Editor: Junyans
Warning: This chapter contains disturbing descriptions of cannibalism. Read at your own risk.
At midnight, Xia Tian and Bai Jingan found a place to spend the night.
Reflecting on their status as top stars of the Killing Show, besides their living quarters, they actually owned some other properties. Although they had only glanced at some and taken photos for sponsors, and others they had never visited, they still served as a place of refuge. Anyways, they needed a place to rest.
Following the address on the official website, Bai Jingan drove towards a property owned by Xia Tian in the Jiguang District. The night was deep, and the team match of the fourth round of the Killing Show had just ended—relatively smoothly, with most of the participants meeting their demise. Survivors rushed into the banquet, igniting a wave of celebratory climax.
Nestled beside the tranquil Xiangri Lake, the two-story villa sprawled generously across almost 500 square meters, offering a serene view of the water.
They didn’t have the keys, so they hacked the lock and entered the house that was immersed in the darkness. It was long untouched by anyone, yet the floor was covered with thick carpet, neat and elegant, resembling an advertisement from a property developer.
Outside the windows, the lights of Xiangri Lake reflected a fire-like light.
The two fugitives checked the house, cleared the cameras, and closed all the curtains. In theory, they would get a short period of respite, but who knew what the organizers had in mind; this was a game without morals and rules.
Xia Tian was spending time endlessly in the bathroom, and Bai Jingan understood why.
He checked the online situation. Since the celebration banquet incident, he had been somewhat concerned about the movements of the police.
First, he looked at the official website of the police station. With a quick glance, he found that all the relevant information was about the speculation regarding the “hidden high-level members of the Resistance Army,” with conspiracy theories rampant. The headline read, “Is Xia Tian really a high-level member of the resistance? Explore the hidden secrets of the God of War!”
Bai Jingan looked at it for a while and felt that there was no need to click in to take a look.
Surprisingly, someone had discovered the existence of the Purgatory Soup Club.
Judging from the information on the Internet, the wasteland of the Purgatory Soup Club seemed to have long been famous among the small circles in the Upper City—the kind that had “ties to various dark and terrifying elite organizations, capable of inspiring scripts for ten horror movies.”
And as the most famous Killing Show stars in the history of the Upper City, their rocket launcher explosions, car bombings, and the ensuing pursuit involving hundreds of people couldn’t escape attention.
When Xia Tian emerged from the bathroom, Bai Jingan was engrossed in the massive investigative and discussion activity initiated by their fans.
Xia Tian asked while drying his hair, “What are you watching?”
“Fan gossip,” Bai Jingan said, opening a window for him.
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.
Xia Tian came over, and at a glance, he saw the gruesome image in the window.
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Ktf alwfrajwq jcv mbbgvlcjafr kfgf ilrafv cfza ab la, jcv atf gfmbgvlcu abbi kjr ijyfifv “Q-117 Zfafbgbibulmji Vjafiilaf.”
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“A fan had accessed a satellite?!” he exclaimed.
“And someone also hacked the camera on the escort vehicle,” Bai Jingan added.
With a horrified expression, Xia Tian leaned in to read the post.
The post was lengthy, filled with gifs of the recent battle, and the repost count displayed dizzying astronomical figures.
Clearly, because they were driving a car registered under Xia Tian’s name, someone had targeted them right after they had left for the hunt. At that moment, they were only thinking about the act of killing; who would bother worrying about fans taking secret photos?
Fans had tracked them through traffic cameras all the way to the wasteland of Purgatory Soup Club, utilizing all means available to investigate the whereabouts of their idols.
Now, countless people in the Upper City were following Xia Tian’s every move. Fans were eager to know what he was doing—whether eating, sleeping, or getting into fights at nightclubs—as if his every action concealed the answer to some significant question.
With such enthusiasm and technological prowess, fans quickly pieced together the entire incident.
—Xia Tian and Bai Jingan drove to the “terror-ridden wasteland,” killed a prominent figure, and “left triumphantly.”
The video wasn’t very clear, but the sneaky angles added a thrilling sensation of uncovering the truth from the shadows.
The number of online discussions instantly reached astonishing heights. In the short time they spent reading the posts, the numbers of clicks, discussions, and reposts doubled, and they could feel the fans’ burning enthusiasm through the screen.
It seemed like everyone in the Upper City was studying the video, discussing details, and keeping up with the situation.
They had to figure out—what did Xia Tian’s actions mean?
Just like how one had to understand the will of a deity.
At midnight, Xia Tian started running a fever, and no medicine seemed to work. Bai Jingan insisted he immediately go to sleep, and he took over the task of keeping watch.
As soon as Xia Tian touched the pillow, he fell into a deep sleep. He had been through enough for the day.
Bai Jingan sat beside him, counting the weapons. On their way here, they had passed an open-air party and managed to acquire a few guns, even half a bag of “high-altitude exposure” bombs. It was truly puzzling why these people brought bombs to a party.
The room was dimly lit, with a few floating screens emitting faint light. On the far right was the CCTV showing the surroundings outside. The night was thick, wrapping the house in layers.
Bai Jingan continued to monitor the online situation, but part of his attention always remained on Xia Tian. He noticed his every slight movement, even a strand of hair falling down… There was a moment he considered brushing it away, but he immediately restrained the impulse.
He knew where the Guest Show ‘s cameras were—right across them, invisible, but staring at them with malicious eyes.
He turned his attention back to the screen. In the middle of the night, the wave of fervent online fan activities had reached another climax.
