Chapter 99: Everyone Falls in Love (1)

He Yu's retreating figure remained calm and elegant. Zhen Xing looked at his back, then at the sheet of paper in his hand, and fell into silence...

Had he just been used as a guinea pig?

So the question was—should he learn it or not?

Just as he was thinking this, the familiar voice echoed throughout the transfer station—

【Ding! The 5,000 advancement spots are full. Congratulations, contestants. Please prepare yourselves. In ten seconds, all contestants will be transported to the next round.】

【The fourth elimination round, from 5,000 to 2,000 contestants, will begin in ten seconds. Countdown starts now.】

【10, 9...】

He Yu stood in place, waiting for the teleportation.

Not far away, Ling Buchen waved frantically.

“He Yu! He Yu! I hope we're in the same instance!!”

Hearing Ling Buchen's voice, Zhante quietly shrank farther into a corner.

As long as he wasn't placed in the same instance as Ling Buchen, everything would be fine.

Of course, it would be even better if He Yu wasn't in the same arena either.

Bo Jingshan looked helpless.

Expressionless, He Yu nodded.

Meanwhile, Zhen Xing walked toward He Yu.

As he passed Eugene, he heard him pressing his hands together and muttering softly—

“Please don't let me enter the same instance as He Yu again. Gods bless me. Lord Zhan, bless me...”

Zhen Xing: “......”

Silently, he moved closer to He Yu.

As though standing nearer would increase the chances of entering the same instance.

He wanted to enter the same instance.

He still had many questions to ask.

Even if he couldn't ask openly, perhaps he could hint at them?

In the distance, Wanrenzhan swung his axe.

Tall and burly, he stood out even in the crowd.

At this moment, he shouted toward He Yu—

“He Yu! Just you wait! I'll definitely get my revenge!”

In other words, he also wanted to enter the same instance as He Yu.

Everyone had different thoughts during these ten seconds of countdown.

Randomly assigned instances were always nerve-wracking.

After all, there were always people one wanted to meet—

And people one didn't.

He Yu himself had no special thoughts.

Although the instance assignment was random, he could almost predict that everyone entering the same arena as him would be powerful...

After all, every arrangement the <Top Talent Show> system had made until now pointed toward that.

Lowering his eyes slightly, He Yu concealed the coldness within them.

【1, 0...】

The countdown [N O V E L I G H T] ended.

Everyone vanished from the transfer station.

He Yu only felt his vision blur.

Then the scenery changed completely.

What entered his eyes was desolation.

A barren, ruined world.

Broken walls and collapsed structures.

Those buildings seemed to have been abandoned for centuries, reduced to ruins by wind and rain.

Underfoot lay black earth with sparse vegetation.

The uneven ground spoke of wounds too severe to heal.

Looking into the distance, the entire world seemed colored only in gray and black.

Even the sky was gloomy and oppressive, as though a storm would descend at any moment.

Invisible dangers hid in unseen places.

Were it not for the ruined buildings, one would have found it hard to imagine that humans had once lived here.

—Could such a world support life?

Disaster world?

Apocalypse?

Those two terms flashed through his mind.

Nothing else fit such a scene.

Since entering the instance, He Yu had maintained a state of vigilance, his body tense.

But several seconds passed.

Nothing happened.

It seemed this world truly had no life.

And no danger.

So...

What exactly was the mission?

The familiar broadcast sounded at the right moment—

【Welcome to the fourth elimination round of <Top Talent Show>: 5,000 to 2,000! This round will eliminate 3,000 contestants. Powerful experts abound, so everyone should work hard and strive to enter the top 2,000.】

【The theme of the fourth elimination round is—<Everyone Falls in Love>.】

【The planet you are on is a small planet known as Love Planet. Resources are scarce and living conditions harsh. Five hundred years ago, a pair of lovers from Love Planet were forcibly separated and hunted by humanity. During their escape, they discovered the legendary Tree of Life.

Beneath the Tree of Life, they summoned a demon with blood and life itself, praying—

May all life on Love Planet understand love and possess love.】

【The demon descended and treated humanity as toys. Love Planet fell into calamity.

The demon brought countless disasters and rewrote the rules of survival.

Humans living on Love Planet must obey the rules.

