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Killing Show

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Killing Show

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The Missing Piece

Limerence

Dawning

Rose and Renaissance

Lip and Sword

To Rule in A Turbulent World

Soul Vibration

Falling

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(Chapter Summary)

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(Chapter Summary)

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(Chapter Summary)

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(Chapter Summary)

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(Chapter Summary)

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(Chapter Summary)

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(Chapter Summary)

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(Chapter Summary)

Title 10

(Chapter Summary)

Killing Show, Vol. 1

Chapter 1: Cover UpXia Tian stands on the balcony of an Upper City hotel during the celebration dinner for the second round of the Gilded Broadcasting Corporation’s 199th Asajin Team Tournament, staring at the starry sky and feeling awed because people from the Lower City almost never get to see the real sky.Xia Tian reflects that three months earlier he had been recruited from the Lower City as a criminal to participate in the Gilded Broadcasting Corporation’s Killing Show, a brutal entertainment event where criminals fight and kill each other for the amusement of the Upper City.Xia Tian greedily eats luxury food at the banquet and steals both food and another participant’s wallet because such abundance is unimaginable in the Lower City.Xia Tian recalls barely surviving the first two rounds of the tournament after killing four people and attributes part of his survival to being teamed with Bai Jing’an, a cautious tactician whose strategy is to stay put rather than recklessly fight.Xia Tian thinks Bai Jing’an is boring and cowardly because Bai Jing’an avoids attention and disappears during the party.A red-haired assistant approaches Xia Tian and tells him that Zhi Leng, the chief show producer of the Killing Show, has noticed Xia Tian and wants to meet him privately to discuss making him a star.Xia Tian becomes excited because the stars of the Killing Show are treated like gods in the Upper City and gain wealth, fame, and power.Xia Tian follows the assistant to Zhi Leng’s luxurious penthouse suite, noticing the incredible wealth and space that contrasts with the poverty of the Lower City.Zhi Leng speaks with Xia Tian and says the tournament needs a hero and that Xia Tian could become that star.Zhi Leng stands behind Xia Tian and begins touching his hair, unties the leather cord binding Xia Tian’s long hair, and implies that Xia Tian must “strive” for opportunities.Xia Tian realizes Zhi Leng expects sexual submission in exchange for promotion but decides he is willing to endure it because survival in the Upper City requires compromise.Xia Tian agrees to comply and follows Zhi Leng into the bedroom.Zhi Leng orders Xia Tian to remove his pants and lie face down on the bed while pretending to be afraid and calling him “master.”Xia Tian notices a golden sailboat trophy in the room and abruptly smashes it into Zhi Leng’s head.Xia Tian brutally murders Zhi Leng by repeatedly smashing his skull with the sailboat sculpture until the producer’s head is destroyed and brain matter splatters everywhere.Xia Tian ties his hair back calmly after the murder but then begins trembling as the adrenaline fades and the reality of killing such a powerful man sinks in.Xia Tian realizes he cannot escape punishment because Zhi Leng’s assistant knows he was summoned and because the Upper City implanted tracking or punishment devices into the criminals recruited for the Killing Show.Xia Tian briefly considers escaping by stealing a car, fleeing to the Lower City, and finding a black-market doctor to remove the device in his neck.Xia Tian vomits from stress and fear in the bathroom but still attempts to clean himself and wipe fingerprints before leaving the suite.Xia Tian encounters Bai Jing’an outside near the elevators and Bai Jing’an immediately notices Xia Tian’s suspicious appearance and coldly asks what happened.Xia Tian silently indicates the direction of Zhi Leng’s suite and Bai Jing’an enters the room to investigate.Bai Jing’an sees Zhi Leng’s mutilated corpse but remains completely calm and unemotional.Bai Jing’an retrieves a large suitcase from the wardrobe and instructs Xia Tian to stuff Zhi Leng’s body inside it.Xia Tian helps pack the corpse into the suitcase while Bai Jing’an surveys the room with detached efficiency.Bai Jing’an hacks into the hotel’s security system using his phone and deletes or modifies the corridor surveillance footage so that Xia Tian’s visit will not appear in the records.Bai Jing’an instructs Xia Tian to clean himself up while he erases digital evidence.Xia Tian cleans the blood off himself and restores his innocent appearance, reflecting on how easily his gentle smile hides his violent nature.Bai Jing’an orders Xia Tian to wipe up the blood and brain matter from the carpet and explains that the hotel’s scheduled cleaning the next day will eliminate any remaining forensic evidence.Xia Tian cleans the crime scene while joking and whistling, and Bai Jing’an prepares the body for removal.Bai Jing’an sends the suitcase containing Zhi Leng’s corpse down the service elevator to the parking lot.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an leave the banquet unnoticed because the party guests are distracted by drugs, sex, and luxury.Bai Jing’an hacks a black hovercar belonging to a party guest and Xia Tian loads the suitcase into the trunk.Bai Jing’an drives the stolen car away from the Upper City toward the transit zone between the Upper City and the Lower City.Bai Jing’an takes Xia Tian to a rundown protein-feed processing plant that converts corpses into protein used to feed genetically modified livestock consumed in the Lower City.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an break into the plant and carry Zhi Leng’s body inside among piles of other corpses waiting to be processed.Xia Tian briefly considers selling the body for money through the automated corpse-buying system but Bai Jing’an refuses because it would leave records.Bai Jing’an strips Zhi Leng’s corpse and throws it into the pile of bodies where the powerful producer becomes indistinguishable from ordinary dead people.Xia Tian steals cash from Zhi Leng’s wallet and tries to take the ring and cufflinks but Bai Jing’an forces him to hand them over.Bai Jing’an burns Zhi Leng’s clothes, suitcase, and jewelry in an incinerator to remove all traceable evidence.Bai Jing’an sends Zhi Leng’s corpse into the processing machine where it will be reduced to protein feed.Xia Tian quietly reflects that Bai Jing’an helping him is extremely risky and that Bai Jing’an would become an accomplice to murder if discovered.Xia Tian decides not to question Bai Jing’an’s motives because he desperately needs the help.Bai Jing’an drives the hovercar back to the hotel and parks it in its original place so the owner will not notice anything.Bai Jing’an returns to the banquet and seamlessly blends back into the party as if nothing happened.Bai Jing’an secretly drugs a glass of champagne with hallucinogens and memory-distorting substances.Bai Jing’an casually gives the drink to Zhi Leng’s assistant, ensuring the assistant will be too intoxicated to remember summoning Xia Tian to the suite.Xia Tian watches Bai Jing’an’s calculated actions and realizes that the murder has been perfectly hidden within the chaotic decadence of the Upper City’s elite.

Chapter 2: Opening CeremonyZhi Leng’s disappearance is only noticed a week later because powerful figures in the Upper City often vanish for days without anyone questioning it.The disappearance is only treated seriously after the third round of the Asaijin Team Tournament begins and someone realizes Zhi Leng has not returned.Xia Tian sees police investigating the hotel but keeps a low profile and avoids all discussion while continuing his training on the organizers’ immersive combat simulation platform.Xia Tian survives by using his remaining savings and stealing so he will never have to experience hunger again.Bai Jing’an does not contact Xia Tian in person after the murder and instead sends him training instructions through text messages while maintaining distance.Xia Tian expects their shared crime to create some kind of bond but instead finds Bai Jing’an even colder and more distant than before.Xia Tian reflects that Bai Jing’an is mysterious and emotionally closed off, acting polite and professional while revealing nothing about his true thoughts.Xia Tian concludes that neither he nor Bai Jing’an can separate from each other because the tournament’s team system forces them to remain partners.The police investigation into Zhi Leng’s disappearance fails because the Upper City is chaotic and Zhi Leng had many enemies.The public quickly loses interest in Zhi Leng’s disappearance because deaths and scandals are common in the Upper World.Georg, the chief producer of GBC Channel 7’s survival reality show Piquant Sky, defeats Qi Xiashang in a competition for the position and becomes the new producer in charge of the Asaijin Team Tournament.Georg is ambitious and focused on creating dramatic entertainment and shows no interest in investigating Zhi Leng’s disappearance.Georg pressures the authorities to end the investigation quickly so the Killing Show can continue without delays.The police close the case by randomly convicting and executing a minor storyline producer who had not even attended the banquet.The Killing Show moves forward into its promotional phase with advertising and public hype dominating the media.Zhi Leng’s death becomes irrelevant as the Killing Show machine continues moving forward without acknowledging him.The third round of the 199th Asaijin Team Tournament begins with a large ceremony held at Skystone Square in the main Gilded City.A promotional video highlighting previous matches plays before the ceremony begins while music encourages viewers to celebrate the violent spectacle.Nearly two thousand contestants consisting of criminals, deviants, and desperate individuals stand below the stage while hundreds of cameras film them for entertainment.Xia Tian stands among the players wearing formal attire while Bai Jing’an stands silently beside him with his usual indifferent expression.Latte stands on Xia Tian’s other side excited and hopeful about the tournament despite his lack of intelligence.Xia Tian recalls their earlier teammate Jian Kui who died in the second round and wishes Latte had died instead.Xia Tian absentmindedly plays with the small dog-shaped button he picked up earlier and thinks about his younger sister left behind in the Lower City.Xia Tian remembers promising his sister he would return rich and make her a flower crown, though he knows this promise is almost impossible to fulfill.The thought of his sister triggers intense fear and anger in Xia Tian that manifests as a desire to kill something violently.Xia Tian becomes restless during the ceremony and leaves the formation of contestants despite the strict rules.A staff member in ceremonial armor confronts Xia Tian and orders him back into position.Xia Tian argues that he needs to go to the restroom and intimidates the staff member into letting him pass.Xia Tian wanders around briefly, steals candy, and eventually returns to the formation smiling innocently.Xia Tian repeatedly presses down a lock of Bai Jing’an’s hair that keeps sticking up in the wind while Bai Jing’an silently endures the annoyance.Cameras capture Xia Tian repeatedly fixing Bai Jing’an’s hair during the ceremony.The footage is uploaded online under the category of interesting rookie players and viewers begin commenting about Xia Tian’s behavior.Some viewers mock Xia Tian while others find him cute and begin discussing his earlier performance in the tournament.A small fan group forms online to follow Xia Tian’s progress in the Killing Show.This small fanbase becomes the beginning of a following that will eventually grow large enough to shake the foundations of the floating cities.The lot drawing for team composition begins and Xia Tian’s team gains a new teammate who is assigned the profession of doctor.Xia Tian is disappointed because doctors are considered one of the least useful roles in the Killing Show.Other contestants explain that it could be worse because some teams receive even more useless professions such as chefs or tailors.The contestants gather in a large hall to eat, drink, and rest while tensions run high among the teams.Many contestants become drunk and emotional while others begin arguing or fighting.One team member nearby breaks down crying because their team composition is extremely disadvantageous.Latte drunkenly suggests killing their new doctor teammate immediately after the match begins to save resources.Xia Tian points out that killing teammates counts as murder and violates the organizers’ rules.Latte complains that the Killing Show should simply be about fighting rather than complicated setups created by the organizers.Xia Tian stops arguing with Latte because he finds the conversation pointless due to Latte’s stupidity.Latte’s appearance reveals he is a brutal veteran of the Lower City battle arenas with severe scars and injuries.Their new teammate introduces himself as Xu Peiven and nervously tries to appear friendly.Xu Peiven explains he is a medical graduate who entered the Killing Show due to a clause in a loan contract.Xu Peiven says his house would be repossessed and his wife and daughter forced into the Lower City if he refused to participate.Xu Peiven believes he only needs to survive ten matches to keep his home and thinks the situation may not be as hopeless as it seems.Xia Tian internally concludes that Xu Peiven will almost certainly die within the first two rounds of the pay-to-view matches.The conversation around the hall includes teams discussing strategies to eliminate their weakest teammates without breaking the rules.The third round is announced to be a survival match where teams must last fifteen days despite resources only lasting about a week.The matches take place in dangerous arenas where many contestants die before the gates finally open for survivors.The current tournament is restricted to male contestants because previous mixed tournaments produced scenes that were considered excessively depraved.Bai Jing’an quietly writes notes in a small notebook while likely planning strategies for the coming match.Xia Tian drinks wine and watches the chaotic pre-match atmosphere while feeling increasingly nervous and nauseated.The match type is randomly drawn and announced to be set in a medieval era.Firearms, explosives, vehicles, and modern weapons will not be allowed in this round.All combat will rely on cold weapons such as swords, spears, and bows.Xia Tian laughs at the misfortune of teams that rely on cyber specialists who are now useless in a medieval setting.Bai Jing’an notes that the pre-show warmup broadcast will film those contestants’ reactions for entertainment.Xia Tian becomes increasingly anxious and watches the screens showing violent footage from the Lower City.One video shows the massive massacre in District N which deeply traumatizes Xia Tian.Xia Tian rushes to the bathroom and vomits violently after seeing the footage.When he returns, the tournament map for the survival arena has already been distributed.Bai Jing’an studies the paper map carefully and begins memorizing routes and planning strategies within the limited preparation time.The map may contain inaccuracies due to the medieval theme but still marks several resource supply points that teams will fight over.Latte nervously paces around the room while Xu Peiven calls his family and continues chatting anxiously about television shows.Xia Tian becomes sick again and repeatedly returns to the bathroom to vomit from stress.Xia Tian compares himself to a wounded stray dog waiting to be killed.Xia Tian studies the match description which reveals that contestants will enter a large forest armed only with a dagger and a canteen of water.Food will be extremely scarce and most animals in the forest are artificial traps containing electronics instead of meat.Teams must travel to one of three resource supply points to obtain equipment and survive.These supply points become massive battle zones where many contestants will die at the beginning of the match.Xia Tian watches Bai Jing’an studying the map and once again presses down the lock of hair sticking up on Bai Jing’an’s head while Bai Jing’an silently tolerates it.

Chapter 3: Plunder and KillXia Tian and his team enter the medieval-themed forest arena wearing simple linen clothing and begin the survival match surrounded by hidden cameras and carefully constructed scenery.Xia Tian initially worries about vomiting again from nerves but quickly focuses on finding someone to kill once the match begins.Xia Tian notices animals in the forest and briefly wonders whether they are real or mechanical traps created by the organizers.Bai Jing’an climbs a small slope to observe the surrounding terrain and determine their location relative to the resource points.Bai Jing’an concludes that their team has spawned roughly two kilometers northwest of the third resource supply point.Latte immediately suggests rushing directly to the resource point to compete with other teams for supplies.Bai Jing’an rejects the idea and decides they will avoid the main battle and instead ambush other teams returning from the resource point.Bai Jing’an leads them to a suitable ambush area near a trail that teams will likely pass through after leaving the battlefield.Bai Jing’an explains that once the large fight ends, weaker teams carrying supplies will pass by and become easy targets for plunder.Latte protests that avoiding the main battle is dishonorable and claims they should fight bravely in front of the audience watching the Killing Show.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an ignore Latte and quietly prepare the ambush position.Several teams pass through the path while Xia Tian’s team remains hidden because the early teams are either too strong or carry no supplies yet.Xia Tian restrains Latte from rushing out prematurely because attacking now would provide no benefit.Xia Tian waits patiently for teams returning from the resource battle with supplies that can be stolen.After about half an hour, a strong three-person squad passes by with large amounts of supplies and blood on their clothing from the earlier battle.Bai Jing’an does not signal an attack because the team appears highly skilled and dangerous.As the team approaches, Xia Tian recognizes a voice belonging to Luo Qingtian from a previous round of the tournament.Xia Tian recalls secretly overhearing Luo Qingtian’s team earlier in the tournament abusing a captured teenage contestant.Luo Qingtian had forced the boy to strip and dance before shooting him in the lower body when dissatisfied.Luo Qingtian and his teammates debated killing the boy to avoid revenge and ultimately shot him in the head.Xia Tian remembers the boy’s corpse lying naked and bleeding among the ruins while Luo Qingtian’s team casually walked away after the match ended.Xia Tian also remembers seeing Bai Jing’an walking silently through the battlefield after that round ended.The present ambushed squad is revealed to be the same team led by Luo Qingtian, although their group now has only three members after the earlier resource battle.Luo Qingtian is described as a famous tactician with silver hair and a glamorous image created by the Killing Show’s producers.Luo Qingtian originally came from the Lower City but grew up in the Upper City after his father became a district administrator.Luo Qingtian joined the Killing Show voluntarily despite his privileged background and became famous for his ruthless intelligence and sadistic personality.Xia Tian feels overwhelming hatred toward Luo Qingtian and believes killing him is fate.Xia Tian prepares to jump out of hiding and assassinate Luo Qingtian before his teammates can react.Bai Jing’an stops Xia Tian by grabbing his shoulder before he attacks.Xia Tian quickly signals his plan to Bai Jing’an through battle gestures explaining that he intends to kill Luo Qingtian immediately.Bai Jing’an silently analyzes the risky plan and makes quick adjustments to improve the strategy.Bai Jing’an agrees to the plan and signals Xia Tian to attack.Xia Tian leaps from hiding and lands directly in front of Luo Qingtian.Xia Tian swings his sword instantly and slashes through Luo Qingtian’s neck before he can fire his crossbow.Luo Qingtian’s artery is severed and his head is nearly cut off, killing him almost instantly.One of Luo Qingtian’s teammates strikes Xia Tian with a sword while he is attacking.Xia Tian deliberately uses Luo Qingtian’s body as a shield to reduce the damage from the blow.Xia Tian struggles briefly to pull his sword free from Luo Qingtian’s body.Xia Tian stares into Luo Qingtian’s eyes as he dies and laughs while seeing the shock and rage on his face.Xia Tian elbows the second warrior in the face and breaks his bones during the counterattack.Latte arrives to join the fight while Xia Tian continues using Luo Qingtian’s corpse as a shield.The second warrior accidentally stabs Luo Qingtian’s corpse while trying to strike Xia Tian.The mistake shocks the warrior momentarily and Xia Tian takes advantage of the hesitation.Xia Tian grabs the warrior and snaps his neck with a swift chokehold maneuver.A third surviving member named Flint suddenly attacks and thrusts a sword through the bodies of his teammates into Xia Tian’s abdomen.Xia Tian grabs the sword blade with his bare hand while blood flows between his fingers.Xia Tian mocks Flint and tells him that their lives are not that valuable after all.Latte attacks Flint but Flint blocks the strike while still fighting Xia Tian simultaneously.Xia Tian realizes he does not need to remain locked in a stalemate and steps backward, pulling Flint’s sword out of his body.Xia Tian throws a small knife to distract Flint and force him to dodge.While Flint is distracted, Xia Tian quickly advances toward him.Flint tries to pull his sword free but it is stuck in the corpse and he cannot react in time.Xia Tian grabs Luo Qingtian’s crossbow and aims it directly at Flint’s head.Xia Tian fires the crossbow and kills Flint instantly with an arrow through the head.Bai Jing’an descends from the hill after the battle to examine the results.Xu Peiven finally emerges from hiding and vomits after seeing the bloody scene.Xia Tian hands the crossbow to Bai Jing’an who calmly adds it to their equipment.Bai Jing’an begins collecting weapons and supplies from the dead enemies.Xia Tian searches the corpses for useful equipment and food while eating an apple he finds among the supplies.Xia Tian experiences a brief moment of calm after killing Luo Qingtian as the rage inside him fades.Xu Peiven panics when he realizes they have just killed the famous SilverSquad led by Luo Qingtian.Xu Peiven explains that SilverSquad was extremely famous and had its own professional production team supporting it.Xu Peiven predicts that the outside world is probably going crazy watching the battle broadcast.Latte becomes excited imagining the fame they will receive from killing such a powerful team.Bai Jing’an remains uninterested in the fame and continues quietly organizing their supplies.Xia Tian selects Flint’s engraved longsword as his new weapon.Bai Jing’an suggests they move to a hidden location to rest after the battle.Xia Tian follows Bai Jing’an and once again presses down the stray lock of hair sticking up on Bai Jing’an’s head.A crow watches them silently from a branch as they leave the battlefield.Outside the arena, viewers react with shock because Luo Qingtian was one of the favorites to win the tournament.Luo Qingtian’s production team panics during an emergency meeting after their star contestant is killed.The producers worry they may be punished or lose their jobs for failing to protect Luo Qingtian.The producers quickly realize Xia Tian might be a better star to promote than Luo Qingtian.The production team decides to redirect their resources toward grooming Xia Tian as a new rising star.The producers plan to create a five-person production team focused on promoting Xia Tian.Online discussions explode as viewers replay the battle footage repeatedly.Xia Tian’s attack becomes extremely popular and people begin quoting his line that their lives are not that valuable after all.Fans celebrate Luo Qingtian’s death because he was infamous for his cruelty in previous matches.Xia Tian’s lines and actions become trending quotes in the Killing Show community.Many viewers begin researching Xia Tian and asking for more content and merchandise related to him.Attention and capital from the Upper City entertainment industry begin shifting toward Xia Tian.Xia Tian’s brutal victory marks the beginning of his rise as a new star of the Killing Show.

