Chapter 367: Dungeon Start! (Two-in-One)

It had arrived.

Yan Jing's eyes were calm.

Beside him, Zeng Qing was clearly not as composed. With a look of shock and suspicion, she tapped directly on the headline.

As light flashed, a flamboyantly dressed figure jumped right out of the holographic projection.

It was an alligator.

The alligator stood on its hind legs, wearing a large white trench coat. A massive tail stuck out from the back of the hem. It wore a pair of stylish sunglasses, and a circle of upright feathers around its neck swayed with its movements.

"Everyone, everyone! My dear friends of the Peace Heavenly Kingdom!"

"The triennial Peace Heavenly Kingdom celebration is here again!"

"After the eventful past few weeks, I wonder if everyone has missed our heavenly celebration, where entertainment and safety exist side by side?"

"Of course, Xiao E knows that it has only been a little over two years since the last celebration. But our great president, considering various factors, decided that bringing the celebration forward a bit wouldn't hurt."

"After all, the format of this celebration is more thrilling and intense than ever before."

"So without further ado, welcome to the Sin Live Broadcast!"

Soon, a Smart Seed appeared, introducing the rules of this live broadcast in a mechanical voice. Aside from the ones Yan Jing already knew, it explained a few additional rules.

1. Sin Live Broadcast Value, or Sin Value for short. Criminals participating in this broadcast can earn Sin Value in two ways:

Audience donations and destroying designated buildings.

There are one hundred designated task buildings within the Peace Heavenly Kingdom this time. The Sin Value earned from destroying them ranges from 1,000 to 50,000 points.

Citizens can voluntarily defend these task buildings. There is a cap on the number of citizens allowed around each building. Criminals cannot harm ordinary citizens during this broadcast, and likewise, ordinary citizens cannot harm criminals.

In addition, viewers can spend eerie points to hurl abuse at the criminals. When the amount of spent eerie points reaches a certain threshold, they can even post bullet-screen comments for the criminals to see.

2. Guardians. Citizens within the Peace Heavenly Kingdom above the Third Tier and below the Sixth Tier can apply to become guardians, limited to one hundred. Guardians and criminals can harm each other. If a guardian defeats a criminal, they will receive a reward after the celebration ends. If a criminal defeats a guardian, there is no reward, but they might attract more abuse from the audience. 3. Betting. The full roster of participating humans and Inner World criminals will be provided eight hours before the broadcast. Anyone can place bets. Betting categories include:

Who can survive to be the final five; who can break one million in Sin Value. Odds will fluctuate in real-time, and betting will lock two hours before the broadcast begins. Finally, the alligator read out a very fast, very minor additional note:

Fifty percent of all donations from this live broadcast will go toward grassroots infrastructure and daily government operations. After reading all the information, Zeng Qing didn't look away for a long time. Yan Jing jumped onto her shoulder and followed her gaze downward, quickly catching a line of text in the bottom right corner of the screen.

[This event was proposed by Councilor Gu Yi and fully sponsored by Nuochen Biotech. Special thanks to Executive Director Zeng Ru for her strong support.} "Zeng Ru is that Rabbit Woman sister of yours, right?"

Yan Jing jumped down from Zeng Qing's shoulder and picked up the teacup on the table. Zeng Qing's eyes were icy.

"I've never considered her my sister."

"If this event is a success, her status in your Family will probably rise to the next level," Yan Jing said honestly.

Zeng Qing said nothing, though she knew it was the truth.

This event perfectly matched the current needs of the citizens in the Peace Heavenly Kingdom.

In this Heavenly Kingdom where class divisions were severe and rules served as shackles for the masses while paving the way for plutocrats, the people's long-accumulated emotions desperately needed an outlet.

Therefore, even if it cost eerie points, a large number of people would definitely participate.

This way, the public got to vent, the government received funds, and the councilors and Nuochen Biotech gained fame. It killed three birds with one stone.

"However—"

Yan Jing smiled.

"There's still a turning point. What time is it now?"

"Eight in the evening."

Zeng Qing checked her Information Component.

"Let's wait. We'll wait until midnight." Yan Jing crossed his legs and propped them up on the table, looking completely at ease.

"You want to place a bet?"

Zeng Qing saw through Yan Jing's intentions.

"Of course. You'd be a fool not to make money when it's sitting right there. Has your Brother Cat ever backed down? Hmm?"

Yan Jing grinned, revealing a sharp tooth.

Zeng Qing shook her head.

"I need to discuss this with Mr. Luo."

"Of course. Be my guest."

Yan Jing smiled and raised a paw.

Soon, Zeng Qing received Luo Sheng's reply.

"Anything is fine. Just do as I told you before."

What he told her before meant listening to Mao Si.

With that reply, Zeng Qing hesitated no longer and said, "I'll contact the people at the Law Enforcement Agency right now and see if I can get this batch's criminal roster."

1

Midnight.

Zeng Qing looked over the dozen or so pages of profiles in her hand again and again, but still couldn't make a decision.

