Chapter 221 - Storm

Chapter 221 - Storm

translator: xiin

editors: apricot & juurensha

“Camera 21, 36 move forward, prepare for the post-competition interviews. What are you standing in a daze for?! Quickly, quickly––”

Outside the seventh elimination match arena, the sound of the directors giving orders could be heard everywhere!

The on-site stage manager felt like they were waking up from a dream!

The only surviving trainee walked out of the flames. The mechanical armor over his body was almost completely destroyed, and the metal parts at his elbow flickered with sparks. The rose thorn bayonet was at Wu Jin’s back, and the short knife that Wei Shi had returned to him was at his waist.

The scabbed wounds all over his body were like badges of meritorious service, and the broken, blood red skirt fluttered as he strode forward. Small glowing embers from laser fuel drifted down from Wu Jin’s waist and gradually disappeared into the ruins.

Countless cameras flocked towards Wu Jin!

“Pay attention to capturing a snapshot. Don’t get right into his face, go for a wide shot!” The assistant director’s tone was gleeful, “We’ll start the pre-sale for the official photo album from this competition round tonight, and this photo of Little Witch will be released to the public to hype up the sales. Where’s Caesar and Wei Shi? Go and dig them out of their life-saving capsules and take a beautiful close-up of them all together!”

The little assistant beside him was anxious as they commanded the field AI, “Get Caesar out, he’s in the biggest life-saving capsule over there. Contestant Wei…”

“Where’s Contestant Wei? Who pushed Contestant Wei’s life-saving capsule away? What?! He jumped out on his own?!”

At the edge of the venue, the representative from their sponsor, Floating Entertainment, was currently chatting with the Crosson Show crew.

A Crosson Show stage manager who wore a checkered shirt and black framed glasses was admiring the Floating Group’s tech from the bottom of his heart, “So ‘Painted Skin’ made use of a biometric gel? The chip is near the temple, and the motherboard’s BIOS reads the contestants’ facial features, performing fit calculations to achieve the desired appearance… I see! What? It’s already been put into daily use?”

The little stage manager was both surprised and excited, “… Floating City science and technology has already restored many patients of radiation sickness to their original appearance under a public welfare publicity project… It will be put into commercial use on a large scale from the next quarter… That’s wonderful!”

The Floating City representative smiled and made a pitch, “Floating City has changed and is different from the past. Its biotechnology and tourism are both worth investing in. The board of directors has funded a lot of research into the genetic industry, and all of this is based on the results of our laboratories. Floating City’s laboratory is also known as the ‘new leading laboratory’ in the field of biology.”

The little stage manager gave a thumbs up, “The board of directors is far-sighted.”

The representative laughed loudly, “Not just that! Our chairman is here, too.”

The little stage manager looked closely. Hey! What chairman of the board? Wasn’t that the place where the contestants’ life-saving capsules were stacked up? At the moment, they didn’t have enough manpower to open up all the cabins…

Wei Shi was currently heading their way.

The little stage manager, “……” Wait a minute, who’d opened up the hatch for Contestant Wei? Hadn’t Contestant Wei been eliminated by the collapsing building? How come he didn’t look injured at all!

Beside him, this senior executive from the Floating Group bowed to Wei Shi and handed over a car key, “Chairman Wei, the car you wanted is in the back.”

The little stage manager: “……”

The little stage manager: “!!!”

The little stage manager was trembling and flustered as he called up the Crosson program producer, “Pro-pro-producer, Contestant W-W-Wei, Contestant Wei Shi, he, he…”

Hundreds of kilometers away.

Crosson Show’s broadcasting studio.

The Crosson program producer, who was busy preparing for the discount activities for the fan merchandise around the program, picked up the call on his communicator. His thoughts stalled for a moment.

––“What did you say?!!”

The seventh elimination match arena.

Another suspension car arrived, and Arjun quickly took over the communication responsibilities with the Crosson Show.

Their competition registration for the professional arena in the Azure competition zone was imminent, and the newly established Floating City Team had to report its qualifications within two weeks. The timing coincided with the eighth elimination match; the team procedures had to be completed first.

