Regional Competition

Shen Yi opened his eyes to find himself on a small hillside. On the basketball court, over twenty adventurers were sizing each other up. The prompt from the Bloody Emblem sounded, drawing everyone's attention:

"Entered the world of X-Men. Current location: suburbs of New York."

"This mission is a regional competition mode with no main quest."

"Competition details: New York Murder Race - Hunting Mutants. Duration: 72 hours. Requirement: Do not leave the New York area, violators will be annihilated."

"Kill a Level 1 mutant for 1 point of slaughter value. Level 2 mutant, 5 points. Level 3 mutant, 20 points. Level 4 mutant, 50 points. Level 5 mutant, 100 points."

"There are 100 participants in this mission, involving adventurers from four regions. At the end of the mission, regional slaughter value rankings will be calculated. The top 15 from the first-ranked region will survive, the rest will be annihilated. From the second-ranked region, the top 10 will survive, and so on. The fourth-ranked region will face complete annihilation."

"The highest killer in each region will receive a double D-grade extra reward, 2 skill points, and Bloody points equal to 1000 times the number of survivors in their region. The second-place will receive a D-grade reward, 1 skill point, and Bloody points calculated similarly. The first overall individual will receive a special additional reward."

"World of X-Men scenario introduction: This scenario follows the X-Men series. After the battle on Devil's Island, Magneto did not lose his powers but became even stronger. Professor X, though dead, was reborn with the help of Dr. Moira and gained a new body. Due to the battle in the third part at Devil's Island, the human government no longer trusts mutants. Two years later, the U.S. Congress officially passed the 12th Amendment to the National Security Act."

"The 12th Amendment stipulates: 1) All mutants, whether their powers have awakened or not, must register their identity and abilities under the supervision of the National Security Agency. Those who fail to register are considered criminals. 2) Registered mutants are subject to movement and firearm ownership restrictions. 3) Restrictions on the number and proportion of mutants in companies, societies, parties, and other group enterprises or organizations founded by mutants. 4) Prohibition of mutants holding large meetings composed entirely of mutants or where mutants constitute more than twelve percent. 5) Mutants are forbidden to own more than three percent of shares in key industries such as energy, weapons, finance, and mining. 6) Mutants are banned from holding any government positions and more than forty industries and over two hundred jobs are closed to them, including in special enterprises where mutants cannot hold senior management positions. 7) All mutants with violent tendencies and aggressive abilities are subject to safety supervision and monitoring..."

"The 12th Amendment sparked strong resistance from mutants. Under Magneto's leadership, the conflict between mutants and humans intensified, leading to a full-blown war. The entire United States became a battlefield between mutants and humans. Mutants with special abilities formed their own organizations, with Magneto leading terrorist attacks against the U.S. government. New York, the main battleground, plunged into chaos. Professor X and his students continued to remain neutral, calling for restraint..."

A series of information left everyone in shock.

Hong Lang's voice was the loudest: "Damn, it's a full regional competition mode this time!"

Some newcomers, not quite understanding what the four regions meant, began to inquire.

Hong Lang explained loudly: "The so-called four regions mean that each difficulty level is divided into East, West, South, and North. The East is the China region, but it's not just Chinese people. Apart from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, it also includes some other areas like the border of Nepal. However, their numbers are so small they're almost negligible. The West is Europe and America, the South includes other Asian regions, and the North covers Africa, South America, and Australia. This mission involves 25 people from each of these four regions participating in the competition. It seems like Bloody City is calculating both regional and individual rankings. The region with the highest slaughter value can spare a few more lives. This time it's a direct annihilation, so holding onto your Bloody points is useless!"

"Damn it!" everyone cursed.

Wen Rou said, "Since it's about calculating slaughter values for ranking, does that mean if we kill the other adventurers, we can slow down their slaughter value acquisition rate?"

Jin Gang chuckled, "Why so murderous, miss? But you're right, it's both a team and individual competition. The only problem is, the others will think of this too. They might be planning to kill us before we even think of killing them."

"There's another problem," Shen Yi suddenly said. "

Notice that even the winning region with the highest regional slaughter value has to lose at least ten people. This means we need to cooperate against others while competing internally."

His words sent a chill through everyone.

Indeed, Bloody City encouraged regional competition while subtly making it impossible for adventurers to truly work together. For adventurers, their own lives were always the most important. If one was the lowest in slaughter value, they might be tempted to kill those ranked higher to advance their position. However, such actions would undoubtedly lead to imitation by others, severely weakening their own region's competitive strength, resulting in the last-place regional ranking and complete annihilation.

For the top-ranked adventurers, the more who survive, the better. The more who survive the competition, the higher their rewards, and the greater their chances of being the regional and overall first.

This contradiction was precisely what Bloody City had meticulously crafted, forcing adventurers to struggle between personal and group interests, to be wary of adventurers from other regions as well as their own.

The adventurers could no longer trust their comrades as before.

