Eavesdropping

“As long as you’re willing to part with enough money, you can get anything—the filthy, the bloody, the cruel. It’s all there.”

At this point, Lucas hurriedly defended himself. “I was only forced to participate. I’m actually a good person. None of this was my idea; it was the people higher up who did the evil. I’m just a tool.”

Yue Shi raised a hand, cutting off his nonsense.

“That helmet... the one that lets you upload your consciousness?”

Lucas was stunned for a moment, not understanding why Yue Shi was focusing on that.

He spoke truthfully. “Yes. Once you put the helmet on, your consciousness enters a virtual space. Your body stays where it is, but it feels like you’ve actually traveled to another place.”

Yue Shi’s eyes flickered slightly.

“An immersive VR experience? Is the virtual reality technology on this island already that advanced?”

Lucas’s eyes darted around. He had expected this long-haired man to be interested in the killing game itself, asking about the rules or the body count.

Those were the most common questions from people hearing about this for the first time.

But this man was asking about the technology.

“Avenia’s technological level has always been very high,” Lucas answered cautiously.

“Virtual reality technology matured long ago, but that helmet isn’t just ordinary VR. It can project the user’s consciousness into another space. I don’t quite understand the specific principles, but it definitely works.”

Yue Shi said nothing.

Lucas watched him, wondering what he was thinking.

After a few seconds of silence, Lucas continued, trying to trade more information for his safety.

He lowered his voice. “During the game, you can gamble.”

“There are many participants in the whole game. They are gathered in the same location, though the arena for each game is different.”

“All participants are required to kill within a limited time, attacking each other or performing special clear missions. Only a few can survive to the end.”

“The distinguished guests in the spectator stands can place bets based on the participants' performances.”

Yue Shi’s eyes lit up.

Lucas continued, “Besides gambling, the Killing Arena has other game options, but you have to pay a fee to play.”

“What options?” Yue Shi asked.

Lucas shook his head. “I’ve never played them. They’re too expensive.”

“I’ve heard people say that invited guests can participate in the killing game personally through some method, becoming one of the contestants. But they are definitely cheat players.”

“During the game, you can do whatever you want. You don’t have to bear any consequences. There are no constraints of morality, law, humanity, or rules. You don’t have to take any responsibility.”

As he spoke, he carefully observed the long-haired man’s reaction.

Yue Shi stood there, showing no signs of anger or condemnation. Instead, his eyes were bright, as if he were admiring a peerless treasure.

Lucas understood instantly: the long-haired man before him was definitely not a good person.

“Truly, it’s quite evil,” Yue Shi sighed softly.

No wonder there was such a massive amount of evil on this island.

...

Somewhere beneath the surface of the sea surrounding Avenia, there was a submarine.

The seawater blocked out the sunlight, leaving only the submarine’s own lights to illuminate a limited area around it.

It was a small-to-medium submarine, suspended silently beneath the waves. Its hull was coated in radar-absorbent material, making it invisible to radar.

Inside the submarine, a group of people sat around eavesdropping equipment.

The voices coming from the device were crystal clear.

It was the conversation between Yue Shi and Lucas!

“As long as you’re willing to part with enough money... you can do whatever you want.”

“Quite evil...”

Hearing this, the surroundings fell into silence.

The low hum of the submarine’s operation droned in the background. Several people in matching uniforms sat at their stations, the expressions on their faces quite grim.

The leader sitting in the very center was... a child?

His frame was clearly that of a boy not even ten years old. He was short and youthful, and although he wore the same uniform as everyone else, he sat in the seat of power.

If one looked closely at his eyes, one would find no trace of childhood innocence, only the calm sharpness of someone who had seen it all.

When he spoke, it was with the aged voice of an old man, tinged with mockery.

“I didn’t expect Avenia to hide such filth beneath its glamorous surface.”

“To actually turn slaughter into a competitive game!”

“Those bastards! Using human lives as stakes and bloodshed as entertainment—are they even human?” A young man beside him slapped his leg, gritting his teeth in rage.

