Chapter 312: The Colosseum (20) “Because of Sin”

As the light beams dissipated, the players’ figures gradually stabilized. Regardless of whether they were previously in the Glazed High Tower or somewhere else, they now stood firmly on the Colosseum chessboard.

Chang Xu leaned on Life Severer for support, covered in blood, his face pale. His black hoodie had long been torn to shreds by the ratmen’s sharp teeth, revealing gruesome wounds beneath.

Blood dripped onto the marble floor, accumulating into a puddle in no time.

The players had already learned everything that happened in the underground courtyard from the images projected on the stone slabs, and their gazes towards Chang Xu were filled with a mix of sympathy and awe.

They clearly saw how Chang Xu was frantically besieged by those fanatically devoted ratmen of Qi Si.

For a few moments, from Nian Fu’s perspective, Chang Xu’s figure was completely obscured, only a writhing snake body and rat heads were visible.

From Chang Xu’s own perspective, his vision was constantly stained with blood, filled with shredded flesh and dismembered limbs.

No one expected Chang Xu to survive for half an hour under such circumstances and return to the Colosseum alive.

“Today’s beast-fighting game has come to a successful conclusion. I believe everyone has adapted to the rhythm of our game and has clear plans for the subsequent game progression.”

The Goat dutifully played the role of host, uttering platitudes: “Some teams have turned the tide and achieved good rankings; some teams have maintained their advantage, accumulating more resources on top of what they had; and some teams have laid low, waiting for their chance to come from behind.

“Whose hands will the victor’s laurel ultimately fall into? It’s truly exciting!”

The players clearly felt that The Goat was somewhat distracted, as if an unexpected situation had disrupted his rhythm, and he was urgently calculating how to respond.

They immediately recalled the scene shown on the stone slabs, when Nian Fu asked the ratmen about their past experiences, and the ratmen truthfully revealed another layer of background hidden beneath the surface worldview.

At the time, their attention was entirely on Qi Si, and they paid limited attention to other information, but now that they needed it, they could still recall the general idea:

In the earliest beast-fighting games, animals were objects of human oppression and amusement. The fierce beasts among them were chosen and thrown into the Colosseum to fight against human slaves. Weaker animals were not among the chosen, including rats and snakes.

After hearing and witnessing the pain of death, the animals developed a desire for survival, as well as empathy, which had always been considered unique to humans. The rats, with the largest population, were the first to receive wisdom from the gods, and together with the snakes, who were already favored by the gods, they completed the ritual of sacrificing to the gods.

They used their bodies to draw runes from dreams, arranged rituals to communicate with the gods, and sacrificed a large number of their own kind to gain the gods’ favor for all animals, ultimately leading to the animals replacing humans as the new god’s attendants.

After the old gods disappeared, a large amount of residual authority remained. The animals had the opportunity to become gods, but the new god demanded that they vote to determine their hierarchy and divide the benefits.

Almost all animals believed that they had won the beast-fighting game to gain the gods’ favor, and they unfairly criticized the rats and snakes who had not participated in the game.

The gods merely watched in silence, never explaining the truth and facts for the rats and snakes, so the rats’ and snakes’ defenses were considered evasive lies.

Thus, the elephants, who had trampled several humans to death in the beast-fighting game, held the highest status, followed closely by lions, tigers, leopards, and wolves. Dogs and cats also got a share because of their closer relationship with humans and their role in relaying information.

Rats and snakes, because of their “lying,” were collectively detested and ostracized by the other animals, eventually transforming into the most disgusting and ugly monsters, cursed with “petrification upon desire,” and confined to the dark underground.

Not only that, they would also serve as slaves fighting humans in the beast-fighting games, as sacrificial offerings to the gods during annual rituals, and would frequently suffer abuse to create the “sins” required by the gods.

Having endured such unjust treatment, it was conceivable that once the shackles of the curse were broken, they would not remain content with their oppressed fate and would likely cause some unrest.

The Goat and the animals, in order to make the beast-fighting game more convoluted and interesting, allowed Qi Si to be pursued by Chang Xu and escape into the ratmen-infested underground courtyard, which then led to serious consequences.

A single phrase popped into every player’s mind—”entertainment to death.”

Green quietly recounted this information to Chu Xun, who had just arrived beside him.

Although he didn’t know if the slab’s broadcast had sent a copy to the Glazed High Tower, being thorough was never wrong.

He knew his own limitations; it was better to leave the brainwork to the intelligent players.

