1.
The fourth round of Fujin TV's 199th Slaughtering Show team competition, the third round of the competition ended less than a week after the start.
At the end of the game, as usual, it was a grand scene. The image of the host was projected on the zenith, announcing that all sinners had been temporarily pardoned, that they could go to the carnival and survive temporarily.
"The hero from the darkness was weak, but with wisdom and courage, he destroyed the huge Shishi Empire!" She said, her voice was as passionate as another round of exploding fireworks.
"The Avengers win this round!"
Bai Jing'an said to Xia Tian: "Did you feel it?"
"Well," Xia Tian said, "The arena is shaking."
His new weapon had already been drawn, and he no longer looked arrogant, no different from any seriously injured player.
"It's very slight, but it's never happened in Shangcheng," Bai Jing'an said, "There must be a reason—"
He stopped and turned to look at the entering medical team.
Those people were proficient in procedures, and they checked everyone's injuries in groups. At this point, these people are lowly players on the field, and by the end of the game, they are all stars with amazing net worth.
A large number of them went straight to Xia Tian, circled around him, checked the situation, and didn't dare to touch him, with tense expressions, as if he was some kind of different creature.
They were all wearing famous tags and came from different departments. Xia Tian asked Wei Xi how his situation was, and the surrounding people were busy for a while. They contacted the medical team over there and gave him a set of detailed instructions within 30 seconds. The data.
—The injury is very serious, but it will definitely be saved, and it has already entered the medical cabin.
Eric has been guarding Wei Xi, and he himself was injured more seriously than expected, but once the game is over, there is nothing to say.
There was another group of people checking Bai Jingan's injuries, they all froze, saying that he had to go to the medical cabin immediately, and they couldn't wait a second.
Xia Tian smiled at him and said, "I also said that I rushed fiercely", Bai Jing'an said that he had a plan when he rushed there, and Xia Tian said that he also had a plan.
They've been together since the game, and they've had a few conversations now and then - mostly boring, even though they're both too injured to be able to do anything... maybe it's just the severity of the injury that keeps them together, To fill up the anxiety of exhaustion.
Bai Jing'an went to look at the people coming in from the outside, all of them were full of excitement, and there was a frenzied fire in their eyes.
"What's going on?" he said to the doctor across the way.
The other party was talking about the injury, but stopped at this moment, opened his lower lip, and did not make a sound for the first time.
"They... they're going to tell you," she said, "this is important information, and I don't have permission to—"
Before she finished speaking, those people were walking straight towards them.
It was the reporters who entered. After the Killing Show event, there will be an on-site interview. The hosts will chat with the players randomly, hoping to achieve the effect of turning the stadium into a party.
They had a clear goal, and like a motley army suddenly summoned by a powerful force, they kept rushing towards them with explosives in their arms.
Lin Lie from Fujin's "Sky Blade" was at the front, and he was the top host in Floating Void City.
Now he hastily walks, has no image, and walks to Xia Tian. When he saw the newly crowned God of War, he looked away for a moment, then turned his eyes back again, coughed, and straightened the wrinkles on his clothes.
Lin Lie gestured upwards, and the next moment, the sky cast sunlight on this position.
The light inlaid the thick clouds with golden edges, like a fantasy and splendid palace in the sky, which is the certification of the legendary savior.
Lin Lie said: "Sorry, this matter is very urgent, you must ask first—"
He is the kind of host who has a warm style but is extremely stable in controlling the field. But standing in front of Xia Tian, he was like a rookie seeing a camera for the first time, he was uncomfortable, and it was difficult to look directly into the eyes of the interviewee.
"I know you're seriously injured," he said softly, "but I came here because many people really want to know your opinion on the Yingkong Lake incident."
"Yingkong Lake?" Xia Tian said.
The host stretched out his hand and a large holographic interface popped up.
The mirror-like waters spread out on the field in an instant, dotted with yachts and sailboats, the scenery was beautiful, and everyone could see where it was at a glance.
Yingkong Lake, the largest lake in the upper city, uses a premium membership system and is extremely exclusive - there is not even a road in the middle, so you have to go all the way around.
For a moment, everyone looked in this direction, and saw the lake water of this pearl in the upper city surging violently, and several people standing within the image range quickly backed away.
