last one was that he wasn¡¯t anyone¡¯s black line, but they just hated him and wanted to kill him.


    According to this situation, it was more like the third one. Because if it were the first two, both would¡¯ve done it the moment the system assigned the red and black lines and duel rules. But it was impossible for someone who knew the object of their curse was An Wujiu to wait until now.


    Yet coincidentally, the person who initiated the duel most likely didn¡¯t expect that he happened to be the target of An Wujiu¡¯s curse.


    When the voice announced the rules, the system randomly assigned them each a red and a black line.


    At that time, An Wujiu opened the game panel and saw the red line connected to the vagrant Old Yu and the black line connected to the robber Liu Chengwei.


    They were terrible red and black lines. Even if the secret love lives and the cursed person dies to reach the best situation, he could only gain 5 points at most.


    Fortunately, he had the ability to swap lines.


    Without this ability, it would¡¯ve been challenging to turn the tables.


    When he headed over, the door to the drill room was wide open, and everyone was present. An Wujiu walked inside. The room was a bit bigger than he expected, with four suspended scarlet lasers in the middle surrounding a large area and four overhead lights. The room was devoid of other lights, looking much like a boxing ring with more amplification.


    Outside the area stood a short column with a circular button on top.


    An Wujiu felt surprisingly familiar with such a scene.


    His teeth and hands chattered uncontrollably again.


    Wu You stared at the dueling arena. ¡°Since the total health bar has been counted and the one with fewer loses, why do we have to come to the dueling arena to fight?¡±


    ¡°The other people may stand in a team. It looks like the person with the most health bars will win, but even if Shen Ti, who has the most health, stands up and faces three or four people on the opposite side, their combined health bars will be higher than his.¡± Zhong Yirou sneered. ¡°Besides, if it¡¯s just computation instead of dueling, no one gets injured, and the cost of duels becomes very low. In that case, it¡¯s comparing who can pull in more people. Only when it¡¯s real, bloody, and comes to the consumption of supplies will people be cautious about taking sides.¡±


    Liu Chengwei stood on the left side of the ring, seemingly ready. Even his blind eye radiated a fierce light.


    In terms of physique, An Wujiu was lean and slender, so he was at a weight disadvantage, but in one-on-one melee combat, weight tends to provide an overwhelming advantage. Because of the lack of food and water, the energy bar on his head had begun to diminish while his opponent¡¯s bar was still full.


    What¡¯s more, one of An Wujiu¡¯s hands was severely injured.


    The divine voice appeared again.


    ¡°I have already explained the duel rules before, and I will remind you again that the result of the duel between players in this round will not depend on your own strength and skills but on the number of health bars of the two parties. The side with a larger number of health bars will win the duel. Everyone can also choose to sit on the sidelines. The side with less health bars will become the loser in the duel and lose one health bar. The winner¡¯s health will remain the same.¡±


    ¡°The duel ends when the winner drains one of the defeated¡¯s health bars.¡±


    It was a battle in which the strong grew stronger, and the weak got weaker.


    For An Wujiu, against Liu Chengwei with a seven health bars, if no one was on his side to increase the number of health bars, this was a duel that would end in a definite loss.


    ¡°However, during the game, your pain will feel infinitely close to reality, so your skills and strength will determine the damage you cause to each other, and the damage will be irreversible. You can only use supplies for pain relief and treatment. Rest assured, even if you use fatal methods such as cutting the throat to cause damage during the duel, it will not be lethal. As long as you still have health bars and sufficient supplies, you will not die in the game.¡±


    Standing in a team meant participating in the duel and getting injured. This situation will only make others even more cautious about choosing a team, and no one wants to consume the meager medicines.


    An Wujiu¡¯s wrist was still trembling, and it had only been a few minutes since his wound was stitched. A heavy move would definitely tear it open.


    He began to seriously calculate if his account balance was enough for Zhong Yirou to perform several surgeries.


    Liu Chengwei had already entered the laser arena as required. Without the option to refuse, An Wujiu also followed him in. The arena¡¯s lasers expanded upwards and downwards, forming four barriers of red lights that enclosed them on all sides, and the dim room became eerie for a moment.


    ¡°You will be given weapons at random before the duel commences.¡±


    A square blue holographic projection appeared in the middle of the duel arena, with characters representing two people and a blank weapon bar below both characters. Like a slot machine, the bars scrolled, and at some point, the rotation began to stop, the weapons in the bars gradually coming to a standstill.