“This background is strange enough. Even gods have ranks? What’s the difference from humans?” Green finished narrating the ratmen’s plight and couldn’t help but mutter, “I wonder why not all animals can become gods, and why they have to choose one or two to become monsters.”

Chu Xun gently shook his head: “In this instance, the so-called gods are merely stronger beasts. And a beast pack needs a scapegoat.

“In any group, there must be some who are oppressed and exploited so that other classes can place themselves in the position of beneficiaries, consciously upholding existing rules and order.

“There must also be some who live terribly and miserably, serving as a warning and a negative example, to caution others either to obey the rules or to contribute value, solely so that they themselves do not end up in such a plight.”

He lifted his face, his glasses reflecting white light, obscuring the sparkle in his eyes: “I just don’t understand why, when humans, abandoned by the gods, could fulfill the role of’scapegoat,’ such an elaborate scheme was still necessary.”

Green scratched his head, pondering: “Could it be that humans still have value to be courted? Otherwise, why offer us a chance to become gods, but not those ratmen?”

Upon hearing this, Chu Xun’s pupils suddenly constricted and then expanded, as if something had reminded him.

Two seconds later, he exhaled softly and waved his hand: “Green, something’s not right. Let me think about it first, think about it more carefully…”

Seeing Chu Xun’s grim expression, Green wisely shut his mouth and remained silent.

On the other side, Nian Fu silently spoke to “that person” through her pendant: “Sister, I always feel that the new god in this instance’s background isn’t a good entity. From the ratmen’s description, He deliberately made the ratmen the’scapegoats.'”

“Never trust the benevolence of gods,” “that person” said with a smile in her voice. “He came into being because of the rats’ and snakes’ sacrifices. If He allowed them to ascend to high positions, how could He obtain satisfactory offerings again? If living beings are not in pain and despair, how would they pray to the gods? I think, regarding tragic fates, the gods are happy to see them unfold.”

Nian Fu shivered inexplicably: “Why would He like rats and snakes as sacrifices? I remember cattle and sheep are the traditional offerings, right?”

“Because of’sin’,” “that person” said. “Only when the number of individuals reaches a certain level will there be enough sin produced.”

On the high platform, The Goat, as if unaware of the players’ private discussions, announced loudly: “First, congratulations to everyone for obtaining a total of four portions of food in today’s game. Let us thank Lin Ye for his contribution to everyone!”

Most players would choose rewards like points after completing mini-games. Only Lin Ye, out of rebellion against Fan Zhanwei, chose the 【Two Portions of Food】 option after clearing the game twice.

Now, hearing The Goat’s tone, the decision to choose food was not wrong after all; it seemed to have made a tremendous contribution to all the players.

Lin Ye glanced at the expressionless Fan Zhanwei, not bothering to hide his smugness and mockery.

Fan Zhanwei looked at the smiling Goat, his lips pressed together in silence, his eyes brewing with heavy worry.

Then The Goat continued: “Unfortunately, four portions of food are still too few. Each of you needs two portions of food to get through today. Although Zhang Mo’s death provided each of you with one portion of food, you are still short one.

“To ensure fairness, these four portions of food will be handed over to the team with the most points for distribution, ensuring that our friends at the top of the rankings have ample energy to cope with tomorrow’s game.”

Everyone was astonished; they truly hadn’t expected such a development.

“Fairness? You’re telling me this is fair?” Lin Ye clenched his fists and questioned loudly, “Those foods are my rewards, why should they be given to them?”

He made to rush towards The Goat, but an invisible force restrained him in place, unable to move, only able to glare with wide, angry eyes.

The Goat apologetically spread his hands, saying in a helpless tone, “The leading teams in points should naturally receive more privileges, otherwise, how unfair would that be to those friends who worked so hard to accumulate points?”

His horizontal pupils eerily drooped, coldly staring at Lin Ye, exuding an aura of death and ill omen.

Lin Ye’s heart trembled, his anger instantly dissipated, and reason gradually returned, leaving him in a cold sweat of fear.

He dejectedly retreated a few steps, standing behind Fan Zhanwei, avoiding The Goat’s gaze.

Fan Zhanwei coldly swept a glance at him: “Are you satisfied now? Self-important, acting on your own, and suffering the consequences.”

“You’re gloating, aren’t you?” Lin Ye’s recently quelled temper immediately flared up. “You knew points were useful but didn’t tell me, waiting to see me get into trouble, right?”

He had been frustrated by The Goat and was full of pent-up anger with nowhere to vent, so he immediately swung his fist at Fan Zhanwei’s face.

Fan Zhanwei dodged sideways, then twisted his wrist backward, making him cry out in pain.

