Chapter 191 The Box

The Desert Fire Tiger's head had a large chunk blasted away by the Winchester, but the sniper rifle's bullet hadn't been aimed at the head. Bei Ling's target had been the chest armor plate of the Desert Fire Tiger, the same spot hit by [Soaring Eagle Pierces the Sky] earlier. This shot successfully penetrated the armor and struck its energy core.

There wasn't a violent explosion, nor did the monster struggle in its death throes. It simply lost the ability to move, like a household appliance that had been unplugged, and stopped reacting.

Before Xiao Tan and Bei Ling could relax, another anomaly occurred. The blinding sun in the sky suddenly began to move at a speed visible to the naked eye. This rapid shift in the light source caused the shadows on the ground to lengthen, and the temperature dropped. Looking up, they saw that the "sky" above them had been opened. The blue sky was like the lid of a shoebox, and the sun was like a lightbulb placed on the inside of the lid. Now, that lid was being lifted...

Outside the "sky," in the extremely high distance, they could see a black and white checkered ceiling. Light, from an unknown source, became like artificial indoor lighting. Before long, a huge,憨厚 (hān hòu - simple and honest) face slowly emerged, obscuring the sky, and looking down at the two on the sand.

The scene was absurd, but it explained a lot.

To put it in a more vivid way...this arena was a rectangular box, with a flat bottom covered in sand. The four walls and the top were disguised as cardboard that looked no different from a real blue sky. Xiao Tan and Bei Ling were like two ants placed in a box, and the Desert Fire Tiger was just a miniature toy.

And now, the person outside the box, Mr. You, had lifted the top of the box, so the ants inside the box saw the ceiling and lights of the room outside...

The moment the Desert Fire Tiger was killed, the live broadcast on the big screen at the show ended. Mr. You was still standing on the stage, never having left. Of course, as a "demigod," it wasn't difficult to be in two different places at the same time.

Xiao Tan and Bei Ling were so surprised by the scene above them that they couldn't speak. Mr. You simply smiled at them, then used his chubby hands to place two toy phone booths in the "desert," saying in a volume that Xiao Tan and Bei Ling could hear, "Just go inside." After saying that, he picked up the lid and put the "sky" back on.

The two in the box looked at each other. Xiao Tan spoke first, "No wonder Brother Jue told us not to mess around...there's more to this script than just a lot of monsters, it's completely insane!"

Bei Ling brushed the sand off his head and face, stowed his weapon, and replied, "There are a lot of weird things about this script. We haven't even received a main quest yet."

"Huh? You're right, I almost forgot," Xiao Tan responded.

"Anyway, let's just do what he says." Bei Ling had already walked towards the phone booth closer to him. "Going in should take us back to the studio, right? Haa...it's so hot here."

Xiao Tan stowed his weapon and walked into the other phone booth.

This time, the two were prepared, so when they felt a sudden emptiness beneath their feet, they didn't panic too much. They simply fell naturally into the pitch-black environment around them, then were pulled by an invisible force, sliding back to their seats, spinning up, and returning once more to the set of the Death Quiz.

"Welcome back!" Mr. You shouted enthusiastically.

The audience erupted in cheers.

"Hey? Were you also that giant thing just now?" Xiao Tan asked.

"Of course, if I wanted to, I could be in many places at once, it's not difficult. But the process of me bringing you two back won't be broadcast," Mr. You said, while moving to the front of the camera again. "Viewers, if you're interested in my behind-the-scenes work, please send a text message to the number at the bottom of the screen, or log on to our website to participate in live interaction. In the last year of every jiazi (a 60-year cycle), this show will randomly select six hundred lucky viewers to receive a limited-edition recording of our show, which will record some behind-the-scenes footage that you won't see during the live broadcast!"

After saying his canned lines, Mr. You turned back to the guest seats, returning to the topic. "Alright, what do the three guests think of the performances of Contestants Two and Four in the arena just now?"

The camera focused on Pride, who said bluntly, "Men should all die."

"Mm, well said." Bei Ling imitated Pride's posture, crossing his arms in front of his chest, and nodded solemnly in agreement.

"Hey! What did I do?" Xiao Tan shouted.

"There's not much to say about the strength of the two. But in two aspects, Contestant Two's choices were very poor." Plague's assessment was always objective and logical. "First, you shouldn't have broken the glass bottle with your bare hands. Second, in fact, the last shot you fired at the Desert Fire Tiger's head was useless. Even if you had blown off his entire head, it would have only damaged his information collection system. What really killed him were Contestant Four's two shots. The first shot destroyed the armor, and the second shot pierced the core."

As soon as Plague finished speaking, Hephaestus next to him added, "I say, young man, smashing the bottle was a very dangerous action. The Time Dust has already seeped into the wound on your hand..." Hephaestus seriously warned, "The 'time' belonging to your left hand has been overdrawn. If you don't take care of it, that hand will soon turn to dust."

"Ah? Is it that serious?" Although Xiao Tan was confused, he felt that...this was something terrible.

"Whatever."

Everyone in the audience, including Mr. You and the three guests, turned their attention to the person who said those three words.

Feng Bujue continued in a matter-of-fact tone, "Consuming a ***-500 will cure it."

"Huo huo huo...as expected of Contestant One, immediately thinking of a solution." Mr. You laughed. "Then now...let's move on to the second round of the Death Quiz!"

The DJ played a short and powerful background music segment, and the lights refocused on the center of the stage. The audience cheered and danced wildly.

"Alright, some of the audience members, please calm down a bit, don't breathe fire around you or in the air. That guy in the D3 stand, yes, you, spit out the cumin monster next to you, don't think I didn't see it! Yes, thank you!" Mr. You maintained order on the set, then turned to Feng Bujue and said, "First of all, Contestant One, do you remember what I said...the contestant with the highest score in the first round will receive a mysterious advantage?"