novelKeeping Rank
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Chapter 22 - Keeping Rank translator: xiin editors: apricot & juurensha
"You're saying that you couldn't see anyone just now?"
After confirming that they were safe, Thin Fire swooshed out from the dirt and stood up with style.
Wu Jin nodded, afraid of being found out.
Over the other side, Thin Fire had already determined that he had scared the other party away. He dusted the dirt off his face disgustedly, "Has my foundation rubbed off?"
Thin Fire's skin color tended towards pale. He had darkened his skin color in order to match the currently popular tough guy style, but he had hit his head against the ground just now, and his make-up was now uneven, pale patches of skin showing through.
Wu Jin nodded sincerely, "It's uneven."
Thin Fire could only use makeshift methods to remove any leftover foundation on his face.
By the time the two of them left the safe zone, it had already been seven hours since the start of the match.
The distribution of the zones was the same as the map in Wu Jin's memory.
Based on his view from the top of the mountain--several tens of zones showed at least seven varying types of geothermal heating. The most stable path that would lead them from their current position to the riverbank required bypassing four zones, traveling through six low-heat zones and one safe zone.
As the sun rose, the heat that lay dormant on the surface of the earth seemed to have been roused up by demons.
Most of the water in the plants along the way had already evaporated. At this time, there were still 230 contestants left, but only 25 of them could reach rank A or above.
By the ninth hour, Wu Jin once again noticed symptoms of dehydration. The water he'd distilled from the plants had already been finished, and the vegetation in the low-heat zones were all dried up, making it very difficult to obtain any more water.
Thin Fire's expression started to darken.
He also didn't have enough water.
"How long would it take to go back to the safe zone now." Thin Fire suddenly opened his mouth to speak.
Wu Jin frowned and replied, "Three hours." He then added, "This area is also a safe zone."
Thin Fire gave him an incredulous look.
Wu Jin gestured for him to touch the soil, "There's no geothermal heat. The plants here are withered due to the air flow."
The sunlight was constantly being reflected between the air currents and the soil, causing the safe zones that were still barely tolerable to feel like hell on earth as the surroundings continued to heat up.
There was no absolute safe zone on the map after sunrise.
Thin Fire finally realized what was going on, and the gaze he used to look at Wu Jin grew deeper, "Continue to the river."
The safe zones were on the verge of disappearing completely.
Within this extreme, high-temperature environment, picking up a gun and eliminating opponents in order to seize control of the only viable water source had become the only possible choice.
Wu Jin recalled that Wei Shi had also disappeared in the direction of the river.
At the moment, he was already in a bad state. His mouth was completely dry to the point where no trace of moisture could be felt, his heartbeat seemed to be accelerating, but his pulse was extremely weak.
The hot air scorched his eyes, and the dead branches and gravel on the hills that he could see seemed like an endless stretch of desert.
The river was just up ahead, but at practically the same time as his and Thin Fire's arrival, the number of survivors shown on the terminal on his right wrist plummeted dramatically.
84 people.
In the silence, the sound of violent gunfire rang out from afar.
Thin Fire's spirit was shocked awake. He picked out his submachine gun and was about to join the fray, but was suddenly held back by Wu Jin.
"Wait!" Wu Jin opened his mouth. His voice was a little thin and frail from the heat and dehydration, his mind struggling to function.
Eight people were eliminated in just five minutes.
The sound of gunfire went on and on. They were only halfway through the duration of the match; most players wouldn't choose to purposely make trouble and seek death at this point in time if there were sufficient resources.
Unless--the resources had disappeared, and the contestants had discovered that the competition duration was shorter than expected. The situation around the riverbank had changed, forcing everyone to start fighting--
There was only one possibility.
Wu Jin finally found his voice, "Listen to the sounds of gunfire. The river should have already dried up."
Thin Fire hesitated for a moment. The youth's voice was a little hoarse and soft, like that of a pitiful baby kitten.