He bent his other elbow to strike Fan Zhanwei, but the latter reacted swiftly, kicking him in the knee and sending him to the ground.

Fan Zhanwei pinned Lin Ye down, his voice flat: “As teammates, our interests are fundamentally aligned. I didn’t expect you to be so foolish as to fail to see this.

“I wasn’t certain beforehand that point rankings would determine food allocation, but I knew that as the first chip to be used in a player’s hand, the more the better.

“My only mistake was underestimating your stupidity, overlooking that you couldn’t possibly think of these things.”

“Who are you calling stupid… Ow!” Lin Ye didn’t want to back down, but considering he probably couldn’t beat Fan Zhanwei, he didn’t dare to be too stubborn.

He had only one thought: how can people who use their brains be so good at fighting these days? You call this an “intelligence-type player”?

“Calling you stupid,” Fan Zhanwei answered meticulously. “Wasting game coins to work for others’ benefit.”

Lin Ye: “…”

Some of the animals watching from the audience seats let out mocking sounds, clearly amused by Lin Ye’s self-defeating actions.

More animals roared in displeasure, their annoyance with Lin Ye reaching its peak.

A guy with no ability who kept jumping around and dragging down his team was undoubtedly unpopular in a competitive game, and many spectators were already yelling for him to be eliminated.

“Fan Zhanwei and Lin Ye’s team is truly full of contradictions. I hope there won’t be any bloodshed tonight!”

The Goat made an exaggerated comment, then continued on the previous topic: “Let me see, the team with the most points currently is Chu Xun and Green’s team, with a total of three thousand seven hundred points. Congratulations to them for gaining the right to dispose of the four portions of food!”

Next to the golden triangular icon in front of Chu Xun, the original number “1” instantly became “5.”

The Goat turned his face to him, enticingly saying: “Insufficient food will lead to loss of life. Perhaps if you don’t share food with other teams, by this time tomorrow, your team will be the last victor standing on the field.

“Are you planning to keep all this food for yourselves, or generously share it with your companions?”

Chu Xun had already figured out some things, his gaze burning.

At this moment, he didn’t answer The Goat’s rhetorical question but scanned all the players: “Everyone should remember what I said before. Points can be loaned. I will distribute the extra food to the team willing to lend me the most points.”

The players’ expressions were not good.

They had realized that in this instance, points meant power, ranking was class, food was resources, and game coins were opportunities.

Players initially had the same number of opportunities and could choose to accumulate resources or climb the ladder of power.

They diverged in their choices again and again, and only those at the top of the power pyramid had the right to allocate resources.

To obtain the necessary resources for survival, players would have to spend a large number of points for exchange, which would then lead to a drop in class, merely a palliative.

The second-ranked team today would surely be able to bid for food, but what about tomorrow?

If this continued, chronic death awaited all teams ranked second and below.

“Well, well, it’s back to square one, an endless loop, isn’t it?” Dong Xiwen couldn’t help but complain. “You’re playing winner-takes-all here, accumulating more and more points. Sooner or later, you’ll eat us all dry.”

“You misunderstand me.” Chu Xun pinched his glasses frame, smiling wryly. “Things won’t be that bad. I’ve already thought of a way to keep everyone alive as much as possible. It’s just that I’m sorry, I have something I must complete, which is why I resorted to this tactic, wanting to borrow your points.”

“Alright, alright, whatever you say.” Dong Xiwen’s face was troubled. “Our team offers three thousand two hundred and one points.”

Three thousand two hundred and one, just one point more than Fan Zhanwei’s team, which was ranked third.

The ownership of the food was no longer in doubt. The Goat snapped his fingers, and the numbers representing food in front of Dong Xiwen and Lena Ann both changed to “2,” reaching the minimum requirement to get through today.

And Chu Xun’s points became three thousand six hundred and one, while Green’s points became three thousand three hundred, both enough to ask the Sphinx for a wish.

And Chu Xun’s points became three thousand six hundred and one, while Green’s points became three thousand three hundred, both enough to ask the Sphinx for a wish.

The other players were silent, their expressions dazed.

Without enough food, even if they didn’t die immediately, they were one step closer to death.

What about tomorrow? Does every team have to choose the food option twice after clearing the game to ensure sufficient food?

But who knew if Chu Xun would continue to exploit them using his point advantage?

“The food distribution is complete. It seems most friends are quite disappointed. I believe everyone will make different choices tomorrow.” The Goat clapped his hands in a feigned manner and sighed, “However, next, I will announce a new rule that benefits everyone…”