Otherwise, they will be erased.】

【Mission objective: Survive on Love Planet for thirty days.】

【Contestants may also advance directly by consuming one million audience votes.】

【Contestants in this arena, ranked by completion of the previous round:

He Yu, Bo Jingshan, Gedai, Duan Yuchen, Qiong, Siya, Jun, Zhen Xing, Wanrenzhan, Eugene.】

【Good luck, contestants. Remember to obey the rules of Love Planet.】

—

In another instance, after hearing the rules—

Ling Buchen shouted:

“Such a good instance, and I didn't get assigned with He Yu?”

“I'm so angry!!”

He Yu's lips curved slightly.

His eyes were full of mockery.

As expected.

Everyone entering the same instance as him was strong.

Even Bo Jingshan had already become an S-rank expert after so many rounds.

The objective seemed simple.

Just survive for thirty days.

But according to previous experience, each elimination round grew harder than the last.

Since this instance set no additional requirements, surviving itself was clearly the greatest challenge.

—And the rules of Love Planet had yet to be revealed.

As for direct advancement, it required one million votes.

Double the amount of the previous round.

Although contestants had been reduced by half, popular contestants wouldn't suddenly gain twice as many votes.

Those eliminated before simply hadn't had many fans.

Thus, one million votes was an enormous number for everyone.

People like Eugene and Zhen Xing, who had accumulated popularity, still had a chance.

But they had spent all their votes in the previous round.

Direct advancement was nearly impossible.

Everyone had to compete for the two thousand spots.

Two thousand people.

Chosen layer after layer from ten million contestants.

Who among them would be weak?

The competition was becoming increasingly difficult.

However...

Love Planet?

Everyone Falls in Love?

These names sounded somewhat suspicious.

He Yu frowned slightly.

The audience had already exploded.

“AHHHHH! All the contestants I wanted to see are in one instance!”

“Why is Bo Jingshan ahead of Federation elites? What qualifications does he have?”

“...Go watch Ling Buchen's replay and you'll understand what true luck looks like. Bo Jingshan rode his luck all the way. Zhen Xing and the others failed to clear the previous round, so they ranked lower. Of course, they were all screwed over by the bug.”

“AHHHH! Why are you paying attention to that? This is Love Planet! Romance! I want sweet love stories!”

“I ship He Yu and Wanrenzhan! They're perfect! They have to fall in love!”

“No! That idiot doesn't deserve He Yu. I ship He Yu and Zhen Xing!”

“I ship He Yu and Eugene!”

...

Before the contestants had any reaction, the audience was already fighting over ships.

Others were furious.

“Love? They're opponents! Mortal enemies! How could they fall in love?!”

“I can't imagine them dating...”

There were many such people.

Then, while everyone argued, He Yu heard another voice.

Unlike the mechanical system voice, this one sounded like a demon whispering beside his ear.

Hoarse.

Dangerous.

Tempting.

【Welcome to Love Planet.

This is paradise for romance.

Everyone who sets foot here will gain their own love.

And it will be unforgettable.】

【This is also the testing ground for your sincerity.

True couples can withstand any challenge.】

【Love Planet Rules:

Whenever two single people meet, they must make a choice—Love or Kill.

If both choose Love, they become lovers.

Lovers cannot separate by more than five kilometers.

They cannot attack each other.

Anyone who attacks their lover will be erased.

Couples receive the blessings and protection of Love Planet.

Every twenty-four hours, they must pass a lovers' trial.

Success allows them to choose Love again.

Failure means they may never choose Love again.

(In short: Having a partner makes you superior.)

If one chooses Love and the other chooses Kill—

The one choosing Kill remains safe.

The one choosing Love must endure one attack from the other and suffer twenty-four hours of Love Planet disasters.

(In short: Loving the wrong person means suffering.)

If both choose Kill—

They may kill each other.

And both suffer twenty-four hours of Love Planet disasters.

(In short: Why not turn hatred into love?)】

【2. Every twenty-four hours, each person may choose one secret crush.

The admirer gains real-time location tracking.

After meeting, the admirer may only choose Love toward that person.

If the crush chooses Kill, all damage suffered by the admirer doubles.

(In short: Simps die horribly.)】

【3. Lovers are noble on Love Planet.

When a single person encounters a couple, attacks from the single person are ineffective.

The couple's attacks are effective.

(In short: Singles only get beaten.)

If one member of the couple is the single person's crush—or if the couple member secretly admires the single person—

The single person may confess.

