Chapter Ch69.1 - Right of Command
translator: xiin
editors: apricot & juurensha
––Hermes was the first to have followers who used fire to burn sacrificial offerings.
Beneath the gothic spires, the blazing fire crackled.
Light and shadow flickered slightly, and another cl.u.s.ter of flames appeared out of the sky, fluttering and flying around the fire before finally integrating with the main cl.u.s.ter.
The sacrificial fire was becoming more vigorous because it was absorbing fresh blood.
Wu Jin looked down.
The survival number on his right wrist watch jumped.
61 people remaining.
He gazed at the watch for a long time and let out a long sigh of relief. He’d finally confirmed his guess.
With the constantly increasing threat from the warming environment, the White Moonlight team no longer tried to use up as much of their battle preparation time and instead quickly divided into two groups of two in the corridor. Before leaving, Zoe avoided Caesar and Wen Lin, and whispered something to Wu Jin.
Wu Jin froze, then quickly nodded repeatedly.
In front of instance number 6.
Wu Jin and Caesar split up and found one entrance each. After confirming in the team channel, they extended their hands towards the entrance of the instance.
Wu Jin’s heart rate increased slightly. One round ago, he’d watched big boss replace the card on the elevated platform as he left instance number 6. If the big boss was still in the instance, they would inevitably have to engage in a face-to-face confrontation… but this was the only path forward that White Moonlight had been able to find.
On the team communication channel.
Zoe was giving commands in a low voice, “Wen Lin and I just went back to instance 3. We’ll enter instance 6 in the next round, don’t worry. Let Caesar stand up front if there’s any danger, and remember to keep him tied up––”
Wu Jin nodded silently, even as Caesar, who was just at the entrance, burst out with an expletive, “Hey, grandson!”
At Caesar’s end, the sound of a shotgun firing rang out without warning, the ‘bang’ like thunder that could flatten everything in its path, followed by the loud clatter of footsteps. It was obvious that he’d already run off happily.
Zoe: “… If you can’t keep him there, chase him.”
The entrance in front of Wu Jin finally opened up––dazzling fires burned in the brambles, and hundreds of cross-shaped gallows hung from the dome. They were dreary and terrifying amidst the burning fires, like dead, hanged spirits.
The 12th card of the major arcana that symbolized sacrifice and tribulation, The Hanged Man card.
Narrow paths were revealed amidst the th.o.r.n.y brambles. Caesar chased after a person in the middle of the instance, and there were two other trainees in the instance who were barely able to look out for themselves in the midst of the wildfires.
Wu Jin recognized Caesar’s opponent in a glance.
Caesar was overjoyed, “Grandson, take this shot!!”
Thin Fire was enraged, “You stupid son, you ran into your father’s muzzle!!”
Caesar: “Open your eyes wide and see clearly, who ran into whose muzzle!!”
Thin Fire’s eyes narrowed like a fox’s. He slung the selfie stick over his back and pulled out his gun, his movements smooth like floating clouds and flowing waterk2013;k2013;it was obvious that his movements had been adjusted by his form instructor before.
He’d always been both a sniper and a.s.sault player who boasted that Caesar wouldn’t be able to catch up with him from over a hundred meters away, but unfortunately, the third elimination match was based on close-combat gun fights. The fight during the game two weeks ago was still vivid in his mind, causing Thin Fire to temporarily avoid a frontal confrontation and hide behind shelter to open up his scope and look forward––
Stray bullets came over from an unexpected angle!
Thin Fire froze, cold sweat almost pouring out. Caesar’s line of fire was blocked by the bunker. Obviously, the newcomer had predicted his position and might even be Caesar’s teammate.
He quickly turned around and was faced with Wu Jin’s goggles that reflected the light from the flames.
Thin Fire: “!!!”
Wu Jin still hadn’t been eliminated? His seven rings dynamic target average score was just like giving points to the other party if he encountered an A-level trainee––
Wu Jin’s lips were pressed together, making his temperament appear cold, but he was overjoyed when he saw Thin Fire. He still remembered their previous gun gifting friendship from a few matches ago, “Senior Thin!”
Thin Fire nodded subconsciously, “Ah, h.e.l.lo, Little Witch, have you eaten yet?”
Wu Jin shook his head, “Not yet! Senior, I’m going to shoot.”
In the next moment, Thin Fire’s body shook.
