“Tokyo?”
Lu Ce wasn’t really prepared for this kind of thing. The maps of major cities that Xie Antong had suggested—yeah, he hadn’t looked at them.
How the hell could anyone memorize all that in two days?!
But on the other hand, seeing that it was Tokyo made him feel it was at least a bit closer.
In the past couple of days, between what he heard from Xie Antong and regular news reports, Lu Ce had already gathered plenty of information.
Word was that once the Game descended into reality, the whole world really did become a complete mess. A hundred cities, backed by dozens of countries.
The United Nations turned into a chaotic marketplace within just two days. They couldn’t even agree on a halfway decent response plan.
Some of the more extreme regions—particularly those with strong religious faiths—initially exploded with fierce resistance, claiming the Game’s arrival was a blasphemy against their beliefs.
Many regional leaders slammed their desks, declaring this must be stopped, that the Game’s intrusion into reality had to be halted.
It was passionate and dumb, with zero feasibility.
Never mind what they were going to fight, or why—any unnecessary casualties or regional destruction would be pointless.
Even if they managed to kill high-ranking players from another country, that would only bring bigger problems.
In the end, two days was way too short. The consensus solution was to evacuate residents from those hundred areas as quickly as possible.
And for large, densely populated cities where full evacuation was impossible, an international agreement was put in place to restrict players:
—No player may harm real-world civilians or destroy public property without cause during this Game. Violators will face international legal consequences.
That rule was something Xie Antong told him. When Lu Ce heard it, he almost burst out laughing.
This world really was held together with duct tape.
Though a lot of the chaos was out of people’s control, it all showed one thing—most folks had no real way to handle unexpected change.
And Tokyo was clearly the kind of place where mass evacuation would be impossible due to population density.
So aside from moving out key government personnel, the rest were told, under the banner of freedom and democracy, to evacuate only if they wanted to.
If everyone tried to flee, it would jam up all nearby traffic—so the government, crying to the UN for help, downplayed the danger to its citizens.
Sure, just some players coming to play a game. What could go wrong?
...
【Game prep time has entered countdown. Please complete final preparations.】
【Original Sin Mask has been used. Would you like to activate a previously unlocked form: Greed, Gluttony, Wrath, or Lust?】
Almost by instinct, Lu Ce was about to say no, intending to roll with a random, not-yet-unlocked mask.
But last time with Lust... the experience had felt off. The mask’s nature clashed too much with his own personality, and its buffs weren’t all that useful.
And this time, the Game was being held in the real world for the first time ever—Lu Ce decided to show it a bit more respect.
He’d always tried to keep his real-life identity separate from his in-game persona, especially while he wasn’t strong enough to be invincible.
Since this was happening in the real world—a first-time format—he decided to play it safe and maximize his power. No unexpected messes.
“Yes. I’ll use a previously unlocked mask.”
This was the first time Lu Ce had made this kind of choice at this step.
Even the Game system seemed surprised. It paused for a beat, then displayed:
【Alright. Please select a mask.】
【Special Note: Previously used mask forms can now enter Overload Mode at any time.】
【Warning: It is advised not to enter Overload Mode lightly.】
“Greed!”
Lu Ce scanned the available masks and ultimately chose the first one that had ever accompanied him, and whose threat level he could control better.
Wrath and Gluttony, once overloaded in the real world, were outcomes he didn’t even want to imagine. As for Lust—he really didn’t feel like touching that one again.
As that familiar blue mask pressed against his face, a dizzy spell washed over him again—that same sensation he always felt before entering a Game.
...
Once the dizziness in his head had settled enough to bear, that solid sensation underfoot returned. Lu Ce slowly opened his eyes.
He seemed to be standing in a strange alleyway, surrounded by narrow walls—just wide enough for one person to pass.
Maybe this was some kind of national architecture—reflecting the local culture.
Lu Ce stood there, waiting for over a minute. No new game prompts appeared, and he couldn’t help feeling confused.
What was the game’s content? Just “Tokyo Battle Royale”?
Who was escaping? Who was killing? Why wasn’t anything being explained?
Also—was this really Tokyo? Where the hell had they dropped him?
After standing still for a bit, he got restless and stepped out of the alley.
After taking a couple of turns, the view suddenly opened up—he had walked right onto a city street.
Lu Ce blinked a few times. The city ahead looked strangely familiar. He reached out, wanting to touch something—but felt nothing.
It was real. The real world!
This wasn’t some alternate dimension—this was still Earth. That fact made Lu Ce feel an odd mix of unease and emotion.
Maybe it was because of his ties to his homeland, but this street didn’t feel all that “foreign” to him. It didn’t feel any different from walking around back home.
He seemed to be in some central plaza. On a mall’s giant digital screen, a breaking news alert played.
【——The Chosen’s Game has officially begun. Tokyo has been confirmed as the target arrival city. Citizens are advised to remain vigilant and avoid excessive interaction with suspicious individuals.】
This was a real alert on the streets of Tokyo—and Lu Ce, the player who had descended from a thousand miles away, was now watching it live!
Right then, a wave of absurdity washed over him. The surreal contrast almost made him laugh.
This disconnect was insane.
“Interesting... Heh. So what’s the actual game content...”
Beep beep!
Suddenly, a car horn blared. A vehicle—looked like a taxi—pulled up and a head popped out.
“Bro! Get in!”