The others didn’t speak, but the expressions on their faces were silent echoes of his sentiment.

Over the eavesdropping equipment, Lucas’s voice continued, though it had devolved into insignificant justifications and pleas for mercy.

The child-like leader waved his hand, signaling the person beside him to turn down the volume.

“Alright, anger won’t solve the problem. We need to figure out who exactly is the mastermind behind this.”

He turned his head toward a young man sitting on the other side.

“Detailed information on Avenia.”

The young man immediately responded, his fingers tapping a few times on the keyboard in front of him. A pre-prepared data file was projected onto the wall.

On the screen, the full view of Avenia slowly unfolded.

“This is information collected by our stronghold in Avenia. While it’s not particularly deep, it’s enough to sketch the general outline of the island,” the young man began to explain.

The first page of the data was an aerial view of Avenia. Towering buildings, holographic screens, streets, and ports were all clearly visible.

“Avenia, known as the Island of the Future. Its technological level far exceeds any surrounding island, and it leads in areas such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence.”

The second page contained several data charts.

“But what’s most puzzling is that these technologies don’t seem to have developed gradually.”

“According to our investigation, about ten years ago, Avenia was just an ordinary medium-sized island with a technological level similar to its neighbors. But starting from a certain day, the island’s technology began to grow at an explosive rate.”

Someone frowned. “It appeared overnight?”

“It seems that way,” the young man nodded.

“Of course, Avenia claims that years of accumulated research led to a breakthrough, but anyone with a bit of expertise knows that’s unreasonable. With Avenia’s resources, they couldn’t possibly support such technological research.”

“Yet many of their current technologies, especially in virtual reality, are more than a generation ahead of the outside world.”

The third page was information about Avenia’s industries.

“The entertainment industry is the backbone of Avenia. This includes holographic film and television, immersive games, and so on.”

“These things bring massive profits to the island. Every year, a large number of tourists from various islands come here to spend money, and the Inter-Island Cultural Exchange Festival is the most important event of all.”

“But the strange thing is that the investors behind these industries can never be clearly identified. On the surface, they are local companies, but after penetrating through the layers, there are always blanks.”

The child leader thought for a moment and narrowed his eyes. “The Deep Blue Route?”

The young man nodded. “Highly likely.”

“As the largest cross-border trade group on the sea, the Deep Blue Route appears to do legitimate business. But our intelligence shows that they are involved in many grey areas behind the scenes.”

“If Avenia has their support, then many things make sense.”

A female member beside him spoke up at this point. “Perhaps it’s more than just support. Given the Deep Blue Route’s style, they are likely the actual executors and final beneficiaries of this killing game.”

Her gaze swept the room. “Think about it—slaughter without any rules or responsibility, where one can release their most primal desires. Who would be the audience for such a ‘game’?”

“The Alliance has always suspected that many black industries on the sea are related to the Deep Blue Route, which is why we’ve never given up investigating this trade group.”

“Avenia’s original government has likely been hollowed out, turning into an entertainment venue for the Deep Blue Route. The Deep Blue Route provides the venue, the participants, and the security, attracting the powerful and wealthy from all sides, and then reaps the massive profits.”

The room was silent for a few seconds.

Someone muttered a curse under their breath.

The child leader’s face was grim as he stared at the pictures of the glamorous buildings on the screen.

“The island’s virtual reality technology is so far ahead of everyone else, yet they use it for this. Treating human lives like a joke...”

His voice grew lower and lower until it finally faded into silence.

But everyone understood what he meant.

This technology could have been used for so many beneficial things to help the whole world.

But it was being used here.

The young man continued to flip through the data.

The fourth page was about Avenia’s social conditions.

“On the surface, Avenia’s residents have a very high standard of living. There is no unemployment, no vagrants, and everyone looks well-off.”

“But deep investigation reveals that this glamour is built on high pressure. Ordinary people work more than twelve hours a day and eat a cheap nutritional supplement. Real food is outrageously expensive.”

