The Grand Theater, Resident Evil
(First day of the new moon, please vote! I need all kinds of votes.)
Li Wei pondered for a moment, then had no choice but to nod. If that were really the case, it would be an absolute catastrophe for the six of them.
Greedy Wolf is right. Generally speaking, there is only one way to leave a mission world: complete the mission. No matter which mission world this is, this rule must be followed. Of course, as 'outsiders,' Li Wei and his group do not have mission prompts, so they cannot leave by completing missions.
Fortunately, Li Wei can send the group back to the Copper Pot World, where Zhuo Qingxuan can lead them away. However, if Zhuo Qingxuan fails to complete her mission, she will also be unable to leave.
"So, we still have to help the Limitless Star People complete their mission?" the S5-level Werewolf guard said.
He rarely spoke along the way, and Li Wei only knew that this Werewolf was called 'Typhoon' and was one of the four guardians of the Azure Wolf Family.
"That's unlikely. The Limitless Star people have a monster like White-Brow. Even with his S7 combat power, if he can't complete the mission, we probably can't help much either," Li Wei said realistically. He had fought White-Brow head-on before, and he knew very well how powerful the other party was.
After hearing this, Typhoon nodded and said nothing more.
"In short, let's first figure out the situation here. If we confirm that this is a mission world, then let's return to the Copper Pot World and wait until Zhuo Qingxuan completes her mission and leaves before coming out again. After all, this isn't a mandatory mission for us, so there's no need to risk our lives."
As soon as Li Wei finished speaking, the three Greedy Wolf chuckled, clearly not having had enough of the extremely luxurious life in the Copper Pot World.
The six people reached a consensus and fell silent, simply following the flow of people into the black castle. Fortunately, the reincarnators from other star systems seemed to remain silent, neither engaging in conversation nor inquiring about Li Wei and the others' origins, which relieved them.
After entering the black castle, the group walked through a corridor, circled around a few times, and finally saw a large door. The door was already open, and the group walked through it in an orderly fashion.
Li Wei and the others exchanged glances and followed.
Upon entering the gate, everyone's eyes lit up; they had arrived at a vast space—a theater.
The fan-shaped seats formed a slope, the floor was covered with a thick red carpet, and a red curtain was drawn across the stage in the center of the theater.
"Such luxurious decorations!" Bao Ling, being a woman, was more attentive to the theater's decor than the others.
The reincarnators who entered the theater all found their seats, and at this moment, they all stopped talking, making the entire theater very quiet. Li Wei glanced around and saw that several people from the Infinite Starfield were already sitting in the front row seats near the stage.
"Let's sit over there. That spot has a panoramic view of the entire theater," Li Wei said, pointing to a corner on the side.
By this time, Greedy Wolf and the others had become accustomed to following Li Wei's instructions, so they quickly went over and took up a row of six seats.
"What does this mean? If this is a mission world, why are they all here at the theater? Are they all here to watch a play? Don't you think this is strange?" Greedy Wolf looked up and whispered.
It's strange, of course it's strange, but nobody knows why. Li Wei and the others thought about asking the other reincarnators, but considering the potential risks, they gave up on the idea.
"This place is strange in every way. We'll just keep an eye on things. If there's any disturbance, I'll take you into the Copper Pot World," Li Wei said, immediately putting an end to their worries.
Li Wei and his group were the last to enter, so the theater doors closed automatically and the lights inside were turned off.
In an instant, everything around him turned pitch black. Li Wei immediately felt his hand being tightly gripped by a soft hand. Without a doubt, it must be Bao Ling.
Li Wei patted the back of her hand, indicating that he was there and she could rest assured.
After waiting for about two or three seconds, the lights came on under the stage in front, and then a very magnetic male voice rang out.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Pluto Island. This is the eleventh episode of 'Nightmare Theater.' Please prepare yourselves; the performance is about to begin."
The sound came very suddenly, as if it were right next to someone's ear. As soon as the sound ended, applause erupted throughout the theater.
Li Wei glanced around and saw that the reincarnators from various advanced star domains were clapping, their faces full of anticipation. Of course, there were also some who seemed to dislike this, sitting there motionless, but their eyes were also full of expectation.
"There must be a secret in this theater. You can tell just by looking at the eyes of these reincarnators. But I don't know what it is yet." Li Wei glanced at the seats in the Infinite Starfield again and was surprised to find that there was an old acquaintance of his sitting next to Zhuo Qingxuan.
It was Zhuo Qingxuan's senior brother, the reincarnator named 'Qing Shu'. I never expected him to come here as well.
At this moment, Qing Shu was speaking to Zhuo Qingxuan with a fawning expression, but the latter sat there calmly, only responding occasionally. However, a strange sense of pleasure appeared in Li Wei's eyes when he saw her.
Li Wei had a long-standing grudge against Qing Shu. Back in the Infinite Starfield, it was this kid who brought in the White-Brow Old Daoist and even framed him. If he had the chance this time, he would definitely get his revenge.