After Floating Group invested a lot of money into the Crosson Show, the level of efficiency had increased by several orders of magnitude.

A high level, long distance meeting between the two sides began.

Wei Shi and Arjun appeared on the terminal at the same time as the chairman and CEO respectively.

On the other side of the terminal, the Crosson Show program producer almost entered cardiac arrest.

&#k2026; I really admire you, Commoner Wei!

At the Crosson Show base, several of the directors were also scared senseless.

Floating City Group’s chairman.

Worth tens of billions of credits, yet he’d condescended to come onto the Crosson Show as a trainee. He’d been down-to-earth, diligent, and determined not to pay the program team to pave the way for him&#k2026;

Seeing that several of the younger ones were so scared their backbones were soft and their words weren’t clear, the program producer, who was older and more experienced, let out a sigh and slapped the table.

“Alright. Little Wei, why didn’t you tell us earlier? Your program producer’s heart isn’t very good. Little Wei’s affairs is our business. We’ll settle the procedures in the next two days.”

“Also, do a good job. Floating City Team… there’s no need to mention making your way out of the wild card competition zone.”

“Star League, top four. Do you dare or not!”

Wei Shi nodded neatly.

The program producer’s eyebrows filled with pleasure. At the end of the short meeting, he quickly ordered the logistics department, “Stock up a few of Contestant Wei… Chairman Wei’s official fan merchandise. When he makes it into the Star League, you can immediately do a re-release. Business opportunities, understood?!”

Inside the elimination match arena.

The crackling ruins of the studio were quickly extinguished by the environmental control, with the six outdoor air filtration and recycling machines creaking as they worked.

At this time, many of the contestants had been dug out from their life-saving capsules, and the camera logistics team members were so busy that they felt dizzy, “Who pulled Caesar out first? Whoever pulled him out should go and install a mute button on Caesar… ah, Little Witch, don’t move, let us take two more sets of photos!”

Beside Wu Jin, the Crosson Base doctor skillfully sprayed a genetic healing agent on Wu Jin and handed him a white towel, “Wrap yourself up. Wait five minutes to see how the wound heals.”

Wu Jin obediently wrapped himself up.

The cameraman: “……” Why did something feel wrong! Where was the domineering look that had been in his eyes just now?! After wrapping himself up in a towel, he was like a stuffed dumpling waiting to be eaten!

Wu Jin obediently kept himself wrapped in the towel, “Can I take off the dress now?”

Stage manager: “It seems that you can’t yet.”

Wu Jin’s eyes opened wide.

The stage manager was also confused, “I don’t know, it seems that the sponsor said that specifically. Why can’t you change now? Could it be that there’s some activities coming up…”

As he spoke, Ming Yao popped out from behind Wu Jin.

Ming Yao poked his head in, “Little Witch, you haven’t changed clothes yet? Ah, who gave you those white stockings? Can I feel your legs?”

“……” Wu Jin wrapped himself up tightly in the towel and pushed Ming Yao to the side, “No way! Stockings and such, if you want to play with them, then wear them yourself and play with yourself!”

“No way!” Ming Yao yelled exaggeratedly, “We’re all brothers, it’s just touching––hahahaha I touched it hehehehe hahaha––it’s so hard and solid, it’s no big deal!”

Inside the contestant rest area, Ming Yao managed to land a sneak attack before running off.

Wu Jin immediately threw the towel aside and ran after Ming Yao, “Stop!”

Ming Yao: “Hahahahahaha––Oh, holy shit!”

Wu Jin darted forward suddenly to catch Ming Yao, and the two of them immediately started a scuffle.

Zoe, who was passing by, only managed to distinguish Wu Jin in the mess after a long time. He sighed and said emotionally to Wen Lin, “These two people fought in the game and are now still fighting after the game. This energy, it’s like reviewing their knowledge after a final exam…”

By the time Little Witch and Little Ming finished fighting, the two of them were splayed out, soft and lazy on the lawn.

Wu Jin kicked Ming Yao, “How come you’re still carrying the gun and haven’t returned it to your captain?”

