Chapter 38#
Emerging from the illusion gate, Zhao Xing opened his eyes and found himself sinking at the bottom of the lake.
Illuminated by the flashlight that had fallen and rolled nearby, the lakebed looked serene and peaceful. Water plants swayed gently with the current, but behind them, the mysterious stone gate was gone.
It was as if Zhao Xing had only dreamed here.
Suddenly reminded of something, he lowered his head, quickly opened his belt, and saw the four items the Flower Spirit had given him inside.
Zhao Xing breathed a sigh of relief.
At least it wasn’t just a dream.
He picked up the flashlight, stretched his somewhat stiff limbs, and swam forcefully upward.
Just then, a dark figure swam swiftly toward him.
Backlit, the figure was tightly wrapped, its silhouette indistinct.
…Luo Luo?
Zhao Xing froze.
When the person drew closer, revealing his new-style black hood and the number stamped in red on his clothing, Zhao Xing realized he had been mistaken.
It was D066, not Luo Mingshan.
Right, how could it be Luo Mingshan?
That absurd talk from the Flower Spirit must have clouded his mind.
But—why was D066 here?
Before Zhao Xing could ask, D066 suddenly lunged forward and, without warning, wrapped his arms tightly around Zhao Xing.
In the boundless lake, amid the surging currents and the darting fish and water plants, every sound became muffled and indistinct.
Yet Zhao Xing’s exceptionally sharp right ear still clearly caught D066’s heavy breathing and gasping beneath the full-face hood, along with the violent pounding of his heart.
D066’s arms tightened inch by inch, pressing with such force it seemed he wanted to embed Zhao Xing into himself, like he had found a long-lost treasure.
Zhao Xing was stunned. His body stiffened as he leaned forward slightly, pressing his mouth near D066’s right ear, and asked, “D066? Why are you here?”
D066 gave no reaction, as if he hadn’t heard a thing.
Zhao Xing pushed him again.
D066’s breathing hitched for a moment, then he slowly released Zhao Xing.
Zhao Xing repeated, “How did you find me here? Did you know I was here?”
D066’s voice was hoarse. “You’ve been missing for two days, and I only just found out. Where did you go? Are you hurt?”
Zhao Xing was shocked.
Two days?!
Was the time flow in the illusion the same as outside?
No wonder his stomach ached—he was starving.
He quickly replied, “I’m not hurt, I’m fine… Let’s talk on the surface.”
Although their clothes were waterproof and breathable and didn’t hinder speech, the underwater world with face masks made voices muffled and indistinct.
—Was that why D066 hadn’t heard him when he leaned close and spoke into his ear just now?
D066 touched his now noticeably long hair inside the hood and didn’t move. “I… I’m not really suited to go out.”
Ah, right.
Zhao Xing remembered—D066 was still being hunted across the island. It wasn’t safe for him to show himself.
So Zhao Xing explained right there, “I disappeared because I triggered a hidden quest and entered some kind of Flower Spirit’s illusion. I just got out, and I got a lot of rewards too.”
As he spoke, Zhao Xing pulled out the items the Flower Spirit had given him from his belt, intending to share them with D066. “These Illusion Pearls are great for escaping—take some. And this… this is amazing—it can temporarily copy a Blue Star person’s ability. I think you’ll need it. And this, the True Sight Leaf, lets you see through things—you can use it for the android mission—”
D066 interrupted him. “I don’t need them.”
Zhao Xing frowned, his voice turning cold. “You want me to feel guilty every time I think of you, don’t you? Like I’m the worst person alive?”
D066 was taken aback.
Then, without a word, he quietly took two Illusion Pearls from Zhao Xing. “I’ll just take these.”
He paused, then explained, “Keep the True Sight Leaf. I’ve been expelled from the contestant group—I’m a wanted fugitive. I don’t qualify to complete the mission. As for the fruit that temporarily copies Blue Star abilities, it’s not very useful to me. Most Blue Star people here are no match for me anyway; I don’t need their abilities.”
Though it sounded a bit arrogant, Zhao Xing knew D066 was telling the truth. So he put the rest away. “You’ve been hunted across the island for two days. Are you okay?”
