Chapter 222 - Battle Royale: Survival of the Jedi (XII)
Chapter 222 Battle Royale: Survival of the Jedi (XII)
Chi Xiaochi wanted to keep the man with the dirty dreadlocks alive, and asked him who he was.
It doesn’t seem necessary now.
Searching the body of the man with the dirty braid, Lou Ying found only a sharp stone stained with blood, threw it on the ground and shook her head in silence at Chi Xiaochi.
…… No ironclad found.
This man is not a “catfish”, but a man whose heart and eyes are blinded by power.
Chi Xiaochi casually sits on a nearby rock, watching the ocean of abuse in the pop-up section.
”Holy shit, four against one for shits and giggles?”
”Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!”
”Disgusting disgusting disgusting!”
”How many bars has the ID above swiped and how many bets has he placed? Can’t afford to lose, can you?”
”Gloat and roll!”
Chi Xiaochi’s actions have seen many people’s investments of nearly a million dollars go straight down the drain.
The knife cut down to white meat, it’s strange that they didn’t blow up, all kinds of expletives and curses were incessant, some were secretly placing bets on these three, while others were trying to figure out how to fix these three halfway decent people.
”And I bought the others!” Someone shouted, “Tell them to kill him!”
”Yeah. Place a bounty!”
As we speak, someone has already gone to buy the “reward”.
The “Bounty Order” is a game prop that allows you to specify the person you want to kill and the person you want to kill, and requires you to pay for it, so you can specify someone to kill another person.
As long as someone chooses to take the order, completes it successfully and ends up in the top three survivors, the order taker will receive a 5% share of the bet.
Most psychics, like Zhao Rou, have family and friends on the outside. Even if they manage to get out alive, with blood on their hands and knowing the secrets of the institution, they think they know it is impossible to leave and will probably stay in the institution and sell their lives for the institution for the rest of their lives.
The money is a comfort to their family.
The commotion that took place in A6 was no small one, and many of the Exotics scattered across the map paid attention to the unusual increase in the amount of pop-ups and guessed from them what was happening.
The special beep for the “bounty order” also sounded on the wristwatches of five or six psychics one after another.
In the A12, an alien’s wristwatch rang five times.
For no other reason than his powers are not bad and the A12 is closest to the A6.
At the 6th sound he swung the dial hard at the side of the tree.
Yet the dial is solid, and between the shaking of the tree and the movement of the leaves, there is not even a single shattered line on the surface.
The round-shaven shifter leaned his back against the shaking trees, pressed his knuckles against his brow and muttered to himself, “Psycho, kill your head. Why don’t you guys go kill.”
He shrugged off a hand and turned to walk away, but stood still three paces away.
He raised his wrist, opened the pop-up section and watched in silence for a moment.
”A6 ah ……”
After a long moment of contemplation, he finally made up his mind, dropped his hand, reversed his direction of travel and drew up his feet and ran towards the A6 area.
This sudden surprise was a further blow to the official “catfish” headquarters, which had only just been invaded.
In particular, the Emergency Response Department, staffed with one phone, was busy taking private line calls from various players.
The Minister of Emergency Management was anxious, put down a phone call from someone high up, pinched the bridge of his nose and was trying to take a breath when another member of the department pushed his way in: “Minister ……”
The minister was holding a cup of coffee with three servings of milk, but his expression was as if he was holding a cup of sour and bitter Chinese medicine.
He said, “You better be able to give me some good news.”
The officer flipped open his folder and said with a bitter look on his face: “There are two Wen documents here. One is a fax from the data analysis station. Because the game has only been online for three years, the recording database is still under construction, so they could only try to recover the audio and video equipment from the five remains found in the D20 area. …… The result is that all the gear has been physically damaged and there is no possibility of recovery.”
The minister’s brow furrowed into a Kawasaki shape, “What about the recording of the bug planted inside them?”
The ministry member hesitated for a moment and said, “…… has suffered physical destruction in its entirety and cannot be recovered.”
The minister rose with a huff: “…… what?!”
The Minister did not expect to get anything of value out of the destroyed equipment.
