Chapter 203 - Drama Queen

Chapter 203 - Drama Queen

translator: xiin

editors: apricot & juurensha

The stage was dazzling.

The intense lights from the incandescent lamps reflected back and forth in the metal frame around the stage, and heat accumulated in the space.

Wu Jin slowly opened up his right hand in his pocket, and the subtle coating of moisture quickly evaporated into the air.

He raised his head, and his gaze was a little deep, but his breathing was as even as usual.

Wang Ping and Nicholas stood at the ground floor, looking exactly the same as they had in the morning and the day before, or even at the start of the game.

All the way until someone at the edge of the stage suddenly screamed, and a silver life-saving capsule tumbled down the stairs and fell––

“Brother Wang.” Nicholas opened his mouth and used the features that Wu Jin couldn’t possibly be more familiar with to make the same expression as Nicholas. He bowed his head and approached him deliberately, lowering his voice as though wanting to whisper into Wu Jin’s ears.

“Brother Wang, something’s happened.”

In front of the talent show cameras, the two people were ambiguously close together.

Wu Jin’s eyebrows went up, and the nerves of his body went on sharp alert, his muscles responding before his rational thought kicked in. His right hand lifted up in the blink of an eye, and some sort of expression seemed to flash across Nicholas’s eyes before disappearing in the next second––

Wu Jin reached out.

It wasn’t the usual stress response of professional survival show contestants.

He was expressionless as he pushed Nicholas’s shoulder away, “Back up, we’re not hyping up a CP.”

Nicholas’s eyebrows went up imperceptibly, then returned to normal, leaving no trace of strangeness, “Brother Wang, something really happened! Why did this someone suddenly become a life-saving capsule…”

The elevator door opened up again, and the contestants from the B1 mechanism floor came up with dignified expressions. Rap Class 2 gathered together on the stage again, and this time, only 13 people were left––

Serra, who’d only just gone upstairs, was nowhere to be seen now!

Beneath the steps, a silver life-saving capsule reflected the blazing stage lights and pricked their eyes with pain that matched the spreading coldness in their hearts.

Amidst a stretch of silence, the trainees all exploded into action.

Rap Class 2, survival count 13.

“When did Serra come up?”

”It’s impossible. There was nobody there when the life-saving capsule rolled over, so who pushed it over?! Unless the King of Hearts finished the assassination within 5 seconds and eliminated Serra––”

“It’s exactly the same as Silver Armor, an unexplained elimination method…”

In the crowd, Wang Shu seemed to suddenly think of something. He looked abruptly at the elevator, then turned to Wu Jin.

Wu Jin avoided his gaze.

Nicholas scratched his head, “Brother Wang, what do you think?”

Wu Jin said nothing.

Nicholas suddenly opened his mouth and spoke in a timid voice, exactly like a beautiful waste, but his words were intriguing, “Brother Wang, have you ever played a word adventure game?”

Wu Jin looked at him sidelong.

Nicholas explained it simply, “One wrong word, and the game is over. Brother Wang, I don’t mean anything else. Say, do you think the King of Hearts is spying on us secretly and listening to what we say in order to choose the next assassination target…”

The two of them stared straight at each other.

Wu Jin’s right hand was less than an inch away from the hilt of his knife. ‘Nicholas’ stood across from him.

‘Nicholas’ had also casually inserted his hand into his pocket, appearing unconcerned as he looked at Wu Jin. A few seconds ago, when he was leaning close to whisper into his ear, Wu Jin had clearly recognized the aura that chilled his bones––

He was the King of Hearts.

Wu Jin dropped his gaze slightly.

His mind was full of thoughts that rolled around like waves. The King of Hearts had dealt with Serra on the S1 mechanism floor, then put on Serra’s human skin and walked into the elevator before cleanly replacing Nicholas. He’d switched skins again, then came to stand in front of Wang Ping. Then––

He’d put forward an invitation to a game.

The first owner of &#k2018;Wang Ping’ and the second owner of &#k2018;Nicholas’.

Who would be the first to show the truth within?

Who would show their reserve cards first?

Who would feel out the other person first?

Who would attack first?

If ‘Wang Ping’ could distinguish the difference between each ‘Nicholas’, then this sentence was exactly like a provocation. On the contrary, if ‘Wang Ping’ couldn’t tell the difference, then he would confide in Nicholas and give him advice without any reservations.

‘Nicholas’ was still standing across from him. Even through the contours of the face of this No.2 ranked player, what he could see was the King of Hearts’s eyes, which were as cold as a snake’s.

K asked again, “Brother Wang, what do you think?”

Wu Jin looked up.

In that case, let the game begin.

“The elevator. The problem is with the elevator.”

In the distance, the confused trainees were still arguing over Serra’s life-saving capsule. Wu Jin spoke slowly and softly to one corner of the stage.

“The King of Hearts killed Serra before the life-saving capsule rolled down. If I’m not wrong, then the King of Hearts had at least five minutes to deal with Serra, not the five seconds that people are thinking.”

Nicholas immediately expressed his surprise, “Why?”

