Chapter 170 - Challenge
Chapter 170 - Challenge
translator: xiin
editors: apricot & juurensha
Wu Jin stilled.
Inside the courtyard, the young hostess who’d been waiting for them for a long time warmly welcomed the two guests.
Lisa Alfaso was around 17 or 18 years old and bore a slight resemblance to Professor Alfaso. She had a cute blush on her cheeks and was wearing a light skirt. Her lively red hair was tied up at the back of her head.
When stepping inside, Wei Shi held Wu Jin’s hand, which was trembling slightly from emotional excitement.
Lisa’s house was warm and simple, and the young girl was both nervous and excited, “Thank you for coming! It was only yesterday that Brother Wei Yan sent me a message saying that he was busy this month and couldn’t come visit, which was why he’d asked friends to visit in his stead. It must’ve been troublesome for you guys...”
On the wall, there were posters of Wei Yan, the Crosson Show’s official fan merchandise, and Zuo Botang’s little hand gadgets.
This young girl was clearly a loyal survival show fan.
“Thank you for taking care of Brother Wei Yan.” Lisa spoke sincerely, “Big brother is a little stuffy, and before he went to the Crosson Show, I was worried that he wouldn’t make any friends.”
It was just that Lisa would blush every time she looked at her two guests.
There were photos on the wall of the girl as she grew up from childhood to adulthood.
First, there were pictures of the whole family, then only Lisa and her grandfather, and finally, only Lisa herself.
Wu Jin looked at Lisa’s grandfather in the photos, the old man with white hair, and stood there in a daze for a long time.
Wei Shi gestured for him to look at the recent photos.
Wei Yan, along with several other genetically modified people of the same age, were in the photo with Lisa.
As the girl poured them tea, Wei Shi spoke in a low voice, “She’s doing well. Although the research institute withheld Professor Alfaso’s pension, Wei Shi has been subsidizing her all these years.”
Lisa came out of the kitchen, and her eyes shone as she looked at them. After watching so many episodes of the Crosson Show, the living God Wei and Little Witch were standing in front of her! Her heart almost beat out of her throat.
Wei Shi handed the bag to Wu Jin and encouraged him with his eyes.
He watched Wu Jin give the gift to Lisa.
In the sunny courtyard, the atmosphere soon became lively.
Lisa smiled non-stop, asking question after question like a curious darling. Wu Jin smiled and told her about the Crosson Show, the program producer, Jingyi, and Caesar. Occasionally, when his memory was fuzzy, he would shoot a look to the side, and Wei Shi would immediately fill in the blanks calmly.
Before leaving, Wu Jin asked Lisa for her communication number.
When the suspension car arrived, Lisa finally turned red. It was as though she’d summoned up all her courage as she asked casually, “You guys... you cooperate really well in the elimination matches...”
Lisa racked her brains to vaguely express her support for the Scarf CP, but didn’t dare to show her love for KY in front of the actual people involved.
Wu Jin’s small round face was wreathed in smiles.
“Thank you.” Then, he expressed, “We still have to work on it; we only picked up our license last week.”
Lisa: “......”
Lisa: “!!!” Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
The suspension car drove to a nearby cemetery.
There were large stretches of flower fields by the roadside, and the early spring breeze was warm and dizzying.
The two of them got out of the car, and Wei Shi brought out a bouquet from the back seat.
There were little, white, star-like flowers beside Professor Alfaso’s tombstone that were exactly the same as the wild flowers on the fence of Lisa’s yard.
Wu Jin offered the bouquet to the professor.
A line of small text was engraved into the tombstone. Pula Alfaso (2942~3018).
The youth knelt on the cold stone bricks of the cemetery and whispered to the old professor’s tombstone.
Wei Shi watched on from nearby.
Until Wu Jin stood up.
He looked back at the tombstone beneath the warm sun, then took hold of Wu Jin’s cold shoulders.
Alfaso had participated in numerous R-Code projects in his life, but it was only in his later years that he could give Wu Jin, Wei Yan, and even Shao Yu, the greatest blessing.
Wei Shi paid a solemn tribute to the professor’s tombstone.
“Thank you.”
The two people disappeared into the suspension car.
Some people’s stories were over, while others were still continuing on.
