Chapter 209 - Declaration of War
Chapter 209 - Declaration of War
translator: xiin
editors: apricot & juurensha
Wu Jin was stunned.
The ghost was still observing them from the edge of the toilet stall. Wu Jin’s brain hadn’t reacted yet when he jumped up to open the door for the big boss out of conditioned reflex, “I was wear-wear-wearing them, I’ve always been wearing them...”
Amidst the sound of flushing water, he could see Wei Shi stab his blade straight in, pushing open the door ferociously!
Several mini cameras caught every second of this rapidly changing situation!
In the Crosson Show live broadcast room. The scrolling comments fell into a strange silence, then suddenly boiled up and created huge waves.
“??? I’m new here, I don’t understand. What’s the key point here?! At this time, shouldn’t he say, ‘be careful, stand behind me’, ‘run quickly, I’ll protect you’––God Wei, why are you so concerned about whether or not Little Witch was wearing pants?!”
“Hahahahahaha-hic! Little Witch was so scared. Just now, he was fine when he saw the female ghost, but now, oh ho! He doesn’t know where to put those little hands of his!”
In a non-public place, the Scarf girls were also caught off guard. They then filled the screen with a series of shouts and howls:
“Ahhhhhh Scarf is real!!! Holy shit, Brother Wei’s possessiveness, is he even rushing in to examine him personally?? <Nobody can touch my wife>, today is a day where I’m getting dizzy watching the live broadcast!”
“Begging for the female ghost’s camera perspective! @program team, can you let me be the one lying up there!”
“Report!!! ––God Wei rushed inside!”
The Scarf girls instantly grew over-excited.
In a flash, the Crosson Show live broadcast room had attracted countless viewers who quickly input their identity chips and verified their legal age.
Even Blood Pigeon was startled. He then suddenly realized, “The real life version of <Red Dance Shoes> is rated as bloody and violent, PG-12 and above. Now it seems that the audience is very enthusiastic about ghost horror films.”
Ying Xiangxiang: “......” You’re overthinking it. They just want to see Contestant Wu and Contestant Wei messing around in the bathroom.
However, the audience’s enthusiasm obviously also prompted Instructor Blood Pigeon’s own enthusiasm.
Blood Pigeon took over the microphone and sighed emotionally, “I can see a very simple, deep friendship between the two contestants. Most of the time, allies and spectators only care about your rank in the game, while only true brothers will care about your real situation and physical condition...”
In the live broadcast screen.
Wei Shi crowded into Wu Jin’s toilet compartment, without leaving any room for resistance. His eyes were cold and displeased as they first swept past the female ghost, then circled back around. Only when he saw that Wu Jin was still well dressed did his aura restrain itself slightly.
Wu Jin could only flush again as a cover. His small, round face beneath the mask was foolishly stupefied, “Brother Wei, I didn’t... didn’t...” Didn’t take off my pants...
Wei Shi’s gaze moved down.
Wu Jin: “......”
Wu Jin: “!!!” Holy shit, this look from behind the camera, why did it seem a little wrong!
The clean, small bathroom stall immediately became crowded.
Wei Shi’s presence was very strong. Wu Jin had no choice but to strategically retreat. The ghost hanging over the left partition wall seemed boneless, and her pale head continued to lean towards Wu Jin. Her neck and spine bent 180 degrees, practically folding up, and her long, fishy hair seemed to be about to land on Wu Jin’s cheek––
Wu Jin pushed the ghost to the side and cleverly came up with an excuse, “It’s a little crowded with her here.”
The female ghost narrowed her eyes.
The two people were standing at different corners. Wu Jin pulled away from the ghost and came closer to Wei Shi, their breaths tangling together hotly.
Wu Jin spoke sincerely, “The two of us are a little crowded.” Then, he opened the door in the big boss’s stead.
Wei Shi was expressionless, “You go out first.”
The female ghost’s pale knuckles trembled with anger.
