Chapter 45 – Bloody Ferrara (17)
◎ Did someone bully you? ◎
“Yooooo! Surprising! Tonight’s match is full of surprises indeed. Player Song has once again revealed a flag!”
Ah K was extremely excited, grabbing the microphone and shouting hoarsely, “When did she hide it? And, dear audience, this is a flag that didn’t appear in the system announcement!”
The barrage was filled with question marks.
“Am I seeing things? A green crystal, is it real?”
“It must be fake, there was no hint in the announcement.”
“Why would she show it if it’s fake? Does she think we’re all fools?”
In the post-match lounge, the holographic projection was broadcasting the match inside the arena. As they saw Song Ke take out the green crystal, some of the well-informed extraordinary individuals were in shock and disbelief. They stood up, their eyes fixed on the screen.
Mr. Xiang remained calm, leisurely sipping his tea, and said, “I didn’t expect to see a level 2 crystal here. This old man’s horizons have widened!”
Crystals had gradually become a strategic resource that gained popularity after the apocalypse. Awakeners had varying channels and timeliness for obtaining information about them. Some were completely unaware, while others considered themselves clever for obtaining firsthand information early, like Mr. Xiang.
The Alliance officially announced four levels of crystals: Level 1 white crystals, Level 2 green crystals, Level 3 blue crystals, and Level 4 red crystals. It was said that the deeper the color, the purer the quality, and the higher the success rate for awakening and evolution.
As things stood, Level 1 crystals were already rare, and Level 2 crystals had appeared only a few times in District B. After all, the probability of mutant zombie encounters was extremely low, and the stronger the mutant zombie, the more challenging it was to hunt.
Mr. Xiang’s eagle-like eyes were fixed on Song Ke in the holographic projection. Despite his age, he was not senile, and he had recognized the little girl as the arrogant thief who had stolen their A-level mission in Luli Port.
Hmph, she was lucky last time. Not only did she get away with it, but she also escaped from a tight encirclement, causing them to work in vain.
Zhang Lei was nothing more than an ordinary D-level zombie, so he couldn’t have produced a Level 2 crystal. Since the other party dared to reveal it, it must have been obtained within the arena. It seemed that there was a lot of information worth digging into about this Song Ke. Mr. Xiang instructed his subordinate, “Find out who she is, and also, get a copy of her entire match recording as soon as possible.”
On the other side, Duanmu Qi was also watching Song Ke with a deep gaze.
The wound the opponent had inflicted last time still throbbed when touched, and this person would be the opponent he needed to pay the most attention to.
Mr. Xiang noticed his distraction and teased, “Young Duan, it seems you care a lot about this player.”
Duanmu Qi smiled disdainfully. “Mr. Xiang, you don’t need to test me. I’ll say it again; no matter who the opponent is, the winner will only be me.”
At the gathering place of the “Anna Knights,” Mecha-Head, Sai Ang, tossed two crystals up and down, and suddenly exclaimed, “Huh, the green crystal is actually prettier than the white one. My two crystals don’t seem so appealing now.”
Sai Ang’s mechanical head leaned forward, closely watching Song Ke’s crystal in her hand, his gaze greedy and menacing.
…
At the verification platform, the AI scanned the crystal provided by Song Ke and stated in a flat, emotionless tone, “I’m sorry, verification failed. Only crystals produced within Mirror Lake can be submitted as flags.”
Song Ke stubbornly explained, “It’s from, from Mirror Lake, I swear.”
The barrage was filled with skeptical comments.
“Such a scammer!”
“Is she lying with her eyes open? I’ve been watching the livestream in Room 161-1 since the Lock, Lock, Lock You Up battle. I didn’t see her get a green crystal.”
“She’s audacious and not very bright. Daring to tell such a lie, doesn’t she know the entire match is being recorded?”
There were a few faint voices defending Song Ke.
“Maybe you just missed it. This player is very talented.”
A few sporadic fair comments were quickly drowned out by various insults.
“So many of us didn’t see it, does that mean I’m blind? Did everyone collectively go blind?”
“Do you think AI directors are fools? With such a large crystal dropping, wouldn’t they cut to that scene?”
“She’s just a scammer. Why are people defending her?”
Outside the screen, Old Zhang, who was typing furiously, was furious. He had bet his entire fortune on Song Ke’s victory. No, he couldn’t accept elimination like this. Old Zhang rolled up his sleeves, got energized as if he had taken some kind of stimulant, and engaged in a heated debate with those who criticized Song Ke.
In the official live broadcast room, Ah K, with great passion, stirred up the atmosphere, “Player Song still insists that she obtained this crystal from Mirror Lake. So, where did this unique green flag really come from? Qinghe, what do you think?”
Lu Qinghe cooperated very well, lowered his eyes in thought for a moment, and then with slightly parted lips, he gave his answer, “Water monster.”
