Chapter 286

Chapter 286: Chapter 283: "Su Ming’an, Take Down Boss Rabbit!Mizushima Kawa Sora looked up to locate her seat.

She was currently in the elite players’ area, distinguished by a bright red color, extremely spacious with aisles twice as wide as those for ordinary players.

With this observation, she saw the large screen hanging overhead.

There were several large broadcast screens present, seemingly employing special magical technology—visible to all players irrespective of distance.

Besides displaying the auction items, they also showcased scenes of Adventurer Players. Just a moment ago, the camera had frozen on Su Ming’an, who had just come through the passageway.

Even players who hadn’t heard any sound noticed someone now, and cries and howls suddenly filled the air everywhere.

For those here to watch the spectacle... to see such a collective chorus, chanting slogans with thunderous unity—on some level, it was worth the admission price. Some of them had come just for the chance to roar like this.

Days before the auction began, people had already been vocal on the global forum about giving the top leaderboard players a "surprise" to show how "powerful" their slogan chanting could be.

Their slogan chanting was amusing and indeed helped lift the atmosphere.

But Mizushima Kawa Sora found it all too noisy.

...If it weren’t necessary to attend in person to auction items, she really wouldn’t have come.

She found her flamboyantly glittery seat marker under the number four and sat down, closed her eyes to preserve her spirit, and ignored the overly boisterous scene.

To her left, a handsome young man with blond hair and dressed in a suit had been sitting with a somber expression for quite some time.

"Mizushima Kawa Sora," Edward began, calling out her full name.

Mizushima Kawa Sora closed her eyes, ignoring him.

"...That guy, he’s really too ostentatious," Edward said with a grave face, "What does he think this place is? His personal concert? An attention seeker..."

He watched the entire hall erupt in cheers and screams, watched as the whole atmosphere was instantly ignited like a keg of gunpowder, his tone growing heavier.

Mizushima Kawa Sora didn’t speak.

She simply took out a bunch of bright red roses and held them in her arms.

At that moment, a laugh suddenly came from the left.

"Ah, come on, Edward, the sourness is spilling over to me," the voice teased.

A blond youngster in a red double-breasted shirt and draped in a deep red cloak appeared from the back. He was dressed like a little Western noble today, and as he walked over, his face was filled with a radiant smile:

"There’s no need to be so sour; it won’t look good if it gets out. If you ask me, it’s that United Group of yours that’s too profit-driven. Such a big Edward, refusing to be promoted, and instead, helping build momentum for someone like Su Ming’an... Hmm, thinking about it, no wonder you’re so upset. You must be the one losing face the most right now..."

With this, he spread his hands and sighed:

"How pitiable... Losing in the instances, losing in real life, abandoned by the organization you joined, while others who didn’t join any are chased by people eager to support them..."

Edward looked at him, and gradually, the surging emotions within him began to calm down, the anger in his deep blue eyes slowly fading.

He sat back in his seat, the oppressive aura around him gradually retracting.

"...Ah, calming down now," Noel let go of his hand, "Too bad. I was all ready to record this."

Edward remained silent, merely watching the scene unfold at the auction with a steady gaze.

Mizushima Kawa Sora, sitting beside him, also continued to rest with closed eyes, as if she hadn’t heard the recent turmoil, completely disengaged.

The noise around me was getting louder; at the same time, through the other entrance passages, some rather famous players also emerged. The journalists, like sharks that had scented blood, pounced on them, grabbing one after another for interviews.

Unlike Su Ming’an, these interviewed players seemed to be quite delighted, thoroughly indulging in the feeling of being the center of worldwide attention. Their responses to questions were infused with an air of extreme confidence.

"Hahaha... What? Going for several auction items? Definitely aiming for the best one—I’m very lucky, managed to save up quite a lot of Points in the last world. My entire fortune now amounts to three hundred Points, and I believe there aren’t many here who can outdo me."

"The group of peak players is here too? They are nothing special. Sooner or later, I’ll take the place of one of them!"

"Me? I’m quite confident. After all, I performed well in the Sixth World~ I believe today will yield a good outcome."

"Haha, the previous online fever, the ’World Hero’ event? I saw it, even participated in it. It’s a shame that my idol Iris wasn’t among them; otherwise, I would have really liked to interact with her..."

