Chapter 57.1 – Tongwan Hospital (11)
◎ The Disappearing AI ◎
“Old Zhang, going to watch the match again?”
Old Zhang, dressed in new clothes and unusually wearing a tie, walked to the central square with a radiant expression.
The person who greeted him looked at him and said in a sour tone: “You’re having a lucky streak now, making a big profit.”
In the past, they used to watch the qualifying matches together, and Old Zhang always ended up losing the most. As long as they bet against him, the others could make a small profit. Unexpectedly, after the main matches, this guy somehow had a stroke of luck and reportedly made a big fortune. Look at him now, all flashy and splendid.
Old Zhang chuckled innocently, “It’s just luck, good luck.”
As for how he turned things around, he was quite clever and didn’t reveal a word.
After that person left, a friend nudged his shoulder, teasing, “Are you betting on that team again tonight, what’s it called, Vme50?”
Old Zhang’s face lit up with a smile, “V587! Definitely, going all in!”
At exactly eight o’clock in the evening, the tower’s lights lit up, and Ah K and two charming girls appeared on the elevated stage.
“Dear audience, long time no see!” Ah K was as enthusiastic as ever. “It’s still me, here to provide you with exciting commentary on the Top 32 promotion game for everyone.
“Before the match begins, let me explain a little unexpected situation. Qinghe, due to personal reasons, cannot attend tonight’s match. But it’s okay, we have invited the equally popular Yulica and Nana to accompany you and watch.”
The energetic girl with twin ponytails and the gentle and knowledgeable older sister, the two virtual idols, appeared in a stunning holographic display, greeting the audience and displaying lively expressions as if they were right there.
The central square and open streets were filled with spectators, all looking up at the sky, erupting in enthusiastic cheers. After the cheers subsided, hushed whispers began: “Why is Luo Qinghe suddenly absent? The day before yesterday, I saw on his profile that he admitted to being a special guest.”
“Do you not know what happened last night?” said the person next to them mysteriously.
“What happened, what happened?”
“It’s those rebels causing trouble…”
In the backstage lounge, Song Ke was talking to Lin Youyou, who was wearing a mask.
“After the match, d-don’t leave r-right away. I’ll i-introduce you to s-someone.”
She intentionally informed Maeda Jiu of tonight’s match time, planning to surprise him, but she wasn’t sure if he would come.
The deputy captain of the Azure Phoenix sneered dismissively upon receiving Song Ke’s invitation, “No time.”
Lin Youyou’s lips curved slightly under the mask, and she echoed Maeda Jiu’s words, “No time, I’ve been busy lately with my new song.”
Song Ke pouted, pulling out a pink keychain from her pocket, “I’ll re-report you, big s-star.”
Lin Youyou: “…”
Song Ke imitated Zhuang Qingyan’s way of speaking, dragging her words slowly, “Like a soft~ light r-rain~”
Su Cha, who was originally sitting nearby, quietly listened to the two of them talk. When he heard Song Ke’s off-key singing, the dagger he was twirling with his fingertips slipped and clattered onto the table.
It was too hard to listen to. How could anyone sing so off-key, not hitting a single note right?
Lin Youyou hurriedly covered Song Ke’s mouth, looked around, and fortunately, there was no one else in the lounge. She sighed deeply, “My goodness, where did you learn this annoying habit from? Alright, alright, I’ll go to the main venue.
Her expression was resentful, “I’ve disguised myself so meticulously, and nobody could tell, yet you almost exposed me!”
Song Ke, with her mouth covered, protested unhappily, “Mhhmhmh!”
While the two were talking, the door to the lounge was pushed open, and a familiar person entered, Irene from “Guns and Roses.”
Irene had a few more scars on her right face, her hair was almost shaved, and she had two mobile mortars on her forearms. There was a sense of calm and toughness that came from experiencing the refining of gun smoke and battles.
Seeing the people in the room clearly, she nodded calmly.
“The favor I owed you has been repaid. In the future, it’ll be fair competition. I won’t back down.”
