Global Collapse-Chapter 645 - 613: 007’s Seduction Technique_1

At that moment, 007 on the stage wore a look of utter defeat. Thankfully, the program didn't push everyone on stage at once; she was further down the queue, while a few Lower Class People in her group had already started their performances.

Looking at 007's dejected face, Gu Mian just couldn't imagine her becoming a Beast Tamer.

Could she coax others with a gentle voice only to cast them into even darker terrors? Would 007 really be capable of such a thing? Chu Changge, maybe.

"I'm not a qualified Beast Tamer," Lu Yi's voice came from the side, "but I believe she is."

His tone was like that of a white-bearded old master from a fantasy novel who had finally found a worthy successor.

To Lu Yi, 007 was like a green bean to a turtle—the more he looked, the more he liked what he saw.

"Take the remote control and go," Lu Yi averted his gaze from her. "I've been preparing for this carnival for a long time. After the last riot, I understood that this world was set in its ways. No matter how much effort I put in, nothing would change. That is, until that time during the game of Slaughter, when I was by the window on the ninth floor and heard what you said to Jin Hu."

Destruction means rebirth—Gu Mian remembered that was how he had fooled Jin Hu.

He had been pressuring Jin Hu against the window, feeding him that line, never expecting Lu Yi to be listening from below.

One speech had thoroughly fooled two people. Such a sin, such a sin...

"Actually, I was…" Gu Mian wanted to clarify his villainous-sounding remarks, but Lu Yi interrupted him.

"I know, you were lying to him," Lu Yi said, an odd smile on his face. "But it made perfect sense. What you said was the truth. This world can no longer be changed; only through destruction can a new path be found. I know I don't have the power to destroy the world, but there are always things within my capabilities. To set this place ablaze, to let everyone die in terror and panic. Perhaps even the world itself will be shocked by it."

The will to destroy the world, eh?

He truly was a Beast Tamer; he wanted to tame the world itself.

Lu Yi looked down at the reveling crowd. "They are all the cornerstones of the new world, and I will be here to welcome it."

As if in response to his words, several more clusters of fireworks shot into the sky, their brilliant light blooming and painting the Upper Class man's face in flickering patterns of light and shadow.

Teacher Slaughter, who was to one side, was making whimpering sounds.

But no one paid him any mind.

"Go on," Lu Yi said, looking at Gu Mian amidst the cheers of the crowd. "Give them a surprise. They'll want to see you."

Gu Mian was, after all, the Upper Class People's white moonlight.

The cheers from below came in wave after wave, the sound causing 007 to sway, her face pale.

Gu Mian gripped the remote control, donned his mask, and quickly walked to the doorway.

As he was about to step out, Gu Mian suddenly remembered something.

He paused at the door and turned back to look at Lu Yi, who was still standing by the window. "Right, I forgot to ask the name of this world."

Lu Yi turned to face Gu Mian. He spread his hands slightly, fireworks exploding behind him in a shower of sparks.

"Paradise."

He repeated the word amidst the cascade of fire.

"This is Paradise."

Got it.

Gu Mian gave Lu Yi one last look, then turned and left.

「007 was on stage.」

She stood behind some Lower Class People, watching the comical performances of those ahead of her.

Her act was "Monopoly," a board game.

In the real world, it was an ordinary board game, but this was not the real world.

The stage floor was painted with the squares required for Monopoly. Half of them were normal squares, but the other half depicted various ways to die.

007 quickly scanned them: dousing with corrosive reagents, falling into a trap and being impaled, electrocution to shorten one's life, and so on.

The rules were simple.

Five people formed a group and played together.

The Lower Class People participating had to draw a number from a black box held by the host, then advance that many steps. If they landed on a normal square, they would draw again and continue. But if they landed on a square marked with a death penalty…

Just then, someone landed on a square marked with a trap.

He had barely stepped hesitantly onto the square when the ground beneath him vanished, revealing a pitch-black pit. The man plunged into the hole, disappearing from sight. A bloodcurdling scream followed, but it lasted only a moment before fading away. Perhaps he had fainted from the pain, or perhaps he had died instantly.

The audience's cheers immediately drowned out the scream. The floor returned to normal, and after the host announced the player was out, he cheerfully invited the next person to draw.

The game only stopped when only one person remained from the group of five.

Then, the next round would begin.

After everyone had played a round, the final survivor from each round would go on stage together. From this group of survivors, a single winner would be chosen.

Unfortunately, 007 was in the "next round."

Two of the five people currently playing had already died. One had fallen into the dark pit, and another lay in a bloody heap on one of the squares.

No one bothered to clean up the losers on the squares; the other Lower Class People simply stepped over the corpses to continue the game.

Survival was purely a matter of luck.

Even if 007 wanted to outwit or outmaneuver the program, there was no scope for it.

Well, she could always resort to force. She could overturn the host's black box when it was her turn to draw and try to escape violently.

But that would only buy her a moment's satisfaction. If caught, she would die an even more miserable death.

While 007 was frowning at the corpse on a square, she suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder.

She instinctively turned her head and came face-to-face with Gu Mian's mask, looming large.

It took 007 a moment to react.

She took a few steps back, scrutinizing him, before confirming that it wasn't an illusion. Gu Mian looked just as he had when he left: wearing a mask and no white coat.

"You're back!" 007 was pleasantly surprised. She couldn't break into song to express her joy, but her eyes widened slightly, a mannerism somewhat similar to Xiao Qiao's.

"Mm-hm," Gu Mian replied, carefully observing 007.

Lu Yi said she was prime material for a Beast Tamer, but Gu Mian couldn't imagine 007 lulling someone with a soft "Don't worry, I'm here to save you," only to stab them in the back.

Saving people and then backstabbing them was a fundamental trait of Beast Tamers. And Beast Tamers were never good people. Lu Yi had told him these things.

In Gu Mian's mind, 007 wasn't some deviant, but more like a tadpole—still developing.

"What's wrong?" 007 asked, looking quizzically at Gu Mian, who stood silently before her. "Did something happen?"

"Nothing," Gu Mian said, shaking his head as he looked at 007.

According to Lu Yi, there was a high likelihood that the girl before him would become a deviant, perhaps even evolving into a major villain in some novel!

He remembered first meeting 007 in the Fairy Tale City instance. Back then, to avoid being assimilated by the instance, 007 had unhesitatingly ripped the skin from her own arm. If such a person were good, she would be a resilient, optimistic, and proactive player radiating positive energy.

If such a person were a villain, she would undoubtedly be a determined, persevering, and hard-to-kill antagonist, possibly even using her beauty to seduce the protagonist.

Thinking about this, Gu Mian frowned. As a Doctor, he obviously had a duty to prevent a kind-hearted girl from turning into an evil villainess!

As 007 puzzled over this, she saw the Doctor before her raise his hand. Then, she felt a gentle pressure on top of her head.

On the stage, the man with the guitar case on his back rested his hand on the girl's head, stroking it gently, and said in a soft voice, "You have to be a good person, alright?"

Realizing what Gu Mian was doing, 007's face flushed red. "What are you doing at a time like this!"

His only response was the same gentle admonition, "You have to be a good person, alright?"

"I know, I know," 007 hunched her shoulders, seeming to shrink a little. "Just stop talking to me in that creepy tone."