Inside the flower yard, Lisa excitedly called Wei Yan to express her thanks. She once again reminded Wei Yan to &#k2018;make more friends and remember to share the local specialties that she’d sent over’. At the same time, Lisa suddenly received a congratulatory message from her school.
Lisa had received a targeted scholarship from the ‘Floating Education Society’ due to her excellent performance in biology in the previous academic year, and had received a special invitation to participate in summer training at her dream school.
Federal Research Institute.
Arjun was rummaging through the cabinet and communicating with Researcher Song, “Is this enough material? I can’t crack the surveillance––”
Researcher Song: “Don’t you know to remove the monitoring chip and bring it back? Ah? Fine, it’s basically enough!”
Arjun wondered, “Can this thing really help overturn that professor’s case?”
Researcher Song said, “Brother Wei said to sell these directly to the opposition parties! The Federal ruling party has been reelected for 12 years straight, and the opposition parties would love to see such a scandal. Well, they probably won’t just clamor to overturn the case, they’ll even try to make the professor a hero! What do you understand?!”
Floating Tower, one room apart.
Zhou Nan was supervising the preparation of a drug test.
The subject was a prisoner who’d just been released from heavy security. It was a genetically modified person with a S-level physique.
The subject was beautiful, but his eyes were blank.
“If you feel uncomfortable, you can interrupt me at any time.” Zhou Nan said, “I will be performing a series of drug experiments that will continue for a long time into the future. Remember, my goal isn’t to destroy your body, but to remove the emotional lock under the safest possible circumstances and extend this treatment to every genetically modified subject.”
The subject nodded slowly.
He looked at the prison uniform that he hadn’t yet changed out of and asked suddenly, “I’m a felon. Is this my punishment?”
Zhou Nan shook his head and handed him his medical ID, “It’s a new life.”
Outside.
Someone sighed emotionally, “Brother Wei handed Mr. Wu a gun and the N-type memory agent at the same time and asked him to choose Shao Yu’s ending. Mr. Wu is really soft hearted.”
Researcher Song shook his head, “Little Witch said that a Shao Yu who is still alive is the best drug receptor, and he can save more people that way.”
On the other side of the door.
Zhou Nan looked at Shao Yu who had now changed into a patient’s hospital gown.
Nobody was absolutely good or absolutely evil. Shao Yu had taken care of Wu Jin when he was young, then kidnapped Wu Jin when he became an adult. However, it was undeniable that without him, there would be no Wu Jin in the scabbard project.
Wu Jin was now returning a new life back to him.
At the start, Shao Yu had taken away hundreds of mind calming agents from the genetically modified people of Floating City. Now, it was up to him to test their drugs.
Shao Yu sat on the bed and looked out the window silently. He could see the sunlight, the lawn, the mist, and the flamingos around Floating City.
“Mister, do you have a pen and some paper?” He suddenly asked.
Zhou Nan handed it to him.
Shao Yu wrote down a line of words on the paper. Because his memories had been emptied out by the N-type memory agent, his writing started off sluggish, then slowly grew smooth.
––“Touch the feathers of the flamingo on the lawn.”
Zhou Nan: “What are you writing?”
Shao Yu spoke slowly, “Making a wish list.”
Zhou Nan smiled, “Oh. When the trial is successful, you can go out and cross them out one by one.”
Blue planet, Crosson base.
According to the original plan, Wu Jin should have gone back to the White Moonlight Entertainment building first––
However, the Crosson Show program producer had moved the schedule two hours ahead.
Wu Jin plopped out of the car.
All 89 trainees of the Crosson Show had already gathered at the square of the base, except for the big boss who was missing once again.
The program producer was bleating with a loudspeaker, “What’s the most important thing in the 31st century?”
The voices beneath the stage were enthusiastic, “Talent!”, “The trophy!”, “The champion!”, “The program producer!”, “Instructor Ying!”
The program producer slapped the table, “Wrong!”
Wu Jin shuttled through the crowd with much difficulty and was startled by the sound coming from the loudspeaker.
Zoe stood at the back of the group and saw a head with fluffy small curls popping out somewhere in the crowd before suddenly falling out of sight again.
Wu Jin was less than 1.8 meters. When he was tossed in amongst the crowd of trainees, he couldn’t be seen at all.
