Chapter 173
"If I had known, I would have gone to cover you, sniped from a distance, and drawn the guards away." Kaguya Shinomiya sighed. She had wanted to go with him, but Yuuki stopped Yuki, wasting several hours in the process.
"You think I'm too slow?"
"No, it's just a pity." Kaguya turned her head to the side and muttered, "The guards will only chase after me, so she could get in smoothly."
Of course there are!
Yuki glanced at her, vaguely sensing something was off, and began to think about it in that direction...
"It's Hint Four, that's right, the intelligence we've gathered points to Hint Four."
A soft yet slightly excited voice rang out, and everyone turned around to see Shiina Hiyori with a glimmer of light in her eyes.
She kept activating her special abilities and using her Transcendental Grade skills to repeatedly deduce information, making her thinking faster than anyone else.
[Hint Four: The deathmatch is sacred, uninterrupted, and inescapable.]
Yuki's mind automatically processed the information, anticipating the girl's explanation, but Hiyori didn't rush to answer.
"Hayasaka -san, have you started a multi-person battle?"
"It's activated."
"Hayasaka!" Yuki's voice suddenly turned stern. For safety's sake, he specifically reminded him not to provoke a fight.
The blonde girl seemed not to hear anything, only looking at Hiyori: "That's also the strangest thing about me. Even though two enemies are chasing me, they take turns fighting me."
Huh? That's absurd!
No one had a chance of reacting. Logically, a swarm would have a higher chance of winning, right? Did the people here have some kind of mental fastidiousness?
Yuki also forgot to settle scores with Hayasaka, then suddenly realized that this was related to the clue.
Unable to intervene? Therefore, unable to provide support? Escape is difficult, which is why they are so firmly entangled?
What I saw and heard today unfolded in my mind in sequence, and then I analyzed it word by word, Hint Four, and then Repulsion.
Yuki's eyes lit up; he had seized upon the fleeting inspiration. He looked at the open doorway, the strange buildings, the bustling street, and murmured to himself:
"Is this city just a giant deathmatch arena?"
Chapter Four: Taking the Stage (6K)
This was absolutely crucial intelligence, and it even gave Yuki a sense of relief.
The reason Kaguya Shinomiya wasn't sent to provide cover was simply because she was too weak in close combat. If she accidentally stepped on someone's foot on the way, a close-quarters fight could easily break out.
However, as analyzed by Hiyori, it changes when combined with Tip 4.
[Tip 4: The deathmatch is sacred, uninterrupted, and inescapable.]
I thought the Reincarnation Game had changed its nature, but it's still just as insidious.
If this "deathmatch" refers not to those deathmatch arenas, but to the entire city in a broader sense, then what we've witnessed along the way isn't road rage at all, but rather a series of sacred deathmatches.
No wonder no one tried to stop the fight; they beat the other person to a pulp until they lost the ability to resist and spontaneously combusted.
This phenomenon goes far beyond the scope of 'anger'.
"Even if it's a rule, this is just too absurd."
The previous rules only prohibited characters from doing certain things, but never required them to do anything specific. Upon closer inspection, these citizens did not seem like ordinary humans.
A farcical stage play, and how can intelligence Reconnaissance from within the city under such circumstances?
This godforsaken place is so dangerous that even walking around is risky. Once a fight starts, you're locked in a vicious cycle. Just take today's 'tour' for example; without Abate leading the way, how many pointless battles would have occurred?
"Without being able to conduct simultaneous investigations, do we really have to fight our way through like in the main quest?"
Yuki sat back on the sofa, crossed his legs, and stared blankly at the skull on the wall.
The others didn't bother them either, and dispersed. The lounge was large enough to easily accommodate a dozen or twenty people, even without beds.
No one chatted idly; once inside the instance, everyone quickly got into character and switched to their player persona.
Games are games, and reality is reality. This is what Yuki has always advocated. You can laugh freely when you're having a barbecue party with the Diving Club, but you have to be focused and serious when you enter a dungeon.
Kaguya found a corner and kept drawing and releasing the bowstring, trying to familiarize herself with the upgraded longbow. Hayasaka Ai sat upright in her chair, her fingers unconsciously tapping, summarizing the battle she had just experienced.
The senior student took out food from her storage space and handed it out to everyone, focusing on the team's logistics.
Hiyori stood at the entrance, activating her special abilities and skills, carefully observing the flashing screens, and occasionally snapping a few photos.
