Chapter 37 – Bloody Ferrara (9)
◎Luo Qinghe!!! I’m your dog!!◎
2000 Alliance coins, of course, were not enough for three people to enter. Xu Xing, understanding the situation well, stepped forward and made it clear that he was the one who insisted on coming along, so he could be “self-reliant” and cover his own ticket money. Song Ke, a dignified team captain, avoided the embarrassing situation of not having enough money, and the three of them were able to enter smoothly.
Walking along a dim and narrow corridor, about five or six minutes later, their view suddenly became bright and spacious. Stepping onto the stands, they were hit by a wave of heat and a deafening roar of the crowd, like a surging tide, almost knocking them over.
Surprisingly, the interior of the Sycara Theater did not follow a typical stage design but resembled an ancient arena from the old civilization. It was wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, with a sunken area at the bottom several tens of meters deep, surrounded by five-story-high horseshoe-shaped tiers. Regardless of where they stood, they had an unobstructed view of the events below.
It seemed to be halftime now, as the arena floor was empty, but the stands were packed to capacity, filled with people.
The three of them squeezed their way into the crowd, Xu Xing’s face contorted from the effort, and Zhuang Qingyan’s wheelchair had almost no space to maneuver. While the surrounding audience was lively and animated, Song Ke’s nose seemed to detect a lingering, inescapable smell of blood.
After a while, a spotlight descended from above the theater, and tiny points of light converged to reveal a handsome man in a cyan robe, holding a jade flute.
His sleeves moved without the wind, and his raven-like long eyelashes slowly opened, a faintly aloof smile gracing his lips. “Hello, everyone. The second round of tonight’s preliminary competition is about to begin. I am the special guest for this match, Luo Qinghe.”
The audience erupted in enthusiastic cheers, especially from the female spectators.
“Luo Qinghe!!! I’m your dog!!”
Not far from Song Ke, a piercing scream echoed.
Song Ke almost lost her balance and her jaw dropped as she turned to see Crazy Chihori, whom she had crossed paths with once before, squeezed into Luo Qinghe’s fan group. She was flushed with excitement, shouting with all her might and gazing at the figure under the spotlight with an infatuated expression.
Luo Qinghe smiled gracefully, pulling out an ancient scroll from his long sleeves and unfolding it with elegant movements.
“Next up is ‘Atu and Ashui,’ a team of two. They are not only teammates but also lovers who depend on each other through life and death. Let’s look forward to their debut. You, the audience, can vote for them through the terminals to support your favorite team. As long as they successfully complete the challenge and have a popular vote rate of 60%, they can advance to the next round of the main competition.”
He spoke calmly and unhurriedly, with a voice as clear as a mountain spring, exuding a refined and cultured aura, resembling a noble young man.
The female fan group, led by Crazy Chihori, once again erupted in cheers.
“Woohoo!! My Qinghe is so handsome!”
“Such a high-class Qinghe should be matched with a low-class me!”
Song Ke: “???”
In the center of the arena, a pure white platform slowly rose from the ground, and a young man and woman dressed in bright red and blue combat suits stood on it, full of confidence. They waved to the audience with cheerful smiles.
The two of them took their positions on the arena, and Atu playfully made a “peace” sign towards a nearby drone, and his smiling face appeared on the floating projection. It looked like they were on vacation, and laughter resounded from all directions, mixed with slight jeers.
“Alright then, let the game begin,” Luo Qinghe said calmly as he closed the scroll.
As his voice fell, the iron barriers on both sides of the arena slowly opened. Following that, there came a rumbling of footsteps and a deep growling from underground, getting closer and closer. In the next moment—almost a hundred zombies surged out!
The enthusiasm of the audience was instantly ignited, and they stood up, raising their arms and cheering loudly.
Song Ke’s eyes widened slightly, looking over in disbelief. This so-called preliminary competition was actually a battle against zombies?
She exchanged a glance with Zhuang Qingyan, realizing that the zombies… were the “excellent nutrition” for this event.