Li Wei chuckled and licked his lips.
At that moment, the theater stage curtain was suddenly pulled open with a 'whoosh'.
On the stage stood a man in a black tuxedo. He wore a single-lensed glasses, had fair skin, and sported a mustache, giving him a rather gentlemanly air. After glancing around, he made a very dashing gesture and announced in a clear voice, "The first performance is about to begin. The repertoire will be the same as before, and will be randomly selected. Please wait a moment."
As he spoke, he pointed into the air, and a ripple suddenly appeared in the air, revealing a huge virtual screen with something resembling a spinning wheel on it.
The man gave a sharp flick, and the spinning wheel began to spin rapidly. After a dozen seconds, the wheel gradually stopped, revealing a name.
"It's here! The first show of the Nightmare Theater has appeared! I really want it to start soon and for me to be chosen, so I can have a chance to compete for a 'Hades Fruit'."
The few reincarnators sitting in front of Li Wei whispered among themselves, but not a single word escaped Li Wei's ears.
At this moment, Li Wei could no longer restrain himself. Remembering that he could escape into the Copper Pot World at any time, he peeked out and whispered, "Gentlemen, greetings!"
The first few reincarnators were taken aback, then impatiently turned to look at Li Wei, revealing a disdainful expression. "Hmph, a mere S2 dares to come to Pluto Island? They're practically courting death."
Halfway through their conversation, the group glanced at Li Wei's companions. When they saw the Typhoon, their expressions faltered. They added, "So that's how you got the nerve. You have an S5-level expert backing you up! But with a lineup like that, you'd better pray you don't get drawn. Otherwise, your good fortune might turn into disaster, and that would be a huge loss."
Li Wei didn't understand a word of what they were saying, but that didn't affect his mood. Even though these people looked at him with disdain and contempt, Li Wei still smiled broadly.
"I'm terrified, I'm afraid of being chosen. To be honest, we're just here to come and broaden our horizons. As for anything else, like that 'Hades Fruit,' we wouldn't even dare to dream of it."
Upon hearing this, the group clearly showed a "you know what's good for you" expression, their tone becoming more amiable. One of them sized Li Wei up and down before saying, "What you said makes sense. The 'Hades Fruit' is indeed good, but not everyone can obtain it. After all, obtaining just one fruit can instantly boost one's combat power by one level. Such a treasure is coveted not only by us, but even S6 and S7 level experts would flock to it. However, it's hard to say for sure. Perhaps the task drawn in the first performance isn't too difficult, and you might be able to take advantage of the situation. But that possibility is unlikely."
Li Wei smiled slightly and quickly nodded in agreement. Then, he took out a small bag of 'Star Tear Ore' from his pocket and handed it over, saying humbly, "If I'm drawing with you all later, I would be extremely grateful if I could lend a hand."
The group chuckled, then put away the bag of Star Tear Ore, their tone softening further. "You seem pretty promising. If we can team up, helping you out wouldn't be a problem."
Li Wei returned with profuse thanks, but gave a cold smile. This time, he had paid money and put on a smiling face, but he had obtained crucial information.
First, there's the so-called 'play,' which should be similar to a single mission. The 'drawing' involves randomly selecting the reincarnators present to join the mission. Only in this way can they have a chance to obtain the 'Hades Fruit,' a fruit that can increase combat power by one level and is the top-tier item among auxiliary tools.
This was the intelligence Li Wei had obtained.
After giving these items to Greedy Wolf and his companions, they all gave Li Wei a thumbs up, expressing their utmost admiration for him. They were impressed that Li Wei could find a way to gather intelligence even here; he was quite capable.
Greedy Wolf thought of a question and asked, "Brother Li, you did a great job, but how were you so sure that the other party would accept that bag of Star Tear Ore?"
Li Wei chuckled, pointed around, and said, "If you observe carefully, you'll see that I'm not the only one giving gifts to higher-level reincarnators from lower-level ones."
Greedy Wolf quickly observed the reincarnators around him and found that quite a few people were doing the same thing. It turned out that Li Wei had observed this beforehand and was imitating him.
At this moment, the name of the first 'show' was displayed on the virtual panel on the stage. Li Wei glanced at it and was stunned, while the man on the stage read the name aloud again.
"Everyone, the first performance has been drawn and confirmed as the 'Resident Evil' mission in the Shadow Street of the Level 3 Star Region 'Earth Star,' with the difficulty increased to S-rank. Next, we will begin the random selection of reincarnators to participate in the performance."
Li Wei was surprised for this reason; he never expected that the 'randomly' drawn task would be from his own star region.
Bao Ling and Li Wei were both from Earth Star, so they were equally astonished and opened their mouths wide. Greedy Wolf and the others were puzzled by their expressions, but after Li Wei's brief explanation, they suddenly understood.
