Chapter 5 - Qualifying
translator: xiin
editors: b.u.t.ter, celtic & juurensha
Wu Jin hugged the gun and happily followed Wei Shi.
The resource lines downstream of the river were unusually rich and, nine hours after the start of the game, the contestant activity there was much higher than antic.i.p.ated––most contestants had chosen to actively move around.
Wei Shi brought Wu Jin with him and barreled straight in without any resistance; the crack of a gunshot could be heard every now and then.
Each shot took down a little friend.
To Wu Jin’s surprise, most of the contestants were operating alone at this time.
“Team restrictions.” Wei Shi explained, “Player alliances can’t exceed four hours.”
Wu Jin immediately became nervous again when he heard. He trotted up, “Big brother! Does that mean I can’t stay with you the whole time…”
Wei Shi made a ‘Mmm’ sound, obviously unconcerned about this point.
Wu Jin felt a sudden stabbing sense of crisis, and a bleak scene sketched itself out in his mind––
Himself, lying cold and lonely on the ground. On a hill in the distance, the big boss was talking and laughing with a newly picked up salted fish.
Wind and water would come full circle, and little brothers could be changed at any time…
Wei Shi saw him standing there in a daze and frowned, “Do you understand the rules now?”
Wu Jin hurriedly nodded repeatedly and tried to sum it up, “The longest truce time and team formation time are like attraction and repulsion forces that constrain the players’ behavior. The watches are responsible for monitoring the players’ movements within the field. Resources––resources are used to lock down and guide the entire front lines of the fighting?”
Wei Shi glanced at him and was a little surprised. He spoke in a low, considering tone, “It seems that you aren’t completely silly?”
Wu Jin: “……” His originally sparkling, flashing small eyes were now round and full of grievances that he didn’t dare to say out loud.
Wei Shi: “Ask if you have a question.”
Wu Jin raised his hand, “Why not prohibit players from forming teams at all?”
Wei Shi kept moving, the gun still smoking as he brought it back. The hot muzzle brushed past Wu Jin, almost making the small curls recoil the other way from the heat.
Wu Jin quivered as he stumbled back two steps, and then he heard big boss’s impatient words. “In a reality show, the audience doesn’t want to see people lose their lives in one shot. They want to see player interaction, which has entertainment value. Find a video recording to watch after the audition.”
In the sweep that followed, Wu Jin’s performance was full of zeal.
He shot when told to shoot, went to outflank the enemy when told to go forth, when told to throw himself to the ground, he would obediently press himself flat to the ground with a ‘thump’, then climb up cleverly and quietly when Wei Shi was done, brushing the mud and dirt off his hands.
It was unknown if it was by accident or design, but along the way, Wu Jin harvested all the kills while the big boss handed down all the orders.
Even if there was a scuffle, Wei Shi would brazenly go up and engage them in a gunfight, but the final hit would still be reserved for Wu Jin, who was hiding in the gra.s.s.
––If he delayed by even a single second when making that last shot, he would be ruthlessly reprimanded by the big boss.
Wei Shi: “Not shooting?”
Wu Jin straightened up his chest and thumped it to show his loyalty, “This gun aims automatically. I’m afraid of hitting big brother by mistake!”
Wei Shi loaded his shotgun with a click as his gaze swept over Wu Jin. His deep-set eyes seemed cold and full of dignity due to the shifting shadows, “Where did you find the confidence to think that you would be able to hit me?”
Wu Jin’s admiration for the big boss instantly shot up by another hundred twenty percent.
They had completed the clean-up around the riverbank after about an hour.
By relying entirely on Wei Shi’s hawk-like eyesight and tracking ability, the number of points shown on little blind Wu Jin’s wrist watch had reached a full 21 points. Yet Wei Shi had personally only taken care of one.
When the number on the watch jumped to 21, it immediately changed from pure white to bright red. A small line of letters scrolled endlessly in a line beneath itk2013;k2013;
[ QUALIFIED ]
There were less than ten people remaining in the audition compet.i.tion area.
In the distance, the sky was just beginning to turn fishbelly white
“Good enough.” Wei Shi looked down at Wu Jin.
The little trainee’s eyes were wide and round, and he was still in a daze, stunned by the fact that he had qualified.
Wu Jin’s choppy hair was a complete mess. His hair gel had already been rubbed off sometime in the last century and a handful of small soft curls poked out of the tangle. His white and tender face was marred by two streaks of mud, and it was obvious that he had been trying especially hard when they crept forward just now.
The gaze Wei Shi used to look at him was clearly one that was aimed at a small animal on a chopping board.
Wu Jin froze, “Big, big brother…”
“Wipe your face clean.” Wei Shi ordered.