    An Wujiu stared as the nailed club slowly slid up the bar.


    It was a good weapon, but it eventually moved up and disappeared.


    The bar froze, and there was a red cross, as with Liu Chengwei¡¯s.


    ¡°There are no weapons for this duel.¡±


    ¡°Are there any other characters joining the duel? Please choose a team and deposit the number of health bars on your character¡¯s panel. Counting one minute.¡±


    This minute was extremely long, and the duel room was strangely silent. An Wujiu didn¡¯t look at the stage. He stared at Liu Chengwei¡¯s mutilated eye and thought about the follow-up plan after losing the duel.


    Time passed by, and no one made a selection.


    Everyone chose to sit on the sidelines, which was the best possibility that An Wujiu had imagined.


    ¡°No one joins. An Wujiu¡¯s health bars are three, and Liu Chengwei¡¯s health bars are seven. The duel will begin after a countdown of five seconds. Please get ready.¡±


    The holographic display suddenly transformed into a massive and imposing countdown number, dropping from 5 to 1. It caused people to hold their breath unconsciously.


    ¡°Start now.¡±


    Above their heads, health bars emerged. An Wujiu only had three. His muscles were still paralyzed and had not awoken, yet a massive fist headed towards his face with savage force in this brief second.


    His reaction was subconscious, and he didn¡¯t know how he reacted so quickly.


    Under prediction, he avoided the punch, which smashed hard on the light screen of the duel arena, shattering a patch of light particles that burst and immediately recovered.


    Liu Chengwei felt slight disbelief about An Wujiu¡¯s avoidance. In reality, he was a gangster who participated in countless street fights, and his experience in one-on-one combat was not an exaggeration.


    But just like that, every punch of his was dodged by An Wujiu.


    Each evasion carried the wind with it.


    Anger igniting his desire to win, Liu Chengwei couldn¡¯t stand his opponent¡¯s complete lack of attacks, even using such a fast speed to anticipate his punches and dodge them directly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you hide!¡± Liu Chengwei roared, turned around, and raised his hand to punch, but his arm wavered.


    An Wujiu recognized his fake movement, but the instant he moved his body, he felt something wrong, as if all his muscles had frozen.


    He couldn¡¯t move.


    Liu Chengwei lifted his leg and kicked An Wujiu in the abdomen. Before his body could drown in pain, he fell back and leaned against the cold and hard wall of light.


    That wasn¡¯t good.


    He tried to attack, but his muscle spasms worsened, and even the flesh around his cheekbones twitched without reason. After his mind wandered for half a second, Liu Chengwei stepped on his injured arm and immobilized him.


    Blood began to spread from the sole of Liu Chengwei¡¯s foot. His fists struck An Wujiu one after another. Although it was a non-weapon duel, Liu Chengwei wore a metal exoskeleton on his knuckles, making the attacks on An Wujiu¡¯s already seriously injured body foul.


    The falling punches were like an unstoppable rainstorm, fists heading straight for the vitals as the other couldn¡¯t fight.


    ¡°The health bar is dropping so fast.¡±


    Liu Chengwei was ruthless.


    Wu You in the audience stared at the rapidly shortening health bars on An Wujiu¡¯s head and stayed in place, unable to lift his hands.


    He looked aside slightly and saw Zhong Yirou frowning. Her eyes focused on An Wujiu as if noticing something strange.


    ¡°He has post-war stress disorder symptoms2¡­¡±


    Wu You heard and took a step closer to Zhong Yirou. ¡°What did you say?¡±


    Zhong Yirou glanced at him and lowered her voice. ¡°Post-war stress disorder. He has been slow to react, and his talking speed is also strange, accompanied by convulsions and shaking hands. I thought it might be some psychological disorder, but his evasive action just before seemed trained. When facing a battle, his muscles tensed, his face twitched, and his spirits were weak. He has likely experienced brutal war.¡± She paused. ¡°Or a massacre.¡±


    However¡­


    There was another entirely different manifestation of post-war stress disorder.


    After hearing this, Wu You felt a little sympathy for this person while being afraid of him. He turned and looked at the two people on the stage.


    It was a passive and vicious battle with no chance of winning.