"No, this is a bit difficult."

She sighed.

The criminals in these profiles were all very ordinary people. One could even call them trash.

Most of them were rich kids who had committed some crimes, or politicians. If everyone participating this time were criminals of this caliber, the live broadcast would just be a one-sided massacre of the criminals by the guardians.

But clearly, this was only a portion of the specially selected criminals.

They were put there to satisfy the audience's 'emotions'.

The Peace Heavenly Kingdom had no death penalty, but the crimes these guys had committed were enough to warrant dying three or four times over.

So this broadcast was, in reality, their execution ground.

It was easy to imagine that aside from these dozen or so unlucky bastards, the vast majority of the criminals were true desperadoes and humans fighting to survive.

On the other side, Yan Jing looked at a name on the roster, his eyes flashing.

"Chen Xiaojing."

"Have the selected people already received the news?"

He looked at Zeng Qing.

"They've already received it."

Zeng Qing sighed. "Chen Xiaojing is making a fuss right now, demanding to see Mr. Luo."

Now that this day had truly arrived, she felt a bit desolate.

Just a few months ago, the group had been good friends working together. Now, Zhou Mo was dead, Chen Xiaojing was about to die, and Song Haozhe was nowhere to be found.

She knew she wasn't a good person by any means, but ultimately, she was just a rich kid with some special hobbies.

"Let's wait."

Yan Jing withdrew his gaze.

Zeng Qing nodded in agreement.

Clearly, their influence wasn't enough. The only profiles they could get their hands on were for these ordinary criminals. The ones who survived to the end couldn't possibly be these guys.

Just like that, they waited until midnight.

The official roster was released.

Even relying on the best network in the Muke District, Zeng Qing still lagged for half a minute before she could click into the betting and profile website. One could imagine just how insanely popular this event was.

There were exactly one hundred names on the roster.

Zeng Qing scrolled past them one by one, unable to hide the surprise in her eyes.

"The face thief Du Yingtian, the financial bully Feng Qiwen—these are all super-criminals who were sent to the Great Prison! The Heavenly Kingdom really invested heavily this time, actually managing to pull people out of the Great Prison!"

"This is—the monster Yao Yu!"

Zeng Qing's gaze stopped on a photo on the screen, her pupils suddenly shrinking.

It was a man who looked frail and weak, wearing unfashionable round-framed glasses. His face was so pale it seemed a gust of wind could knock him over. But Zeng Qing's reaction already proved he was anything but simple.

He was the protagonist of the most terrifying violent crime incident in the past ten years. Completely different from other criminals who relied more or less on strategy to commit their crimes, this refined-looking man had chosen the most violent method possible—single-handedly challenging the Law Enforcement Agency.

And his motive was simply to enter that rumored paradise for criminals—the Great Prison.

In the end, that operation cost the lives of hundreds of Law Enforcement Agency personnel, including three Fifth Tier enforcement chiefs. And at the time, Yao Yu had only been at the Fourth Tier.

Now, his profile showed he was already at the Fifth Tier.

Zeng Qing took a deep breath, almost certain that this man would be a huge favorite in the betting.

Immediately after, she kept searching and found another criminal with a reputation roughly equal to his.

"Doctor Yuan Qi."

It was a woman with waist-length hair, wearing a white coat and black-framed glasses. Her icy face carried a distinct, strange fanaticism, and she held a scalpel in her hand.

She dressed very conservatively. The specially made, elongated white coat covered her arms and legs completely, and she even wore blue gloves.

"She's also a ruthless character. You could even say that back then, Chen Xiaojing was inspired by her. At the time, she took pleasure in harvesting other people's organs. She befriended many government officials and had protective umbrellas everywhere."

"If she hadn't eventually felt that harvesting the organs of ordinary citizens could no longer satisfy her—leading her to commit the notorious Friday Case—she probably still wouldn't have been caught."

The Friday Case.

This referred to the incident where the woman before her, on an entirely ordinary Friday, harvested the body parts of over ninety government officials within twenty-four hours, finally assembling them into a piece of 'art' and posting it on social media.

Compared to Zeng Qing, Yan Jing's attention was mostly focused on the human side.

Soon, he caught sight of two familiar figures.

"He Xinquan."

"Jin Yao."

One was the Fourth Tier victor of this exchange tournament, the first seed of the Yueyin Third Ring Domain.

The other was the Fourth Tier loser of the tournament, the Monarch of the Beast Lord who had lost to He Xinquan by an extremely narrow margin.

Soon, Yan Jing saw another 'acquaintance':

"Zhao Dongchuan."

Lin Xiaoran's childhood friend.

The true prophet candidate of the Precognition Society.

He was even stronger than Xu Qiao'er, the public figurehead prophet candidate.

Of course, that Xu Qiao'er had accidentally been rendered a bit feeble-minded by Yan Jing.

Then there was a woman named Wang Gang.

Her profile didn't specify which region she came from, but Yan Jing looked at her combat record: she had fought one against three, ultimately defeating three Fifth Tier fighters.