With each member fulfilling their role, this makeshift team became increasingly professional, allowing Yuki, as the core of the team, to concentrate all his energy on making judgments.
"Since this is a story mission, we must follow the plot and not be too hasty."
Half an hour later, Yuki looked away and made up his mind.
From observation, he could choose to disappear, escape the storyline, and search for secrets in his own way, but doing so would be very risky, given that his understanding of this instance is still insufficient.
"So we're just going to wait for Abate to come?" Mai Sakurajima handed over a bottle of water and unscrewed the cap.
Yuki thanked him, took a sip of his drink to clear his throat, and said, "We need to find a way to advance both main quests simultaneously. We can't just sit around waiting. This is a combat-oriented instance, so it's always good to be prepared in advance."
"Also, try to avoid conflicts with the citizens. Since their fighting is uncontrollable, it should also affect the players."
"But we still need to verify our hypothesis; that's very important." Mai Sakurajima shook her head. Hint 4 could be considered the core of the entire instance, determining the battle plan.
"The street battles are secondary. I think there will be plenty of fights in the deathmatch arena. Besides—" Yuki winked, revealing a sinister smile, "There are definitely more players than just our group. We can just wait for them to scout ahead."
"You're using other players as scapegoats again?"
"Haha, this is called making good use of our kind. We all face the same problems. Besides, there are no newcomers dragging us down this time; everyone's a shrewd person."
As she was smiling, Shiina Hiyori walked in. She took the water from her senior and gently placed the tablet on the table.
"I just observed the screens on the street; some of them look like billboards. The people in those screens are probably our opponents. I've selected a few for reference."
Actually, I noticed them while 'touring' the city; these huge screens that took up an entire wall were very eye-catching, but there were too many people on them, so there was no need to analyze them at the time.
The team strategy is so convenient, saving a lot of effort, especially with a considerate and clever teammate like Hiyori.
Yuki nodded in satisfaction. Taking notes and eliminating potential targets was too tedious; it was easiest to just pick up what was readily available.
He picked up the tablet. The content on the large screen was simple, just a photo, battle record, and which deathmatch match it was in. The photo itself didn't seem to have any problems.
There were both men and women, and their equipment and clothing were incredibly varied. Many of them even wore masks and helmets to cover their faces.
"There are too many people, and they don't have any distinguishing features. It seems that it won't be easy to find the players among them." Yuki rubbed his head. Even if it were someone he had worked with before, like Tyrant or Phantom Thief, they wouldn't be able to tell him apart from the photo with a little disguise.
"Hey, we didn't seem to take any photos? Didn't Abate say we were going to enter the data?" At this point, he remembered something else.
"Perhaps the problem lies with the 'seed teams'? Are all players seeds? There are too many deathmatches; how long would it take to start from zero wins?" Hiyori offered a reasonable guess.
That's probably true; searching for players from within would be a waste of effort.
Yuki it boring, realizing that Hiyori had already discovered a pattern: most of the characters she filmed were top-performing, high-stakes fighters.
There shouldn't be any other players here, because players all enter together, and even if they start fighting as soon as they enter the instance, they won't be able to fight many battles.
"We need to find a way to get the list of seeded teams. I want to know who's on it," Yuki said calmly, not forgetting Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's warning.
Mai Sakurajima was distributing bottled water, immediately turned around. "Let Hayasaka and me figure this out. Since it's data entry, we should have computers or something. Hayasaka's hacking skills might come in handy."
"Okay, thank you."
Senior sister Yuki is reliable in her work. Besides her suitable abilities, the key is that she has learned the essence of "survival of the fittest". It is unlikely that she will underestimate the enemy and rush in, resulting in a dramatic situation where she has to work hard to get what she wants.
He continued flipping through the pages, discussing with Hiyori as they read, their thoughts sparking new ideas, and they discovered some more clues.
For example, the introductions of these warriors only mention victories, not defeats. Combined with what they saw and heard along the way, it becomes clear that those who lost simply died, so there was no such thing as defeat.
The significance of the "chance of defeat" hint #5 is still unknown, but it likely pertains to battles between players.
Yuki flipped through the photos one by one, his mind absorbing the information like a photocopier, before his fingertips paused.
Huh, who is this?
With a slight change in expression, Hiyori, immediately leaned over. The photo showed a robust man with short, needle-like hair and a ferocious face.
"Mr. Yuki, do you know him?" Hiyori didn't think this person was any different from the previous ones, but she knew that Yuki had a special ability, just like how he recognized her at a glance back then.
