Gamers Are Fierce-Chapter 777 - 775 Eligible
Li Ang strode down from the spectator seats, drawing curious glances from the crowd.
"Is it him?"
"It's actually him?"
"What are you all talking about? Is this person famous?"
Whispers rippled through the stands.
Though the Immaculate Furnace store couldn't boast global renown, it still held a degree of fame. Consequently, Li Ang, its owner known for the Dragon Head White Lab Coat, had left an impression on many players.
Moreover, Li Ang had previously appeared in the Sky Fighting Arena, using the ill-fated Blackstone Razor to stage a "real-life advertisement." This had, to some extent, made him famous—albeit not for the best reasons.
He walked directly down the stands to the arena floor. Following the System prompt, he arrived at Dueling Field No. 45, where the match had just concluded.
The cracks and damage on the dueling field were healing at a visible rate, and the remaining bloodstains dissolved and vanished.
"Brother Li?"
Xing Hechou, positioned in the six o'clock direction of the stands, also noticed the figure in the Dragon Head White Lab Coat and wasn't particularly surprised.
Given Li Ang's strength, his participation in the contest for the gates was a certainty; it was merely unexpected that he would enter the fray so early.
This person... Perch, from his position in the nine o'clock direction, squinted. The Witch had mentioned something in the chat group about the "High-dimensional Hacking" scripted mission, referring to the owner of the plaza's store, Immaculate Furnace, who carried Divinity. That day, Perch had even gone to the trouble of scouring his files, digging out the article "Modern Idol Worship: A Guide to Divine Enthronement - Revised Edition."
In modern society, with its vast population, there are numerous forms of entertainment. Movies, television, games, music, novels... all these diversions occupy fragments of ordinary people's time and energy, leading to a cluttered and chaotic collective consciousness, a far cry from the simplicity of ancient times. The average amount of Power of Faith provided by individuals has significantly decreased in quantity and is far lower in quality than before. This is also one of the key reasons many original totem deities, and even some old gods, have either entered a dormant period—aside from their participation in the Killing Game—or have faded away and perished.
According to the Witch's description at the time, this Li Rising, a being with Divinity, possessed Divine Power attributes including flesh, plants, and swamps, among others, and held a considerable amount of Divine Power. Perch was curious about the source of Li Rising's Power of Faith. He speculated that Li Rising's real-world identity might be a military warlord carving out territory in Africa or South America, using drugs and propaganda to brainwash subordinates and gain Power of Faith. Alternatively, he could be an operative of a massive multinational corporation like Prometheus Laboratory Company, extracting high-purity Power of Faith in a laboratory setting through cutting-edge technology. Or perhaps he was a globally or regionally popular young celebrity, video blogger, or key opinion leader (KOL)... Of course, the most likely possibility was that Li Rising was cultivating a group of loyal followers in some secret location, covertly extracting a large amount of Power of Faith without surveillance.
"What's the matter? You look so serious," Amber from the Sea of Blood strolled over casually and, upon seeing Perch's expression, asked with a smile.
The ordinary spectators seated near Perch and the others quickly moved away as Amber approached, finding seats further off to avoid drawing her attention.
Perch also hastily stood up, produced an alcohol spray and unopened premium wipes, and briskly cleaned the seat next to Wang Hu. Only after ensuring the seat was spotless for his boss lady did he return to his own, saying with some nervousness, "It's nothing much. I'm just a bit concerned about that person in the Dragon Head White Lab Coat."
"Oh?" Amber leaned her left hand on the back of the chair, her posture very casual, and thought for a moment. "His name is... Li Rising, right?"
Perch nodded. "Yes. At this stage, in the entire Killing Game, the number of beings with Divinity is neither too many nor too few. Based on their geographical location in the real world, social status, and personal power, the total amount of Power of Faith they possess and the recovery rate of that power also vary. If Li Rising is as powerful as the Witch says... he might become a quite troublesome opponent."
"Oh?" Amber smiled with interest. Among all the Professor's disciples, Perch might not be strong in combat, but in terms of insight and understanding of mystical arts, he was at the forefront. If even he thinks that Dragon Head White Lab Coat is strong, there might be another competitor to watch out for.
"That..." The Stonemason, sitting at the very end of their row, inhaled sharply, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Senior Brothers and Sister, I think I know the origin of his Divinity..."
Perch responded with some surprise, "You know?"
"Mhm." The Stonemason nodded. "I met him before in a scripted mission called 'Mechanism Mansion,' where we dealt with a local primal totem Demigod. Afterwards, as per the organization's rules, I recorded a detailed mission brief and uploaded it to the shared knowledge base."