The message he conveyed wasn't something that either of them wanted to hear.
Wu Jin's speculation was well-founded. He had only prompted him, but it wasn't difficult for Thin Fire to think of it himself.
Once the river dried up, there was only one other way to obtain water.
On his side, Wu Jin had already set up his rifle.
Thin Fire glanced at him, his gaze shifting slightly, "Are you still able to hold on?"
The youth's face was more than one shade paler than it had been two hours ago. His lips were dried and cracked from the water shortage, and his cheeks carried an unnatural flush.
Thin Fire was practically 100% certain--at this point, the program team definitely had a camera lens focused on Wu Jin's face.
Good-looking little beauties were particularly attractive to the audience when they showed their fragility.
Thin Fire switched to a powerful machine gun. Unexpectedly, Wu Jin also came up behind him.
"I'll watch the southeast." Wu Jin was direct.
No matter how bad his condition was, the hand he used to hold the gun was still steady.
Wu Jin's heartbeat accelerated even further. He could feel his knees quivering slightly in what was a very obvious sign of heatstroke.
However, he had no other choice.
Natural resources had disappeared across the entire map. Water could only be obtained by eliminating other contestants at this point.
Thin Fire sent him a signal, and the two of them quickly snuck towards the south.
Amidst the withered branches, the intense sunlight coupled with the high heat practically burned Wu Jin's vision, affecting his sight. The multiple withered branches in front of him seemed to form a strange ring that was covered in stars. His feet were clearly still moving despite their numbness, but the scene that filled his eyes remained unchanged.
Twenty meters away, the bark of a poplar was peeled off, and the dead leaves made a slight crackling sound when they were stepped on.
Two voices.
One near, one far.
Wu Jin's heart jumped violently in his chest, and next to him, Thin Fire's movements stalled.
Those weren't his footsteps.
Two weeks of training allowed Wu Jin's limbs to react faster than his mind, conditioned reflexes kicking in as bullets that burned like fire shot out from behind the poplars--grazing across his left arm.
Thin Fire dodged faster than him, taking out his gun the moment they were ambushed in order to fight back.
This was followed by an attack from Wu Jin's gun.
Seven minutes later, two silver life-saving capsules popped up from behind the shelter where their two opponents had been hidden.
"You got a kill. It's better than your previous performance." Thin Fire let out a relieved breath as he brutally evaluated his teammate while swiftly moving forward to search through the dropped supplies. He soon swore, "Damn it, they don't have water either."
When Thin Fire turned back, his gaze stalled slightly in shock.
Wu Jin's state was worse than it had been before they started fighting, his pupils slightly unfocused from heatstroke. It hadn't been easy for a beginner without any physical training to survive until now in such an extreme environment.
"You--" Thin Fire looked at his watch, "I'll open your life-saving capsule for you."
Wu Jin bit down on his lower lip and shook his head slightly, "How many left?"
"78."
Wu Jin held up his gun and silently followed behind Thin Fire.
"Also, the time limit for team formation is up."
Wu Jin nodded dazedly and said very sincerely, "Thanks. When the game is over..."
Wu Jin bowed to Thin Fire even though he didn't have much physical strength left, just like he would whenever he used to meet the company's senior artists back then. He waved his hand, then turned to leave.
Thin Fire stared at his back for a good while before calling out for him to stop.
"Gun." He pulled out a machine gun from behind him, handing it out like it pained him to do so, just like a peacock pulling out a feather, "I remember that you used this in your evaluation match?"
Wu Jin's spirit rose.
Time gradually pushed forth towards noon.
Eleven o'clock. 46 survivors.
Twelve o'clock. 35 survivors.
In the shadow behind a boulder, Wu Jin was panting for breath.
The kill count on his terminal had already jumped to three.
Half an hour ago, he had unexpectedly encountered an E-class contestant. It had taken all his remaining physical strength and bullets to complete the kill.
And it was still a very ugly kill.
