by <unknown>
The man who was grabbed wore an extremely cold expression. Even with someone practically throttling him, he just smiled faintly. "I've already explained it. If you still don't understand, then that's your problem."
As he spoke, he slowly stretched out his hand and grasped the other man's wrist. In the next second, the face of the plump, large-limbed man twitched, and his complexion instantly turned from red to white. An incredulous look flashed in his eyes.
What he felt was as if his wrist was being clenched by a pair of iron tongs. A heartrending agony tore through him and he had to let go of his grip and released the other man.
"D*mn it, let go!
"Agh… Let go, let me go…"
Even so, the man's grip on his wrist was still not loosened. The severe pain caused him to curl up subconsciously, unable to exert even a trace of strength…
"That's enough, you can let go now!"
At this moment, Fisher stepped forward from one side and patted the man on the shoulder. "The situation is unclear now. This is no time to fight!"
The man turned his head when he heard the words, and shot a mild look at Fisher before releasing his grip.
At once, the large-limbed man quickly cradled his wrist and hurriedly backed away as if the man in front of him was a devil.
The sight of this surprised many people. After all, compared to the strong man who was close to two meters tall and sturdily built, the other man in front of him was only of medium build and did not even have defined muscles, being quite thin.
Who would have thought that this ordinary physique contained such a formidable explosive strength…
"My good man, what's your name?"
Fisher was also secretly surprised, but on the surface, he was the leader of the White Embers organization, after all, so he just said in the manner of a higher-up, "Are you also a member of the organization? Why haven't I seen you in the White Embers?"
"I'm just a minor figure."
The man shook his head and did not change his attitude just because of Fisher's friendliness, only saying, "My name is Stephen, Mr. Fisher."
"Very well, Stephen, now can you continue to tell us what this strange 'Gantz' comic is about?"
Fisher did not seem to mind about the man's cold attitude but instead displayed an expression of appreciation. "Please?"
"If you insist."
Stephen nodded and began speaking again, "The setting of 'Gantz' is in 1999 AD, which is more than 20 years ago, when the human government created this kind of black sphere to select a super fighter. This is to withstand a catastrophe that is about to emerge in the future…"
"What sort of joke is this, how can humans create such a thing!"
But before he had finished talking, someone retorted again. A young black man pointed to the black sphere in the distance and said in an accent, "Who here thinks that this d*mn thing can be created by humans? It's able to teleport a person from the land to a ship in an instant? Brother, are you kidding me?"
"Alright, shall we listen to Stephen's talk before asking questions?"
Fisher frowned and a glum look flashed across his features. Faced with this sort of unknown, even his leader's identity could not quite keep this group of people under control…
However, just before he finished speaking, a whistling sound suddenly came from above them. At the same time, there was a vibration throughout the gloomy room and the sound of ocean waves.
Everyone was shocked. Someone spoke aloud, "The ship is moving!" Everyone suddenly panicked again, scattering around like crazy, looking for an exit.
"Everyone, keep quiet, let's all calm down. The situation hasn't yet reached its worst…"
Fisher wanted to continue to rally the troops, but this group of people was not soldiers after all, but a group of dangerous desperadoes. At this point, almost no one obeyed his instructions.
Nonetheless, in this chaos, the only thing Fisher was pleased to note was that the two blonde women and several guards trained by him were still following him silently.
In addition, Stephen was also standing there, a far cry from the panicking crowd.
"Stephen, do you have any theories and suggestions for the present?"
Fisher stared wildly at the man's eyes, half bewildered and half forceful. "Tell me. If we can survive and leave this place, I'll repay you with so much money that you can't finish spending it in a lifetime!"
"My guess is that someone has learned the technology in the comics and replicated the technology of the black sphere, which led to what is happening now."
Stephen wore a thoughtful look. "And haven't you noticed that when this ship started off just now, the swaying was much more minimal compared to the ships I usually board. It seems that only those giant cruise ships will behave in this manner at sea."
"Cruise ship?"
Fisher was taken aback for a moment, then he seemed to realize something, and there was a flash of panic in his eyes. "Blackwatch's cruise ship… the Blacklight?"
"Very possibly."
Stephen nodded when he heard these words and said softly, "Haven't we just made a move attacking Blackwatch? Then it should be normal for the other party to counterattack. The only difference is that you didn't seem to expect that their counterattack would be this swift."
"Impossible!"
Fisher shook his head, saying in disbelief, "We've killed the helm of this company and their senior management should've promptly descended into a mess. How could they immediately counterattack? And how could they have known it was me… Impossible!"
"In that case, I don't know. I can only guess as much."
Stephen was not interested in defending his opinion at all. He just smiled coldly, turned and walked to the corner of the room, and rested in silence.
Fisher was in the same situation, but when he considered that the ones who captured them might be his very own target — Blacklight Biotechnology — Fisher's heart was completely muddled. This meant that there was no room for reconciliation between Blackwatch and this group of captured persons. Simply put, everyone here including him was as good as dead!
