Chapter 172
"You're the team leader, so you decide who will participate."
Feeling slightly relieved, Yuki slowly asked, "Is it a team competition or an individual competition?"
"That doesn't matter. Your team can fight amongst themselves. I can arrange the venue."
"Wait a minute, if my whole team is fighting against one person, isn't that cheating?"
"If your opponent is willing, you can call a hundred of them to fight one of them."
Damn, is it really that simple and brutal?
Yuki licked his lips and asked again, "What are the benefits of becoming a champion?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Abate's expression change drastically, becoming incomprehensible and bewildered.
"The championship is the greatest honor; what more could I ask for?"
Chapter Three: The Psycho City (Second Update)
Why become a champion if there's no benefit to it? Is it simply because it sounds good?
Yuki couldn't understand it either, but he didn't try to refute it. It was a bit like those religious believers; some of their beliefs were so deeply ingrained that he couldn't correct them.
Moreover, Abate seemed impatient, so it would be difficult to get any information out of him.
It's okay, I never use talk-no-jutsu to get information.
"Any more questions?" Abate frowned, clearly annoyed by Yuki's question.
"That's all."
"Then come with me. You're the top players. I'll show you around the city."
He turned and left, pushing open the door to the lounge. The cacophony of sounds entered Yuki's ears, giving him the feeling that many people were arguing.
Are they seeded players without any prior record?
Yuki grinned, gave the others a look, and then followed them first.
Outside the door lies a modern metropolis, at least on the surface, with towering buildings, bustling traffic, and giant LED screens displaying scrolling images.
The images are half-length portraits, both male and female, holding swords and wearing armor; each one appears fierce and strong.
It's a strange city. At first glance, it seems no different from reality, but upon closer inspection, it feels very odd, for example, there are a few buildings that stand out from the crowd.
These buildings are completely black, without even windows, and stand out starkly among a sea of ordinary modern buildings.
One two three...
I counted them briefly; there were eight in total, each about 100 meters high, funnel-shaped, like giant swords stuck in various parts of the city.
Yuki raised his head slightly and saw the dark red sky. Ever since the Bloodthirsty Red Moon, he had developed a bit of PTSD towards this kind of red sky.
The moonlight and the sun are invisible, yet the city is not dark; the screens emit light pollution.
Is it daytime or nighttime?
"I don't know, it's a complete mess. Look, the roads are winding and twisting, not to mention there are so many potholes."
"The male-to-female ratio on the street is a bit unbalanced, and they're all so muscular; they look unapproachable."
"Notice those black buildings; they look like landmarks."
Discussions came through the Spirit Particle Communicator; everyone was observing their surroundings, so Yuki didn't have to do the observation alone.
Indeed, as discussed, this city blurs the lines between day and night. The majority of people on the street are men, and while their clothing is normal, their irritable expressions make people keep their distance.
Yuki, wearing a gray trench coat, was slightly better off. Mai Sakurajima and the others were even Taiyi in style, with more than half of them having arms thicker than their thighs.
It has a cyberpunk vibe, and the way passersby look at the senior students seems mostly disdainful?
Four beautiful girls are the most eye-catching sight wherever they go. Even if they don't come up to harass you, they'll always sneak a peek at your long, black-stockinged legs. There's no way they'd look down on you.
There's definitely something wrong with the people here; they're not as normal as they seem on the surface.
Yuki was about to ask a passerby for directions, he heard a muffled thud; a rear-end collision had occurred on the road not far away.
Such a large volume of traffic is normal, but what happened next was quite surprising.
The two drivers got out, exchanged a few words as if they had a road rage outburst, and then started fighting. Instead of trying to break up the fight, the bystanders stood around watching, accompanied by deafening cheers.
"Kill him."
"Kill him!!"
The sounds were too synchronized, as if they had rehearsed. Then the two fought with increasing vigor, accompanied by muffled thuds. What was originally just a rear-end collision was reduced to parts, and the ground was blasted into craters.
Finally, the bald man stomped the blond guy on the ground, grabbed the sides of the latter's head, and pulled hard.
A head was pulled out along with its spine.
