Everything that was happening in Liberty City, captured by the crystal cameras embedded on the ‘live streamers’ and the nightmare monsters, was transformed into invisible data streams and sent to Manjusaka. Then, through the super-remote launch bases deployed there, they were transmitted to the thousands of planets in the entire Imperium of True Human Beings and became the only food to satisfy the minds of countless ‘hominoids’.
When Zhao Xiaofei crawled out of the dark, sunless, underground mines on the noisy lift, he was already as exhausted as could be. Even his eyes were almost clogged up with mud and sweat. His dizziness was trying to drag the young miner who had worked for forty-eight hours in a row into dreamland.
However, his nerves were more excited than ever, and bloody spots burst out deep inside his eyeballs. Perhaps he did not realize it himself, but his lips curled into a cruel smile like a conditional reflex.
He swallowed hard, looking around, only to discover that he was surrounded by workmates who were physically fatigued but mentally excited just like him. The only foreman was half asleep not far away. So, he secretly took out an ‘energy pill’ from his pocket and swallowed it, pretending to be coughing.
The so-called ‘energy pills’ were designed to be swallowed when the miners worked for a long time in a row deep inside the mines. Although the pills could refresh the miners’ body and head for a moment, they would be drowsy and lackluster for a long time.
Zhao Xiaofei had taken three energy pills last night, which was the only reason he had accomplished more than what he had been tasked with and received a bonus on the spot. At this moment, he should take a proper rest and was no longer suitable to take any more energy pills. Should he be discovered by the foreman or the boss, they would definitely whip him hard.
However… Screw it. He was not the only one taking the pills. The energy pills in the medical rooms in the mines often disappeared by the box. He did not believe that those medicine boxes could have grown feet and run off on their own!
Hot air spurted out of Zhao Xiaofei’s nose. He looked at the workmates around him, and they all grimaced and grinned at each other.
The heavy and tedious work was finally over. Right now, the souls of the young miners no larger than twenty years old had long left their humble and weak bodies and flown to the bloody worlds of slaughters thousands of lightyears away.
The moment he returned to his shabby shed, Zhao Xiaofei immediately screamed and lunged at his crystal processor like everybody else. The Imperium of True Human Beings highlighted equality, harmony, development, and progress. The hominoids were qualified to surf on the Spiritual Nexus, but of course, considering that the education level and the identification abilities of the hominoids were low, they were more vulnerable to the demagogism of the Covenant Alliance, the extraterrestrial devils, or other malicious forces. Therefore, only the websites approved by the Ministry of Culture of the Imperium could appear before the netizens who were hominoids, for their own physical and mental health and for the peace and unity of the society.
Zhao Xiaofei was not interested in the few formal websites of the government that had been established for propaganda purposes. He logged into the slaughter stream platforms as quickly as possible.
Unlike what Wei Xiaotian had said to Xiahou Wuxin in Liberty City, the Land of Sins was not the only slaughter stream platform in the Imperium of True Human Beings. Ever since the streams had proven their efficiency in collecting capital, maintaining order, and improving the work efficiency, the big shots of various fields had been flooding into the market like wild beasts. A myriad of stream platforms had been developing exponentially, including both the battles against the Alliance of the Holy Covenant on the frontline and the virtual entertainment for adults within the Imperium. Anything that could be imagined could be shot. Almost every second of the hominoids’ off-work life had been occupied.
However, hearing that a very special show was airing on the Land of Sins, Zhao Xiaofei still switched to the stream platform of the Heavenly Eye group without any hesitation.
The skeleton lizards were tearing the guts out of the bandits of the Land of Sins. Blood and flesh were flying everywhere!
Zhao Xiaofei was immediately fascinated by the thrilling pictures. He could not help but moan like an animal, and hot sweat rolled out of his greasy skin. To him, this was even more enjoyable than taking a hot bath.
The other workmates in the same shed roared at the same time. Their bodies, which had been deformed because of years of arduous work, cramped violently, making them look like abnormal beasts.
On Zhao Xiaofei’s eyeballs, colorful, exciting pictures were revolving quickly, absorbing his soul like an immeasurable kaleidoscope.
On the picture, one of the live streamers walked up to a sinner in the Land of Sins who was catching his last breath in a hideous smile, with two chainswords in his hands.
“Kill him! Kill him! Cut his head off and kick it like a ball!”
Zhao Xiaofei clenched his fists and roared. His temples and the veins on the back of his hand were bouncing at the same frequency. He felt as if he was holding two chainswords and galloping on a battlefield, too.
In the picture, one of the live streamers was crushed by a heavy iron-armored tank brutally. The tracks with iron thorns rolled over his body without any mercy. The last picture was the bloodstained mud in the middle of the tracks.