Zoe’s expression sank, and he headed towards Wu Jin.
A few minutes later, he plucked out Wu Jin from the crowd.
Zoe solemnly gestured for Wu Jin to explain himself.
Wu Jin happily showed off his marriage certificate.
The program producer: “Wrong! The most important thing in the 31st century is traffic! What is traffic? It’s explosive topics that catch the audience’s attention! In the past month, I’ve been! Extremely! Disappointed! In! Your! Gossip! Traffic!”
Zoe’s expression was livid as he stared at the marriage certificate.
Wu Jin clenched his fist to express that he was serious and would work hard to shoulder his responsibility as the head of the family.
The program producer yelled, “Last month, only 72% of the contestants took the initiative to make Star Blog posts! Only 25% of the players spread gossip!”
Wu Jin looked at the captain with bright eyes.
Zoe found it difficult to speak, “... Let me get over it.”
Then, he turned to Wen Lin and complained angrily, “What gives him the right to marry Little Witch?! He’s a poor bachelor with nothing! It’s like he obtained Little Witch for nothing! This man isn’t even signed to a team! Two days ago, I went to our manager to ask for a special trainee position and sent Contestant Wei a message. Guess what he said??”
“He’s going to make. His. Own. Battle. Team!”
“He’s a trainee, yet he wants to form his own team? That’s just as unreliable as a college student who borrowed 4 million in internet loans to start a business and speculate in virtual currency!”
Wen Lin: “Turn around and take a look.”
Zoe: “Turn around? I’m not the one who is insisting on going my own way, it’s Little Witch who needs to look––”
Wen Lin helped Zoe turn his face despite the stiffness of his neck.
Zoe looked back.
The Crosson program producer was currently shooting looks at Zoe from across the crowd.
The program producer: “Here, we should focus on criticizing the White Moonlight team! Their overall traffic flow is 60% lower than it was a month ago! What kind of effort is this? Fans who were following White Moonlight 30 days ago have already fallen in love with a new little brother today! Girls who used to put posters of Zoe at the head of their beds will chase after other trainees and shout ‘other trainees are so handsome’ today!”
“The White Moonlight team should count for yourselves, the sixth round of elimination matches is about to start, and how many Star Blog posts have you sent out?!”
Zoe: “......”
The program producer was heartbroken, “Alright, learn from Little Thin and Jingyi. The day after tomorrow, before the game starts, you have to have come up with a small conversation topic!”
On stage, the program producer finally got to the point.
The little editors shuttled through the crowd, handing out tickets to the players.
The program producer: “The next elimination match is a fixed map, an amusement theme park. There are no tactics to teach. If you have any questions, ask the two instructors. At 4PM, everyone will gather together for a visit to the amusement park closest to our base... meeting over, disperse!”
Zoe could only assume his responsibilities as a team leader and find Instructor Ying Xiangxiang to consult her about Star Blog marketing after the meeting was over.
Instructor Ying spoke darkly, “Sell an act.”
Zoe returned to the team. After discussing it with Wen Lin, Zoe hauled back the Caesar who was playing with Qin Jinbao and the Little Witch who was playing with Ming Yao, “Instructor Ying didn’t put on makeup today and looks quite haggard... well, let’s hold a tactical meeting at noon to discuss the teams for the next elimination round as well as the personnel arrangements...”
After eating.
The White Moonlight team all sat in a line.
Zoe was brainstorming with the group, “Everyone to discuss: what can we use as a hot topic for fans.”
Wu Jin: “I’m marri––”
Zoe interrupted quickly, “Skip Little Witch. Next one, Caesar.”
Caesar hollered, “Zoe, why aren’t you letting Little Witch finish speaking! Oh, how about how I’ve lost weight recently...”
Zoe rejected it, “No good. We’ve always claimed that your weight remained the same.”
After some discussion, Zoe finally decided to set up a ‘White Moonlight’s close knit family’ survival show men’s group design.
As for the teams for the competition.
Zoe’s expression gradually grew serious, “The sixth elimination match is 90 into 50. The elimination rate is 45%.”