Almost at the same time, Song Ke, who was confronting the AI, said exactly the same words, “Water monster, prod, produced the crystal.”
“Yooooo! As expected of Qinghe, he guessed it right away. Let’s take a look at the replay.”
Ah K raised his left hand, and the backstage director immediately played the video of Song Ke single-handedly defeating the Mirror Lake water monster.
“From the footage at the time, it is indeed a mutant water monster. Everyone, look here, pause! The water monster released rain arrow attacks, and only mutants can achieve such an attack.”
The video paused, and the water monster’s flat head faced Song Ke, its ferocity far exceeding that of ordinary mutant zombies. Countless fine rain arrows struck the enormous spiritual weapon umbrella, creating a dazzling white light.
“Huh? After Player Song saved Player Xu, she stayed inside the water monster for a while. Hmm… the exact time is 2 minutes and 48 seconds. Could it be that she accidentally discovered the crystal at this moment?”
“Okay, I’ve received a message from the backstage. Staff members are currently conducting an energy test on the water monster’s corpse. Any place where a crystal is produced will undoubtedly leave behind strong radiation. The answer will be revealed soon!”
At the verification platform, the old-fashioned AI’s eyes lit up with a line of code, as if receiving some kind of instruction.
“Congratulations, you have successfully advanced.”
Meanwhile, Ah K’s enthusiastic voice echoed through the terminals of all the viewers, “The green crystal has been confirmed to come from the Mirror Lake water monster. Congratulations to Player Song, congratulations to Player Xu, congratulations to V587 for becoming the dark horse of this match and successfully advancing to the top 64!”
The particle electric barrier slowly opened, and Song Ke and Xu Xing walked into the rest area, exhausted.
Under the curious, scrutinizing, and questioning gazes of many, she walked calmly with her back straight. When she passed by Lin Youyou and Su Cha, Lin Youyou seemed to want to call out to her, but before she could, Song Ke had already walked far away.
“Current number of advancing teams: 56.”
“Remaining flags in the field: 0.”
“New format initiated.”
Ah K received a prompt from the earpiece and nodded. His expression became serious as he announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, we will now start the Endless Slaughter mode. Let me briefly explain the rules: only 8 teams that survive will advance, and the rest will be eliminated!”
The awakeners left in the field also received the same announcement.
Endless Slaughter mode, with over 100 teams and more than 300 participants, competing for 8 spots, and counting based on the final survivors. This also meant that those who failed wouldn’t be able to leave Mirror Lake at all. The real Battle Royale had begun!
The teams that had already advanced patted their chests in relief. “Thank goodness we grabbed the flag; otherwise, it would have been really frustrating.”
In the arena, Irene plucked a strand of hair in frustration. At this point, they had no choice but to fight to the death.
“Sisters, we live and die together, never betray, charge out with me!!”
In another corner, the man with ice-blue eyes murmured, “Oh, I accidentally made it too big.”
Endless slaughter began, and all the awakeners, as if mad, started hacking at those around them, who had just been fighting alongside them.
Those bloodshot madmen who had just killed their enemies one second ago now lay on the ground, killed by someone else in the blink of an eye.
Screams, wails, agonizing moans… this was a bloody purgatory, the most brutal arena.
Even the air was filled with a heavy smell of blood.
Irene blasted away an approaching awakener, and suddenly heard a painful cry behind her. “Ah—!!” She turned around in horror and saw her companion lying in a pool of blood.
Irene bit her lip, tears streaming down her face, and shouted, “Hold on, get closer to me, we can survive together!”
Outside the arena, the viewership ratings for the Throne Race soared once again.
Blood and brutality were the hormones that stimulated the Ferrara people the most. The betting pool kept refreshing, and countless fortunes flowed like a river to the backstage authorities.
The bloody massacre lasted for a full half-hour, and finally, eight teams fought bloody battles and crawled out of hell.
“Guns and Roses” lost two members…
“White Radish Carrot” lost three members…
“Black Jack” lost four members, and only the man with ice-blue eyes survived…
…
The remaining teams were completely wiped out.
The top 64 for the Throne Race had been determined.
As described in its promotional s, it was born after stepping over the fiery trials and thorns, treading on the blood and lives of countless people.
…
After the Mirror Lake competition, Song Ke and Xu Xing left through the player’s passage in silence.
Midway, Xu Xing stole several glances at Song Ke, wanting to say something comforting but not knowing where to start.
Blame that wicked woman! His sister seemed very unhappy.
After leaving the restricted area and walking a distance, Song Ke suddenly stopped.
On the main road ahead, under the dim streetlights, a very familiar silver-white wheelchair was parked there.
A handsome man leaned lazily on it, supporting his chin with one hand, casually watching the dry leaves dancing in the wind.
Hearing the noise, the man seemed to have sensed it long ago and raised his gaze, smiling suddenly.
“What’s wrong? Why is your face so puffed up? Did someone bully you?”
