Chapter 111

(Actually 98 chapters, the chapter title was wrong)

Irlan’s voice was completely gone.

In the real world, the famous idol ICEY—or rather, Jin Huiying—quietly set down the paper cup pressed against the floor-to-ceiling window, her expression complex. It wasn’t quite the sorrow of a rabbit mourning its kind, nor was it relief that it wasn’t her who died.

To be fair, Jin Huiying’s life had been smooth: both her parents worked in government departments in Seoul, she received elite education from childhood, and even when she debuted as an idol out of personal interest, she never had to endure the brutal exploitation that some trainees from the civilian class faced—being treated as bar-hostess commodities.

After accidentally becoming a player, she came under the attention of the Global Supernatural Alliance, learned the true nature of the world from them, and eventually agreed to sign a contract and become an employee.

The Global Supernatural Alliance provided her with a suite of resources, including scientific training and equipment, while she continued maintaining her idol identity—releasing albums, appearing on shows, and touring.

Through an unnamed instrument she brought back from the Killing Ground, she condensed the “liking” and “adoration” of countless fans into physical droplets, which she submitted to the Guild. As for the droplets’ purpose, she didn’t know.

“Irlan was at least a Level 8 player from Prometheus Corporation, and he died so pointlessly, not even leaving a whole corpse. If I die, and my body is teleported back to the real world, maybe only my parents will truly grieve.”

Jin Huiying lowered her eyelids. According to the Global Supernatural Alliance’s protocols, her death would most likely be covered up, and someone would be surgically altered to resemble her, continuing to exist as ICEY.

Not out of cold-bloodedness, but out of efficiency.

Then again, in an era where appearance, voice, physique, and even emotional memories can be customized, what truly distinguishes one person from another?

Tap-tap-tap.

The approaching sound of high heels interrupted Jin Huiying’s thoughts. Annie strode back into the living room, now dressed in a red dress and diamond-embroidered leather high heels.

She paid no attention to Irlan’s death, sat down on the sofa, and elegantly pulled out a compact mirror from her handbag, applying lipstick in front of it.

“Say, your name is ICEY, right?”

Annie glanced at Jin Huiying and said casually, “How about we cooperate?”

“Huh? What do you mean by ‘cooperate’?”

“In the last round, I established a tragic survivor persona. This round, I’ll definitely get a substantial number of audience sympathy votes.”

Annie said, “Let’s temporarily team up and find a way to eliminate the others.”

“This—”

Jin Huiying pinched the button on her collar. Given Annie’s cold-blooded and underhanded behavior in the last round, cooperating with her was like negotiating with a tiger. But if she refused, she’d likely become Annie’s next target.

After a moment’s hesitation, Jin Huiying changed the subject: “Mr. Irlan is from Prometheus Corporation, isn’t he? You eliminated him through slander and framing—aren’t you afraid Prometheus will cause trouble after the mission ends?”

After all, everyone in their Guild carries a ‘black box.’”

In aviation, a black box refers to a flight data recorder, which logs flight time, speed, altitude, aircraft data, and pilot-crew conversations.

In the Killing Ground, some players also carry small data recorders that capture audio and video of their surroundings.

This way, even if a player dies during a mission and their corpse is teleported back to the real world, their Guild can still know exactly how they died, compiling the death sequence into a log for future players to learn from.

Since each player’s qualification is a rare resource of human civilization, major Guilds discourage players from seeking revenge on other chosen ones based on data recorder footage after a friend’s death.

Of course, theory is theory, reality is reality—occasionally, revenge still happens.

This has produced an unwritten rule: if anyone kills another player in a script mission or death duel, they must destroy the corpse to avoid being targeted.

Annie said casually, “One, this is a death duel—life and death carry no liability, no accountability. I won’t be at fault no matter where this ends up in court.”

“Two, judging by the sounds, Irlan was devoured by wasteland beasts after being thrown out—his corpse may not even retain the black box.”

“Three, I’m a member of the Witch Alliance—I’m not afraid of Prometheus.”

These three reasons were somewhat convincing. Jin Huiying asked again: “Why not team up with someone else?”

“Because you’re the most isolated.”

