Editor: Elanor
Xia Tian changed into a formal suit.
The costume designer must have really put a lot of thought into designing his clothes. The retro-looking black suit had a dark red stitching that showed up faintly, and the lining was also the same colour. It not only had a rich man’s expensive and crisp feel, but also perfectly outlined his figure; it looked like a war uniform.
Since Xia Tian could be called a “star”, his clothes were specially designed. A team of people had been arranged for him to help him manage the website, reply to messages, and write interview drafts.
He couldn’t figure out who these people were, and sometimes felt that they weren’t particularly interested in him. Although they knew everything about him, they were only working together to create a character who was someone similar to him but subtly different.
When he left his room, Xia Tian saw Bai Jingan exiting the adjacent room wearing a suit as well.
Bai Jingan’s suit was elegant in style, which would normally give the impression that he was gentle and personable. But now that he was on the battlefield, he exuded an overwhelming aura instead. He was no longer the calm and quiet conspirator he used to be, but a homicidal maniac who would murder everyone without spilling a drop of the red wine he was holding.
After the Commemorative Show, Bai Jingan had undergone some sort of transformation. He was no longer the same person that Xia Tian had initially met, a person who was like the snow on a far-off mountain top, totally removed from the rest of the world. Now, the old dangerous temperament that had lain dormant in his body had begun to surface, and he was no longer distant but was standing by his side, within reach. He was beginning to resemble a sharp sword that was about to be drawn from its scabbard, reflecting a cold, sharp light from hell.
After meeting in the living room, the four of them headed to the banquet together.
On the way, they saw other players wearing formal dresses, one more flamboyant than the other. They said it was a Killing Show, but it was rather like they were going to a fashion show.
The hall was so brightly lit that it appeared to be burning in the gloomy garden. Even though the President had just passed away, the banquet was very opulent, just like their attire. It was a bonanza for advertisers; they had put labels on everything they could find.
There were a lot of attractive men and women on the scene, moving around in sexy clothes. They were NPCs who were real humans and were not artificially controlled. Most viewers thought these people slept with the players and gave them a chance to de-stress. But they merely served as decorations for the arena and had high death rates at previous Killing Shows.
Xia Tian was casually picking up a glass of wine. Eric was putting an empty glass back. Wei Xi’s eyes were glued to the phone like all other network logisticians were.
He was attempting to access the local area network to view all of the building’s security camera footage and hack into the control systems. Network logisticians might be powerless, but you were as good as blind if you didn’t have them on your team.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Ever since their discussion on how to kill started, Wei Xi had been in high spirits, and no longer sporting the wilted appearance from before. On the way here, he enthusiastically gave a list of names to Xia Tian, describing in great detail who he thought should die. He was simply a senior expert at this. Huitian had asked them to choose a reason when they killed someone, but Xia Tian felt that this place was rich in resources—after all, the place was filled with criminals, so it was not difficult to find a reason to kill—and thus, he had no worries about starting work.
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Eric said he wouldn’t care about this kind of thing if he lived a few more rounds. He believed in living every day as if it were the last one of his life. At the end of the day, this kind of competition would make you realize that everything you held dear in life was meaningless, and only pleasure had worth or value.
He was probably right. This had happened to many veterans of the Killing Show. Day after day of the show, the normality in their disposition would get destroyed and their dignity and future would dissipate and disappear like dust in the wind.
At this moment, the clear clinking sound of the fork against a glass got everyone’s attention. Everyone ceased speaking and turned to face the direction of the sound.
“Heirs,” said a man who was the Lawyer-in-charge. He had silver hair and a very boss-like attitude. His name was Angus, a well-known figure in the Killing Show in the past, and the host of the current round.
Xia Tian had seen him at several parties, most of the time drunk or unconscious. But this time, after the stylist’s had gone through him, he looked quite poised.
Angus went on: “Everyone who came here must be interested in Mr. Shi’s legacy. In the last days of his life, he spent a lot of time looking for you all, listed you as heirs to his legacy, and left me a… Well, a seven-hundred-page thick will.”
He paused, and there was laughter from the crowd around him, and he continued.
“That speaks volumes about his faith in all of you,” Ange said, “But I don’t think you want to listen to me read through the seven hundred pages of the rules… and would rather have a drink, a nice bed partner, and a good time. So I’ve made it simple for you all.”
He stretched out his hand, and a servant in an expensive uniform next to him handed him a few pages of paper. He pretended to pick them up and began to recite the requirements for the inheritance.
There was pin-drop silence in the room. The general rules were officially announced before the start of the competition, but the top had the habit of screwing the contestants over, so only those rules that were read out directly at the banquet would count.
“There are a lot of you now, but you don’t have much value. But one of you will prove to be the honoured heir and get everything,” Angus said toward the room full of young talent, “Mr. Shi believes that only the heir thus chosen will be the most ideal, the most vicious, the most ruthless, and the most capable to rule his empire.”