"Ah..." Perch's mouth fell open. He glanced subconsciously at Amber and Wang Hu beside him; Amber rolled her eyes and whistled, while Wang Hu kept his arms crossed, though his head seemed to turn away slightly.
The Professor had stipulated that members of the Syndicate Organization should record mission debriefs after completion and upload them to the shared knowledge base for others to consult and share experiences. He had especially instructed his disciples not to immerse themselves solely in personal power training but to read other people's mission debriefs in their spare time. Even if the levels of those missions were low, they could still provide fresh approaches to problem-solving.
However, it seemed that none of the disciples, Perch included, had actually been reading the debriefs...
"Cough, cough. Is that so?" Acting as if nothing had happened, Perch nodded as if it were all perfectly normal. "Then it's fine. Tell us in detail about that scripted mission."
At this moment, Li Ang had no idea that the instant he stepped into the arena, he had already caught the attention of countless medium to large organizations—though he might not have cared even if he did know.
He accepted a contract from a staff member of the Watcher's Society, signing it to allow the Society to film the tournament and to share the profits from video sales proportionately.
By now, above the dueling field where the match had just finished, the names of the next round's participants appeared:
[Bell Tower—Eric] versus [Higan—Paranoia]
[Temple Knight—Hessenberg] versus [Monster Alliance—Pummel]
[Death Soul] versus [Japan Islands Abnormal Affairs Bureau - Ninth Division—Reverberation]
[Gen-Sys Biotech Company—Hundred-faced Demon Throat] versus [Gru Super Psychology Department—God of North Wind]
...
With the previous round of the tournament as a demonstration, the participants in the second round were also of high quality.
Mule maintained a solemn expression as he softly introduced the backgrounds of these participants to Laura. "Eric comes from Bell Tower, born into a Mage family with a long lineage. Last month, the anomaly with London's Big Ben was resolved by his team. For this, he even received an honor medal awarded by the Queen.
"His opponent, Paranoia, is an upper-echelon member of the Higan Organization, specifically tasked with dealing with defectors and those seeking revenge. Sometimes she's also responsible for assassinations and extracting confessions through torture. She's notoriously known as an enforcer in the peninsula region."
Mule, who in the last scripted mission had collaborated with other teammates to kill Black Holy Son, the Young Master of the Higan Organization, maintained an incredibly steady voice, without any abnormalities—even Laura didn't detect anything amiss.
Laura, however, blinked and asked with some curiosity, "Is that the Higan Organization whose Young Master recently died, and now they're offering a worldwide bounty and seeking vengeance?"
"Yes." Mule nodded calmly and said to his sister, "Black Holy Son, as the Young Master of a medium-sized organization, had countless life-saving skills. Unfortunately, he still fell during a scripted mission. His death was mysterious, and the identity of the killer remains unclear.
"This teaches us that no matter how strong we are, we must always be humble and cautious, and take any abnormal events seriously. We should also be kind to others in our daily lives, cultivate good connections, and not let a bad reputation from too many misdeeds lead to a loss of support."
"Yes, yes." Laura nodded obediently, seriously absorbing the survival advice.
Mule turned his head back to the Dueling Field. "That Paranoia used to be called Park Youngmin. According to rumors, she is Black Holy Son's half-sister, from a different mother.
"She had mental health issues from a young age and was kept locked in the basement of Black Holy Son's mother's house.
"After Black Holy Son's mother became wealthy, Park Youngmin was released and admitted to a proper hospital for treatment of her mental illness—during her stay, she was involved in several medical incidents, causing numerous deaths and injuries among the medical staff.
"These events occurred before the Higan Organization rose to prominence, so related information isn't hard to find.
"Once the Killing Game officially began, Park Youngmin also became a player, adopting this psychiatric term as her name.
"Although she was hated and looked down upon by Black Holy Son's mother due to her illegitimate birth, and feared throughout Higan due to her unstable mental condition, her own strength is formidable. She's considered a walking, battle-level weapon.
"Her position on the individual power ranking is unknown, but it's definitely not lower than forty-fifth."
"Huh?" Laura was startled and asked, "Why so precise...?"
"Because the player who was previously ranked forty-fifth has already been killed by her," Mule said indifferently. "Upon hearing the news of Black Holy Son's death, Paranoia went on an immediate, violent rampage. She killed over a dozen guards—who were supposedly there for her protection but were actually monitoring and imprisoning her—rushed to Seoul, and confronted Black Holy Son's mother, demanding to know who killed him.