Annie said naturally, “I’ve already fallen out with Leonardo. Little Red Riding Hood and Plague are clearly acquainted and already allied. That Harli from the Federal Investigation Bureau—I can’t read her. As for Will…he’s just too ‘dangerous.’”

“Compared to you—you have no strength, no allies. Though your appearance is sweet enough, in this reality show where everyone is handsome or beautiful, looks don’t matter much.”

She paused, as if giving Jin Huiying time to think. “I’m only offering this once. If you don’t accept, I’ll find someone else to ally with.”

“...I accept.”

After a moment of internal struggle, Jin Huiying nodded. “The second round is the talent showcase. Who do you want to eliminate?”

“We’ll decide that when the time comes.”

Annie put down the lipstick, snapped shut the compact mirror, then pulled out a white ointment from her handbag and applied it beneath her eyes.

To Jin Huiying’s shock, Annie’s eyes rapidly reddened, and a flood of tears streamed down her cheeks, giving her a heartbreakingly beautiful, tear-streaked look.

“Tear stick. Main ingredient: menthol. Applied under the eyes, it stimulates tear glands to produce tears.”

Annie wiped her tears with tissues, still speaking calmly: “In a bar, you can instantly attract men who think you’re heartbroken and looking for comfort, then lure them into an alley, stun them with a taser, and steal their belongings.”

Ah…

Jin Huiying was speechless, unsure how to respond.

With the show about to begin, the other players gradually returned to the living room. Plague and Little Red Riding Hood arrived last; the former wore red-and-blue 3D glasses.

“Where did you two go?” Leonardo, now dressed in a tailcoat, raised an eyebrow.

“We watched a movie in the villa’s private theater.” Li Cheng sat down casually. “For some reason, the theater only stored movies from before the nuclear war—including but not limited to ‘Fast & Furious 13: Gravity,’ ‘Fast & Furious 15: To the Moon,’ ‘Fast & Furious 21: Paul Returns,’ and ‘Fast & Furious 30: Wheelchair Race Through the Solar System.’”

To prove he wasn’t lying, Li Cheng pulled out a Blu-ray disc. It truly showed an elderly bald man sitting in a wheelchair, racing through a spaceship.

Hmm… should we say Hollywood’s gone mad, or that the Fast & Furious franchise is just too good at making money?

Others’ expressions grew strange. Many script worlds resembled Earth closely, yet contained subtle deviations.

For example, the Cold War ended with the socialist bloc victorious, Earth had two moons, and Coca-Cola wasn’t called Coca-Cola but used the archaic translation “Tadpole Gnawing Wax.”

The bald man on Li Cheng’s discs also differed slightly from Vin Diesel.

“In a way, this near-future setting is kind of fun—you get to see the endings of artistic works years in advance.”

Li Cheng clicked his tongue, regretfully adding, “Too bad the villa doesn’t have manga collections like ‘Berserk,’ ‘Hunter x Hunter,’ ‘Bio-Booster Armor Guyver,’ or ‘One Piece.’ I’m missing out on nutritional content.”

“Sigh, ever since Gol D. Roger died, I’ve rarely watched ‘One Piece.’ I wonder how far the plot has progressed now.”

??? What’s the difference between that and never having watched it at all?!

Everyone wanted to shout out their protest, but the broadcast had already started.

“Authentic Coca-Cola, authentic variety show. Welcome to ‘Oh No! I’m Surrounded by Beauties/Guys!’—sponsored exclusively by Nuclear Cola, produced by Eden TV and the New Humanity Consortium. We’re now beginning Round Two: each contestant will showcase their talent.”

Mechanical arms extended again from the tracks, holding cameras to begin live streaming.

All players instantly returned to their roles: Leonardo and Will sat upright, Annie’s eyes were red, tears streaming, Jin Huiying hugged her shoulder and whispered comfort, and Li Cheng slipped the disc under the sofa cushion.

“Same as last round—I’ll go first.”

Leonardo flashed a perfect smile at the camera, touched his wristwatch, stood, walked to the corner triangle piano, opened the lid, sat down slowly, and placed his long fingers on the keys.

His fingers moved from slow to fast, the melody shifting from calm to lively. His expression grew increasingly focused and serene, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

With his player-level physical condition, playing piano shouldn’t make him sweat this much—it was pure pain. The tailcoat was continuously electrocuting his skin.