Chapter 4: Battle EncounterXia Tian and his team rest beside a river after their earlier victory while Xu Peiven treats Xia Tian’s injuries using crude herbal medicine from the medieval-themed supplies provided by the organizers.The organizers deliberately provide strong anesthetics disguised as herbal medicine so injured contestants can keep fighting for the sake of entertainment.Xia Tian removes his torn shirt so Xu Peiven can mend it using a sewing kit since no replacement clothing was available among their loot.Bai Jing’an briefly considers stopping Xia Tian from exposing himself while injured but ultimately says nothing because repairing the clothing is necessary.Xia Tian sits shirtless in the sunlight, revealing numerous old scars from his violent life in the Lower City.Xu Peiven awkwardly washes and dries Xia Tian’s clothing while Xia Tian casually weaves a flower crown from nearby wildflowers.Latte enthusiastically gathers flowers to help Xia Tian decorate the crown while Xu Peiven watches in confusion.Xia Tian and Latte explain that flowers and natural scenery are rare luxuries in the Lower City where people mostly see mold, mushrooms, and pollution.Latte tells a story about stealing cookies as a child in the Lower City and being chased by a vicious mutated guard dog called a hellhound.Latte explains that hellhounds in the Lower City are often mutated dogs used for entertainment in underground fighting rings.Latte describes how the dog bit deeply into his leg and dragged him away during the chase.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an explain practical methods for killing such mutated animals by targeting the heart or spine.Latte shows the horrific scar left on his leg where half the flesh had been bitten away.Bai Jing’an unconsciously reacts to the injury, revealing that he also once suffered a severe leg wound.Latte explains he survived by hiding in sewers for half a year and eating garbage before eventually joining underground battle arenas.Xia Tian sarcastically guesses that Latte’s childhood friend betrayed him and abandoned him after the incident.Latte insists that his friend Lars was actually a good person and that his life eventually improved after entering the battle arenas.Xu Peiven asks about the cookies Latte mentioned because he cannot imagine such simple food being rare.Latte explains that cookies are ordinary in the Upper City but extremely rare in the Lower City due to food shortages and unfair trade agreements.Xia Tian reassures Xu Peiven that he should not feel guilty about the inequality because he did not create the system.The group continues resting until the third night when they encounter a weakened two-man enemy team.Xia Tian quickly kills one opponent during the encounter.Latte fights the second opponent for a long time but allows him to escape after the man surrenders and begs for mercy.Xia Tian angrily argues that they need the points earned by killing enemies to survive in the tournament.Latte insists he refuses to kill someone who has surrendered because he believes in honor like a knight.Xia Tian complains that the spared opponent will likely die soon anyway.Bai Jing’an ends the argument by pointing out that at least the fight earned them another sword.Later the team hears faint metallic sounds approaching from the forest.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an immediately realize another group of players is approaching and silently prepare for combat.The team spreads out into defensive positions and abandons their flower crowns in the grass.A combined group of seven players approaches, consisting of two temporary allied teams that joined forces after suffering heavy losses earlier.The enemy group is tired and wounded but still organized and armed with crossbows and swords.Xia Tian decides not to attack because the enemy group is too strong and hopes they will pass by without noticing them.A mechanical owl used by the organizers suddenly lands above Xia Tian and screams loudly.The noise reveals Xia Tian’s hiding position to the enemy group.Both sides realize a battle is unavoidable and prepare to fight.The enemy leader in red clothing attacks Xia Tian first.Xia Tian blocks the attack and knocks the man unconscious by striking his temple with the sword hilt.The battle instantly spreads across the forest as both teams engage each other.Bai Jing’an uses a crossbow from his sniper position in a tree and shoots one enemy directly in the forehead.Bai Jing’an then shoots a second enemy in the wrist to prevent him from firing at Xia Tian.Xia Tian simultaneously fights two skilled swordsmen in close combat.Latte battles a heavily armored opponent in a separate duel nearby.One enemy warrior discovers Bai Jing’an’s location and climbs the tree to assassinate him.Xia Tian notices the danger and throws his longsword with tremendous force from across the battlefield.The thrown sword pierces the assassin through the heart and pins him to the tree trunk.Losing his sword worsens Xia Tian’s situation as he continues fighting two opponents while already wounded.Xia Tian’s shoulder is stabbed during the fight but he keeps battling despite the injury.Bai Jing’an kills another hidden enemy sniper by shooting him through the neck with a crossbow bolt.The man in red regains consciousness and secretly observes the battlefield while hiding in the grass.The man plans to assassinate Xia Tian from behind while the others are distracted.Latte notices the attack and rushes forward to intercept the strike meant for Xia Tian.Latte blocks the enemy sword but exposes his own back to his previous opponent.Latte’s opponent immediately thrusts a sword through his back, mortally wounding him.Despite being fatally injured, Latte continues blocking the attack to protect Xia Tian.Xia Tian seizes the opportunity created by the distraction and kills one opponent by stabbing through his skull.Xia Tian grabs Latte’s sword and uses it to decapitate another enemy warrior.Xu Peiven unexpectedly kills the wounded enemy leader in red by stabbing him with a sword as he attempts to escape.The battle ends with all seven enemies dead but Latte fatally wounded.Latte coughs blood while reciting lines from the Killing Show’s God of War prayer advertising speech.Latte proudly declares he has passed the test of courage before dying.Xia Tian, Bai Jing’an, and Xu Peiven watch silently as Latte dies from his wounds.Xu Peiven asks if Latte can be buried in the arena as he wished.Bai Jing’an explains that normally the organizers would not allow bodies to remain but they might allow it if it becomes part of the show.Xu Peiven bitterly jokes that they must hold a dramatic funeral so viewers will vote to keep Latte’s grave as a story element.Xia Tian becomes sickened by the absurdity of the situation and nearly vomits.Xia Tian eventually agrees to hold a funeral for Latte.Xu Peiven digs a grave while the others prepare the burial.Xia Tian thanks Bai Jing’an for saving him during the battle.Bai Jing’an thanks Xia Tian for throwing the sword that killed the assassin in the tree.Bai Jing’an stitches Xia Tian’s wounds while Xia Tian drinks strong liquor instead of using anesthetic.Xia Tian quietly tells Bai Jing’an about his younger sister in the Lower City who believed his promise that he would become rich and bring her to the Upper City.Xia Tian reveals that his mother was recently beaten to death and that his father plans to sell his sister.Xia Tian admits he made promises to save her even though he has no real way to guarantee survival.Bai Jing’an realizes Xia Tian fights so desperately because he must keep that impossible promise.After finishing the stitches, Bai Jing’an silently pats Xia Tian on the shoulder.Xu Peiven sings a melancholic song from a television drama while they bury Latte.The group finishes filling the grave with soil.Xu Peiven asks Xia Tian to give a eulogy.Xia Tian gives a harsh but honest speech describing Latte as a foolish man who always longed for meaning despite being constantly abused by life.Xia Tian admits Latte died saving someone who did not deserve such sacrifice.Xia Tian places the flower crown he made earlier onto Latte’s grave as a wreath.The team finishes the funeral and prepares to move on.Bai Jing’an notices the mechanical owl watching them and realizes the organizers are deliberately drawing battles toward Xia Tian.Bai Jing’an concludes the producers want Xia Tian to become the star attraction of the tournament.Xia Tian glares at the owl and mockingly blows it a kiss filled with murderous intent.Bai Jing’an worries the production team is now focusing all attention on Xia Tian.Meanwhile the show’s chief director Yakovsky watches the broadcast and renames the burial site Flower Crown Cemetery for dramatic effect.Yakovsky orders emotional background music to play during the broadcast to create a sorrowful moment after the battle and funeral.

Chapter 5: Marketing of a StarYakovsky, the chief director of the Killing Show, studies Xia Tian’s face on the monitoring screen and begins deciding how the entertainment industry should shape Xia Tian into a new star.Yakovsky reflects that Xia Tian appears soft and almost harmless when calm despite being brutally efficient while killing.Yakovsky recalls Xia Tian talking privately about his younger sister and realizes the emotional story has already become extremely popular among viewers.Yakovsky notes that the Killing Show increasingly eliminates privacy and that recordings of Xia Tian’s private conversation are already being widely circulated and sold.Yakovsky becomes convinced that Xia Tian possesses a powerful presence similar to a sharp unstoppable blade that will inevitably draw attention.Yakovsky believes Xia Tian’s despair, anger, and determination could destroy him but will also make him extremely valuable as entertainment.Yakovsky imagines that beneath Xia Tian’s rage there might exist a gentle personality capable of protecting loved ones and living peacefully.Yakovsky considers shaping Xia Tian’s public image into a healing or comforting hero figure because healing themes are currently popular in the Upper City.Yakovsky begins preparing to issue instructions to Xia Tian’s production team to start crafting his image.At that exact moment Xia Tian suddenly turns toward the camera owl and throws it a flying kiss filled with murderous intent.Yakovsky is startled by the intensity of Xia Tian’s expression and instinctively pushes his chair back.Yakovsky realizes that Xia Tian’s violent defiance and hatred make him even more fascinating to viewers.Yakovsky acknowledges that Xia Tian is technically just a criminal used for entertainment but recognizes the terrifying power of someone fighting desperately to escape their fate.Yakovsky nevertheless decides to continue molding Xia Tian into a commercially valuable “healer” type star despite the contradiction with his violent personality.Yakovsky orders his editor Tian Xiaoluo to create a dramatic video clip using the song She Kissed Him combined with heroic emotional scenes centered on Xia Tian.Tian Xiaoluo silently accepts the order and leaves to prepare the promotional material.Tian Xiaoluo is described as a quiet and efficient editor who constantly takes colorful pills to cope with stress and trauma.Tian Xiaoluo secretly still mourns her ex-boyfriend who died brutally during a previous season of the Killing Show.Yakovsky reflects that many staff members cope with trauma through drugs and silence because speaking about it would change nothing.Yakovsky believes the Killing Show cares only about viewership ratings and not about morality or shame.Yakovsky explains that audiences enjoy contestants shouting, cursing, and behaving violently because it represents authenticity and attracts viewers.Yakovsky proudly claims responsibility for directing the broadcast of the Battle of the Flower Crown Cemetery where Latte died.Yakovsky admits he had been extremely drunk during Luo Qingtian’s death but took control of the production afterward to turn the next battle into a major spectacle.Yakovsky held an overnight meeting with his staff and decided Xia Tian was a promising star worth investing in immediately.Yakovsky arranged a new battle encounter specifically designed to showcase Xia Tian’s abilities within one hour.Yakovsky explains that the Killing Show must quickly capitalize on rising stars because fame in the tournament rises and falls rapidly.Yakovsky personally directed the battle broadcast so that it appeared both brutal and emotionally powerful to viewers.The Battle of the Flower Crown Cemetery quickly becomes considered a classic highlight of the season.Yakovsky believes the emotional authenticity of the fighters’ rage and grief gives the show deeper appeal to audiences.Yakovsky views every moment of violence, sorrow, and desperation as merchandise that can be sold to viewers.Yakovsky reflects that everyone working for the Killing Show is trapped in the system and forced to continue producing entertainment regardless of their broken lives.Yakovsky unknowingly makes the most successful decision of his career by deciding to promote Xia Tian as a star.Yakovsky drinks heavily again because he cannot tolerate sobriety while working on the Killing Show.Meanwhile the video of the Battle of the Flower Crown Cemetery surpasses seventy million purchases and continues rapidly increasing.Fans across the Upper City repeatedly watch the battle and discuss Xia Tian online while creating derivative products and fan communities.Xia Tian’s fan base grows rapidly as viewers become fascinated with his violent charisma and tragic background.In reality Xia Tian, Bai Jing’an, and Xu Peiven continue wandering through the forest exhausted and wounded after the recent battle.The team eventually finds a collapsed boulder covered with climbing plants that forms a hidden resting place.Xia Tian sits in the shade and feels reminded of the Lower City even though the forest environment is completely different.Xia Tian begins weaving another flower crown using small cerise flowers.Bai Jing’an silently contributes a blue flower to help complete the crown.Xu Peiven quietly reveals that the man he killed earlier during the battle was named Lan Qi.Xu Peiven explains that Lan Qi was rumored to be planning to get married.Xu Peiven reflects that Lan Qi also had a famous close friend who had partnered with him in many previous Killing Show battles.Xu Peiven worries that Lan Qi’s friend may eventually come seeking revenge against them.Xu Peiven becomes emotionally distressed while reflecting on killing Lan Qi and the possibility that Lan Qi’s lover witnessed the death on broadcast.Xu Peiven struggles to justify the killing and repeatedly says he had no choice.Xu Peiven begins crying while questioning whether there should be some deeper meaning behind killing another person.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an are too exhausted to respond and allow Xu Peiven to continue crying.Xia Tian silently leaves the shelter because he cannot tolerate listening to Xu Peiven’s grief.Bai Jing’an soon follows Xia Tian outside the hiding place.Xia Tian gives Bai Jing’an a small apple he found among his supplies.Bai Jing’an accepts the apple without speaking.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an stand silently outside together, avoiding Xu Peiven’s emotional breakdown while resting before continuing the deadly tournament.

Chapter 6: Easter EggXia Tian, Bai Jing’an, and Xu Peiven spend several uneventful days avoiding fights while moving through the forest and occasionally seeing corpses left behind to make the arena resemble a warzone.The team once encounters a lone contestant who immediately surrenders and gives them all his supplies, and they allow him to leave alive.Another time they find a severely wounded player left alive after a battle and Xu Peiven asks someone to kill him out of mercy.Xia Tian slits the wounded man’s throat and asks Bai Jing’an whether finishing him counts for points.Bai Jing’an confirms that killing him does earn points and they move on.Bai Jing’an warns Xia Tian that the current calm is suspicious and predicts the production team is preparing something major for them.Ten days later, near the fourteenth day of the survival match, Xu Peiven happily calculates how much money he will earn for his family if he survives the round.The team cautiously crosses a large grassy plain known to be a dangerous place for ambushes.They reach an abandoned village filled with a few fresh corpses and signs that other teams have already looted the area.Xu Peiven continues searching the buildings for supplies while Xia Tian finds some old prop coins under a counter and pockets them.Xia Tian suddenly hears distant movement and presses his ear to the ground to confirm that many people are approaching.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an realize a large group is coming and prepare to retreat.They suddenly realize Xu Peiven wandered too far away from them while searching.Two soldiers wearing red uniforms appear outside one of the houses and immediately spot Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an.Bai Jing’an fires his crossbow and shoots one of the soldiers in the chest.Xia Tian rushes the other soldier, throws him down, and cuts his artery.Xia Tian then discovers Xu Peiven’s body nearby and realizes he has been quietly killed by someone else.Xu Peiven lies curled up on the ground holding his unused sword, having bled to death after being stabbed.Xia Tian suddenly remembers Xu Peiven’s full name and recalls his earlier conversations about his wife and daughter.Xia Tian reflects that Xu Peiven believed dying in the tournament might save his family financially.Xia Tian realizes that despite Xu Peiven’s hopes and personality he ultimately became nothing more than another disposable casualty for the Killing Show.Bai Jing’an examines Xu Peiven’s body only briefly before more enemies approach.Two additional soldiers appear and attack the remaining pair.Bai Jing’an shoots one soldier in the abdomen with his crossbow.Xia Tian smashes a door into another soldier’s head and kills him by repeatedly slamming his head into the wall.Bai Jing’an finishes the wounded soldier with a dagger and urges Xia Tian to escape immediately.As they exit the building a large army of about thirty soldiers suddenly surrounds them.The soldiers wear similar uniforms and appear to be part of a staged faction within the tournament.The leader rides a mechanical white horse and introduces himself as a representative of the Grand Duke of Skymoat.The leader announces that all trespassers in the territory will be arrested and taken to the dungeon for trial.Several captured players are shown as examples standing behind the soldiers.Xia Tian prepares to fight but Bai Jing’an grabs his wrist and silently stops him.Xia Tian reluctantly allows the soldiers to confiscate his weapon and place shackles on him.Bai Jing’an quietly explains that this situation is likely an Easter egg storyline event in the Asaijin Tournament system.Bai Jing’an explains that certain areas trigger scripted plotlines when contestants enter them.Bai Jing’an also realizes the sudden strong wind was artificially created to mask the approaching army’s movement.Xia Tian concludes that resisting the soldiers would likely lead to instant death because the storyline requires them to be captured alive.Xia Tian secretly keeps one of the sharp prop coins hidden as a potential weapon.A soldier complains that Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an killed several members of the patrol earlier.The leader dismisses the complaint and explains that they must keep the prisoners alive for the storyline.The captured contestants are marched across grasslands toward a large castle that does not appear on the original map.During the march players acting as soldiers and prisoners casually talk with each other because the storyline temporarily discourages fighting.Xia Tian introduces himself to another captured contestant named Saijo.Saijo explains that the soldiers have been capturing people for sacrificial rituals ordered by the Grand Duke.Saijo says that if the soldiers fail to capture enough victims they must sacrifice themselves instead.Another player explains that the storyline involves a mad Grand Duke who made a pact with an evil god to gain power through human sacrifices.The group complains that they expected a survival match but now must participate in a theatrical storyline event.The massive castle eventually comes into view and appears enormous and sinister like a dark fortress.The leader Doug dismounts his mechanical horse and disappears into the castle while the prisoners are taken to the dungeon.The dungeon is located deep underground and designed with torches, devil carvings, and a sinister atmosphere.Xia Tian smells the scent of real blood and realizes many people have died in the dungeon before.The prisoners are brought into a massive underground chamber containing many cells filled with other captured contestants.Nearly a hundred contestants are imprisoned there waiting for the next event.Xia Tian notices a large sacrificial altar in the center covered with dark bloodstains and runic carvings.The prisoners are shoved into a cell with several other players including Vosen, Grassblade, and Fang Youtian.The prisoners introduce themselves and complain about the absurd storyline situation.Bai Jing’an quietly inspects the cell and asks if anyone has discovered a possible escape route.Grassblade explains they discovered a cracked stone slab beneath the straw on the floor.Beneath the slab they can hear running water suggesting an underground river or sewer passage.The prisoners attempted to move the slab earlier but could not lift it without tools.Suddenly soldiers’ footsteps echo through the dungeon signaling the beginning of the next spectacle.The prisoners quickly hide the crack beneath straw to avoid being discovered.The Grand Duke of Skymoat dramatically enters the dungeon.The Grand Duke announces that the prisoners will become sacrifices to strengthen his power and rule forever.Some prisoners recognize the Grand Duke as a replica or modified version of the famous Killing Show star Wei Ling.The players explain that GBC owns extended publicity rights allowing them to recreate celebrities as clones, robots, or digital constructs.Xia Tian realizes he unknowingly signed similar rights over to GBC when he was recruited from prison.The Grand Duke slowly walks past each cell inspecting the prisoners and enjoying their fear.The Grand Duke eventually points to a filthy prisoner hiding in the corner of Xia Tian’s cell.The selected prisoner desperately refuses and begs for mercy but soldiers drag him out.Other players reveal that the victim had previously surrendered in the tournament and was therefore placed on the blacklist by the organizers.Blacklisted players are intentionally killed in brutal ways to punish them and increase drama.The soldiers chain the prisoner onto the sacrificial altar in the center of the dungeon.The prisoner panics and screams while the audience of prisoners watches.A cult-like assistant shoves a burning coal into the prisoner’s mouth to silence his screams temporarily.The Grand Duke begins a long sadistic torture ritual on the altar.The torture is extremely brutal and clearly designed for wealthy viewers with sadistic tastes.Xia Tian realizes that the dungeon scene is not simply a storyline but entertainment for hidden spectators.The torture continues slowly and deliberately to prolong the victim’s suffering.The victim eventually dies after a prolonged and horrifying ordeal.Some prisoners nervously laugh or make jokes to cope with the trauma while others vomit.Xia Tian grips the sharp coin in his hand and stares at the altar while processing the cruelty of the spectacle.Bai Jing’an silently watches and then pats Xia Tian on the shoulder to reassure him that they will not be chosen as sacrifices.Bai Jing’an explains indirectly that popular contestants with high viewership value are unlikely to be killed in such a disposable role.The Grand Duke leaves the chamber satisfied while soldiers begin cleaning the altar.The prisoners whisper among themselves about who might be chosen as the next sacrifice.Xia Tian realizes that becoming a star in the Killing Show is not only about fame but also a form of survival insurance.Xia Tian concludes that the Killing Show is not truly a battle for courage or skill but a system where human suffering is sold as entertainment.

**Chapter 7: Art of Fabrication”The prisoners remain inside the dungeon after the sacrificial torture ends, and the altar is cleaned while the smell of blood and excrement lingers in the air.Vosen casually comments that witnessing the scene in person smells terrible compared to watching it through virtual terminals.Vosen boasts that he owns a sailing ship called a Barque and speaks arrogantly about the luxury lifestyle he enjoys outside the Killing Show.Fang Youtian looks at Vosen with admiration because Vosen carries the confidence of someone from a wealthy background who seems able to leave the game at any time.Bai Jing’an continues examining the cracked stone slab on the floor of the cell.Bai Jing’an states that bones would be strong enough to pry the slab open and create an escape route.The other prisoners immediately understand Bai Jing’an’s suggestion that a corpse could provide the necessary bones.Vosen jokingly proposes killing the injured prisoner in the cell to obtain bones.The injured prisoner panics and protests that his injury is not severe.Xia Tian ignores the injured prisoner and instead confronts Vosen directly about acting like the leader of the group.Vosen steps toward Xia Tian and attempts to assert dominance in what looks like a typical prison power struggle.Xia Tian suddenly grabs Vosen and slashes his neck with the sharp coin he had hidden earlier.The improvised weapon cuts Vosen’s artery and blood begins spraying from his neck.Xia Tian calmly steps back while Vosen stands in shock touching the blood on his neck.Vosen realizes he has been fatally wounded and tries to attack Xia Tian but quickly loses strength.The other prisoners step away and watch Vosen stagger around the cell as he bleeds to death.Vosen collapses on the floor and dies without understanding why Xia Tian killed him.Xia Tian casually asks the others if Vosen’s bones can now be used to pry open the stone slab.Outside the arena Yakovsky watches the broadcast and is shocked by Xia Tian’s sudden murder of Vosen.Yakovsky realizes that the Vosen family are shareholders in GBC and may complain about their son’s death.Yakovsky dismisses the problem because many shareholders exist and nothing can change Vosen’s death now.Yakovsky drinks more alcohol and decides to highlight the scene for broadcast because it will dramatically increase ratings.Yakovsky switches the broadcast camera focus to Bai Jing’an to capture his reaction.Yakovsky notices Bai Jing’an appears calm and uninterested but interprets the expression as part of the drama.Yakovsky also notices that Xia Tian subtly pulls Bai Jing’an away from the dying Vosen’s path during the attack.Yakovsky decides this detail can be used to portray Xia Tian as protecting Bai Jing’an for storytelling purposes.Yakovsky concludes that the Killing Show is fundamentally the art of fabricating dramatic narratives regardless of the real motivations behind events.Inside the cell the remaining prisoners quickly agree to use Vosen’s corpse to obtain bones.Grassblade reveals he secretly smuggled tools including pliers and half a blade.The prisoners cut open Vosen’s body and extract several bones despite the gruesome process.Some prisoners vomit during the procedure but continue working until they obtain suitable bones.Xia Tian watches the corpse with a calm smile that appears both gentle and disturbingly cold.Yakovsky later recognizes this expression as one of Xia Tian’s most iconic facial expressions.Yakovsky plans to frame Xia Tian’s murder of Vosen as an act motivated by protecting Bai Jing’an to create a dramatic narrative.Saijo asks Xia Tian if he knows Vosen’s background as a wealthy man.Xia Tian sarcastically comments that Vosen will never sail again.The prisoners push the bones into the crack and successfully pry the stone slab open.A burst of cold air and water vapor rises from the opening beneath the cell floor.Xia Tian jumps down first into the underground passage beneath the dungeon.Xia Tian lands in shallow cold water flowing through a dark sewer-like tunnel.Xia Tian helps Bai Jing’an climb down into the tunnel.Saijo and the others follow into the underground passage.The tunnel walls glow faintly with moss that emits a greenish light.Xia Tian notices strange runic patterns on the walls similar to those on the sacrificial altar above.The group realizes the castle was built on top of a much older and possibly supernatural underground structure.Fang Youtian throws the bone weapon into the water out of disgust after climbing down.Saijo immediately tells Fang Youtian to retrieve the bone because they have no other weapons.Fang Youtian reluctantly picks the bone back up after realizing they may need it to survive.The injured prisoner climbs down last and appears capable of moving despite his wounds.The group discusses possible escape routes through the sewer system.They decide to move toward the direction of the castle’s main gate in hopes of finding an exit.Xia Tian and the others recognize that escaping the Easter egg scenario will likely trigger more dangerous events because the organizers control the storyline.The group begins moving through the underground sewer while preparing for whatever the Killing Show plans next.