"Yingkong Lake has sunk!" Lin Lie said.
The water of the lake roared, making piercing cracking sounds, and the holographic video was extremely realistic. The exquisite ships of Yingkong Lake were like small pieces of colored paper, shattered under this huge disaster.
The grand sinking of a landslide and tsunami unfolded on the field, everyone was quiet, and there were occasional gasps or exclamations. The scene was shocking, and the charm of destruction was so strong that people couldn't look away.
The host behind said to Xia Tian: "This is for you!"
"This is for you, Summer!"
Xia Tian turned to look at him, and all the players, reporters, medical staff and image planners on the field were also looking at Xia Tian.
Bai Jing'an suddenly thought, they must have discussed it before, and finally decided to demonstrate this scene before entering the treatment cabin in Xia Tian—use the best holographic camera to put their sacrifices in front of the God of War again like offering treasures, let him see, let him He laughed, let him praise.
"Do you like it?" said the Ace host, looking at him.
Xia Tian watched the destruction of Yingkong Lake for a while, then smiled towards the camera. Under professional lighting, his smile was as bright as the sun, but as cold as ice.
"I like it," he said.
Looking at this scene, Yakovsky thought to himself, with such a smile, those people would probably wish to give him the destruction of the upper city.
No matter how indestructible the anti-gravity engines were, they could not stand against such a force as that against which they were intended to face when they first forged their iron defenses.
Now, he's sitting on the access device, wearing a depth-simulating goggle, waiting to be summoned by the board of directors.
Things have come to this point, this god-making plan has finally attracted the attention of the people above. Georg came to him and said that the board of directors was going to hold a meeting to discuss how to deal with "that farce in the summer", and he wanted to hear the opinion of the chief director first.
"It's not that the upper city has never made stars. This is a city that never sleeps." He said to Jakovsky, "But no one has ever reached this level."
He shook his head and smiled nonchalantly.
"But this time we raised not a star, but a sun."
These days, of course rich people don't have to actually be present at meetings.
Yakovsky connected to "Mount Olympus"—that's what Georg called the place, and the surroundings lit up little by little.
He has never been here before, and the authority required is too high. Yakovsky thought he was already very familiar with logging in to virtual scenes, but this time it was especially fantastic.
The lit light was too bright and pure, he could clearly feel the heat on his skin, even the Floating Void City didn't have such sunshine and sky, as if time and space had really shifted.
This is the latest generation of virtual reality technology, and it hasn't hit the market yet—and when there isn't a newer generation, it won't be available to the masses. The ones available are the top guys in Uptown.
Jakovsky found himself sitting in the cozy garden of a coastal property that was rustic, elegant and luxurious, with a playful palette. The sun falls on the body through the swaying vines, and the endless ocean is under the feet. The sky and the sea meet, which is grand and magnificent. Yingkong Lake is far from such awe.
The sound of the waves is soothing and monotonous, as if eternal, which makes them seem to be in another time and space, a place that human beings have long since destroyed.
There are strange fruits, snacks and drinks on the table. There are people in the courtyard, all of them are very elegant and calm, chatting in the fairyland. They are a group of people standing at the top of the food chain in human society.
Yakovsky bowed to several board members and said, "Mr. Minkov, Mr. He, Mr. Qi, Ms. Lei Luo, Miss Li."
Some people nodded to him, and the others were chatting or reading books, as if this was a real house with lush flowers and trees, a fairyland scenery, but in a place that no one could reach.
Only then did he see another boy curled up on a couch in the shadows of the corner, enduring great pain—he knew what it was to suffer after being the general director of The Killing Show for so long.
He curled up tightly, like a dying bird, dyeing the entire shade of the tree with coldness and darkness.
No one looked at him, and everyone took it for granted that life was beautiful. There is a strange harmony between the bright sunshine and the darkness in the corner.
Yakovsky looked away, thinking that he was probably here for torture and pleasure, but he looked too small, only thirteen or fourteen.
But it seems to be a habit of suffering.
Jakovsky looked down at his toes, not looking directly into the eyes of those people, trying to look as decent as possible.
Looking at this beautiful scenery, you sometimes feel that they are just ordinary people who are very rich and like to enjoy themselves. But Jakovsky knew that these people were far removed from the general state of human society.
