Chapter 130: The Game Begins

Huang Yu had countless questions in his mind at that moment, and he badly wanted to complain as well.

He had held on all this time for the follow-up to the ten thousand people God had left behind. He had clung to his last breath, refusing to let himself truly die. It was this belief that had sustained him until now.

At last, his persistence had been rewarded. God’s follow-up had arrived.

Yet all he had received was the announcement that the so-called “Ten-Year Life-and-Death Hunting Game” had begun. It was a long while before anything else followed: a barrage of voice notifications. In his current condition, he had not been able to hear clearly what the voices were saying.

Vaguely, Huang Yu had caught something about an intelligent system, some information issued by God, and the rules of the game, along with an instruction to consult them promptly. However, he had not been told how to access them.

But none of that mattered. What mattered was that, from the information he had received, he had found nothing capable of changing or even improving his current situation. Nor had he obtained any useful information.

That left him utterly desperate.

Just as Huang Yu was sinking into despair, an incredibly familiar voice rang out in his mind.

“The contestant’s three questions all fall within my answering authority. I can provide the corresponding answers directly.

“Answer to the contestant’s first question.

“The ten-year hunting game being conducted by God has now officially begun. The notification just issued was the first automatic voice announcement, generated after the system finished reading contestant Huang Yu’s physiological data.

“Answer to the contestant’s second question.

“The so-called intelligent system refers to a programmed system possessing intelligence. Every contestant will be equipped with an intelligent system to serve as an assistant during the game. All contestants’ intelligent systems are subordinate intelligent units under the Third-Generation Intelligence system. They possess emotional simulation functions but do not possess emotions of their own.

“Answer to the contestant’s third question.

“The information panel can be viewed in two ways. The first is through an external virtual projection. The second is to close your eyes and project it into your mind. The information on the panel will then automatically take shape within your consciousness.”

The reason the voice sounded so familiar was that it was exactly identical to Huang Yu’s own voice. There was no difference whatsoever, as though another version of himself had suddenly begun speaking to him inside his mind.

Huang Yu, who had been in a daze, immediately became more alert.

Supporting himself, he slowly sat up. After drinking some water, he began organizing the words that had just appeared in his mind.

Huang Yu did not think he was hallucinating, nor did he feel particularly nervous or afraid.

“Open the information panel and display the information through an external virtual projection,” he said quietly and calmly.

“For the first projection, the size, viewing distance, and other parameters must be set. You may describe them aloud or imagine them within your mind.”

The next moment, a square virtual projection, equal in height and width, appeared in the air roughly half a meter in front of Huang Yu.

It was precisely the size he had envisioned.

The virtual projection displayed an information panel containing two unread messages from God.

The title of one message was “Ten-Year Life-and-Death Hunting Game Notice.” The other was titled “Basic Rules of the Ten-Year Life-and-Death Hunting Game.”

After a brief exchange with the intelligent system, Huang Yu learned that he could control the panel with his thoughts.

He first tried using his mind to open the message titled “Ten-Year Life-and-Death Hunting Game Notice.”

With a single thought, the message opened instantly. It was remarkably convenient.

“Ten-Year Life-and-Death Hunting Game Notice:

“I am the God of this world.

“First, congratulations on becoming one of the Chosen Ten Thousand.

“Beginning immediately, a signal transmitter will automatically be generated within each of your hearts. It will follow the rhythm of your heartbeat and emit a location-tracking radio signal at regular intervals.

“Beginning immediately, an intelligent bracelet will automatically be generated on each of your wrists. It can be used to receive and track the location signals.

“God’s reminders:

“First, there is no substance on Earth capable of blocking the transmission of these radio signals.

“Second, the intelligent bracelet cannot be destroyed. It has no tracking-range limitations, but it can be removed and discarded.

“God’s final reminder: you had best not throw it away. It will determine whether you live or die.

“God’s conclusion: You ants, over the next ten years, perform to your heart’s content and amuse me.

“God hereby declares: the stage is the entire Earth, the duration is ten years, and the life-and-death hunting game officially begins!”

After reading the notice, Huang Yu raised his right hand and discovered that, at some unknown point, a black bracelet had appeared around his wrist. It was roughly one and a half finger-widths across.

The black bracelet was almost completely without thickness. It seemed to have fused with his wrist. Unless he looked at it, he could not sense its presence at all, as though it had always been part of his body, something he had been born with.

Huang Yu did not examine the bracelet for long. Instead, he turned his attention back to the virtual screen and formed another thought.

The projection changed instantly, opening the other message from God: “Basic Rules of the Ten-Year Life-and-Death Hunting Game.”

The message read:

“Basic Rules of the Ten-Year Life-and-Death Hunting Game:

“Rule One: Whatever God says is the rule.