"Could that really be the case?"
Fisher muttered in a low voice. He looked at the maddening crowd all around him and only felt a clamor of noise in his brain. He almost wanted to take out his gun and kill them all, but when he subconsciously touched his waist, he immediately realized that his gun had disappeared.
He still remembered that before he was teleported here, the gun was clearly in his hand, but at this point, any metal object he used to carry was no longer with him, let alone the gun.
"Does Blackwatch already have technology that surpasses the Earth Federation?"
Stephen's analysis was still resounding in his ears and it felt like there was a fog before Fisher's eyes. If this was the case, it was very likely that even the person he had killed was a fake…
From beginning to end, the other guy had played with him like a cat toying with a mouse, just waiting for him to contact the high-level members, to seize everyone behind the scenes of the White Embers in one fell swoop.
Yes, the other guy must have had this in mind…
As he realized this, Fisher's heart turned into a slab of ice.
However, just as everyone was screaming themselves hoarse, their minds about to snap, there was a sudden burst of music.
It was a special kind of music. If one heard it in normal times, it would seem to be just a conventional tune. Even the key was as simple as a children's song. Still, at this time, in line with everyone's hysterical mood, there was something unspeakably eerie and conspicuous about it.
"I'm my mother's darling, I pee in the toilet, I don't poop everywhere, I'm a civilized youngster…"
"Oh f*ck, my brothers, let's goooo!"
"Lu Benwei rocks, Lu Benwei rocks, Lu Benwei rocks, Lu Benwei rocks, Lu Benwei rocks!!!"
"What the h*ll are you being so loud for!"
"The only heartthrob of Social Shake is DYZSY!"
> "You look at me, and I look at you too!"
…
"Chinese? Japanese?"
There was a burst of weird musical sounds and everyone who had been so noisy was now completely quiet. Everyone looked at each other in silence with a dazed expression.
Although they could not understand those strange words, they could tell that it sounded like the language of Mainland China or the East China Sea Continent.
Just when everyone was flummoxed, a line of English words suddenly appeared on the surface of the black sphere…
"Your lives have ended. How you use your new lives is entirely up to me. That's the theory, anyway."
Among the crowd, Stephen, who had been standing silently in the distance, observing everything coolly, suddenly narrowed his eyes and murmured in a low voice, "Sure enough, this is the opening text of the black sphere, but the words have changed from Japanese to English…"
When they saw this line of words, everyone was in an uproar. Some begged for mercy, some cursed and scolded, and some even rushed up frantically, kicking the black sphere incessantly.
It was just that no matter how they kicked it, they could not leave a single mark on this perfectly round black ball.
Seeing this scene, some wary people who were secretly observing, including Fisher, became more convinced that this was a high-tech tool far exceeding the Earth Federation.
Still, this line of words was not displayed for long, because the words only appeared for thirty seconds before disappearing again. At the same time, a strange, funny puppet face suddenly appeared on the black sphere's screen.
With the appearance of the puppet face, a deep and heavy voice followed…
"I want to play a game…"
[ol][li data-annotation-id="491b28eb-756f-6159-1490-3153eea773f9"]A Chinese pro-gamer.[li data-annotation-id="e6810542-8477-43fb-e96f-97c6b1f038a0"]A viral dance style in China — think Harlem Shake meets TikTok dances[/ol]
Chapter 340: Game Rules |
Even in the Mainland, on the other side of the planet, there was almost no one who had not heard of the famous movie Saw, let alone Europe, which was connected to North American culture.
As this familiar and peculiar puppet face emerged from the black sphere, many people subconsciously stepped back, away from the black sphere in front of them.
This was a warning instinct against danger.
At the same time, the puppet in the black sphere also opened its simple mouth and a gloomy and hoarse electric voice slowly rang out:
"Dear members of the 'White Embers' organization, I want to play a game with you…"
This voice was no different from Jigsaw in Saw.
"My name is 'Gantz', as some of you said. I come from a combination of comics and movies. You can call me 'Gantz' or you can call me "G' for short. Of course, I prefer the term 'Gantz'."
"You're the one who kidnapped us here?"
As the voice emanated from the black sphere, several people began to come to their senses. They rushed forward one by one and tried to put on a fierce front. "Let us return at once. What do you want to do?"
However, these people were eventually stopped by the people beside them.
"Don't be impulsive, just listen to him, buddy!"
After a while, these people cooled down from their agitated mob mentality.
"Very well, it seems that some people have calmed down their hot heads."
On the black sphere, the strange puppet laughed softly. "Very well, I like people who can think, because as long as their luck isn't too bad, they often live to the end. After all, those who die first are often those who like to lose their cool."
After the black sphere spoke, everyone suddenly quarreled loudly again, "Wait, what do you mean by live to the end? Do you want to kill us?"
Seeing this, Fisher on the side shot a glance at the people behind him, then he walked directly in front of the crowd and said loudly, "Now we're imprisoned here. The only way to save ourselves is to calm down!"
