Surprise! The Supposed Talent Show Was Actually–?!

Chapter Ch48.1 - Unstable Period

translator: xiin

editors: apricot & juurensha

The student dormitory in the base was on the other side of the street about 50 meters away.

There was an overpass in the middle, with a silvery white law enforcement AI at the entrance that strictly screened every person’s training card.

A long, seemingly endless queue of people stretched out over one end of the overpass.

Wei Shi led Wu Jin directly through the underground armory, bypassing the surging wave of students who were going back to rest.

There was nobody in the building when the door to the dormitory was opened.

Cool air swept over the skin, and the scent of indoor air freshener floated out from the interior. The room was clean and simple, and everyone had a bed of their own. The luggage from White Moonlight had already been stuffed into the cupboards.

Wu Jin’s face was still pale beneath the room lights, but he was much more aware than he had been earlier.

He blinked, then looked towards Wei Shi, who was supporting him, and hurriedly opened his mouth, “Thank you, big brother!”

When Wei Shi saw that he had basically recovered, he unwrapped his cloak and slowly released the rabbit spirit. He then gestured for him to sit in the chair.

Wu Jin sat obediently and watched as the big boss opened the desk drawer––

A row of twelve recovery agents sat there neatly.

The color ranged from transparent to dark purple, and there were three of each color. The darker the color, the higher the market price. The label on one side read ‘swipe your card to access’.

Wei Shi pulled out a deep purple recovery agent and handed it to him.

Wu Jin then noticed that the big boss had another payment training card in his hand. The material was dark, like the one he held in his own hands.

Wei Shi went to pull open the curtains. When he looked back, he discovered that the rabbit spirit had finished drinking the recovery agent, and his two eyes moved quickly as they followed him around, glancing at the training card from time to time.

“This one is also yours.” Wei Shi simply handed it over.

Wu Jin waved his hand, “I already have one…”

Wei Shi beckoned for him to look at the back of the card.

––“Unlimited gun training. No expiry. Bound instructor card ID: 0001.”

Wu Jin jerked his head up to look at the big boss.

Wei Shi raised his eyebrows and didn’t explain.

The top-of-the-line recovery agent spread through Wu Jin’s body, and his strength quickly recovered. Wu Jin let out a long sigh of relief, his body felt as if he was soaking in warm water.

Wei Shi took in the situation and glanced at the terminal, “Fifteen minutes since the end of training. You can go to bed and rest now.”

Wu Jin swept his gaze over the bed and immediately realized that he was sweaty all over, his hair damp and sticky. He jumped up from the chair, “Big brother, I’m going to go wash up!”

Wei Shi grunted an affirmation.

Wu Jin felt a little embarrassed, “Big brother should go first if you have something else to do…”

Wei Shi looked at his terminal and indicated that Wu Jin should go wash up first.

Wu Jin squeaked, then picked up his towel and rushed to the bathroom. After taking a post-battle shower, he happily pushed the door open and stepped out––

Wei Shi looked at him expressionlessly.

The condensation behind the door was dense. Wu Jin stuck out half his head and felt extremely guilty, “Big brother, my clothes seem to be hanging over the back of the chair&#k2026;”

Wei Shi handed over the new combat uniform.

Wu Jin smiled cheekily as he thanked him, then quickly and neatly pulled it on before pulling off the bath towel that covered his lower body.

The youth’s pale skin had a healthy post-exercise flush. The vest of the combat uniform stuck to his undried waist and abdomen, revealing shallow curves of muscle. Below that was a pair of pale, small white legs that swung back and forth, soft and slender, as he sat on the bed.

Wei Shi’s gaze shifted slightly.

After Wu Jin took a bath, he became a much more comfortable rabbit. He chattered incessantly on the bed without calming down at all, and even pulled out some small snacks that he’d secreted away for a long time:

“Big brother, big brother! Caesar said that this is really delicious…”

Wei Shi accepted the two pieces of soft candy and finally stroked a hand over Wu Jin’s small, damp curls. “Not bad. Train well.”

With that, he left and closed the door behind him.