She was also no simple character.

As for the rest, Yan Jing glanced over them roughly and found nothing else of note.

There were definitely hidden experts, but he didn't recognize them.

Seeing Yan Jing looking at the human roster, Zeng Qing leaned closer.

"How is it? Is there anyone worth paying attention to on the human side?"

She had just skimmed it roughly, but upon noticing that the humans participating were all at the Fourth Tier, she hadn't paid it much mind.

In her eyes, to ensure the final victor of this live broadcast was someone from the Heavenly Kingdom, the higher-ups had definitely put in some effort.

Although this act of mobilizing the Heavenly Kingdom's power couldn't precisely select the humans, it could roughly narrow down the scope.

And the Fourth Tier requirement was likely the limitation set by the higher-ups.

"There really is one."

Yan Jing nodded, then extended his paw and pointed at an avatar on the screen.

"What do you think of him?"

"Him?"

Zeng Qing blanked for a moment, looking at the male human Yan Jing pointed to.

She had skimmed past him earlier. Whether it was his combat record or his tier, this human had failed to catch her attention.

"...He's reasonably good-looking."

After a few seconds of silence, she gave her evaluation.

"Then it's him."

Yan Jing finalized the decision directly, and his paw pressed down on the betting key.

"All in!!!"

6...

By the time Zeng Qing reacted, it was already too late.

Yan Jing moved as fast as lightning, instantly pouring in 600,000 eerie points! (Equivalent to 30 million in the Surface World)

"Motherfucker!!!"

Having finally snapped out of it, Zeng Qing only had time to curse.

Then she looked at that human on the screen in disbelief.

Who the hell was this guy named Yan Jing?! Why bet on him!

Meanwhile.

Boss Rat looked at the message Mao Si sent on his Information Component and scratched his small head.

"Bet on that human named Yan Jing, Pops."

"It's a guaranteed win. I've got insider info."

"I'm a dog if I'm lying."

"What kind of bullshit insider info could you have?" Boss Rat didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

However—after looking at that human's avatar, he still waved his large hand and bet 200,000 eerie points.

What insider info could Mao Si have? It had to have come from that man called Mr. Luo. Since the kid still thought of him even after leaving home, he absolutely couldn't refuse to give him face.

"But if you just picked some random guy to trick me..."

Boss Rat smiled sinisterly.

Just wait to get beaten when you come home.

Time flew by. Soon, amidst the people's discussions that were as heated as boiling water in a pot, 6:00 AM arrived.

And the odds for Yan Jing on the website locked in at 1:32.

It was a middling number, and this was only because Yan Jing, Zeng Qing, and Boss Rat had placed heavy bets. Otherwise, it would have been even higher.

As for those massive favorites, their odds had long since dropped below 1.

After doing all this, Yan Jing withdrew his consciousness from the Inner World.

At this time, the Surface World had also received the broadcast notification and grown lively.

Although they didn't push a message to everyone's Information Component like in the Inner World, massive screens rose into the sky above Yueyin, the Beast Lord, and the regions of the participating humans, explaining the situation of this broadcast.

Meanwhile, the newspapers and media outlets where reporters like Lin Xiaoran worked naturally seized the opportunity to relay and record the broadcast.

Upon seeing that the participating contestants included He Xinquan and Jin Yao, this news quickly ignited the passion of the people in the two realms.

Who wouldn't want to watch a clash between powerhouses one more time?

The border zone between Rainbow City and Ling'an City.

Within a neat row of townhouses sat the largest villa. At this moment, Yan Jing's old acquaintances were gathered inside.

"Hey, hey, hey! Why is everyone crowding in here?!"

The twin-tailed girl Ren Tongtong complained in deep dissatisfaction to Xu Weizhou, who had just walked through the door.

"What do you mean, crowding?"

Xu Weizhou pointed at the crowd on the sofas inside the room.

"Why aren't you saying that to them?"

"She did," Zhou Xian said with a calm expression.

"She's said it to everyone who walked in."

"I can testify."

Mo Lian raised her hand. "I was the second to arrive, and she said the exact same thing to me."

"That's because I knew you shameless bastards would come!" Ren Tongtong crossed her arms.

"Ah... ah..."

Beside them, the blank-eyed Xu Qiao'er giggled stupidly, then reached out and began to clap.

"Her condition has improved a bit. There's a chance she might recover."

To the side, the fiery woman from the Public Security Association, Jiang Yao, spoke up, her body wrapped in bandages.

Lately, Xu Qiao'er had been under the care of their people from the Public Security Association.

"We're all neighbors."

Mo Nagu said, reaching out to accept a bunch of grapes handed over by Mu Wan.

"Sigh..."

Ren Tongtong collapsed onto the sofa.

What else could she say?

Indeed, they were all neighbors.

Nobody knew when it started, but the people who had crossed paths with Yan Jing had spontaneously settled down here at the border between Ling'an and Rainbow, forming a unique cluster of villas.

"The Loser Zone."

That was what everyone called this place.