Chapter 8: Underground PalaceXia Tian and the remaining prisoners begin moving through the underground sewer tunnel toward the castle’s main gate while staying alert for danger.Xia Tian suddenly stops when he notices a grotesque face looming in the darkness but realizes it is only a statue designed to frighten players.The group continues forward while passing many disturbing statues that look almost alive in the dim glowing moss light.Bai Jing’an asks everyone to introduce their combat professions so they can organize the group.The group discovers they consist of two warriors, four snipers, one cyber support specialist, one mechanic, and Bai Jing’an as tactician.The players move deeper into the underground structure and leave the sewer area behind as the architecture becomes more like an ancient corridor.The environment grows stranger with towering grotesque statues and glowing moss that signals increasingly dangerous plot areas.The players enter a massive abandoned underground palace beneath the castle.They find several skeletons and bone spears scattered nearby and take them as replacement weapons.The group senses the smell of predators and rotting flesh in the darkness, realizing dangerous creatures are nearby.Xia Tian leads the group at the front while Bai Jing’an walks behind him as they move in formation.They discover two dead castle soldiers and collect two rusty swords from the bodies.The swords are given to Xia Tian and Saijo because they are the team’s two warriors.The group realizes the area is an obvious trap designed for monsters to hunt players.While walking through a corridor a monster suddenly leaps from the darkness and attacks Grassblade.The creature bites through Grassblade’s shoulder and drags him toward the darkness.Xia Tian strikes the creature with his sword and stabs it in the head but the poor-quality sword breaks.The creature retreats briefly while Grassblade collapses with a nearly torn-off arm and rapidly bleeding wounds.The group then clearly sees the creature is a gigantic furless mutated rat roughly two meters tall.Xia Tian recognizes the monster type from the massacre in District N in the Lower City.The mutated rat prepares another attack and charges toward Saijo.Saijo stabs the rat with his sword but the weapon also breaks due to its poor quality.At that moment Xia Tian notices another monster crawling silently across the ceiling.The second creature is an enormous centipede-like insect with countless legs.The centipede suddenly attacks the group and nearly kills one of the players.The mechanic is killed instantly when the creature’s pincers tear through his neck.Bai Jing’an analyzes the monster and tells everyone to aim for its head because it is not venomous.The players fight desperately using rocks and bone weapons.Bai Jing’an pins part of the creature’s body to the stone floor using a bone spear.The group manages to smash the centipede’s head and kill it.During the battle the mutated rat reappears and ambushes Saijo.The rat bites through Saijo’s skull and drags his body into the darkness.Xia Tian tries to pursue the rat but realizes Saijo is already dead and stops.The team realizes they have lost multiple members in only a short time.Another injured prisoner dies nearby after being sliced open during the battle.The surviving players feel like helpless toys trapped in a deadly game designed for spectators.Fang Youtian asks whether they should chase the rat but Bai Jing’an refuses because it would be pointless.Bai Jing’an insists they must abandon Grassblade because his bleeding wounds would attract more monsters.The group leaves Grassblade behind while he lies unconscious and dying.The survivors continue navigating the underground palace while trying to find the exit.Xia Tian notes the third round will end soon because only about thirty hours remain in the fifteen-day survival match.Along the way they kill several smaller mutant creatures.Another sniper in the group is killed when a monster drags him into an underground river and devours him.Xia Tian stays at the front of the group protecting Bai Jing’an as they continue deeper into the maze.Xia Tian reflects on Bai Jing’an’s strange life contract that forced him into the Killing Show even before birth.Bai Jing’an and Xia Tian both sense that the mutated rat is still secretly following them.Xia Tian decides they must eliminate the rat before it attacks again.Bai Jing’an proposes creating a trap to kill it.The group pretends to argue so Xia Tian can separate from the group and act as bait.Bai Jing’an secretly draws the escape route and trap plan on Xia Tian’s palm using his finger.Xia Tian jokes with Bai Jing’an and playfully presses down the lock of hair sticking up on his head.Xia Tian walks alone through the underground palace while the rat secretly follows him.Xia Tian remembers the horrifying massacre in District N where mutated creatures killed thousands in the Lower City for entertainment broadcasts.Xia Tian reaches the planned trap location where a cracked stone step will collapse when stepped on.The mutated rat unexpectedly avoids the trap at first and nearly attacks Xia Tian directly.Xia Tian turns and strikes the rat’s injured nose with a bone spear.The rat stumbles backward onto the cracked stone and falls down the stairs.Xia Tian attacks again and stabs the rat in its remaining eye.Bai Jing’an and the others rush in from hiding to assist.Bai Jing’an thrusts a bone spear into the rat’s carotid artery with precise efficiency.The group spends several minutes stabbing the rat repeatedly until it is finally incapacitated.The rat’s stomach bursts open during the attack revealing partially digested human body parts.The group finds Saijo’s tattooed arm inside the rat’s stomach confirming he was eaten.Fang Youtian vomits after seeing the gruesome remains.The team resumes traveling through the underground palace after killing the rat.Xia Tian notices Bai Jing’an looks pale and checks if he is injured.The group discovers two zombies wearing castle soldier uniforms wandering through a hall.The zombies are victims of the “eternal punishment” storyline virus that turns victims into undead creatures.The group quietly avoids the zombies because infection would mean permanent transformation.They encounter another smaller centipede creature which Xia Tian quickly kills.Fang Youtian becomes obsessed with the idea that Saijo might have been saved if the rat had swallowed him whole.Xia Tian bluntly explains that Saijo would still have died even if swallowed alive.The survivors descend deeper through multiple staircases into even darker areas of the underground palace.Xia Tian realizes the structure beneath the floating city is so massive that it feels like descending into hell itself.

Chapter 9: How is His Sailing Game?Yakovsky monitors the broadcast of Xia Tian’s team closely because he senses that they have the potential to become major stars of the Killing Show.A line spoken earlier by Bai Jing’an, “I miss having screenwriters who are a little more normal,” becomes popular online and turns into a meme repeated by viewers in everyday situations.Yakovsky carefully edits footage to highlight the emotional reactions of the players, especially focusing on Bai Jing’an’s face after the deaths of their teammates.Yakovsky observes that Bai Jing’an appears pale on camera and realizes the tactician’s popularity is rising rapidly among viewers.Yakovsky retrieves Bai Jing’an’s background information and learns that Bai Jing’an’s father was Bai Xiaoqi, a famous Killing Show player who died in the 182nd tournament.Bai Xiaoqi’s death was broadcast live and Bai Jing’an had been watching it together with his mother when it happened.Because Bai Xiaoqi signed a contract with GBC, Bai Jing’an inherited the obligation to participate in the Killing Show through a parent-child liability clause.Yakovsky recognizes that Bai Jing’an’s tragic family story will make powerful promotional material for the show.Producers begin preparing a special feature highlighting Bai Jing’an’s background to increase viewer engagement.Bai Jing’an’s reputation among audiences changes from an emotionless tactician to a tragic figure shaped by loss.As the third round approaches its end, the storyline involving the Grand Duke of Skymoat also nears its climax.The Grand Duke’s ritual sacrifices of his own family members are meant to summon a powerful evil god within the castle storyline.Yakovsky notes that the final battle of the castle arc will determine whether the storyline becomes a heroic victory or a horror tragedy.Yakovsky continues drinking heavily while watching the live feeds from multiple camera angles.Yakovsky becomes fascinated with Xia Tian’s calm expression as he moves through the underground palace.Yakovsky believes Xia Tian has a unique charisma because he appears energetic and lively while internally carrying deep despair.Yakovsky reflects that Xia Tian seems to live in a world without hope but continues to fight regardless.Yakovsky decides to shape Xia Tian’s story using the theme of emotional healing through companionship.Yakovsky edits footage to emphasize interactions between Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an.Yakovsky adds slow-motion shots to scenes where Xia Tian touches Bai Jing’an or interacts with him during battle planning.Yakovsky exaggerates their normal teamwork interactions so viewers interpret them as deep emotional support between two wounded men.Yakovsky plans to portray their partnership as two lonely survivors gradually finding comfort in each other.Yakovsky intends to pair their scenes with the song Homecoming to create a dramatic emotional narrative.Yakovsky believes viewers enjoy stories about wounded people finding hope and healing through companionship.Yakovsky notes that Xia Tian’s fanbase is rapidly expanding and now calls themselves the “Summer Flames.”Fans begin researching Xia Tian’s past and discussing his combat style online.Xia Tian’s childhood in District N21 of the Lower City becomes widely known among viewers.District N21 is famous for the violent insurrection that devastated the Lower City and became legendary entertainment in the Upper City.Viewers in the Upper City romanticize the Lower City’s brutality as something exciting and rebellious.Xia Tian’s harsh upbringing is reframed by fans as proof of his toughness and authenticity.Xia Tian’s quote “How’s his sailing game?” becomes extremely popular online.The phrase spreads widely across the internet and becomes a sarcastic insult used in many discussions.The phrase refers to Xia Tian mocking Vosen after killing him.Online discussions reveal that Vosen came from a wealthy family that supplied food products to GBC.Vosen was also a member of the elite Skymirror Lake Sailing Association reserved for extremely rich people.Vosen had a terrible reputation including accusations of murdering vagrants and killing partners during violent sexual encounters.Many viewers celebrate Vosen’s death and mock him online after learning about his crimes.People begin using the phrase “How’s his sailing game?” to sarcastically refer to rich criminals receiving punishment.Xia Tian becomes the symbolic figure representing anger against abusive elites.The video of Xia Tian killing Vosen spreads rapidly across the network and becomes extremely popular.Yakovsky replays the footage of Xia Tian slashing Vosen’s throat and admires the perfect camera angle capturing the moment.The shot shows Xia Tian holding Vosen from behind in a position that looks strangely intimate while cutting his artery.Yakovsky considers Xia Tian a dangerous psychopath but also a perfect star for the show.Yakovsky notes that many fans initially discovered Xia Tian because of the viral sailing phrase rather than his identity.As viewers learn more about Xia Tian they begin to admire his personality and story.Yakovsky receives a new promotional video from editor Tian Xiaoluo.The clip edits Xia Tian’s violent actions into a dramatic narrative that feels both thrilling and tragic.Tian Xiaoluo includes footage from the earlier round where Luo Qingtian tortured a contestant while Xia Tian watched grimly.Tian Xiaoluo’s editing creates the impression that Xia Tian’s violence is motivated by anger at injustice.Tian Xiaoluo was originally a highly skilled programmer specializing in nano-interactive viruses before being transferred to entertainment work.Yakovsky believes Tian Xiaoluo has an extraordinary ability to manipulate emotions through editing.Tian Xiaoluo’s video portrays Xia Tian as a tragic hero who kills because he has no other choice.The promotional narrative presents Xia Tian as both violent and compassionate.Xia Tian is depicted as a protective older brother who wants to safeguard his younger sister.Yakovsky even adds the fictional detail that Xia Tian is skilled at cooking to strengthen his “family man” image.Xia Tian’s public persona becomes a mix of contradictions including killer, protector, rebel, and tragic hero.Yakovsky believes audiences need a moral reason behind violence in order to enjoy it fully.Yakovsky decides that even if Xia Tian is not truly that kind of person the show will give him that identity.Yakovsky concludes that creating such narratives is the essence of producing stars in the Killing Show.Xia Tian’s image appears on the front page of the official GBC Killing Show website.The promotional image shows Xia Tian smiling coldly in front of the towering God of War statue in the Upper City.The image presents Xia Tian as the central hero figure of the season’s unfolding spectacle.

Chapter 10: Suspension Bridge EffectYakovsky continues monitoring the broadcast as Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an move through the underground palace while their popularity keeps rising among viewers.Outside the arena, fans are already turning Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an’s interactions into emotional storylines through edited clips and commentary.Inside the arena, Xia Tian, Bai Jing’an, Fang Youtian, and Johan continue traveling through deeper underground architecture beneath the castle.The environment becomes less like a sewer and more like ancient ruins with repaired stonework and signs of past human activity.A snake-like creature suddenly bursts from a dark pool and coils around Johan.Johan screams briefly before being dragged into the water and disappearing.The creature attempts to grab Bai Jing’an as well, but Bai Jing’an narrowly escapes.Xia Tian thrusts his bone spear into the creature forcing it to retreat into the water.Bai Jing’an hits his head during the attack and suffers dizziness and vomiting, likely due to a concussion.The remaining players decide not to pursue the creature because Johan is clearly dead and the river is too dangerous.Xia Tian reflects on Johan’s background and remembers he joined the Killing Show to replace his injured father.Xia Tian wonders if Johan’s family is watching his death through the broadcast.Xia Tian thinks about his own younger sister Dee Dee and feels relieved she cannot afford to watch the show.The trio continues moving deeper into the underground palace with only primitive bone weapons.They enter another ruined dungeon containing a second sacrificial altar from earlier rituals.A new monstrous creature lurks inside a dark cell.The creature resembles a horrifying hybrid between a human and a rat.It stands over two meters tall with human-like hands but a rat’s face and elongated fingers.Fang Youtian nervously questions whether creating such a creature is legal.Bai Jing’an dryly suggests the Genetic Act must have been amended again.The group senses the creature is about to attack.The rat-like monster suddenly charges at Bai Jing’an at extreme speed.Xia Tian instantly drives a bone spear into the creature’s eye to stop it.The creature crashes past Bai Jing’an and continues moving despite severe injuries.Xia Tian strikes it again and temporarily forces it to retreat into the darkness.After the attack ends Bai Jing’an realizes Fang Youtian has been killed.Fang Youtian died instantly when the creature’s tail pierced his temple during the attack.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an silently acknowledge Fang Youtian’s death.Xia Tian picks up Fang Youtian’s bone spear while remaining emotionally detached.Xia Tian checks Bai Jing’an’s condition and asks if he is alright.Bai Jing’an says he is recovering from the concussion.Xia Tian confidently tells Bai Jing’an he will take care of him.Bai Jing’an dismisses the statement as unrealistic but does not seem annoyed when Xia Tian smooths down the stray lock of his hair again.The two survivors realize they now need better weapons to survive.Xia Tian proposes hunting the zombies they encountered earlier in order to take their swords.Bai Jing’an initially considers the plan insane but agrees it is their best option.Xia Tian reveals that he has fought zombie-like infected humans before in the Lower City.Xia Tian explains that his older brother was infected during a previous outbreak.Xia Tian personally killed and burned his brother after he turned into a zombie.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an locate two zombies feeding on a fresh corpse.The corpse appears to belong to another recently killed contestant.The zombies are infected with a virus that causes them to behave like undead predators.Bai Jing’an explains that even a small scratch from the zombies would infect them with the virus.Xia Tian lures the zombies into a narrow corridor as part of their plan.Xia Tian trips the first zombie and smashes its head against the floor, killing it and taking its sword.Bai Jing’an ambushes the second zombie and stabs it through the eye with a bone spear.The zombie continues charging despite the injury until Xia Tian finishes it by driving a sword through its head.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an successfully kill both zombies without being infected.They collect two swords and a dagger from the zombies as valuable new weapons.Bai Jing’an jokingly calls the loot a “bountiful harvest” despite the desperate circumstances.Bai Jing’an suddenly realizes he is experiencing the psychological phenomenon known as the Suspension Bridge Effect.Bai Jing’an understands that extreme danger is intensifying emotional bonds between himself and Xia Tian.Bai Jing’an recognizes that trusting Xia Tian too much could become a fatal weakness in the Killing Show.Bai Jing’an decides he must not allow himself to become emotionally attached to Xia Tian.Bai Jing’an senses a wind coming from deeper inside the underground palace.Bai Jing’an concludes the wind indicates the beginning of the final phase of the castle storyline.The underground structure begins shaking slightly as the final event begins.Tumor-like growths appear on the decorative stone architecture around them.Strange human-faced birds emerge from the walls while oozing bloodlike mucus.The birds repeatedly announce the command of the “maleficent god.”The announcement declares that sacrifices must continue and players must kill each other regularly.If players do not kill each other quickly enough they will be turned into servants of the maleficent god.Xia Tian jokes that the servants likely refer to zombies.The message effectively forces all players to start killing each other instead of hiding.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an realize the underground palace will soon become a massive battlefield.They discover two freshly killed mercenaries lying ahead.Bai Jing’an warns that the killers who made those corpses must still be nearby.A mercenary ambushes Xia Tian from behind but Xia Tian blocks the attack instinctively.Xia Tian knocks the attacker unconscious by striking him in the head.Bai Jing’an simultaneously kills the second attacker with a precise sword thrust to the neck.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an search the bodies but only find a poor-quality bow and short sword.Soon afterward they encounter two soldiers hiding in ambush.Xia Tian fights one soldier while Bai Jing’an aims an arrow at the other.The soldier named Doug proposes a temporary alliance instead of continuing the fight.Doug explains that the Easter egg storyline allows team cooperation without penalty.Xia Tian reluctantly agrees because they need allies to survive.Doug gives Xia Tian his superior sword in exchange for Xia Tian’s old rusty weapon.Doug’s companion Feng Dan reluctantly gives his sword to Bai Jing’an.Doug explains that the castle storyline revolves around the Grand Duke of Skymoat.The Grand Duke was poisoned during a power struggle and became obsessed with immortality.The Grand Duke discovered the underground palace and began sacrificing people to summon a maleficent god.The Grand Duke sacrificed his wife, children, and many citizens in pursuit of power.The Grand Duke later began recruiting mercenaries to patrol the area but secretly planned to sacrifice them as well.The mercenaries were driven underground where they became victims of the current storyline.Doug explains that all exits from the underground palace are sealed until enough killing occurs.Xia Tian, Bai Jing’an, Doug, and Feng Dan soon encounter another four-player team.Bai Jing’an kills the enemy sniper with a bow shot.Xia Tian defeats the enemy warrior using terrain to trap his sword and stab him.Doug kills another opponent during a separate duel.Feng Dan defeats the last enemy but suffers a shoulder wound during the fight.Feng Dan begins coughing violently due to an old throat injury inflicted during a previous tournament.Doug coldly mocks Feng Dan’s injury instead of helping him.Feng Dan angrily reveals that Doug was the one who caused his throat injury in a previous tournament.The hostility between Doug and Feng Dan becomes obvious but they continue cooperating for survival.The four fighters continue deeper into the underground palace while killing additional enemies.They obtain a better bow during one battle and Xia Tian gives it to Bai Jing’an for ranged support.

Chapter 11: Final StageXia Tian’s squad advances slowly through the underground palace as everyone converges toward the final battlefield where the maleficent god is expected to awaken, following Bai Jing’an’s cautious strategy of letting other players exhaust the enemy first.Xia Tian, Bai Jing’an, Doug, and Feng Dan encounter the aftermath of a brutal ambush near an underground lake where several players and mutant creatures lie dead.A wounded young player sits among the corpses holding the body of his dead teammate and desperately tries to stop the bleeding even though the man has already died, showing a mental breakdown common among Killing Show participants.Bai Jing’an and Xia Tian deliberately avoid interacting with the grieving player because they understand that logic or comfort cannot help someone trapped in that kind of despair.Xia Tian tries to lighten the tense atmosphere and bluntly asks Doug if Feng Dan killed Doug’s friend.Doug admits that Feng Dan killed his teammate Sang Ning, who had been the best sniper Doug knew.Feng Dan responds that Doug killed two of Feng Dan’s teammates as well.Doug explains that despite their hatred and the deaths between them, they are forced to cooperate as teammates until one of them dies, and neither of them will ever forget the battle that caused the deaths of their friends.Doug bitterly reveals that the Killing Show producers deliberately placed enemies like Doug and Feng Dan on the same team for dramatic entertainment value.Doug also admits he was previously forced into court because a teammate died under his watch, and he resents how the production team profits from players’ suffering while celebrating afterward.The group continues traveling while more blood-like liquid seeps from the ground, suggesting the activation of biological catalysts linked to the resurrection of the maleficent god.Along the way, Xia Tian’s group encounters increasing numbers of players and monsters but most players avoid fighting each other because the mutant creatures already provide enough danger.Survivors gradually gather in the deepest underground palace where a massive sacrificial altar stands at the center, the location where the maleficent god will appear.Rumors among players reveal that the maleficent god will descend through the body of the Grand Duke of Skymoat, who sacrificed his own wife and children to gain power and immortality through the temple of the maleficent god.The Grand Duke’s body has been modified with genetic engineering, biochips, and biochemical experiments by the production team to create the final BOSS of the tournament.Xia Tian’s team arrives late to the final battlefield and immediately finds the area already in chaotic combat.Bai Jing’an sees the monstrous form of the maleficent god, which resembles a gigantic pale human body with the facial features of Wei Ling but grotesquely distorted and crawling around the hall devouring players alive.The creature has huge genitals, fleshy wings on its back, and devours humans with its fanged mouth while crying like a human being.Many players vomit in disgust because the monster’s appearance is extremely disturbing and grotesque.The creature continues mutating in real time, growing feathers and eventually transforming into a bird-like humanoid monster with black feathers and a snake-like tail emerging from its body.The mutation process is extremely graphic and prolonged, designed for elite viewers rather than the public broadcast.The monster eventually becomes a chimera combining human, bird, and snake traits while continuing to devour players and vomit partially digested human remains.Several teams attack the maleficent god simultaneously, with experienced Killing Show contestants fighting with ruthless intensity.Bai Jing’an suffers from severe headaches caused by his brain injury but still participates in the fight while trying to stay away from the center of the arena.Bai Jing’an fires an arrow that hits the creature in the eye and helps another player stab the arrow deeper into the monster’s skull.The maleficent god retaliates violently and its snake-like tail lashes out toward Bai Jing’an.Xia Tian reacts instantly and steps in front of Bai Jing’an, blocking the attack with his sword.Bai Jing’an cuts off the snake tail with a powerful strike while Xia Tian holds the creature in place.More mutant monsters begin gathering around the battlefield, including pale lizard-like humanoid creatures.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an fight the monsters together and kill several of them with coordinated sword attacks.Bai Jing’an observes that Xia Tian’s combat style, while instinctive, is highly efficient and refined through years of survival fighting in the dangerous Lower City.Bai Jing’an reflects on how different Xia Tian is from the idealized redemption stories promoted by the Upper City because Xia Tian is still full of anger, ambition, and trauma.Despite their differences, Bai Jing’an realizes that fighting together has made Xia Tian feel more like a friend than just a teammate.Xia Tian suddenly notices the return of the same mutant rat he previously stabbed in the eye earlier in the underground tunnels.The rat has mutated further, growing larger and sprouting many additional human eyes around the wounded eye, all staring at Xia Tian with hatred.Xia Tian deliberately moves away from Bai Jing’an to draw the rat’s attention toward himself and protect Bai Jing’an from the attack.Bai Jing’an realizes that the producers likely accelerated the rat’s evolution and deliberately guided it to hunt Xia Tian for dramatic revenge.The mutant rat charges at Xia Tian at incredible speed.Xia Tian stabs his sword deep into the rat’s skull but the rat’s momentum still slams him to the ground.The sword breaks under the impact and the rat bites Xia Tian in the neck, likely severing an artery.The rat drags Xia Tian violently and nearly tears off his arm while continuing the savage attack.Xia Tian continues fighting despite his injuries and manages to kill the rat in a brutal close-quarters struggle.The entire fight lasts less than ten seconds but is extremely bloody and dramatic.Bai Jing’an realizes immediately that Xia Tian is dying because the wound in his neck is bleeding heavily.Bai Jing’an runs toward Xia Tian while mechanically killing another attacking monster without even slowing down.Bai Jing’an kneels beside Xia Tian, pushes away the rat’s corpse, and tries desperately to stop the bleeding by pressing on his neck.Xia Tian’s consciousness begins fading as he lies in Bai Jing’an’s arms.Xia Tian softly asks Bai Jing’an to take care of his younger sister Dee Dee.Bai Jing’an angrily refuses and tells Xia Tian to survive and return to her himself.Xia Tian smiles weakly and says Bai Jing’an will have other teammates after he dies.Bai Jing’an feels overwhelming rage and helplessness because he believes he cannot save Xia Tian.Xia Tian quietly says that he feels cold and then closes his eyes, seemingly dying in Bai Jing’an’s arms.Immediately afterward the arena lights turn on and the artificial sky opens to reveal the broadcast stage.The host announces that the third round of the 199th Killing Show Asaijin Team Tournament has officially ended.Medical staff are dispatched to treat injured players.Bai Jing’an frantically checks Xia Tian’s pulse and discovers a faint heartbeat.Bai Jing’an realizes Xia Tian is still alive and that the Upper City’s advanced medicine can likely save him.Overcome with relief, shame, rage, and exhaustion, Bai Jing’an hugs Xia Tian while crying even as the cameras continue recording everything for the audience’s entertainment.