They have grown up in this cold fairyland for generations, pampered one by one, hold great power, and control the life and death of countless people. Each of them seems to be well-bred, but they don't spit out human bones after eating them, and they still take it for granted.
He knows what he wants. He will do everything in his power to convince them that there is no need to suppress Xia Tian.
"Beautiful results, Mr. Yakovsky, plus a lake." A man in a black sweater said—it was Mr. Minkoff. "What are you going to do with this?"
Jakovsky cleared his throat to sound steady.
"I don't think it should end," he said.
No one spoke, and he knew he needed to keep talking.
"'God-making marketing' has made a lot of money, and now is a good time. Any suppression will have the opposite effect. This is determined by the nature of marketing itself." He said, "The chain of summer is in your hands, everyone. , you can kill him anytime you want, and... he will die anyway, won't he?"
Still no one spoke, but he knew they were listening.
Yakovsky was sure that these people would not let Xia Tian live. In their eyes, when a person is radiant and different, the next step is to destroy.
Everything in the world is just a plaything to them, providing enough fun, destroying it and then looking for another one.
Mr. He Jingting raised his chin towards Yakovsky, indicating that he could have a drink.
The chief director licked his lower lip, he didn't want to touch the wine here, but he needed it.
The people in the medical department once told him that he shouldn't drink like this. If it weren't for the current level of medical treatment, he would have drunk himself to death ten years ago.
But he doesn't understand that you can't live without alcohol these days.
Yakovsky sat in the sun and poured himself half a glass of wine, which smelled like whiskey. He tilted his head back and drank it. The strong feeling hit his head, and he coughed twice due to choking.
A few people laughed, seeming to think it was funny that a drunk was choking.
"It's a highly heightened sensory experience," Mr. Minkoff said.
He sat on the sofa and casually put his hand on the child's right shoulder. Jakovsky clearly saw that the child shivered, curled up even smaller, and became thinner and more fragile under his palm.
At that moment, he saw the boy's eyes, staring at an empty spot in the air, like a trapped animal on the verge of collapse, and crazy things fermented in the pupils.
2.
After leaving the questioning meeting, the first thing Jakovsky did was to take off his formal suit, as if something dirty had been stained on it.
He felt nauseous, but couldn't vomit.
He turned to a wine bottle in the corner as fast as he could, unscrewed the cap, and took two sips, thinking that the child looked familiar... He froze there, and suddenly realized who it was.
That was old Minkoff's son.
He went blank for a few seconds, then rushed to the bathroom and vomited violently.
He knew that what he experienced in "Mount Olympus" was just a brain reaction, he didn't ingest anything, but at this moment he almost threw up his stomach.
He retched for a long time before leaving the bathroom, and went to get the half bottle of wine that he couldn't name on the cabinet, but his hands were shaking so badly that he couldn't bring it to his mouth for a long time.
He remembered the first time he met little Minkoff and thought, This kid is crazy, I hope I don't live long enough for him to be in power.
When he saw him just now, he wondered if he was a plaything of the rich and powerful.
But he wasn't, he was a disaster.
There was a message in the headset, saying that Xia Tian's treatment would end within an hour, and when he was asked to read the media briefing, Yakovsky was still unable to get out of this matter.
He has never thought that the matter of Yingkong Lake would be too difficult to investigate. Sinking a lake is not a trivial matter. It requires the most advanced technology and core code, and not many people can do it.
The police have found no results so far, so he always thought that some powerful person did it. Even if that kind of person caused trouble, the group he belonged to would not let the outside world deal with it.
They... Yakovsky felt nauseous again, so he took two sips of wine to suppress it. He'd just thrown up, and the booze felt like a knife in his stomach, making him feel better.
He switched the picture to the main screen.
Summer Flame - now called Rebels.com, so fucking right - is all about the third arena. The website said that since An Xiaoyin's accident, Xia Tian dragged the entire event into chaos, and all the plans of the planning team became rubbish.
They don't understand that the planned arsenal division, Avengers, airships... are not useless.
Xia Tian stepped on all the plans underfoot. This is what planning is for.
Yakovsky stared at the video of Xia Tian's coronation again, as if addicted.
In the playback again and again, he noticed Bai Jing'an in the darkness behind Xia Tian.
