1.
The two police officers on the opposite side looked serious, and the leader continued: "I hope you can understand our recklessness. This is a big matter. It shouldn't take so long to remain an unsolved case. We have spent a lot of manpower and material resources, Your Excellency—"
He said meaningfully: "We didn't find you out of thin air."
"I'm with Xiaobai." Xia Tian said quickly, then turned around and called, "Xiaobai!"
Immediately, a group of people helped him find Bai Jingan, and twenty seconds later, they dragged Bai Jingan who was getting a drink to him.
"What's the matter?" Bai Jing'an said, sharing the drink in his hand with Xia Tian.
"They asked me for my alibi for the first day of the second round of celebration banquet!" Xia Tian said.
"It's not as serious as an alibi. I just want to know where the two are." Another policeman said kindly, "Mr. Xia said he has been with you—"
"Yes." Bai Jing'an said.
"But according to the video we retrieved," said the first policeman, "the two men went about their business at six o'clock and didn't say a word. Mr. Xia came from the camera around twelve o'clock Disappeared, and half an hour later, you also disappeared. It was not until three o'clock in the morning that we returned to the banquet together."
"Is there any problem?" Bai Jing'an said.
"The banquet just started, Mr. Bai Jing'an, most of the cameras are intact. You were not at the banquet at that time."
"There are not cameras everywhere in the venue."
The two policemen got together and discussed in a low voice. From the small window they opened, it could be seen that Xia Tian and Bai Jing'an's positions in the camera were all marked, and they generally wouldn't bother.
At this moment, the leader turned to look at them, and said sharply, "You mean, were you in bed at the time?"
Bai Jing'an looked at them expressionlessly, Xia Tian visually judged that he was choked, but the naked eye couldn't see it at all. Then Bai Jingan showed a smile to those two people.
"We all know, officer, Xia Tian and I don't need to answer any of your questions." He said.
He turned around, pulled Xia Tian to go out, and a group of people quickly gave way.
The two followed behind, and one of them shouted: "We have evidence, you two, I hope you can cooperate a little bit, we know that the hands of the killing show players are not clean, but that guy can't just kill if he says he can kill!" people-"
"Sorry, do you have special investigation permission?" Haida said behind. She came in a hurry, obviously just got the news.
Bai Jing'an pulled Xia Tian away without looking back, and heard the police behind him say: "Do you need a special permit? We have a regular investigation permit..."
"What year is this antique, don't play dumb—"
They didn't hear what was said later. At the final banquet, arrests and investigations were very common. It was always left to the image planners or assistants to negotiate, and in the end it was nothing more than another contract matter.
At least the little things like getting into a fight, killing a drunk or something like that.
Bai Jing'an dragged Xia Tian away from the crowd, found an empty room, and dragged him in.
"They checked in great detail and said they have evidence." Xia Tian said, "They must know something."
"Don't worry about it, the scene is very clean, and they won't be able to convict them even if they know it," Bai Jing'an said.
He stretched out his hand to adjust the real-time video of the banquet, and the two policemen obviously failed to please Haida, and had already left. But when they got to the door, several reporters stopped them and threw out a lot of questions. The two were a little flattered and answered seriously, Bai Jingan observed their mouth shapes.
"Is there any task force or something?" Xia Tian leaned over and asked.
"It's more likely that they were talking to reporters about the issue of us going to bed." Bai Jing'an said.
"I'm definitely up there."
Bai Jing'an sighed, wanted to say something, but closed his mouth again.
He finally said: "Let's look at the product parameters."
Haida found the two of them on a group of sofas in the corner of the banquet room. The two hauled a bunch of food and a few bottles of wine over, eating in silence, passing the bottles without speaking.
She had their position, so she pushed the door open and walked in.
Xia Tian glanced at her, and Haitian silently sat down opposite, staring at the corner of the table. According to the contract, she has always been a woman with exquisite makeup, but now she is like the messy remnant of a banquet, depressed, embarrassed, and exhausted, and even heavy makeup cannot hide it.
It's not about the police. It was a nuisance, but to them it was the smallest problem.
The two Killing Show contestants didn't speak, waiting for her to speak. She picked up a bottle of the strongest wine, poured a full glass, and downed it in one gulp.
"I'm sorry, it happens sometimes," she said.
She took out a card from her handbag, the size of a palm, and it was pitch black.
Haitian put it on the table, and Xia Tian leaned over to look at it.
This thing has a clear visual depth effect, and at first glance it looks like a hole in the smooth table top. Strands of blood dripped down and accumulated in the middle of the "box", as if there was a bigger, bottomless pool of blood deeper down.