During the Mirror Lake siege, Irene recognized Song Ke and showed mercy, leading to her later participation in the Endless Slaughter mode.
Although Song Ke would not necessarily lose even if she tried to snatch it, she understood the other party’s goodwill.
“G-good, fair competition, no need to b-back down.”
Irene glanced at Lin Youyou, reminding her with a meaningful look, “The most perfect disguise doesn’t just change your appearance. Microexpressions, including unconscious movements, will all reveal your true identity.”
Irene recognized Lin Youyou.
Although she didn’t say it directly, everyone present understood the obvious implication in her words.
Just moments ago, Lin Youyou, who had boldly claimed “nobody could tell,” suffered a big blow.
Fortunately, Irene was not one to gossip, nor was she interested in publicizing Lin Youyou’s privacy. After saying this, she took her belongings and left.
As the match time approached, the teams drew lots for their groupings.
Song Ke specifically went to wash her hands, brimming with confidence as she drew a lot—Group G.
Great, at the bottom again.
Taking another look at the list of teams in the same group, the “Anna Knights,” an absolutely tough opponent.
Song Ke exchanged a glance with Xu Xing, her tone bitter, “Next time, y-you do it…”
Before the match began, each participating player received a peculiar piece of equipment: the “Insight Glasses.” It was said that this device contained thousands of sensory conduits. When worn on the head, it would connect with the nerves, capturing the subject’s subconscious activity and projecting their innermost thoughts.
And its name, “Insight Glasses,” precisely matched the theme of this competition: “Fight Against Fear.”
High up in the tower, Ah K passionately commented, “The rules for this match are very simple. Within the limited time, the team that kills the most zombies wins. Yes, just ordinary zombies. Do you think it’s that easy? No no no. Do you still remember our theme?”
Ah K passionately shouted, “Fight Against Fear. Players will wear the Insight Glasses, facing their darkest memories.”
Holographic projections of terrifying zombies appeared at the right moment, lifelike images flashing in front of everyone as if they could smell the stench from the monsters’ cracked mouths. The audience was not lightly scared and yet excitedly screamed.
“Roar~” Ah K imitated the roar of a zombie, “I wonder what each player is most afraid of? Don’t get scared!
“I announce, the match begins!”
Brilliant fireworks burst open in the sky, colorful beams flickered rapidly in the dark night, and seven large suspended screens rose slowly between the towers, displaying real-time images corresponding to Groups A to G. The prize pool opened, accumulating and rolling, the numbers increasing crazily every second, and a constant stream of money flowed behind the scenes.
[Group C]
Irene blasted away approaching zombies with a shot, and the Insight Glasses suddenly flashed. The surroundings changed, and she was no longer in the tower but back in the pitch-black Mirror Lake without stars. Blood splattered on her retina, and comrades fighting side by side slowly fell before her eyes.
Irene returned to that day, back to the nightmare she couldn’t escape from.
“Oh~ our contestant Irene, her greatest fear is Mirror Lake,” Ah K said with a regretful tone. “Emotional people always cherish their lost companions, but at times like these, emotions can become burdensome. How will Irene handle this?”
Irene’s movements slowed down, and her eyes wandered forward for two steps, trying to reach out and grab her falling companion.
In that moment of hesitation, she revealed a clear flaw. Several zombies pounced on her, biting her small arm and breaking her cannon.
“Irene! Snap out of it, Yula is already dead!”
The companion’s roar abruptly awakened Irene. She screamed in pain. The mortar on her left arm was completely damaged, the zombie’s sharp teeth pierced her skin. Irene kicked the approaching group of monsters, lifted her right arm, aimed the cannon at the zombie’s head hanging on her and pressed the trigger without hesitation. A blazing red light flashed by. The zombie’s head, Irene’s arm, and the cannon she held all flew out together.
“A heroic sacrifice, Irene blasted off her own left hand! This is the most sensible choice right now, but not something an ordinary person can do. Let’s cheer for Irene, and keep the votes rolling!” Ah K seized this wave of high traffic, desperately encouraging the audience.