“The sixth elimination round is the last one that allows ‘selecting your own teammates’. Trainees form teams in pairs and will qualify together. My idea is for us to team up with stability in mind and ensure that our qualifying spots are secured.”
The projection opened up with a swish, and the Crosson’s individual player rankings were displayed.
Wei Yan was in first place. Due to his performance in the Palace of Versailles, Wei Shi’s score had surpassed all other players and he’d soared to second place. Thin Fire was in fourth place, and in the White Moonlight team, Caesar was ranked highest, in 5th place.
Compared with their usual ranking positions, Wu Jin, Zoe, Wen Lin, and Jingyi’s ‘estimated ranking’ positions had dropped slightly.
“The individual rankings are particularly focused on individual combat level.” Zoe explained, “The strength of sniper, command, and support positions are reduced in individual combat environments, while the support and scouting positions have an advantage. The ranking changes are reasonable.”
“In this round of the competition, I hope that everyone can strive to choose a teammate that can give them the highest probability of winning.”
The projection changed. The doubles (two person team) rankings were now on display.
Wu Jin and Wei Shi’s team combination was ranked second, while Jingyi’s Double C was ranked first. Wen Lin and Zoe were ranked fourth. Using Jingyi as an example, the two trainees may not be ranked high when split apart in the individual rankings, but they couldn’t be underestimated after they’d formed a team.
The results were clear.
Zoe: “I’ll team up with Wen Lin. Little Witch––”
Wu Jin nodded, “I’ve already talked to Brother Wei about it. It’s all set!”
Zoe sighed with relief, “Alright. Then, there’s only Caesar left.”
Caesar, who’d suddenly been released into the wild, didn’t mind at all, “No problem! I’m going to go find my brother!”
Before the meeting dispersed, Zoe finally pointed out the details of the fixed map for the next elimination match.
“The map is an amusement park, but the competition system and rules are changeable.”
“The last time this map was picked, the theme was a thriller themed competition where amusement rides broke down.”
“The time before that, the theme was to find the boy in bloody clothes in the amusement park.”
“And even before that, there were miniature toy versions of the facilities that could remotely control the amusement rides. The trainees who’d grabbed the ‘pirate ship’ toy were able to change the power of the swing and angle, directly eliminating 12 opponents by throwing them straight off the ship.”
“Nobody will know the real ‘rules’ and ‘theme’ until the game starts.”
Afternoon.
The second last sunset before the game.
Wu Jin was searching up information for the ‘fixed map’ on his terminal while holding the amusement park ticket and waiting for the program group’s suspension bus to arrive.
Ming Yao arrived with a bag of snacks on his back. He was laughing loudly, “How come you’re like a child waiting for an outing!”
He turned to look at Caesar and started laughing again.
Zoe’s short video ‘White Moonlight is a tight-knit family’ had been released on the Star Blog.
Wu Jin and Wen Lin pretended to take a nap, while Zoe and Caesar took turns entering through the door, covering up their teammates in a brotherly manner.
The scrolling comments when Zoe entered the door: The captain is so warm and caring aahhhhh!
Caesar went inside to see Wu Jin and came back out, then went to see Wu Jin and came back out. The scrolling comments: Heeheehee, checking to see if my grain reserve is still there! I’ll eat this one today, and that one tomorrow!
Not far from where Wu Jin and Ming Yao were standing, Caesar, who was also waiting for the bus, was eating the snacks Red had brought over for the sake of picking up his brother.
Ming Yao squinted at Wu Jin and said, “I heard that the Scarf CP formed a team?”
Wu Jin nodded happily.
Ming Yao coughed. He was full of lofty thoughts and energy, “I want to represent Jingyi’s Double C and challenge your Scarf CP!”
Wu Jin was dazed.
At that moment, the whistle sounded and the trainees gathered together.
The bus to the amusement park was arriving.
90 trainees ran over, and the air was filled with the joy of going to the amusement park.
Ming Yao was still especially arrogant, “Do you dare accept?!”
Wu Jin was ambitious, “Yes!”
Juurensha: I....somehow feel bad for Shao Yu even though I don’t want to??? Gdi. At least the amusement park sounds kind of cute.
xiin: don’t quite understand why Zoe’s so ok with WJ & WS teaming up for the next round when he’s so freaked out about the marriage... hmm~