Wu Jin’s cheeks were bulging from the candy as he hurriedly scrambled off the bed to send the big boss out.

He felt very moved by the time he closed the door.

Big brother was really nice to him!

He sent him all the way back, gave him guns, gave him a training card, and taught him tactical maneuvers!

Wu Jin couldn’t help but lift up the quilt and roll around happily on the bed.

Also…

Big brother had waited for him for such a long time… just so that he could say ‘train well’.

He definitely had to work harder and live up to big brother’s expectations!

After rolling around, Wu Jin pulled out the upcoming training timetable from the desk.

Less than a quarter of the courses were one-on-one.

He memorized each of them carefully, his eyes shining.

A quarter of an hour later, the students on the overpass finally crowded back into the dormitory.

When Zoe reappeared, it seemed like he had already become a salted fish.

Wu Jin was given a scare and quickly opened the door to let him in.

“It’s really fucking extreme training.” The White Moonlight sniper sat for a long time before catching his breath, “26 minutes of tactical evasion… Our company gives us a break every 8 minutes.”

He paused again and looked satisfied, “The teaching resources here are really quite good.” He thought about it, “Next time, we should have Caesar and Wen Lin come too.”

Wu Jin nodded repeatedly to express his deep agreement.

Zoe took the role of c-position in the four man team, and often also worked as a part-time leader. His consideration for the team as a whole was much higher than that of anyone else.

He took out a piece of paper and sat on the other side of the desk from Wu Jin to recap the earlier training.

“Six sets of tactical evasive maneuvers, with at least twenty fine-tuning adjustments. Little Witch, help me think about it, I only remember sixteen…”

Wu Jin tilted his head as his hand moved continuously without stopping at all. In a flash, he had already written down twenty three minor adjustments.

Zoe gave him a thumbs up.

“The basic method for training is to push at the students’ physical limits, monitoring their heart rate and physical signs, and have the drillmaster direct their maneuvers…”

Wu Jin added, “Hands-on adjustments.”

Zoe retorted immediately, “Hands-on? Don’t they just use a laser pen, the type they use to play with cats, and aim it at your elbow to make you follow suit? That isn’t called hands-on…”

Wu Jin blinked and shut up immediately.

Twenty minutes later, the two of them had finished sorting out the information, and Zoe finally relaxed. He suddenly thought of something when he looked up, “Little Witch, how come you’ve taken off your mask?”

Wu Jin froze, “Just, just finished washing up…”

Zoe carefully emphasized that he should put the mask on properly, “There’s still a theory class in the evening. This is Floating City. It’s better to be cautious in all aspects.”

Wu Jin was quick to nod.

Zoe added, “Floating City is also called the City of Masks. There are many people who have given up their identity here. Removing the mask has special meanings.”

Wu Jin’s eyes were wide and his face was full of curiosity, “What kind of meaning, Brother Zoe?”

Zoe’s tone was heartfelt, “Taking off another person’s mask represents accepting everything about that person, including their mask. Allowing someone to take off one’s mask represents honesty and honor.”

Wu Jin’s mouth dropped open, and he let out a long, drawn-out ‘wow’.

Zoe glanced at him and wondered, “Why are you in a silly daze?”

Wu Jin was bewildered.

“It’s obvious at a glance that you have no relationship experience.” Zoe patted him on the shoulder and tsked as he said, “Watch more TV dramas or love stories. Don’t be so focused on training that you turn silly.”

“Also, you absolutely can’t agree if a little sister tricks you and lets you take off her mask. Otherwise, us two brothers will be trapped in Floating City and won’t be able to leave…”

Wu Jin couldn’t help but defend himself, “I’m not silly!”

Zoe laughed briefly, “Indeed. Alright, let’s clean up. We’ll be going to class soon.”

The evening classes at the base were held after eight o’clock.

Dozens of trainees sat on the ground, occasionally talking amongst themselves in low voices.

Wu Jin was very conspicuous sitting there sandwiched between a group of muscular men even though they all wore the same masks.

Zoe coughed and quietly kept Wu Jin in the back, blocking the mildly curious gazes.