Chapter 12: New StarXia Tian is placed in the intensive treatment bay for three days after the battle, and medical staff assure Bai Jing’an that Xia Tian will recover soon.Bai Jing’an follows the medical staff because he wants to know Xia Tian’s condition, even though he feels uneasy and covered in blood after the battle.The terrifying arena rapidly transforms into a celebration space once the match ends, with stylish staff bringing alcohol, compliments, and medical equipment while chatting excitedly about the fight.The underground palace battlefield turns into a banquet hall as producers and staff celebrate the show.Many surviving players are injured or traumatized while the wealthy spectators and staff celebrate nearby with luxury drinks and perfume.Bai Jing’an sees Doug leaving with a severe head injury and blood covering half his face while no medical staff have treated him yet.Someone gives Doug a glass of alcohol while nearby people excitedly call the match a classic episode.Bai Jing’an never sees Feng Dan and does not know whether Feng Dan survived.Bai Jing’an leaves the arena through the rainbow gate and sees a large banquet setup with advertisements, alcohol, and snacks prepared for the celebration party.Journalists immediately pull Bai Jing’an into an interview and bombard him with questions about Xia Tian’s injuries and his emotions during the moment Xia Tian nearly died.Reporters also question Bai Jing’an about his family background because they have already investigated his past.Bai Jing’an quickly regains composure and responds politely while hiding his emotions and avoiding dramatic answers.Bai Jing’an states that Xia Tian will recover and praises the medical capabilities of the Gilded Group.Journalists ask Bai Jing’an if he had been a warrior before because his combat performance impressed viewers.Bai Jing’an dismisses the idea and says he simply reacted instinctively in the battle.Nearby holograms begin showing footage of Bai Jing’an and Xia Tian, and Bai Jing’an realizes they have suddenly become famous.Bai Jing’an does not want to attend the celebration party but is forced to because the contract requires players to attend company events.The medical department treats Bai Jing’an and he is then given a shower and dressed in sponsor-provided formal clothing.Bai Jing’an is assigned an image consultant named Mo Huitian who helps prepare his public image and behavior.Stylists quickly give Bai Jing’an a makeover and teach him how to behave at the celebration event.Bai Jing’an looks into the mirror and sees a handsome and elegant version of himself that hides the violence and chaos he experienced moments earlier.The celebration party lasts for a week and functions as a media frenzy where journalists continuously interview players and reinterpret the events of the arena for entertainment.Some journalists ask friendly questions while others deliberately provoke Bai Jing’an with sensitive topics about his family tragedy.Reporters repeatedly show videos of Bai Jing’an’s father dying and his mother’s funeral in hopes of provoking an emotional reaction.Bai Jing’an calmly answers every question without showing anger or grief, which prevents the journalists from creating dramatic headlines.Most interview questions focus on Xia Tian’s personal life, hometown, and relationships.Bai Jing’an worries that journalists will dig up painful parts of Xia Tian’s past as well.Bai Jing’an comforts himself by thinking that Xia Tian’s survival will give him a successful future as a star in the Upper City.Bai Jing’an leaves the celebration party after staying for the minimum required time while many other players either leave or continue partying.Bai Jing’an receives a luxury car from sponsors as a reward for surviving the match.Bai Jing’an drives away from the party and sits in the car reflecting on how different the glamorous celebration is from the horrifying battlefield.Bai Jing’an attempts to access the Killing Show website to watch footage of the final battle.The website is overwhelmed with traffic because huge numbers of viewers are watching the episode.Bai Jing’an tries to hack into the website to view the footage despite the heavy traffic.Bai Jing’an reads online discussions praising Xia Tian and speculating about Bai Jing’an’s relationship with him.Many viewers believe Bai Jing’an and Xia Tian are deeply loyal partners willing to die for each other.Bai Jing’an watches the unedited video of Xia Tian’s near death and is shocked by how raw and emotional he appears in the footage.Bai Jing’an realizes the version of himself shown in the video looks younger, more desperate, and more emotional than he expected.Bai Jing’an remembers that his irreversible brain damage affects his memories and emotional control.Bai Jing’an watches the moment Xia Tian smiles and tells him he will find another teammate after Xia Tian dies.Bai Jing’an feels intense emotional pain realizing Xia Tian had become a real friend.Yakovsky, one of the producers managing the show, sits alone drinking while watching the footage and reflecting on the production.Yakovsky avoids meeting the players he manages because forming relationships with them would make their deaths unbearable.Yakovsky remembers a previous player whose death traumatized him so badly he drank for an entire month.Yakovsky reflects that the revenge plot involving the mutant rat was created by a Deviant Lab representative named Qi Xiashang and approved by the show’s producer Georg.Yakovsky dislikes the storyline because it resembles a cheap horror plot designed purely for dramatic ratings.Yakovsky edits the footage of Bai Jing’an’s emotional reaction and turns it into an inspirational narrative rather than a dark tragedy.Three days later Bai Jing’an goes to the GBC medical center to pick up Xia Tian as required by the company.The lobby of the medical center is full of journalists waiting for Xia Tian’s recovery.Bai Jing’an is forced to give more interviews about Xia Tian and their relationship.The media begins constructing a heroic narrative about Xia Tian as a warrior protecting the people he loves.The production team begins building Xia Tian’s public image as a tragic hero who survived death and returned to the world.Bai Jing’an is amazed by the power of the media machine that can rapidly transform a person into a global celebrity.Bai Jing’an enters Xia Tian’s room and finds him wrapped in a blanket eating marshmallows and drinking hot chocolate.Xia Tian initially reacts slowly and seems dazed due to his recent death and revival.The doctor explains that Xia Tian’s brain and emotions may take time to stabilize because he was technically dead before treatment.Xia Tian recognizes Bai Jing’an and confirms he remembers everything including the moment of dying.Xia Tian jokes that dying felt extremely cold.Xia Tian suddenly hugs Bai Jing’an tightly despite the cameras and medical staff watching.Bai Jing’an feels comforted by the hug because it proves Xia Tian survived.Xia Tian cheerfully declares that he knew they would survive.Bai Jing’an tells Xia Tian that he has become a major celebrity and needs to prepare for interviews.Bai Jing’an warns Xia Tian that the media already knows about his younger sister Dee Dee because their earlier conversation was recorded.Xia Tian becomes visibly angry when he hears that the media knows about Dee Dee.Bai Jing’an warns Xia Tian to remain calm during interviews and says they will find a way to bring Dee Dee to the Upper City safely.Mo Huitian interrupts their conversation and introduces herself to Xia Tian as their image consultant.Xia Tian immediately switches to a charming public persona and flirts with Mo Huitian.Bai Jing’an informs Xia Tian that his new house is not ready and that the company wants Xia Tian to temporarily live at Bai Jing’an’s house.The producers want Bai Jing’an taking Xia Tian home to become a heartwarming public story.Xia Tian learns that the lease for his previous apartment has already been canceled by the company.Bai Jing’an warns Xia Tian that journalists will ask about Bai Jing’an’s past and tells him to simply say he knows nothing.Bai Jing’an asks Xia Tian not to touch him in public because the media attention is already too intense.Xia Tian jokes that he likes attention and deliberately touches Bai Jing’an’s hair just to annoy him.Mo Huitian gives Xia Tian a briefing on how to behave during interviews and how to present his public image.Mo Huitian instructs both of them to act like extremely close friends in front of cameras even if they secretly hate each other.When Xia Tian enters the lobby, everyone watches him silently as if expecting something special.The famous Killing Show host Tangerine approaches Xia Tian and greets him warmly in front of journalists.Tangerine says she wants to witness a surprise prepared for Xia Tian.Tangerine steps aside and reveals a small dirty girl standing in the lobby.The girl is Dee Dee, Xia Tian’s younger sister from the Lower City.Dee Dee runs toward Xia Tian and he immediately kneels down and hugs her without caring about her dirty appearance.The reunion is broadcast as a free public video to attract viewers and promote Xia Tian as a heroic figure.The broadcast shows clips of Xia Tian fighting in the arena alongside the emotional reunion with Dee Dee.The video creates a powerful narrative explaining that Xia Tian fights to protect his sister.Dee Dee excitedly tells Xia Tian about her dangerous journey to reach the Upper City.Dee Dee explains that the man named Flame who was supposed to protect her died on the streets.Dee Dee reveals that a buyer had purchased her and was searching for her, forcing her to hide and escape.Dee Dee secretly sneaked onto a transport vehicle and hid in the luggage compartment to reach the Upper City.Dee Dee shows burn injuries and untreated wounds from the dangerous journey.Xia Tian controls his anger and maintains a calm public image despite clearly being furious.Xia Tian introduces Dee Dee to Bai Jing’an and they act like a family in front of the cameras.The media records about twenty minutes of family reunion footage.Dee Dee receives medical treatment for her wounds while the cameras continue filming.After the media event ends Xia Tian, Dee Dee, Bai Jing’an, and Mo Huitian leave in a car together.Dee Dee stares in amazement at the bright and beautiful Upper City outside the car window.Mo Huitian explains that she will arrange residency documents for Dee Dee.Mo Huitian warns that family members of Killing Show stars are often dragged into the show to attract attention.Xia Tian quietly says Dee Dee is the only family he has left.The group arrives at Bai Jing’an’s house which is large but old and poorly maintained.The house interior looks abandoned with peeling wallpaper and broken decorations.Dee Dee excitedly runs through the house exploring her new environment.Xia Tian notices stains on the stairs that appear to be blood.Bai Jing’an casually says he never bothered cleaning the stains.Bai Jing’an tells Xia Tian that two rooms have been prepared for Xia Tian and Dee Dee.Xia Tian relaxes on the sofa while Dee Dee runs around the house happily.Dee Dee calls Xia Tian upstairs to see the clouds and sky from the rooftop.Xia Tian picks her up and tells her she must first take a bath and eat ice cream.Bai Jing’an watches them leave and reflects that his lonely life has suddenly changed.Bai Jing’an feels uneasy about forming close relationships but realizes this new situation is unavoidable.

Chapter 13: Wild PartyXia Tian sits at Bai Jing’an’s house while Dee Dee eats ice cream and reviews information about the third round of the Killing Show, including the final footage where he nearly died.Xia Tian watches the video showing Bai Jing’an calmly walking through the battlefield and killing a lizardman with a single sword strike while advancing toward him.Xia Tian recognizes Bai Jing’an’s combat style as that of a real battlefield veteran rather than someone trained only through simulations.Xia Tian searches the internet and finds extensive information about Bai Jing’an’s past that Bai Jing’an never spoke about.Xia Tian learns that Bai Jing’an’s father Bai Xiaoqi died during the 182nd Killing Show.Bai Xiaoqi had been captured by thugs, tied up in a bathroom, doused in fuel, and burned alive while still conscious.The killers displayed Bai Xiaoqi’s charred corpse publicly as a warning to others.Six-year-old Bai Jing’an and his mother were forced to watch Bai Xiaoqi’s death through a broadcast terminal.Bai Xiaoqi had originally joined the Killing Show because he needed money to treat his wife’s genetic illness.After witnessing the broadcast of Bai Xiaoqi’s death, Bai Jing’an developed severe anorexia and vomited every time he tried to eat.Bai Jing’an’s mother later suffered a mental breakdown and wandered the streets in confusion.One year later Bai Jing’an’s mother drowned in Sunward Lake and Bai Jing’an was summoned to identify her corpse.At seven years old Bai Jing’an signed a contract with the Gilded Broadcasting Corporation and returned home alone.GBC broadcast Bai Jing’an’s mother’s funeral live, but Bai Jing’an did not attend the ceremony.Xia Tian stops reading because the story is too painful and he understands the expression Bai Jing’an had when he held him in the arena.Xia Tian remembers the warmth of Bai Jing’an holding him when he was dying.Xia Tian turns off the terminal and sees Bai Jing’an sitting beside Dee Dee while persuading her to finish her ice cream instead of saving it.Xia Tian pats Bai Jing’an on the shoulder and says that everything will be fine.Bai Jing’an replies that such optimism is unrealistic but Xia Tian insists things will somehow work out.Xia Tian asks Bai Jing’an about the time of the dinner party that night.Later that evening Mo Huitian arrives with their work schedule and instructions for their new celebrity lives.Mo Huitian brings Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an to another high-class dinner party in the Upper City.Dee Dee stays home because she is exhausted and falls asleep quickly.Xia Tian receives a huge new wardrobe sponsored by luxury brands and a specially designed sports car created for his image.Xia Tian wears a tuxedo and drives the sports car to the party with Bai Jing’an and Mo Huitian.When Xia Tian enters the banquet hall he immediately becomes the center of attention among guests and cameras.The party is far more luxurious than the previous dinner party after the second round of the tournament.The Upper City elites celebrate the Killing Show as entertainment while discussing killings like they are stylish accomplishments.Guests congratulate Xia Tian on his combat performance and treat the brutality of the arena as fashionable gossip.Mo Huitian introduces Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an to many influential figures in entertainment and fashion.Xia Tian quickly becomes overwhelmed by the number of celebrities and industry figures at the event.Xia Tian briefly encounters Doug again at the party.Doug appears elegant in formal clothes but drinks heavily and avoids talking to others.Xia Tian later learns that Doug survived the final battle because Feng Dan saved his life during a fight with a giant snake-like mutant creature.Feng Dan pushed Doug out of the way of a deadly spike attack and was impaled through the chest.Doug killed the monster and then hesitated before deciding to drag the unconscious Feng Dan to safety.Doug protected Feng Dan from additional monsters instead of abandoning him to die.Xia Tian realizes the scene became a highly popular dramatic moment that boosted the show’s ratings.Xia Tian notices that Feng Dan is absent from the party even though he survived.Mo Huitian introduces Xia Tian to a celebrity actor named Wei Ling.Wei Ling is drunk and clings to Xia Tian excitedly while talking about his performance in the arena.Wei Ling reveals he played the role of the third round’s BOSS character during filming.Wei Ling rambles about a disturbing experience where he was possibly gang-raped during a private party but describes it casually like gossip.Xia Tian becomes uncomfortable and notices Wei Ling’s drink contains heavy hallucinogenic drugs.Xia Tian swaps Wei Ling’s drink with a safer one and escorts him back to his manager.After leaving Wei Ling Xia Tian continues wandering through the party.Mo Huitian had previously warned Xia Tian that some guests might try to seduce or exploit him and that he should only drink sealed beverages.Xia Tian accidentally drinks a glass of alcohol containing a powerful date-rape drug called Fly All Night.Xia Tian gradually becomes dizzy and loses control of his body.Xia Tian wakes up lying on a couch surrounded by several people who have dragged him into a secluded corner of the party.Multiple strangers are touching him while one person lies on top of him.Xia Tian realizes several people are groping him under his clothes.Xia Tian tries to resist but the drug has weakened his body and he cannot move properly.Someone pins his wrist above his head while another person touches him between his legs.A man grabs Xia Tian’s jaw and forces his mouth open while others laugh at his weak resistance.Another person bites Xia Tian’s ear and licks his foot while someone comments on the length of his legs.One attacker whispers that Killing Show fighters like Xia Tian should be tied to beds and used.Xia Tian suddenly regains consciousness in Bai Jing’an’s car as Bai Jing’an drives him home.Xia Tian realizes his coat and shoes are gone and his shirt is unbuttoned.Xia Tian notices a bite mark on his foot from the assault.Bai Jing’an tells Xia Tian he was drugged with Fly All Night and that Bai Jing’an injected him with an antidote.Bai Jing’an explains that this kind of assault is common in the Upper City.Xia Tian becomes furious and declares that he will kill the attackers.Bai Jing’an warns that killing outside the arena is illegal but still agrees to help plan revenge.Xia Tian searches the internet and discovers the attackers belong to an organization called Honey&Sweet.Honey&Sweet is a group that believes Killing Show players are criminals who should be shared sexually by the public.The group targets popular Killing Show stars at parties and drugs them before filming sexual assaults.Honey&Sweet often uses private capsule spheres to prevent interference during assaults.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an hack into the group’s hidden online forums to gather information.They discover Honey&Sweet has committed at least seven similar assaults on celebrities.Many members of Honey&Sweet are influential people protected by powerful connections.Police have largely ignored the crimes as long as the videos are not publicly leaked.Xia Tian reads messages posted by Honey&Sweet members describing how they assaulted him earlier that night.The attackers brag about how easily Xia Tian was subdued and mock Bai Jing’an for interfering.Members of Honey&Sweet describe the victims’ bodies in obscene detail like product reviews.Xia Tian reads humiliating comments describing how they wanted to make him cry while assaulting him.Xia Tian remains outwardly calm but quietly resolves to take revenge.Bai Jing’an reflects that Xia Tian is not someone who tolerates humiliation and will always retaliate.When they arrive home Xia Tian showers for a long time trying to wash away the smell of alcohol, drugs, and other people.Xia Tian feels dizzy from the lingering effects of the drug and nearly collapses in the bathroom.Xia Tian sees the bite mark on his leg and remembers fragments of the assault.Xia Tian vomits again from disgust and anger.Xia Tian refuses to treat his wounds because he wants the pain to remain as a reminder.Xia Tian goes upstairs to check on Dee Dee while she sleeps peacefully under the skylight.Xia Tian reflects that living in the Upper City was once his dream but now fills him with rage.Xia Tian decides he must personally punish the people who attacked him.Xia Tian returns downstairs where Bai Jing’an is studying information on the Honey&Sweet attackers.Bai Jing’an shows Xia Tian a video of one suspect wearing a distinctive unreleased coat from the brand Slow Velocity.Bai Jing’an deduces the suspect either works for the brand or has insider access to its designs.Xia Tian pours himself alcohol but his hands tremble from anger and drug aftereffects.Bai Jing’an notices bruises on Xia Tian’s jaw from the assault.Xia Tian refuses to treat the injuries immediately.Xia Tian asks Bai Jing’an whether he grew up in the same run-down house they are living in.Bai Jing’an explains he has never cleaned the house since the tragedy involving his family.Bai Jing’an admits he barely remembers the time before the incident because his memory was damaged by the Starlight Studio Type 17-3 genetic virus.The virus destroyed much of Bai Jing’an’s long-term memory during the District N epidemic.Bai Jing’an takes medication to treat insomnia caused by the virus.Xia Tian realizes how much effort Bai Jing’an has spent pretending to be normal despite his trauma.Xia Tian gently fixes Bai Jing’an’s messy hair while they sit together in silence.Over the next two days Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an investigate Honey&Sweet further while attending additional parties required by their contracts.Xia Tian strictly follows Mo Huitian’s advice by only drinking sealed beverages to avoid being drugged again.Xia Tian studies the Honey&Sweet member list and identifies a suspect called The Gourmand who is connected to the fashion industry.Xia Tian attends another fashion-themed party to search for the suspect in person.Xia Tian walks through the party observing guests while secretly checking the suspect list on his terminal.Xia Tian notices a distinctive scent that reminds him of the man who assaulted him earlier.Xia Tian follows the scent and approaches a group of fashion industry guests.Xia Tian notices a Killing Show player named Mo An among the group.Mo An had previously acted hostile toward Xia Tian in public interviews because Xia Tian killed Mo An’s teammate Luo Qingtian during the tournament.Mo An is now casually discussing a television drama series with others at the party.Xia Tian interrupts the group and grabs Mo An by the collar.Mo An panics and tries to explain that his public hostility was forced by his image consultant.Mo An admits he never actually cared about Luo Qingtian and was only pretending to admire him for publicity.Mo An complains that he was forced to act like a loyal follower to promote Luo Qingtian’s image.Xia Tian drags Mo An away from the crowd into a private room to question him.

Chapter 14: Still Wanna Play?Xia Tian drags Mo An into a private room and questions him about the scent connected to the organization behind the assault at the party.Mo An insists he is straight and initially pretends not to know anything about the scent Xia Tian is asking about.Xia Tian transforms his cufflink into a hidden blade and threatens Mo An while demanding answers.Mo An finally admits the scent comes from an illegal erotic organization called Kinky Hollow.Bai Jing’an, listening through Xia Tian’s earpiece, explains that Kinky Hollow provides illegal sexual entertainment services using unauthorized celebrity images and sometimes arranges secret sexual encounters with celebrities.Bai Jing’an hacks into Mo An’s phone remotely and opens the Kinky Hollow application interface.The app reveals a secret erotic network filled with explicit imagery and membership restrictions.Bai Jing’an accesses the administrator panel and finds several key accounts including one called Man-eating Shark.Xia Tian recognizes the fish-scale patterned clothing from the video of the man who assaulted him earlier.Mo An admits he visited Kinky Hollow after leaving the arena because a friend suggested he relax there after Luo Qingtian died.Mo An claims he does not care about the illegal activities taking place there because such things are normal in the Upper City.Xia Tian demands to know where the organization is operating that night.Mo An refuses to answer and tries to leave.Xia Tian attacks Mo An and defeats him quickly in a brief fight, forcing him to kneel while holding a blade against his neck.Mo An reluctantly explains that he goes to Kinky Hollow because it is the only place he can secretly have sex without ruining his public image.Mo An reveals that Luo Qingtian had manipulated and abused him while they were partners during the Killing Show.Mo An says Luo Qingtian once forced a woman to have sex with him in Mo An’s room to humiliate him.Mo An says Luo Qingtian threatened to kill him and disguise the murder as a heroic sacrifice if he ever betrayed him.Mo An claims the production team now expects him to pretend to mourn Luo Qingtian and avenge him in the fourth round of the tournament.Mo An finally reveals that Kinky Hollow is operating in the Hall of Silence on the twentieth floor of the building.Mo An warns that the event is probably already over and Xia Tian will not find anyone there.Xia Tian releases Mo An and says he is simply going there to play.Xia Tian goes to the Hall of Silence and finds the side hall where the secret event took place.The room is filled with evidence of an orgy including sex toys, chains on the wall, and blood stains on the carpet.The sweet scent of the Kinky Hollow fragrance still lingers in the air.Xia Tian finds a champagne glass containing a heavily drugged drink.Realizing the perpetrators are gone, Xia Tian becomes overwhelmed with anger and smashes the glass against the wall.Xia Tian forces himself to calm down by synchronizing his breathing with Bai Jing’an through the earpiece.While searching the rooms Xia Tian discovers a mobile phone left behind with a wallpaper image of himself.The phone shows a remastered holographic image of Xia Tian from the Killing Show filmed in a sensual way.Xia Tian realizes the owner of the phone may still be nearby and begins searching the building room by room with his blade drawn.Xia Tian hears voices coming from a large bathroom designed like a luxury hot spring.Xia Tian hears Wei Ling drunkenly begging someone to stop while another man insists they are going to have sex.Xia Tian opens the curtain and sees Wei Ling pinned against the wall while the man sexually assaults him.Wei Ling is heavily drugged and partially undressed while the attacker is preparing to penetrate him.Xia Tian recognizes the attacker as the same man who assaulted him earlier despite the man’s altered appearance.The attacker realizes Xia Tian has found him and recognizes him.The attacker casually boasts that he bought many holographic videos of Xia Tian and sexual services using his likeness.The attacker releases Wei Ling and tries to leave while pretending nothing is wrong.Xia Tian wraps his arm around the attacker’s shoulder and stops him from leaving.The attacker reaches for a hidden weapon but Xia Tian slashes his throat before he can react.The attacker collapses to the floor as blood pours from his carotid artery.The attacker tries to activate an emergency medical device but Xia Tian rips it off before he can press it.The attacker with the Honey&Sweet alias The Gourmand stares in shock as he bleeds to death.Xia Tian kneels beside him and whispers mockingly whether he still wants to play.The attacker dies while staring at Xia Tian in disbelief.Xia Tian drags the corpse to the window and throws it outside to dispose of the body.Bai Jing’an remotely disables the attacker’s recording device and cloud upload before Xia Tian entered the room.Xia Tian turns on the water and dumps strong cleaning chemicals into the bathroom to wash away evidence.Xia Tian throws the attacker’s phone into the water so the scene will be destroyed by flooding.Xia Tian confirms he has stayed at the party long enough to meet his contract obligations and decides to leave.Before leaving Xia Tian notices Wei Ling still sitting on the floor in a confused drugged state.Wei Ling struggles to put his pants back on and appears mentally unstable due to heavy drug use.Xia Tian reluctantly helps Wei Ling dress and escorts him out of the room.Wei Ling repeatedly asks for someone named Xiao’an who appears to be a deceased girlfriend.Xia Tian places Wei Ling in a rest area and calls Wei Ling’s manager to pick him up.Xia Tian leaves the area and heads toward the parking lot to meet Bai Jing’an.On the way out Xia Tian is suddenly stopped by Mo Huitian.Mo Huitian urgently informs Xia Tian that he must immediately participate in an interview with GBC Channel 2’s program Sky’s Perspective.Xia Tian is dragged to the interview set where stylists rapidly prepare him for the broadcast.The production team positions Xia Tian under bright lights to make him appear handsome and harmless.Bai Jing’an cuts off communication through the earpiece to avoid being involved in the interview.The interviewer He Yu begins asking Xia Tian about his family and his desire to protect Dee Dee.He Yu asks Xia Tian about the District N massacre and the legendary resistance leader Bai Lin.Xia Tian initially says he never met Bai Lin because they came from different districts.Producer Xu Changxin angrily stops the interview and demands Xia Tian claim he knew Bai Lin because the massacre is a major entertainment topic.Xu Changxin explains that the massacre and Bai Lin remain extremely profitable stories in the Upper City entertainment industry.Xia Tian reluctantly agrees to invent a story connecting himself to Bai Lin.Xia Tian resumes the interview and claims he once saw Bai Lin playing pool with friends in District N7.Xia Tian describes Bai Lin as looking very happy during that moment.The production team becomes excited because the story enhances Xia Tian’s connection to the massacre narrative.The interview continues as the host probes Xia Tian about his past and tragic memories.Xia Tian hides the blood on his cufflink from killing The Gourmand earlier.Xia Tian smiles brilliantly under the lights while describing the painful memories of the Lower City.The interview concludes successfully and Xia Tian becomes even more famous as a rising star.Xia Tian leaves the dinner party and drives home in his luxury sports car.When Xia Tian returns home he finds Bai Jing’an sitting on the stairs talking with Dee Dee.Dee Dee has been trying to clean old blood stains on the carpet because she believes she must help with chores while staying in someone else’s house.Xia Tian takes a shower while Bai Jing’an continues talking with Dee Dee.Xia Tian reflects that Bai Jing’an unexpectedly gets along well with Dee Dee.Xia Tian feels relieved seeing them sitting safely at home together.After the shower Xia Tian finds Dee Dee waiting for him at the door.Dee Dee tells Xia Tian she has officially entrusted him to Bai Jing’an’s care.Dee Dee explains she believes Bai Jing’an can look after Xia Tian because Xia Tian is bad at taking care of himself.Dee Dee says Bai Jing’an promised that if things go wrong he will face the trouble together with Xia Tian rather than abandon him.Dee Dee concludes that two people sharing trouble is better than facing it alone.Xia Tian thanks Dee Dee and sends her upstairs to go to bed.