The man's eyes swept across the corpses everywhere, his gray pupils were bottomless, he was thinking and observing, and there was a cold night that he couldn't see through. When the bodyguard tried to raise his gun before, Bai Jing'an didn't move, as if he knew what was going to happen, and just watched it happen.
The light of summer's coronation was in his eyes like the deadly reflection of gunfire. Jakovsky was pretty sure the man was bloodier and angrier than any of his fans could have imagined. more and sad.
If Bai Jing'an still doesn't understand now, then when he wakes up from the medical cabin, he will soon know what kind of bloody storm they caused and what kind of position they are standing in.
Then judge.
Bai Jing'an was watching the news.
Fans of God of War gathered on a pilgrimage to the place where Yingkong Lake sank, and several stations were broadcasting special programs.
The sunshine in the upper city and the lower city became one, and Yingkong Lake was no longer exclusive to the rich and powerful. According to the news, it belonged to all believers, and everyone should come here to worship.
Enthusiastic people took various means of transportation to make a pilgrimage to the "Sea of Temples", feeling that they had found their faith.
So now the hotels in the main city are full, and there is a traffic jam every day. The TV station also advertised the traffic jam as a grand event, and the fans almost covered the city advertisements.
Many people from the lower city also rushed here, rowing boats—mostly rafts made of door panels and sundries—to watch the sun. The people in the upper city don't need it, but their expressions also seem to come for this, they are dazzled by something, and they can't think at all.
Under the dome of the sky, the sun shines on the water surface, which is bright and open, stretching as far as the eye can see.
The city in the sky keeps saying "the only light in the dark", "the redemption I've been waiting for all my life", and that the Yingkong Lake ruins are "the land of eternity", but this is no different from previous fan activities. It's just that they were scattered in the past, but this time they are very concentrated.
It's been less than a year since Xia Tian came to Shangcheng, and they seem to know all "the sins he has suffered", the people in his life who can't be saved, his decisions, every second of his suffering... They fast in and fast out, Add ingredients to the wine and announce that everything is different and unique, who knows what is eternal.
When they had to resist the planning team, what the "God of Destiny" wanted was to follow their resistance to create momentum and make more money. In this place, all your anger, pain and death will only turn into money.
The supply of sunshine and miracles in the upper city has always been limited, and it costs money.
It was said in the news that many people in the lower city decided to settle here—the water will always recede—Bai Lin's hometown has once again become full of people and lively.
In the camera, the bloody and dark land turned into a sunny "temple sea", as if no disaster had happened, and the water and sunlight covered the wound, like a miracle.
And Shangcheng will seal it up one day, Bai Jing'an thought to himself, after they get used to their freshness. Or Xia Tian died.
He watched silently. In the holographic image, the brilliance of the water surface was not reflected in his eyes at all. What was reflected in his eyes was still the dark and bloody lower city. There was so much blood that no amount of water could wash it away.
Bai Jing'an looked at it for a while, upset, and turned to look at Xia Tian.
Xia Tian was sitting cross-legged on the hospital bed, accessing the virtual screen, Bai Jingan directly cut into his terminal.
Both had just come out of the treatment cabin—Eric and Wesie hadn't finished treatment yet. If it was the last round, they would have to go out for an interview right away, but now the people around them are respectful. When Bai Jing'an came out, he just asked to find Xia Tian, and the doctor in charge came to tell him that Xia Tian's treatment would end in an hour, and if he wanted, he would arrange them in the same ward.
Right now, the two of them were sitting in the room swiping their phones, and no one came to remind them, as if they really turned the room into a private place with just one word.
Xia Tian is in the Temple of War God.
The super-large sacrifice of Yingkong Lake has changed the layout of the temple. It used to be a desert scenery, but now it has become an endless water area. But it is still empty and desolate, as if it came from the depths of time, beyond the fashion and noise, and it will always be here.
Now, the sun was setting and reflected on the water, the broken gold shone, and the underwater was full of bones.
Xia Tian looked down at the corpse.
The seven people in Honey Pavilion lined up neatly. Ange was on the right. He died that night after the game, and he was a hot prey for everyone to fight for.
What Xia Tian saw was another dead body.
Bai Jing'an assigned Xia Tian's authority to see what he was watching.