There was a bang as Wu Jin pushed open the stall door and went out, leaving the big boss inside on his own. Wu Jin thought back and forth and felt that it wasn’t right. The rainstorm outside the window hadn’t let up, and the water vapor in the air was dense. Inside the compartment, there was a single man and lonely woman; Brother Wei’s approximately 190cm height and figure, and the wriggling female ghost formed a particularly cute height difference––
Wu Jin knocked on the door again and poked his head in, “Brother Wei, how about I go in and you go out? Ah!”
On the compartment door panel, the <Red Dance Shoes> female lead who’d been ignored for a long time and couldn’t bear it anymore suddenly burst out!
The female ghost raised up her head abruptly, her pale skin as strangely blue as it had been in the video. Her bloody mouth opened soundlessly, and her hands stretched out along the wall. Her fingertips that had no nails, flesh, or blood clawed at Wei Shi, who was closest!
Wu Jin’s eyes opened wide as he stared.
The blood in his entire body suddenly boiled up, adrenaline surged, and Wu Jin entered his battle state instantly!
In the Crosson Show live broadcast room, Instructor Ying Xiangxiang quickly took over the mic, “The ghost girl made a move! Contestant Wei Shi is currently the first aggro target. If Contestant Wu has a long-range attack weapon, his current position would give him a very favorable opportunity. Unfortunately&#k2013;&#k2013;”
In the camera, against everyone’s expectations, Wu Jin didn’t consider providing support for Wei Shi at all.
The youth retreated and stepped back from the stall door. He turned on the two faucets to cover up the noise of fighting, then ran into the half open stall to the far left––
Ying Xiangxiang’s mouth dropped open.
That was the stall where the ghost was.
At the top of the partition, the female ghost’s entire body had to dive into the middle compartment in order to attack Wei Shi. When Wu Jin suddenly broke in from behind her, he tugged at this little sister’s two severed legs––
The ghost squealed and was forced back by Wu Jin’s actions!
The situation in the bathroom changed again! The youth dragged the ghost back into the stall , then moved as fast as electricity, raising up his knee as his hands caught the ghost’s arm. His knee slammed into the ghost’s back, pushing her hard against the closed toilet cover.
Wu Jin finally raised his chin.
The most standard melee combat technique.
Beneath his knee, the plastic cover was being pressed down by Wu Jin and the ghost. The combined force was too much, and the cover split with a ‘creak’.
There was an uproar off-site!
Ying Xiangxiang turned to Blood Pigeon, “Little Witch and Contestant Wei formed a team, but I remember that in the previous round, the main DPS position was always given to Contestant Wei? This time, why is it Little Witch...”
Blood Pigeon nodded. His gaze held appreciation, “The main DPS position is just a formality. In a survival show team, once it comes to resources and specialization, there is a difference in damage dealers and support players. However, this map doesn’t consume resources. Therefore, the most perfect two person team is a dual core operation where either player can be the c-position at any time.”
On the camera, Wu Jin breathed out lightly.
The fingers that were wrapped around the female ghost’s arm felt cold and sticky. According to the agreement he and the big boss had made prior to the competition––this competition would be the last ‘training match’ between him and the big boss.
He wouldn’t interfere too much during the battles and wouldn’t prompt him with clues. For no other reason, then because after this round, regardless of whether it was the Crosson Show debut game or the future Star League, Stardust Cup, or other competitions, Wu Jin would be playing in all of them alone.
From behind him, the big boss pushed open the stall door.
Wu Jin bowed his head slightly and wanted to communicate with the ghost, but his eyes stilled briefly when he started observing her carefully.
Wu Jin’s gaze hovered around the contours of the ghost’s face.
The female ghost NPC was undoubtedly an AI from the program group. It was a fierce ghost who’d had its legs cut off and wandered around in the rain. The skin of her arm showed obvious traces of robot silicone to the touch, and her body temperature was cold. However, her face was covered with a layer of fake skin––
The female ghost’s twisted limbs moved slightly.
Wu Jin paused.
The female ghost’s head was facing down; she was flailing slightly, and her limbs were twisted strangely. In the next second, the ghost’s flexible joints rotated 180 degrees, the downward facing head turned upwards without warning, and the arms held down flipped up––
The ghost opened its mouth and aimed at Wu Jin again.
Wu Jin: “!!” It didn’t make any sense!