“The entertainment industry is developed, but those facilities are for tourists and the upper class. The bottom-tier citizens have neither the time nor the money to enjoy them.”

“Furthermore, the island’s residents are strangely obsessed with ‘decency.’ A large portion of their wages is spent on maintaining an appearance of decency, which seems to be a rigid demand. Even if they are heavily in debt, they must maintain this facade.”

The fifth page contained details about the virtual reality technology.

The young man said, “We haven’t figured out the technology itself yet. But what is certain is that Avenia’s virtual reality technology is already capable of consciousness upload.”

“By wearing a specific helmet device, a person’s consciousness can be projected into a virtual space while their body remains behind.”

“Theoretically, this technology could be used for many things—remote work, virtual socializing, medical rehabilitation—but they chose to use it for a killing game.”

As he reached this point, his voice carried a hint of unavoidable disgust.

“The participants are powerful individuals from across the sea who become contestants for unknown reasons, slaughtering each other in the game. Meanwhile, the audience sits in the safety of the spectator stands, watching them like beasts in a pit.”

“They can even enter the field personally to experience the thrill of killing firsthand without taking any responsibility.”

The presentation ended.

The room fell into silence.

The hum of the submarine’s operation echoed slowly around them.

After a long while, the female member spoke again. “Based on the intelligence leads we currently have, we have two options for our next step in the investigation.”

Everyone’s eyes turned toward her.

The woman spoke at a steady pace, clearly having organized her thoughts while listening to the report.

“First, we can find a way to disguise ourselves as invited guests to attend the competition and gather information from the perspective of a spectator.”

“Second, find a way to secure a spot as a contestant and participate in this Killing Competition to investigate directly from within the arena.”

She only presented the plans, laying the options on the table without analyzing their pros and cons.

But no one present was a fool.

Idiots, blockheads, or morons were not allowed by the Alliance to participate in such missions; they would only be sent to do mindless physical labor.

The first option: disguising as a guest.

The benefit was safety.

Invited guests would be strictly protected, and as long as their identities weren't exposed, there would be no danger to their lives.

The drawback was also safety.

In that state, every move would be under the opponent’s eyes. Trying to probe core secrets would be risky, and the slightest slip could lead to exposure.

Once exposed, they would be trapped like rats in a hole with nowhere to run.

The second option: disguising as a contestant.

The danger was visible to the naked eye. A contestant could die at any moment, and no one could guarantee their safety in the arena.

Furthermore, to stay alive in such a slaughter, one would have to fight. Even if the members of the Order Alliance were all skilled, they couldn’t say for certain they would win.

A single mistake could lead to being maimed or killed, a consequence not everyone could easily bear.

The atmosphere became slightly awkward.

Everyone had expressions suggesting they wanted to do something, but when faced with an option that might cost them their lives, they inevitably hesitated.

If they chose the second option, who would be the one to go as a contestant?

Fearing death and avoiding danger were biological instincts.

No one wanted to risk their own life, and they also feared that a rash action might lead to a meaningless death.

The child leader sat there without rushing them. He waited quietly for a while, and seeing that no one spoke, he finally spoke slowly.

“No rush.”

“We still have time.”

...

Inside the President’s Office of Singing Star Media, only Lucas remained.

And the corpse on the floor.

Lucas’s legs were terribly weak. He leaned against the desk, gasping for air, his shirt soaked through with cold sweat.

He was alive.

He was actually still alive!

That long-haired man had just left without silencing him or threatening him with anything.

Lucas looked down at his trembling hands.

This relief of having survived a disaster only lasted for a few seconds.

Then his gaze shifted to the talent scout’s corpse.

He had to deal with it as soon as possible.

That wasn’t a problem.

Singing Star Media had been around for many years, and this wasn’t the first time they’d encountered such a thing. He had specialized channels; people would handle it cleanly, making the scout disappear completely.

The problem was the sentence the long-haired man had left before departing.

“By the way, if you want to mention tonight’s events to anyone, just say I’m from the Order Alliance.”