There was a faint scream coming from the card-shaped box, which was extremely realistic, as if it really came from a very deep place. I don't know if it's a deliberate audio effect, or someone really screamed like this, but it's very high-tech anyway.
"This is... an invitation card for the guest show. I'm sorry." Haida said.
Xia Tian reached out to pick up the card.
The invitation card was very thin, and the pool of blood trembled with the movements of the fingers, like a deep well that could be opened in the normal world at any time and drag people into it.
He turned around and saw that it was all black, and he couldn't see anything. He said, "Where did the sound come from?"
"Really? Is that what you care about now?" Haida said.
"I just want to know..." Xia Tian said, folded and kneaded it again. Once laid flat, it went back to being flat again. He wanted to say something more, but seeing Haitian's expression, he said, "Forget it."
"From now on, you are already in the guest show, and all reactions will be recorded." Haida said, making a gesture to indicate that the camera has followed.
"'Guests' are... voted on by those in the VIP seats, sometimes the whole squad, sometimes just one person, just based on their interests." She continued, "The guest show has a long history, and they will tailor it Although the program will be too cruel and novelty-seeking, the people who watch it are all real dignitaries, so... the best team of Fujin TV was used for planning and on-site.
"It's purely... something to satisfy selfish desires. If the killing show also considers ratings and basic morality, the guest show is just for fun. The rich and powerful in the upper city... have their own hobbies."
She paused for a moment to organize her sentences.
"There is no basic conscience there. Those people cover the sky with one hand and use everything for fun." Haida said, "They are the upper city, and you... are all their property, don't bother with the cameras, you have no authority, if they want to see looking at you..."
She stopped again. Xia Tian suddenly remembered the brutal torture he had seen in that dungeon during the third round. Even in the killing show, it was still a bloody deep well, vaguely revealing the terrifying and distorted group behind the scenes.
Now, they too are part of the fall.
"I don't know what's going to happen next," Haida said. "There's no room for a guest show. Something will happen in your life, it'll get worse, it's like... a part of life."
She laughed, her voice cold and gloomy.
"This one is the bloodiest, scariest, most expensive, freakiest show in Uptown," she said, "and that's what it is...."
She looks at them.
"Don't go to Wesie and Eric, don't get them involved, anyone involved in this matter is worthless," she said.
"Where is my sister?" Xia Tian said.
"She..." Huida paused, cleared his throat, and said the rest of the words, "She is not on the list, but will be in the show. Those people probably don't want to make things too..."
She didn't go on with the rest, just kept silent for a while, she said: "I will take care of her, but you need to know..."
"I know." Xia Tian said.
Haitian pulled a smile at them, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything, and Xia Tian couldn't think of anything to say.
She stood up, Xia Tian thought she would turn around and leave, but she suddenly laughed nervously.
"I know they're going to find you sooner or later, those people just can't see anything good alive!" she said, "I... I used to lead a team, four of them... none of them came out alive, many years ago, When I think about it, I always feel…”
She stood tense, trying to keep from crying.
"But I sometimes think, this...is normal, this place just isn't suitable for living," she said, clasping her hands together.
On her pale wrist, the black hydrolyzed mark of the hospital was clearly visible, like a mildew spot.
She quickly pulled down her sleeves to block the mark, and said dryly: "Overdose, I just... I came here before I had time to take a shower, I was a little..."
She didn't finish speaking, and the language was broken into dross, unable to organize.
Xia Tian didn't say anything, this place is a hell, no one can comfort anyone.
She smiled at them both, turned and left.
Xia Tian looked at Bai Jing'an, the man put the card back, it was lying on the elegant table like a dark bloody opening towards the depths of the world.
Xia Tian said: "So, we are waiting here?"
"Wait." Bai Jing'an said.
Xia Tian took another sip of wine and handed the bottle to Bai Jingan, neither of them bothered to use the cup.
He felt that he should be afraid, but he felt calm, probably because he drank a lot.
After a while, the person next to him passed the bottle back. They continued to sit and drink in silence, occasionally catching up with each other, waiting for the arrival of bad luck.
When someone is around, hell seems to be able to break through.
2.
Everything worked fine after that.
Both Xia Tian and Bai Jingan had a lot of work on their schedule. They accepted several interviews and took two sets of promotional photos.
The assistant in the middle sent over a script, which was scheduled to start filming next month. It was about what happened in the lower city in Xia Tian, but they found various reasons to get involved with Bai Lin. They are really obsessed with the N area incident.