Killing Show, Vol. 2

Chapter 15: Commemorative ShowBai Jing’an expands and redecorates the third-floor training room in his house, doubling its size and upgrading security protocols to prevent spyware, while reflecting that his once quiet home has become noisy and almost normal since Xia Tian and Dee Dee moved in.Huitian sends sports cars and luxury goods to stage publicity photos and visits to ask what Bai Jing’an and Xia Tian call each other in private because the media wants intimate nicknames to promote their partnership.Bai Jing’an insists he simply calls Xia Tian by his name while Xia Tian admits he calls Bai Jing’an either “Bai Jing’an” or “hey,” which frustrates Huitian because it sounds distant and unmarketable.Xia Tian casually suggests calling Bai Jing’an “Xiao Bai,” which shocks Bai Jing’an because it sounds overly cute and informal.Huitian immediately approves the nickname and plans to report it to management, leaving Bai Jing’an forced to accept being branded with a “cute” persona for the media.The week-long dinner party connected to the Killing Show concludes after roughly fifty attendees die or disappear during the event, making the man Bai Jing’an and Xia Tian killed only one of many casualties.Despite the deadly events, Bai Jing’an and Xia Tian receive no rest because their schedules remain packed with photo shoots, promotions, and social events since they are marketed as entertainment stars disguised as warriors.Numerous powerful figures invite them to private dinner parties that they cannot refuse, many of which are disturbing or bizarre gatherings hosted by wealthy elites.Xia Tian returns from one such party smelling of drugs with his coat missing and clothes disheveled, forcing him to inject a chemical antagonist to counter hallucinogens while Bai Jing’an helps him control the dosage.Xia Tian explains that a wealthy host demanded that the attending celebrities and guests strip naked as a “formality” while claiming there would be no sexual activity involved.The manipulative host created psychological pressure by pretending the request was normal and civilized, making the guests feel foolish for resisting.Xia Tian began removing his coat and shirt in front of the host partly because others complied and he wanted to prove he could do it as well.The host watched Xia Tian closely while pretending indifference, clearly enjoying the humiliation.Another guest overdosed on drugs and caused chaos, which allowed Xia Tian to escape from the party.Xia Tian later realizes the party contained inhalable hallucinogens that impaired his judgment and frightened him when he realized how far he might have gone if he had stayed.Bai Jing’an internally reflects that humiliating newcomers like this is a common game among Upper City elites who enjoy breaking people psychologically without technically forcing them.Bai Jing’an feels an instinctive urge to protect Xia Tian from such dangers, comparing the feeling to protecting a younger brother even though emotional attachments are dangerous in their world.Huitian later returns with Xia Tian’s missing coat, explaining it was sent back by a powerful man named Yi.Xia Tian angrily refuses to take the coat back.Huitian explains that management considers Bai Jing’an and Xia Tian valuable stars, so the chances of powerful patrons openly forcing them into sexual arrangements are relatively low, although nothing can stop a truly powerful person from doing so.Bai Jing’an knows that Huitian works here mainly because she needed to repay student loans despite originally requesting not to work with the Killing Show.Huitian secretly hates the Killing Show but has become numb to it and now relies on heavy drinking throughout the day just to cope with the job.She warns Bai Jing’an and Xia Tian not to push things too far because resisting the system is futile.Huitian receives a new holographic invitation announcing a special event they cannot refuse.The invitation advertises the “8th Anniversary Commemorative Show of the District N Massacre,” a short but brutal escape-style Killing Show set in a recreated Lower City environment filled with monsters and corpses.Bai Jing’an analyzes the promotional hologram carefully, marking each corpse and monster because such details usually hint at the show’s design and dangers.The images feature grotesque monster designs and extremely graphic deaths, some resembling twisted pornographic scenes rather than normal killings.Xia Tian realizes the show will exploit his identity as a survivor from District N because his recent interview about the massacre went viral.Bai Jing’an recalls information posted by a production member known as “The Groomer from Honey&Sweet” who hinted about the show earlier.The Groomer mentioned being assigned to location 75-7 in the arena, which Bai Jing’an explains is production jargon for a specific zone inside the Killing Show environment.The Groomer bragged that performing well in this event could help him meet powerful elites and advance his career.Xia Tian realizes The Groomer may appear as a guest NPC inside the show because Killing Shows often include staff members, celebrities, or contractors playing minor roles in the arena.Surveillance data reveals The Groomer is obsessed with analyzing Killing Show contestants and even wrote long theories about how Xia Tian should be trained and killed.Xia Tian senses Bai Jing’an secretly wants to investigate the situation and cause trouble, so he agrees they should check the location during the show.The commemorative event is designed as a solo survival show where participants enter the massacre zone and fight mutant creatures.The company heavily promotes Bai Jing’an and Xia Tian as a “healing-type battle buddy duo” following their success in the Team Tournament.A lifestyle interview portrays Xia Tian as a domestic cooking expert preparing breakfast for Bai Jing’an even though he actually has no knowledge of baking because flour barely exists in the Lower City.The fabricated interview becomes extremely popular and the company even considers launching a cooking show for Xia Tian.Xia Tian gains more assistants, makeup artists, image consultants, and a hover RV entourage, making his team resemble a military convoy.Dee Dee remains at home mostly supervised by automated services because the Upper City has advanced robotic childcare, although such services are notorious for corrupting children.Xia Tian insists Dee Dee can handle herself because she survived the harsh Lower City environment.The promotional venue recreates a detailed replica of a ruined street from District N7 complete with corpses, holographic monsters, and dim fluorescent lighting.Xia Tian feels physically sick seeing the massacre turned into entertainment but forces himself to smile for the cameras.He studies the arena blueprint and plans to immediately investigate Area 75-7, which appears to be a repair garage.During the promotional show, hosts enthusiastically retell the history of the District N rebellion.The story explains that the rebellion began when a local district administrator abducted Bai Lin’s thirteen-year-old sister.Bai Lin attempted to rescue her and killed two people, which caused the authorities to retaliate by murdering nine members of his family and hanging their mutilated bodies on the city walls.Traumatized and consumed by hatred, Bai Lin organized a group of young followers and attacked the district administrator’s mansion, slaughtering everyone inside.The rebellion quickly escalated as Bai Lin’s group seized control of local infrastructure and inspired widespread unrest in the Lower City.The Lower City residents began treating Bai Lin as a heroic leader and symbol of resistance.The Upper City later turned the entire massacre into a massive cultural spectacle through movies, shows, games, and academic analysis.A new film adaptation called “Leaving the Darkness” glorifies Bai Lin as a legendary hero and uses the massacre as dramatic material.The director of the film speaks passionately about seeking meaning from the deaths of millions during the rebellion.Xia Tian bitterly reflects that the Upper City simply piles more spectacle onto the tragedy to entertain itself.The commemorative Killing Show is scheduled to run for exactly twenty-four hours starting at midnight.Nearly three hundred participants join the event, including skilled players, newcomers, and death-row prisoners added to increase violence and spectacle.All contestants are forced to wear stylized “Lower City massacre” costumes designed more to display their bodies than resemble real survivors.Bai Jing’an reluctantly wears a tight gray shirt designed by sponsors while Xia Tian complains about his equally impractical outfit.As the match approaches, Xia Tian notices Bai Jing’an appears calm but subtly tense with slightly dilated pupils.Xia Tian reassures Bai Jing’an that he will protect him during the show.Bai Jing’an responds with a faint smile that carries an undercurrent of sadness.

Chapter 16: District N7 of the Commemorative ShowXia Tian and Bai Jing’an enter the commemorative Killing Show arena where the starting locations are randomized, and after watching ten minutes of advertisements behind the energy barrier called the curtain, they are placed together inside a dark bedroom of a Lower City house filled with the smell of blood.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an immediately switch to combat awareness and notice signs that a family once lived in the room before hearing wet feeding sounds coming from the living room outside.Xia Tian looks out the window and sees a ruined Lower City street littered with corpses while a hellhound feeds on a dead man’s body nearby.Xia Tian hears a child screaming and watches a skinny Lower City boy run into the street before being caught and brutally killed by a multi-headed hellhound that crushes the child’s skull and begins eating him.Xia Tian instinctively retreats in horror and briefly regresses into fear as memories of his own past in the Lower City surface.Bai Jing’an stands behind him holding a shotgun he found hidden in a secret cabinet containing weapons typical of Lower City households.Bai Jing’an explains the victims they are seeing are likely clones engineered by biotechnology to recreate the massacre victims for the show.Xia Tian realizes the Upper City recreated real victims of the past massacre so they could die again for entertainment in the show.Xia Tian searches the cabinet and finds two pistols with only thirteen bullets along with small knives that will barely help against mutated monsters.Xia Tian gives one gun to Bai Jing’an and notices Bai Jing’an appears shaken but forces himself to remain composed.Xia Tian decides they must escape the house because the producers will force players into combat rather than letting them hide.Xia Tian exits through a window into a dark alley while Bai Jing’an immediately follows.Bai Jing’an navigates through the maze-like Lower City streets with uncanny familiarity as if he once lived there.Xia Tian realizes Bai Jing’an seems instinctively aware of the layout and moves like a veteran of the Lower City environment.They pass through a house where a woman whose body is mutating into a monster begs them to take her baby before the transformation spreads.A giant moth-like creature crashes into the building moments later and destroys it while the screams inside vanish instantly.Bai Jing’an pulls Xia Tian away and warns him not to get emotionally involved with the cloned residents.Bai Jing’an stays hyper-focused on protecting Xia Tian, fearing that in a moment he could lose him amid the chaos.They continue through streets filled with gunfire, monsters, and dying residents while repeatedly reminding themselves the victims are not real.A janitor carrying a child and a woman with a gun run toward them hoping for help.Before the man can speak, three hellhounds ambush the group from multiple directions.Xia Tian shoots the first hellhound but discovers the mutant creatures are extremely resilient and difficult to kill.Bai Jing’an kills another hellhound after firing several shots while the couple helps fight the creatures.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an conserve ammunition because their guns have limited bullets.A flying mutated creature attacks Bai Jing’an from above but Xia Tian shoots it while Bai Jing’an stomps on its neck.Another mutated corpse emerges from a pile of bodies wearing a Hellfire Repair Garage uniform and Bai Jing’an hesitates momentarily before killing it.The woman from the couple recognizes the corpse as someone named Xiao Wei and mourns him despite the grotesque condition of the body.Bai Jing’an refuses to look at the scene and continues moving forward while Xia Tian follows.A tall humanoid monster with multiple arms suddenly appears and attacks Xia Tian.Xia Tian runs out of bullets and kills the creature by strangling it and firing additional shots from another gun at close range.After killing the creature Xia Tian nearly collapses from stress and nausea.Bai Jing’an notices Xia Tian is injured and trembling but avoids directly asking if he is okay.Yakovsky watches the broadcast and becomes convinced Xia Tian might actually be a survivor of the original District N massacre based on his reactions.Yakovsky orders production staff to investigate whether anyone could have survived on the outskirts of the massacre zone.Bai Jing’an and Xia Tian raid a grocery store and obtain stronger weapons including an energy gun, a rifle, and a medical kit.The janitor and woman continue following them despite Bai Jing’an trying to ignore them.Bai Jing’an and Xia Tian head toward nearby gunfire where other Killing Show players are fighting monsters.They discover a squad of players nearly wiped out by arthropod-like monsters.Xia Tian recognizes two players named Doug and Feng Dan fighting together.Doug and Feng Dan defeat the remaining monsters and treat Feng Dan’s injuries while silently coordinating like experienced partners.Xia Tian kills a monster sneaking up behind Bai Jing’an by firing a shot past his shoulder.The banging from a nearby manhole suddenly stops, suggesting something dangerous retreated underground.Strange white leaf-shaped monsters appear silently around the square and surround the players.The players realize the creatures are blind and hunt by sound so everyone remains silent.The janitor accidentally speaks to the child on his back which alerts the monsters and causes one to attack.A rocket suddenly destroys the attacking monster before it can reach him.A group led by a young man carrying a rocket launcher appears and calls everyone to retreat down an alley.The players recognize the young man as the heroic figure Bai Lin from the District N rebellion portrayed by actors in the film adaptation.The show has recreated Bai Lin and his resistance fighters as NPC characters to reenact the historical uprising.Xia Tian feels intense rage seeing the Upper City turn Bai Lin into entertainment.The players reluctantly follow the group playing the resistance fighters while Bai Jing’an silently watches them with hostility.The NPC version of Bai Lin begins explaining they found an underground garage that can serve as a base.Xia Tian suddenly shoots the NPC Bai Lin in the back of the head without warning.Xia Tian immediately kills the other resistance NPCs while Feng Dan and Bai Jing’an assist.The players and production staff watching the broadcast are stunned by the sudden destruction of the planned story arc.Doug exclaims that Xia Tian just killed Bai Lin but Xia Tian coldly replies that Bai Lin is already dead.Xia Tian feels relief after killing the NPCs because it releases his pent-up anger toward the Upper City exploiting the massacre.Xia Tian declares that no clone or actor could ever replace the real Bai Lin.Xia Tian leads the players toward the underground garage mentioned by the NPC group.Xia Tian notices the child carried by the janitor has begun mutating into a monster just like victims he witnessed long ago.Xia Tian remembers witnessing a horrifying indoor mutation event in a shelter that ended with everyone massacred.The players reach the underground garage which appears suspiciously well-prepared with cars and civilians clearly placed by the production team.Xia Tian realizes the producers likely planned to recreate a tragic mutation massacre scene inside the garage for entertainment.The players ignore the civilians and discuss eliminating them to avoid becoming victims of the planned plot twist.Xia Tian concludes the production team will now have to redesign the show’s storyline because he destroyed the Bai Lin narrative they prepared.

Chapter 17: Code of RevengeThe production team falls into chaos after Xia Tian kills the NPC version of Bai Lin, forcing them to hold an emergency meeting and completely scrap the planned Bai Lin martyr storyline.Yakovsky observes the situation calmly and reflects that the heroic Bai Lin story was merely a projection of the Upper City’s fantasies rather than something that belonged to the real Lower City.The producers quickly shift their focus to Xia Tian’s storyline since his sudden assassination of Bai Lin has become the most explosive moment of the entire show.Production staff flood the internal messaging system with confusion and outrage, questioning why Xia Tian would abruptly kill the central figure of the scripted narrative.Despite the chaos backstage, Xia Tian’s popularity skyrockets as audiences become fascinated with the unpredictable star.Yakovsky releases newly discovered footage revealing Xia Tian’s past during the District N massacre.The broadcast shows thirteen-year-old Xia Tian working at United Family Repair Garage in the Lower City alongside a cheerful girl named Xiao Xu who often dragged him into trouble.The footage explains that the District N massacre spread rapidly after a mutant rat carrying a virus infected the district and plunged the population of millions into chaos within days.The Global Department of Defense failed to suppress the rebellion and outsourced the extermination operation to GBC, which turned the catastrophe into a massive spectacle.The massacre eventually expanded to District N19, where Xia Tian and the repair garage were located.During the outbreak Xia Tian and Xiao Xu fled together and survived for a period while navigating the monster-infested city.On the twenty-seventh day Xiao Xu became infected and mutated into a monster.Xia Tian killed Xiao Xu himself while remaining completely calm despite still being a child.After killing Xiao Xu, Xia Tian stared at her body briefly and then walked away with a cold and exhausted expression like a veteran soldier.Another piece of unreleased footage shows Xia Tian sitting alone in darkness for three hours and twenty minutes without moving.When Xia Tian finally stands up he calmly ties his hair and leaves the room as if preparing himself for survival in the nightmare outside.Xia Tian eventually escaped the containment zone though the details of how he survived remain unknown.Years later Xia Tian appears in the Upper City as a Killing Show contestant after being arrested for multiple murders.The revelation that Xia Tian survived the massacre ignites massive excitement among Upper City viewers and dramatically increases his fame.Yakovsky believes Xia Tian has become the perfect symbol of the District N massacre because he represents a living survivor rather than a fictional hero.Yakovsky also realizes Xia Tian is uncontrollable because he is not a manufactured celebrity but a violent fugitive driven by rage.Yakovsky finds this unpredictability thrilling and believes it makes Xia Tian an even better star.Inside the underground garage Xia Tian examines an all-terrain vehicle and enthusiastically decides to repair it because he used to fix similar vehicles in the Lower City.Bai Jing’an treats Xia Tian’s injuries while the two briefly share an intense moment where Xia Tian senses the rage hidden beneath Bai Jing’an’s calm personality.Bai Jing’an remarks that Xia Tian never holds back while smiling with a dangerous edge.The Killing Show players begin introducing themselves while preparing to repair vehicles.Wen Feng reveals he is a sniper from the Upper City who joined the Killing Show because of a medical contract and lost both of his teammates earlier.Another participant named Lin Dong from District L7 is severely injured and unable to contribute much.Feng Dan and Doug begin gathering tools and assisting with repairs.Xia Tian confidently repairs the vehicle engine with professional skill.Bai Jing’an retrieves a reinforced engine from the scrap pile and installs it into the vehicle.Xia Tian announces that he intends to drive to the Hellfire Repair Garage because he is looking for someone there.Doug and Feng Dan debate whether they should follow Xia Tian but eventually decide to stay with him because separating from a major star in the Killing Show could anger the producers.The players believe Xia Tian’s celebrity status might provide a form of protection within the show even though it also attracts more danger.Xia Tian notices an old scar on Bai Jing’an’s arm while they continue repairing the car.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an successfully start the all-terrain vehicle after finishing repairs.Doug questions Xia Tian about his supposed cooking skills after seeing the interview where Xia Tian claimed to cook for Bai Jing’an.Xia Tian admits the cooking interview was fake and the food had actually been prepared by the production crew.Xia Tian jokes that he can only cook instant noodles and fried eggs.Xia Tian becomes defensive when Doug casually calls Bai Jing’an “Xiao Bai,” implying the nickname belongs only to him.The group completes repairs on both vehicles and prepares to leave the garage.Bai Jing’an urges Xia Tian to sleep because he has not rested in over thirty hours due to promotional events.Xia Tian falls asleep in the passenger seat while holding his gun as Bai Jing’an quietly wipes oil from Xia Tian’s face.Bai Jing’an drives while Xia Tian shoots monsters during their journey through the ruined city.The group rescues two additional Killing Show players along the way.They encounter a severely wounded man named Alec from District N who is walking through the streets with a steel bar impaled through his abdomen.Xia Tian recognizes Alec as another survivor from District N whom he met at a party earlier.Alec explains he is heading to a courier station ahead because he intends to kill the four people who ambushed and wiped out his squad.Xia Tian offers Alec a ride and additional weapons including a powerful rocket launcher.Alec removes the steel bar from his own body and treats the wound using a medical kit.The group arrives near the courier station where Alec’s enemies are hiding.Alec shakes Xia Tian’s hand and promises to return within twenty minutes before entering the building alone to carry out revenge.Doug’s vehicle arrives shortly afterward and the group waits outside while Alec fights inside the building.Wen Feng asks Xia Tian about the hand gesture he made earlier signaling revenge.Xia Tian explains that in the Lower City there is no reliable law so people follow an unwritten rule where revenge must be carried out personally.Xia Tian describes how people in the Lower City will support someone seeking revenge by providing weapons or assistance.Xia Tian explains that if the person seeking revenge dies during the attempt it is simply accepted as the price of settling the score.Wen Feng compares this philosophy to a “Code of Revenge.”Xia Tian confirms that this is exactly how justice works in the Lower City.A massive explosion erupts inside the courier station followed by heavy gunfire as Alec fights his enemies.Five minutes later Alec emerges from the burning building covered in blood after killing the ambushers.Alec retrieves several weapons from the bodies and returns to the vehicle.Alec collapses in the car exhausted after completing his revenge while the group drives away from the burning building.Alec quietly treats his wounds in the back seat while mourning the loss of his entire squad.