Seeing everyone silent, Shen Yi coldly said, "So now everyone understands? The intention of Bloody City is clear. We have to compete both regionally and individually, do the killing, and not neglect the mission. How to balance these issues is something we need to figure out ourselves."

"How to deal with it? What else can we do?" an adventurer shouted, "Just rush out and kill mutants, kill any we encounter, and if we meet adventurers from other regions, kill them too. We all scramble to kill mutants, and team up to fight adventurers from other regions. As for survival, it depends on individual ability!"

Someone sneered, "If everyone thought like you, it would be simple. But there's always someone who, when ranking low, would do anything in desperation."

"Especially those who drag us down," another said sarcastically. The adventurer's gaze turned to the obese man.

He too had joined this mission and was trembling with fear at the mission prompt.

"I think we should organize and act together," an adventurer suggested. "We all go hunt mutants together, which increases our chances of success. If any bastard dares to harm our own, we'll deal with him. If we encounter adventurers from other regions, we'll have the strength to fight."

"Not a bad idea," someone agreed.

Shen Yi responded coldly, "Do you realize how vast New York City is? Do you know how many humans and mutants are there? Do you know where the mutants are concentrated? Even if you had thirty days, let alone three, you couldn't cover every street and alley here. Move as a group of 25? How many places can we cover? How many mutants can we kill? Sure, it's safe, but what about efficiency? If other regions form several teams and operate simultaneously, we'll be left behind. Then, we can just wait for our collective annihilation."

Everyone was stunned. Indeed, moving together would definitely be less efficient than splitting up. Being last in regional slaughter value rankings meant death, even if you were first individually.

Shen Yi continued, "Besides, even if we could solve that issue, what about the internal life-and-death struggle? The more people together, the greater the risk of infighting."

Again, there was silence.

Wen Rou added, "Moving as a group isn't necessarily safe. With so many of us, we become an obvious target, inviting unnecessary attacks."

"What do we do then?" Hong Lang was troubled.

Shen Yi said firmly, "Abandon all unnecessary illusions. Bloody City intends to sow distrust among us, and we can't escape this fate. Life and death are predestined, fortune is in the hands of heaven. Some things, once started, might not have a solution. We can only face them bravely. This time is no different."

Looking at everyone present, he continued, "A unified action across the entire region is impossible, but splitting into smaller groups is feasible. Let's form teams freely. The larger the group, the safer but less efficient in hunting mutants. Smaller groups face greater risk when encountering adventurers from other regions. Decide your own teams. I just hope that if we must fight among ourselves, it should only be after dealing with outsiders. First, we fend off external enemies!"

"Good!" An adventurer shouted, "I support this idea. Let everyone team up freely. I, Liu Hai, will state this: I'm Chinese and will never harm my own. If I end up last, then it's my bad luck to be annihilated. But if anyone dares to scheme against their own..."

"Then don't let them off," someone said darkly.

"Right, it's settled then. Life and death are predestined, fortune is in the hands of heaven. Those who can't handle it, better end themselves early and not harm others!" the group exclaimed.

"Let's leave some contact information. If any group is in danger, the others will come to the rescue. We Chinese must stick together!"

"Great idea. I have signal flares to share with everyone."

"Hurry up, we've already wasted enough time. Other regions might have already started."

The adventurers began introducing themselves, forming teams, and establishing contact methods. Some, having heard of Shen Yi, tried to team up with him, but he declined.

Hong Lang and Jin Gang approached Shen Yi. "Not picking a few?" asked Jin Gang.

Shen Yi shook his head: "The few of us are enough."

Hong Lang smiled, "Better with fewer people, can't trust those we're not familiar with."

"In the beginning, there might be mutual trust and cooperation," Shen Yi replied. "But as the last day approaches, people will get desperate. The slogan of Chinese unity works in times of national crisis but has limited effect here. After all, it's about individual survival, not national fate. Of course, it's not completely useless, especially in the early stages. But one bad apple spoils the bunch."

Wen Rou came over, "So, what do you suggest?"

Shen Yi smiled, "Having cat ears is an advantage, hearing us from so far away."

Wen Rou blushed and kicked Shen Yi, "You're the one with cat ears."

Dodging, Shen Yi explained, "My point is simple. First, we team up. Second, ensure we're in the top ten of our region. Third, ensure our region ranks in the top two overall. Lastly, when it comes down to the final countdown, trust no one but ourselves, including those adventurers not on the annihilation list."

Wen Rou and others nodded in agreement.

Just then, someone approached, "Can I join your team?"

P.S.: Let's guess who wants to join Shen Yi's team... No prize for guessing right. I know many of you have seen X-Men. However, I wonder how many have seen the real ending of X-Men. After X-Men 3, there is actually an ending that appears only after all the credits roll. It goes like this: Magneto, having lost his powers, discovers signs of their return while playing chess in the park. Meanwhile, Professor Charles Xavier, due to his powerful psychic abilities, is reborn in the body of a patient... For those who haven't seen it, it's worth a watch. Hehe. The time setting of this mission is post-X-Men era, of course, written by me. Hope everyone enjoys it.