Infinite Ebullience

Tang Zheng had noticed the cube, which was a meter in length on each side, early on. However, for safety reasons, he did not dare to act rashly. He had even considered fooling the high school student into checking it out. But now, that was unnecessary.

The cube was entirely dark and looked like the nebulous ink color in an inkstone, exuding an aura of simplicity and majesty. It rotated quickly on one corner. As the last note of the International Song dropped, the rotation stopped and it floated mid-air. Six faces lit up simultaneously, flashing profiles of everyone in the room like a carousel lantern. After about ten seconds, the images disappeared, followed by a bloody killing proclamation.

"Toys, please me with your lowly lives and sweet blood!"

"You're full of yourself, do you know who I am? Such pranks can land you in jail, release us immediately." Kang Songde, quite the leader, had an authoritative demeanor once he maintained his composure. Unfortunately, there was no response from the cube, it just kept displaying the subtitles.

"The Survival Challenge Game will begin in five minutes, please select your equipment. Each person can only choose one type."

With a click, the floor under the cube cracked open. Two rows of one meter tall hollow steel frames rose in a cross. On it were twenty silver metal boxes, dozens of firearms, and five green capsules stored in a test tube.

The bald man's eyes glistened and he lunged over, picking up a domestic Type 95 assault rifle. After he ejected the clip and saw the yellowish bullets, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Turns out it's actually real." Zhao Jingye murmured, his face filled with doubts. He also had a premonition that this was more than just a prank. Seeing the bald man efficiently load the rifle, aim, and take his shooting stance, he was scared into picking up an AK74 next to the steel frame in haste. He didn't let out a sigh of relief until then. Only firearms seemed to provide a sense of security for him now.

"Ha, so it really is the Main God." The high school student didn't show a bit of fear, excitedly touching the various weapons, finally selecting an M4A1 he often used in FPS games. He wanted to pick up a gold Desert Eagle as well, but as soon as his finger touched it, a blue spark appeared and instantly spread throughout his body.

The high school student collapsed onto the floor, foaming at the mouth, but didn't lose consciousness; his body convulsed, showing the pain he was presently enduring.

"Old Lin, hurry over and pick a gun. We are completely dependent on it for survival." Seeing the high school student's sorry state and the subtitles on the cube, the bald man gave up on grabbing another gun and beckoned his prison buddy to pick up a gun.

"You guys, don't stand there. Grab one quickly!" Zhao Jingye shouted at the air hostesses, yelling, "Don't worry whether it's a prank or not, the most important thing is to survive."

The ten air hostesses woke up as if from a dream, and they hurried over, out of breath. As they reached out to grab the firearms, Tang Zheng roared for them to stop. Everyone was stunned, not understanding why.

Baldy got a fright, he angrily pointed the gun at Tang Zheng, cursing, "Are you asking for it? Scared yourself to death, huh."

Tang Zheng ignored him - now was not the time to be obstinate. He had to glean more information, as there was less than five minutes left.

"What is the survival challenge we have to face?" Tang Zheng's question gave everyone a start, and they turned their attention back to the cube.

"It is against the rules to reveal the challenge content to the survivor." The words displayed on the cube's screen left everyone feeling disappointed, and the subsequent statement plunged them into an even deeper sense of despair.

"However, considering that all the contestants this time are newbies, with no conquerors who have survived more than three survival challenges participating, the survival rate is less than one in a thousand. The Silver Trojan has made an exception and will provide the challenge content for you toys."

"Survive for fifteen days in Los Angeles under Zombie Siege!"

No one cared about the zombies, the air hostesses were terrified by the extremely low survival rate, Zhao Jingye was even so furious that he yelled out, "One in a thousand, why don't you just tell us to die outright."

"Please note, you have two minutes left for equipment selection." The cube ignored him, and the words displayed on its screen plunged the air hostesses into chaos again. Desperately, they were about to grab the weapons.

"Stop." Tang Zheng kicked the steel frame hard. The force caused several firearms to shake and fall, making a clattering sound as they hit the floor.

"What's wrong with you? Hurry up and pick your weapon, there's no time left. Or do you want the air hostesses to fight off the Zombies bare-handed?" Zhao Jingye was infuriated by Tang Zheng, he then yelled at the hostesses, "He's a madman, don't listen to him. I will help you survive this."

"Ha, already aiming for the leader's position? You're really confident." The bald man snorted in ridicule, but didn't fight for any rights. He knew himself too well. In his prisoner's outfit, no one would listen to him. As for using force to threaten, he would wait until they encounter whatever the hell those zombies were.

"What is in these equipments? What are the requirements and limits?" Tang Zheng took out his mobile phone from his pocket, glanced at the time in a seemingly calm manner, then started to check the equipment on the steel frame. He knew he must establish a responsible and reliable image amongst these people to gain some advantages in the leader selection.