The abilities of the two participants on the field were quite unique. Atu possessed the power of mirror teleportation, allowing him to suck zombies into a separate space, while Ashui had the ability of self-replication. For every zombie Atu sucked, she released a duplicate to fight inside the mirror.
The two of them coordinated seamlessly, continually circling the edge of the arena and adopting a strategy of taking out the zombies one by one. In no time, the arena was filled with their mirrors and clones, maneuvering the zombies in circles.
The battle raged on, and Luo Qinghe’s melodious voice resonated once again.
“The performance of the two contestants is outstanding. Let’s see the audience support rate…”
The drone cut to a close-up, and Atu and Ashui’s support rate had already skyrocketed to 43%.
Song Ke also noticed the “0 Distance” hoverballs, which cost 2888 Alliance coins to ride. They were floating alongside numerous drones and balloons, sometimes kicked by running zombies, and sometimes colliding with the mirrors and changing direction. Inside, people tumbled around excitedly, faces flushed with exhilaration, vigorously waving their arms.
…So, this was the “immersive” experience? The hobbies of the wealthy were indeed unique.
The good times didn’t last long. When only one-third of the zombies remained, Atu and Ashui’s coordination showed a flaw. Perhaps they had released too many clones, or maybe the remaining zombies had become more difficult to deal with. In one of the mirrors, Ashui’s attack exposed a vulnerability and was instantly seized by a fierce zombie, brutally torn in half!
Atu’s mirror shattered in an instant, and the zombies from the independent space rushed out, frantically chasing the remaining clones.
“What are they doing? Get rid of it quickly!”
“Don’t just stand there in a daze! Move!”
“Do they have any on-the-spot reactions?!”
The audience shouted in dissatisfaction, cursing and some even took off their shoes to throw them into the center of the arena, but they were mercilessly stopped by patrolling security robots.
However, the situation continued to worsen. After the first zombie ran out, Atu and Ashui’s rhythm was completely disrupted. The two were in a state of chaos, and Ashui’s duplicates were diminishing rapidly. Finally, another zombie leaped out of the mirror and bit down on the real Ashui’s neck.
Blood splattered everywhere!
Atu’s eyes were filled with despair as he rushed forward for a few steps and then abruptly stopped.
Losing Ashui’s means of attack, he was merely a pure support, and what use could he be? Soon, he would also become a victim of these monsters.
“Forfeit, I forfeit!” Atu shouted desperately, then fled in a terrified scramble.
As he saw the zombies closing in on him, he unexpectedly dove into his own mirror, leaving Ashui, who was still struggling, behind. With a few quick shifts, he escaped to the other corner of the arena. Faced with imminent danger, Atu’s instinct for self-preservation was laid bare for all to see.
The audience immediately erupted in thunderous boos from the stands.
“Atu, what kind of man are you?”
“You’re garbage! I even voted for you!”
“Give me a refund! I want a refund!”
Unfortunately, Atu was still saved. The mechanical arms responsible for maintaining order acted promptly and drove the remaining zombies back underground.
“Challenge failed.”
The large gray letters appeared on the floating screen, and the team’s light for “Atu and Ashui” dimmed. The posters of the participants around the arena were ruthlessly taken down.
“Sigh…”
Sighs filled the venue.
“It’s a pity, they couldn’t make it through the preliminary round in the end,” Luo Qinghe said with a faint smile. “The next match will begin in ten minutes, and before that, we have prepared a fantastic halftime performance for everyone.”
A dazzling AI band descended from the sky, igniting the atmosphere with energetic drumbeats, deep bass, and explosive electric guitar sounds.
“It’s the Rainbow Band!”
“I love their nostalgic heavy metal style.”
The audience, who had just been sighing and lamenting, immediately got excited again, swaying and headbanging to the intense rhythm.
Xu Xing had long hidden behind Song Ke when Ashui was being bitten, covering his eyes and refusing to watch.
Meanwhile, Song Ke, despite being in the midst of the noisy arena, felt a coldness in her heart.