"Damn, Brother Li, this is too much of a coincidence. If I'm not mistaken, all the Shadow Street missions in all star regions have been screened here, and it's quite a miracle that your star region's mission was selected," Greedy Wolf said with a sigh.
Looking at the stage again, the host changed the virtual panel. This time, three gears appeared, each with 10 planes, and each plane was engraved with ten numbers from 0 to 9.
"This, could it be..." Bao Ling whispered from the side.
Li Wei naturally knew what she was talking about, and immediately looked down to check. Soon, he found a number under the seat.
Number 307.
If this were the case, then every seat in this theater should have a number, and the number selector on the stage is used to randomly select seat numbers.
Li Wei guessed correctly, and the host announced loudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, please take a look at the area below your seats. Don't you all have a number on them?"
Many of the reincarnators looked down.
"Please write down your numbers. The machine will randomly select a number shortly. If the number that appears matches the number on your seat, then congratulations, you will be performing in the first show!"
"Alright, let's start choosing numbers now."
As he spoke, the man flicked his wrist, and the number on the virtual panel began to spin.
A few seconds later, a click was heard, and the first 10-sided gear on the virtual panel stopped, revealing a '0'.
Immediately afterwards, the second and third gears also stopped, displaying the numbers '7' and '3' respectively.
The host laughed and announced loudly, "Congratulations to contestant number 073 for becoming our first actor!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a beam of white light shot down from the sky, enveloping the 073rd reincarnator. The reincarnator's figure gradually blurred and finally disappeared. When the white beam of light faded, the person had completely vanished without a trace.
"My God, where did that person go?" Bao Ling exclaimed in surprise upon seeing this unbelievable scene.
Then, a huge screen appeared on the stage, showing a desolate place with many tall buildings that made Li Wei feel nostalgic; such buildings could only exist on Earth Star in the past.
However, the skyscrapers were all ashen, and thick smoke was billowing from the streets below. The camera quickly panned to a supermarket, and then Li Wei saw a person appear on the screen.
"Is it number 073?"
The Ming Dong brothers, Bright Wolf, were quick-witted and spoke just as fast, immediately recognizing the person as the reincarnator who had been taken away by a beam of white light.
Seeing this, Li Wei somewhat understood what the theater meant.
A theater, as the name suggests, is a place to watch plays. What's different here is that the plays performed here are all 'starring' the reincarnators in the audience, while others can watch the entire performance through this large screen.
"Next, we'll begin selecting the second lucky winner!" the host on stage continued.
The number selector spun again, and this time it produced number 221. Immediately afterward, a woman dressed in a black battle robe with a fiery red talisman on her forehead was teleported away.
"That's a reincarnator from the Ghost King Star Domain. The Ghost King Star Domain and the Infinite Starfield are both at level 7, but the Ghost King Starfield is slightly inferior in overall strength. However, the individual combat ability of Ghost King reincarnators is ridiculously strong," Greedy Wolf whispered to Li Wei after seeing the reincarnator number 221.
Li Wei knew that Greedy Wolf was taking this opportunity to impart some knowledge to him, so he naturally listened attentively.
The third to be teleported away were reincarnators from the 'Iron Wheel Star Domain'. The reincarnators from this starfield had exaggerated appearances, with each of them carrying a huge iron wheel on their back, resembling a shield but much more sturdy. As for their other abilities, Greedy Wolf had little contact with them, so he had no idea.
The fourth person to be teleported away was someone Li Wei knew.
Zhuo Qingxuan, number 036, was clearly overjoyed when the White-Brow old Daoist priest selected her. He quickly handed Zhuo Qingxuan an envelope, after which she was teleported away.
"Next up is the last lucky winner. Let's see who it is!" The host on stage chuckled and restarted the number selection machine. A number appeared on it.
When Li Wei saw the number, he was first taken aback, then glanced to his left and saw Bao Ling sitting there with a look of surprise on her face.
Then, a golden light descended, enveloping the Bao Ling. In just a moment, the bell and the person vanished without a trace.
Li Wei was dumbfounded.
"How could this be? We should be unofficial members, why were we selected..." It took Li Wei a long time to recover. When he looked at the big screen again, Bao Ling's figure had already appeared in the supermarket. Bao Ling looked terrified, hugging her arms and nervously looking around, appearing quite helpless.
"The five lucky winners have been selected. Now, please settle down and enjoy the performance."
The host bowed and stepped back. Then, all the other lights in the theater went out again, leaving only the large screen on the stage emitting a soft glow.
The events that just happened caught Li Wei and the others off guard. By the time they realized what was happening, Bao Ling had already entered the story world. What was most unbelievable was that Li Wei was actually watching this so-called 'performance' as an audience member.
As for what will happen next, nobody knows.
On the screen, Zhuo Qingxuan clearly showed surprise upon seeing Bao Ling, but the expression vanished in an instant, and she acted as if she were a stranger, making it impossible to discern her thoughts.
The other three split up, and soon the large screen was divided into five smaller screens for each person, showing the situation they were experiencing.