"The program is about to begin its first segment in five minutes, where the eight contestants will introduce themselves. But before that, let’s have a commercial break."
The radio’s impassioned narration comes to an end, and the TV starts broadcasting a commercial—a three-headed mutated dog, with a can of soda covered in dewdrops in its mouth, running at breakneck speed, chased by a series of ferocious, savagely-styled post-apocalyptic pickup trucks. The advertisement is titled [Nuclear Cola, Awaken Your Taste Buds, Ignite Your Energy]
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All eight players show expressions that are a mix of pain and tightness.
To be honest, if it were just a pure deathmatch mission, where everyone just starts killing each other upon meeting, then that would be simple. Survival would depend on skill. But this [Wasteland Romance Matchmaking Variety Live Reality Show], isn’t that just too much of a trap?
The blond, blue-eyed Caucasian male claps his hands and releases some type of Skill. An invisible wave spreads through the room, and the sounds from the television become muffled and indistinct.
"According to the narrator, it’s commercial time. I’ve released a Silence Barrier, so they can’t hear our conversation outside. To prevent the program crew’s cameras from reading our lips, I’ll put on a mask."
The Caucasian male speaks while putting on his mask.
He is extremely handsome, and one could even describe him with the word ’beautiful’, "First off, let’s confirm one thing. As a biological male, the mission I received is named [Damn! I’m Surrounded by Beauties!]. I wonder what tasks the rest of you have..."
The Caucasian female slightly raises her eyebrow and says, "I got [Damn! I’m Surrounded by Hunks!]"
"I got the same." The African American female agrees. The other two ladies have the same.
Considering everyone present was attractive, it wasn’t wrong to say so.
Leonardo nods, "Understood. It seems the system has issued different mission names based on biological gender. In a typical deathmatch mission, there would usually be a setting that includes killing enemy players to earn a certain amount of Game Coins, Experience Points, or looting a Skill Equipment, but not this time.
Also, the goal provided by the system is to survive until the end of the game, rather than killing everyone else. This means we might be able to cooperate with each other at first, figure out the actual rules, and then consider other options.
To show sincerity, I’ll display my information first."
Having said that, he displays his ID.
[Bloody Diamond·Leonardo][Lv8]
"Additionally, I’m a member of the European Heavy Industry Guild. Here’s my ID," Leonardo says, showing his identification to the others.
Following his lead, the other players also display their IDs.
The handsome African American guy is [Universal Rival·Will][Lv7], claiming to be from Gen-Sys Biotech Company.
The attractive man of Indian descent is [Love Scripture·Irfan][Lv8], claiming to be from Prometheus Laboratory Company.
Li Cheng himself is [Life-Sacrificing Gambler·Ant][Lv6], a lone wolf player.
The fair-skinned beautiful Caucasian lady is [Catwoman·Annie][Lv6], claiming to be from the Witch Alliance.
The sexy and attractive African American lady is [Storm Born·Harley][Lv8], claiming to be from the FBI’s Special Incident Department.
The sweet-looking East Asian lady is [Everybody’s Focus·Hui Ying][Lv7], claiming to be from the Global Supernatural Alliance.
Finally, there’s Little Red Riding Hood, [Crouch-and-Cover·Little Red Riding Hood][Lv6], from Sun Island’s Abnormal Affairs Investigation Bureau.
Average player’s level here is Lv7, and considering they are almost all from major guilds with organizational help, their overall strength is definitely above the average.
"Wait a minute, Hui Ying?" The handsome man of Indian descent, Irfan, raises his hand and asks the East Asian lady, "Excuse me, are you that ICEY, Miss Jin Huixing?"
"Yes," Jin Huixing replies with a bitter smile, nodding. Her makeup is slightly different from her photos in the real world, but it’s still possible to recognize she’s the same person.
"My nephew is a big fan of yours. After we leave here, could you give him your autograph?" Irfan asks politely. As the highest level player in the room at Lv8, he appears confident and composed, even having the leisure to make small talk.
Jin Huixing nods, "Of course. If we can get out of here safely, not just one, but a hundred signed photos wouldn’t be a problem."
Leonardo interrupts their trivial conversation and speaks quickly, "Let’s save the autograph talk for later. The first step to honesty and trust has been achieved, let me analyze this mission.
Firstly, the mission target and mission brief are absolutely true and can be completely trusted; the accompanying narration, not necessarily.
It sounds like we are eight mice trapped in a room, forced to participate in a death game, with one person having to be eliminated each round, all the while needing to maintain show ratings, or face execution by the entire group.
But what if we think differently, and forcefully break out of here? In the game rules, it only says that the eliminated contestants will be exiled to the wasteland, not directly killed. With our strength, we might be able to survive in the wasteland for 72 hours, complete the mission, and escape with the task reward, an Emergency Escape Card."
The Emergency Escape Card is a special reward given out by the killing field, allowing players to forcibly exit from except for punishment-type script/regular/compulsory tasks, returning to the real world.
The Emergency Escape Card is bound to the individual, not transferable, and can only be dropped after death, making it extremely precious—a lifesaving tool for dire situations.
"That’s indeed one way, but is it really that simple?"
Annie from the Witch Alliance comments, "If individual players follow the game rules and get eliminated, that’s one thing, but if all eight contestants collectively ’escape’, wouldn’t the program crew behind this game intervene?
According to the brief, this is a new civilization reestablished on a radiation wasteland, with moral concepts and technological levels that are vastly different from the real world."