D066 replied, “No one has found me yet in these two days.”
Zhao Xing sighed in relief. “Good.”
D066 glanced up at the lake’s surface, his voice lowering. “It’s almost time. I need to go.”
Zhao Xing asked, “Are you in a hurry?”
D066 hesitated, then said, “I… I have to go keep an appointment—to reunite with someone very important.”
Zhao Xing teased, “A lover, maybe? You sound so nervous.”
A lover reunited by chance in a reality show game. Hmm, that actually sounded kind of interesting.
D066 shook his head. “I’m nervous because I’m afraid he’ll be unhappy to see me. I’m afraid he won’t want to look at me.”
“How could that be?” Zhao Xing patted his shoulder encouragingly. “You’re so outstanding, so wonderful—how could he not appreciate you? If I were the one reuniting with you after so long, I’d jump for joy.”
D066 gave a faint smile. “…I hope your words come true.”
After parting ways with D066 underwater, Zhao Xing swam swiftly to shore.
Climbing out dripping wet, his eyes immediately locked onto a vending machine about a hundred meters away. He spent one point on a lunch set and wolfed it down.
Only after finishing the meal did he feel alive again, and he finally had the energy to observe his surroundings.
Next to the vending machine was an electronic board, already covered in bullet comments.
“Holy shit! F101 appeared!”
“He’s not dead?!”
“How did he get out? He was in the lake for two whole days—where the hell did he go?!”
“Garbage production team! With all those cameras, couldn’t they put one underwater to see what’s in the lake?!”
“Am I the only one curious if there’s a secret in the lake? How did he stay so long?”
“The Tianhe Group is already in the final stage of finding the android, and F101 just pops out of the lake like a zombie—looks like this mission has nothing to do with him.”
When he saw the last comment, Zhao Xing’s mind stirred. He asked aloud, “Tianhe Group? What’s that? Where are they?”
One comment replied: “Let me explain. The Tianhe Group is a team of twelve CD-ranked strong players. They’re the ones who set up free sex slaves in the cave two days ago. They’re also the fastest in hunting the android—I hear they’ve almost locked onto the target.”
“They’re still by the central lake. Is F101 going?”
“Better not, F101. Those guys are all pretty strong. And you’re worth 50 points—might not end well.”
Zhao Xing raised an eyebrow. “Thanks for the warning, but Brother Zhao is no slouch either.”
No way—he was Zhao Xing, the man who had slaughtered for a day and night in the illusion, brushing death 137 times and coming out unscathed.
After a quick verbal boast, Zhao Xing put on his transparent mask, grabbed a flamethrower in his left hand and his new favorite laser longsword in his right, and wasted no time running toward the central lake.
Though Zhao Xing seemed fearless in front of the bullet comments, once he got near the central lake, he still hid carefully and listened intently.
After all, according to the Flower Spirit, he carried a protection spell cast by someone at the cost of their own life. If something happened to him, another person would die.
He had to be even more cautious than before.
After listening for over twenty minutes, Zhao Xing roughly understood the situation.
The Tianhe Group had twelve members: five ground-level women and seven ground-level men, with D003 as their leader.
This D003 had some acquaintance with Su Ye, so when Su Ye was eliminating androids by cutting off fingers and forcing people to harm slaves, D003 had people there to assist.
Now, the android mission had been out for three days.
Those who had fingers cut off were eliminated. Those who had harmed slaves were eliminated. Those who had conflicts with other contestants resulting in bloodshed were eliminated. Those who had used the free male and female slaves in the cave were eliminated…
By now, they had eliminated most suspects and narrowed it down to ten targets.
Those ten targets had been cornered by the central lake.
Zhao Xing listened as he cautiously crept toward the central lake.
When he could finally see the faces of all ten targets clearly, he suppressed his inner delight and pulled out the True Sight Leaf, which could see through things.
It was time for him, Zhao Xing, to end this farce.
He was the mantis stalking the cicada, the oriole behind. He was the clam and the snipe in their struggle, the fisherman who reaped the reward.
