Chapter 129

Chapter 129

"Wow, a new challenger has arrived."

Ji Xinghai squinted his eyes to shield them from the blinding lights.

When he opened the door, instead of seeing a jungle and adventure, he found himself facing a grand stage adorned with a row of colorful bulbs. Two extravagantly dressed hosts, heavily made up as if for an opera, stood on the stage.

Opposite them was a young girl sitting in an executive chair, wearing a helmet, her face pale.

However, it wasn't she who had just sent out a distress signal; it was the brightly colored parrot perched on the female host's shoulder. It was dramatically flapping its wings and screaming "Help! Help!" without any trace of an avian accent.

The myna bird was about to lose.

What was going on? Was that a lie detector?

Ji Xinghai first marked the door, then looked around, wondering what was happening.

He wasn't the only one watching from the sidelines. Two students from the Hungry Academy, upon seeing him, excitedly squeezed over, as if they had found their group: "Ji, you're here too?"

"Shh, be quiet," said another student impatiently, also tall and thin. "Do you want to attract those two guys' attention?"

The group immediately turned pale and covered their mouths, as if they had recently been frightened.

The corner fell silent, and Ji Xinghai looked up at the stage.

"There are now only eight questions left. If you give up now, all thirteen previous questions will be nullified, and your efforts will be in vain. But if you can survive these eight more questions, you can take three items from here. They are things you desperately need to survive."

The host waved a silk fan, with bird feathers fluttering, his voice filled with irresistible allure.

Following the direction of his finger, Ji Xinghai saw a pile of large gift boxes stacked to one side.

It was a mountain of gift boxes, each labeled with its contents.

Items like military rations, purified water, water purifiers, kitchen seasoning sets, and home medical kits were standard. Unconventional items included building materials, planting soil, glass, insulation boards, and tiles.

Indeed, these were all things the students needed most right now.

At this moment, a light screen appeared before Ji Xinghai, displaying the rules that every student saw upon entering:

"It is time for truth.

"You have twenty-one chances to confirm your thoughts.

"Honesty deserves a reward. Put on the lie detector, sit there, challenger. You can try to hide your thoughts, but ultimately, you must speak honestly and sincerely.

"You cannot refuse to answer, nor can you lie. No ambiguity is allowed.

"Remember, the truth may be cruel, but lies are even more shameful."

Answer twenty-one questions to take three items?

Was it hard to answer?

Ji Xinghai looked at the stage and noticed that the student was already clutching her head in agony, but in the end, she gritted her teeth and said, "Continue."

"Have you ever had sexual relations with someone other than your partner? If so, who?"

"Oh my God," she clutched her head again.

The host, with a dazzling smile, pressed forward relentlessly. They seemed to see the student's deepest fears and evasions, dragging them out into the public eye.

Considering that strangers from several worlds and some acquaintances might be watching the live broadcast, the student indeed couldn't face the truth within.

Everyone has choices they don't want to confront.

Ji Xinghai imagined the host asking him, "After the divorce, do you choose your father or your mother?" He felt uneasy.

Under the relentless questioning, the student on stage was almost revealing all her private matters. After returning, she would likely lose both love and friendship. As for family, it was uncertain but precarious.

However, she managed to come down from the stage, select three gift boxes, and quickly leave, closing the door behind her.

"Who's next?"

No one spoke below. Although the students coveted the gift boxes, they hesitated between 'social death' and 'starvation.'

Who said this resource point was safe?

Aside from being eaten by monsters for lying, these questions could destroy relationships one by one—first family, then friends, and finally lovers. This was forcing students to live alone forever.

To go up or not to go up, that was the question.

Just as the host was about to exercise their right to randomly call someone, someone stepped onto the stage.

It was none other than Ji Xinghai, who had already sat down: "Can we start? I'm in a hurry."

"Damn, who is this guy? He looks even more arrogant than Ice Sister."

"Who is Ice Sister?"

There was some whispering below, but the host's glance silenced everyone.

"There are twenty-one questions, and all must be answered clearly within one minute. Lying will result in punishment, as will delaying or giving ambiguous answers. However, you can choose to stop the game."

Ji Xinghai made an OK gesture.

The male host approached and put a lie detector on him.

"Begin."

"What was the most shameful moment of your life?"

Shame?

To be honest, Ji Xinghai hadn't felt shame in a long time, so he had to search deep into his memories.

He recalled the time when he was homeless and rummaging through a bakery's trash bin. He had just found a nearly expired loaf of bread when a newly acquainted friend discovered him, exposing all the lies he had fabricated to maintain his dignity during the day.

Back then, he felt intense shame and ran away with the bread.

But now, looking back, he felt nothing. What wouldn't one do for survival? When hungry, he even bit his own arm.

Ji Xinghai continued searching through his memories.

Yet, there was nothing.

What once seemed unbearable to him now appeared normal, requiring no shame.

Occasionally, something embarrassing would surface, but after the person involved was gone (unilaterally), he found peace.

Given his experiences, if he couldn't reconcile with his past self, his memories might have crushed him.

"If you're asking about the most shameful moment of my life from my current perspective, then the answer is no; I don't feel ashamed of anything."

Ji Xinghai answered this way.

The two hosts subconsciously glanced at the lie detector, which displayed a green light indicating "No Lie."

They exchanged a look: it seemed they were dealing with a contestant with strong mental fortitude.

"The second question: If sacrificing yourself could end the apocalypse, would you do it?"

"No. I don't believe any promise whose outcome I can't see." Ji Xinghai lazily leaned against the armrest, supporting his chin with one hand. "It's all a trick to get someone killed."

"The third question. Following up on the second question, what if your family and environment urged you to sacrifice yourself? Would you choose to do so?"