Fighting against zombies should have been a means of self-preservation in a post-apocalyptic world, but in Ferrara, in the Sycara Theater that claimed to be a temple of art and freedom, hunting had turned into a frenzied catharsis.
Song Ke didn’t really sympathize with the zombies. If it were her in the arena, she would have acted without hesitation. However, being watched by so many people was a surreal experience. Could killing really stimulate people’s desires? Why were some so passionate about blood and violence?
Why did Ferrara organize events like this?
“Do you still want to watch?” Zhuang Qingyan frowned and asked loudly.
He wasn’t unable to watch; it was just that the platform was too crowded, and even the air wasn’t flowing properly. Zhuang Qingyan had endured it for a long time, enduring until the match was over. When the people next to him were about to take off their shoes, he couldn’t bear it any longer.
“Let’s go.”
Since none of their companions had the desire to continue watching, Song Ke also found out where the zombies were heading and prepared to leave first.
She gripped the wheelchair handles and struggled to make her way through the crowd.
Approaching the exit, she happened to overhear two men talking in the corridor.
“Old Zhang, why do you have that expression again? Did you lose another bet?”
“Don’t mention it. I was pretty confident in Atu initially and bet a few tickets. Now they’re all down the drain!”
“How much did you lose this time?”
Old Zhang shook his head without revealing the amount, saying stubbornly, “Fortunately, the odds weren’t high; otherwise, I would have lost everything.”
His friend chuckled, “I told you your information wasn’t up to par, didn’t I? Atu and Ashui can barely handle a C-level mission. They came to participate in the Throne Race, isn’t it just to feed the zombies? You still went and bet; you deserve to be a losing bettor.”
“I know, but I thought maybe he could have a breakthrough. After all, as long as they pass the preliminary round, they can earn 50,000 alliance coins and 100 points. Who among those awakeners doesn’t want points?”
“True, but two D-level are still a bit of a stretch.”
“Thankfully, the competition requires participants to be D-level or higher; otherwise, there would be too many dull matches!”
Song Ke’s footsteps halted between the two men, and she asked incredulously, “Ho-how much money?”
Old Zhang and his friend’s conversation was interrupted, and they both turned to look at her.
“50,000 Alliance coins and 100 points? It’s all in the registration rules.”
Song Ke, who had just lost a large sum of money, instantly had sparkles in her eyes.
50,000 Alliance coins! That’s a lot of money! Not only could it clear her debt to Xiaoxing in one go, but there would still be 40,000 left over! If she were to take on missions, it might take her a long time to save up that amount, but now, by just passing the preliminary round, she could get it for free! Who wouldn’t be tempted by that?
Song Ke’s wide sparkling eyes was easy to understand.
Old Zhang stopped his conversation and scrutinized her, “Little girl, do you also want to participate?”
Song Ke hesitated. She didn’t particularly enjoy the atmosphere of slaughter in the Throne Race, but earning money was currently her top priority. During her time in Ferrara, she had realized that being broke was a major obstacle to her every move.
“Are you an awakener? Are you atleast a D-level?”
Song Ke shook her head. She still didn’t know!
Old Zhang interpreted her headshake as a negative response and, perhaps still irritable from losing money, sneered, “I’ve watched over a hundred preliminary matches, and someone like you wouldn’t last a hundred seconds up there.”
“When the zombie chops you, it’s just like chopping vegetables.”
“Are you planning to perform a one-second surrender for the audience?”
Beside them, Xu Xing couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Who was chopping whom? This guy was so confident.
His friend patted Old Zhang on the shoulder and, with an apologetic smile to Song Ke, said, “Sorry, sorry, please don’t mind him. He’s just irritated from losing money.”
Then, he turned to Old Zhang, “Why don’t you pipe down? You’ve watched over a hundred matches, how many times have you actually hit the mark? Not even once!”
Old Zhang, exposed in public, raised his voice, “How have I never hit it? Don’t talk nonsense, I… I…”
“I don’t believe it. If even someone like her can make it to the main event, then in the next round, no, in every future round, I’ll bet my entire fortune on her. I promise to follow through!”
