Chapter 91

(Actually 98 chapters, the chapter title was wrong)

Irfan's voice is now completely gone.

Jin Huiying, the real-world idol ICEY, quietly set down the paper cup pressed against the floor-to-ceiling window, her expression complex—neither quite mourning the dead nor merely relieved it wasn't her.

To be fair, Jin Huiying's life had been smooth: both her parents worked in Seoul government departments, she received elite education from childhood, and even when she debuted as an idol out of personal interest, she never suffered the brutal exploitation or sexual coercion endured by some trainees from the civilian class.

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

The Global Supernatural Alliance provided her with 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 "affection" and "worship" of countless fans into physical droplets and submitted them to the Guild; as for the droplets' purpose, she did not know.

"Irfan was at least a Level 8 player from Prometheus Corporation—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 cruelty, 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; Anne strode back into the living room, now dressed in a red dress and diamond-embroidered leather high heels.

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

"Say, you're called ICEY, right?"

Anne glanced at Jin Huiying and said casually: "How about we cooperate?"

"Huh? What do you mean by 'cooperate'?"

"In the last round, I crafted a tragic survivor persona. This round, I'll surely gain a significant number of audience sympathy votes."

Anne said: "Let's temporarily team up and find a way to eliminate the others."

"This—"

Jin Huiying pinched the button of her collar; given Anne's cold-blooded, underhanded behavior in the last round, cooperating with her was like negotiating with a tiger. But if she refused, she'd likely become Anne's next target.

After a moment's hesitation, Jin Huiying changed the subject: "Mr. Irfan is from Prometheus Corporation, isn't he? You eliminated him through slander and framing—aren't you afraid Prometheus will come after you 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, capturing 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 process into a log for future players to learn from.

Since each player's qualification is a rare resource for human civilization, major Guilds discourage players from seeking revenge on other Chosen Ones after a friend's death, based on data recorder footage.

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 completely, lest they be targeted later.

Anne said casually: "One, this is a death duel—life and death carry no liability; no one holds grudges. I'd win any lawsuit, anywhere."

"Two, from the sounds, Irfan 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 Monutong 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."

Anne said naturally: "I've already fallen out with Leonardo; Little Red Riding Hood and Master Pi Fu clearly know each other and are already allied; that FBI agent Harli—I can't read her. As for Will... heh, he's too 'dangerous.'"

"Compared to you—you have no strength, no allies. Though your face is sweet and lovely, 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 refuse, 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."

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

To Jin Huiying's stunned gaze, Anne's eyes rapidly reddened, flooding with tears, her face now tear-streaked and heartbreakingly beautiful.

"Tear stick—main ingredient is menthol. Applied under the eyes, it stimulates tear glands."

Anne wiped her tears with tissues, her voice calm as she spoke: "In a bar, it instantly makes men think you're heartbroken after a breakup, desperate for comfort—then you lure them to the alley, stun them with a taser, and steal their belongings."

Ah…

Jin Huiying was speechless, unsure how to respond.

With little time left before the show began, the other players gradually returned to the living room. Master Pi Fu 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 movies in the villa's private theater," Li Cheng sat down casually. "For some reason, the theater only stored films 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—on which was indeed printed an elderly bald man, seated in a wheelchair, racing through a spaceship.

Hmm… should we say Hollywood is drugged, or that the Fast & Furious series 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, Coca-Cola was no longer called Coca-Cola but used the archaic translation "Kē Kē Kě Là."

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: "Too bad the villa has no manga collections like 'Berserk,' 'Hunter x Hunter,' 'Bio-Booster Armor Guyver,' or 'One Piece'—I'm missing this nutritional intake."

"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 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 Human Consortium. We're now entering Round Two: each of the seven contestants 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 red as she wiped away tears, Jin Huiying hugged her shoulder and whispered comfort, and Li Cheng slipped the disc he held beneath the sofa cushion.