Chapter 18: Hellfire Repair GarageBai Jing’an suddenly stops the vehicle two blocks away from Hellfire Repair Garage because he notices that a road that should exist ahead has mysteriously disappeared.The group realizes the street layout has changed and when Bai Jing’an tries another route the roads twist unnaturally until they circle back to the same location.Doug notices a new westbound road that had not existed earlier, confirming the environment has been altered.Feng Dan identifies the phenomenon as the presence of a mimichydra, a terrifying late-stage mutation that disguises itself as streets, walls, and other structures.Xia Tian explains they have already been caught inside the mimichydra’s hunting trap.The mimichydra swarm begins closing in as the fake streets dissolve into masses of soft-bodied organisms.Bai Jing’an accelerates toward Hellfire Repair Garage because he believes something inside it will stop the mimichydra from pursuing them further.The players fire their weapons at the pursuing creatures while racing toward the garage.Bai Jing’an states the garage contains an Easter egg scenario prepared by the show’s producers.Xia Tian suspects the Honey&Sweet production staff member mentioned earlier is hiding inside the garage to observe and torture players as part of the Easter egg.Xia Tian grabs a rocket launcher and deliberately fires multiple rockets at the garage to destroy its defenses and provoke whoever is inside.The explosions tear apart sections of the building and shatter the eerie silence of the complex.Xia Tian jokingly claims he was only “saying hi” after Doug angrily questions why he attacked the structure.Bai Jing’an drives the vehicle through the destroyed wall and crashes it inside the repair garage compound.The mimichydra swarm stops at the entrance of the garage and refuses to enter.Wen Feng concludes that something even more dangerous must exist inside the building if the mimichydra refuses to follow them in.Xia Tian immediately begins destroying visible surveillance cameras in the garage.Bai Jing’an inspects the reinforced inner wall and realizes the structure was secretly fortified beyond what a normal Lower City building would have.Bai Jing’an recognizes the interior layout instinctively as if he had spent time working in this garage before.The building interior appears quiet and ordinary at first with vehicle parts and tools scattered around.A mutated humanoid crawler suddenly appears in the shadows wearing remnants of a repair garage uniform.Xia Tian immediately shoots the creature in the head before it can attack Bai Jing’an.Bai Jing’an smiles faintly with bloodlust as the garage transforms into a battlefield.The Killing Show players begin systematically clearing the building of crawler monsters and destroying all surveillance devices they can find.Bai Jing’an discovers a small stick-on surveillance camera hidden on the stairs and crushes it.Bai Jing’an scavenges a broken camera detector and repairs it to track surveillance devices.Xia Tian realizes that someone must be actively watching them through numerous cameras placed around the garage.Doug suddenly fires his weapon after stepping onto a floor section that begins swallowing his leg.The floor is revealed to be a mimichydra mass that attempts to consume Doug.Feng Dan pulls Doug free while shooting at the creatures attacking him.Doug’s leg is badly mutilated by the mimichydra during the struggle.Xia Tian fires repeatedly to clear a path as the group retreats from the swarm of mimic creatures.Bai Jing’an slashes a wall panel with his knife and discovers the mimichydra swarm does not follow past a certain boundary deeper inside the building.Xia Tian confirms that the mimichydra inside the building is a different swarm than the one outside.Xia Tian realizes two of the extra players they rescued earlier have silently disappeared and were likely devoured by the mimichydra.Xia Tian scatters powdered insect repellent across the floor to temporarily slow down insect-like mutant creatures.Alec defends the group using a powerful tri-function energy gun while they retreat deeper into the garage.The group encounters more crawler monsters gathering near a staircase.Feng Dan’s earlier blast accidentally exposes a hidden laboratory behind a wall panel.The group retreats into the laboratory as the monsters refuse to follow them inside.Inside the laboratory they find a room filled with surgical equipment, floating data screens, and medical beds stained with blood and bodily fluids.The room resembles a torture chamber designed for grotesque experiments rather than medical treatment.Xia Tian discovers multiple people strapped to medical beds with machines drilled directly into their skulls.One victim is missing both legs because a mutated creature in a nearby cage had been allowed to slowly gnaw them off.Xia Tian realizes the mutilated victim is still alive but mentally broken by the torture.Xia Tian shoots the chains binding the man and kills the creature that had eaten his legs.The players begin freeing the other captives who were used as experimental subjects.Many of the victims have implants embedded deep inside their brains connected to monitoring machines.Wen Feng becomes physically sick after witnessing the torture scene.The freed survivor explains that a production staff member created this Easter egg to observe brain data from humans suffering extreme pain.The staff member believed Lower City residents were worthless and wanted to demonstrate absolute tyranny over them.The survivor reveals the staff member controlled the monsters through a nearby control center like the ruler of a “monster empire.”Bai Jing’an begins analyzing the data screens and code to locate the control center.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an communicate silently using private hand signals to coordinate their plan.Doug warns that they cannot escape because the operator could release monsters into the room at any moment.Xia Tian deliberately taunts the hidden observer by posing provocatively in front of a surveillance camera.Doug angrily shoots the camera to stop Xia Tian from provoking the enemy further.As expected the bait works and the crawler monsters begin entering the laboratory.Bai Jing’an connects his modified detector to the system and locates the direction of the hidden control center.Xia Tian prepares a special assassination weapon called The Awakened 7th Anniversary Nostalgia Model.Xia Tian deliberately overloads the weapon’s energy output far beyond its safety limits.Xia Tian counts down silently and fires an overcharged shot that blasts a massive hole in the reinforced wall.Xia Tian discards the destroyed gun and grabs a second weapon to repeat the process.Xia Tian fires another overloaded shot into the same location, widening the breach through the reinforced structure.The explosion melts alloy plating and tears open the wall like a portal to hell.Xia Tian prepares a third weapon while continuing the assault toward the control center’s location.

Chapter 19: The Show’s PurposeXia Tian and Bai Jing’an’s explosive assault collapses part of the upper floor of the hidden control room where the Easter egg’s mastermind stands watching them amid cages, gurneys, and shattered machinery.Xia Tian continues firing successive guns upward toward the control room while Bai Jing’an destroys structural support points of the building to bring the enemy down.Bai Jing’an deliberately shoots multiple load-bearing walls so the weakened structure collapses and drops the Easter egg boss from the upper level into the battlefield below.As the ceiling collapses, Xia Tian immediately targets and destroys the crescent-shaped monster control terminal that had been directing the mutant creatures.When the control terminal explodes the monsters across the battlefield freeze and become motionless because their control cores lose signal.The Killing Show players realize that the creatures were controlled by a slave-mode operation console commonly used in Upper City monster simulations.Through smoke and debris Xia Tian finally sees the mastermind clearly and recognizes him as the Honey&Sweet staff member from the earlier dinner party.The Honey&Sweet mastermind stands calmly in the middle of gunfire protected by a personal energy defense field that vaporizes incoming bullets and energy beams.The players realize the force field technology is an advanced conceptual defense system that makes him temporarily invincible.Alec throws engine oil while Xia Tian ignites it to create a wall of flames in an attempt to disrupt the enemy’s visibility.The group continues firing at the shield despite knowing it cannot be penetrated because they must stall the enemy.Xia Tian quickly assembles an improvised explosive device using fuel, cleaning chemicals, ammunition, and other materials gathered from the garage.Bai Jing’an silently supports the plan and gives Xia Tian his weapon with the power boost function activated.Alec, Feng Dan, and Wen Feng contribute their weapons and equipment to maximize the explosive power.Xia Tian binds the components together using his own hairband to create a high-yield explosive bundle.Xia Tian throws the explosive directly at the Honey&Sweet mastermind and detonates it with a gunshot.The explosion engulfs the battlefield in blue flames and shrapnel while the players hide behind makeshift cover.Xia Tian immediately charges through the flames toward the enemy before the defense field can fully recover.The Honey&Sweet mastermind survives the explosion but is visibly shaken and partially exposed as the defensive field begins to fail.Xia Tian fires repeatedly at close range and one shot penetrates the weakened defense field and injures the man’s shoulder.Another shot pierces the man’s abdomen while he appears unfazed due to being heavily drugged.The Honey&Sweet mastermind continues speaking arrogantly and expresses fascination with Xia Tian even while bleeding.Just as Xia Tian prepares to deliver a fatal shot a crawler monster suddenly attacks him from behind.Xia Tian is grazed by the crawler’s pincers which inject a powerful paralytic toxin into his bloodstream.The toxin rapidly weakens Xia Tian and causes him to drop his weapon as his body begins losing strength.The players realize the monsters have started moving again despite the control console being destroyed.Xia Tian understands that the production team themselves are secretly controlling the monsters behind the scenes to keep the torture scenario running.The Honey&Sweet mastermind approaches the immobilized Xia Tian and explains that the real enemy is the Killing Show itself rather than him.The man states that people like Xia Tian exist only to be publicly tortured for entertainment in the Upper City.Bai Jing’an realizes the entire Easter egg scenario was designed purely to capture and torture Xia Tian for spectacle.Mutant creatures attack the remaining players again while the production team manipulates them remotely.Wen Feng is killed as the monsters tear him apart during the chaos.The Honey&Sweet mastermind drags Xia Tian toward a medical gurney and restrains him with a metal chain around his neck.The mastermind declares that beasts like Xia Tian should be chained.Bai Jing’an is suddenly struck by a high-voltage energy barrier trap that paralyzes him and throws him into a hidden prison cell area.Bai Jing’an realizes the production team instantly reconfigured the arena into a prison cell environment to imprison the surviving players.Doug and Feng Dan are trapped with Bai Jing’an inside the electric barrier while forced to watch Xia Tian’s torture.The Honey&Sweet mastermind lewdly humiliates Xia Tian and expresses obsessive fascination with him.The man drives a sharpened crowbar through Xia Tian’s right calf, pinning his leg to the gurney.Xia Tian’s body convulses in agony but he refuses to scream despite the extreme pain.The Honey&Sweet mastermind caresses Xia Tian’s injured leg and foot while taunting him.The man then heats a metal pipe until it glows red and drives it through Xia Tian’s right arm to nail him to the gurney.Xia Tian finally lets out a faint cry of pain while struggling weakly against the restraints.The Honey&Sweet mastermind continues sexually humiliating Xia Tian in front of the cameras while fantasizing about breaking him.Bai Jing’an watches the torture with icy fury while analyzing the energy barrier surrounding the prison cell.Bai Jing’an carefully studies the barrier’s electrical distribution to locate a structural weakness.Bai Jing’an intentionally shocks himself by touching the barrier to confirm its exact configuration.Bai Jing’an calculates the location of the barrier’s control device and fires three precise shots through a hole in the wall.The final bullet destroys the Lockdown Master containment device powering the electric barrier.Bai Jing’an immediately shoots a gas pipe which explodes and ignites the surrounding structure.The explosion spreads fire throughout the garage and destabilizes the battlefield again.Bai Jing’an walks through the flames toward Xia Tian with overwhelming killing intent.Mutant creatures attempt to stop Bai Jing’an but he kills them with brutal close-combat techniques.Bai Jing’an snaps the neck of a crawler with his bare hands when it ambushes him.Several mimichydras attack from the ceiling but Bai Jing’an detonates flammable chemicals to burn them away.Bai Jing’an shields Xia Tian from falling debris and collapsing structures during the battle.Bai Jing’an intentionally shoots the ceiling supports so that the collapsing building crushes the Honey&Sweet mastermind.The falling debris destroys the man’s defensive shield and impales him with a steel bar through the abdomen.The Honey&Sweet mastermind screams in genuine pain for the first time as the collapsing structure traps him.Bai Jing’an reaches Xia Tian and shoots the chain binding his neck to free him.Bai Jing’an gently pulls down Xia Tian’s shirt to cover him while preparing to remove the impaled metal weapons.Bai Jing’an pulls the crowbar out of Xia Tian’s knee and removes the heated metal pipe embedded in his arm.Xia Tian collapses to the ground unable to stand due to his severe injuries.Bai Jing’an drags Xia Tian away from the burning wreckage while explosions continue around them.Xia Tian takes Bai Jing’an’s revolver and loads the last remaining bullet into the cylinder.The Honey&Sweet mastermind attempts to crawl away through the wreckage to escape the arena.Xia Tian calmly aims his gun at the fleeing man despite barely having the strength to move.After steadying his aim for several seconds Xia Tian fires the final bullet.The shot strikes the Honey&Sweet mastermind in the back of the head and destroys his brainstem instantly.The Honey&Sweet mastermind dies before reaching the exit of the arena.Xia Tian lowers his gun and smiles coldly at the corpse with a victorious expression despite his broken body.

Chapter 20: Evolution of HealingDoug and Feng Dan continue killing remaining monsters while the battlefield descends into chaos after the death of the Easter egg boss and the collapse of the Hellfire Repair Garage.Bai Jing’an drags the severely injured Xia Tian toward a row of prison cells that were previously used as part of the torture chamber environment.Bai Jing’an forcibly opens one of the containment barriers by reconnecting damaged circuits on the Lower City energy barrier device.Bai Jing’an pulls Xia Tian into the cell where Alec and the legless survivor are already hiding.Doug and Feng Dan enter the cell as well and the energy barrier automatically reactivates, sealing them inside while the outside battlefield burns.Outside the cell the Hellfire Repair Garage continues exploding while monsters, corpses, and debris burn together in the collapsing arena.Alec tosses Bai Jing’an a medical kit he had not used earlier because he expected to die during the battle.Bai Jing’an kneels in front of Xia Tian and begins carefully treating his injuries while Doug backs away because Bai Jing’an looks ready to attack anyone who interferes.Bai Jing’an pries open the chain lock around Xia Tian’s neck and throws the chain aside.Bai Jing’an cuts open Xia Tian’s pants and begins removing metal fragments still embedded in his leg wounds.Xia Tian silently endures the pain until he softly calls Bai Jing’an by the nickname “Xiao Bai.”Xia Tian admits quietly that the injuries hurt despite previously acting tough.Bai Jing’an awkwardly promises that the pain will be over soon and that he will take care of Xia Tian.Xia Tian touches Bai Jing’an’s hair briefly before closing his eyes in exhaustion.Xia Tian eventually leans against Bai Jing’an’s shoulder and falls asleep from exhaustion and pain.Bai Jing’an remains frozen for a moment before realizing Xia Tian is simply asleep and not dying.Bai Jing’an sits silently beside Xia Tian while the arena burns outside and the commemorative show finally ends.Medical staff and reporters flood into the arena immediately after the show ends while triumphant music plays as if the massacre had been nothing more than entertainment.Xia Tian is carried away on a stretcher while Bai Jing’an is surrounded by medical staff checking him for damage from the electric shock.Alec and the severely injured survivor are also taken away for treatment while Doug receives medical attention nearby.Bai Jing’an watches anxiously as medical staff treat Xia Tian’s injuries under blankets and bandages.Huitian arrives looking exhausted and informs Bai Jing’an that the production team has changed the theme of the show to “The Revenge Battle.”The producers abandon the original macabre narrative about the District N massacre and instead frame the story as a heroic revenge against evil.The show’s climax is promoted as Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an defeating the unbeatable BOSS through determination and revenge.The new narrative dramatically increases viewership and sales, exceeding expectations by thirty percent.The concept of the “Code of Revenge” becomes a popular buzzword across the Upper City after the broadcast.Bai Jing’an notices the Upper City media treating the massacre and violence as entertainment and profit.Bai Jing’an protects Xia Tian from reporters by preventing medical staff from injecting an energy booster and forcing him into interviews while injured.The chief producer Xu Changxin approaches Bai Jing’an and congratulates him on the performance while requesting future interviews.Huitian secretly shows Bai Jing’an a captured image of Xia Tian sleeping against his shoulder during the battle aftermath.Huitian says the image represents a reminder of emotions people in the Upper City have forgotten.The entertainment industry decides to promote Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an as a powerful emotional partnership that protects each other in the darkness.Yakovsky’s earlier plan of marketing the duo as a “family” unit becomes even stronger after the events of the show.The media begins portraying their partnership as a beacon of light inside the brutal Killing Show world.Bai Jing’an participates in interviews while constantly watching Xia Tian being treated nearby.Reporters suddenly reveal new information about Bai Jing’an’s family background during the interviews.The reporters discover that Bai Jing’an’s father is Bai An and his older brother is Bai Ziming.They realize that Bai Ziming is the father of Bai Lin, the legendary leader of the District N rebellion.This means Bai Jing’an is the cousin of Bai Lin.The revelation shocks the crowd because Bai Lin has become a mythologized hero figure in Upper City culture.Many people immediately interpret Bai Jing’an’s combat ability and ruthlessness as proof of Bai Lin’s heroic bloodline.Bai Jing’an feels uncomfortable as the crowd begins treating him like a descendant of a legendary war hero.Bai Jing’an refuses to comment on the connection and simply asks if Xia Tian can finally be taken to the treatment bay.Xia Tian is finally transported to the treatment bay while Bai Jing’an continues interviews with the media.Bai Jing’an attends the post-show banquet where Upper City elites celebrate the event with luxury food, drugs, and parties.Bai Jing’an feels disgusted by the artificial glamour covering the massacre that just occurred.Bai Jing’an unconsciously selects desserts that Xia Tian likes even though Xia Tian is not present.Many people at the banquet stare at Bai Jing’an with admiration due to his new heroic reputation.The media group Sky’s Perspective suddenly arrives to conduct a new emergency interview with Bai Jing’an.The reporters inform Bai Jing’an about a real-world murder connected to the Code of Revenge.A wealthy man involved in drug abuse, rape, and murder accusations had been arguing online with fans of Xia Tian.Hackers exposed the wealthy man’s identity and address during the online argument.The wealthy man mocked the fans and bragged that his private security would protect him from retaliation.The next day the wealthy man was shot and killed in his bedroom by his own security guard Wei Zhen.Wei Zhen confessed that he killed the man because the victim had raped and caused the death of his girlfriend.Wei Zhen explains that he was inspired by Xia Tian’s explanation of the Code of Revenge during the show.Wei Zhen states that when justice cannot be obtained through law, people must personally take revenge.Wei Zhen declares that he followed the same principle as Bai Lin and Xia Tian.The media transforms the murder into a sensational story connected to the Killing Show and the Code of Revenge.The entertainment industry turns the revenge philosophy into a marketable cultural product associated with the massacre and the show’s stars.During the press conference reporters ask Bai Jing’an whether he condemns Wei Zhen’s revenge killing.Bai Jing’an replies that the revenge was Wei Zhen’s personal matter involving his own loss and pain.Bai Jing’an refuses to tell fans to calm down or reject revenge.Bai Jing’an says people must decide for themselves whether revenge is worth the consequences.Bai Jing’an openly states that he does not feel bad about the death of the wealthy man.Bai Jing’an’s quote “I don’t feel bad for him at all” becomes a major headline across the media.The Code of Revenge spreads across society and becomes a popular ideology among fans and viewers.The Killing Show producers consider recruiting Wei Zhen as a contestant because his story would increase ratings.A day later Xia Tian is brought from the treatment bay to give his own comment on the revenge killing.Xia Tian appears in a wheelchair with his hair loose while Bai Jing’an helps tie it up.Xia Tian listens in confusion as reporters explain the entire murder case and its connection to him.Xia Tian bluntly states that he did not invent revenge and that the man’s actions have nothing to do with him.The producer signals that Xia Tian’s comment cannot be aired and should be cut from the broadcast.When pressed further Xia Tian casually says people often want revenge when they are furious.Xia Tian jokingly asks whether he is supposed to officially support revenge.The Summer Flames fan website displays the slogan “Never abandon hope, ye who enter here” as the Code of Revenge movement continues spreading.No one yet knows how far this new ideology of revenge will spread or what destruction it may cause in the future.

Chapter 21: The PastA producer excitedly shows Yakovsky the footage of Xia Tian’s interview because the producers want to exploit the topic of Xia Tian being a survivor of the District N massacre as a major entertainment headline.Xia Tian appears in the interview sitting in a wheelchair while watching footage of the District N massacre being replayed for the audience.When asked if he personally killed Xiao Xu after she became infected, Xia Tian calmly confirms that he did because she would not have wanted to live as a monster.The host asks how Xia Tian managed to escape the containment barrier during the massacre despite the lockdown.Xia Tian explains that he hacked the containment barrier using the district administrator’s high-authority terminal.The host expresses disbelief because Xia Tian was never registered as a cyber support specialist.Xia Tian casually admits he is not a professional hacker but states he refused to wait passively and wanted to personally kill the people responsible for the massacre.Xia Tian smiles charmingly during the interview while describing violent revenge, creating a disturbing contrast that makes Yakovsky uneasy.Online viewers begin wildly speculating whether Xia Tian was secretly part of the District N resistance even though he was only thirteen years old at the time.After the interview Xia Tian removes the pink rubber band used during the broadcast to tie his hair.Bai Jing’an awkwardly admits he borrowed the rubber band from a makeup assistant.Xia Tian struggles to retie his hair due to his injuries so Bai Jing’an helps him tie it again using a black rubber band.Yakovsky observes how these small domestic moments between Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an humanize them for audiences despite them being deadly killers.Yakovsky watches a fan-made video compilation showing Xia Tian’s violent battles followed by the quiet scene where Xia Tian falls asleep on Bai Jing’an’s shoulder.The fan video goes viral among viewers and becomes widely broadcast on the official Killing Show channel.Yakovsky secretly recognizes the creator of the fan video as Tian Xiaoluo but does not reveal it because she likely made the video anonymously out of personal feelings.Yakovsky remembers that Tian Xiaoluo has been emotionally devastated since her boyfriend Wei Su died.Tian Xiaoluo repeatedly calls Wei Su’s number hundreds of times even though he is dead and will never answer.Yakovsky reflects that everyone in the entertainment industry is emotionally damaged but continues working because surviving day to day is all they can do.Yakovsky reviews entertainment trends and realizes that Xia Tian has become a dominant idol figure in the Upper City media landscape.Yakovsky notices that the concept of revenge promoted by the show is evolving into something more like a religious sacrifice offered to idol figures like Xia Tian.Meanwhile Bai Jing’an experiences a nightmare about the District N massacre.In the dream Bai Jing’an lies injured while a massive mutant dog drags him across the ground.Bai Jing’an sees the destroyed city filled with corpses, struggling survivors, and hovering surveillance cameras broadcasting the carnage.Bai Jing’an remembers a small child hiding nearby among the ruins while clutching a metal rod as a weapon.The child is already dead with his organs removed even though he died still trying to fight.Bai Jing’an believes he will die as well and prepares to accept death.A grotesque mutant creature approaches to kill him.Instead Xia Tian suddenly appears and shoots the monster with precise gunfire.Xia Tian reaches out his hand and tells Bai Jing’an to stand up because they must fight their way out.Bai Jing’an wakes from the dream feeling disoriented and uncertain whether the Upper City is real or just another illusion.Bai Jing’an goes downstairs and finds Xia Tian sitting in the living room playing a video game while drinking liquor.Xia Tian’s hair is still damp from showering and he appears calm despite his recent injuries.Bai Jing’an notices his own scar exposed across his chest but decides not to hide it.Xia Tian had been discharged from the treatment bay earlier that day and returned home after being surrounded by media attention.Dee Dee cried when she saw Xia Tian at the hospital and begged him to leave the Upper City and return to the Lower City.Xia Tian reassured Dee Dee that he was fine and comforted her until she finally fell asleep at home.Bai Jing’an sits beside Xia Tian and drinks liquor while watching the screen showing a video game set in the District N massacre.Bai Jing’an quietly reveals that he was also present during the District N massacre.Xia Tian pauses the game and listens as Bai Jing’an begins telling his story.Bai Jing’an explains that he was living in District N7 during the massacre.Bai Jing’an reveals he was part of the core group of the District N resistance movement.Bai Jing’an explains that he cannot remember most of his past because the Starlight Type 17-3 virus damaged his brain and erased his long-term memories.The virus was engineered to randomly infect mammals and trigger mutations that caused infected creatures to attack humans.The outbreak began when the virus infected a rat which spread the disease through the city while being filmed for entertainment.Bai Jing’an remembers fragments of the resistance attack on the district administrator’s house but cannot recall the faces of the people he fought alongside.Bai Jing’an remembers someone in the resistance group calling him “Xiao Bai.”Xia Tian jokingly says that someone once called him “Xiao Xia” when he was young but the nickname never stuck.Bai Jing’an confirms that the virus erased almost all memories from his life before the massacre.Bai Jing’an escaped the containment barrier because he still had Upper City access privileges.Bai Jing’an wandered through the Lower City after the massacre and initially had no desire to return to the Upper City.Bai Jing’an eventually encountered a stranger who helped him during a mugging which reminded him that kind people still existed somewhere.Bai Jing’an realized that if he stayed in the Lower City he would inevitably repeat the cycle of violence and loss.Bai Jing’an returned to the Upper City and began living alone in his family house.Bai Jing’an falsified records and hacked administrative systems to maintain the illusion that he was living a normal life.Bai Jing’an admits that everything about the Upper City now feels unfamiliar to him because the massacre changed him permanently.Bai Jing’an feels as though the Lower City darkness swallowed his former self and turned him into a different person.Xia Tian tells Bai Jing’an that people who survive such experiences can never truly return to who they were before.Xia Tian puts his arm around Bai Jing’an’s shoulders in a rare gesture of comfort.Xia Tian gently reassures Bai Jing’an that they will be fine.Bai Jing’an does not believe that things will truly be fine but nods anyway as they sit together in the quiet darkness.