Every Catfish who becomes a permanent employee undergoes an operation to have a recording bug implanted under the skin to facilitate spot checks at times.
It was the knowledge of this inside story that had shocked him so much.
The implant is a minimally invasive, non-invasive procedure known as a “medical check-up”, in which each implantee is given anaesthetic in advance and is unaware that he or she is being listened to.
It was understandable that the two men sent later were blown up and their body bugs physically destroyed, but what about the three-man team that died en masse earlier?
How did Wei Shiliu know they had a bug inside them and was able to target and destroy it with precision?
The Minister only felt the painful swelling of his eye-points and gave it an annoying squeeze before saying, “…… The second Wen document was sent by the Personnel Department, right? Apart from the information we already had on Wei Shiliu, who were the two people who were with him later?”
The minister looked down at the Wen folder and read, ” Chi Jiangyu , the man in the mask, 25 years old, fighting instructor, participated in Kickboxing free-for-all tournaments and won a silver medal. He has been tested for his ability to manipulate inanimate objects such as steel.”
The minister nodded, “All right. Where’s the one with the glasses.”
”Well ……” the ministry member paused subtly for a moment before continuing to read, ” Bai Anyi , aged 21, with a double BA in Archaeology and Astronomy, is currently a current MA student in Archaeology at University A. He has taken an aptitude test in Institution 9 and his aptitude performance is ……”
The researcher squeezed the information at hand, “…… unknown.”
”Hmm?” The minister looked up, “What does ‘unknown’ mean?”
”‘Unknown’ means that he does have a Class A globulin secretion index in his body that meets the criteria for an Allomancer.” The minister said, “But he doesn’t seem to know what his psychic ability is ……”
Minister: “Has it been electrocuted?”
The minister spread the information on the minister’s desk, “…… Even under the stimulation of electric shocks, Bai Anyi did not use his psychic powers.”
The Minister ponders for a moment.
As things stand, there is no way they could have disposed of Wei Shiliu in secret, given the extent of the situation.
It’s a shame that we lost five good psychics for nothing, and lost a large sum of money in training.
…… is, however, not without its rewards.
He tapped the space bar on the computer in front of him.
The progress bar is awakened by the pause.
This video footage was provided by a gamer of the battle that took place in the A6 area half an hour ago.
The minister hit the pause button again as Zhao Rou in the video raised a rock and smashed it hard into the back of the dirty dreadlocked man’s head.
”As far as the feedback is concerned, the one called White …… White what’s it called? The psychic ability is instantaneous movement, non-attacking psychic ability, at most …… C rank, no, D rank I think. He does not need to bother, focus on Wei Shiliu and Chi Jiangyu, especially that Chi Jiangyu, understand?”
The minister nodded and turned to exit the office door.
The minister pulled over his laptop and clicked on a hidden icon inside a hidden Wen folder to access a special server, expertly typing a string of website links into the address bar, entering a room somewhere on the dark web, and entering another complex serial number before successfully entering the Battle Royale live stream.
The incessant chatter of abuse in the live room continues unabated.
After only a few scans, the minister opened the betting page, clicked on the ” Chi Jiangyu ” menu and bought a hundred bets in a painful manner.
After the “Bet placed successfully” box popped up, the minister smiled slightly, then collected his expression, coughed lightly, closed the page and was about to continue working when there was another knock on the door.
The ministry member who had only just gone out poked his head in with an unusually odd expression, “…… Minister, take a look at the live stream. The information we’ve gathered seems to be wrong ……”
……
In that world, ” Chi Jiangyu”, who had become the favourite to place the bets, was setting up a pot on a grill made of willow branches in an open area at the edge of the A6 area, while the crowd watched in awe.
Who knows where he pulled out that pot from.
And when he pulled out the cooking wine, salt and sesame oil with aplomb, and a small bucket of still-alive silver needlefish, the pop-ups had gone half-crazy.
”What kind of psychic power is he anyway??”
”He’s here on holiday?”
”He’s got a food pod with him?”
”Day, eat better than me.”
Since Chi Jiangyu’s so-called “twisting” ability has not yet been demonstrated, the curtain rightly assumes that his ability is a “food bin”.