The submachine gun and sniper rifle pointed towards him at the same time. Using the cover that Wu Jin provided, Caesar had broken through Thin Fire’s front line defense and immediately became unbridled. From a 60 meter distance, Wu Jin shifted up and down amongst the thorns along the pathways, his movements unpredictable and elusive.
Thin Fire looked incredulously at Wu Jin.
This definitely wasn’t a seventh ring dynamic target shooting level. He must have hidden his skills prior to entering the match!
Thin Fire roared in anger, “F*ck you, White Moonlight––”
Caesar’s ability to use his mouth to fight didn’t fall behind at all, “I’m going to eat your Silver Thread Roll!”
In the team communication channel, Zoe was still giving Wu Jin commands at full speed, “It’s not difficult to cooperate with Caesar in long-distance combat. Remember, your line of fire isn’t being used to snipe people, but rather to control their movements and positioning.”
Wu Jin’s gaze raised up slightly, and he quickly calculated the direction before switching bunkers. He fired just before Thin Fire exposed his head again.
Zoe: “You remain along a 60 meter radius from the target point, and Caesar is 30 meters away. His mobility is higher than yours. Little Witch, play steadily and let the close-combat a.s.sault find opportunities.”
Wu Jin nodded silently and moved around into the dead angles of three shooters, constantly looking for Caesar’s ‘opportunity’––Caesar suddenly moved forward!
Zoe: “Once he starts to charge in, Little Witch can finish the kill!”
Wu Jin didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. Thin Fire’s blood froze suddenly, and he used a fake out to avoid Wu Jin’s bullet, rolling back quickly––
The muzzle of Caesar’s gun clicked against his head.
Thin Fire: “……”
Caesar was proud and complacent at this moment. He seemed to feel that the submachine gun wasn’t exciting enough and even switched to a wide-target gun in order to spray bullets instead. Wu Jin watched wide-eyed from the side like he was waiting for a butcher to cut up meat. Thin Fire suddenly felt that the world in front of him had turned grey.
There was no f*cking need to talk about forming a CP; he was about to be slaughtered in front Wu Jin, but the other party didn’t even bat an eye!
In the instant before Caesar fired, Thin Fire made a decisive move that neither of them had expected––he quickly took out a roll of parchment paper and planned to toss it into the fire in the brambles.
Wu Jin’s pupils contracted, “Wait!”
Thin Fire breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, Caesar’s partner was Wu Jin and could be considered as having a brain… However, when he thought about it again, he realized that he wouldn’t have been forced to such a state by Caesar if Wu Jin hadn’t been there!
Thin Fire no longer talked nonsense. He lifted up the parchment and stated his exchange conditions, “Let me go, and I’ll hand over the parchment.”
Wu Jin was shrewder than he’d expected, “We’ll do a trial subscription first.”
Thin Fire almost choked. It wasn’t like this was a serial novel where readers would be offered a trial subscription! However, there was nothing he could do about it, and he grudgingly and reluctantly, showed Wu Jin a charred corner of the parchment.
There was only one instance shown on the map, and the flames on it had burst into a blaze.
This was a drawing that White Moonlight did not have.
Low voices consulted over the White Moonlight team communication channel. Zoe a.s.sented, “Listen to Little Witch.”
Thin Fire finally relaxed, “In that case, we’re agreed. You can’t eliminate me and can’t intimidate me. You have to ensure the personal safety of your hostage and can’t force them to remove their makeup…”
Caesar reached out to touch, “Yo, it’s really all powder…”
Thin Fire was enraged again, “d.a.m.ned pervert! What are you doing!”
Ten minutes later, Thin Fire took the initiative and offered to deal with the two individual trainees, but Caesar took charge of all the guns. He could only watch on as his opponent ate up all the points.
The fire burned along the pathways, and the three of them had to climb up to the gallows to avoid the fire.
When the last contestant was eliminated and they reached the instance clearance conditions, Wu Jin reached out to Thin Fire.
Thin Fire simply handed over the map, but was caught off guard when Caesar gave him a kick.
Thin Fire was instantly agitated, “F*ck you––”
The fires in the brambles went out, and the exit to the instance opened up. Thin Fire’s anger turned to happiness even though his clothes were rumpled and his hair was a mess. White smoke drifted from the soles of his shoes as he picked up a few bramble twigs, and he left with nothing else but the selfie stick that Caesar hadn’t collected.