Haida walked up and down as usual, his makeup was always glamorous and ready to be repaired at any time. She ignored the hospital badge on her wrist, many people had it, and no one cared.
The studio was as bright as day, and everyone was very busy. The photographer praised Xia Tian as a star material.
"I'll just say, there's some good ones in the trash down there," he said, grinning at one of his assistants, "Tune it up, put it under the light, it's fucking blinding! Look at the way it's looking—"
They obviously didn't think it was a big deal, and Xia Tian was used to it. He looked down at his phone to check the information related to the guest show.
The information on the Internet is creepy. Although there is no clear evidence about the existence of the show, various details point to its existence-such as the disappearance of popular players almost every year, and sometimes even entire teams. These people are not kittens and puppies, if they say nothing, they will be gone.
The guest show is like a black hole, from which only a few rumors flow out, or vague images that make people's scalp tingle. This kind of show begins slowly, like a shadow that seeps into ordinary life, and the whole world is the stage.
The road under your feet was smooth and clean one moment, but the next second you stepped on the ground, and you were swallowed by the darkness, never to be seen again.
Eric came over quietly, dragged him to a corner, and said, "What happened?"
Xia Tian said without raising his head: "It depends on how you define 'accident'."
Eric stared at him.
Xia Tian sighed, sometimes I have to admire the intuition of the Killing Show contestants.
"Well, something," he said, grinning at him, "but that's the way this place is, and I can take care of myself."
Eric raised his eyebrows, obviously not having any confidence in him. Xia Tian tried his best to smile confidently at him.
"There's Xiaobai too." He said.
"Come on," Eric said, "you two can take Uptown down together."
"We'll be more polite."
Eric still looked at him, Xia Tian sighed.
"We're in trouble, and your situation won't get any better, Eric," he said, "Take care of Wei Xi, we don't want to participate in the newcomer draw in the next round."
Eric was silent for a while, and finally said nothing. He just patted him on the shoulder, as if entrusting him with a life-and-death mission on the battlefield.
There is never a truce period for Killing Show players, they are in a huge arena, fighting battles just for the game.
And there is no end to entertainment.
New summer villa located on the mountainside in the Stratus district.
He looked up and saw that the lights of the mansion were as bright as day, shining brightly in the dark mountain, like a temple. This place is the residential area of the main city's top stars and Killing Show contestants. The price of the lot is so high that the turnover rate of homeowners is extremely high.
They walked in the camera and found that everything here is brand new like a model house. The company swept away all the personal belongings that were left in Bai Jingan's house before Xia Tian, saying that they would auction them off or put them in the memorial hall. Xia Tian tried not to think about what fate they suffered.
The program team rushed in, and after introducing every inch of the floor of the house, they finally left temporarily, allowing them to calm down for a while.
As soon as they left, Bai Jingan went to clean the cameras in the house.
Although they know that the camera cannot be completely cleaned, they do not have permission to clean it during the guest show. But at least it can clean up the ones that the TV stations and private people stuffed in.
Didi was silent all the way.
It was already past her bed time, she was so sleepy that she couldn't open her eyes, but she still followed Xia Tian, refusing to go to sleep. He had no choice but to take her back to the room himself.
The room is also brand new, with cold moonlight shining in, like a stage with no lights on.
Didi walked to the door, lowered his head, and held Xia Tian's cuff tightly.
He knelt down to look at her, she gritted her teeth, her face was full of tears.
"They'll kill you," she said.
Xia Tian couldn't speak for a while, she was holding on to his sleeve tightly, crying out of breath at some point. "It's not like downtown, you have no place to hide..." she said.
"They asked me...you're dead, what should I do...I said you won't, won't die, they smiled at me, I know that look..."
"I will persevere." Xia Tian said.
"You can't hold on at all!"
She burst into tears, the desperate wail of a child. She hadn't cried this much in a long time.
Xia Tian touched her hair, not knowing what to say.
She was wearing the sponsor's expensive Yunyou series pajamas, which were large and soft, and the white fabric was printed with a bird with a gold chain, making her so small and fragile. He didn't know what she'd been through the week he'd been away—surely more than just showing her the game. He thought to himself, how could she survive in this hellish place
After checking the camera, Bai Jing'an watched the scene from afar without saying a word.
Then the man came over and knelt down in front of Didi.
"I'll take care of him," he said, "and if it messes up, he... won't be alone."
Still crying, Dee Dee nodded after a while.
Only at this age, I already know what despair is, and I have no choice.
After a day of tossing and exhausting, Xia Tian and Bai Jing'an went to bed after tidying up. At this time, they need enough energy.