Blood stained the bald man's entire body red, but he didn't care about the car that had been smashed to pieces. He stepped onto the roof, grinning, and showed his head to everyone.
"Good!"
The onlookers erupted in enthusiastic cheers, which, along with the dripping blood, created a terrifying atmosphere.
He's very energetic, but overly irritable.
Yuki's eyes twitched violently, Hayasaka gripped Kaguya's hand tightly, Hiyori and Mai Sakurajima instinctively moved closer to Yuki, all of them dumbfounded.
What kind of crazy city is this? It's just a traffic accident, why are they acting so violently?
Both the perpetrators and the bystanders have completely defied common sense. Forget the law, where is the morality?
"Not only do they defy common sense, these people are also quite formidable. Two random drivers actually managed to carve a hole in the concrete with their bare hands." Yuki observed more closely, having witnessed the entire process. These two drivers were not only strong, but their Combat Technique were also above average.
"Physical abilities beyond the Limit level, no wonder there are no newcomers." Hiyori turned her head away, she was very unaccustomed to such a bloody scene.
It's likely that a few random passersby could easily take down a new player. Strength is secondary; the key issue is that this defies common sense—a mere verbal argument could lead to a brutal fight.
"Not only was there no security, but judging from the expressions of the onlookers, this kind of thing happens every day."
Kaguya Shinomiya's face was equally ashen. She suddenly missed the warm and hospitable Yadu Town, where at least the people were outwardly polite.
It was indeed a routine scene. The wrecked vehicles were quickly dumped on the roadside, and then the blond-haired man's body was thrown into a black sedan. The crowd dispersed, and the bustling scene returned to normal.
Yuki noticed Abate greeting the driver of the black sedan, Hiyori looked even closer and saw a golden skull on the car's windshield.
"It seems the Cult targets not only players, but also the city's maintainers of order?"
"He wasn't maintaining order at all, he was just a manager," Yuki replied casually, just as he saw Abate return, still looking impatient.
"Let's keep going. Oh dear, we got so engrossed in watching that we're wasting time."
"Um..." Yuki muttered, not knowing where to begin. "You should at least say something."
"It's perfectly normal, don't take it to heart. This city has a basic rule; follow it and you'll have a wonderful life."
"May I ask what the rules are?"
"If someone messes with you..." Abate was saying when a passerby bumped into his shoulder. He shut his mouth, grabbed the person's head, and slammed it against the wall next to him.
Boom!
Dust filled the air, the wall collapsed, and the man's head exploded, splattering liquid and staining the surrounding passersby red.
He threw down his mangled body, wiped the red and white liquid off his crisp black suit, and looked at the stunned Yuki and the others.
"Just kill him."
It's confirmed, this place called Bloodlight City is a crazy city.
Unlike Yadu Town, Yuki simply wandered around the city with the characters in the story, without needing to pretend at all. As I watched, my mind was a jumbled mess, with only a few keywords in mind.
Chaos, battle, death.
The city is enormous, its area comparable to that of Tokyo, yet it lacks parks and amusement parks. Instead, it has only huge, oval-shaped deathmatch arenas from which cheers erupt.
Then came all sorts of battles: traffic accidents, arguments, even just disliking someone could lead to a fight, with everyone beating each other to death.
There were almost no elderly people or children, and the proportion of women was extremely low. All you could see were muscular men. Except for the lack of mohawks, it felt like stepping onto the set of Fist of the Fist of the North Star.
Everyone here was seething with rage, like walking powder kegs, ready to explode at the slightest spark, and then fight to the death.
Even with broken spines, they would ignite a crimson flame of blood, never giving up or surrendering, even if it meant killing their opponents and burning themselves out.
Finally, don't expect fairness, don't crave protection from others; it's only natural for the strong to kill the weak.
"Rational" and "calm" are the most insulting words here, because they represent cowardice and running away.
Abate had already left. He had simply led Yuki and the others around the city and then brought them back to the initial resting room. However, he had already obtained a great deal of information just by observing them with the naked eye.
"Absolute law of the jungle, no, this is a concrete jungle where everyone is a beast." Hiyori spoke in a refined manner, truly inspired by such an absurd world.