Caesar sneered, “Your grandfather won’t break an agreement! Hey… say, what’s he holding onto those broken sticks for?”
Wu Jin thought about it, “Senior Thin has no weapons left. Maybe he can temporarily make use of them!”
Outside the door, Thin Fire found a corner to dodge behind and carefully combed his hair, using the still-warm sticks as curling irons. After that, he grasped it in his hand and held it like a whip.
When everything was ready, he took out his selfie stick and took over a camera. His tone was complacent, “Don’t worry, darlings. Dolma, Jingyi, R-Code, and People’s Entertainment are all trapped and fighting in 7~10. We won’t go and play with them…”
Inside the instance.
The third map was finally opened up.
The charred corner of the parchment was painted with a burning instance. From the top to the bottom, everything in the instance was turbulent and chaotic, like a demonic h.e.l.l.
There was a line of small text at the bottom.
“With the heroic as sacrifices, taking their fates as a game––the card will eventually be revealed.”
Caesar: “What the h.e.l.l is this?”
Wu Jin put away the parchment, light leaping like fire in his eyes, “Brother Caesar, let’s go out first.”
Caesar nodded, and the two of them entered the corridor again, fumbling towards the entrance of instances 7, 8, 9, and 10. The four people from White Moonlight had lingered in the first six instances for a long time without encountering Thin Fire––it was clear that the other party had come in from the ‘other side’.
It was the same as what Wu Jin had guessed. The instance number 6 that represented the ‘future’ connected both sides of the map.
The light from the fire in the corridor was hot, and at the other end of the communication channel, Zoe and Wen Lin had also emerged from instance number 3. They were now waiting for the 6th instance to open again.
Wu Jin’s steps paused, and he looked up at the statue of Hermes that was suspended in mid-air.
As well as the burning fire in front of the statue.
‘The Hanged Man’ instance full of brambles and wildfire had made Wu Jin and Caesar impervious to the temperature changes, but Zoe who was also walking along the corridor spoke up, “It’s hotter than before.”
The sacrificial fire was right over their heads, and the temperature was rising due to the fire. Under the complex gothic spires, there seemed to be faint echoes of music, but it all sounded illusory when one stopped to listen.
This wasn’t a church, but rather an altar to Hermes.
Wu Jin looked at his wrist watch again, and the outline of the entire game finally sketched out clearly in his mind.
This altar belonged to Hermes, and players were sent to the altar from all of the entrances. They fought to survive and battled against each other, just as if they were… fighting to please the G.o.d.
In the terminal on his right wrist, there had been 60 people left before they entered the instance. At this time, there were only 40 left.
Zoe opened his mouth, “With the heroic as sacrifices… what does it mean by heroic?”
Wu Jin didn’t speak until the number on the watch jumped from 40 to 39.
“Lift your head.” He spoke suddenly.
At the bottom of the statue’s feet and above the fire pit, a cl.u.s.ter of flames spiraled up to join the burning main flame. The fire rose up again, and it seemed that it would only take a few more additions before it was enough to ignite the entire fire pit.
Wen Lin was the first to react. He spoke quickly, “It’s the players! The source for the sacrificial fires is the contestants. Every time a trainee is eliminated, more flames will be added to the top. When a certain number of contestants are eliminated, the fire pit will burn. In other words, the sacrifice will begin––”
Wu Jin nodded. “Yes. The eliminated contestants become part of the sacrificial fire. At the start of the sacrifice, those who haven’t been eliminated will be regarded as the ‘heroic’ by the G.o.d. With the heroic as sacrifices, in other words––”
“The last player left will be a sacrifice for Hermes.”
The youth’s voice was clear and decisive, but the team channel suddenly fell silent.
Even though it was only an elimination match, the rules and arrangements of the Crosson Show still rendered them speechless. The first ones to be eliminated became fuel, and the last to be eliminated was a sacrifice. Everything was arranged along an established path of fate that started as soon as players entered the altar and the gates closed.
Compared to the first two elimination matches, this was truly along the original religious meaning of a ‘battle royale’.
Zoe quickly cursed them out in the team communication channel––in order to please the audience, the Crosson Show spent more and more money every round, but they didn’t improve the food, accommodations, royalties, or other treatment for the players at all.
Wen Lin asked, “Little Witch, what will the final sacrifice be like?”