"What? That huge transparent glass room is the Number One Player’s spot? ...So surprising, I thought it was a different kind of auction stand, after all, it’s quite special... Haha, sorry, that room caught me off guard, I couldn’t help but want to take a closer look..."

At this moment, the endlessly emerging top-ranking players were like glittering pearls to the journalists.

These individuals, who would normally be extremely difficult to get an interview with, were now as common as grains of rice here. The journalists pursued them relentlessly, asking questions non-stop, not daring to rest for a moment for fear of losing a topic.

Upon seeing a new target slowly making her way through the passage, a young journalist’s eyes brightened and he immediately lunged forward, his microphone swiftly advancing.

"Hello, Miss Bonnie, may I ask your thoughts on this auction..."

Clutching a Winnie the Pooh plushie and significantly shorter than everyone else, the pink-haired loli glared at the approaching journalist.

"Don’t come any closer to me!" Like a mouse whose tail had been stepped on, her tone instantly escalated, and she became sharply aggressive, "You lowly human, don’t deserve to speak to me—I’ll burn you!"

As she spoke, her gums protruded—a face as ferocious as a wild beast baring its teeth.

Witnessing the sudden menacing transformation of what was originally a cute loli, the young journalist’s legs turned to jelly. He nearly dropped to his knees, his microphone rolling away on the ground.

When facing a real top-ranking player, if the player didn’t hold back their aura, ordinary players who hadn’t been through battle and bloodshed would find it hard to stand.

Especially the Flame Loli, Bonnie, who had just fought her way out of the Sixth World. She was naturally fierce, and it seemed that world made her even more terrifying. Her presence, when unleashed, was like a mountain that instantly made the journalist before her drop to the ground.

Aura of murder truly exists on top-ranking players; it can indeed make a person instantly lose their combat power, succumbing to fear.

"Hmph."

Watching the journalist willingly fall to the ground, Bonnie snorted lightly, hugging her teddy bear as she hopped and skipped her way towards the top-ranking players’ area. The passing players cleared a path for her—despite Bonnie being a highly talked-about top-ranking player, no one dared confront her directly.

As she entered the top-ranking players’ area and saw that conspicuously protruding glass room with a glimpse of Su Ming’an inside, Bonnie suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Under the cautious gaze of others, she bypassed her assigned seat, striding forward until she entered the blood-red area of peak players where Mizushima Kawa Sora and others were located.

Standing below that conspicuous glass room, Bonnie suddenly paused.

"—Su Ming’an!" Clutching her teddy bear tightly, she shouted, her voice sounding childlike and milky.

Su Ming’an looked down.

Even Edward, who had been sulking, and Mizushima Kawa Sora, who had been resting with his eyes closed, turned their curious gazes towards her. They weren’t fazed by Bonnie’s aura of murder; they were just intrigued as to why the little loli had come to their area.

With a swift gesture, Bonnie pointed her right hand towards Su Ming’an, standing with her legs apart—looking soft and cuddly all over.

She looked very cute... if one could overlook all those she had cruelly burnt to death.

"Once this auction is over, duel with me!" she declared, her big, grape-like eyes full of luster.

"I refuse."

From above, Su Ming’an’s indifferent voice drifted down.

With a "thump," Bonnie stomped her foot fiercely.

Then, like two pile drivers, her feet crazily pounded down, her whole body swaying like two stilt-walkers, as if she was about to puncture the carpeted ground beneath her.

"No! No! No! —— Duel with me, duel with me, duel with me ——"

She stomped wildly, her pink ponytails swinging, her ocean-blue eyes glistening, seeming as if at any moment tears might fall.

"Su Ming’an, duel with me! Su Ming’an, duel with me! Su Ming’an, duel with me ——"

Like a pink repeating machine, her mouth could only utter this incessantly repeated demand, her voice sharp and piercing, distressing Mizushima Kawa Sora, who was just about to continue meditating.

"Su Ming’an! You deal with this person!" she cried, covering her ears, unable to bear it.

"Tsk." Edward chuckled derisively from the side, apparently delighted by the scene.

"Duel with me, duel with me! Duel with me ——" Bonnie kept on, her screaming so intense it hurt one’s eardrums.