“Hahaha. What an idiot. Why did you become a live streamer when you were so weak? You could’ve evaded it if you moved slightly to the left!”
Zhao Xiaofei slapped his thigh and laughed wildly, commenting on the situation in great excitement.
On the third picture, a female live streamer who was barely wearing anything was writhing and moaning in the mud, begging for help pitifully like a wounded cat. In front of her was another streamer who was grinning hideously. Through the crystal cameras on both of them, it would be possible to appreciate what was going to happen next from different angles. But it was a shame that the most critical parts had all been blurred into gray mosaics. One had to pay a certain amount in tips to disperse the mosaics.
“Aooo!”
Zhao Xiaofei began to breathe heavily. The effect of the ‘energy pill’ seemed to have flowed from the upper half of his body to the lower half. Without any hesitation, the ‘bonus’ that he earned after working for two days and two nights without any rest was given away as a tip, and his hands went to his pants beyond his control.
The air of the small, narrow shed was filled with the stench of sour sweat, smelly feet, and something like shrimp sauce. The breaths, wild laughter, and roars of his workmates were echoing now and then, too. Zhao Xiaofei, however, completely forgot the world around him. His entire world was the fair, shapely body on the light beam.
After five minutes, Zhao Xiaofei completely loosened and collapsed, like a dead fish that had been blown to the beach.
His account was completely empty now. Not only was he unable to pay for the tipping and the private channel, he could not even pay the basic fees to keep the public channel playing. The crazy, bizarre worlds on the light beam were gradually dimming.
His brain, on the other hand, was even emptier than his account. All the effects of the energy pill seemed to have been ejaculated together with those other fluids. The fatigue that had been piled as high as a mountain immediately collapsed and buried him inside, making him unable to move.
Before he fell into darkness, Zhao Xiaofei secretly made up his mind to ask Laowu the Smelly Feet for a few more ultimate energy pills so that he could work hard and try to earn double bonuses.
Then, instead watching the women’s thighs and drooling like a loser, he would take a wild gamble with the double bonuses!
He was told that He Laozhi of the third shift had gotten quite lucky a few days back. The man had wagered the money that he earned after a month of overtime on a rookie streamer whom nobody had hopes on. But as it turned out, the rookie who had just begun his career passed five tests in a death match. He Laozhi won so much money that he enjoyed himself in the city for quite a few days before he returned. After he got back, he would point at his groin whenever he met someone and declare cockily, “Do you see it? It is swollen now because it has been used too much.”
Zhao Xiaofei was only seventeen years old. He wanted to know what the feeling was to use it until it was swollen.
Even He Laozhi, the well-acknowledged idiot, had his day and won such a great amount of money. He was much smarter than him. There was no way why he could lose, right?
He had carefully analyzed the rules of the eighty-one betting options on the Heavenly Eye Stream Platform, and he had also selected a few very potential streamers.
He should have won a lot of money today. But he had himself to blame for his lack of determination. After all, nobody stuck his eyes to the two plump, shivering things.
He had never done it for real with a woman, not even one from a virtual world. What would it feel like exactly? Certainly much more satisfying than his callused hands, right?
In fact, Zhao Xiaofei had once considered being a ‘live streamer’.
He was told that after one was admitted into the training camp for the live streamers, not only would they have whatever food and drink they wanted, they would be given however many women they needed. Even if the women were virtual, they could barely be recognized!
However, when he thought of the pictures where countless steamers fell apart or were chewed into a pulp by the ferocious beasts, the fire in Zhao Xiaofei’s heart and pants perished immediately.
He certainly would not do such a stupid thing!
His life right now was not half bad. Although his work was tiresome, and he might be whipped every now and then, and there were occasionally collapses and explosions, he could keep his belly full. Also, there were certain rules that spared him of the insecure life where the fittest survived, like the Land of Sins. Every once in a while, he could even have some fun in the virtual world.
Hehe. The sinners of the Land of Sins were the real miserable ones. Compared to them, his life did not seem bad at all. He was actually rather happy!
However, Zhao Xiaofei was not going to pity the sinners just because of that.
He was told by the foreman and the boss that all the sinners were the most violent criminals and the enemies who tried to sabotage the peace and unity of the great Imperium. They had themselves to blame for what had become of them.
As long as the miners worked dutifully and made contributions to the great Imperium and the civilization of mankind without complaint, they would not need to worry about ending up like the sinners. The Imperium would do its best to ensure their safety and happiness.
“They deserve it…” Zhao Xiaofei mumbled in a low voice, and there was no telling whom he was referring to. Crossing his sticky hands on his chest, he began to snooze in great satisfaction.
