****ed twice

After a brief argument, Li Li finally gave in. Just as they were about to leave, the gate to the ruins suddenly opened, and a figure appeared in the doorway.

It was Gao Daquan. He was covered in blood and looked badly injured. He was still clutching a data box in his hand.

As soon as he came out, he lay down on the ground, breathing heavily. Li Li gave him some water, and he seemed to calm down a bit.

Naiser simply picked up the data box from his hand. "He's beyond saving. Let's go."

No, he's not dead yet.

"Don't you understand? If we can't get back alive, everything is for nothing."

"You can go if you want, but I can't abandon my companions."

Naiser thought to himself, "If I leave alone, who will take these data boxes? And what if you guys come back alive in the future? Wouldn't my act of abandoning my companions be exposed?"

The two argued, and time ticked by, but Naiser's patience was slowly wearing thin.

"You forced me to do this," Naiser said, suddenly raising the ion beam gun in his hand.

"Come with me, or you can stay and die with him."

"Are you crazy, Naiser?" Li Li looked at Naiser in surprise. She couldn't believe Naiser would fire a gun, because she had saved Naiser twice during their previous adventures.

Furthermore, it seems that Naiser and she developed some ambiguous feelings because of the adventurer, and the two even had sex during a break (of course, this part was censored by the production team).

Naiser's face was contorted with rage. "There's something I need to do: revenge, revenge against the person who ruined my life and took everything from me. No one can stop me, not even you. I'm sorry, A Li."

With that, Naiser pulled the trigger abruptly.

The beam of light pierced a large hole in Li Li's chest. Li Li stared at Naiser in disbelief, then collapsed to the ground—dead.

Gao Daquan suddenly opened his eyes—"You!"

Another beam of light shot out, and Gao Daquan closed his eyes again.

"Hmph, you forced me to this. Now everything is mine."

Naiser picked up Li Li and Gao Daquan's data boxes and walked straight towards the end of the desert.

Standing in front of the television, Xiao Yu stared at the screen in disbelief, forgetting to chew the popcorn in his mouth. "Holy crap, this plot is just... just..." He repeated "just" several times but couldn't find the right words to describe it.

Xiao Yu was shocked again—this guy actually held such a grudge against him, even abandoning his girlfriend just to seek revenge. What kind of grudge was this? Well, it seemed like a really big one.

Another sigh. Your behavior has been seen by the entire nation—no, the whole world! And you still want to come out? You're dreaming!

The show continued, and finally, Naiser reached the edge of the desert and found a teleportation platform.

He was teleported directly to the starting point, and then he chose to exit the game pod.

"I did it! I did it!" Naiser thought with ecstatic joy. "I brought back all the Phantom Spirit Race technology, including the anti-gravity engine. Now I'm a great hero! My past sins probably don't matter at all; they'll definitely be forgiven."

Maybe I can even get a lot of rewards all at once, become a superior person, reach the pinnacle of life, and my own family will probably be no match for me. Hmph, I can finally let those who abandoned me know what it means for fortune to turn around, and I can finally take my revenge. Xiao Yu, you will soon know how powerful I am.

Naiser had already sketched out countless plans in his mind to carry out his revenge.

"Congratulations, Mr. Naiser, welcome back."

Outside the gaming pod, the cold smiles on the faces of the two men in black suits made Naiser uneasy. Why did they have such expressions?

He was quite sensitive to changes in people's hearts, but he couldn't figure out where things had gone wrong. Was he just overthinking it?

But he forced himself to remain calm. "I have collected seventeen types of Phantom Spirit Race technology, including the anti-gravity engine. I hope to deliver this data to the nation immediately."

"Um, we'll take care of that. Mr. Naiser, please rest for a bit."

Naiser was taken to a small cubicle to wait.

(What the hell is going on?) Sitting in the cubicle, Naiser was completely bewildered. The atmosphere was off. Why did it not feel like a triumphant return of a hero? On the contrary—could it be!

A sudden, ominous thought flashed through his mind: Could it be that they wanted to steal his credit, secretly kill him, and then use the technology to claim credit? Yes, that must be it. He was doomed. He never imagined that the technological data he risked his life to bring back would be embezzled by a group of unscrupulous agents.

Naiser thought with immense grief and indignation.

He could almost picture what was going to happen next: two men in black would push open the door, lead him to a secluded spot, and shoot him dead. No one would ever know what had happened.