If she hadn't known that dungeons couldn't be deduced using common sense, she would have had to think about logical issues such as how to replenish the population lost and where the food would come from.
"I have a sense of Khorne, but it's not quite right." Yuuki rubbed his chin. Yuki instances he had experienced all had a strong sense of déjà vu, but they weren't exactly the same.
Bloodthirsty Red Moon is like a combination of Resident Evil and Left 4 Dead, Demon Hospital has a bit of Silent Hill in its style, and the intoxicating desire of those the Bystander Is Blind is very similar to Slaanesh.
What is Khorne?
Yuki didn't know how to explain, and hesitated, "Uh, they're just a group of people obsessed with fighting and bloodshed. No, they're not even human anymore."
Hiyori still couldn't understand. Some of Yuki's ideas were far beyond the scope of observation, but they sounded rather ominous, at least to these people from modern society, as they were completely unfamiliar with him.
Even as a player, combat is about rewards, unlike the people here who aren't afraid at all.
"Oh, the seniors are back."
After the 'visit' ended, Yuki immediately dispatched Mai Sakurajima and Hayasaka Ai. One activated her special ability to follow Abate, while the other disguised herself as a passerby to Reconnaissance. Hayasaka Ai ended up looking somewhat disheveled.
"Hayasaka, are you alright?" Kaguya Shinomiya, who had been lost in thought, immediately went over to him.
"I ran into some trouble, but it's been resolved." Hayasaka enjoyed this concern and went straight to Yuki. "As you said, the people here will start a war over the smallest things, and they also have an unusually accurate intuition."
She conducted a special experiment, and found that once the fight started, even if she used the Fool's Mask to transform into another person, she would still be exposed.
"I went from being a man to a woman, and finally to a child, and they not only showed me no compassion, but they always managed to find me."
How do you find it?
"Hidden, disguised, and fleeing—I tried everything, but I still couldn't escape." Hayasaka Ai looked puzzled. Although she wasn't good at hiding, she wasn't someone an ordinary person could spot.
"Including floating?" Yuki turned his head instantly.
"Yeah, even with the Flying Boots making me float in the air, those guys are still chasing me from below, showing no signs of giving up." The girl's expression became even stranger as she said seriously, "Hidden skills don't seem to work here? Assassin-style players are going to suffer."
They couldn't hide. Not to mention the Cult, even ordinary passersby were strong in close combat. It would be strange if they didn't suffer.
Kaguya Shinomiya glanced at Yuki, remembering how he had wreaked havoc under the cover of night in Yadu Town.
Bad news, but something still feels off?
Based on Yuki's experience, the Reincarnation Game won't cripple any playstyle. Take Shiina Hiyori, for example; if you want to cripple her, it's simple—just arrange all the battles.
"Hayasaka -san, did you start the battle?" Hiyori suddenly asked.
"Yes."
Were you ambushed while trying to escape?
"No, not at all." Hayasaka Ai and then said definitively, "Apart from those who fight me, everyone else will just watch."
"It seems to have nothing to do with hidden skills, and is more like combat binding?" Yuki nodded, which was barely good news.
This proved that at least they wouldn't be besieged by an entire street. Thinking of this, he suddenly remembered that Abate had led the way, and there had been no fighting along the way, of course, not counting the time he killed others.
Do members of the Cult have the privilege of avoiding combat? Well, given the local customs, battles could break out at any moment, so there's no question of management responsibilities.
Yuki didn't disturb Hiyori's thoughts, and turned her gaze to Mai Sakurajima: "Senpai, how are things on your end?"
The latter had just activated its feature, completely eliminating its presence and tracking Abate.
"Abate went to that windowless, black building with a golden skull at the entrance; that must be the Cult's headquarters."
"And then?" Yuki impatiently; the Cult was definitely a key target.
"Then I didn't dare to go in. The gate was only a crack open, and the guards inside seemed to be watching me subtly as they approached." The senior student looked away somewhat embarrassed.
Oh, I see.
Everyone was a little disappointed, but no one blamed the senior for being timid; they had only just entered the dungeon, and it wasn't time for any real adventure yet.