"The Blood Vengeance Curse set up by the Higan Organization for Black Holy Son was successfully triggered but was obscured by a power of an even higher Mysterious Degree.
"Paranoia fell into a mad fury. In a single day, she killed nearly a hundred High-level Players in the peninsula region, extracting their memories. She rampaged through the Higan Organization's competitors, South Korea's official Abnormal Event Control Bureau, major multinational corporations like the Seoul branch of Prometheus Laboratory Company, and even United States military bases on the peninsula, slaughtering her way back and forth and causing a massive uproar."
Having said this, Mule paused for a moment, looking at the quietly beautiful girl in the white dress heading for the Dueling Field, and slowly continued, "To avoid starting a war, the Higan Organization hastily announced it had severed all ties with Paranoia, but this had little effect. Paranoia's manic actions completely shattered the local unwritten rules. It likely won't be long before the Higan Organization is divided and dismantled by other forces, and all their actions are brought to account. But for now, despite lacking the Higan Organization's protection, she is still alive and well..."
As an information trafficker whose top principle was self-preservation, Mule wouldn't sell the "truth" about Black Holy Son's death to the Higan Organization for a high price. She herself had been a participant, involved in the operation that killed Black Holy Son; it would be difficult for her to extricate herself. Moreover, Paranoia's mental state was extremely unstable. Even if Mule wanted to distort the information, blaming Black Holy Son's death on one of her own enemies in the real world, she couldn't guarantee that things would develop as she hoped.
Mule's expression remained impassive as she continued explaining the Dueling Field fighters to Laura, "Hessenberg of the Temple Knights, from Germany, is a priest in the real world, ranked eighty-fourth in personal combat power. The brute from the Monster Alliance should not be his match.
"Death Soul is one of the vice presidents of the Demon Scientist Alliance. His personal combat power ranking is unknown, but he's definitely stronger than his opponent, Reverberation.
"As for those two on Dueling Field number four... I've never heard the name Hundred-faced Demon Throat, but God of North Wind has some fame; he previously climbed to the fiftieth level of the Sky Fighting Arena, and won quite easily."
Just as Mule was recounting the details of the competitors to Laura as if listing family treasures, the Dueling Field names of the next competitors appeared in the sky above Dueling Field No. 45:
[Special Affairs Bureau—Qualified Participant]
Another person from the Special Affairs Bureau? the spectators in the stands whispered among themselves. When the Sky Fighting Arena had just opened, many skilled players had participated, and their information had been recorded to some extent. However, this "Qualified Participant" was completely unheard of. Is he a secret weapon of the Special Affairs Bureau, or just another touchstone sent to gauge other competitors' trump cards? Judging from the earlier defeat of Dragon Soaring Leopard Transforming, the former seems more likely...
"Hmm?" In the spectator stands, in the nine o'clock direction, Xun Zian, seated in the Special Affairs Bureau's area, furrowed his brows slightly and glanced at Xing Hechou beside him. "Old Xing, isn't this Qualified Participant that young colleague from our Yin City equipment department...?"
"Mhm." Xing Hechou nodded. "It's him."
"Hey, hey, hey," Shu Yin tapped the armrest of their seat, asking curiously, "Who are you talking about? I don't know him."
"See for yourself." Xing Hechou tipped his chin towards the Dueling Field below. Shu Yin followed Xing Hechou's gaze and saw, next to Dueling Field No. 45, a rather young-looking man in a blue and white, tight-fitting combat suit. Colleagues from the Special Affairs Bureau's equipment department were adjusting it for him.
Shu Yin rolled their eyes, searching their memory, and quickly recalled the face. Ding Zhensi, from Yin City, male, twenty years old, an outstanding graduate from the Lanxiang Technical School in Qilu Province—famously associated with the slogan "Which school is best for excavator technology?" He had caught the attention of the Special Affairs Bureau with his excellent driving skills while exploring the underground caverns beneath Qianhua Road in Yin City. After passing their tests, he was recruited into the Special Affairs Bureau's equipment technology department to assist researchers in testing early-stage Mecha-type weapons. To think he actually obtained player qualifications and joined this contest for the gates...
Shu Yin smacked their lips. Honestly, I don't feel particularly upset or jealous about it.
And Ding Zhensi's opponent was...
[Authentic Supermarket and Clinic on the southeast corner of the square, brand-new shop Immaculate Furnace has opened, offering a range of services that include Magic Potion sales, equipment forging, medical surgery, and strength augmentation. Advanced technology, fair prices, and honesty in dealing with old and young. New customers can also enjoy a ten percent discount. What are you waiting for? Hurry over and shop~]
