The "studio" referred to by the mechanical voice was a bright and luxurious hall.
Gorgeous and grotesque gold chandeliers hung down from the high dome. The walls were engraved with exquisite reliefs that were vivid and lifelike. White gold candlesticks were placed in the corner. The flames flickered and the shadows were indistinct.
The hall was arranged in a staircase with a total of nine steps. The lower the steps, the more spacious they became. The most spacious step was large enough to accommodate a large soccer field. Each step was covered with a different colored carpet and had different decorations.
Of course, the most eye-catching was the ten thrones at the top of the stairs.
The thrones' bases were made of crystal. They were extremely luxurious. There was a velvet carpet on top of them. Drinks and fruits were placed on the side. It clearly showed the strict difference in class.
The only thing the stairs had in common was that they were all facing a three-dimensional projection floating in the air.
The words "Thriller Trainee" were floating on the projection.
These words were projected on the lens of everyone's eyeballs. No matter how big the hall was, it could be easily seen. Just like the voice that appeared out of thin air and didn't require any medium to transmit, it was clearly not a level that could be reached by modern science.
The people who had gathered at the top and bottom of the stairs filed in and gathered in the center of the studio.
The expressions on people's faces were varied. Most of them were anxious and restless. The noise was endless.
The size of the hall couldn't be measured with the naked eye. It felt like the end couldn't be seen. There were countless heads.
Zong Jiu stood calmly in the same place, moving his fingers while accepting the baptism of everyone's gazes.
The original cannon fodder was beautiful. Because of his congenital lack of pigment, he had the appearance of someone with mild albinism. For example, his natural white hair. Along the way, as long as there were people, he could effortlessly gain a lot of attention.
Zong Jiu felt it was a pity.
If this was a normal entertainment talent show, with his face alone, he wouldn't have to worry about no audience.
There was a sudden commotion in the crowd. Screams rose one after another.
They discovered something that appeared out of thin air in front of their chests.
"What's going on?!"
In the midst of the noise, Zong Jiu silently lowered his head. He wasn't surprised to see the blue letters that appeared out of thin air in front of his chest.
Thriller Trainee. Level E.
The original owner was just a beautiful vase. She didn't have much meat on her body. She was just a white chicken with a battle strength of 5. It was reasonable to give an E, full marks for the operation.
If everything that had happened before was explainable, then this badge that appeared out of nowhere was not.
The crowd began to stir. However, not everyone was like that.
At least, the people by the wall were not like that.
They wore the same calm and indifference on their faces.
These people's name tags were all Level C and above, and the highest in sight was Level A. It was a stark contrast to the large number of Level E and Level F cards around Zong Jiu.
In addition, they seemed to be divided into several different organizations, each of them minding their own business and maintaining the necessary social distance.
Although Zong Jiu did not know the plot, he knew the background of the original novel.
Not all trainees were like Xia Chuan and the others, who were directly transferred from the real world into this bloody and terrifying trainee program.
For many years, there were "Chosen Children" from all over the world who were unlucky enough to be selected into this terrifying Infinite Loop. The number was not small either. After all, the number of people who mysteriously disappeared in the world every year was more than two million, and it was estimated that there were millions of people struggling here.
There was no way to return to the real world in the Infinite Loop. Not to mention escaping, it was difficult to even stay alive. Most of the survivors died in the never-ending dungeons that forced them to participate in one round after another. Only a very small number of people survived and struggled to survive.
Compared to these experienced survivors who had countless ways to survive, Zong Jiu, a newbie who was pulled in to make up the numbers, obviously had no chance of winning.
"It's been a long time since I saw so many people at once."
Just as Zong Jiu was secretly observing the group of people, the survivors were also whispering to each other.
In the past, they were in fixed teams, and the teams could not meet each other. They could only meet in the Instance Dungeons. Now that they saw so many old faces and the countless rowdy newbies below, they could not help but feel emotional.
Although the rewards of the Horrifying Trainee Program were very tempting, the death rate given by the main system made many survivors shrink back. Therefore, even though there were so many survivors, less than ten percent of them actually dared to sign up and pass the selection.
There were not many veterans participating, so in order to create momentum, they had to pull in some newbies.
"What's the use of having so many people?"
Qin Ye crossed his arms and sneered. "The high-level players we see now are all old faces. The newbies are probably just the main system's appetizers, so that we can feel more involved."
The other person did not say anything, but agreed with him. He only looked over there with pity. "What a pity. If we let the newbies struggle through a few more Instance Dungeons, their chances of survival would be higher. It's Hell Mode at the beginning. Tragic. "
The newbies were still making a racket, as if they were at the market, talking at once.
The veterans looked on coldly, not intending to explain or maintain order.
This was the only large-scale mission released by the Infinite Loop in a long time. Moreover, with such a generous reward, one could imagine how difficult it was.
Even the veterans could not guarantee that they would not be eliminated and survive to the end of this talent show, let alone the powerless newbies.
No one was a saint. Clay Bodhisattva crossing the river could not even protect herself. It was good enough that she could take care of herself.
[Time is up. The doors to the studio have been locked.]