“I will always love Irene, she’s like resilient grass facing the raging wind, never giving up even in desperate situations.”
Nana was a sensitive artificial intelligence, and tears were welling up in her eyes as she saw this.
“Irene! Irene!!” The audience’s cheers surged higher and higher, and Irene’s approval ratings peaked, surpassing all the other players.
[Group D]
Lin Youyou retreated while singing, her voice never stopping, buffing Su Cha, who held the front and cleared the kills.
When the Insight Glasses lit up, a damp, eerie rainforest covered the entire field of vision. Giant plants above blocked the sky, and the fetid air made it difficult to breathe. However, Su Cha seemed to be accustomed to walking in this environment. His movements were not slow at all. The venom-enhanced abilities spread extensively, causing swathes of zombies to fall.
On Lin Youyou’s side, the surroundings turned into a hospital, resembling an intensive care unit. A blurry figure lay on the bed, and countless zombies were pressed against the glass outside, roaring and banging on the walls. In the next second, they were about to rush into the ward. The person lying inside seemed to sense the danger, and the ventilator alarm blared, signaling imminent danger to their life.
This was probably the last thing Lin Youyou wanted to face in her mind. She shook her head, forcing herself to stop thinking about these things and focused on dealing with the zombies in front of her.
Named Randomly, since entering the competition and deliberately keeping a low profile, they had always maintained a moderate to lower popularity. Apart from them, there weren’t many popular contestants in Group D. Ironically, this group had the lowest level of attention. Ah K glanced at the screen, uninterested, and switched to the next group.
[Group G]
Song Ke and Xu Xing stood back to back. Xu Xing released a blizzard to gather a hoard of zombies, while Song Ke harvested the zombies’ heads with her twin blades.
Facing ordinary zombies, the two coordinated seamlessly, with no pressure throughout, and the kill count kept rapidly increasing.
The Insight Glasses lit up, and the surroundings changed. On Xu Xing’s side, it was like a zoo, with all sorts of strange and bizarre zombies: zombies with two heads and six arms, water monsters with an elephant’s nose and an eel’s body, vividly appearing before everyone.
Children fear simple things, and their imagination is overly rich. The style of zombies and monsters imagined by Xu Xing was so different from reality that it actually helped them distinguish better.
“The fears of contestant Xu Xing are very… very simple,” Ah K remarked. “Team V587 is the dark horse of the Mirror Lake competition, and so far, the only team that has not received sponsorship from the consortium. Although there are only two of them, they have brought us quite a lot of surprises. What do you think, Yulica? Have you watched the Mirror Lake competition?”
“Of course I have!” Yulica’s orange eyeshadow twinkled. “This is also a treasure team that I support. I’m curious about contestant Song Ke’s fear. Could it be the water monsters she has killed?”
Both guest invitees directed their gaze towards the screen for Group G.
What was Song Ke’s fear?
The Insight Glasses flashed, revealing an unexpected image.
Pure white.
A blinding pure white.
It seemed to be a closed room, but the space was extremely small, with dazzling spotlights from all directions. The bright lights made it difficult to open one’s eyes. In the distant sky, there seemed to be blinking red dots.
“Huh? Is the Insight Glasses broken?” Yulica asked disappointedly.
“Well…” Ah K was also at a loss for words. “Technically, official equipment shouldn’t break. It can only be said that contestant Song Ke’s thoughts are very unique. Perhaps, she’s afraid of the dark? So she prefers to stay in bright places?”
Ah K speculated boldly, stroking his chin.
Finding herself in a brightly lit setting, Song Ke also looked confused. What was this situation? Was this her fear?
Inexplicably, a glint flashed in front of her eyes, and amidst the group of zombies she was dealing with, a sudden figure emerged.
Sai Ang’s mechanical exoskeleton bent into claws and lunged directly at Song Ke.
Song Ke reacted very quickly, raising her twin blades to block, “Clang!” The intense friction between the metals produced sparks.
“Wh-what are you doing!” Song Ke exclaimed angrily.
This competition was about killing the number of zombies without requiring them to kill each other. Why did Sai Ang attack her?