Chapter 22: Birthday BashXia Tian notices that after the commemorative show his status in the Upper City has changed dramatically as people begin treating him with reverence like an idol.Sponsors reward Xia Tian with a newly gifted villa but because the property still requires renovation he continues living with Bai Jing’an.Huitian suddenly visits the house without warning and throws an invitation on the table for Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an.Huitian explains that the invitation is mandatory and cannot be refused because it is for the birthday party of Minkov Junior, the son of the powerful Minkov family.Xia Tian learns that the Minkov family controls enormous wealth and influence in the Upper City including many profitable GBC channels.The invitation is for Minkov Junior’s sixteenth birthday and receiving such an invitation signifies high social status in elite Upper City circles.The invitation is printed on special paper with a firebird emblem and is designed to burn away automatically after a day leaving only fragrance behind.Bai Jing’an examines the invitation while Huitian insists that both of them must attend the party.The Minkov estate is revealed to be a massive independent floating city suspended above the Upper City.Bai Jing’an is late preparing for the party because earlier that day escaped genetically engineered dinosaurs from a reality show caused chaos in the city.Bai Jing’an spends the morning trapped in a supermarket while trying to control armed civilians panicking during the dinosaur incident.Bai Jing’an complains that the real problem was not the dinosaurs but the chaotic civilians behaving like irresponsible children with guns.Xia Tian jokes that Bai Jing’an has become extremely popular with fans after the televised dinosaur incident.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an travel to the party aboard a luxurious anti-gravity shuttle.From a distance the Minkov estate appears like a radiant palace formed from light and clouds.When they arrive the party has already begun and the interior scene is chaotic with drinking, dancing, drugs, and sex everywhere.Minkov Senior deliberately allowed his son to design the party however he wished which resulted in uncontrolled decadence.The mansion itself is constructed entirely with natural materials and rare handcrafted items worth enormous fortunes.Priceless artworks and furniture are scattered around carelessly and some are even broken by drunken guests.The party serves rare organic food and Xia Tian immediately starts taking large amounts of pastries and desserts.Bai Jing’an also gathers trays of food as both of them decide to enjoy the free luxury food.Within minutes several guests approach Xia Tian with sexual propositions forcing him and Bai Jing’an to search for a quieter place to eat.Xia Tian repeatedly opens doors only to find guests having sex in various rooms filled with hallucinogens.One guest even invites Xia Tian to join a group sexual encounter which causes Xia Tian to slam the door shut.Eventually Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an find a quiet room on a balcony area away from the crowd.The room is dark and messy with garbage scattered everywhere as if something violent had occurred earlier.Inside the room they discover a thin teenage boy sitting alone among terminals, snacks, and guns.The boy appears tense and emotionally unstable despite his refined aristocratic appearance.The boy suddenly raises a .45 caliber firearm and attempts to shoot himself in the head.Xia Tian immediately lunges forward and grabs the boy’s wrist at the moment he pulls the trigger.The bullet instead hits the ceiling and leaves a massive crater.If Xia Tian had not intervened the boy’s head would have been completely destroyed by the explosive round.The gunshot echoes through the mansion but the party downstairs continues cheering as if nothing unusual happened.Xia Tian observes that the boy resembles a desperate animal cornered by invisible pressure and rage.The boy briefly stares at Xia Tian before noticing Bai Jing’an and suddenly changing his demeanor.The boy calmly smiles and pretends nothing happened as he hides the gun under his shirt.The boy speaks politely to the newcomers and behaves like a well-mannered aristocratic youth.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an deliberately pretend ignorance because interfering in elite family affairs could be dangerous.The boy casually leaves the room laughing with other guests in the hallway.Xia Tian later realizes the boy is actually Minkov Junior himself, the host of the birthday party and heir to the powerful Minkov empire.Xia Tian picks up the gun Minkov Junior left behind and examines it.Xia Tian concludes that Minkov Junior could easily bring weapons into the party because his family’s power makes rules meaningless.Xia Tian comments that despite being the future ruler of a massive corporation Minkov Junior seems to want to destroy the world.Bai Jing’an replies that at Minkov Junior’s age he probably only wants to destroy himself.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an continue eating desserts while discussing the strange suicide attempt.Xia Tian recognizes the same rage and despair inside Minkov Junior that he has seen in many violent people before.Xia Tian thinks Minkov Junior would probably become an excellent mercenary or Killing Show contestant if he were not born into wealth.Later Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an explore deeper areas of the massive mansion.They wander through elaborate rooms like explorers inside a luxurious maze.Eventually they enter a specimen exhibition hall filled with preserved bodies of creatures and humans.Collecting preserved specimens of mutated creatures is revealed to be a hobby among the wealthy elite.Many specimens are grotesque monsters or mutilated bodies preserved at the moment of death or mutation.Xia Tian recognizes several specimens related to the Lower City and even relics from the District N massacre.The deeper they go the more disturbing and horrifying the specimens become.Xia Tian suddenly senses that someone has been secretly following them for some time.Xia Tian quietly tells Bai Jing’an that they are not alone and that the hidden observer has been trailing them through the mansion.

Chapter 23: Land of the DegenerateThe fourth round of the GBC 199th Killing Show Azaijin Team Tournament begins with a new teammate draw where surviving contestants are paired with new allies while the program crew records awkward bonding sessions like blind dates for entertainment.Doug and Feng Dan sit in tense silence during their team bonding broadcast while their two new teammates desperately attempt to start conversations.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an’s first teammate is Alec whose profession is listed as warrior and whose previous performance involved a rocket launcher rampage.Their second teammate is Weiss, a nineteen-year-old cyber support specialist who was forced into the Killing Show after being caught stealing classified information seven hundred fifty-nine times.Weiss appears traumatized by earlier rounds and sits silently in the corner during the program’s filming.The program crew launches a segment called Emotional Impacts where contestants must watch footage of their former teammates dying to create emotional reactions.Alec’s footage shows the moment when another team tricked his squad into a monster-infested area and sealed the door to escape themselves.Alec’s three teammates died fighting the monsters while one of them blasted open a reinforced wall before dying so Alec could escape.The program forces Alec to watch the entire brutal annihilation of his team on a giant screen for entertainment.Weiss reacts by secretly hacking the production system through his AR contact lens interface.Bai Jing’an and Xia Tian immediately join Weiss in hacking the broadcast system to sabotage the show.The screen showing Alec’s teammates dying suddenly shuts off which confuses the host and the production staff.The crew repeatedly tries to restore the feed while Weiss continues shutting it down.Weiss eventually escalates the attack by cutting power to the program crew’s grid causing the room to dim into sunset lighting.The host helplessly asks them to stop sabotaging the show but Xia Tian jokingly tells him to try stopping them by force.The host gives up and starts playing games on his phone while the hackers discuss the show’s security systems.The chaotic sabotage unexpectedly increases viewership ratings because audiences enjoy watching contestants fight the production team.Xia Tian’s fame skyrockets and he becomes an A-list Killing Show celebrity constantly interviewed by fans and journalists.Media companies compile Xia Tian’s words into a paid ideological product called the Resistance Bible.Xia Tian complains to Huitian that the book portrays him as an insane revolutionary even though many statements were exaggerated or fabricated.Huitian explains that manufacturing a rebellious celebrity image is part of the entertainment industry’s marketing strategy.Huitian reveals that the Glided Group secretly profits from these rebellious fan movements while pretending to oppose them.Xia Tian reflects that although the marketing is artificial the anger fueling it is very real.Late at night Xia Tian receives a phone call from Minkov Junior.Minkov Junior congratulates Xia Tian for his high ratings and thanks him on behalf of Glided Group shareholders.Minkov Junior reveals that Deviant Lab wanted Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an to appear in another sadistic show but he removed their names from the list.Minkov Junior offers Xia Tian a new gift which is a complete list of Honey&Sweet members.Xia Tian learns that Honey&Sweet actually has seven members rather than five.The members are wealthy elites who commit rape and violence for entertainment.Xia Tian lies in bed thinking about the revenge possibilities against them.Xia Tian reflects that revenge once felt like the solution to everything but now the entire world feels suffocating.Xia Tian remembers the tragedy that happened to Weiss before joining their team.Deviant Lab forced Weiss into an escape-themed Killing Show despite him being physically weak.Weiss was tied to a bed and gang-raped for a week by the show’s participants.Weiss suffered broken fingers, broken ribs, and severe injuries while the broadcast edited the footage to look erotic.Xia Tian realizes the Upper City is worse than the Lower City because cruelty is hidden behind glamour and entertainment.Xia Tian thinks Honey&Sweet are only a small part of the enormous cruelty in the Upper City.Xia Tian falls asleep again after deciding revenge against them could be a side project.The next morning Huitian arrives with a movie script about Xia Tian’s past exploits in the Lower City.Xia Tian learns he is contractually obligated to star in the film even if he does not want to act.Huitian explains that as long as Xia Tian remains popular the company will keep him alive to maximize profits from future films.Huitian also expresses excitement that Minkov Junior has become their financial backer.Huitian explains that powerful backers are necessary to protect celebrities from exploitation by other elites.Xia Tian attends another elite dinner party alone while Bai Jing’an is busy elsewhere.The dinner party includes naked servants performing sexual acts while guests pretend not to notice.Guests must behave as if they are uninterested in the performers or risk appearing vulgar.Xia Tian struggles to follow complicated dining etiquette rules while ignoring the disturbing spectacle.Xia Tian meets Minkov Senior for the first time at the party.Minkov Senior is a powerful man whose presence intimidates everyone around him.Minkov Junior attends the dinner quietly beside his father behaving like an obedient child.Xia Tian notices Minkov Senior touching the back of Minkov Junior’s neck in a way that suggests disturbing control or abuse.Xia Tian realizes he cannot help Minkov Junior because the Minkov family is too powerful to oppose.Minkov Junior later sneaks away from his father and approaches Xia Tian.Minkov Junior jokes that the chair Xia Tian sat on might be made from human skin.Minkov Junior claims that wealthy elites sometimes turn people into furniture as extreme possessions.Minkov Junior warns Xia Tian that the Killing Show producers are becoming dangerously fond of him.Minkov Junior explains that the Upper City has evolved into something anti-human and macabre.Minkov Junior returns to his father and resumes acting like a polite aristocratic child.Xia Tian keeps this disturbing interaction secret because nothing could change the reality of the Upper City.Xia Tian later wakes from a nightmare involving the District N massacre and a monster inviting him to play a deadly game.Unable to sleep Xia Tian climbs to the rooftop and watches the sunrise over the Upper City.Xia Tian realizes the Lower City never sees the sky because its residents live underground.Xia Tian becomes angry that the Upper City monopolizes the beauty of the sky while others suffer below.Minkov Junior suddenly calls Xia Tian again early in the morning sounding emotionally unstable.Minkov Junior claims the Upper City created a god through the Killing Show which now demands endless human sacrifice.Minkov Junior says the city will eventually destroy itself because of its corruption.Minkov Junior tells Xia Tian he plans to prepare a greater sacrifice for this god.Xia Tian becomes concerned that Minkov Junior is planning something dangerous.Three days later Minkov Junior detonates his own house leaving nothing behind.Rumors say Minkov Junior is confined afterward by his family.Despite this Xia Tian believes Minkov Junior’s destructive impulses are far from finished.Meanwhile the second draw for the fourth round of the Killing Show begins in Skystone Square with massive celebration.Giant screens reveal that the next game scenario is called the Garden System.Six arenas are prepared each representing isolated gardens such as floating gardens or islands.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an’s team draws Arena 3 which is an isolated garden on a deserted island.In this scenario all players are heirs summoned by a dead tycoon whose inheritance test will determine who gains his enormous fortune.Each contestant must act according to assigned identities connected to the tycoon.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an must pretend to be former rich classmates who fell into debt and need the inheritance money.The contestants receive a final summons to a secret hall where another draw will take place.The final draw reveals that a Joker wildcard will exist in the upcoming match.

Chapter 24: God of War TempleThe wildcard mechanic is introduced as a special feature of the killing game system where one hidden participant becomes a secret murderer who must kill everyone else while the remaining players try to identify them.Bai Jing’an believes the wildcard twist is pointless because everyone in the Killing Show is already trying to kill each other anyway.Thirty-six team leaders gather around a round table to draw their destiny cards in a ceremony designed so everyone can observe each other’s reactions.Bai Jing’an calmly draws a card while maintaining a perfectly unreadable expression.Bai Jing’an discovers that he has drawn the Joker wildcard card which makes their team the hidden killers in the upcoming game.The Joker card shows a God of War standing on a pile of skulls holding a giant sword while grinning like the end of the world is approaching.Bai Jing’an returns to the preparation room and reveals to Xia Tian, Alec, and Weiss that their team is the wildcard.The team receives updated mission instructions that completely change their identities.Instead of bankrupt heirs seeking inheritance they are actually avengers who killed the real heirs and stole their identities.Their backstory states that Mr. Shi conducted a biological experiment that killed their family members.Many of the invited heirs were involved in the deadly experiment and are responsible for the deaths of their families.Xia Tian, Bai Jing’an, Alec, and Weiss supposedly formed an alliance to infiltrate the island and avenge their dead relatives.Their mission is to disrupt the inheritance test and prevent any of the heirs from successfully completing it.Alec realizes this means they must sabotage the entire game while pretending to be normal contestants.Alec predicts the producers will expose their identities halfway through the match for dramatic effect.Xia Tian casually suggests killing everyone in the game as the easiest solution.Bai Jing’an agrees with Xia Tian’s idea without hesitation.Alec becomes shocked that both of them seriously consider exterminating every participant.Alec checks the mission manual and realizes the match has no time limit.The game will only end when someone gains the inheritance or when everyone else dies.Weiss suddenly interrupts the discussion after seeing breaking news about another revenge killing inspired by Xia Tian’s ideology.The news headline reports that another wealthy elite has been executed by a vigilante.The murdered man secretly ran a children’s version of the Killing Show using homeless children from the Lower City.Evidence videos reveal that the man treated the suffering children as entertainment and bragged about their courage during violent matches.The vigilante publicly exposed the crimes before killing him.The victim was executed by being impaled with a sword on a decorative metal frame like a grotesque art display.Images of the corpse were posted on the Summer Flames website which has become the main platform for Xia Tian’s followers.The vigilante who committed the execution did not reveal their identity.News broadcasts repeatedly display the graphic evidence videos of the children’s Killing Show.Weiss becomes horrified that anyone could treat children like disposable entertainment.Alec comments that atrocities like this are normal in the Upper City because everything exists purely for entertainment.Bai Jing’an observes that the murderer carefully disabled security systems and erased surveillance evidence.Weiss confirms the attacker also wiped all camera recordings without leaving traces.Bai Jing’an speculates that the execution may have been carried out by a coordinated team rather than a single person.Alec predicts the media will glorify the killer as a hero.Bai Jing’an warns that this publicity will encourage more people to commit revenge murders.Xia Tian concludes that the Upper City will soon become extremely chaotic.Huitian calls Xia Tian to inform him that reporters are arriving for an emergency interview about the killings.The interview script provided by the company is extremely academic and difficult to understand.Alec complains that the script reads like an academic essay about moral evolution.Weiss explains that the company wants to portray Xia Tian as a revolutionary ideological leader.Bai Jing’an helps Xia Tian review the script and simplify the talking points for the interview.Xia Tian receives a crash course about the history of morality and the Killing Show’s cultural impact.The history lesson explains that early Killing Show programs began with death-row inmates fighting for survival on television.Over time society became accustomed to watching people die for entertainment.The Killing Show eventually transformed criminals into celebrities and murder into a form of entertainment culture.Xia Tian reflects that modern society has forgotten the real meaning of death.Xia Tian is styled by image consultants before the interview to look like a relaxed fighter fresh from training.Famous reporter He Yu arrives with a large media team to conduct the interview.He Yu begins the interview by asking Xia Tian if he knows that fans have built a temple dedicated to him.The interview switches into VR simulation mode showing the location of the temple.The structure is called the God of War Temple created by Xia Tian’s followers.The temple stands in a ruined wasteland resembling an ancient battlefield.A massive statue resembling Xia Tian stands at the center holding a weapon like a war deity.The statue stands on a field filled with bones and skeletons of victims and monsters Xia Tian has killed.Followers believe the statue represents a god of vengeance and resistance.At the base of the statue lies the corpse of the recently executed wealthy criminal.The victim’s body is nailed to the ground with a sword as a sacrificial offering.The simulation shows a replay of the man’s final moments begging for mercy before dying.He Yu calls the temple the most extreme fan tribute ever created.He Yu begins discussing the growing ideology that revenge executions are justified in society.Xia Tian says that if anyone tried to subject his younger sister to such cruelty he would kill them personally.He Yu observes that most people now support vigilante executions of criminals.Xia Tian explains that society now accepts such violence because moral standards have already collapsed.Xia Tian explains that Killing Show stars are treated like idols and therefore influence society’s ethics.Xia Tian states that the media created these idols and the public projects their anger onto them.Xia Tian claims that in a society worshipping killers morality inevitably collapses.He Yu jokes that Xia Tian is describing a world like the biblical city of Sodom.Xia Tian replies that unlike Sodom this world will destroy itself without divine intervention.He Yu asks what Xia Tian wants to say to fans who worship him as a god.Xia Tian unexpectedly declares that the Upper World should be destroyed.Xia Tian makes a playful explosion gesture while saying the city should go “boom.”Huitian feels uneasy after hearing his answer even though the audience treats it as part of his rebellious persona.The producers continue promoting Xia Tian as a revolutionary anti-hero to increase ratings.Huitian later gathers Xia Tian’s team to remind them about proper behavior in the upcoming match.Huitian warns them not to kill contestants who are only victims trapped by contracts.Huitian tells them to justify their killings morally so the audience can see them as heroes.Huitian worries that Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an may act too recklessly during the match.Huitian remembers visiting Bai Jing’an’s house earlier to collect items for auctions and museum displays.While there she watched a movie dramatizing the District N rebellion.The film portrays Bai Lin as a tragic hero who accidentally triggered the rebellion.The movie also portrays Bai Sang as a seductive villain despite being only a young girl during the real events.Huitian says one scene where Bai Lin refuses to kill a security officer because he deserves to live makes sense.Xia Tian responds that there are many people who deserve to live but that does not matter in the real world.Xia Tian tells a story about a talented magician friend he once knew in the Lower City.Xia Tian explains that in desperate situations survival forces people to kill each other.Xia Tian concludes that survival in the Lower City requires ruthless self-interest.Huitian realizes that beneath Xia Tian’s glamorous celebrity persona he is still a dangerous survivor shaped by violence.

Chapter 25: Kill Them One by OneHuitian watches the released interview footage of Xia Tian and notices how the media repeatedly spreads Xia Tian’s statement that he would have made the same execution decision because he has a younger sister, and Xia Tian’s calm, righteous tone makes him look almost holy despite the violent implication.Huitian becomes uneasy because Xia Tian’s fans begin obsessively imitating his falling and exploding gesture and treating his words like moral justification for killing, while media outlets exaggerate his statements and transform them into a popular ideology.Public discourse begins shifting as people enthusiastically discuss changing social morals, and Xia Tian’s celebrity charisma amplifies the trend as if his approval grants permission for violence.The competition moves to the fourth round of the Killing Show, a notoriously brutal stage with high death rates, and attention across the audience increasingly focuses on Arena 3 where Xia Tian’s team is competing.The arena setting is staged as if it exists in the ancient Terrestrial Era somewhere deep in the ocean, but in reality it is a constructed entertainment environment owned by wealthy elites from Upper City.Contestants arrive on a luxury cruise ship as heirs supposedly invited to inherit the empire of a deceased economic magnate who possessed advanced technological patents.The cruise initially feels like a lavish vacation with beautiful attendants, alcohol, and entertainment, but the environment gradually turns ominous as they approach the island.When the group reaches the island at night, servants resembling ominous horror movie figures greet them and guide them through a dark garden filled with strange architecture and sculptures of mythical beasts.Xia Tian analyzes the terrain tactically while walking through the eerie environment, noting that the layout makes sniper attacks difficult.The contestants are brought to an elegant mansion where their rooms contain supplies for a month, luxury facilities, and formal clothing prepared for various events.A servant gives Xia Tian’s team antique room keys and informs them they alone possess the keys before leaving them in their courtyard residence.Inside the residence, Bai Jing’an reads an invitation explaining that the heirs must attend a formal banquet where the managing attorney will reveal the deceased magnate Mr. Shi’s final will.Alec suggests discussing strategy before the banquet, but Bai Jing’an immediately proposes that they begin the game by killing someone.Bai Jing’an asks Xia Tian who he hates most, and Xia Tian names Yang Chen because Yang Chen created a children’s version of the Killing Show and publicly justified it.Alec remarks that Yang Chen is difficult to kill, but Xia Tian confidently states he can do it.Bai Jing’an calmly agrees and declares that they will kill their opponents one by one.Xia Tian changes into a specially designed tuxedo that looks both elegant and combat-ready, reflecting his image as a celebrity contestant managed by a professional team.Xia Tian reflects on how his public persona is partially manufactured by unknown staff members who shape his image for audiences.Xia Tian notices that Bai Jing’an has become more openly dangerous since earlier events, revealing a colder and more violent side beneath his calm exterior.The four teammates head to the grand banquet hall where contestants dress extravagantly like a fashion show despite the deadly competition.The hall is filled with decorative NPC attendants who often serve as stress relief partners for contestants and historically suffer high mortality during the show.Weiss focuses on hacking the island’s surveillance network and security systems to gain tactical information for the team.Xia Tian observes the crowd while holding a glass of wine and reflects that many veteran contestants become hedonistic because the Killing Show destroys their normal sense of morality and future.The managing attorney Angus announces the rules of the inheritance game and explains that Mr. Shi chose all of them as potential heirs.Angus reveals that although many contestants exist, only one ruthless and cunning survivor will inherit Mr. Shi’s entire empire.Angus explains that weapons are hidden throughout the garden and contestants must eliminate each other to collect fragments needed to open a treasure chest containing the inheritance rights.Angus formally declares the inheritance game has begun and states it will continue until a single heir remains.During the banquet Yang Chen goes to the restroom and Xia Tian quietly follows him to carry out the planned assassination.Xia Tian enters the restroom and confronts Yang Chen while secretly holding a table knife hidden in his sleeve.Xia Tian initiates the fight by stabbing Yang Chen in the lower abdomen and slashing downward while ignoring Yang Chen’s attempts to fight back.After a brief struggle Xia Tian kicks Yang Chen’s wound, knocks him to the ground, grabs his hair, and slits his throat, killing him quickly.Xia Tian calmly cleans the blood from himself at the sink, leaves the knife still stained with blood, and exits the restroom as if nothing unusual happened.Meanwhile at GBC headquarters several shareholders observe a new immersive sensory simulator capable of stimulating the brain with extreme sensations for use in games.Tian Xiaoluo works as part of the reception team while secretly monitoring Xia Tian’s production crew through communication channels.Tian Xiaoluo hears the production staff celebrating Xia Tian’s decision to kill Yang Chen and speaking in exaggerated religious-style language used to promote Xia Tian’s public image.Tian Xiaoluo watches the footage of Xia Tian leaving the restroom with the bloody knife and feels a strange thrill because Yang Chen had organized cruel children’s Killing Show events.A mysterious teenage boy approaches Tian Xiaoluo and recognizes her as Wang Xiaotian, a former Department of Defense interactive virus expert.The boy reveals he knows about her secret background and suggests she should take a new job that promises excitement.Back at the banquet Xia Tian returns to his teammates and places the bloody knife on the table while Bai Jing’an calmly hands him champagne.News quickly spreads among the contestants that Yang Chen’s body has been discovered in the restroom but the killer’s identity is officially protected by the game rules.Yang Chen’s remaining teammates panic because losing one member drastically reduces their survival chances in the fourth round.Xia Tian publicly taps his glass to get everyone’s attention and openly announces that he was the one who killed Yang Chen.Xia Tian insults Yang Chen’s behavior and past crimes in front of the entire banquet hall.One of Yang Chen’s teammates tries to attack Xia Tian but collapses immediately after Bai Jing’an silently slashes his throat.Another teammate attempts to fight but Alec restrains him from behind and stabs him with a fork.The final teammate attempts to escape but Xia Tian smashes his head with a wine decanter and repeatedly slams his head against the ground until he dies.Xia Tian finishes wiping off his coat while the surrounding contestants calmly watch the complete annihilation of Yang Chen’s entire team.