As if in response, the moment the voice fell, the doors around the hall fell like a jack, blocking all the people who did not have time to enter the studio.
[The first round of preliminary selection has ended.]
The mechanical voice without any emotion resounded throughout the hall.
The candles began to extinguish one by one. After the extinguished flames floated into the air, they formed a burning virtual figure.
"Welcome to the Horrifying Trainees who have successfully entered. I am the main system's personification.
"Next, I will explain the basic rules and schedule of the Horrifying Trainee Program to you. Please look forward to it."
####
Xia Chuan held his phone in one hand and sat on the steps in boredom. From time to time, he would look down.
After so much trouble, his phone was almost out of battery. The battery bar had fallen to a blinding red, and he did not know when it would automatically shut down.
Disappointingly, the signal bar at the top was still empty.
After some encouragement, many people gathered in the stairwell. Many people took out their phones to take pictures with Xia Chuan. Although Xia Chuan was impatient, he had no assistant or bodyguard, so he could only acquiesce.
"That's not right. Why is it so quiet?"
After everyone lined up to take a picture with the celebrity, someone finally noticed that something was wrong. "Eh? Where did the people who went upstairs go? Why is there not a sound? "
After the mechanical voice announced the final countdown of five minutes, there was no more sound in the corridor. Even the sound of footsteps and noise from before disappeared without a trace. Only their voices echoed in the stairwell. It sounded inexplicably scary.
"Wait, f * ck, don't tell me there's an exit upstairs and they've all gone out!"
The man had just finished taking a picture with Xia Chuan when he suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He slapped his thigh. "Everyone else has gone out, but we're still sitting here like idiots. What are we doing? Let's go!"
"F * ck! That's right! How else could it be so quiet? "
"We're really idiots. Why are we still standing here like idiots?"
Everyone came to a sudden realization and rushed up the stairs one after another. Loud thumping sounds could be heard on the stairs.
"F * ck, I've been trapped here for so long. I've had enough. Let's go!"
They all rushed up.
After running past a few corners, the people who were standing at the front of the corridor suddenly stopped in their tracks.
"What's wrong? Don't block us. Let's go!"
The people behind them were noisy. They did not understand why the group suddenly stopped.
For some reason, a strong sense of uneasiness suddenly swept through Xia Chuan's senses.
Just as he was about to raise his head, he felt something hot and sticky fall from the air onto his head.
Suddenly blinded, Xia Chuan subconsciously pulled the thing in front of him away. "What is this?"
When he grabbed the thing, he realized something was wrong.
The thing was sticky and scarlet. Sticky tissues and blood dripped down from one end, while the other end was broken and leaking a stinky, black-yellow mucus.
The body that was broken in half fell heavily into the crowd. Blood and broken organs splattered everywhere.
The expression on their faces was forever frozen in joy, perhaps mixed with a little bit of shock.
Xia Chuan was trembling. He screamed, louder than any of his concerts. Then he quickly threw away the thing in his hand.
What he held in his hand just now was a bloody intestine.
####
The main system used a flat voice to explain the rules of the infinite talent show to all the trainees in the studio.
Although Zong Jiu already knew these rules, he still listened carefully from beginning to end.
The rules were very similar to the real world talent show.
The hall was filled with horror trainees who successfully made the preliminary selection. There were at least tens of thousands of them. In the future, they would all participate in the competition together.
They would go through countless scary instances and be repeatedly eliminated until the final one hundred people and the only one in the center position were chosen.
The preliminary selection was based on the main system's evaluation of individual strength. The trainees would be roughly divided into seven ranks: saber, cdef, and def.
"After every competition, the system and the instructors will reevaluate the trainees based on their performance in the competition."
"The higher the level, the more privileges and personal authority you will have in the student dormitory. High-level trainees can have their own room, service privileges, and even know the details of the next competition in advance. "
Everyone in the hall was already standing on different steps according to the ranks on their chest badges. Even the other nine thrones were assigned. Only the throne that represented number one was still empty.
The white-haired youth silently raised his head and looked at the highest row behind him.
Unfortunately, Zong Jiu's position was too low. The people on top could easily see him, but he couldn't see the people on top.
Zong Jiu remembered the description in the original article.
The dormitory for the S-level trainees was on the top floor of the dormitory. It was a super luxurious outdoor viewing room with a 360-degree sky garden. Even the surf pool was the size of a flat floor.
The E-level trainees lived in the same simple eight-person dormitory as before. They had no human rights at all.
"Because this is a variety show, the whole show will be broadcasted live for the survivors. The bullet screen function will be activated. To protect the show's effect and prevent leaks, the bullet screen and livestream functions will not be available to the trainees. During the show, other than the trainees, the survivors' communication system will not be available. "
"That's all. Next is free time for questions. As long as it's within the rules, I will answer it for you. "
Obviously, there were people who had the same question as Zong Jiu. "Why is there no one in the first seat on the top row?"
"That's a very good question," the main system said coldly. The main system said coldly, "If you are number one, you also have the privilege of not participating in the assembly."
There was a commotion in the crowd. On the other hand, the old people squinted their eyes and whispered to each other. Their faces were filled with fear. They did not seem surprised that the number one seat had been vacated.