He would not let Su Ye and D003’s team efforts go to waste—he would savor the prize’s Z35-model laser gun.
Just as he was about to tear open the green film, Zhao Xing paused, slipped over to the electronic board, opened the mission panel, and carefully checked the completion method.
Oh, so he only had to say the android’s contestant number in front of any camera.
Reassured, Zhao Xing carefully peeled the green film off the True Sight Leaf while keeping his ears tuned to the chaos by the central lake.
The ten people stood by the lake, weapons in hand, facing the Tianhe Group members who were eyeing them like predators.
D003 sat in a wooden chair with a slave in his arms, looking like some big shot.
His voice was lazy and low. “The android is among you ten. How are you going to prove yourselves? By choosing to harm a slave? Or by going to the cave to enjoy the male and female slaves?”
“What right do you have to force us to do such things?”
“Hah! You think I don’t know what you’re thinking? Forcing us to do this—in the end, that 100 points will go to you. What’s it to us? Why should I cooperate?”
“I’m not interested in your shriveled human sex slaves. Get me a Blue Star person, and I’ll cooperate for sure.”
“…”
D003 sneered. “Don’t refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit.”
“Ah, Brother Jiang… don’t…”
A suppressed, somewhat familiar groan suddenly rang out. Zhao Xing’s hand trembled, nearly tearing the film.
He looked up at the crowd and saw the boy in D003’s arms squirming, half his face red, looking shy and uncomfortable.
D003 pulled his hand out from under the boy’s clothes and slapped his butt. “Sit still.”
The boy turned his head in embarrassment, revealing his neck covered in hickeys and a familiar face.
—It was Gu Xiaoxi.
Zhao Xing was silent.
Gu Xiaoxi turned back and nestled softly into D003’s arms.
Zhao Xing didn’t know if he was willing.
But maybe this was the only way he could survive here for now.
After all, as an F-group contestant, he still had all ten fingers—none had been cut off.
Zhao Xing lowered his head and finally peeled off the green film from the True Sight Leaf.
He was about to put it over his eyes and see which of those ten people had metal chips for brains, when suddenly a broadcast rang across the island—
“Warriors, good afternoon! The first mission has been out for three days, and no one has completed it yet. You’re moving a bit slowly. To motivate you all, Xiao You has decided to reveal the third reward early—the mysterious gift!”
As the broadcast ended, strange phenomena appeared near the central lake, where the contestants were most densely concentrated.
A fierce wind swept through, and a massive silver aircraft appeared above the central lake.
A square hatch opened beneath the aircraft, and a gorgeous golden cage was lowered on chains.
In that instant, the wind stopped, arguments ceased, and everyone stared unblinkingly at the golden cage taking shape in midair.
In that instant, twenty cameras near the central lake abandoned recording the contestants’ expressions and turned their lenses to the mysterious gift inside the golden cage.
In that instant, all eighteen thousand electronic boards on the island simultaneously broadcast the high-definition image of the mysterious gift being revealed.
All six hundred-plus contestants on the island, and hundreds, thousands, millions of viewers in the live stream, watched this scene.
Almost simultaneously, they held their breath.
Everyone saw—
Inside that magnificent golden cage, a young boy sat slumped.
His skin was as white as snow, his hair as black as the deepest night, and his eyes like shattered stars.
A pure white robe wrapped his body, revealing only his neck, wrists, and ankles.
Holy and alluring.
Like a youthful deity fallen to the mortal world.
The deity’s pale fingers tightly gripped the cage bars; his eyes, clearer than a celestial deer’s, swirled with intense emotion, nervously and anxiously gazing upon this world.
Beautiful enough to break hearts.
This was undoubtedly the quietest moment since “F101” began broadcasting.
No noise, no bloodshed on the island.
The live-stream bullet comments also seemed to freeze at that instant.
Everyone was captivated, almost intoxicated, deeply enchanted.
Except for Zhao Xing.
His face was as dark as the bottom of a pot, his fists clenched, and he gritted his teeth as he spat out three words—
“Luo, Ming, Shan!”