The AI ghost was indomitable. Wu Jin couldn’t help it and retreated repeatedly, until the ghost suddenly came out from the stall!
Wei Shi didn’t hesitate to pull out the dagger, attacking directly and forcing the female ghost back. The two people instantly began to fight side by side. Wu Jin gasped for breath and pulled out a dagger. His eyes flashed around quickly, sweeping through the bathroom.
This wasn’t right.
Nearly eight minutes had passed since the two of them began their 10 minute duty shift. The female ghost’s fighting effectiveness was equivalent to that of an A-class trainee, but it was extremely difficult to be a perpetual combat machine. Since the King of Hearts was able to fight against the female ghost and even eliminate another player during the fight, things definitely weren’t as simple as they seemed.
At this time, there was blood everywhere in the bathroom. Some was left from previous fights, and some of it was fresh, having come from the female ghost’s severed legs––
Wu Jin froze on the spot.
All of the blood ended near the sink.
“Sink!” Wu Jin spoke concisely and pulled the big boss towards the sink.
The female ghost’s expression changed abruptly. She twisted in the air, wanting to block the two people’s way. However, Wu Jin’s actions were faster, and he flicked water at her at top speed with both hands!
There was no response.
As expected, the ghost came to a stop one meter away from the sink and couldn’t come any closer despite her flailing teeth and claws.
Wu Jin’s thoughts moved as fast as lightning.
20 minutes ago, the King of Hearts had undoubtedly been hiding in the safe zone near the sink. The ghost couldn’t get within range of the sink. What she was afraid of wasn’t the water, nor the white tiles that covered the bathroom. What was more, when he and the big boss encountered the ghost in the corridor, the ghost had been overhead, and her wound had splashed blood onto the wall. Why would she choose to run away there instead of through the hallway close to the bathroom, the one that was covered with mirrors––
Wu Jin suddenly turned back.
On the wall above the sink, an old yellow mirror reflected him and the big boss directly back at them.
There was no ghost in the mirror.
“––Mirror.” Wu Jin spoke softly.
Wei Shi nodded.
No need to say more.
In the next moment, they both stepped out of the one meter circumference safe zone around beside the sink. Wu Jin jumped straight up and grabbed the ghost’s arm, pulling it towards the mirror. The female ghost’s pale face showed a trace of pain and fear, and she struggled to retreat!
Wu Jin finally breathed out lightly.
Mirror.
The binding rule for the ghost in the red dance shoes was the mirror. Although this had nothing to do with the red dance shoes, and Wu Jin couldn’t figure out why the girl whose legs had been cut off was afraid of mirrors, meaningless rules rarely appeared in survival shows––
But, this was the rule.
Wu Jin opened his mouth and yelled in a loud voice, “Ahhhhhhh––”
The players on the other side of the thick wooden door, who’d been waiting for a long time, were shocked. They kicked open the door and charged in. The one in the lead was Caesar, “! It’s really a ghost! What the hell? It’s not a lolita?”
Inside the door, Wei Shi was still struggling with the female ghost, while Wu Jin seemed to be running over to try and get help.
However, as soon as the crowd appeared, the ghost turned and escaped out of the window without a trace of hesitation. She only glanced at the players with an expression of resentment on her miserably pale cheeks before disappearing completely.
The crowd instantaneously burst out into whispers.
The ghost’s face and pupils were really terrible, but Caesar’s ally, that support player named Yu Chu, soon appeased everyone gently, “At least it proved one point.”
“She won’t show up in crowded places. Tonight, everyone will stay together and not go out alone...”
Wu Jin’s vision passed through the crowd, sweeping over the King of Hearts who was disguised as ‘trainee September’.
The King of Hearts seemed to sense it.
However, Wu Jin was extremely calm. After glancing over the King of Hearts, he went on to look at trainee A, B, and C...
Caesar snuck in closer, “Why did you flush the toilet so many times.”
Wu Jin’s eyes opened wide, “What!”
Caesar lowered his voice and criticized, “Have you been eating too much spicy food recently!! This is a competition! Forget it, I won’t tell your captain.”
Wu Jin: “.....!!!”