Ming Yao kicked back happily and put away the gun in his pocket, touching it again and again, “What do you know? The captain said that it was for me! Ah… the female ghost could be replaced by players. I really didn’t expect it! What a pity…”

Wu Jin comforted him, “It was really hard to find clues about it. There’s a slight color difference in the female ghost’s face. Only a beauty blogger like Brother Thin would be able to notice it. But you could’ve also won with the laser gun––”

Ming Yao continued in a whisper, “It’s a pity that I couldn’t see the captain wearing women’s clothing.”

Wu Jin: “……”

At the other side of the lawn, the healed King of Hearts came over to exchange communication numbers with the two of them.

The real King of Hearts under the mask was handsome and straightforward. At first glance, he didn’t seem like a survival show player, but rather like a shy big brother who lived next door. Wu Jin thought about it for a long time. Out of all of the masks that the King of Hearts wore, it turned out that Silver Armor had been the one who was the most like him.

He didn’t say much, but his spine was always straight, and his eyes held an extraordinary, dazzling pride.

By the time Wei Shi came back out, it was time for the Stardust Cup players to return to their base.

“Help me pass on some words, see you at the Star League. I might not be able to beat him this year, but maybe I can do it next year.” The King of Hearts waved to Little Witch and Little Ming and grinned, “You guys work hard, too.”

Before the Stardust Cup players left, the support player Jin Canshuo, who had won second place in the youth training competition, also came to say goodbye to Wu Jin.

Jin Canshuo was Yu Mo.

This player was very gentle outside the field, and he was also very likable––it was rumored that Caesar had been searching for him for a long time, but none of the Stardust Cup players told him where he was. Yu Mo purposely left a box of handmade biscuits for Caesar, and asked Wu Jin to help him pass it on, “It’s an apology.” The support player then smiled and casually introduced the ‘first’ Nicholas to Wu Jin.

‘Nicholas’ himself indeed turned out to be a happy slacker.

“Brother Wu!” This player was quite satisfied with his placement. In the Stardust Cup training camp, he was always the one padding the bottom, never resting in his quest to lay down and just coast along!

Wu Jin: “……”

Nicholas spoke in a reasonable tone, “Wild card teams are good for beating up! I’m not the only one, our entire team is living the life of keeping just enough points to stay in the Star League. After all, there’s nobody from the wild card division who can compete seriously.”

Wu Jin thought about it, “Not necessarily. Maybe there will be one this year.”

Nicholas laughed and took a photo with Wu Jin as a souvenir. He didn’t want to leave, “Brother Wu, fight hard! I’m waiting for this photo to be worth money!”

Wu Jin was amused, “Hurry and go, the gate is closing!”

The elimination match field was noisy and bustling as the crowd of gathered survival show trainees stirred up a ruckus.

The assistant director had finished checking over everyone’s placement, and a loudspeaker announced that it was time to disperse. By then, the sky was already showing signs of the encroaching sunset.

Zuo Botang picked up the Ming Yao who was lying on the grass.

Wu Jin lay there in a daze, but as soon as he opened his eyes, someone was sitting beside him with his knees bent.

Wu Jin grinned.

Wei Shi: “Get in the car.”

The suspension car came flying over from the distance, coming to a slow stop in front of the lawn. Wei Shi picked up the little rabbit that was still wrapped up in a towel and checked over the healed wounds one by one.

Wu Jin tossed aside the towel and pulled out the knife at his waist, handing it to Wei Shi.

He’d lived up to his trust.

Wei Shi accepted it, then bowed his head.

Their lips and teeth met.

There was a light dampness in the air, and in the last moment before the night rain began, Wei Shi kissed the little white rabbit who sat on his throne.

The car doors opened.

Big, bean-sized raindrops pelted down. Wu Jin darted into the suspension car. After the suspension car started up, he was still chattering non-stop, bouncing around full of energy.

“I was so handsome just now!”

“When I get a Federal driver’s license, it’ll be my turn to drive!”

“The King of Hearts…”

“The program producer said that they’ll add more dishes next week…”

“Can we change the music?!”

The summer rain was accompanied by thunder.

Wu Jin glanced at the navigation and was stunned, “Are we not going back to Floating City?”

Wei Shi pasted a piece of test paper on Wu Jin, “I have real estate nearby.”