At first, they were just scared and obediently listened to the explanation. Now that the main system had finished speaking, they immediately voiced their dissatisfaction. "Why do we have to listen to you?"
"That's right. There are so many of us. If each of us contributes, we can leave. If we spit at you, we can drown you. If we work together, what can't we do?"
The main system did not respond to these noisy voices of doubt.
Instead, it was the old people who stood to the side. While the newcomers did not understand the situation and were still in the mood to question, the old people had already memorized the rules that the main system had just mentioned and began to quickly analyze them.
At that moment, a faint voice suddenly sounded. It easily covered the debate in the hall.
"You didn't mention the rules of elimination."
The source of the voice was very high. It came from the top ten thrones.
The old people exchanged glances with each other.
"If death in an instance dungeon is equivalent to elimination, does the division of levels have anything to do with it? If it does, can it be considered as being behind in level and eliminated? "
The pleasant and slow voice hit the nail on the head. It directly pointed out the question that the main system had not explained.
It was unknown if the person who asked the question had too much authority or if the question was sharp enough, but the main system quickly gave an answer.
"The division of levels does have something to do with elimination. After every small segment is re-evaluated, the person with the lowest level will be eliminated. " The golden-red phantom answered. "Trainees who are eliminated because of their level will be thrown into a punishment instance dungeon. If they can clear the punishment instance dungeon, they will have a chance to revive. "
"If they die in the instance dungeon, they will not have the chance to challenge the punishment instance dungeon."
"Then, one last question," the voice said coldly. "— Who is the mentor?"
All the old people's eyes flashed as their backs tensed.
The main system had mentioned that the level evaluation was done by the system and the mentor together. This meant that the mysterious mentor held the power to decide everyone's life and death.
In the entire infinite loop, as long as one was a famous powerhouse, all of them had signed up to be a horror trainee. There was no exception. And after all this time, other than the main system, they had never come into contact with any other existence that held absolute authority or even interfered with life and death.
The main system calmly replied, "The question is beyond the scope of authority. No answer."
"Wait."
Upon hearing this, the rowdy newcomers were stunned. "Are you kidding? How can we die?"
He laughed as he spoke. "No way, there are so many of us … Even if you have the ability to get us here, do you want to take our lives?"
"Since you still refuse to face reality at this point," the main system said, "then use your eyes to verify everything."
On the high platform in the center, the flickering figure of the main system suddenly split apart, dispersing into tens of thousands of bright sparks and flying towards the extinguished candles.
The sealed door of the studio was slowly pulled up from the ground.
It was not correct to call it a door, but the dome of the entire hall was rising. It was like a gift box waiting to be opened. The exquisite packaging outside was removed, revealing the cake placed inside.
The surrounding barriers were all removed. Bright sunlight shone in from outside, plastering the thick carpet with a layer of golden-red silhouettes that flowed in fragments.
What was as eye-catching as the sunlight was the bright red blood that covered the corridor outside.
A corpse that no one cared about was lying to the side. Its face was pale and its chest had been ripped open. The contents that were dug out were casually placed on the ground like trash.
A mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. It was like purgatory.
At the end of the tragic bright red, there was only a breath of air that could still be seen.
The man's back was covered in blood. Half of his spine had been pulled out, and pieces of flesh dripped down.
There was silence in the studio.
The elderly had experienced countless storms, so they accepted this scene well. Only the low-level newcomers were scared witless. With a "Wah —", they lowered their heads and vomited.
Amidst the vomiting, someone suddenly asked in horror, "Wait, wait … Isn't … Isn't that Xia Chuan? That group's lead singer is Xia Chuan! "
Almost at the same time, the man who was crawling on the ground heard the sound of a jack being raised. He crawled over in ecstasy.
His hands were clawing at the thick carpet as he endured the excruciating pain. His expression was one of madness as his eyes bulged out. The white bones at his fingertips left a long trail of blood on the ground.
"Heh, heh …"
Xia Chuan let out an incoherent and broken sound from his throat as he weakly called for help.
It was a short ten meters, but it felt like he had crawled for a century.
Finally, just as Xia Chuan was about to reach the door, his head suddenly fell from his neck. It rolled to the side like a rubber ball, splattering white brain matter all over the ground.
A celebrity who usually only appeared in front of the media cameras and surrounded by microphones was now powerless to fight back. He was like a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered. There was no warning, no weapon, and no unknown existence. He didn't even know how he died.
But he had died just like that, under the watchful eyes of everyone.
The newcomers trembled as they watched this scene.
They were scared out of their wits and did not dare to go forward.
"This is the outcome of not following the rules. It is also the explanation and evidence you wanted."
"Congratulations to all of you for choosing the right path for your first step."
As though it was echoing, the wide dome descended from the sky once again.
In an instant, everyone in the hall was pulled into the air by an invisible force.
The main system's voice resounded through the hall. "We have received the notice from the coaches. The first match that was originally scheduled to begin tomorrow morning has been brought forward to today. Everyone, please prepare yourselves."
Everyone turned pale with fright. The next second, the carpet beneath their feet suddenly changed, dragging everyone into a bottomless darkness.
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