The noise in the bathroom finally quieted down. Wu Jin felt that Yu Chu was simply a prodigy; he’d even come up with a way to have everyone take numbers and line up to go to the toilet. They gathered together into groups of six and went to the bathroom together to prevent being stared at by the female ghost. The principle was similar to that of girls going to the toilet hand in hand between classes.
However, Wu Jin quickly shifted his attention elsewhere.
In order to deal with the King of Hearts, he needed to decide on a plan and move based on it.
It continued to rain heavily outside the window. Taking advantage of the time before the lights went out, Wu Jin quickly did a sweep through the entire training building.
There were only two floors. Upstairs held the dormitories, and the bottom floor was the training room. A small portion of the corridors held mirrors, and other than the ‘Red Dance Shoes’ group, the Brothers Grimm and Wilde’s fairy tale script groups had been scattered in their respective training buildings and were separated from them by the downpour.
Wu Jin could only see the outline of a small building nearby through the weak light through the rain when he opened the window.
Without exception, the area outside the small building was surrounded by a large stretch of red roses.
They were reflected in the mirror in the distant training room.
Their wrist watches vibrated slightly.
There was only 10 minutes to go before the trainees were to gather together. Clips from that day’s activities would be broadcast to the audience.
On their wrist watches, there were 52 survivors left.
Wu Jin poked at the mirror with his fingers, then went back to join the team with the big boss.
The AI director stood in the center of the training room, surrounded by a total of 21 trainees; the other three were missing. The King of Hearts was mixed in with the crowd, along with the big group that was making their way back from the bathroom. He hadn’t found time to kill again.
Wu Jin looked around at the contestants in the same script group.
Anyone who could advance from 100 into 60 had to be capable.
At this time, the <Red Dance Shoes> that had been on repeat on the TV was finally paused. The director first expressed the program group’s dissatisfaction; because the rehearsal progress for the ‘Red Dance Shoes’ group had come to a standstill, the 21 person camera shot editing in this issue would only account for 1/5th of the total length of the episode, and there would be no way for them to obtain longer screen time in order to canvas votes from the audience.
However, before the broadcast, contestants had another chance to modify these ‘clips’.
The purpose of the playing cards that had been issued before finally came to light. ‘Hearts’ cards could control public opinion on the forums, while spades could increase players’ appearance time. Clubs could cut off any segment of the program. The diamond signified wealth, and players who held diamond cards could increase votes for themselves. Jokers had no effect.
The announcement of the rules caused a small stir amongst the lower ranked players. Those in the upper ranks obviously didn’t care.
Wu Jin soon stopped caring as well.
The essence of the survival show was focused around survival and changing skins. The card games were just harmless, innate embellishments.
Even so, for players who were hovering at the passing line, the cards were equivalent to a final ‘savior’ that could save them from elimination––after the AI announced that they could now choose to hand in their cards if they wished, some trainees secretly ‘handed in’ their cards through their wrist watches.
A few minutes later, the episode finally aired.
For a time, the trainees who’d all been fighting to the death now all sat together like students around the screen.
Wu Jin sat next to the big boss.
He’d actually never seen a movie seriously with the big boss before!!!
Even if this ‘movie’ was actually a talent show episode.
In the current episode, clips from the other two classes began to play.
“The vocals group is performing Wilde’s <Nightingale and The Rose>. The comprehensive group has Brothers Grimm’s <Snow White>.” Wu Jin mused out loud in a low voice.
Wu Jin had no deep impressions of <Nightingale and The Rose>. It seemed that in the original story, the nightingale had stabbed thorns through its chest and created the world’s most beautiful red roses by watering them with blood.
The episode continued on to the <Red Dance Shoes> group.
There was less than 12 minutes of camera time, but they tried valiantly to show all the trainees in the group, highlighting character designs and key points––
Wu Jin stilled abruptly.
The crowd gradually grew noisier, and more than one person looked back towards Wu Jin.
This trainee, ‘Leica’, who’d tried all possible means to get enough camera time, hadn’t shown up in the video clips at all.
Trainee Leica’s real time support rankings dropped down from 24 to 36.
He was in a precarious position for the next round.
Juurensha: Hmmmm did the King of Hearts cut all his scenes?