The Misery Competition

"My God! My trial was walking a tightrope at 10,000 meters with an endless abyss below!" The blonde, blue-eyed contestant from Eagle Country, still pale as a sheet, patted his chest, looking like he'd narrowly escaped death. "A damn clown Anomaly floated right next to me, grinning and constantly asking me riddles! 'What has a long neck but no head?' Damn it, the answer is a beer bottle! Who would have thought!"

He got more agitated as he spoke, "If I got one wrong, the tightrope beneath my feet would go soft as noodles, dropping me a huge distance! I almost fell!"

Beside him, the Cherry Blossom Country samurai, who had been silent, snorted and stretched his bandaged wrist.

"My opponent was a faceless woman," he rasped. "Underneath her kimono, several pale arms could extend, each holding a rusty razor. You didn't know where to attack because she had no solid form, but her blades could easily cut your flesh."

He paused, a glint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes. "Until I discovered a mirror in the corner of the room. Only in the mirror could I see the one face hidden beneath her hair. I smashed the mirror, and she screamed and disappeared."

"What's that compared to my ordeal!" A seemingly refined man with glasses, Chu He, was pulling at his hair, on the verge of collapse. "I played Mahjong with three Anomalies covered in eyes. If I lost, I'd be eaten. I only survived purely by luck!"

All sorts of bizarre trials emerged. Some were trapped in rooms full of oil paintings, having to find which painting contained a living Anomaly. Others were chefs in a giant kitchen for an Anomaly with only a mouth, with three chances. If the dishes weren't to its liking, they'd become ingredients for the next dish.

In short, everyone experienced a life-or-death ordeal, filled with both danger and absurdity, but without exception, it had drained them mentally and physically.

And getting into the dorms wasn't the end of it.

Passing the trial only granted "eligibility to reside."

Each dorm was already inhabited by native Anomalies.

They couldn't attack people directly, but they had a whole set of methods to torment them.

"My roommate is a stitched-together monster. It keeps losing parts in the middle of the night. First its arm falls off, then its leg goes missing, and it asks me to find it!" A burly man from Gaul Country wailed, on the verge of tears. "Where the hell am I supposed to find a leg for it? In the end, it put my pillow under its neck and said it would do as a leg!"

"I slept in the same bed as a fleshy mass covered in mouths. They snored all night. The sound... was like hundreds of sewers bubbling at the same time!"

A beautiful female contestant from Kimchi Country frowned as she spoke. "My roommate is a tentacle monster. It whispered in my ear all night, saying my skin was like fine porcelain and my eyes like the brightest obsidian. It wanted to take me apart, piece by piece, to make the most perfect specimen in its collection."

"It was just scaring me, it didn't lay a hand on me, but its slime-covered tentacles wrapped around me all night!"

The horrific experiences made one's scalp tingle.

These players looked more haggard and disheveled than each other, with the same dark circles under their eyes, a result of both mental and physical torment.

They exchanged glances, finding a morbid comfort in each other's miserable state.

"It seems none of us got much sleep last night," the Eagle Country contestant said with a bitter smile, a hint of relief at having survived in his tone.

Meanwhile, Chu He stood not far away, silently listening to it all.

He watched their expressions of lingering fear, anger, and despair, and subconsciously rubbed his sore lower back from the intense confrontation.

So... this was how they got their dark circles.

It was all from a night of being tormented by fear and disgust.

As for himself...

Chu He's expression instantly became somewhat indescribable.

If he told the truth now, he would surely incur everyone's jealousy and hatred!

He understood human nature's weaknesses; in this world, almost no one wants you to be better off than them, except for parents.

At this moment, the Eagle Country contestant noticed Chu He, who was standing alone, looking dazed. Seeing Chu He's dark purple eye circles and his extremely weak appearance, he felt a sense of kinship, like "fellow sufferers of the same plight."

He walked over and clapped Chu He on the shoulder. "Brother, looking at you, you must have suffered a lot last night too, right?"

That clap almost made Chu He kneel.

"Hiss--" He gasped, feeling his lumbar spine groan under the unbearable strain from the previous intense confrontation.

Seeing his strong reaction, the Eagle Country contestant became even more certain of his guess and said sympathetically, "What was your trial? And what kind of Anomaly was in your dorm? Tell us so we can all help you analyze it. Don't keep it bottled up."

Instantly, all the survivors' gazes focused on Chu He.

This guy must have encountered an Anomaly more terrifying and troublesome than any of them!

Chu He opened his mouth, looking at their expectant and pitying eyes, and for a moment, he didn't know where to begin.

He couldn't exactly say that his opponent last night was too strong and aggressive, and they had engaged in an all-night extreme confrontation from the bedroom to the living room, and then to the desk, only reaching a fragile balance as dawn approached.

That would be too inappropriate.

Seeing his prolonged silence, everyone imagined an earth-shattering, tragic battle.

"Brother, don't be afraid, it's all over now," the Eagle Country contestant comforted him.

Chu He took a deep breath, met their concerned gazes, and forced a smile that looked worse than a cry. In a voice that sounded weathered by time, he spoke slowly.

"My roommate... how should I put it."

He paused, as if choosing his words carefully, and finally let out a long sigh.

"She was very persistent, extremely strong, and she basically fought with me all night, not letting me rest properly."

But thankfully, the efforts for most of the night were not in vain.

Chu He rubbed his waist, which was still uncomfortable from the excessive exertion, and silently brought up the system panel visible only to him.

[Intimacy Level Increased! Xia Yao's Intimacy towards you has reached: Infatuation!]

[Infatuation: She will be unable to bear separation from you, her possessiveness and dependence on you will increase rapidly. Warning: Any entity that attempts to harm you may trigger her rampage.]

[Your skill 'Eye of Nirvana' has absorbed enough emotional energy and has been promoted to intermediate level! Added ability: See Through Illusions]

See Through Illusions? What does that mean?

With some time still available, Chu He raised an eyebrow and immediately began to sense the changes.

He found that his vision seemed to have become clearer, and the color saturation of the entire world had increased a few notches.

A thought stirred within Chu He, and his gaze subconsciously fell upon the Eagle Country contestant not far away.

He concentrated and activated the "Eye of Nirvana."

The next second, an unbelievable scene unfolded.

In his eyes, the Eagle Country contestant's jacket and T-shirt seemed to peel away layer by layer, revealing the energy fluctuations hidden beneath the clothing. Finally, he clearly saw the Superman "S" logo printed on the man's undergarment—the logo emitted a faint mental energy, seemingly a projection of his inner beliefs.

"Pfft..."

Chu He almost choked, forcefully suppressing a smile.

Well, I'll be damned. I never would have guessed that this guy, so tall and strong on the outside, has a superhero dream living inside him.

He subconsciously glanced at the Kimchi Country female contestant, who was complaining pitifully. After activating his ability, he quickly coughed and immediately averted his gaze.

After a whole night of high-intensity combat, he needed to maintain focus now and couldn't afford to be distracted.

Just as he was congratulating himself on this new ability, which was comparable to a cheat, and contemplating how to use it cleverly in the future, a thought like a bucket of ice water poured down from the crown of his head!

Wait...

My "Eye of Nirvana" is only intermediate, and it already has this ability.

What about Xia Yao?

She's a genuine SSS-rank Anomaly. So, what level would her perception ability reach?

If she wanted to perceive something, what detail in this world could possibly hide from her?

Chu He's expression instantly froze.

Damn it! If that's the case, won't I be completely exposed in front of her?!