If accepted, the couple relationship is dissolved.

The abandoned partner's attack power is halved.

(In short: Beware single people! Someone might steal your spouse. Once stolen, your combat power drops by half.)】

【4. Love Planet is full of disasters and trials.

Only love forms protective barriers.

Singles should pray for themselves.

Do not think hiding from others will save you.

Failing to make a Love or Kill choice within twenty-four hours results in immediate erasure.】

【5. Love Planet rules may be updated at any time.

Please don't be too surprised.】

【These are the current rules.

Single friends, enjoy love to your heart's content.

Whether one romance or countless romances—

Have sweet love!】

The demonic voice vanished.

The rest depended on them.

He Yu: “......”

Rarely did the always calm and composed He God fall silent.

The audience fell silent.

All contestants entering the arena fell silent.

—What the hell was this?!

Single people who didn't want romance had to endure disasters from the demon and could barely survive?

And if they failed to make a Love or Kill choice within twenty-four hours, they'd be erased?

For the first time, He Yu, who had always believed in surviving through ruthlessness, felt...

A headache.

After a brief moment of silence—

The bullet comments exploded.

“AHHHHHHH SO EXCITING!!”

“This world is insane! Love and danger mixed together! You can even cheat!”

“Thirty days! I don't dare imagine what will happen!”

“I can already picture lovers becoming enemies and enemies becoming lovers!”

“Who will be the first person with our He God? I'm betting on Wanrenzhan. That fool will definitely secretly admire He Yu.”

“Not necessarily. Secret admiration means you can't attack your crush. What if your crush kills you?”

...

On the <Top Talent Show> forum, the expert Larry appeared and tagged Qiao.

【My dear, I already received the million votes you paid me last time. Want to bet again? I'm still betting on He Yu winning.】

Qiao: “......”

Still sitting in his study, he no longer had his legs on the desk.

Instead, he glared furiously at Larry's message.

After a long while, he replied—

【Do you think I'm stupid? This round revolves around binding relationships. Given He Yu's strongest support ability, whoever pairs with him becomes invincible. They'll sweep the instance.】

Therefore—

He Yu couldn't lose.

Unless all nine contestants joined forces.

But Bo Jingshan, as a fellow Blue Star native, would definitely stand with He Yu.

If the two paired up, they'd become unstoppable.

Although Qiao said He Yu couldn't lose—

He still hoped...

That the others would be smart enough to unite.

Or kill He Yu before he met Bo Jingshan.

No matter how intelligent He Yu was, combat power remained his weakness.

Even if Bo Jingshan paired with him, the unknown couple trials every twenty-four hours could break them apart.

As for peacefully surviving thirty days...

Impossible.

They were opponents.

Not causing trouble would be disrespectful to this competition.

And He Yu himself was the biggest troublemaker of them all.

Qiao sighed.

“Can't these people see that He Yu is the greatest threat? Why hesitate? Just kill him!”

Suddenly thinking of something, he switched to Bo Jingshan's stream.

Sure enough.

Bo Jingshan had already chosen his secret crush—

He Yu.

Instantly, He Yu's location appeared.

Without changing expression, Bo Jingshan immediately rushed toward him.

He clearly intended to meet He Yu first.

Qiao relaxed.

Fortunately.

Bo Jingshan was too far away.

Even knowing He Yu's location, reaching him would take time.

But within two kilometers of He Yu—

There was another contestant.

After seeing who it was, the breath Qiao had just relaxed became tense once more.

Him?

Why did he suddenly have a bad feeling?

—

They had to survive in this bizarre world for thirty days.

Thirty choices of Love or Kill.

Not counting all the nonsense contestants themselves would create.

The world itself was simple.

Human hearts were not.

He Yu let out a long breath.

For now, he had no right to refuse.

Even if the rules were ridiculous, he had to complete the mission.

However—

There were always loopholes.

And He Yu had never liked following rules.

Following rules meant putting one's life in someone else's hands.

Right now—

Their lives were in the hands of the demon summoned five hundred years ago.

They were merely toys.

Otherwise, why leave room for future rule updates?

The power of interpretation belonged entirely to the demon.

He Yu chuckled softly.

Then began walking forward.

There were still twenty-four hours.

No need to rush.

The world was already ruined.

Smart devices no longer worked.

Flight equipment still functioned, but He Yu chose to walk.

