Life Game In Other World
Chapter 140: Mr. Kaifeng Cuisine (Long Chapter, Please Subscribe, Favorite, and Vote for Monthly Pass)

Chapter 140: Chapter 140: Mr. Kaifeng Cuisine (Long Chapter, Please Subscribe, Favorite, and Vote for Monthly Pass)

Xidu City had two slots, one for a researcher and one for a Special Appointed Researcher.

The materials Liu Nan sent to He Ao consisted of two parts, one detailing potentially threatening individuals among the researchers and the other among the Special Appointed Researchers.

Within the section on researchers, even Liu Nan’s own information was included.

[Liu Nan, Talent: Reader, good at shooting, active thinking, keen observation.]

This girl, sometimes a bit too earnest.

He Ao chuckled, shutting the document. He was to partake in the competition for Special Appointed Researchers and would not encounter Liu Nan.

The selection process for both the researcher’s slot and the Special Appointed Researcher’s slot took place at a training field thirty kilometers away from Xidu’s Third Psychiatric Hospital, but the two selections were not combined; they were held at separate venues.

Ni Yu was in charge of the selection for the researchers, while Zhang Ansha was responsible for that of the Special Appointed Researchers.

"There are a total of three selection events, combat, shooting, and pollution resistance," Zhang Ansha explained slowly as he walked He Ao toward the entrance of the training ground.

"Isn’t there a comprehensive examination?"

He Ao was somewhat puzzled.

Combat and shooting—these were very specific tasks that could not assess an individual’s overall abilities.

A person weak in combat and shooting, when placed in a perilous environment, might survive more easily than someone who performs better in each individual event. Endurance, intelligence, and the ability to withstand fear and pain are often key determinants in whether one could live through danger.

"There used to be," Zhang Ansha stopped suddenly upon hearing He Ao’s question, glancing at him, "but the crazed Transcendent I had prepared as the comprehensive training BOSS was taken down by someone who found it first."

He was referring to the ’Magician’ killed by He Ao.

"Cough cough."

He Ao coughed, pretending not to understand what Zhang Ansha meant, "Then that crazed Transcendent was rather unlucky."

"Let’s go. The relic appeared somewhat abruptly this time, and we only got the news yesterday, so there was absolutely no time to arrange it," Zhang Ansha sighed, "The Special Appointed Researchers participating in today’s selection won’t be a match for you, but for the sake of fairness, you’ll still have to go through the motions. Just pull your punches and don’t go too hard. Oh, right,"

At this point, something crossed Zhang Ansha’s mind, as he looked at He Ao, "Do you need something to cover your face? Some Special Appointed Researchers don’t want to expose their Transcendent identities, fearing it would disrupt their normal lives, so they might wear a mask or something."

He Ao didn’t really mind others knowing his identity. He was a lone individual, with no family for anyone to threaten.

Moreover, he was already quite famous in Xidu City; the fame from revealing his Transcendent identity might not even surpass his existing reputation.

Add to that the fact that Daybreak had definitely noticed him, meaning his identity was probably already recorded by organizations outside the Research Institute, so whether his identity was exposed or not didn’t really matter.

Some people became Special Appointed Researchers because they didn’t want to join the world of Transcendents, not wanting their peaceful lives disrupted, but He Ao was different—he just didn’t want to be constrained.

"Oh," at this moment Zhang Ansha also realized, and he let out a self-deprecating chuckle, "you wouldn’t need those things anyway."

"Wait a second,"

He Ao suddenly spoke up.

He looked around; the training field was located in the outskirts, but there happened to be a tourist town nearby that wasn’t doing great in business. He Ao looked up and saw right in front of him a shop that sold Kaifeng cuisine.

He ran straight over to the shop, didn’t buy anything, but managed to score a medium-sized takeout bag from the staff at no cost before sprinting back.

The Kaifeng cuisine store was a fried chicken and burger joint, offering that kind of cylindrical paper bag for takeout. He Ao slipped the paper bag over his head and then pierced two holes for his eyes to peek through.

Then he looked at Zhang Ansha and said, "Let’s go."

"This..."

Zhang Ansha was torn between laughter and helplessness, but since he made the suggestion, he couldn’t really object and simply proceeded to enter the training field with He Ao.

Most of the training field was an open-air area, vast in size. As they walked, a breeze suddenly brushed by their side.

The wind was mild but strong enough to billow a person’s garments.

Zhang Ansha automatically pressed down the hem of his clothes and turned his head to look at He Ao beside him.

Under the caress of this slight breeze, the flimsy and oversized paper bag from the Kaifeng cuisine store sitting on He Ao’s head remained perfectly still.

Such a bag, being wide and light, faces a large area to the wind, and even running too fast could make it fall off, let alone a slightly stronger gust.

"What’s wrong?"

He Ao looked at him, confused.

"Nothing," Zhang Ansha shook his head, looking ahead, "We’ve arrived."

Before them was an indoor arena, into which Zhang Ansha escorted He Ao. The venue, which originally seemed to be a tennis court for casual recreation, had been converted into a temporary ring.

Within the venue, there was only one ring. Some staff were in the process of setting it up, while down below, nine people stood quietly waiting on chairs beside the ring.

Among these nine people, there were five men and four women. All four women wore masks, most of them choosing attractive veils or light masks that accentuated their facial features.

Of the five men, three were wearing masks, one a pig head and another a monkey head, both typical plastic masks commonly found in the market.

