Chapter 185: Chapter 173 Story One Chapter 185: Chapter 173 Story One And at the bar of this pub sat a man…

He appeared to be under 30, yet he was dressed in a “motorcycle jacket” that had been popular 50 years ago. His hair was styled in a messy, period-appropriate “tousled” look, as if a bit of eyeliner and smoky makeup would complete a perfectly authentic “country punk” style.

Fortunately, his face was relatively clean, and, honestly, he could pass for “handsome.” However, there was something flippant about the way his eyes and brows moved.

At that moment, upon hearing the door, he turned his head to look at Chen Xiao, fiddling with an empty glass in his hand.

Well… handsome, frivolous, with tacky tastes; smart enough to have made it here, but he seemed carelessly laid back, his face screaming “unreliable,” probably with a touch of bad luck and a know-it-all attitude… Mixing together such a chaotic set of attributes, was this character design even okay?

Chen Xiao stood at the doorway, unable to control the criticism that brewed in his mind.

Then, as usual, he waved his hand.

“Hi~~”

His face once again wore that smile he considered very polite…

And the other person, seeing Chen Xiao’s “warm” greeting

“Uh… hi…”

had no choice but to wave back, his expression briefly flashing “awkward” before showing a polite slight bow, almost like a bow. However, he probably had his own criticisms in mind.

Since the door wasn’t far from the bar, during the greeting, Chen Xiao had already walked up to the bar and found a seat not too far and not too close to the “country punk guy”…

The two men thus sat in an empty bar, and even though they knew it was just a temporary venue for a competition, the scene still looked quite awkward.

However… neither of the participants seemed to mind, each occasionally glancing at the other from the corner of their eyes, searching for an opportunity to probe further.

A few seconds passed.

“Uh… hello!” The country punk guy spoke first, “I still don’t know how many players are participating in this contest, so why don’t we get acquainted first? My name is ‘Watanabe Ichiro,’ what should I call you?”

Having said that, he had revealed his name.

And as for Chen Xiao, hearing this name that carried a strong regional identity, he wasn’t too surprised, given the behavior of the other during their short interaction, and the unique intonation wrapped in that “Hi,” he had already guessed this outcome.

“Hello Watanabe-san… I’m Wang Billy,” Chen Xiao nodded in response, deliberately matching the other’s tone.

“Uh… if you don’t mind, could you talk about the game you played last round… Of course, I will share mine in return.” He asked casually, nodding as if by habit after each sentence.

Chen Xiao responded politely, “Ah, it was a game called ‘The Game of Black and White’, guessing our own colors from everyone’s votes… Basically, it was quite boring. Hahaha.” He laughed awkwardly.

“Oh, same here, it seems like every group in this contest is playing the same game… Hahaha.” The other man also laughed awkwardly.

At the same time, both of them silently cursed, “Hmph… shameless wretch!”

…

…

So, with just that one question, both understood there was no need to probe any further since neither was being truthful anyway.

…And so, the atmosphere returned to silence…

Fortunately, the awkwardness of two men alone didn’t last too long.

Suddenly, a “squeak…” sound was heard.

An old television on the top shelf of the liquor rack turned on by itself.

After a few seconds of flickering, the screen turned completely black and, in the middle of this black display, several white lines converged together, forming a… face.

At that moment, the facial expression on the TV was this:

^_^

…

“What… what is this?” Watanabe glanced at the TV screen and was at a loss for words for a moment.

It was then that the television… spoke up!

“Participants for the elite cognitive final… Field Team C staff: Chen Xiao… Field Team C staff: Tsujido Yuto.”

…

…

Alright, it seemed there was no real straight talk, and the atmosphere on site was awkward as hell.

“Uh… nice to meet you…” Realizing there was no point in pretending anymore, the guy named Yuto didn’t hold back; he swept away the polite demeanor, leaned back in his chair, resting a foot on the chair’s rung with a devil-may-care look: “You’re Chen Xiao, right?”

Seeing Yuto’s carefree attitude, Chen Xiao, who clearly wasn’t shy either, grinned and chuckled, “Yes, it seems it’s just the two of us left in this competition, huh!”

The two exchanged looks, and their gazes intersected, making the silence around them uncomfortably palpable.

“Ah… though it’s surprising, it does seem to be just you and me.” Yuto said casually, “But instead of that, we should pay attention to this thing right here.” He then shifted his gaze towards the old-fashioned television set.

At that moment, the face displayed on the TV screen suddenly changed… into this:

(*￣０￣)

Yuto, startled, exclaimed, “Nani? The expression changes too?”

No sooner had he spoken than the television announced:

“Listen up, listen up, folks, I am about to announce the rules of the competition.”

The voice was probably of a pre-teen, gender-neutral, without too much of an electronic timbre, even somewhat… uh… cute if you listened with your eyes closed.

Both immediately straightened their expressions and quieted down. Rules were to be taken seriously. Despite the weirdness of the television, being around the Foundation long enough made anything acceptable.

The television continued, “Next, I will describe a story through movies, pictures, texts, and language. Unlike normal storytelling, the story’s plot development, character information, or most of the details, clues, and other elements all need to be purchased with ‘chips’. You can also ask me questions about the story content, but I will only answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’, and of course, I can also choose not to answer. Note, asking questions will also cost corresponding chips…”

…

…

A few seconds later, Yuto waited for more rules, but it seemed that was all.

“Is that all?” He asked, slightly confused.

The next second, the television responded with a truly human-like tone: “Ah! Yes, that’s it!” (´･ω･`).

At that, Chen Xiao couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“Hey, what the heck are you, really? A Cybertronian disguised as an old-fashioned TV? Even in novels, nothing as bizarre as you would appear, you know. Those expressions on the screen are totally off, seriously! And what’s with these game rules? They’re completely nonsensical. What does it mean that the plot development and detail descriptions need to be bought with chips? How do you buy them? By the kilo? Besides that, you didn’t even mention the conditions for winning the competition. Isn’t that a bit irresponsible?”

…

After hearing Chen Xiao’s long tirade, Tsujido Yuto was taken aback for a moment but quickly nodded in agreement with the rant.

…

Three seconds of silence

…

Then, the television slowly spoke, “Hmm… you have a point!”

At the same time, its expression also changed: (´-へ-,)

“Now, let me supplement the game rules. The value of the chips for any plot or clue will be decided by the highest executive of the competition, which is me. The amount of chips needed for each question will also be determined by me as needed. As for the victory condition, let’s set it as whoever deduces the complete story plot first will be the winner.”

As the television prattled on, filling in the gaps in the competition rules, there were still many aspects left unclear, such as what happens after ‘plot progression’ is purchased, and what exactly defines the ‘complete story plot’ that needs to be deduced. Most intriguingly, what in the world was this television? It certainly seemed to be more than just a machine! And its irresponsible attitude was definitely disconcerting.