Just then, the door to the cubicle suddenly opened, startling Naiser. When she looked up, she saw a large group of people waiting outside, including photographers with cameras, creating a lively scene.

Naiser was both surprised and delighted, wondering if he was overthinking things, or if he was destined to become a great hero.

"Mr. Naiser, please follow me," said the two men in black standing at the door, extending their hands.

Naiser followed the two out, through a long corridor, and could vaguely hear bursts of noise outside, making him increasingly confused.

When he reached the outer hall, he was suddenly stunned, because he saw the other members. Wait a minute, wasn't it said that if you died in this game, you would also suffer brain death in real life? Why are they all fine?

And why does this hall look so much like the hall of some kind of variety show? Facing the platform they are on are several rows of audience seats, with thousands of audience members sitting densely packed in the seats.

There were also many promotional signs around, making it look like the set of some kind of TV program.

Two men in black suits pulled him onto the stage and then stood at the back. Only then did he realize that there was a row of men in black suits behind them.

Although he still didn't understand what was going on, Naiser felt a sense of unease, as if he had been tricked.

A host with a microphone walked out. "Welcome to our program. The results for episode 36 of 'Great Hero of Humanity' are in."

The audience responded enthusiastically.

What? Great Hero of Humanity? What the heck is that? Naiser never watches TV and has never seen this Great Hero of Humanity before. He's only heard about him occasionally. Hearing this now, his mind went blank for a moment.

I felt like I'd been screwed over.

At this moment, Li Li stepped forward, her icy expression filling Naiser with fear. With a slap, Li Li delivered a solid blow to his face.

Gao Daquan also rushed up to hit him, but was immediately pulled away by the staff.

The host was still speaking and had already turned back. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have something to announce, which most of you probably already know: what you participated in before wasn't a real alien game Phantom Spirit Race, but a reality show called 'Great Hero of Humanity.' Today is the day to select the Great Hero of Humanity, and the ultimate winner will get the chance to make a wish."

A chance to make a wish? Naiser's heart skipped a beat.

"Wait a minute, since it's a reality show, I should be the winner this time, right?" he asked eagerly.

A hint of schadenfreude flashed in the host's eyes. "Well, strictly speaking, you're just a candidate, because there's a voting process. The principle of our program is not to judge success or failure, but to evaluate the participants' performance throughout the entire program."

Naiser suddenly felt like he'd been cheated on twice. Was this some kind of joke? He was clearly the ultimate victor!

Viewers will vote based on the participants' performance throughout the reality show, and the person with the highest score will win.

The host was still explaining the rules for selecting this Great Hero of Humanity, but Naiser felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave. All his performance had been seen by others. It was all over.

"Now, let's hear from each participant." After the host finished speaking, all the participants in the reality show took turns speaking, and these speeches were, of course, aimed at garnering votes.

Everyone prepared a lot of things to say to garner votes, some even appealing for sympathy, such as how tragically they died while exploring the ruins.

Some fans started advocating for their idols, describing how bravely they fought against a group of alien monsters.

Soon it was Gao Daquan's turn, who was second to last.

Gao Daquan held the microphone but sighed, "To be honest, I was really angry, furious, and sad when I found out it was just a show, because you deprived me of a chance to be a hero. I don't care anymore, you can vote for whoever you want, because I originally thought I could become a hero and give my life for the future of humanity. Even if I die, I will have no regrets."

But now, although I'm still alive, it's worse than being dead, because I've finally realized I'm not a hero at all; I was just an actor, and everything I did was meaningless."

Gao Daquan's words were both generous and tragic, immediately creating a subtle silence in the audience. The host also sighed, "Don't say that. Although you didn't actually help humanity acquire alien technology, your self-sacrificing act inspired many of us. You showed us that in the face of crisis, true heroes can emerge from among us."

In a sense, you are a true hero! Let's cheer for the hero!

The audience erupted in cheers, and Gao Daquan, his eyes brimming with tears, exclaimed, "Thank you, thank you all! With your encouragement, if I ever have the chance to sacrifice myself for humanity, I will do it without hesitation!"

Naiser felt a chill run down his spine. "It's over," he thought. "Looking at the atmosphere, Gao Daquan is definitely going to win in the end. No, I can't give up."

His mind raced, and suddenly an idea popped into his head: maybe this was the way to go. At this point, there was no other option but to take a gamble.