Wu Jin was unafraid of this drama queen and even showed Wang Ping’s habitual slightly stupid expression, “The time when the wrist watch vibrated.”

Nicholas immediately countered him, “The watch vibrated more than once, and competitors have been eliminated from each class. It’s impossible to figure out which vibration corresponds to Serra’s elimination. And, when the life-saving capsule slid out, everyone at the scene had an alibi.”

Wu Jin pointed to the elevator, “It wasn’t the King of Hearts who pushed the life-saving capsule out. It was the elevator.”

“It’s quite simple. First, the King of Hearts executed Serra, then stuck the life-saving capsule in the elevator door of the ground floor. Once someone pressed the elevator from the B1 floor––of course, this requires a player on B1 to press the button for a long time, causing the ground floor doors to close automatically––the life-saving capsule would lose its support and roll away from the elevator.”

“There are many obstacle rails on the stage. After the life-saving capsule rolled down along a rail, it fell down the steps. The competitors who take the elevator up from the B1 floor will also miss seeing the life-saving capsule.”

“At this time, the King of Hearts has already made up his alibi. The life-saving capsule, however, didn’t attract any attention until it rolled all the way to where everyone else was.”

Nicholas immediately praised him, “Amazing, Brother Wang!”

Wu Jin looked at this ‘Nicholas’.

His attacks were like floating clouds and flowing water, and each ‘murder’ was like a piece of art. After his own deeds were retold in Wang Ping’s words, the King of Hearts was intoxicated with the recreation of his own scene for the second time.

He had a dramatic personality; he was a murderous ringmaster. Wu Jin narrowed his eyes slightly. The other clues he had were completely contrary to the ‘King of Hearts’ in front of him.

The shy newcomer K, the ‘Silver Armor’ who’d said seriously that he wanted to defeat K.

It was impossible. It didn’t make sense. Could it be a special player whose personal style was completely different from his competition style––

Nicholas looked curiously at Wu Jin.

Wu Jin spoke again, “Did you see who walked past just now?”

Nicholas: “No, Brother Wang, wasn’t I standing together with them earlier? Or, do you mean that you know who the King of Hearts is?!”

Wu Jin nodded.

Nicholas’s eyes lit up.

Wu Jin: “It’s very simple. He’s not in Rap Class 2 at all.” Without waiting for Nicholas to open his mouth and speak again, Wu Jin quickly charged ahead, ranting on, “During the performance, I encountered K on the B1 mechanism floor. When players come out of the lift platforms, they’ll make a sound. If a player was able to set up an attack on the B1 floor, it meant that they were waiting in ambush even before the players arrived.”

Nicholas pretended to be shocked, “This…”

Wu Jin nodded, “In that case, all the clues can be put together. The King of Hearts was never in Rap Class 2. He was able to strangle Silver Armor in the locked room because he’d hidden himself in Silver Armor’s bedroom in advance. He set up an ambush on the B1 floor beneath the stage, which was another one of his plans. After the ambush failed, he switched to Serra, who’d just relaxed his vigilance.”

Wu Jin looked steadily at Nicholas, “So, the real King of Hearts is very easy to identify.”

“He’s a trainee who is good at ambushes, and his face is unknown to us.”

Nicholas looked at Wu Jin for a long time, then suddenly showed a happy smile.

Wu Jin could barely capture a tiny trace of regret in his smile. It was the regret that ‘Wang Ping’ hadn’t been able to figure out the truth.

This set of explanations were almost perfect, but it failed to cover the loopholes in Silver Armor’s elimination. However, if Wu Jin deliberately skipped out on the important clue of ‘changing skins’, then this was the only conclusion he could come to.

Nicholas stretched out his hands and clapped for Wu Jin, “Amazing, Brother Wang. That means that as long as we don’t see any strange trainees, we’ll be safe…”

Wu Jin breathed out lightly.

His gaze swept over Nicholas’s clapping hands.

That right hand that had originally been inserted into his pocket, ready to ‘execute’ Wang Ping at any time, had finally relaxed its guard and was now easily pulled out.

Half an hour later, the bus carried the remaining 13 students back to the dormitories.

Wu Jin behaved as usual, and even continued to ‘suck blood’ from Nicholas while in front of the cameras. Nicholas didn’t object to this and was just as adept at pretending to cooperate with Wu Jin.

The two of them sat in the last row and took over two live cameras, just like two skilled drama performers.

After that, the trainees left the car, dropping out like dumplings one after another.

There were still four people who needed to die to reach the King of Hearts’s target kill number. At this time, nobody dared to take him lightly. Wu Jin walked along the path and unexpectedly began to miss the first big fool Nicholas.

And the truth that Nicholas hadn’t had a chance to tell him––

“… Brother Wang, in this competition, in fact, I promised… Hey, it doesn’t affect the balance of the game… Brother Wang, about the King of Hearts…”

Wu Jin frowned slightly.

The truth that Nicholas knew, the questions about the King of Hearts, this ritualistic killing, the set ups, the psychological threats. If Nicholas hadn’t stressed that the balance of the game wouldn’t be affected, he would even have reason to suspect that Rap Class 2 was playing a fake game––

Not only was Rap Class 2 obviously demoralized, the average level of its members was also terrible compared to the Crosson Show. And, the majority of the players who’d been eliminated by the King of Hearts seemed to share a trait.

