Chapter 86: The First Round of the Genius Tournament Begins
The three of them stepped out of the building and returned to the bustling street. Lord Fu glanced at his watch.
“Hm... It’s only eight in the morning. The competition starts at one in the afternoon—there’s plenty of time.”
“You two are free to do as you wish now, just remember to check in at the competition site by noon.”
He waved his hand and turned to leave.
Song Qi and Chu Shaojiang were just about to depart when the city lord suddenly paused, turned back with a stern expression, and added:
“Oh, and one more thing… You are strictly forbidden from going to the Succubus Bar!”
…
“Brother Song, where should we go next?” Chu Shaojiang asked in a flattering tone as they walked down the avenue.
“Can’t you go off on your own for once? Why do you always follow me?” Song Qi retorted.
“Heh, it’s just that I offended you before, Brother Song. Today, let me pay for all your expenses—consider it my apology.”
Song Qi sighed in resignation. After all, it’s hard to turn away someone with a friendly smile, especially since the man had given him two precious potions previously. It wouldn’t be right to drive him away, so he let him tag along.
The two wandered aimlessly through the city, admiring the skyscrapers of District One and occasionally ducking into small restaurants to sample local specialties.
Song Qi noticed that meat, which was a rare luxury for the underclass in District Seven, was commonplace here. The local residents seemed quite used to it. Even in this post-apocalyptic world, some restaurants touted “free-range chicken” and “pastured cattle and sheep” to attract customers. A number of eateries were famous for serving “monster meat,” and it wasn’t just a single establishment using it as a gimmick—three or four places on the same street offered it.
That alone proved District One had achieved large-scale monster breeding. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be enough supply for so many restaurants.
Song Qi sampled dishes in several of these places and found the flavors exquisite.
The price was even lower than eating a single farmed chicken in District Seven.
At this moment, he could only marvel at the vast disparity in living conditions between the two districts.
“If it weren’t for the distance, I’d really want to bring my parents here to live. But thinking it through, our family’s living conditions aren’t so different now.”
Both Song Qi and Chu Shaojiang were professionals with enormous appetites. They visited several restaurants, eating multiple meals, yet were only half full.
While indulging themselves, time slipped toward noon, and the pair made their way to the competition site…
…
District One, 110 kilometers west of the city.
Whoosh!
Inside the teleportation array, two figures appeared in a flash—it was Song Qi and Chu Shaojiang.
Many contestants had already arrived. The blond man who sought an alliance with Song Qi last night was present too, surrounded by a group—his alliance efforts seemed to be progressing well.
However, the city lord was nowhere to be seen.
After arriving via teleportation, the two waited for about half an hour…
“Silence!”
A clear, commanding voice rang out from above. A middle-aged man in white, wielding an ornate staff, descended from the sky and landed before the crowd.
“All contestants, come forward immediately and line up according to your district!”
“If you are not present within three minutes, you will be considered withdrawn from the competition.”
At his words, the contestants who had been chatting hurriedly gathered together.
Once everyone was in place, he tapped his staff on the ground thirteen times, and thirteen strange arrays appeared in succession.
“Everyone, stand atop the arrays—one district per array.”
“First, though you may already know, I must repeat the rules.”
“The first round is a survival match.”
“The map consists of the area behind you, roughly ten thousand square kilometers.”
“You can earn points by slaying monsters—the higher the monster’s level, the more points you gain.”
“Most monsters on the field are Level 30 to 50.”
“If you don’t think you can handle monsters of that level, my advice is to withdraw now.”
“To make things more challenging, we have specially released ten high-level monsters above Level 60.”
“The strongest among them is an Abyssal Flame Demon at Level 80!”
“Your booklets include maps of these monsters’ territories, but that doesn’t mean they’ll stay put.”
“So when hunting, be alert—don’t get eliminated without even knowing why.”
He paused for a moment and continued:
“Contestants may cooperate, but points for monster kills are only awarded to the one who deals the fatal blow, not based on contribution.”
“So even if you work together, it’s best to settle in advance who gets the points.”
“Additionally, if you overestimate yourself and are defeated by a monster, your life talisman will activate, and you will be eliminated.”
“The match lasts up to ten days. If all monsters are killed or all contestants are eliminated, it ends early.”
“At the end, rankings and competition points will be awarded based on your scores.”
“And finally… fighting among contestants is strictly forbidden!”
His tone was severe.
“If anyone is caught, their qualification will be revoked on the spot! You will be sent back to your original district and all human preferential policies will be rescinded!”
“Is that clear?”
“Yes!” the crowd roared in response.
“Very good. Now… enter.”
He waved his staff lightly.
The thirteen arrays burst forth in radiant light.
Whoosh!
A dazzling white brilliance erupted, and all those standing within the arrays vanished in an instant.
…