Another was clad in a flamboyant suit of full armor; however, most of it appeared to be made of plastic and seemed to be the strongest armor from a tokusatsu show called Armor Hero that He Ao had watched as a child.

It seemed to be called the Emperor.

As a child, He Ao had longed for such an especially cool suit of armor.

The one in armor waved his hand upon noticing He Ao’s gaze and nodded slightly as a greeting.

The remaining two men without masks included one wearing a thin, loose white practice cloth, appearing to be in his twenties, brimming with vigor, which reminded He Ao of what Regit looked like when he was young. The other was tall, with rough skin, a fierce look on his face, and seemed quite strong.

While He Ao took in the situation of everyone present, the ring in the center of the venue had just been set up.

The unmasked, burly man took two steps to run up, leapt over the ring’s fence with a flying jump, and landed right in the center of the ring.

Thump—

As he landed, the entire venue seemed to shake momentarily.

He glanced around at the people and laughed out loud, "I’m in a hurry to go back for lunch, so hurry up and come on, let me take the spot and save you all from dying in the ruins."

Upon hearing this, the brows of those present furrowed slightly, but none of them stepped forward first.

The first round was a fighting match, and whoever went up first would be exposing their moves in front of the others, reducing their chances of winning.

The big guy looked around and saw that no one was stepping up, cursing, "A bunch of cowards."

His gaze swept around and settled on He Ao, who had just entered. He burst into laughter, "The one with the Kaifeng veggies bag on his head, are you Mr. Kaifeng Veggies? Come on over, let me send you off to lunch."

Among all the males present, He Ao seemed the frailest, and the only other person who seemed lesser was the young man in the practice clothes. But that young man exuded a strong spirit and was obviously not to be trifled with.

The big, burly man seemed reckless, but in reality, he was quite astute. By picking the weakest first, he could preserve his strength and build up momentum.

He Ao, seeing the big guy’s gaze on him, pressed down on the Kaifeng veggies paper bag on his head, then pointed at himself to confirm,

"Me?"

"Of course, it’s you. You’re not chickening out, are you?"

The burly man, hearing He Ao’s voice which seemed quite young, laughed heartily, "Kid, go home and drink your milk. Don’t get involved in grown-ups’ games."

"Oh, okay then."

He Ao nodded, ready to walk toward the ring, but Zhang Ansha stopped him.

"The first round of the fight is a no-holds-barred fight; it’s a ring match. Whoever stands in the ring is the king, and challengers from below come up one at a time to fight the king. Challengers can go up any number of times; the ring time is 30 minutes. Whoever stands in the ring at the end wins the match.

The winner receives a hundred points, and the remaining losers are ranked based on how long they stayed in the ring. If anyone’s duration exceeds that of the king, they score 90 points based on the longest duration. The others are scored proportionally to their time. If the king has the longest duration, they score 100, and others are scored proportionally."

Zhang Ansha quietly explained the rules of the match.

In fact, He Ao had already seen these rules in the document Liu Nan had sent him. This fight was about fighting, but not solely about fighting, because over these thirty minutes, time and personal energy were factors to consider.

The victor was the one who ended up standing in the ring, not the one who beat the most opponents. Thus, someone could be in the ring from the beginning to the end, but if in the last round they were defeated by someone who had rested and kept their energy, that last person would be the winner.

This format tested timing, energy conservation, and personal strength; and with no-holds-barred fighting, some special tactics could be used.

After all, the selection was for people to enter the ruins, not for putting on a show. The overall match setup was very grounded.

He Ao nodded lightly to Zhang Ansha to signify he understood.

"Try to go easy with your moves."

Zhang Ansha looked at He Ao nodding, intending to withdraw his hand, but halfway through, he added in a soft voice.

He had seen just how ruthless the kid could be; Bull was still receiving psychological treatment, and let’s not mention those who didn’t need psychological therapy—the Magician was currently lying in a coffin.

"Mhm, mhm," He Ao nodded, "Don’t worry, Zhang. I’m a law-abiding good citizen."

······

That makes me worry even more.

Zhang Ansha ultimately let go reluctantly.

Since He Ao and Zhang Ansha were standing far from the others and Zhang Ansha spoke quietly, everyone thought he was explaining the rules of the competition to He Ao and didn’t pay it any mind.

Only the young man in the practice clothes seemed to be paying close attention.

He Ao didn’t leap onto the ring with a cool jump like the big guy, but instead slowly walked up the steps to the ring.

As he stepped onto the ring, a staff member nearby started the timer.

The big guy chuckled, "Kid, don’t blame me for having huge fists."

With that, he stepped into the ring. As it quivered beneath his weight, he threw a right punch in a straight line towards He Ao’s face.

He Ao slowly raised his left hand with the back of his hand pointing sideways, and gently flicked it, striking the burly man’s wrist perfectly.

The burly man’s force, which was charging straight, was deflected at that moment to the side, carrying his body off course as he barreled past He Ao, with his cheek exposed to the back of He Ao’s hand.

Slap—

He Ao’s palm flipped over and slapped the strong man’s ear with a smack.

The big fellow’s eyes widened as his body stumbled forward, crashing against the rope that served as a barricade. Driven by such force, he tumbled over the fence and landed on the soft mat laid out beside the ring, knocked unconscious.

This all happened so fast that the crowd only saw the big guy throw a punch at He Ao and then saw him tumbling out of the ring, falling to the ground.

He Ao slowly moved to the center of the ring, silent, simply staring at the others quietly.

Zhang Ansha quickly went over to check on the big man, feeling for a pulse and breathing.

He’s not dead. Good, good.