Chapter 26: First Kill PrizeApplause breaks out in the banquet hall after Xia Tian kills Yang Chen’s team, and managing attorney Angus approaches with a smile and praises the contestants for understanding the brutal spirit of the inheritance game.Angus announces that the organizers have prepared a special reward for the first person to make a kill in the match, revealing a rare “first kill prize.”A butler brings out a black metal box lined with crimson velvet, and Angus unveils a high-end nanomaterial weapon called the Doomsday Beast.Angus demonstrates the weapon’s abilities as it transforms between different forms such as dagger, longsword, and whip using advanced nanotechnology.The contestants watch in amazement as the Doomsday Beast shifts shape fluidly and reveals itself as an incredibly powerful and expensive weapon.Angus explains that many of its more destructive features have been disabled so that contestants remain relatively equal during the match.Angus hands the Doomsday Beast to Xia Tian as the official reward for achieving the first kill.Xia Tian immediately examines the weapon and reads its operating data through his contact lenses while feeling excited by its killing potential.The nanomaterial wraps around Xia Tian’s hand like silk and transforms into a massive weapon resembling the one Xia Tian used in the God of War Temple.Even though its firearms functions are disabled, the weapon still radiates an overwhelming aura of destruction that causes nearby contestants to instinctively keep their distance.Angus reminds everyone to search for proper weapons instead of relying on table knives and hints that the island becomes dangerous at night.Suddenly another contestant named Qi Qing kills someone nearby with a fork and jokingly asks if there is also a reward for the second kill.Later in their suite Xia Tian excitedly studies the Doomsday Beast and gives it the nickname Marshmallow despite Angus previously trying to persuade him to change the name.Alec jokes that Xia Tian is so attached to the weapon that he might wish it could have babies.Bai Jing’an and Alec discuss how dangerous weapons like the Doomsday Beast could affect crime in Upper City if they become widely available.Weiss remarks that such weapons are too expensive for most people, although knockoffs might eventually appear.Bai Jing’an asks Xia Tian who their next target will be as they plan their strategy.That same night another group attempts to infiltrate their residence in order to steal Xia Tian’s first kill reward.Alec kills one of the intruders brutally using a juicer blade and Xia Tian kills another while the rest of the attackers flee.Weiss successfully hacks into the island’s surveillance system and discovers that the buildings contain 1,173 cameras while the garden itself has none.The team notices something strange moving in the dark areas outside the buildings through the surveillance screens.They observe a horrifying creature dragging a player’s corpse into the tall reeds near a river outside their residence.The creature moves like a wild beast but also appears partially human, suggesting it is a mutated experimental monster created for the arena.Bai Jing’an realizes this creature is likely the hidden danger Angus warned about when he mentioned that nighttime on the island is unsafe.Bai Jing’an later has a dream about Bai Lin standing on a street in Lower City surrounded by countless corpses after the famous massacre.Bai Jing’an reflects on how the Upper World constantly talks about the massacre not because they truly condemn it but because the tragedy has endless entertainment value.Bai Jing’an imagines Bai Lin standing atop a symbolic mountain of more than three million corpses, representing the bloody entertainment culture of the Upper World.Bai Jing’an wakes up unsettled and reflects that the Killing Show is essentially a massive spectacle where contestants become more valuable as their fame grows.Bai Jing’an realizes that increased fame reduces the likelihood of contestants dying quickly because producers want to exploit their popularity.Bai Jing’an notices that Xia Tian is outside in the courtyard talking to a young woman with shoulder-length black hair.Xia Tian cheerfully chats and flirts with the girl while standing among sunflowers in the morning sunlight.Bai Jing’an recognizes that many NPC women are placed in the arena to create realistic social environments and attract viewers.These NPC women may be volunteers, contract workers, or aspiring entertainers seeking exposure despite the dangers of the Killing Show.Xia Tian later explains that the girl works at a botanical garden in Glided City VII and was brought to the arena under a botanical garden contract.Xia Tian says he intends to survive the match and call her afterward for a meal because he believes she is a kind person.Bai Jing’an quietly hopes Xia Tian will actually survive and find happiness outside the violent world of Upper City.After breakfast the team begins searching the garden for treasure map fragments hidden by Mr. Shi that are needed to claim the inheritance.Bai Jing’an believes the fragments are intentionally distributed so contestants must steal them from each other rather than rely on intelligence.While exploring the garden Alec becomes curious about a strange bush with bright red berries and begins examining it.Weiss explains that the berries are ornamental and too sour to eat while Xia Tian samples one and agrees.During this moment a group of seven contestants formed from two broken squads silently surrounds Xia Tian’s team.The attackers demand that Xia Tian surrender the Doomsday Beast and threaten that they outnumber him.The leader warns that the weapon’s thermal weapon functions will soon unlock and suggests Xia Tian should cooperate to avoid injury.The tense standoff immediately collapses when Alec suddenly attacks one of the men from behind.Alec restrains his victim and stabs him through the palm during the struggle.Xia Tian simultaneously launches the Doomsday Beast at another attacker, piercing through the man’s hand and throat before retrieving the weapon.Xia Tian kills a second attacker by transforming the weapon into a long sword and driving it through the man’s head.Xia Tian kills a third attacker by grabbing his neck and slitting his throat after the man loses the will to fight.Bai Jing’an kills the bearded leader by stabbing a fruit knife into his temple after the man attempts to take him hostage.Bai Jing’an kills another attacker by slashing his abdomen and then stabbing him between the eyes.Xia Tian throws his sword to kill the final fleeing attacker and finishes the battle within less than a minute.Xia Tian pulls the sword from the corpse and casually wipes blood from his hands while standing among the bodies of the seven attackers.Weiss is left stunned because the fight ended almost instantly before he could even react.Xia Tian remarks that he does not understand why the attackers believed seven people were enough to defeat their team.Bai Jing’an explains that the attackers mistakenly believed Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an were alone in the woods.Alec realizes the attackers assumed Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an had gone into the forest together for romantic reasons rather than tactical ones.Xia Tian bursts out laughing at the misunderstanding and jokingly says they can use their supposed relationship as an alibi in the future.Xia Tian jokingly hugs Bai Jing’an and suggests they pretend to be lovers in order to bait enemies into ambushes.Bai Jing’an reluctantly goes along with the idea and discusses the strategy of acting like a couple in public to lure opponents.Xia Tian enthusiastically proposes walking hand-in-hand through the residential area to attract attention from other contestants.Weiss and Alec conclude that their role will now be to follow behind Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an while they pretend to be romantic partners as part of the team’s hunting strategy.

Chapter 27: Looking for TroubleXia Tian and Bai Jing’an continue their act of pretending to be lovers while searching the garden for treasure map fragments that lead to Mr. Shi’s inheritance.While following decorative flowerpots engraved with stories, Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an discover a Puzzle Memory Shard that serves as a fragment of the treasure map.The shard is made of thin metallic material with encrypted patterns that cannot be copied, meaning contestants must collect all fragments physically to reveal the treasure map.Xia Tian jokes about how obvious the treasure placement is while still maintaining the fake affectionate behavior with Bai Jing’an.Bai Jing’an reminds Xia Tian they do not need to keep pretending when no one else is nearby, but Xia Tian insists on continuing the act for practice.Alec sarcastically comments that Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an really look like lovebirds while the group discusses their strategy.Bai Jing’an proposes that instead of actively hunting people they should observe others fighting and take advantage of the chaos.As they walk through the garden they find signs of brutal killings including bloodstains, severed limbs, and half-eaten human remains.Weiss becomes sick after seeing a pile of chewed human remains that appear to have been regurgitated by something monstrous.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an examine bite marks on a piece of human flesh and conclude the attack likely happened around midnight.Alec jokes that the lesson is never to go outside at night.Xia Tian observes that the bite marks appear human even though they were likely made by the mutated creatures roaming the garden.Weiss checks surveillance footage showing pale humanoid monsters dragging bodies into the darkness of the garden.The group suspects the monsters are artificially created creatures released by the Killing Show organizers as another deadly element of the arena.While passing a gazebo they encounter a male contestant violently assaulting a woman pinned against a rock.The woman is badly injured and bleeding while the attacker casually greets Xia Tian and his team as if nothing abnormal is happening.The woman is revealed to be An Xiaoyin, the botanical garden worker who gave Xia Tian her number earlier.Xia Tian immediately attacks the rapist without hesitation and stabs him through the chest with his sword.Xia Tian twists the blade and slashes the attacker open, killing him brutally in a burst of blood.The attacker tries to fight back but collapses as Xia Tian finishes him off.Xia Tian pulls the dying man away from An Xiaoyin to prevent the corpse from falling on her.An Xiaoyin collapses to the ground surrounded by bloodstained flowers while Xia Tian silently watches.Xia Tian offers his coat to An Xiaoyin to cover herself and tries to help her stand.An Xiaoyin rejects Xia Tian’s attempt to assist her and quickly dresses herself while avoiding his gaze.An Xiaoyin leaves without speaking further, clearly wanting to distance herself from Xia Tian despite him saving her.Xia Tian realizes she likely wants to be alone and does not follow her.Alec and Weiss remain silent while Bai Jing’an watches the scene quietly.Xia Tian leaves the corpse behind and walks away in silence with his teammates.Later Xia Tian sits at a bar drinking quietly while reflecting on what happened.Xia Tian recalls that in Lower City his older sister once suffered abuse but refused to let him seek revenge.Xia Tian admits he killed the man responsible for harming his sister in the past.Xia Tian bitterly reflects that he once believed Upper City was a peaceful and prosperous paradise where such cruelty would not exist.Bai Jing’an listens quietly and comforts Xia Tian by saying the rapist’s death earlier was deserved.Xia Tian drinks another glass of alcohol while trying to calm his anger.The next day Xia Tian sees An Xiaoyin again in the garden while she works trimming rose branches.Although she appears composed, Xia Tian notices the injuries on her face have not been treated despite advanced medical technology being available.Xia Tian approaches An Xiaoyin but stops at a distance.An Xiaoyin walks toward him and apologizes before asking that they never speak again.An Xiaoyin explains she is grateful Xia Tian saved her but cannot associate with him anymore.An Xiaoyin reveals that her encounter with the attacker was not random.An Xiaoyin explains that because Xia Tian publicly asked her out and she gave him her number, the show’s organizers deliberately arranged the incident to create drama.An Xiaoyin says the Killing Show producers exploit any hint of emotional connection for entertainment value.An Xiaoyin warns that nothing in the arena is private and the producers manipulate events to increase spectacle.An Xiaoyin tells Xia Tian the show’s unseen “apparition” notices any emotional development and deliberately escalates tragedy.An Xiaoyin says she cannot become part of that narrative and distances herself from Xia Tian to avoid further manipulation.Xia Tian stands speechless and devastated as he realizes the truth behind the staged incident.An Xiaoyin leaves quietly while Xia Tian remains standing alone in the garden.Bai Jing’an approaches and silently pats Xia Tian on the shoulder before leading him away.Xia Tian returns with a heavy mood filled with suppressed anger.Outside the arena Huitian watches the broadcast footage and notices the intense emotional reaction on Xia Tian’s face.Huitian reflects that the Killing Show’s success comes from capturing genuine emotional suffering rather than scripted drama.Huitian realizes fans are identifying with Xia Tian’s pain and channeling their own anger through him.Yakovsky observes the situation and believes Xia Tian would kill everyone involved in the show if he ever gained freedom.Yakovsky reflects that the Killing Show industry thrives on violence and human suffering as entertainment.Yakovsky remembers approving An Xiaoyin’s participation in the show without hesitation.Yakovsky concludes the Killing Show is a brutal carnival built on the corpses of its participants.Back in the arena Xia Tian sits silently with a glass of wine for a long time while Bai Jing’an tries unsuccessfully to cheer him up.Bai Jing’an eventually asks Xia Tian who he wants to kill next.Xia Tian coldly answers that he wants to kill the men who harassed the waitress at the bar earlier.Xia Tian declares he intends to kill both teams involved in that harassment.Bai Jing’an agrees and begins planning the attack.Xia Tian and his team eliminate the two teams during nighttime ambushes.During one fight Xia Tian intentionally allows himself to be attacked so he can stab an enemy in the abdomen.Xia Tian brutally kills another man while accusing him of ignoring a woman’s rejection.Bai Jing’an notices Xia Tian’s back has been injured during the battle but Xia Tian seems indifferent to the wound.Bai Jing’an realizes Xia Tian’s rage must be vented through killing or he may lose control.After killing the enemies Xia Tian suddenly becomes suspicious about the wall behind one of the bodies.Xia Tian transforms Marshmallow into a dagger and begins cutting through the wall.The wall breaks open revealing a thick metal layer beneath the concrete structure.Weiss analyzes the material and identifies it as H-3 series alloy used for heavily reinforced structures.The group realizes the reinforced wall likely hides the long-rumored weapons armory containing firearms.Weiss creates a digital model of the structure and determines the armory is located in a hidden building in the west wing of the residential area.The team realizes the armory is currently sealed and cannot be opened easily.Xia Tian unexpectedly orders Weiss to leak the armory location to every contestant in the arena.Weiss is shocked by the idea but Bai Jing’an supports Xia Tian’s plan.Bai Jing’an explains the door is sealed and only a massive disturbance might break it open.Xia Tian states that gathering a large crowd of contestants might force the armory open through chaos.Weiss nervously sends the information about the armory’s location to everyone in the arena, triggering a looming storm of violence.

Chapter 28: Game of DarknessXia Tian’s plan to expose the armory location causes nearly all the Killing Show contestants to gather around the buried vault and attempt to break it open using improvised explosives and chemical reactions.The players burn away weeds and debris covering the entrance and discover a disguised wooden door hiding a reinforced metal armory door beneath it.Numerous contestants begin experimenting with explosive compounds, thermite reactions, and liquid nitrogen to break the heavily fortified alloy structure.The area around the armory quickly turns chaotic as players dismantle buildings, scavenge chemicals, and construct improvised equipment to crack the vault.Xia Tian stands atop the armory observing the chaotic effort and feels cold satisfaction because the organizers’ carefully designed event schedule has been completely disrupted.The thermite attack fails to melt through the H-3 alloy door, causing arguments among the contestants about the best way to break into the armory.Some contestants begin dismantling vehicles and gathering rocket fuel to attempt a larger explosion.Bai Jing’an calmly analyzes the structure and concludes that although the armory appears completely sealed it must contain a ventilation system.Bai Jing’an explains that sealed underground buildings always include air vents even if they are hidden.Xia Tian searches the surrounding ground and discovers a concealed air vent built into the alloy structure.Xia Tian announces the discovery and the other contestants gather to examine the vent.The vent is extremely small and constructed with advanced alloy filtration technology but it still allows a slight airflow.Contestants determine that the vent structure can eventually be corroded enough to create an opening large enough for entry.The group begins corroding the vent with chemicals and determines it could be breached within about twelve hours.As night falls lights illuminate the armory and nearby residential area to keep the monsters in the garden away.Players begin discussing how obtaining firearms from the armory will drastically shift the balance of power in the match.Xia Tian’s team leaves the armory area to retrieve rocket fuel from a vehicle in the west wing that could help break the vault.While walking through the dark garden Bai Jing’an senses that the chaos they created will provoke retaliation from the production team.Xia Tian suddenly notices a strange smell in the air just as the lights surrounding them suddenly shut off.The darkness allows a group of white wraith monsters to emerge and surround Xia Tian’s team.The monsters vary in size but resemble twisted humanoid creatures with claws and abnormal physical traits.Xia Tian immediately kills the first monster by stabbing it through the head but discovers the creatures continue moving even with severe injuries.Xia Tian decapitates the creature and continues fighting while more monsters attack from multiple directions.One monster slashes Xia Tian’s back with claws but he ignores the injury and continues fighting.Xia Tian kills multiple monsters while protecting his teammates during the ambush.Bai Jing’an and Alec fight the creatures while Weiss struggles to survive the attack.Xia Tian throws Marshmallow to save Weiss by impaling a monster that nearly bites him.During the fight another monster claws Xia Tian’s waist badly enough to expose bone but he keeps fighting without stopping.After ten minutes the group kills all the attacking monsters but they are heavily wounded and exhausted.The monster corpses continue twitching and biting even after death due to abnormal genetic mutations.The players refer to these creatures as white wraiths because of their ghostlike appearance and feral behavior.Bai Jing’an helps Xia Tian stand after the battle because Xia Tian has lost a large amount of blood.More monster attacks occur during their journey forcing Bai Jing’an to take the lead in combat while Xia Tian recovers.Bai Jing’an demonstrates ruthless fighting skills while using Marshmallow to kill several monsters efficiently.Xia Tian watches quietly while Bai Jing’an eliminates the enemies and eventually helps him stand again.Xia Tian reflects that the production team will not allow him to die yet because he is too valuable for ratings.The group eventually retrieves the fuel-powered vehicle and returns to the residential area.Bai Jing’an treats Xia Tian’s severe injuries using medical supplies in an abandoned residence.Xia Tian’s wounds include infected claw injuries and deep cuts that require stitching and medication.Bai Jing’an applies treatment and painkillers while Weiss monitors surveillance cameras for threats.Weiss continues watching camera feeds near the armory to ensure no other teams ambush them while they are vulnerable.Xia Tian gathers several painkiller syringes for later combat despite still recovering from his injuries.Xia Tian suddenly notices disturbing footage from a remote surveillance camera near Goldglitter Lake.The footage shows a group of players torturing a captured opponent after killing the rest of his team.The attackers brutally interrogate and humiliate the survivor even though he clearly has no useful information.The group performing the torture is revealed to be Qi Qing’s team.Qi Qing’s teammates sexually assault the captive man using grotesque methods while mocking him.The torture escalates as the attackers use the corpse of the victim’s teammate in the assault.Qi Qing watches the scene casually while making cynical remarks about how the Killing Show deceives contestants into believing they can win freedom.The tortured victim eventually breaks down mentally and begins crying helplessly.Weiss becomes physically sick after witnessing the torture and runs to vomit.Xia Tian becomes filled with rage as he watches the brutality unfold on the screen.Xia Tian minimizes the footage but then receives a system message from the managing attorney.The message announces that the firearms vault will officially become part of the competition and invites contestants to the armory.The invitation includes a holographic layout of the armory revealing a massive arsenal containing guns, explosives, and advanced weapons.Xia Tian and his teammates realize the armory contains extremely dangerous weapons including rocket launchers and magnetic virus bombs.The team realizes that once firearms are released the fourth round will become significantly more lethal.They decide to wait rather than rush to the armory immediately since the vault will take hours to open.Xia Tian notices surveillance footage showing Qi Qing’s team sending encrypted messages to unknown recipients.At the armory the managing attorney Angus arrives with bodyguards and announces that the vault protocol has been lifted.Angus tells the contestants the vault is now open for competition and encourages them to fight for the weapons.Instead of allowing a free rush Qi Qing’s team blocks the entrance to the armory and demands to negotiate distribution of the weapons.Another powerful team led by Xu Yintian arrives and joins Qi Qing’s faction.Contestants realize the teams are forming alliances to control the armory and divide players into opposing camps.Alec realizes this strategy will force large-scale battles because many contestants will be left without weapons.Xia Tian immediately decides how to respond to the situation.Xia Tian states that his next move is to kill Qi Qing.

Chapter 29: Creating GodThe production teams at GBC panic when Xia Tian announces he will kill Qi Qing, because Qi Qing is one of the contestants secretly supported and managed by the show’s producers.The assistant directors argue frantically that Xia Tian cannot be allowed to kill Qi Qing because Qi Qing is an important asset for the show.Yakovsky refuses to intervene and reminds them that the Killing Show is supposed to allow contestants to kill each other.The production staff explain that Qi Qing is valuable because he helps the producers control the direction of the story and eliminate targets when necessary.Yakovsky receives a call from Georg, the chief executive behind the show, who demands that Xia Tian must not kill Qi Qing.Georg complains that both Xia Tian and Qi Qing generate massive profits and that losing either of them would damage the company’s performance metrics.Yakovsky argues that killing popular contestants is actually how the show maintains viewer interest.Yakovsky notes that the public now expects Xia Tian to succeed whenever he declares a target.Yakovsky reflects that the production team has effectively created Xia Tian as a godlike figure for the audience.Yakovsky watches Xia Tian inject himself with painkillers despite his severe injuries, knowing the drugs will prevent him from sensing when his body is failing.Bai Jing’an warns Xia Tian to control himself but Xia Tian jokingly tells Bai Jing’an to watch his back.Yakovsky realizes Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an both seem ready to risk death and share an unspoken understanding about it.Xia Tian and Bai Jing’an arrive at the armory where a large number of contestants have already gathered in tense standoff.Qi Qing’s faction has formed an elite alliance of nearly thirty contestants and is controlling access to the armory entrance.Several weaker teams remain outside the alliance and glare at them, preparing for potential combat.Managing attorney Angus stands nearby observing the confrontation with his entourage including An Xiaoyin.Xia Tian walks directly through the crowd toward Qi Qing and calmly declares that he is going inside the armory.Qi Qing welcomes Xia Tian with a friendly smile and invites him to join the alliance controlling the weapons.Xia Tian states that he witnessed Qi Qing’s earlier torture of a prisoner and says he dislikes it.Qi Qing replies that such brutality is part of the rules of survival in the Upper World.Xia Tian repeats that he does not like it.Without warning Xia Tian attacks Qi Qing with Marshmallow.Qi Qing blocks the strike with his steel sword but the Doomsday Beast weapon destroys the blade.Qi Qing attempts to defend himself again but his weapon shatters and Xia Tian slashes through his neck.Qi Qing clutches his throat in shock as blood pours through his fingers.At the same moment Mohawk from Qi Qing’s team attacks but Bai Jing’an intercepts him.Bai Jing’an smashes Mohawk’s nose with his weapon and then pierces his throat.Xia Tian continues attacking other members of the elite squad while ignoring incoming strikes.Xia Tian deliberately allows himself to be stabbed in order to land fatal blows on his enemies.Xia Tian kills Black Jacket by driving Marshmallow through his chest and ripping the blade downward.Xia Tian continues fighting multiple attackers simultaneously despite severe injuries.Baldy attempts to retreat but Xia Tian transforms Marshmallow into a whip that wraps around Baldy’s neck and slices his throat.Qi Qing attempts a final desperate attack despite his fatal wound.Xia Tian uses a small blade extension from Marshmallow to slice Qi Qing’s windpipe and kill him completely.Bai Jing’an protects Xia Tian during the melee by killing attackers approaching from behind.The elite alliance begins collapsing as multiple contestants are killed in rapid succession.The battle turns into chaotic fighting across the temporary platforms built over the armory excavation pit.The managing attorney watches the massacre calmly from the side with An Xiaoyin.Angus mocks An Xiaoyin and tells her she should have used Xia Tian to advance her career.Xia Tian hears Angus insulting An Xiaoyin and begins advancing toward him through the battlefield.Xia Tian kills several more attackers blocking his path despite being gravely wounded.One skilled swordsman attempts to stop Xia Tian but Xia Tian allows his arm to be impaled so he can stab the man through the throat.Xia Tian continues walking forward through the bloodshed toward the managing attorney.Angus becomes visibly frightened as Xia Tian approaches him covered in blood.Xia Tian raises his sword and stops the blade at Angus’s neck.Angus pulls out a handgun and presses it against Xia Tian’s forehead.The entire battlefield falls silent as everyone watches the standoff.Angus orders Xia Tian to calm down and stop the fight.After several seconds Xia Tian slowly lowers his weapon but glares at Angus with murderous intent.Xia Tian warns Angus that he will eventually kill him.The battle ends as the contestants watch Xia Tian confront the authority of the show itself.Bai Jing’an approaches Xia Tian and examines his injuries which are extremely severe.Xia Tian dismisses the injuries and jokes about Bai Jing’an fighting recklessly.Bai Jing’an throws Marshmallow to disarm an NPC who was secretly holding a detonator intended to destroy the armory.Alec mocks the organizers for planting explosives to destroy the vault rather than let contestants claim the weapons.Weiss successfully hacks the armory door and opens it.The armory door slowly swings open revealing massive rows of firearms and explosives.Contestants rush into the armory in a frenzy to seize weapons.Inside the vault contestants smash cases and fight each other to obtain guns and explosives.Xia Tian’s team quickly grabs the weapons they previously planned to acquire.Xia Tian approaches a veteran contestant holding a Doomsday Destroyer rocket launcher intending to take it.The veteran recognizes Xia Tian and unexpectedly hands the weapon over without a fight.The veteran and his teammates simply leave rather than challenge Xia Tian.Bai Jing’an realizes that Xia Tian’s reputation and resolve are influencing other contestants to yield to him.Other players throughout the armory also step aside rather than fight Xia Tian.Xia Tian and his team move through the chaotic battlefield gathering weapons almost unhindered.Bai Jing’an realizes that Xia Tian has unintentionally become an uncrowned king among the contestants.

Killing Show, Vol. 3

(Chapter)

Killing Show, Vol. 4

(Chapter)

Killing Show, Vol. 5

(Chapter)

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