The wound on his right cheek was split open, his arm decorated with injuries in three places.
Wu Jin's head was bowed, his gun gripped in his right hand. All ten of his fingers were white and bloodless; extreme dehydration had eventually sent him into a tormented state of exhaustion--
Disordered consciousness, ringing ears, hallucinations.
It was very likely that he would pass out at any second, yet he forced himself to hold on.
If he fell into a coma, the life-saving capsule would pop out on the spot and eliminate him from the match.
Wu Jin had no idea that inside the Crosson Show show studio, the camera had already been focused on him for a long time.
"He's putting up a desperate fight." Ying Xiangxiang sighed lightly."Alright, we've received a notice from the studio. According to the competition system, the Crosson Show will not provide on-site assistance to contestants through any channel. This is already the third time we've answered this question."
"While voting for contestants, we should also respect their choices. Everyone is presumably very familiar with the red button on the wrist terminal. As long as he's willing, he can leave the map at any time. Axel--"
For once, commentator Axel also nodded his head, "His gun skills can't be considered impressive, but he's a contestant worth admiring."
Ying Xiangxiang finally showed a smile.
In the scrolling comments, tens of thousands of comments were densely packed on the screen.
It was unprecedented, but the traffic for the live broadcast of the Crosson Show hadn't fallen at all throughout the entire night. Behind the scenes, the show director was constantly picking out comments from the screen and putting them up on display on the secondary screen.
"Little Witch, I like you ahhhhhh!!!!!"
"Little brother, I'm waiting for you to come out of there QAQ! I almost cried watching this survival show, what's going on!! Don't force yourself, alright!!! I'm worried about you!!"
"Sending a heart to Little Witch! Your mama fan is about to explode from heartache, be good, mama is waiting for you outside. Mama is proud of you!"
Axel coughed and forced the camera to switch to another scene despite the resistance of countless spectators."Let's take another look at Wei Yan's situation. As expected, all the available water is now under his control--hold on, Wei Yan was sniped at? How did Wei Yan get sniped?!!"
On the north side of the riverbank, Thin Fire, who was buried in a haystack, had his camera on and was streaming to his fans, "Darlings, there are only 29 people left. After I come out, ah, could you all send some Large Treasure Swords in the live stream room--"
His stilled abruptly, his voice coming out strangled.
Within his scope, Wei Yan's right arm had just been shot at.
He didn't know if he was injured, but looking at his expression--Wei Yan was expressionless most of the time, but at the moment, Thin Fire could barely make out fear, confusion, and incredulity.
Who did he see--
This wrecked expression was just like he'd seen an old enemy crawl out of the grave looking for him...
Behind the mountain.
Wei Shi closed the scope. The grassland behind him was boiling hot, like a sea of fire, but he was inexplicably able to stand there steadily.
Until Red scurried over, jumping the whole way, "Brother Wei, this grass is wicked hot--"
As soon as the two men pulled close, their terminals began to buzz in warning.
They had already passed the four hour time limit for team formation. The system was forcing the contestants to start fighting; no stopping until someone was dead.
"What did you come up for." The gaze Wei Shi used to look at Red was no different from the gaze he used to look at a life-saving capsule.
"Just now, me and that someone from White Moonlight just had a fist fight. It felt so f*cking great!" Red was very happy as he recapped, "I came up because... Brother Wei, hey, are you really not going to help your little contestant Little Witch? He looks really pitiful; I was afraid you might not have noticed..."
Wei Shi grunted his assent, and quickly loaded a bullet into the chamber."I'm watching."
Red was startled.
Brother Wei was watching? That was too typical of Brother Wei. He was ruthless even towards his little lover--
Seeing that the terminal had switched to red alarm mode, he spoke up in a panic, "Brother Wei, don't use a spray gun. I quite like snipers, you can just snipe me--"
Wei Shi wasn't moved by his nonsense at all, his hands moving swiftly.