"Same as last round—I'll go first."

Leonardo smiled perfectly at the camera, touched his wristwatch, rose, and walked to the corner triangle piano, opened the lid, sat down slowly, and placed his long fingers upon the keys to begin playing.

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

With his player's physical condition, playing piano shouldn't make him sweat profusely—it was pure pain—the tailcoat he wore was continuously shocking his skin.

【Item Name: Magical Tailcoat Prototype】

【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 capacity: one hour.】

【Consumption: 1% stamina per minute】

【Cooldown: 24 hours】

【Equipment Requirement: 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's design clearly parodies the 2002 DreamWorks Company Product sci-fi action film "Magical Tailcoat," starring Jackie Chan.

In that film, the tailcoat, forged by cutting-edge technology, auto-adjusts to the wearer's body and grants superhuman agility and vast life skills.

Instantly transforms an ordinary person into a top-tier agent.

But Leonardo's version is merely a prototype—lower battery, narrower skill set, and a far more brutal method: metallic filaments extend from inside the tailcoat, piercing directly into the dermis, using micro-electric shocks to control muscle movement.

To the audience, the more beautiful the piano piece sounded, the greater Leonardo's suffering.

No wonder its equipment requirement is the rare Constitution ≤ 8—if his Constitution were higher, he could endure the shocks and might not even respond.

"Remember those walls I built—"

Harli, the Black woman seated on the sofa, suddenly stood 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, with wide range and smooth tone, rivaling professional singers.

They had interacted in the first round; now their playing and singing blended seamlessly. Their vote counts rose steadily, and a flood of comments scrolled across the TV screen.

【These two feel so perfect—I love this kind of soulmate chemistry. I'm obsessed with this CP.】

【Get married right now, immediately.】

【High-end CPs are different—good looks, multiple talents, pure taste, sweet without residue. It's truly satisfying. Even our village's mutant can't help but ship them.】

So they've formed an alliance, then.

Will, the Black man, narrowed his eyes, suddenly devised a plan, rose, and strode gracefully to Annie's side, politely extending his hand. "Young Lady Annie, may I have this dance?"

Leonardo and Harli were still singing together, providing background music. Of the remaining three women, Little Red Riding Hood had allied with Master Pi Fu, so she was out; Jin Huiying, a barely adult girl, looked too childish and unsuitable.

But Annie—her face still bore tear tracks from her earlier sobbing, maintaining the survivor's tragic persona. Inviting her to dance as a gentleman would earn him considerable votes.

Besides, Will wasn't overly concerned she'd use low tactics again—the same trick couldn't be used twice. If both male contestants were eliminated because of her, even the dumbest viewers would sense something was off.

"Yes, yes."

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

"Master Pi Fu."

Little Red Riding Hood, watching others' vote counts climb, nervously tugged Li Cheng's sleeve. "What should we do?"

No response.

She turned her head slightly and saw Li Cheng gazing upward at a forty-five-degree angle, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Sorry for the lapse. Listening to this music, I suddenly remembered some old friends."

Li Cheng gave a self-deprecating smile, voice heavy with sorrow: "When I was a child, my family ran a mechanical factory. My father was the manager, my mother the workshop supervisor. She died before my eyes in a factory accident. My father ignored me, sent me to live with relatives. Later, when the factory failed, he called me back at age fourteen to work as a child laborer—living in the workers' dormitory, sometimes even picking up weapons with other child laborers to defend the factory."

A girl with red hair, and another girl with blue-and-white hair who looked just like my mother, both died violently during that time.

Here are their photos."

Players at this level generally invested in Perception—sharp eyes, keen ears. At first, they found Li Cheng's opening lines somewhat genuine; the child laborer part rang false; when he pulled out the photos, they completely broke character.

The red-haired girl refers to Asuka; the blue-and-white-haired girl refers to Rei Ayanami. So you're Shinji Ikari, are you?

(End of Chapter)