Qi Xu listened attentively to the explanations and quickly noticed a commonality among the judges—they were almost all managers of various stations. Qi Xu even spotted the owner of the buffet restaurant, a mouse wearing sunglasses.
After the judges finished their introductions, the owl announced the order of performances...
Qi Xu was scheduled last. Glancing at the first player to perform, whose companion animal seemed to be a low-level creature, Qi Xu roughly guessed that the order was arranged from lowest to highest spending.
There were 10,000 players in total! How long would this gala last? Just having everyone take the stage for a quick walk would probably take two or three days...
But for Qi Xu, this was good news—finally, there was time to rest.
Qi Xu shifted focus to the stage, where a bizarre humanoid puppet stood. Dressed like a circus ringmaster, it stretched its arms wide as if demanding applause from the audience. Its eyes brimmed with desire, and its smile was unnervingly eerie.
Its arms encircled the entire stage, and its head, deliberately enlarged, loomed over everything from a dominating angle, creating an overwhelming sense of oppression.
Qi Xu suddenly felt an inexplicable sensation, as if the puppet were alive—though it was hard to pinpoint where this feeling came from...
Only when the first player stepped onto the stage did Qi Xu tear their gaze away from the unsettling puppet.
The player was brimming with confidence. After all, they had splurged on ballet shoes and paired them with a massive black pig. They’d even knitted a bikini for the pig by hand, creating a hilarious contrast when worn.
They’d also designed special moves for the pig, like "peeling open the bikini and giggling coyly"...
Convinced this would be a hit, they were certain of scoring high. But the moment they led the pig onstage and saw it flash an eerily intelligent smile—one it had never shown before—their heart sank.
Soon, they lost all control of their body. Their clothes were torn apart, and the bikini meant for the pig instantly appeared on them.
Stark naked, wearing a bikini smaller than a face mask, they faced an audience of thousands—humans and monsters alike. Humiliation burned their face red; they couldn’t even cover their most private parts!
Worst of all, the ballet shoes—the props they’d spent 200 survival coins on—suddenly adorned their own feet.
A spotlight hit them, and against their will, they dashed onto the stage, spinning and leaping with the grace of a professional dancer, executing one difficult move after another...
If not for their agonized expression and pained screams, it might’ve looked... decent.
Alas, the dance lasted only 30 seconds. During a mid-air spin, the bikini slipped off, and their legs gave out, crippled beyond recovery. They collapsed, a pool of blood spreading beneath them.
The judges then scored the performance. After removing the highest and lowest scores, the final rating was 1.33.
The black pig bowed elegantly to the judges and audience before dragging the player offstage like a dead dog, leaving a trail of blood behind.
The audience erupted in chaos. No one understood what had just happened!
Wasn’t the pig supposed to perform? Why had the player ended up onstage instead?
The second contestant was even more panicked. Their act involved a knife-throwing wheel—tying a little monkey to a spinning board and hurling daggers at it.
Hitting the target would showcase skill; killing the monkey would just be part of the show—a bit of bloodshed for added thrill.
After all, this was a survival game. What else mattered? Blood and carnage were the themes of this highway!
The player’s fears proved justified.
Even after stepping back, they were forcefully strapped to the wheel by the little monkey. With a single throw, the monkey embedded a dagger straight through their forehead, pinning them to the board. Brains splattered everywhere...
The judges awarded a score of 2.39.
Though higher than the first player’s, this contestant had paid with their life!
By now, the smarter players had started trying to communicate with their companion animals. But the creatures seemed to have their senses blocked—deaf to all sounds and untouchable.
The power to engage now lay solely with the animals.
The next performer, a female player, took the stage, gripping a microphone and belting out, "You are the most beautiful cloud on my horizon..."
There was no melody—just louder and louder screams until blood sprayed from her mouth and her voice gave out...
But at least she survived.
Her animal wasn’t as brutal as the previous two. It even helped her offstage, earning her a high score of 4.66.
By this point, everyone understood. This wasn’t an animal performance—it was the players performing whatever acts they’d prepared for their animals!
Out of over 30 performances, fewer than 10 players walked offstage alive.
Those with the forced copy detachment card had all fled. The rest were desperately scrambling for solutions...
The tiger stole a glance at Qi Xu beside it.
She showed no reaction, lounging in her seat with her eyes closed, even napping for two hours in between. Unable to hold back, the tiger asked, "How are you not surprised at all? Did you figure it out?"
"Mhm."
"What’s that mean? Speak human, will you?"
Too tired to ignore it, Qi Xu opened her eyes just to roll them. "Are you human? Why should I speak human to you?"
"Hey, no need to insult—wait, no, no need to insult monsters! What, don’t monsters have rights?"
"Good grief, Brother Tiger, shut up... You’re so noisy."
The big black bear yanked the tiger’s head against its chest, silently warning that this human player wasn’t to be trifled with—lest they lose their lives over it.
"Next up, Contestant 963: Crushed Ice Lamb!"
Qi Xu perked up, cracking an eye open to look at the stage. To her surprise, it was an acquaintance—a teammate.
Crushed Ice Lamb had spotted Qi Xu the moment she entered but couldn’t leave their seat with the show about to start. Now, finally locking eyes with Whirlwind Boss, they nodded vigorously.
Qi Xu smiled and gave an encouraging fist pump.
When the competition began, Crushed Ice Lamb simply lay down onstage and fell asleep...
Their little lamb dutifully stood guard, sensing the chill in the air. It even shed its own wool to blanket Crushed Ice Lamb like a cozy quilt...
After three minutes of peaceful slumber, the performance ended. The two lambs walked offstage hand in hand, grinning from ear to ear...
..........