The theory teacher was nearly ten minutes late, during which Wu Jin was bored enough to be unable to resist looking up ‘Floating City masks’ on his terminal out of sheer curiosity.

The Star Net immediately gave him millions of search results.

<City of Masks, From Chaos to Order: XX News takes you to revisit the six years of Floating City’s rise to power>

<The Gene Industry Beneath The Masks––Explore the secrets of Floating City’s biggest monopoly industry>

Wu Jin continued to scroll down.

<300 Romantic Places You Didn’t Know About In The Alliance! No. 149 – Take your loved one on a trip to Floating City!>

<Young Emperor’s Secret Love: I became his mysterious fiancée>

––Real people reject KY, ignore politics, and focus on pure YY. Sample chapter available for the public: That night, the Emperor arbitrarily took me away and removed his mask in front of me…

Wu Jin’s hand trembled and he practically tossed the terminal away.

At this time, the tardy theory teacher finally arrived.

“First of all, welcome to Floating City.”

The huge virtual projection screen unfolded itself in mid-air. The fog, city, abyss, and the entire rift valley showed up in miniature. As the teacher operated the projection, everything enlarged continuously, until the tall buildings, streets, and even pedestrians gradually appeared.

“Your training lasts four and a half days. The last half day can be spent as leisure time in Floating City. There is no need to worry about personal safety, as the public security of Floating City is much better than it was six years ago. The violent crimes in the area are now controlled at below 5 instances a month, and the city security forces are on call 24/7. They are more efficient than any Federal police station you’ve ever seen.”

The instructor laughed and continued, “This is because we’re not under Federal jurisdiction.”

“Tourism is a good thing. However.” The instructor’s expression turned serious, “The premise is that you can complete the training.”

“Your completion certificate won’t be obtained from my hands, and your graduation assessment won’t be performed here. Instead, it’ll be held in the Azure Cosmos main city three hundred kilometers away, in the underground survival show arena.”

All the students, including Zoe and Wu Jin, all froze for a moment and showed incredulous expressions.

A lot of discussion burst out in the classroom all of a sudden that was soon cut off with a gesture by the instructor. “There are no life-saving capsules and no rules in the game. Life and death is up to you. There will be at least 300 spectators at the show. Remember, they will also cheer for your death.”

“1V1 competition arena. You will have to face three opponents. After three rounds, as long as you survive, we will stamp your graduation qualification certificate. In other words, these four days of tactical evasion and firearms training will determine whether or not you can survive the final exam.”

The instructor showed nothing on his face, “There are no cowards or half-boiled eggs in extreme training. There’s still time if you want to quit now.”

“Are there any objections?”

There was dead silence in the classroom.

“Very good. Now, let’s start with combat stress responses.”

Two hours later, a shrill bell rang out.

Zoe was silent for a few seconds before finally saying, “This is a bit f*cking overboard––” He looked towards Wu Jin and was obviously worried, “Will you be alright, Little Witch?”

Wu Jin lifted his small round face, “I will try my best!”

Zoe patted him on the shoulder. He seemed to want to say something, but ultimately didn’t speak.

As the c-position of White Moonlight, he knew more than Caesar and Wu Jin. Wu Jin’s E extroversion rating was Wu Jin’s only obstacle in his career development. If it couldn’t be solved during the trainee period, he would be limited to the support position in the future––or he would become a purely defensive assistant that was usually left out in team configurations.

In the training base where the threat of the final examination loomed, the formerly relaxed atmosphere was now solemn and dignified.

After class, almost all the students rushed back to the training room.

Wu Jin was caught up in the crowd and swiped his card to enter the training room A073 that was temporarily allocated to him.

The training resources of Floating City’s base were far more abundant than that of the Crosson Show or White Moonlight Entertainment. The students were each allocated an advanced holographic training room, and there was a lot of equipment that Wu Jin couldn’t even name.

Instead of delving straight into it, he went straight to the training console to set up training with the same settings Wei Shi had used, then unhesitatingly picked up a gun to enter the tactical training mode.