At three o'clock in the morning, Xia Tian suddenly opened his eyes, and he heard the sound of text messages.
It was a gloomy electronic sound coming from his mobile phone. The moment he heard it, he realized that those people had remotely changed the ringer of his mobile phone.
Xia Tian opened it to look, and it showed that it belonged to Fan Ning—the bald head from the K district that he met in the last round.
After the fourth round, those people portrayed Fan Ning as his accomplice and an important figure in the resistance planning group, and Xia Tian had a few words with him at the banquet today.
The text message wrote the number of a room in the hotel, asking him and Bai Jing'an to go there immediately.
Xia Tian got up from the bed in a daze, and Bai Jing'an also woke up, saying: "What's wrong?"
"Fan Ning's text message is not quite right." Xia Tian said.
Bai Jing'an leaned over to take a look - since the two of them are on the field, it's better not to separate if it's okay. Anyway, the bed is huge.
The man scratched his hair, messed up from sleep. He looked at his terminal and said, "They didn't notify me, but it said we should go together."
"The person who sent the message knows that we are together." Xia Tian said.
Bai Jingan jumped out of bed, brushed his hair, and put on his clothes. Xia Tian thought of the indifferent tactical planning when he first entered the killing show, as if standing outside the world, distant and alienated. But at this moment, he looked so real, with a sleepy face, but ready to fight at any time, he was an ordinary young man.
His hair curled up again, and Xia Tian controlled the urge to reach out and smooth it out. They were in the guest show, and he didn't want to make any private moves in front of the camera.
Xia Tian picked up the clothes next to him and put them on, looked at the cotton candy and the God of War scepter—they forbade him to call the latter "chocolate"—the main screen display was disabled, and only the cold weapon function was turned on, which is not surprising at all.
He didn't care anymore, he took the gun from the table and stuffed it into his pocket, there was never a shortage of weapons in Uptown.
He tied up his hair, and the appearance of the two of them was not very good, just like in reality, they got up from the bed in the middle of the night, dazed and disheveled. This job never picks the time.
Xia Tian sent a text message to Haitian, asking her to take care of Didi, she replied "OK" in seconds, as if she had never slept.
Then he left the house with Bai Jingan and went to the room at the address.
The address is at Tiancheng Hotel.
When Xia Tian and Bai Jingan arrived, the place was brightly lit, and the banquet reached a new climax. The air was full of the smell of wine, snacks and hallucinogenic drugs. There were trampled food and spilled wine on the ground. got together.
As soon as Xia Tian entered the banquet hall, a reporter stared at him. That guy was too drunk, and his eyes were shining. Xia Tian was startled, and directly took the gun to his head.
The man finally stopped jumping on him, but he didn't seem to be much calmer.
"I know, I've always known," the reporter cried at him, "you're not going to die! You're different—it must mean something!"
Xia Tian pushed him aside, turned and went upstairs.
When he was on the second floor, he turned his head to look at him, but the man didn't follow him again, but just looked up at him. The lights danced on his face, and his face was so full of enthusiasm and longing that he didn't know what to do.
Xia Tian didn't know the meaning of what he wanted, only knew that this person was crazy to want that thing.
He ignored him, went upstairs, and quickly found the door at the address.
The light in the half-closed door was dim.
Before they even entered, they heard a song from the Apocalypse Band playing inside, and a male voice repeatedly sang "The ants are screaming, but the destruction is coming."
Xia Tian walked in and saw the corpse at a glance.
Fan Ning was wearing a metallic gray coat. In the interview he was wearing just now, a group of reporters surrounded him to take pictures, saying how optimistic they were about him, and his assistant followed behind to talk about the next activities.
Now that he was dead, those people had specially posed him, facing the gate, so that they could see him when they entered.
They nailed Fanning to a mural with a burning effect on the wall. The light of the flames shone from behind him, and the room was red. His entire figure was burning, and his body was a shadow like black charcoal.
His mouth was open and someone had stuffed something in it, bloody. Xia Tian walked over, stretched out his hand, and took out the contents as gently as possible.
That was Fanning's heart.
The mouth is empty and the tongue has been removed.
Xia Tian stared at the corpse.
He was pretty sure Fanning had had a fight before he died, and he would be the type to fight till the end. He was also pretty sure he was alive when they cut out his tongue.
Fan Ning's mobile phone was placed on the table, stopped at the interface for sending messages, and there was a cartoon smiling face on the picture, grinning to the ears, looking extremely happy.
Below it read: Hi!