1 A game show

Symphony Of The Seas cruise ship, somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.

A young man with pale skin and dark short hair sat calmly while leaning against the wall of a cell. His head was bent to the ground as he meditated, his hands clutching his knees tight.

Tyler O'Reilly, one of Earth's greatest assassins was once overwhelmed after six years of murdering highly influential individuals across the globe. He was one of the most talked about assassins and literally one of the greatest, but unfortunately, killing the Governor of Shanghai turned out to be his very last move.

And that day marked the end of The Hangman.

Tyler had suffered a whole six months in the Shanghai Federal Correctional Complex, until now... The so-called United Nations Organization ordered that all high-level prisoners should be brought to Los Angeles, California.

At this moment, the main reason was unknown.

"You have got two choices, rookie. It's either you shape up or ship out!"

Suddenly, a bald headed prisoner with thick voice barked from the cell next to Tyler's. Tyler turned his head to the cell... His eyes held a deep sense of calmness that sent shivers in the body of the bald headed prisoner.

After all, he had no time for punks right now. Tyler was only worried about where the ship was heading and what was really going to happen after their arrival. As a bloody and highly-rated assassin, Tyler was only expecting an event that had to do with getting him killed for all his crimes.

'It's going to be death after all.'

Seeing that Tyler had no time for curses and wrangles, the man who had cursed him earlier went silent and minded his business.

After so long, they finally arrived at Los Angeles and an alarming sound echoed around the cells.

[Attention Inmates, we are now approaching Los Angeles, California!]

[You are urged to remain calm and obey every instruction that is being given!]

[Any offense you make grants you hell, and you shall be penalized!]

[Warning: Resist every desire to escape or you shall die!].

The whole cell room was shrouded in murmurs as the voice finally ceased, but Tyler was only quiet as he observed the whole place, staring at the outrageous Prisoners who felt like burning down the whole ship to the ground.

*Bang*

Soon, the exit of the cell room section was pushed open and the S.W. A.T. soldiers dashed in, each of them moving to a particular cell as they aimed their guns directly at every prisoner's skull.

Tyler got handcuffed after some moment and was led out of the cell section. Momentarily, he was taken to a room where he was inspected just like other prisoners.

[Name: Tyler O'Reilly (The Hangman)].

[Age: 24].

[Criminal cases: Saudi King's murder, Governor of Shanghai murder, President of Poland murder, Jeff Bridges murder...]

[Imprisonment Status: Life Imprisonment].

After being inspected he was taken away and was led to the outer section of the ship. Here, Tyler saw more than he could count. The number of prisoners here was so large that Tyler wondered if truly they were high-leveled.

To his guess, there should approximately be ten thousand of them, and this was just the prisoners in the Shanghai Correctional Complex... Actually, the world's prisoners were also on the same journey to Los Angeles.

And after all prisoners had been inspected, they were led out of the ship after reaching the coast of the Pacific Ocean.

[Form a double queue!]

[I repeat, form a double queue!]

"Copy that."

Two queues were formed to make the assemblage organized, and just as the prisoners descended the ship, they were led into a large lengthy van.

This was the only way to get to the Los Angeles metropolis at this moment and the S.W.A.T team wasted no time in doing their jobs.

Tyler could only watch as all these proceeded, waiting for the right moment to know the purpose of being transported to Los Angeles.

At a point, the whole prisoners were shocked by seeing crowds standing by the streets, shouting at the top of their lungs and raising their hands as though they were praising the criminals.

"Huh?" Tyler couldn't help but let out a slight comment of wonder. "Instead of throwing stones, they are wholeheartedly praising us?"

Tyler's eyes widened in shock... Most of the prisoners in the assemblage also had the exact same reaction and were visibly stunned. It went on like this until they finally reached their destination.

"The United Nation Conduit Station", a lofty skyscraper built in northern Los Angeles. Right below this building was a large ground space made for entry for the prisoners to assemble.

"What the hell is happening? Why are we here?" Tyler questioned himself, stunned.

He stared into the distance only to see more prisoners assembling at the extensive ground with each S.W.A.T officer guarding a single prisoner. Their weapons were highly dangerous, so no prisoner would ever dream of making an attempt to escape.

Tyler joined the groupings in the ground space and waited for the arrival of the Vice president of the United States since they were aware that he would be giving a speech after the arrival of the prisoners.

They waited for quite a long time before the Vice president was shown "Live" on a huge screen at the top of the building. The complicated look on his face never indicated anything meaningful, but regardless, the prisoners and the whole world paid attention to this global speech.

"Dear people, it's an honor to be granted the opportunity to speak to the world. I hope my speech suits your desires."

The Vice president cleared his throat and continued. "For years, the world had suffered recession, low economic growth, and financial imbalance. We the rulers of the world had searched for a great way to solve this issue for decades... Luckily and fortunately, today, we finally found a way to transform the world."

*Murmurs*

And these murmurs seemed to be sounding all around the world.

"Yeah, we the rulers of the world found a key to absolute success, and have created a game show where everyone can partake. In this game show, those who have been our greatest misery will now be our joy and fun... They would be transported into the game world we have created and become Players who would fight and kill in order to survive."

"Holy... Shit."

Tyler muttered in shock as he heard that statement.

'How is that possible?' He thought.

However, the Vice President wasn't done talking.

"It's a survival game show where only the famous shall live. Five, the first five Players to reach the last stage of the game shall be the winners. These five Players shall be granted freedom, and shall get their criminal cases erased."

"On behalf of the United Nations Organization, this is my speech to the world."

"World greatest prisoners, get ready to enter a new world... Get ready for ApexRise Online!" The Vice President announced, and the screen suddenly turned blank.

"Yeah!!!"

The whole world shouted in excitement as the speech came to an end, leaving the world's greatest criminals stunned and terrified.

"What a unique penalty."

Tyler commented with a bitter smile and made his way to the Conduit area where the Players were about to be transported. The S.W.A.T. officer was following suit so Tyler never had any intention to make a funny move.

When he got to the Conduit area he was placed in a glass-built structure that looked like a coffin. Inside, Tyler felt chills all over, the cold was just way too overwhelming for him to bear. However, he had no choice but to endure.

And then, after staying in this setup for a while, a female voice sounded calm. The wicket of the structure was tightly closed, so Tyler was sure that the voice was already programmed inside it since it was impossible to hear from the outside.

[Players, the world would be watching and you shall be favored by only those who love you].

[Create a Pseudonym and choose a Class as soon as you are transported into ApexRise Online].

[Good Luck! And remember, the world is watching!]

As soon as the voice stopped talking, Tyler felt himself vanishing and appearing in an instant. The cold was gone and was replaced by an intense feeling of heat.

Opening his eyes, Tyler heard a system notification echoing in the skies. It was so calm and robotic, making Tyler believe that this was truly a game world.

[Welcome to ApexRise Online! Please create a pseudonym and class to proceed].