Thirty seconds of silence. Everyone's eyeballs enlarged as they fixated on the screen, afraid even to blink. Their foreheads were covered in sweat. The air hostesses were panicking; even Zhao Jingye felt a little regretful. He regretted being so hasty in picking his equipment. He should have been more cautious. But in the next moment, he burst out laughing.

"No comment!"

These four brutal words instantly crushed the hostesses' hopes. Some of them couldn't help but sob softly.

"Damn it, you're messing with us, wasting our time." Kang Songde bared his teeth with anger, but looking at the variety of equipment before him, he didn't know what to choose. He muttered under his breath, "Should I choose the capsules? There are fewer of them, they must be useful, hmm, considering the sick sense of humor of that cube, it might be hoping for us to fight over these limited capsules. Damn it, why do I always get into things like this?"

The maintenance worker could not withstand the pressure and directly selected a Type 95 Assault Rifle. He hugged it and hid in a corner of the room. The remaining air stewardess was completely at a loss, she didn't know what to do.

"Please note, you have fifty seconds left to select your equipment." The bald man noticed that Lao Lin had also chosen a Type 95 Rifle. He patted him on the shoulder and gleefully recited the subtitles displayed on the cube, sending a jolt through everyone's nerves.

"Motherfucker, you can only take three clips." Zhao Jingye wanted to carry a few more clips, but when he tried to take a fourth one from the rack, he was harshly electrocuted. He couldn't help but curse. "Less than a hundred bullets, what the heck is the point of that?"

"Blabbering isn't going to help, the main task is to find a way to carry more clips." The bald man stopped smiling. After making sure that there was indeed an electric current on the clip, he started cursing with an annoyed look on his face.

"Choose the AK74 assault rifle. If all of us can only carry three clips, it is better than a handgun in terms of the number of bullets. Plus, it's simple and durable, even African kids can handle it." Zhao Jingye's eyes spun towards the air stewardess. He figured they wouldn't know how to use it anyway. In the end, the clips would belong to him.

"Pathetic! You guys all choose the Type 95, and I will teach you how to use a gun. This idiot clearly has no idea what he's doing." The bald man was extremely pissed off, clearly understanding Zhao Jingye's wicked intentions.

"I find that disgusting too. Maybe we should go for a handgun, everyone can use it. Besides, a rifle is too heavy, a burden. How are we supposed to outrun zombies with that?" Zhao Jingye was also getting desperate. If he hadn't been afraid of getting electrocuted, he would have picked a Type 95 to save himself from arguing with the prisoner. However, having handguns for defense was also not bad. No matter what, he decided to trick the air stewardess into giving him whatever firearm she chose.

"Please note, you have twenty seconds left to make your choice."

"We're running out of time, everyone pick the AK74, this guy is a scammer, he can't use guns either." Zhao Jingye saw the bald man inspecting the firearms proficiently and understood that they must have served in the military for several years or at least done some work involving firearms. However, he still kept on lying. He didn't want to put his life in the hands of someone he wasn't familiar with. Besides, was he really going to be unable to learn how to shoot after emptying a single clip? As an elite, Zhao Jingye was sure of himself.

"Choose a handgun! With your slow pace and with a ten-pound rifle on your back, you're practically begging to be killed!" The high schooler was considering the air stewardesses' welfare, hoping to win some favor from them, but as soon as he said this, he was firmly kicked by the bald man.

Baffled by their arguments, the air stewardesses had no idea what to choose. Generally speaking, when unable to make a decision on their own, people are more inclined to take advice from someone they know. If Tang Zheng hadn't interrupted them, they would have chosen the AK74.

"Choose the protective clothing, otherwise we're all dead!"

"Bloody hell, are you planning to do the melee with zombies or are you expecting us to fight while you hide behind and reap benefits?" Zhao Jingye cursed loudly, his saliva practically splattering everywhere. Everyone was about to be persuaded when the one simple sentence from Tang Zheng about everyone dying scared them again.

"Please note, you have ten seconds left to make your choice. The countdown begins, ten!"

"Enough arguing, I have a way to get guns. Just pick the protective clothing, this will give us a higher chance of survival." Tang Zheng picked up a silver metal box that had "Protective Clothing" written on it.

"Nine!"

"Eight!"

"Don't forget we have to survive for fifteen days. According to your shooting skills, three clips can kill about ten zombies at most. At least, with protective clothing, melee fights would be safer." Tang Zheng was still trying to convince them.

"Six!"

"Five!"

The countdown felt like a death sentence, filling the room with huffy, urgent gasps. There was no time to hesitate. Kang Songde gritted his teeth and picked up a metal box. His action was like dropping a stone into a pond, causing a chain reaction. The air stewardesses started grabbing boxes quickly one after another.

"One!"

"If you can't get guns, you will be the first one I'm going to kill." The bald man watched as it became a lost cause. He wanted to vent his anger by shooting a few bullets at Tang Zheng, but his arm had already disappeared, just like everyone else's.

"Time's up, teleportation begins!" A line of subtitle appeared on the screen of the silver Trojan cube.

.......

PS: New book has been published, asking for recommendations and bookmarks