Someone had made a new post. After giving it a once-over, Bai Jingan immediately realized it must be one of the people on “Mount Olympus.” The post read:
This is the Guest Show. There is an entrance to Purgatory Soup in the ‘terrifying wasteland.’ Purgatory Soup is a club with a long history, open only for the rich and powerful, and offers specific services to a select few.
The people behind the club believed they could capture Xia Tian and Bai Jingan there and bring them to the ‘feast.’ Ultimately, they wanted to throw everything good, ‘interesting,’ and incomprehensible in the world into a meat grinder, mix it together, sprinkle petals over it, serve it on the table, and make a few self-proclaimed clever comments.
Ge Pei had been looking forward to this hunt. He had a cannibalism fetish, not uncommon in the circle. He had exquisite taste in food-related decorative patterns and ornaments, and he was well-versed in table manners and historical traditions. He engaged in sexual intercourse with his prey first, then ate them, or did both at the same time. Having said that, he was very selective in choosing his victims. He couldn’t distinguish the boundaries between liking, sex, and appetite.
Xia Tian and Bai Jingan had directly set up a trap, and Ge Pei had died on the spot from a headshot. Even if they had put him in a top-tier treatment cabin at the scene, he wouldn’t have been saved.
Bai Jingan had struck hard. Xia Tian and Bai Jingan had to fight tragically and miserably, but their cooperation was orderly, calculations precise, and the blows ruthless.
The rocket launcher hadn’t worked due to the ‘Silencer,’ and the one that had hit Xia Tian was the ‘Beast Capturing Net.’ They had thought they could create a God, then simply beckon him and place him on the dinner plate.
But if you can’t even distinguish between what you want to fuck and what you want to eat—
A slight movement came from beside him, and Bai Jingan turned to look at Xia Tian.
Xia Tian was having a nightmare, and Bai Jingan, having had his fair share, could tell immediately.
He had sunk into the bed quietly, curling up as much as possible, body trembling lightly, and his hair damp with sweat.
“Xia Tian?” Bai Jingan called.
Trapped in a nightmare, there was no response from Xia Tian. Bai Jingan reached out to shake him.
At the moment of contact, Xia Tian’s body tensed suddenly, and he reached out to grab his gun—
Inside the dream, he was trapped in a pitch-black area, his eyes were full of fear, he didn’t know what he was dreaming about, and he was terrified.
Bai Jingan quickly restrained the hand reaching for the gun, pressed his other hand on the man’s shoulder, and blurted out, “It’s okay—”
Xia Tian stopped struggling and looked at him blearily, still not fully awake.
Bai Jingan brushed aside the strand of hair that had fallen on his face. On the terminal screen inches away, fans talked about him as if he knew everything and was the light that tore through the darkness. But lying beside him was just a frightened young man.
“I’m here,” Bai Jingan said.
“Lil’ Bai,” the man murmured, his voice low and soft, seeking a gentle confirmation of Bai Jingan’s presence as he hovered between sleep and wakefulness.
“I’m here,” Bai Jingan said, “go back to sleep for a bit.”
Xia Tian withdrew his hand from the gun and his right fingertips rubbed against Bai Jingan’s hand before he closed his eyes and sank back into slumber.
Bai Jingan slowly released his hand and turned his gaze back to the screen.
He felt a tremendous emotion surge in his chest, choking his throat and expanding outward. He had to make an effort to sit there steadily and control it.
The feeling that he had to protect something, he must have felt this before—
In his mind, the huge dark box was clearly visible, occupying everything in the darkness. It had always been there, and he had never dared to open it.
What he had to protect was inside, turned into a box of… dead, decaying, and deformed flesh, for people to watch and revel in, laugh at, and trample on… He couldn’t bear to look at it, dared not even think about it.
He sat in the darkness, staring fixedly at the screen, but couldn’t absorb anything.
Those people described the battle on the wasteland using phrases such as “so dazzling that people couldn’t look away,” and claimed that they were powerful, and that people would follow them unconditionally. He didn’t know what they were talking about; he just felt hysterical and extremely vulnerable.
The camera was still on the opposite side. He dared not look at Xia Tian again. He only felt the man’s breath brushing against his fingertips, which he focused his attention on. Xia Tian was right beside him, alive.
This time, he had to protect his loved ones at any cost.
Xia Tian woke up just before dawn. The fever had subsided, and he appeared lively and energetic.
He pushed Bai Jingan onto the bed, telling him he’d better get some more sleep, for he would take over the watch.
There was no need for unnecessary politeness in this matter; they both needed rest. Bai Jingan slept for a few hours and woke up to the bright morning light.
Xia Tian was sitting next to him, browsing the web. Bai Jingan noticed that they were very close, and he was tightly gripping the hem of Xia Tian’s sleepwear—Xia Tian would always wear more clothes now.
He had been gripping it so tightly that his knuckles had turned white, crumpling the fabric into a ball. When he woke up, his fingers were still curled, and it took him a while to straighten Xia Tian’s clothes.
He awkwardly pulled his hand back, and Xia Tian smiled at him, then said, “I need to use the bathroom,” before jumping out of bed. He seemed to be in a hurry.
Bai Jingan flexed his fingers and reached for the gun on the table, trying hard not to think about how Xia Tian must have tried to tug the hem of his clothes in various ways, but failed. He hadn’t wanted to undress, so he had stayed with him until the morning.
What an embarrassing start to the day.