—There was obviously no logic. Why did inheriting a business empire require a roomful of people to kill each other and fight fiercely? What could fighting ability explain? But since this was the Killing Show, logic might as well be thrown out of the window.
The Lawyer-in-charge continued: “You are now empty-handed, and your weapons are lying somewhere in the garden. You can pick them up as needed. You must destroy your enemies and prove that you have the ability to inherit this business empire.”
He made a gesture.
“Earlier I had mentioned the hidden treasures. They are hidden in the various parts of the garden. I won’t tell you how many there are and how to find them. I believe it won’t be too difficult. And the one who eventually collects all the pieces will be able to open the ‘Treasure’—the box that holds Mr. Shi’s inheritance—and complete the genetic authentication. From then on, there will never be a more honourable and wealthy young man in the world than you.”
He smiled at them.
“Allow me to remind you, maybe you are very smart and can get the hidden treasure quickly, but it doesn’t mean you have ownership of it. Only the strongest have its ownership,” he said, “Also if anyone doesn’t like this game, they can leave immediately. No one will stand in your way.”
He paused for two seconds. There was utter silence all around, and no one left. No one wanted to be blacklisted.
“If no one is leaving, I announce that the succession game begins now. Until the next heir is selected, the game will not end,” the Lawyer-in-charge said, bowed to everyone, turned around, and walked away.
The banquet hall soon resumed its bustle. People returned to talking and picking up girls. From the perspective of a horror movie alone, this scene perfectly captured the true evil of human nature.
Midway through the banquet, Yang Shen went to the bathroom, and Xia Tian put his wine glass down and followed him.
Yang Shen was a tall man with a gloomy expression and a scar that ran diagonally across half of his face, which was left when he killed an NPC in the 197th session of the Killing Show. Usually, NPCs weren’t that difficult to kill, but this particular stubborn one just didn’t want to die.
Medical technology was quite advanced and could now remove scars quite easily, but Killing Show contestants generally kept them, initially as a show-off of old battles but now as a selling point.
Xia Tian also had a scar on his neck, and although it was not obvious at first glance, one could still see it upon a closer look. Huitian forbade him to remove it, saying that the company had regulations and such was also written in the contract. Why was there a fucking clause for everything in this contract?
When Xia Tian opened the door, Yang Shen was the only one in the bathroom, taking a piss. The man gave him a wary glance when he entered but soon ignored him. But Xia Tian closed the door behind him and then stood in the doorway staring at him.
After three seconds passed, Yang Shen turned his head and asked viciously: “What are you looking at?”
Xia Tian pointed and said, “I don’t want to get splashed on my body.”
The other party wrinkled his brows, and when Xia Tian saw that the other party was finished, he smiled radiantly at him as he walked over, with a dinner knife tucked under his sleeve.
It took probably a little longer than thirty seconds.
There was a fundamental difference between fighting in general and fighting in the Killing Show. Here, you wouldn’t show your sword and walk over, because you didn’t want to threaten the opponent, and you didn’t care whether your opponent would surrender. You had only one purpose: to kill him.
You didn’t mind if you got punched, and you didn’t step back when the opponent waved his fist, trying to fight back. You considered only one thing—how to seize the moment and use everything around you to kill as fast as possible.
Xia Tian dodged Yang Shen’s punch but didn’t retreat. He moved forward, stabbed the opponent in the lower abdomen, and pulled down.
Yang Shen gave him a knee strike, but it barely had any impact. Xia Tian quickly took a step back, but the man still tried to attack. Then he looked at his belly and was shocked to see his suit stained red with blood.
He lunged at Xia Tian, but the latter dodged once more. Yang Shen stumbled the entire way, his bleeding getting worse. When he rushed forward, his feet were unstable, and Xia Tian took this chance to kick toward the wound on the other party’s lower abdomen.
Yang Shen fell to the ground. Xia Tian walked towards him and with one hand grabbed him by the hair as he held a knife in his other hand.
The man stretched out his hand to block. After a stalemate of five seconds, Xia Tian cut the opponent’s throat.
The man died quickly. Such was the fate of every Killing Show player.
Xia Tian stood up, his sleeves stained with little blood. He looked at himself in the mirror. He had a neat suit and a handsome face. He looked like a dashing young man.
He walked to the washstand, put the blood-stained knife aside, washed the few drops of blood, and tidied his appearance.
Then he picked up the knife, didn’t rinse the blood on it, opened the door and walked towards the buzzing banquet outside. The man’s blood was still quietly flowing behind him and it would take a little while before it clotted.
In the hallway, Xia Tian encountered a short man hurrying to the bathroom who smiled politely at him. Xia Tian returned the smile. Everyone was still being polite to each other at this point. The banquet had started less than half an hour ago, and few people wanted to kill.
Behind him, the man opened the bathroom door.
Xia Tian kept walking forward. Everything was quiet behind him. You wouldn’t hear screaming at times like this. No one here would scream.
Thanks
It may as well just be THE killing show and not an heir thing lol. I was hoping it would be the murder mystery type game (T^T)