They had all praised the King of Hearts at the start of the game. Including Serra, including Nicholas…

Wu Jin paused suddenly.

The King of Hearts’ ‘execution’ had a purpose behind it.

Details that had almost been forgotten suddenly came bubbling up to the surface.

During the rehearsal, due to Silver Armor’s elimination, the rap lyrics for the second part had been distributed amongst the players in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th positions. All subsequent players had also been moved up. If the order hadn’t changed, then the platform on which Wu Jin should have been standing would have belonged to a trainee named Lu Keke, who was ranked No.96. He was also one of those who praised the King of Hearts mindlessly at the start of the game––

From beside him, Nicholas suddenly stopped walking and leaned close to Wu Jin.

This was the corridor where ‘Silver Armor’ had originally come to look for the two of them.

Nicholas’s expression seemed sincere, “Brother Wang, I’m scared.”

Wu Jin: “……”

He wanted to expressionlessly drive away the King of Hearts. You’re the King of Hearts and Silver Armor. What are you afraid of?!

However, he still had to show his tolerance for the beautiful waste of a drama queen. He led Nicholas through the corridor.

The thoughts that had originally been in his mind were interrupted, and it seemed that only one step was missing before it all connected––

Wu Jin paused abruptly.

The simplest way to know what kind of person the King of Hearts was to ask the person himself.

Wu Jin acted unintentional, “About the King of Hearts, how much do you know? I’m not just asking about this game.”

From behind him, Nicholas’s steps stopped.

Wu Jin couldn’t see his expression, but they then walked through the area monitored by the Crosson Show and arrived at a dead corner. Wu Jin then heard him say slowly, “He is a symbol, not a person.”

At night.

The trainees went back to bed one after another, and Wang Shu led his two little followers and strolled back.

Inside Silver Armor’s room, the life-saving capsule had already been cleared out by the program team. However, nobody dared to replace Silver Armor and live in the room. At 9 o’clock in the evening, their wrist watches vibrated crazily.

The four of them couldn’t sleep, but the whole room was silent.

The performance for the 100 to 60 elimination would take place tomorrow. If anyone wanted to make a move, they would do it tonight. It wasn’t just Rap Class 2, but every corner of the training camp––

Screams suddenly came from the bedroom beside theirs!

Everyone froze for a moment, and by the time they rushed outside, two life-saving capsules had already popped out. The other contestants rushed over, including some who were barefoot and the big fool Nicholas who was wearing his slippers backwards…

“Go back.” Wu Jin told his roommates.

The King of Hearts would have to work overtime in order to kill nine people that night. However, he had no obligation to accompany the King of Hearts during his overtime.

The four of them went back to the dormitory, closed the door, and looked at each other speechlessly.

Wu Jin started up the conversation in the dorm, “The King of Hearts is from the Star Emperor team? How’s the team’s performance?”

Other than Wang Shu, the other two players who were from the Stardust Cup took over the conversation. After all, the King of Hearts had already massacred everyone to this point, and was everyone’s enemy, “The Star Emperor team? It’s not so good.”

“Their performance began to decline the year before last. Last year, they dropped out of the top four. However, due to the presence of the ‘King of Hearts’, the investors didn’t withdraw their capital, and fans are waiting for K’s debut. If you ask me, he made a reservation for that debut position…”

From beside him, Wang Shu fell silent for a long time, then finally couldn’t bear it and said, “Isn’t he just tricking you into telling him things?”

The two roommates were stunned, “Isn’t Wang Ping with us?”, “Do you two know each other?”

Wu Jin smiled quickly and tried to smooth out the situation, “No, no, we’re just friends at first sight!”

Wang Shu: “……”

The atmosphere in the dormitory was lively for a while as the two roommates expressed their surprise one after another, then allied together. Wang Shu’s face was expressionless, and he wanted to stay as far away from Wu Jin as possible, but Wu Jin was very shameless. In order to express his deep friendship with Wang Shu, he even dragged his quilt onto Wang Shu’s single bed.

Wang Shu’s hair was about to explode from the gayness, “Go away, go away…”

The two roommates laughed loudly as Wu Jin pounced and pushed him onto the bed.

Wang Shu suddenly froze.

Wu Jin spoke into his ear, at a volume that only the two of them could hear.

The words hit his earlobe with a chilling breath.

“I know who the King of Hearts is. What do you say, do you want to be killed by him, or do you want to fight back?”

“If we form an alliance, I’ll deal with the King of Hearts. You keep an eye on Leica.”

“Let’s cooperate, Raphael.”

He was shocked.

A long time later, Wang Shu had a complex expression on his face as he said, “You know who K is? You can deal with him?”

Wu Jin nodded.

He looked at his wrist watch.

There, in Wang Ping’s script.

There was a photo of him with Nicholas that nobody knew about.

Juurensha: The mysterious King of Hearts…

xiin: i kinda feel bad for Raphael lol