As he spoke, the few people who had followed Fisher's order also walked to Fisher's side and blocked everyone.
Intimidated by Fisher's leader status, everyone was controlled once again.
The black sphere ignored the quarrel and spoke again indifferently, "Maybe you haven't figured out the situation, but I suggest that you still listen carefully because every word I say next is related to your life and death…"
The black sphere continued slowly. "Except for some mercenaries and killers, most of you are from the Environmental Protection Association. Among these, the 'Voluntary Human Extinction' organization has the most members.
"You take the protection of the earth as your responsibility and under the banner of returning the earth to nature, you're constantly convincing others to stop reproducing, giving yourself the good name of 'altruism'.
"But I think that both human beings and other life forms are essentially egoistic.
"The meaning of life is to go on living and the most fundamental means of the continuation of life is to collect energy from the outside world. This is inherently a self-interested behavior. This is true for all life, without any exception."
The two blonde women next to Fisher instinctively wanted to rebut, but the black sphere continued to speak:
"I know that in your sociology books, it has been mentioned that human beings are the only creatures with 'altruistic behaviors'— lower creatures are like wildebeests. Their numbers and scale are ten times or a hundred times that of predators, but they can only be reduced to being prey. Even over millennia, it's impossible for them to rise.
"Humans are different. Since the era of the apes, humans have assisted each other. Even the top predators dare not rashly attack the ape tribe, because they know that attacking one member of the Homo sapiens will cause the whole group to attack. This group of upright monkeys won't just disperse like the wildebeest…
"The reason why human beings are more able to help each other and face danger than those herbivores is that the brain has evolved a special empathy mechanism during this period. This will induce a reaction of pity when humans see their own kind facing dangers and difficulties, thus prompting them to lend a helping hand."
The black sphere continued. "So, textbooks have always shown that there are obvious altruistic behaviors in human society. This is because altruistic behaviors are beneficial to the entire population. Members help each other and collectively resist crises, thus the whole tribe becomes stronger…"
Just when everyone was listening intently and thoughtfully, the black sphere's voice suddenly changed, saying in a soft tone, "But all this is an illusion."
Everyone's expressions suddenly changed.
"I know that many public figures like to get involved with charity and ordinary people too. After helping people in trouble, it's easy to get positive feedback, that is, gratitude and rewards from others.
"This kind of behavior will be enhanced by genes and the human brain will also evolve to feel pleasure at being thanked. Therefore, what makes us happy isn't helping others, but the response others give to you after you've lent a helping hand.
"However, if after giving a helping hand to someone, that person reacts coldly to you or even mocks and ridicules you, then the emotion generated by your brain isn't pleasure, but anger…
"Ah.
"Therefore, any seemingly altruistic behavior among humans is an egoistic behavior. Even if it's charity, it's also for the purpose of gaining social approval which is ultimately an egoistic goal."
After hearing the black sphere's words, the crowd erupted into noise again. Some people loudly rebuked this as sophistry, but some people could not help but look rather pensive.
The black sphere did not explain anything, but only lowered its voice. "I know that many people wouldn't agree with my point of view. Therefore, I want to play a game with you, a game that tests humanity's 'egoistic behavior' and 'altruistic behavior'.
"The rules of the game are as such —"
"In five days, you'll be sent to a small deserted island." As this was said, the image on the black sphere flashed and turned into a distant view of an unknown island on the sea.
They could see that this small island was full of lush jungle, surrounded by golden sandy beaches, and deep in the island was a small hill covered by trees. They could even still see a river flowing on the island.
"This island, which I named Gantz Island, has an area of about 35 square kilometers, which is about the size of an island map in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and there are at least a thousand such unknown islands in the Atlantic Ocean.
"But don't worry, I'm not sending you here for you to kill each other like a game. That's a very tasteless affair… In five days, all players will land on the island and I'll give each person in this group of players a communication device. Not only can the communication device show you everyone's location, but each communication device also contains an electronic coded image.
"The use of this decoded image will be to turn on the signal tower on the island."
The black sphere began to explain the rules, "On this Gantz Island, there are a total of two hundred signal towers, evenly distributed in each corner of the island. You only need to find one of the signal towers and click on the electronic coded image in your hand to light them up. Each picture can only light up one signal tower once.
"A word of warning, however: this image has a special curse. Once you use it to light up the signal tower, it'll cause you to be contaminated with a curse called 'Filth'."
"Curse?"
Disbelief flashed across many of their faces.
"This is a special curse."
The black sphere explained, "After being infected with the curse, the player will be turned into ashes within one day and die a miserable death. There's only one way to stop this, which lies at the top of the hill in the middle of the island.
"On the top of the island, there's a safe zone surrounded by metal statues, where the curse cannot spread.
"Of course, the safe zone can only prevent the spread of the curse, but it cannot completely eradicate the curse. If the player leaves the safe zone, the curse will continue…"