"I don't recognize him, but I can't forget this feature." Yuki squinted, examining the photo closely. "Take a good look at his eyes."
Hiyori had noticed it long ago; those eyes Taiyi from ordinary people's. Besides being fierce and violent, his eyeballs were black, while his pupils were silver.
It's strange, but the previous photos also showed animals with horns on their heads and sores all over their bodies, so it doesn't seem so strange in comparison.
These eyes should belong to the Wu clan from Kengan Ashura, but I don't recognize this person.
Yuki isn't an encyclopedia of anime and manga, so it's normal not to recognize him. Take a closer look at his profile.
Codename "Demon"? That title is too ordinary. As long as it doesn't end with "Buu," it'll be fine. Judging from the number of victories, it's probably not a player.
The number of matches played is the best way to determine a player's identity. Yuki himself hasn't officially started the story, the other players are probably in the same boat.
"But this isn't the set of Kengan Ashura, so why is the Kure Clan here?"
He thought about it carefully and realized that this was not a problem, because he had seen Tyrant, Witch, Smoker, Licker, and so on in Bloodthirsty Red Moon. Their abilities were Alienated Grade, but their appearances were similar.
However, the later enemies became somewhat abstract, only showing a vague resemblance to some kind of monster.
"I thought the Reincarnation Game had forgotten this setting, but this is a human, not like those Living Corpse. He should at least be a mini-boss." Yuki tapped the screen lightly, adding him to the list first.
He didn't find any familiar faces in the other pictures, and even if he did, they were all lost in a sea of muscular men and hard to spot. After seeing so many, he even started to get face blindness. He finally understood why the players weren't on the big screen.
The art style is completely different. Can you imagine Mai Sakurajima or Hayasaka Ai wearing a vest and showing off their muscles? Or Shiina Hiyori in heavy armor, wielding an axe the Roar?
"Hiyori, how many did you select?"
Shiina Hiyori was also selecting items. She didn't have Yuki's 'Prophet,' but she looked at them more carefully and then stood the tablet up.
"I did pick someone, uh, I remembered the order of the photos when I was touring the city, and this person seems to have suddenly appeared in the middle."
Wow, you're really meticulous. You memorized the order of dozens of photos, and even managed to spot the differences when you looked at them a second time.
Yuki was impressed. What does it mean to be a professional? This level of observation skills is a Transcendental Grade ability.
"Look, this is the person."
My gaze fell on the photograph. It showed a bald man with dark skin, strong muscles, wearing a blood-red fang mask, and his eyes were filled with a bloodthirsty pleasure.
Is it another muscular guy?
Yuki is almost immune to this look; he hasn't even played a single match yet, and seventeen victories suggest he's probably not a player, just someone with that code name...
Yuki's pupils contracted slightly, and he read it aloud softly.
"Adam."
Bang!
The stomp of his foot caused the massive arena to tremble, creating huge wind blades that cleaved the incoming purple laser beam in two.
A gigantic figure moved forward, barefoot on broken corpses, stepping forward step by step under the beam of light, its crossed fists emitting billowing white smoke, slowly, heavily, and uncontrollably.
Opposite the figure, a silver-white mech over two meters tall held out its hands, firing purple lasers from its palms.
The maximum power and high heat caused the mecha's surface to melt. Its legs slowly retreated, and it bent over as if under immense pressure. Suddenly, the modules on its back disintegrated.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
The miniature missiles were launched; they looked about the size of an arm, but the explosive power was enormous, sending up mushroom clouds. As they bombarded the defenses, the beams of light finally penetrated them.
Boom--
An orange-red fireball enveloped the arena, flames raging with arcs of electricity, various sensors scanning and fluctuating due to the excessive energy noise.
How?
The mech leaned forward, and in the next moment, two lightsabers suddenly extended from its palms. Its knees bent, and the thrusters on its back activated, but a dark hand moved even faster and pressed down on its head.
Swish.
Two bright sword marks were left in the air. The lightsaber pierced the arm, cutting flesh and blood everywhere, but it did not cut it in two.
Beep beep beep.
The alarm inside the helmet was piercing, and nothing could be seen on the screen. The Controller only felt himself being lifted into the air, gripped tightly by that arm, and slammed violently to the ground.
Boom--
This explosion was even more violent than the previous one, almost shattering the dark arena. A humanoid beast engulfed in flames appeared in the dust, frantically slamming the warrior back and forth.