Just as Jason was about to survey his surroundings, he suddenly realized that the broad blade cleaver he had been holding in his hand was gone.
It was neither in his hand nor around him.
In the previous copy of the world, in order to fit his 'identity', the broad blade cleaver had left his side.
But it hadn't gone far.
It was just temporarily 'hidden'.
The prison cell in front of him was very simple, apart from the chains that bound him and the iron door opposite, there was nothing else—almost everything could be seen at a glance.
For Jason, the ice hockey mask on his face and the broad blade cleaver in his hand had already surpassed their own value, becoming an indispensable presence at Jason's side.
Not in the prison cell?
With that thought, Jason slowly stood up.
The thick chains made continuous noise as he moved.
Just as Jason was preparing to walk towards the iron door to investigate further, a sudden strange noise came from the ceiling.
In the midst of the mechanical turning sounds,
a square hole appeared in the ceiling, and a 10-inch television slowly descended in front of Jason.
The black screen lit up.
Snowflakes appeared on it.
About two seconds later, a pitch-black silhouette appeared within it.
Using the effect of light and shadow, the silhouette's features were completely submerged in darkness, with only a general outline of the figure visible and even that was blurred.
"Welcome our 'Brutalizer player', Jason."
Amid the sound of electric current passing through the speaker, a mechanical synthetic voice came out from the television.
Then, sounds of 'cheering' and 'applause' served as the backdrop,
along with one or two prolonged whistles.
It was as if from a 'sitcom'.
Jason's face, covered by the ice hockey mask, showed no emotion, as his eyes coldly watched the scene on the television.
The shadow raised its hand, pressing down.
"I can feel everyone's enthusiasm."
"I bet our player Jason feels it too."
Having said this, the shadow paused for a moment and then turned to gaze at Jason's actions.
"Now, there are 5 minutes left until the game starts."
"Player Jason, do you have anything you want to say to everyone?"
As the shadow's mechanically synthesized voice spoke, a countdown timer of 4:59 appeared at the top of the television screen.
Jason remained silent.
Without understanding more about the situation, Jason chose to keep silent.
Three seconds passed on the countdown.
The shadow spoke again.
"Tsk, tsk, it seems our player Jason is a bit nervous!"
As this was said, another round of 'laughter' played in the background.
This time the shadow didn't stop the sound.
After a full 4-5 seconds, the shadow continued to speak.
"Let me introduce the rules of the preliminary competition."
"We picked the map 'Gerhard the Madhouse'!"
"We've used that map no less than ten times, so we chose a new map!"
"Where's the cheering now?"
"Let it start quickly!"
As the shadow said this, raising a hand and pressing on the desk, immediately 'cheering' and 'applause' noises once again filled the air.
Jason watched this spectacle.
A thought rose from the bottom of his heart.
The other party is a lunatic!
At least, from the current performance, the other party seemed quite unhinged.
But was it genuine or an act?
Jason had yet to find out.
So he just quietly stood there, watching.
"Player Jason, do you want to know what the new map is?"
The other party purposefully paused before shaking their head.
"As one of the 'Brutalizers', you cannot know this information."
"These are the perks only available to 'Survivors'."
"After all, compared to you, they are so weak."
The shadow's voice was full of mockery, and even the mechanical synthetic sound couldn't hide it.
The opposing camp to the 'Brutalizers'?
Compared to the powerful 'Brutalizers', the 'Survivors' are weak but would receive help?
Jason silently gathered information without saying a word.
"Even though they are numerous, only by working together can they stand against you."
"In this new map, there are 100 of them, and there are 4 of you."
"Each of them represents 1 point."
"Each of you represents 20 points."
"Whoever reaches 20 points first will win this preliminary competition."
"Of course, if the 'Survivors' find that 'green little door', they can advance directly."
The shadow continued to introduce the rules.
However, upon hearing these rules, Jason frowned.
Whoever gets to 20 points first wins the preliminary competition?
Upon hearing that, the first thing that came to Jason's mind was—
This so-called 'game' didn't seem to prohibit infighting?
The shadow's discourse continued.
"The 'Survivors' have already left this 'base' three hours ago."
"They will set up traps."
"They will cooperate."
"Hunters and prey, the roles shift in an instant."
"So, I hope that as one of the 'Brutalizer' players, player Jason, you will be careful, as this is your first time participating in 'the game,' and as a newcomer, your past 'battle records' have attracted quite a lot of attention."
"I declare the most important thing—"