    As if driven by muscle memory, An Wujiu tried to block with his uninjured hand, but his twitching muscles impeded him more than his opponent¡¯s violent attacks, which used every inch and second.


    The most frightening thing was that under Liu Chengwei¡¯s pounding, An Wujiu seemed to have hallucinations. He felt his blood flow backward, and his beating heart became a hard lump about to rip out his throat.


    Memory fragments flashed before his eyes again and again. Sharp blades stabbed into his waist and abdomen, arms and legs fractured, and pharmaceutical tubes¡­ The hallucination¡¯s pain was more genuine and terrible than reality¡¯s.


    ¡°Are you hiding? Let me see how you hide!¡± Liu Chengwei dragged his long hair back, forcing An Wujiu to raise his head. The man laughed cruelly with contentment, stood up, lifted An Wujiu, and grasped him by the neck, facing Yang Ming¡¯s direction.


    ¡°Is this the ruthless character you spoke of?¡± Liu Chengwei smiled contemptuously and spat on the ground. ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    An Wujiu was overwhelmed by the recurring visions, muscles so tense that he could do nothing but watch as the man in front of him consumed the last of his health bar.


    It was all over.


    He now had two health bars only, matching Yang Ming.


    ¡°The duel is over.¡± Shengyin declared the result emotionlessly, ¡°The character [Robber] wins, and the loser [Intern] loses one health bar.¡±


    ¡°Requesting both characters to leave the dueling arena.¡±


    Liu Chengwei didn¡¯t expect it to end so soon, not even feeling he had enough fun. An Wujiu was the person Yang Ming marked as a target. He described him as a bug in the survival game. Defeating such a person, Liu Chengwei gained a vanity he never had before.


    Survival in this game is nothing.


    He wanted to become a human who could dominate.


    ¡°If I had known how rapidly health fell, I would have taken my time to torture you.¡± He threw An Wujiu to the ground, swipped his hands, and left the dueling arena with his head held high.


    An Wujiu fell on his side and raised a hand to wipe away the dripping blood. Trying to control his abnormal muscles, he pressed on the ground with his less injured hand and struggled to stand up.


    Unsteadily, the pale An Wujiu came out from the arena.


    Although the duel was much more difficult than he had imagined, at least the first step of his plan succeeded.


    No one spoke, just like when the duel started, yet everyone¡¯s faces changed.


    Applause sounded in the quiet room.


    It was Yang Ming.


    With a smile, he clapped and walked from the dark corner of the room to An Wujiu, admiring his defeated appearance with great satisfaction.


    ¡°An Wujiu, what have you experienced since the last game round?¡± Yang Ming raised his eyebrows, and his slender eyes looked at An Wujiu. ¡°Looking at your current appearance, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll never be able to return to the way you were before.¡±


    He constantly remembered how he spent the ten-day-long nightmare of the previous round, how he groveled at An Wujiu like a dog only to be pushed out by him and finally killed a man to steal his points, surviving to the end.


    Now, the devil-like guy in front of him claimed to have amnesia and couldn¡¯t remember anything.


    He obviously won the game unharmed and entered this round pretending to be an innocent and weak person who was seriously injured and dying.


    It was all just a lie to hide his face.


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who said that the Altar is a colosseum of Darwinism*3 and the weak deserve to die.¡± Yang Ming held back his anger and pinched An Wujiu¡¯s chin.


    ¡°What about you now? Shouldn¡¯t you follow your own creed and go to hell?¡±


    For a moment, An Wujiu felt very wrong.


    The loud ringing in his ears prevented him from pulling himself out of the illusion.


    On Yang Ming¡¯s thin face, he saw the dry trees in Siberia, the strange ancient Western language, the bottles and jars soaked with organs and prosthetics on the black market, the blank and spotless circular laboratory, the windowless prison-like place.


    And the strange blue sky on the giant monitor.


    Fragments of everything grotesquely blended together, like witchcraft or a programmed virus, intertwined chaotically in his mind, leaving only the last vestiges of his voice of sanity.


    He woke up knowing nothing and hadn¡¯t had time to save his mother.


    Did he really want to die like this?