But the staff who tested him, and Wei Shiliu, who saw what he could do, thought otherwise.
He pounced on Lou Ying’s side and pestered him with questions.
”Chi, what exactly are your psychic powers?”
”Brother Chi, you’re so good, tell me about it.”
”I especially worship you, from today onwards you are my idol. When I go out, three incense sticks a day …… Oh no, this is not auspicious, I can’t have three meals a day …… either, I’m poor. …… oops, you just tell me about it. I won’t tell anyone else, okay?”
Lou Ying adds the soft, transparent silver needlefish to the boiling pot of soup and gently mixes it with chopsticks.
The hand that had so easily broken off the bones a moment ago was now moving with a light and gentle touch.
He said, “Do you have a heavy mouth?”
Wei Shiliu was stunned: “Ah, it’s quite heavy.”
Lou Ying, who had successfully changed the subject, added some salt, “This fish has no bones, so you don’t need to add too much seasoning, it’s fresh enough to simmer, and you can eat it as noodles.”
Zhao Rou and Chi Xiaochi share a rock while Lou Ying does his lunchtime canteen special.
Chi Xiaochi with one foot on the edge of a rock and one foot on the ground.
He caught a praying mantis out of nowhere and fiddled with its bright green, knife-shaped forelimbs with gusto.
Zhao Rou, whose wound was properly dressed, was quietly looking at Lou Ying.
By now, although she had been saved, she was not sure where the three men were coming from.
Wei Shiliu is noisy, full of nonsense and unable to get to the point, which hurts one’s ears; “Chi Jiangyu” is a man of few words, not to mention that, after seeing his performance just now, how could Zhao Rou have the courage to go after his roots and probe him?
In comparison, she set her sights on Chi Xiaochi, who was playing with a bug.
This man was handsome and weak, and looked to be a defensive psychic like himself, probably one who had been drawn into the protection of ” Chi Jiangyu”.
From him, we might be able to ask for something.
She settled down and switched on her precognitive psychic powers.
Since killing the dirty braided man, she had intentionally retested the upper limit of her powers.
The conclusion reached was that her prophetic time, from eight minutes, was increased directly to half an hour.
Half an hour should be enough for her to get enough information out of this man.
A fresh breeze lifts Zhao Rou’s hair to the left.
She lifted her hand and pinned the messy strands of hair behind her head.
Upon entering the precognitive time stream, Zhao Rou immediately struck up a conversation with Chi Xiaochi: “The ……”
Chi Xiaochi looks over at her and winks, smiling before she speaks.
This friendly attitude helped to reassure Zhao Rou a little.
She glanced at Lou Ying: “How do you and Chi Jiangyu know each other?”
Chi Xiaochi said, “My brother and I have been together forever.”
Zhao Rou : “You are brothers?”
Chi Xiaochi’s eyes rolled gently, “Of the table.”
Zhao Rou continued to test the waters, “His powers, are they dimensional pockets or something like that?”
Chi Xiaochi didn’t bat an eye: “Yeah.”
”He’s great.” This compliment was genuinely said by Zhao Rou, “You’re on the same team? Chi Jiangyu is your leader, right?”
Chi Xiaochi mumbled, “Yeah.”
”Why are you guys trying to save me?” Zhao Rou, after a half-hearted detour, finally cut to the whole, “I mean, there are already three of you, and there can only be three of you out there ……”
”Who said that?”
”…… who ……” Zhao Rou was confused, “That’s how the rules are set ……”
Chi Xiaochi said, “Who makes the rules?”
Zhao Rou : “……”
Chi Xiaochi looked her in the eye and said, “Is there a need for us to follow unfair rules?”
Zhao Rou sensed a hint of something unusual and shifted his hips unconsciously towards the far side.
In the midst of her nervousness, she heard Chi Xiaochi ask her, “What are your powers?”
Zhao Rou swallows: “I can predict ……”
”There’s always a limit, right? How long?”
Zhao Rou opened his mouth, a hundred different thoughts came to him at once, and with a dryness in his throat, he said, “…… for three minutes.”