Wu Jin nodded dazedly and quickly pulled up a piece of his protective clothing, flipping it inside out to rub and wipe at his face.
Faint remnants of the mud were still apparent on his face, but Wu Jin’s features glowed slightly in the dawn light. Wu Jin’s irises were amber, and he didn’t look fierce at all at the moment, even with a gun in his hands.
His entire person was out of tune with the compet.i.tion, and the words ‘white and tender, obedient and well behaved’ were practically stamped on his face.
Some people were born to be the darling of the lens.
Wei Shi finally showed a satisfied expression, “Alright. The team time limit is almost up.”
Wu Jin reacted at last. He was reluctant and wanted to exchange contact information, but was ruthlessly interrupted by Wei Shi, “Take out the gun.”
Wu Jin held out the gun that he had originally been hugging tightly, just like a rabbit pulling out a beloved carrot, and offered it up to the big boss without any hint of complaint.
“Keep it.” Wei Shi spoke very slowly this time. There was no warmth in his eyes and it made others feel a chill go down their back at first glance. “Remember, you picked up this gun on your own.”
Wu Jin was stunned.
“You had a temporary teammate, but that is unimportant.” Wei Shi’s left hand rubbed gently against the handle of the gun. It seemed to be a habit he had when thinking, “You don’t even know his name.”
Wu Yu suddenly remembered that the first time he had met the big boss, it had been at the riverbank by the hills. Wei Shi had shot and eliminated two people, but had never showed his face from beginning to end.
It seemed that big brother didn’t want to expose his strength!
Wu Jin’s sense of purpose came to life, “Big brother, don’t worry! I absolutely won’t say anything––Also, where does big brother live? Does big brother want to leave a contact number? Big brother has to go home to feed the cat? Is it a farm cat, or…”
The sound of a dagger popping out of an inner slot made Wu Jin freeze, and he obediently clicked his mouth shut.
When the team time limit was over, but the contestants hadn’t yet parted, the law enforcement system would force a confrontation––Wu Jin responded swiftly, “Big brother, don’t aim for the face!! I still need to rely on my face for my debut… How do you feel about going for the calf or belly instead?”
Wei Shi tossed him an indifferent glance.
The dagger in his hand was thicker than any dagger Wu Jin had ever seen. The blade curved outwards, half revealing the ratchet of a gun, and the place where the ring finger rested was actually a trigger.
“Come here. I’m not attacking you.” Wei Shi spoke, “There are still seven minutes left.”
Wu Jin once again put his mind at ease and took advantage of the dim lighting to give him another glance. The calluses on big boss’s hand were distributed over several digits. It appeared that they weren’t merely from firearms; the range of weapons that the big boss was familiar with was probably far beyond anything he could imagine.
This person seemed to have been born for battle.
The two of them crossed the plains full of waist-high gra.s.s. In the dim morning light, the wind carried traces of the river’s humidity with it as it whistled by their ears.
A silvery black needle suddenly flew out from the end of the dagger.
Wu Jin’s mouth dropped open in surprise.
This was actually a tranquilizer gun!
Wei Shi aimed at a very low point under a tree over sixty meters away. A few moments later, a rabbit was tossed into Wu Jin’s arms.
A live one. The anesthetic dosage wasn’t large. Its ears drooped and its four legs were twitching and kicking.
Wu Jin: “……”
“Keep it.” Wei Shi’s words were steady and unhurried.
Wu Jin: “Ah?!!”
Under the pale light from the sky, Wei Shi turned his head back. The man looked as leisurely as ever, but his gaze no longer seemed as frightening as it had been when they had first met, however, upon careful inspection, it still had that ominous aura.
Wu Jin had a vague conviction that if this rabbit died, big boss would immediately find his way to his door and shoot him dead where he stood.
With that in mind, Wu Jin immediately changed his motions, going from carrying the rabbit by its ears to––cradling it in his hands.
Wei Shi took in his actions and nodded. “Okay. See you later.”
By the time Wu Jin responded, Wei Shi was already a disappearing figure in the distance.
The dawn light was growing brighter and brighter. Wu Jin had a rabbit in one hand and a gun in the other. He ran a few steps but was unable to catch up and couldn’t help but shout out, “Hey, big brother––”
A gust of wind from the hills blew over, carrying his clean and bright youthful voice back towards him. It was unknown if Wei Shi had heard him or not, but there was already no one left in his field of vision after he rubbed his eyes.
Wu Jin could only cuddle the rabbit and continue to wander.
Half an hour pa.s.sed by in a flash.
The morning breeze lingered on the gra.s.slands and all things on the earth seemed covered in a glaze of green––A missile suddenly hit the ground, spraying up dirt and rubble.
Wu Jin was shocked into action and made a tactical drop to the ground.