    An Wujiu¡¯s disorientation made Yang Ming feel humiliated, and he sneered, ¡°To think that you can pretend so much, enough to bear the humiliation.¡±


    ¡°Is it possible you¡¯ve actually forgotten everything?¡±


    The wounded An Wujiu¡¯s mouth oozed blood from the corners, and he only said in a weak airy voice, ¡°I really forgot. You can kill me if you want, but you won¡¯t necessarily win in the end even if I die¡­¡±


    ¡°What did you say?!¡± Yang Ming grabbed his collar and yanked him closer.


    An Wujiu lowered his voice and replied softly, ¡°The mantis stalks the cicada, not knowing that the oriole is lurking behind¡­¡±


    Yang Ming was quiet for two seconds.


    The inner heart struggled for a short moment. Entering this round of games, An Wujiu became reticent and silent, saying very few words, but every word made Yang Ming uneasy.


    Was An Wujiu testing his determination to kill him?


    Or had he already found a partner? After killing him, he was ready to take the position directly. This game is not about force. It¡¯s about who has the final highest survival score, keeps their secret love alive, and gets rid of their cursed person. That was the optimal solution.


    What An Wujiu meant¡ªcould it be that he has found a person who can get the highest score under the optimal solution?


    Who was it? Zhong Yirou? Ueno? Or Wu You?


    He couldn¡¯t find the answer. In his anger, he shoved An Wujiu to the ground.


    Although Yang Ming already had doubts, he couldn¡¯t let An Wujiu go so easily. At least, he had to torture him.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we do this?¡± Yang Ming squatted in front of An Wujiu, stared at his face for a while, then turned around and suggested to the others with a smile, ¡°Let¡¯s test whether he¡¯s really lying.¡±


    Ueno asked, ¡°How do we test?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s continue dueling. An Wujiu only has two lives left. I don¡¯t believe that he can still pretend when he is about to die. In other words, you are not at a loss if An Wujiu genuinely lost his memory. There will be one less deadly rival, and you¡¯ll have more supplies. What a great deal.¡±


    The dueling room was quiet. Not a single person objected to this cruel plan.


    Just as Wu You raised his foot to step forward, Zhong Yirou grabbed his arm. She shook her head at him.


    Liu Chengwei has clearly joined hands with Yang Ming, and other people may have also reached cooperation with him in the dark. People like them, who have a disadvantage in force value, will be new targets as long as they step up.


    An Wujiu fell to the ground, his hair sticking to the blood on the side of his face. The flashbacks muddled his senses, and he could barely hear Yang Ming¡¯s humiliation.


    ¡°With that face, you would be very popular in the real world.¡± He patted An Wujiu¡¯s face twice with his withered hands. ¡°What a pity. I heard that after brain death, a person is completely dead. Though, even if you become a vegetable, you can still be a good and obedient sex doll, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    Hearing this, Old Yu spoke out to stop him. ¡°Yang Ming, you¡¯re going a little too far.¡±


    An Wujiu¡¯s consciousness returned in a blur, and he heard their conversation.


    ¡°What? Do you sympathize with him? Why don¡¯t you step up and give a health bar to him?¡± Yang Ming stood up. ¡°I was just about to ask you to consume his next health bar¡­¡±


    Things changed too fast.


    The blame suddenly shifted to someone else. Wu You felt something was wrong and whispered to Zhong Yirou, ¡°Could Old Yu be¡­ the person Yang Ming cursed?¡±


    But Zhong Yirou unhesitatingly shook her head and paused for a few seconds before telling the reason. ¡°It¡¯s because Old Yu himself stood up.¡± She added quietly, ¡°Wanting to let Old Yu come forward, he¡¯s testing whether Old Yu will stand in line. Only those vacillating will become an outcast.¡±


    Wu You observed her expression for a moment and didn¡¯t say anything.


    Faced with Yang Ming¡¯s decision to throw out another person, the others were even more silent.


    No one wanted to enter the dueling arena with An Wujiu, despite only having two blood bars. Even if they win, they¡¯ll make enemies for themselves. Yang Ming took the initiative to select someone, in turn making the others deeply grateful.


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­¡± Yang Ming suddenly changed the topic.


    ¡°Since you are so opposed, I¡¯ll give you another chance to choose the camp you want to go to, and you will not be in this round.¡±


    Every word he said seemed discrete, but it was actually not too far from a threat. After speaking, he turned to face the dark corner of the room.


    ¡°How about letting Shen Ti go?¡±