And in the next breath, Chi Xiaochi asked, “How much has it been raised to?”
Zhao Rou : “…… uh?”
Chi Xiaochi also seemed to feel that he had not asked the question rigorously enough, so he added in detail, “After killing the man with the dirty braid, what was the upper limit of your precognition time, raised to?”
Zhao Rou’s muscles suddenly tensed up, even the pain in his right knee was not so clear, and his body felt like an ant’s nest had exploded, making it itchy.
She tried to deny it, “…… What are you talking about?”
Chi Xiaochi said, “You don’t have to be so nervous.”
Zhao Rou’s voice couldn’t help but tremble: “…… you …… who are you?”
Chi Xiaochi : “The man who saved you.”
At this point, Chi Xiaochi softly emphasized, “…… You will remember this kindness, won’t you?”
Zhao Rou just felt that the person in front of him was horrible, he could neither answer yes nor no, his mind was in turmoil: “Of course I can …… What do you mean?”
Chi Xiaochi said, “Let me be straightforward. If you simply believe that we have just met, that we have met in person, and that our purpose is unknown, then it is appropriate and necessary to be wary of us, and to conceal your powers. But I don’t want you to conceal the secret of your increased level of psychic ability with any other purpose in mind.”
”…… For example, you are trying to leave us after your injuries have healed and kill some more people to boost your own powers so you can increase your leverage to survive.”
Zhao Rou was in awe, but his cheeks felt like they were baking in flames, and the temperature increased dramatically.
She said numbly, “I don’t understand a word you’re saying.”
Chi Xiaochi says, “It doesn’t matter if I don’t understand it. I can use a simpler expression instead. — I am warning you not to take the initiative to kill someone.”
Zhao Rou is appalled!
She had indeed thought of hiding the secret that “killing aliens increases their power”.
On the one hand, she was afraid that Chi Jiangyu and the others would find out and kill her vulnerable self.
On the other hand, she was really thinking: if, just if, she could kill one more person, would her precognition become even stronger?
It is good to be protected by others, but nothing is as good as being strong.
…… Zhao Rou’s innermost evil thoughts were flung nakedly out of the water in this way, turning up dead fish-like belly white, which made her embarrassed, flustered, and hard to hide her shame.
She denied it haphazardly, “Don’t you talk nonsense! I didn’t think about killing anyone!!!”
”It’s good not to have thought about it. The bottom line is a thing that can be constantly pulled down, the more you kill, the more you can’t stop.” Chi Xiaochi spoke with a smile, “Who wouldn’t want to get stronger and then live? I want to, too.”
Zhao Rou has chills all over his body.
The calmer his tone, the more Zhao Rou felt that the man in front of him was unpredictable.
She moved her body a little before she realised that her arms and legs had stiffened.
Zhao Rou wanted to break off the conversation, forgetting that it was even happening in her foreknowledge, and intended to get up and leave, away from Chi Xiaochi.
As soon as she used her left leg to support her body, she was crushed back onto the rock by a huge wave of pressure that came over her head.
Zhao Rou’s cold sweat dripped all over.
…… this power, where does it come from ……
”I haven’t finished my sentence.” Chi Xiaochi’s hands and feet didn’t move as Wen said, “Please sit down.”
Zhao Rou’s cheeks trembled and her tongue was sore from the weight on her shoulders.
She said with difficulty, “You, what exactly is your psychic power ……?”
Chi Xiaochi : “Teleportation. I think that’s what you’re guessing.”
With that, he leaned closer to Zhao Rou: “…… Otherwise, what do you think it would be?”
Zhao Rou, after all, is still a girl who has not yet graduated from high school, how can she stand such mental oppression, her voice shaking along with her body: “What do you …… want to do ……”
Chi Xiaochi replied, “Take all of you who still want to be human and get out alive.”
Zhao Rou looked at him incredulously.
If she had heard that five minutes ago, she would have thought the man was having a demented dream.
But now, after seeing what Chi Xiaochi can do, she is a little more convinced.