He had spent four hours with Wei Shi and, although he was still a blind little guy, he now had some basic combat knowledge. In fact, Wu Jin learned very quickly.
Even though it was useless no matter how fast he learned.
Wu Jin still didn’t know where the other party was, and he also had no clue about where he himself was.
In the next second, something even more terrible happened––the anesthetic in the rabbit that big boss had tossed him wore off, and it foolishly darted out, jumping over Wu Jin’s back to run away.
“Rabbit, let’s not––”
Wu Jin was fl.u.s.tered as he reached out a hand to catch it. While he was airborne in mid-pounce, a bullet suddenly burst in from the side.
Wu Jin’s expression froze. His hearing, stimulated by adrenaline, performed a near-miraculous feat and managed to catch the direction the gunshot had come from––His body intuitively raised up the handle of the gun, and he fired back in mid-air––
Bang.
In the instant just before a bullet would have hit Wu Jin square in the chest, a silvery white sphere suddenly popped out and enclosed Wu Jin within it. At the same time, his opponent was also astonished as he toppled over.
The sound of a notification rang out once again just before he lost consciousness.
“Contestant 300012, Kills: 22, Ranking: 8. Qualified.”
Two hours later.
The Crosson reality show’s 51st audition was over.
There was a long table set with champagne and number plates outside of the arena.
The program producer was currently giving the golden thigh investors an enthusiastic introduction to the compet.i.tion format:
“There is no direct broadcast for the audition, and there are no puzzles to solve. It is a direct confrontation with guns, and the contestants’ scores are based on their kill count. After they’ve qualified, we will then a.s.sign the trainees to a formal group based on their performance evaluation.”
“Starting next week, the program will conduct an evaluation once every two phases, and an elimination every four phases. A segment focusing on the contestants will be broadcast every day––advertis.e.m.e.nts are sold by the second, and there is a twenty percent discount for four consecutive broadcasts, which is basically equal to buying three and getting one free! If you broadcast for the entire show, we can print your company’s logo onto the protective gear right now!”
“Price––Hey! Survival shows are also art. Let’s talk about the prices later. Hm? Logo? Yes, the logo will be printed on the chest for a gold medal sponsorship, silver medal sponsorships will have their logo printed on the shoulder. Sponsorships of five million credit points or below can have their logos printed on the armpit area. It’s a big game of survival with every possible kind of tactical action. It’s entirely possible that the audience will be able to see your trademark when a contestant raises their gun to shoot!”
“They all say that you might as well invest in variety shows if you are going to invest in real estate. The entertainment industry has been booming in recent years. The Crosson reality show has always had first-rate viewer traffic…”
To one side, the videographer was currently adjusting the lens and recording a shot of the helicopter carrying back one of the life saving capsules.
There was a director to the side holding up a small loudspeaker and calling out, “Position 21, get ready. The eighth ranked contestant has arrived. Prepare to open the capsule.”
The videographer gestured to indicate that they were ready.
The director keyed in the pa.s.sword with practiced movements, then reached out to wake up the person within, but her expression abruptly changed to one of surprise, and she appeared to have fallen into a trance.
“What’s going on? Was there an accident?” The emergency workers saw this scene and immediately rushed over. They stretched out their heads to look inside and became just as dazed––
The teenager sleeping within the life saving capsule had a perfect face that could’ve been bestowed by the G.o.ds. It was very difficult to imagine that a person’s features could be so exquisite––even the eyebrows beneath the curly hair seemed soft enough to be heart-wrenching.
The teenager was curled up in a quiet, well-behaved posture. There was a young, snow-white rabbit that was similarly in a deep sleep nestled gently against the crook of the youth’s arms. The soft, downy fur and the teenager’s white, porcelain cheeks were cuddled close together, like the most peaceful and elegant work of art.
Position 21 faithfully projected this scene onto the surveillance monitors.
At the front of the venue, several of the big-wigs who had been hesitant to bid for advertising time on the program were suddenly taken aback as their gazes swept across the screen.
Someone rushed over to ask the program producer, “Previously, it was said that contestants would sign endors.e.m.e.nt contracts?”
The producer nodded repeatedly, “Yes. If you invest in over four phases, we can go ahead and shoot this week…”
The golden financier waved his hand in a grand gesture, “Done. I’ll invest in four phases right now, sixty seconds. Have the contestant currently on the screen shoot it!!!”
Juurensha: …did WS give the rabbit to Little Witch as like a cuteness proximity thing, or can it turn into a monster rabbit….
Celtic: nooo, no monster rabbit. Btw, did you notice what a good student Little Witch is? He raises his hand to ask questions…
b.u.t.ter: the bunny is clearly the secret to unlocking his murder-bunny skills- it’ll leap into the crossfire so that our Little Witch can save its life and harvest meng points!