Wu Jin, who’d been pasted with the test paper, was in awe. Just based on the housing prices on the blue planet, he didn’t know how many years of competitions he’d have to play in to afford a home!

The test paper was peeled off. It was a bright and lively violet.

There were endless fields outside the window, and the suspension car moved faster and faster, hovering low with its two passengers. Only now did Wu Jin realize that the real estate that the big boss had mentioned must be a manor…

Sure enough, it was a manor.

Wait, this wasn’t a manor, it was a private fortress! UAVs patrolled the top of the fort, and the armory storage depots were positioned at the most prominent parts of the fence to dissuade any potential intruders.

Wu Jin’s eyes brightened. Guns, small fortress cannons, laser UAVs! When the suspension car drove inside, Wu Jin turned around in his seat, looking left and right in a daze, only to freeze abruptly when he turned back.

The big boss who was sitting in the driver’s seat was looking at him with a gaze filled with an indescribable danger. His pupils were flooded with fire, and the black outside of the fire seemed bottomless.

Wei Shi reached out, and Wu Jin subconsciously leaned forward towards the driver’s seat.

The fingertips covered in gun calluses rubbed against the side of the neck where the youth had once been branded, while the other hand effortlessly undid Wu Jin’s safety belt.

The rain covered the ground and skies outside.

Wei Shi tilted his head, his heroic eyebrows coming close, his eyes focused as he looked at Wu Jin. He carded his rough fingertips into Wu Jin’s soft curls and pushed him towards him slowly, his actions filled with an irrefutable aggression and possessive desire.

Thunder roared outside the window.

The youth’s heart thumped violently. Wei Shi opened his mouth and spoke by his ear in a low voice, every word seeming to drill straight into his soul, “Wu Jin.”

It was like a prelude before flames burst forth.

The fuse ignited and exploded, boulders collapsed, and the torrential rain poured down like a flash flood as lips and tongues met fiercely. The entire manor was isolated by the rainstorm, and besides each other, there was nothing between heaven and earth but the roaring of the storm and water mist in the air.

Wei Shi opened the driver’s seat compartment that held the family planning supplies. Wu Jin was scared stiff, “Tw-twelve?”

Wei Shi’s voice was hoarse, “We don’t have to use them all.”

The sound of the rain filled their hearing the moment the door opened. Wu Jin was so nervous that his limbs were all a mess as Wei Shi picked him up from the co-pilot seat. Wei Shi’s black cloak neatly blocked out the slanting rain.

Inside the two-story manor house, the domestic robot was warmly welcoming the return of its owner. After Wei Shi brought Wu Jin into the house, he directly locked the small robot outside the door.

“Don’t be scared.” Wei Shi comforted.

Wu Jin was so nervous that his knuckles had turned white, and his small curls were so scared that they didn’t dare to bounce and move, “There’s nothing to be scared of…”

Wu Jin suddenly grasped Wei Shi’s hand.

Wei Shi’s gun-callused hand grasped his forcefully.

The rainstorm had dampened the terraces outside the window, and the torrent swept up the raging fire that could burn a person up completely. Wei Shi tilted his head and licked the color back onto Wu Jin’s pale lips, then licked the tears from his partner’s eyes.

Then, he bowed his head and kissed him gently.

Their souls and consciousness were clamoring to merge together. Wu Jin held onto Wei Shi, like holding onto the only piece of driftwood in a boundless sea, and then a numbing, crisp current gushed out, as though taking him from one abyss to another. Wu Jin was caught off guard and gasped, turning red from the corner of his eyes to his earlobes, to his shoulder blades and all down his back, “Wei Shi––”

The man’s eyes darkened.

In the next moment, the wind and tsunami struck.

His consciousness rose and fell violently in the void, his soul trembling uncontrollably.

The sky slowly turned a fish belly white.

At the end of Wu Jin’s last moment of consciousness, Wei Shi bowed his head and kissed the bullet hanging on his chest devoutly.

Juurensha: Hahahaha, Ming Yao always scuffling with Little Witch. And at last the test paper is purple!

xiin: Wei Shi finally got to eat rabbit…~