There was a bang, and Red morphed into a life-saving capsule, crashing and bouncing as it rolled down the mountainside.
28 survivors remaining.
Wei Shi stood on the mountain peak, the scorching wind bringing with it the heat from the earth and creating a living purgatory.
His body temperature never rose. At his feet, the camera that had been stripped of its battery was smouldering on the ground.
Wei Shi didn't open his scope. He narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze locked on the bunker behind a boulder next to the riverbank.
26 people.
25 people.
The '25' that represented keeping rank was like a signal. Once the sound of a gunshot rang out, a life-saving capsule popped up from behind the boulder.
Wei Shi finally moved his gaze away.
24 survivors remaining.
Wei Shi switched guns, the strong mountain winds rising up like flames.
Sunlight shone down on the top of the mountain, the figure that was standing there barely visible in the heat-distorted air. Only the convergence point of light meeting light could be seen, coming together at the peak closest to the sun--
Wei Shi stood right there.
Amidst the silence, the sound of a gun with its silencer removed was brazen and loud.
24 people.
15 people.
At the foot of the mountain, Thin Fire had already realized something was wrong and quickly turned off his camera.
According to his calculations, the competition would drag on for at least two more hours--contestants shouldn't be eliminated so quickly.
Yet, the numbers shown on his wrist display were still falling fast--
"F*ck!"
Thin Fire dodged. The bunker in front of him was blown open, and the next shot hit him in a vital point--
Thin Fire was eliminated.
Survivors, 2 people.
Music that sounded more like a roaring salute blasted through the air, and the crew who were in position outside the map were all stunned, "It's over? It's over so soon?!"
"Who's the champion--didn't they say that there were a few more hours to go..."
"Wei Yan." One of the cameramen who rushed in replied."Hurry up, get everyone out."
The crew member nodded; this wasn't an unexpected result. He hurriedly adjusted the camera lens to track Wei Yan, then laughed as he asked, "Contestant Wei, why do you appear overwhelmed? It's not your first time competing. How could there be a shy champion..."
On the screen, the helicopter roared as it descended, a pile of cameras swarming the area for the interview.
Wei Yan was silent for a long time before opening his mouth in front of the lens.
Based on the movements of his mouth, it seemed that he only said one sentence.
"It wasn't me, I didn't shoot."
Outside.
The life-saving capsules were lifted out one after another.
"Medical team? Is the medical team here? The PD just followed up, Little Witch may not be in good shape--five more minutes? What's going on?!"
The moment the capsule opened, noise rushed in all at once.
"Ah, this contestant, go to the back first for a medical check-up. The medical team--no, the medical team hasn't arrived yet--"
The blinding sunlight shone through his closed eyelids.
Wu Jin was still unconscious, his eyelashes fluttering. He showed no signs of waking up.
A pair of hands covered his brow, and the disturbance caused by the light finally disappeared, allowing his submerged consciousness to calm down and relax.
Someone was holding his hand.
"Breathing 28, pulse 146, severe dehydration." The man's voice was deep and powerful, "Give me water. 300ML, once every half an hour to prevent excessive hydration. Stop at 2. 2 liters."
"Add glucose."
A mildly cool palm covered Wu Jin's hand, and Wu Jin twitched abruptly the instant the infusion needle pierced his skin.
The youth's eyes were closed, his cheeks pale and transparent. His beautiful facial features were wrinkled slightly, his thin lips colorless. He was subconsciously unsettled, like an animal that had been abandoned.
"Wei..." He seemed to be aware of something, struggling to open his mouth and speak out amidst a nightmare.
"Yes, I'm here."
The man easily pressed the person back down, away from the jaws of death, and Wu Jin's pale left hand was encased by a mildly cool, gun-calloused palm.
Juurensha: Awww WS taking care of Little Witch after.
xiin: ahhh WS sped up the competition for Little Witch~ sponsored post - thanks, vityaoi, mrow & various somebodies!
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