"...May I ask the reason for initiating this duel?"

From above, a voice gently floated down from the glass room.

Getting a response, the twin-tailed loli finally ceased her noise pollution.

She put her hands behind her back, tilted her head, swung it, then tilted again, her body suddenly swaying like a fan, as if unable to stop.

After a brief pause to think, she suddenly spoke up, her voice crisp and tender like bamboo shoots in the spring:

"—— because I also want to live in the big glass room!"

Su Ming’an: "..."

Su Ming’an: (I would give it to you right now if I could.)

"You just said it! Defeat you, and the Organizers will look after me, let me live in the big glass room, right!" The little loli stomped, as if keeping a beat: "Then I’ll defeat you! Defeat you! Defeat you, and I’ll be looked after, Bonnie needs to be looked after! Bonnie wants someone to care for her ——"

"Being looked after by the Organizers isn’t exactly a good thing," Noel said with a smile on the side.

"But I want others to look after me!" Bonnie yelled loudly: "—— I want daddy and mommy, but you won’t give them to me! I want grandpa and grandma, and you won’t give them to me either! You’re hiding them! As long as I burn you bad guys, they will come back ——"

"No, no, no." Noel quickly added: "You see, it’s not us who are hiding your parents, it’s the Organizers. Here, I’ll teach you a method. Go burn the Organizers, that ugly rabbit, the one that hosted the opening ceremony, burn it, and I promise your family will immediately return, without a moment’s delay."

Bonnie paused, stunned.

Her agitated movements faltered, and then, she tilted her head slightly:

"Is... is that true?"

"Absolutely," Noel said, trying not to laugh.

"Alright, stop teasing her like that," a somewhat mature female voice floated over from a little farther away.

Flora, a top ten Player with rose-colored hair, leaned over, smiling and waving at Bonnie: "Come here, Bonnie, come to sister. Sister will tell you where your mommy and daddy have gone..."

Her voice was soft and serene, with a uniquely mature charm.

Bonnie, seemingly puzzled, walked straight toward her.

"...She is quite something, Flora."

Lu, ranked sixth with hair as blue as the sea, watched Bonnie walk over cautiously: "Such an effect on the spirit, not even a direct attack, and yet so naturally persuasive... Even I felt a bit swayed. These Players who are ranked just like me, not one of them should be underestimated."

His side, Bei Wang, ranked seventh and with eyes closed, cracked his eyes open slightly.

"Hmm," Bei Wang murmured in response, his gaze somewhat blank, as though shrouded in mist, as if he hadn’t fully woken up.

"But the most impressive... is probably the guy up there." Lu spoke softly, nodding upwards: "According to analysis, his Mentality Points must be at least one hundred fifty... A monstrous existence. I really don’t know how he can deal such absurd damage..."

"Mm," Bei Wang replied.

"...Stop falling asleep."

"Ah?"

"The auction is about to start."

That’s where Lu stopped speaking.

At the same time, those who were either singing loudly or shouting "Down with Boss Bunny" also stopped their noise unanimously.

Because, at the center of everyone’s view,

a bright beam of light was slowly falling through the floating white clouds.

In the center of the auction platform, a white figure appeared.

Facing the seemingly endless gazes of millions, it spread its hands, its tone full of mirth:

"My, my... unexpected. Everyone gathered so promptly."

"It’s game time, 7:55 PM!"

"——Welcome, dear Players, to our world-class auction event!"

"...What’s going on, did I see wrong?"

Yin Zhiyan, sitting in the area for fourth-ranking Players, couldn’t help but rub her eyes.

She was one of the reporters armed with long and short lenses, who had just been busy interviewing the top-ranked Players, seizing every second of interview time.

But with the sudden descent of the beam of light onto the auction stage, everyone who had been standing and moving about returned to their places in an instant.

Though Yin Zhiyan regretted the interruption of her interview, the predominant feeling in her heart at this moment was shock.

She was astonished by the figure on the auction stage, by the host speaking... astonished by him.

It wasn’t the anticipated disgusting and ugly Boss Bunny, nor was it any other bizarre creature.

It was a boy in a white cufflink shirt and suit, with white hair and red eyes.

Holding a microphone, he looked clean and refreshing, like a handsome young student from a Japanese school.