Chapter 101
Chapter 101
After leaving the village, Liu Ye came across a scenic elevator that appeared to run all the way to the mountaintop.
He had no intention of taking it.
Mountains were practically home turf to him. Besides, he had come here to travel. What fun would there be in riding some contraption straight to the top?
And so Liu Ye walked directly into the mountains.
The instant he entered, a vast bank of fog appeared behind him and slowly swallowed the surrounding landscape.
Elsewhere on the mountain, in a hidden chamber, a crowd of lavishly dressed figures sat with handsome young men and beautiful women at their sides. Classical Western-style masks concealed their faces, but not the excitement in their eyes.
Before them stood a gigantic screen divided into dozens of smaller windows, each displaying a terrified person.
“I want that one. Have a Numbered One bring him to me.”
“I like that woman. Her skin is exquisite.”
“I hate this fellow. Make him die!”
They discussed the people on-screen as though they were merchandise.
This was a game of death, and its contestants were nothing more than toys for the wealthy.
The organizers lured people in with an enormous prize: anyone who survived to the very end would receive one hundred million yuan.
The games themselves were lethally dangerous. One careless move could cost a contestant their life, and powerful monsters hunted them throughout the grounds.
Yet if the world never lacked for anything, it was people willing to gamble with their lives.
Some had reached the end of their rope. Some coveted the prize money. Others thought themselves heaven’s chosen and believed luck would surely carry them to the end.
Whatever their reasons, every last one regretted coming here.
Faced with real death, they were nowhere near as calm as they had imagined.
“Aah!”
A man tore through the forest in a blind panic. Behind him came a Numbered One in a hockey mask marked with the number 63, a chainsaw gripped in his hands.
Crash!
The fleeing man failed to see a branch underfoot and went sprawling. He stared at the monster behind him in horror and frantically scrambled backward.
“No, wait! Don’t! Don’t kill me!”
He had barely started to rise when agony exploded through his leg. No. 63 was already upon him, the chainsaw biting straight into his knee.
“Aaaah! No! Please! I quit! I don’t want to play anymore! Let me go! I want to go home!”
The man screamed himself hoarse, but the monster showed no mercy. Its chainsaw ripped madly through his body.
None of the wealthy spectators had taken an interest in him, so naturally the monster was free to dispose of him.
Blood sprayed everywhere. Before long, the monster stood again and, heedless of the gore covering it, set off in search of its next target.
Far from being frightened by the spectacle, the wealthy audience only grew more excited.
They watched the contestants flee for their lives, watched them despair in terror, watched one of them use the bathroom directly beneath a surveillance camera…
The wealthy spectators fell silent.
So did the host.
Brother, this is a battle royale! Could you show a little tension? Why are you casually relieving yourself at a time like this? And even if you have to go, could you at least avoid the camera?
Every spectator who had been eating lost their appetite on the spot.
“B-Brother Liu?”
Two men among the audience stared at the screen in disbelief.
They were none other than John and Xiaoshuai.
The reason the two of them were here went back to what had happened at the hospital.
Wang Xu’s surprise attack on the hospital had infuriated the Fiend Investigation Bureau, so they had intensified their interrogation of Hao Ren in hopes of prying some useful information out of him.
After all, Hao Ren was not only a member of the Illuminati, but also a former colleague of Wang Xu.
And after a thorough interrogation, he really did reveal something.
Six or seven years ago, Wang Xu’s personality had abruptly changed. He left high school, founded a company, and soon began working directly with the Illuminati.
No one knew where he had found them, but he brought in a group of Fiends that proved remarkably cooperative with the Illuminati’s research.
Production of Desire Potions soared. They even developed new varieties.
These new potions could cure certain illnesses and enhance the human body. Admittedly, they had a few insignificant side effects-mild addiction, for instance, and a small influence on the user’s personality-but none of that really mattered, did it?
Meanwhile, the failed test subjects were locked away here for entertainment.
The Fiend Investigation Bureau could hardly ignore something like that.
So it sent John and Xiaoshuai to investigate the mountain.
John came because his family belonged to a major financial conglomerate, making it easy for him to blend in. Xiaoshuai, as a member of the Illuminati, could conveniently serve as his sponsor.
Between Wang Xu’s attack and the heavy losses the Illuminati had suffered in Huicheng, no one had yet discovered Xiaoshuai’s betrayal.
That was how the pair had successfully infiltrated the gathering.
Neither of them had expected to see Liu Ye here.
“Seriously, Brother Liu, couldn’t you leave us one chance to show what we can do?” Xiaoshuai complained. “You’re making life hard for your underlings.”
Having an overly capable superior was not always a good thing. How were they supposed to earn promotions? He was still only a probationary member, for crying out loud!
“This isn’t the time to worry about that,” John said. “We need to think about containing the fallout.”
Brother Liu was never one to sweat the details, and whatever he did inevitably turned into a gigantic mess.
John hurriedly sent a message to the agents outside.
At the same time, the enraged spectators ordered the Numbered Ones to kill Liu Ye.
Having comfortably finished his business, Liu Ye began setting up camp beside the river. The mountain scenery truly was lovely: lush and green, with wonderfully fresh air.
He decided to spend the night right there and maybe do a little stargazing after dark.
Never one to delay once he had made up his mind, he gathered some branches from the forest, took the Notebook from his bundle, and tore out several pages for kindling.
The campfire soon sprang to life. Its thick smoke immediately drew over the monster from before.
Hidden in the brush, No. 63 saw Liu Ye standing in the river, spearing fish.
Chainsaw in hand, he charged at Liu Ye.
At that exact moment, however, the Notebook lying on the ground suddenly flipped through several pages. Words appeared across the paper of their own accord.
A faint breeze swept through the area.
No. 63 tripped over a rock the very next second. The chainsaw slipped from his grasp, struck the ground, and toppled straight back toward him.
Bzzzt…
Blood sprayed in every direction. No. 63’s body convulsed violently, then slowly fell still.