【Item Name: Prototype Magical Tailcoat】

【Type: Armor】

【Quality: Rare】

【Defense: Low】

【Effect: Control Mode. Via the matching wristwatch, adjust the tailcoat’s modes to temporarily grant the wearer basic skills: martial arts, cooking, vehicle driving, house cleaning, instrument playing, etc. Total battery life: 1 hour.】

【Consumption: 1% stamina per minute】

【Cooldown: 24 hours】

【Equip Condition: Constitution ≤ 8】

【Note: Wear a suit, drink red wine, enjoy an upper-class life.】

【Note: To prevent public embarrassment, wearers are strongly advised to use diapers.】

This equipment was clearly inspired by the 2002 DreamWorks sci-fi action film “The Adventures of the Magical Tailcoat,” starring Jackie Chan.

In that film, the high-tech tailcoat automatically adjusted to the wearer’s body and granted superhuman abilities and vast life skills.

It instantly turned an ordinary person into a top-tier agent.

But Leonardo’s version was only a prototype—lower battery, narrower skill set, and far more brutal in operation: fine metal filaments extended from inside the tailcoat, piercing directly into the dermis, using micro-electroshocks to control muscle movement.

To the audience, the more beautiful the piano piece sounded, the more agony Leonardo endured.

No wonder its equipment condition was the rare requirement of Constitution ≤ 8—if your Constitution were higher and you could endure the pain, the suit might not even work.

“Remember those walls I built—”

Harli, the black woman sitting on the sofa, suddenly stood up and began singing softly.

Leonardo’s expression first showed surprise, then he subtly adjusted the piano melody to match Harli’s voice—her vocal quality was exceptional, wide-ranging, smooth, on par with professional singers.

They had interacted in the first round; now their duet felt seamless. Their vote counts rose steadily, and a flood of comments scrolled across the screen.

【These two have such chemistry—I love this perfect soulmate vibe. I’m obsessed with this CP.】

【Get married right now, immediately.】

【High-end CPs are different—good looks, great talent, refined taste. They give sweetness without grit. It’s so satisfying. Our village’s mutant? He can’t possibly not ship this.】

So they’ve already formed an alliance, then.

The black male Will narrowed his eyes, suddenly had an idea, stood up, and gracefully approached Annie, extending his hand politely: “Miss Annie, may I have this dance?”

Leonardo and Harli were still singing, providing background music. Of the remaining three women, Little Red Riding Hood and Plague were already allied, so they were out. Jin Huiying, a barely adult girl, looked too childish.

But Annie—her face still bore tear tracks from her recent breakdown, maintaining her tragic survivor persona. Inviting her to dance as a gentleman would earn him many votes.

Also, Will wasn’t too worried she’d use underhanded tricks again—the same trick can’t be used twice. If both male contestants were eliminated because of her, even the dumbest viewers would sense something was off.

“Y-yes, of course.”

Annie wiped her tears, allowed Will to help her up, and stepped onto the open space beside the piano, dancing to the music.

“Mr. Plague—”

Little Red Riding Hood, watching others’ vote counts climb, nervously tugged at Li Cheng’s sleeve. “What should we do?”

No response.

She turned her head slightly and saw Li Cheng, at a forty-five-degree angle, staring at the ceiling, tears streaming down his eyes.

"Sorry, I lost my composure. Listening to the music, I suddenly remembered a few old friends."

Li Cheng gave a self-deprecating smile and said sadly, "When I was a child, my parents ran a mechanical factory—my father was the factory director, my mother was the workshop supervisor. She died right before my eyes in a factory accident. My father ignored me and sent me to live with relatives. Later, when the factory went under, they called me back at age fourteen to work as a child laborer, forcing me to live in the workers’ dormitory, and sometimes I had to pick up weapons with other child laborers to defend the factory."

A girl with red hair and a girl with blue-and-white hair, who looked very much like my mother, both died violently during that time."

"Here are their photos."

Players at this level all invested in Perception, alert to everything around them. They had felt a touch of sincerity in Li Cheng’s opening words, but found the child laborer part implausible; when he pulled out the photos, they completely broke composure.

The red-haired girl is Asuka, the blue-and-white-haired girl is Rei Ayanami. So you’re calling yourself Shinji Ikari, are you?

(End of Chapter)