Only then did he realize that he knew this person, Xia Tian had mentioned it when he was going down to the city.
— This person is Sen Lan, the son of the local chief executive of N21 district, who killed Xia Tian's sister, killed his friends, and ruined everything about him, but he said it as if it was just a game.
In the materials before her death, Sen Lan had a cold and cold face, with a smile that was not a smile. According to Xia Tian, he "always sees through the world and feels good about himself".
For the previous thirty hours someone had wrought him a long and horrific massacre, extremely detailed, well-targeted, interminable—with several sessions of therapy in between to keep him going.
Now, Sen Lan's body is parked in the temple, and the abuse process is clearly visible. Besides him, there was his father beside him, and the corpses of the entire security team were also there, neatly arranged for the God of War to inspect.
Xia Tian reached out and turned off the video, looking at the pile of corpses complicatedly.
He said slowly, "I never knew what provoked him."
Bai Jing'an turned to look at him.
"He put on a fucking 'my noble thoughts are beyond your stupid mind' attitude," he went on. "I always think, I have to ask before I kill him!"
He laughed, ridiculed and a little nervous, and raised his hand to pop up a holographic screen.
It was the image of Sen Lan being locked in a small prison-like room. The man was full of fear, and the torture had destroyed him beyond recognition.
"I don't know, I always say it as if I know, but—" Sen Lan begged someone, the pain was sharp and hoarse, "I... I drove by Luoyang Street once, and I saw him talking to someone, smiling very Happy, I thought to myself, I... don't like the way he smiles, no one should laugh like that in this poor place! I asked him, and the people below said his name is Xia Tian. I don't like this name, it's too ridiculous... I didn't either Something else to do, so just—”
Xia Tian suddenly turned off the video.
"He visited me every day in the cell...for a week," he said through gritted teeth, "with a half-smile, and kept saying that he wanted to make me miserable, that he wanted me to beg, that I had to cry. Sometimes he was He was drunk at a banquet and came here in a formal dress, as if torturing me meant a lot to him!"
He stared at the water, Bai Jingan pressed his hand on his wrist, Xia Tian was trembling all over.
"If it wasn't for his dad who wanted to transfer me back to the upper city and send me up, I wouldn't survive the seventh day. He kept laughing, he..." Xia Tian said, unable to utter a word for a while.
"Now he says," he said, "he just doesn't like the way I smile, and it happens to be fucking fine!"
Bai Jing'an unconsciously tightened his hand, feeling a little trembling.
He thought of the way Sen Lan talked about Xia Tian, even though he was scarred, his face was still crazy, delirious... with a lunatic-like stubbornness.
Judging from the sacrificial record, this person also left all the videos of tormenting Xia Tian, and took it out to enjoy... That's why the sacrificial person tried all the tricks.
Bai Jing'an checked and found that he didn't even skip the part of punishing the chips.
To be able to do this, you have to have a lot of power. It's not just something you can buy online, and someone has to do the surgery.
This sacrificial person must have watched all of Sen Lan's videos, not letting go of every frame, to imagine such an execution method, which is so detailed and intensified.
With unimaginable stubbornness, he decided that Sen Lan had to suffer this crime.
At this moment, he suddenly discovered that this video was only open to Xia Tian, that is to say, only the "God of War" could log in to watch it... Bai Jing'an felt terrified, and immediately went to check the privacy permission to make sure that no one was watching them.
No, it was just presented to Xia Tian. But the chill still lingers.
Although this is a "sacrificer", Bai Jing'an can feel something similar to Sen Lan in the concentration of torture and torture.
A kind of extreme emptiness, so terrible attachment.
Bai Jing'an cut out his vision, and they returned to the beautiful temple.
The place is empty and boundless, with the statue of the God of War standing on the water, with moss and low aquatic plants growing around its feet, and it looks full of life at first glance. But looking down, there are densely packed bones piled up at its feet, bottomless.
At this moment, countless believers are online, looking at the corpses under the water. In the virtual field of view, the sacrifices repeat the process of death and decay, like souls that offended the gods and fell into hell to be tortured.
No matter how many god-making marketing theories he heard, Bai Jing'an felt that these people were crazy.
Such a mass of fanaticism with nowhere to go.