”A man who conspires to kill the innocent does not deserve to be called a man.” Chi Xiaochi lifted his hand and nudged the immobile Zhao Rou’s forehead, “If you think ‘living’ itself is more important than ‘being human’, be my guest. All I can do is to make your death as painless as possible.”
……
A fresh breeze passes by and fluttering strands of hair fall.
Zhao Rou’s precognitive journey ended with a violent mental shock.
Zhao Rou, who had looked calm a moment before, was sweating all over his forehead, dripping down the recesses of his nose.
Chi Xiaochi, noticing a difference in the state of the person beside her, turned her head and made eye contact with her for a few seconds.
A few moments later, he pursed his lips and smiled.
”Since you’ve turned on precognition, I don’t need to bother with more words.” Chi Xiaochi cut to the chase, “…… So, what are you going to choose?”
Zhao Rou’s breathing calms down, but he remains silent.
Chi Xiaochi waited patiently for her reply.
After a long time, Zhao Rou stroked his bandaged right knee and asked, “What exactly are your powers?”
Chi Xiaochi says: “A lot. More than you can imagine.”
Zhao Rou had some hope in her heart: “Really?”
”You’ve seen a lot of truths and falsehoods along the way, haven’t you?” Chi Xiaochi said, “Anything I say could be a lie. How about seeing what I would do?”
Zhao Rou bowed his head.
…… Yeah.
He saved her when he knew that by killing the shifter, he would have a rapid increase in his abilities, yet he did not kill himself while he was wounded and weak.
This alone gives a little credence to the man in front of him and to what he says.
…… is still scary though is all.
Chi Xiaochi didn’t care what she was making up in her mind, she raised her hand and shook it at her.
Zhao Rou hesitated, but took his hand.
Chi Xiaochi said, “Welcome to the team.”
When he heard this, Zhao Rou thought of the question he had just asked Chi Xiaochi in his precognition and found it amusing.
That Chi Jiangyu, despite his skill, could now see who was the real brains behind the team.
She asked that question again, “Who is your leader?”
To my surprise, the man in front of me naturally pointed to Lou Ying’s back: “It’s my brother.”
Zhao Rou was inevitably puzzled: “Isn’t …… you? I thought-”
Chi Xiaochi laughs and replies, “Because he can control me.”
Once he had answered, Chi Xiaochi put the mantis in his hands on the rocks, patted the lime from his hands and left Zhao Rou, who was contemplating life, in front of a steaming pot of soup, serving a large bowl of fresh silver needlefish and pouring a diced beef-filled meat sauce on top.
Lou Ying, who had listened to everything in his head, was sweetened by his last, lighter words and spoke with a smile in her voice: “I thought you would talk to her properly.”
Chi Xiaochi adds to his bowl of soup: “I’ve got a good attitude. The purpose was achieved too.”
Lou Ying : “I’m afraid she won’t trust us very much now.”
”It’s for the best. Trust is the easiest thing to disintegrate, especially in a life-and-death situation like this.” Chi Xiaochi pinches his earlobe with red-hot fingers to cool it down, “I don’t need them to feel reassured. Reassurance is a paralysing drug, it’s useless. I just need to make them feel fear.”
Lou Ying smiles.
…… This is Chi Xiaochi style through and through.
Chi Xiaochi took a large sip of the soup, the freshness tingling the taste buds all the way down to the stomach, comforting enough to call out a long sigh of relief.
He tapped his chopsticks on the rim of the pot, “It’s reunion time. Let’s all eat.”
Before the words could be said, Lou Ying touched his elbow, signalling him to look up.
Chi Xiaochi followed the direction he gestured and raised his eyebrows.
…… A young man with a crew cut tying his hands with wicker and holding them high above his head appears in the distance and steps towards them with a clear purpose.
All four men present dropped what they were each holding and alerted.
Zhao Rou, who had just been attacked, was most sensitive and asked in a sharp voice from a distance, “Who are you? Stop!”
Upon hearing the questioning, the youth stood still at a distance of fifty metres from them.
”My name is Dan Shuang. 24 years old. My ability is to disarm anything held in another person’s hand, chopsticks, cups, weapons-”
After briefly introducing himself, he asked aloud, “…… may I join you?”