“God’s reminder: Do not think about exploiting loopholes. Whenever a loophole appears in any rule, Rule One takes precedence.

“Rule Two: Beginning at this very moment, the restrictions on the upper limits of your four basic attributes will be permanently removed.

“God’s reminder: You ants will grow stronger from this moment onward. Of course, no matter how strong you become, an ant will remain an ant.

“Rule Three: For every ten members of the Chosen Ten Thousand who are eliminated, God will grant each surviving participant one choice between a personal enhancement boost and comprehensive restorative treatment.

“An enhancement boost means that a participant may select one of the four basic attributes—physique, spirit, strength, or speed—and increase its original value by ten percent. In other words, an original value of one hundred becomes one hundred and ten, while an original value of two hundred becomes two hundred and twenty.

“Comprehensive restorative treatment means restoring the human body to its healthiest condition, including the distribution of flesh and blood throughout the body. No matter how severe the injuries, as long as one breath remains, the body can be restored to its healthiest state.

“God’s reminder: I am making you stronger only so that you may amuse me more effectively.

“Note to Rule Three: When the first ten participants are eliminated, everyone will receive both one personal enhancement boost and one instance of comprehensive restorative treatment. The effect of the enhancement boost will be increased tenfold.

“God’s reminder: Cherish this opportunity. It may allow you to live a little longer.

“Rule Four: During the ten-year period, no more than ten human beings may remain alive on Earth. If only one person remains alive, God will grant that person any wish whatsoever, including replacing God and becoming the new God.

“God’s reminder: Strive, you ants. The chance to ascend to godhood is right here.”

There were not many basic rules for the game—only four simple ones.

The first rule was essentially meaningless nonsense. It merely informed the contestants that God possessed complete authority over the interpretation of the rules, effectively leaving himself a safeguard.

The same was true of Rule Four. In Huang Yu’s view, apart from informing the contestants of the required number of survivors at the end, it was another rule of little practical significance.

Rules One and Four were the easiest to understand.

Rules Two and Three, however, required careful consideration.

Rule Three in particular gave Huang Yu much to think about. It was also the rule God had spent the most words explaining.

What concerned him most was the comprehensive restorative treatment. As long as one breath remained, the recipient could be restored to the healthiest possible condition.

Huang Yu had no doubt about the treatment’s effectiveness. After all, God himself had vouched for it.

After fumbling around for a while, he finally brought up his personal information panel.

Personal Information:

Name: Huang Yu

Chosen Number: 9568

Physique: 108

Spirit: 98

Strength: 105

Speed: 90

Overall Combat Power: 142

Remaining Comprehensive Restorative Treatments: 1

Remaining Enhancement Boosts: 1
(The first enhancement boost has its effect increased tenfold.)

Half an hour later, Huang Yu had more or less figured out the situation, including the significance of the four basic attributes.

He also learned that, during the ten days before the game officially began, twelve people had already been eliminated. That was why he now possessed one comprehensive restorative treatment and one enhancement boost.

When he learned that twelve people had already been eliminated, he was speechless for quite some time.

He himself had survived these ten days without food. He could not understand how those twelve people had been eliminated. Surely they had not all been as unlucky as he was, trapped in some desperate situation from the very beginning?

“Perhaps they couldn’t endure the loneliness of being the only person left in the entire world and killed themselves,” Huang Yu could only speculate.

When he first learned that he currently possessed one opportunity for comprehensive restorative treatment, he had wanted to use it immediately.

After all, his present condition could hardly be described as good. “Terrible” was the only fitting word.

But after thinking it over, he abandoned the impulse.

Although Huang Yu’s condition was poor, he was not yet on the verge of death. He was not reduced to a final breath with death waiting at any moment. He could still hold on for some time.

Furthermore, there were still many things he did not understand about the Ten-Year Life-and-Death Hunting Game. He needed to investigate them thoroughly before making a decision.

The circumstances in which he had found himself at the beginning were truly awkward. He had to take every step carefully.

Besides, Huang Yu wanted to wait and observe for a while—to see whether God would make any further moves and to observe what the other Chosen Ones would do.

Once he had thought everything through, he slowly rose to his feet. His mental state was considerably better than before.

After all, compared with waiting to die without the slightest hope, the beginning of the Ten-Year Life-and-Death Hunting Game had given him not only a glimpse of hope but also a new goal.

Huang Yu walked toward the study area. This time, he intended to eat more pages and sofa leather.

If comprehensive restorative treatment could restore him to the healthiest possible condition, then for the moment, nothing else mattered. As long as he did not die, it did not matter whether his body was poisoned or how unhealthy he became. So long as he could hold on a little longer, he was willing to eat everything in the basement that appeared even remotely edible.

If he truly ate himself into trouble, he could simply use the comprehensive restorative treatment.