【Bullet Comments: “The direction he's walking...”】

【Bullet Comments: “Some people really are destined to meet. They started only two kilometers apart, and they're walking toward each other!”】

【Bullet Comments: “AHHHH! My ship has hope!”】

【Bullet Comments: “...Don't ship random things. This ship is cursed.”】

Ten minutes later.

He Yu saw someone approaching.

The other person saw him as well and paused.

Both were surprised.

Only ten contestants existed in this world.

Even on a small planet, it shouldn't be this easy to meet.

Clearly, the rules intended people to use secret admiration to locate others.

Yet they had naturally encountered each other after only ten minutes.

—What kind of fate was this?

Wanrenzhan's eyes widened.

He rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

After rubbing them—

He Yu was still there.

Dressed in white.

Standing amidst the ruined black-and-gray world.

His body was slender, but his back remained perfectly straight.

His bearing was flawless.

His hair moved gently in the wind.

His star-like eyes remained calm.

And he continued walking toward Wanrenzhan, seemingly unafraid of anything.

Just moments ago, Wanrenzhan had been muttering—

“Should I secretly admire He Yu and look for him? But if I do, I won't be able to attack him. That's troublesome...”

Before he even made up his mind—

He ran directly into the man himself.

What unbelievable coincidence.

Staring blankly, Wanrenzhan asked:

“You secretly admire me?”

—Otherwise, how could they meet so quickly?

He Yu: “......”

Expressionless, he replied,

“I don't secretly admire you.”

“You just think too highly of yourself.”

【Bullet Comments: “HAHAHA! Fate!”】

【Bullet Comments: “Wanrenzhan really doesn't deserve He Yu. Stop shipping them.”】

At that moment, both received the notification—

【Please choose within five minutes: Love or Kill.】

Hearing this, Wanrenzhan jumped up immediately.

Holding his axe high, he laughed wildly.

“Hahahahaha! He Yu! You've fallen into my hands!”

“I was just worrying that secretly admiring you would prevent me from killing you. But now we met directly!”

“I can kill you!”

“Hahaha! I can finally get revenge!”

His huge grin stretched across his face.

He looked at He Yu maliciously.

“How about this? I'll give you a chance. Say something nice. Beg me. Maybe I'll agree to choose Love and become a couple.”

Expressionless, He Yu said,

“I don't—”

Wanrenzhan interrupted him.

“Don't even think about tricking me again!”

“This time I won't believe you!”

“There's no external danger. Just you and me.”

“I'm your danger!”

Previously, he had always cooperated with He Yu due to outside threats.

But not now.

“There are no outside pressures,” he thought proudly.

He Yu said:

“I actually—”

Triumphantly, Wanrenzhan continued:

“Don't tell me Zhen Xing or the others are threats. I can cooperate with any one of them and become a couple.”

“And even if I can't, surviving thirty days is easy!”

He Yu tried again.

“Actually—”

Wanrenzhan stepped forward excitedly.

“Hahaha! You finally fell into my hands!”

“He Yu, accept your fate!”

“Submit to me!”

“Listen to me!”

“Otherwise—hehehehe!”

【Bullet Comments: “His smile is so punchable.”】

【Bullet Comments: “He really looks like a bandit kidnapping a beautiful young master...”】

【Bullet Comments: “Still, he has reason to be proud. Since He Yu met him first, He Yu can only listen to him. Fortunately Wanrenzhan is easy to fool.”】

【Bullet Comments: “Of course He Yu will survive. Listen to Wanrenzhan's words. Does that sound like someone who wants to kill He Yu? If it were Duan Yuchen or Eugene, they'd already have attacked. He's talking so much because he doesn't want to kill him.”】

Suddenly realizing something sounded strange, Wanrenzhan coughed.

His brown eyes stared fixedly at He Yu.

His lips remained raised in triumph.

“Quick.”

“Beg me.”

“If you don't, I'll kill you immediately!”

His axe was raised high.

The threat was obvious.

Expressionless, He Yu pushed his glasses up.

“Can you let me finish speaking?”

Wanrenzhan snorted.

“Fine.”

“Speak.”

His face clearly said—

“Let's see how you plan to fool me this time.”

“This time I won't be so easy to deceive.”

Like a man finally turning the tables after years of oppression, his tail practically pointed toward the sky.

Utterly pleased with himself.