"No. I admit I'm quite selfish. The people who ask me to sacrifice myself aren't my family, and the country that asks me to sacrifice myself isn't my country. No one can make me suffer."

The lie detector still showed a green light, confirming his sincerity.

The hosts continued, throwing out difficult questions that often troubled adults, such as "Who is your sexual fantasy object?" or "Is there someone you wish would die immediately, and who?" or "Would you wish to be born into a wealthier family?" or "Do you think your parents ruined your childhood and dreams?"

They avoided questions like "Do you love your mom more than your dad?" which could make children cry.

Ji Xinghai answered with remarkable ease. A child loved unconditionally truly has no fear.

Seeing that half the questions were already done and their subject remained relaxed, the hosts decided to bring out their trump card.

"If your family member had a terminal illness, and you were given a machine with a red button, pressing which would cure them but cause someone else's death, would you press the red button?"

"No."

Ji Xinghai gave his answer without hesitation.

"This isn't my life; I don't have the right to decide. Perhaps you could give the machine to the sick family member and let them decide."

He suggested this.

"Alright, what if it were you who was sick?"

"I wouldn't press it and would destroy the machine, preferably along with the people behind its creation. Because I don't want my family to die because of someone else's button press."

Even though the chance was low, the possibility alone was unacceptable.

"Why? Even if you don't use it, what about your family?"

Ji Xinghai thought for a moment: "They would do everything possible to save my life, but they wouldn't harm others in the process."

His family consisted only of his parents, whose faces had become blurry, but he remembered they were upright individuals. It was because of this that he maintained moral integrity through his cycles.

If he became a monster, they might not recognize him upon returning.

Question after question, answer after answer, Ji Xinghai remained unperturbed.

The two hosts gritted their teeth, barely containing their restless souls.

They loved watching humans crumble when unable to face their true selves, which also fueled their energy.

However, the person before them had no interest in sex or romance and had never experienced either.

He had no friends and no desire to make any, no fixed job or career interest, no ambition for success or recognition, and no concern for others' opinions.

Worst of all, he had a family that endlessly supported him, making him proud and fearless.

Such a person could live well without interacting with anyone, surviving indefinitely alone.

As long as he didn't marry or have children, he would have no weaknesses!

"If one day, someone used a special method to bear your child and came to you demanding a complete family for the child, what would you do?" The host almost growled out this question.

This person's only concern was his parents, and the only thing that could move him was the selfless love between parents and children. Would he sacrifice himself for his own offspring?

"Kill it."

"Huh?"

Ji Xinghai switched hands to support his face: "For an unwanted child, allowing it to be born is a cruelty."

"What about a child that has already been born?" the host pressed.

Ji Xinghai looked at their anxious faces and shrugged. "Twenty-one questions are done."

Indeed, that was the last question.

"However, I am still willing to answer this one."

"For certain children not born out of their parents' will, such as those conceived through rape or stolen genes, the sole responsibility lies with the one who insisted on having them, not the other person."

"If you want a harmonious and complete family, go to an orphanage. The orphanage will screen adoptive families, which is more reliable than random birth."

"In short, don't come to me; I have no morals."

"Oh, by the way, all children resulting from voluntary sexual behavior without contraception are assumed to be 'approved by the parents' and do not fall under what I'm talking about."

"Do you have any more questions?"

"Truly worthy of being Ji." The students of the Hungry Academy couldn't help but admire him. Students from other academies were also stunned into silence.

It was the first time they had seen someone handle such tricky questions so calmly.

Connecting the answers to these questions, they could see a strong individual covered in blood but never indulging in desires, a soul that faced the world's darkness with honesty yet held onto hope.

He claimed to have no morals, no manners, and no conscience, saying there would be no scandal because he didn't even have a foundation. Yet, he remained restrained, considerate, and respectful, like a puzzle.

"Which academy is he from?"

"He's from our Hungry Academy."

The Hungry Academy probably never expected its students to proclaim its name with such pride.

The host opened its mouth, glanced at the lie detector that had been green the whole time, and for the first time doubted if the machine was broken.

How could someone like this exist?

Cold and clear-headed. A good person, but capable of being worse than the wicked. A killer, yet the blade always points at the cold world, leaving the back for family.

"Alright, no more questions."

The host conceded defeat, now only wanting to send this human away quickly.

"You have no more questions, but I do." Ji Xinghai removed the lie detector, crossed his right leg over his left, and lazily supported his chin with one hand. His pale eyes, like a hunting cat, were focused and eager.

"What type of anomaly are you? Do you sneak into people's minds when they have vulnerabilities, incite negative emotions, and absorb soul energy?"

"Since you need to rely on rhetoric and environment to achieve your goals, it seems your skills aren't up to par."

"Oh, you don't agree with this conclusion?"

"Have you been promoted in all these years? Have you gotten a raise? Achieved food freedom? If not, have you considered whose fault it is?"

"Always reflect on yourself; don't be blindly confident."

"How envious I am of you. While human life is vibrant and splendid, it's short. Unlike you, though boring and numb, it's long, allowing you to remain boring and numb forever."

After bombarding the two hosts with a series of questions, Ji Xinghai put down his arm, sat up straight, and asked one final question: "By the way, can I have a second round of questioning?"

"No!" the two hosts said in unison.

The parrot was a half-beat late, screaming: "Yes, ah, uh-uh-uh... Help, help!"

"But the rules didn't say one person can't participate twice. Are you going against the rules?" Ji Xinghai smiled, drawing his demon sword, which exuded a blood-soaked killing intent that tightened throats.

The two hosts took a few steps back, licking their lips, thinking there might still be room for negotiation.

"Six gift boxes."

Ji Xinghai remained silent.

"Seven."

He still didn't speak, just stroking the sword.

"Eight... no, nine."

"Deal."