Central Television.
When the name Xu Xi appeared in the Hua Nation contestant column, in just a short moment, the large screen was completely occupied by live stream comments from IP addresses belonging to Hua Nation. The sporadic IPs from other countries that had barely managed to break through the crowd were completely submerged in the next instant.
Such an unprecedented spectacle left the two hosts and the two experts somewhat surprised.
"It seems the contestant selected by our Hua Nation this time has extraordinary popularity," Jiang Jin said with a tone of astonishment, smiling. "The density of these comments is almost obscuring the camera lens."
"That is indeed the case," Yao Han took over, turning to the two special guests opposite her. "I wonder if Professor Lin and Mr. Luo are familiar with this contestant? Why does he have such a high level of attention?"
In truth, the two hosts weren't completely out of the loop. This player who had burst onto the scene and once cleared the first solo instance in under three minutes—even if they hadn't paid excessive attention, they had certainly come across news about him.
Pretending not to know was just to introduce a topic.
Luo Zongyun pushed up his glasses and smiled. "Of course. The name Xu Xi, or rather, '248,' has to some extent already become synonymous with a miracle. After all, he is the world's first player capable of speed-running an instance."
"Correct," Lin Miao added. "I have watched all five of this player's instances. Extremely high intelligence, terrifying computational thinking, perfect control over human psychology, and... a reasoning ability bordering on 'precognition.' That is my assessment of him."
Jiang Jin promptly expressed his doubt. "Precognition?"
"Yes," Lin Miao affirmed with a nod. "Ordinary players are 'reacting,' making the best choices based on the situation unfolding before them. But Xu Xi is different. It's as if he is standing on a higher dimension, having completely observed different timelines. When you can see all possibilities, clearing the instance becomes an inevitability."
"Perhaps some viewers still don't understand Professor Lin Miao's meaning," Luo Zongyun explained with a smile. "To use an analogy, if we compare an instance to a running model, then Xu Xi's steps are only divided into three. First, deconstruct the model. Second, crack the model's underlying code. Third, construct a complete 'future model' in his mind and precisely insert himself into that one, unique time node that allows for clearance."
"That is truly a very high evaluation!" Yao Han appropriately revealed a hint of amazement.
[...I don't really get it, but it sounds impressive.]
[So you mean we're on the first floor, ordinary players are on the second floor, and Master Xu Xi is up in the stratosphere?]
[Such a plain translation, now I understand.]
[Certified master by Central TV. Let's see which little haters still stubbornly insist it's all luck, luck, and more luck.]
At this moment, the live stream footage on the large screen had reached the point where the players were interacting with each other.
"The atmosphere among the players doesn't seem very friendly and doesn't lean towards cooperation," Jiang Jin said, turning to look at Lin Miao and the other guest. "I wonder if the two of you think the players will have an opportunity to cooperate with each other later on?"
Lin Miao answered him with almost no hesitation. "It's very difficult. Although the players won't erupt into large-scale conflict for now, their wariness of each other is extremely heavy. In this life-and-death game, 'trust' is a very luxurious thing."
"Correct," Luo Zongyun nodded. "Unless the instance itself becomes so troublesome that the players are forced to cooperate."
On the screen, the players disembarked from the boat and followed the show team to watch the shaman's blessing ceremony.
"Then, do the two of you think our Hua Nation contestant, Xu Xi, will seek cooperation with the other players later on?" Yao Han also asked curiously.
"I don't think he will," Lin Miao shook his head. "In the face of absolute intelligence, the benefits brought by cooperation are far lower than the risks. He is confident enough, and indeed has the ability to go it alone."
The blessing ceremony was forcibly interrupted due to a sudden incident.
"Professor Lin seems to be full of confidence in contestant Xu Xi. So, do you think contestant Xu Xi will ultimately win this mixed-team competition?"
Lin Miao smiled. "Whether he can win or not, I'm not sure. But I believe he cannot lose."
At the same moment, a clear, cool young man's voice came from the live stream provided by God Hunt—
"I request to withdraw from the competition."
——
The show team's staff were all thrown into a fluster by this sudden, unexpected turn of events.
"What's wrong with the shaman? Could the rumors all be true? Is there really something in this camp..."
"Don't talk nonsense. What era is this? I think that shaman is just being mystical and weird. Maybe he actually has mental problems."
"Alright, alright, where's the doctor? Take him down and see what's wrong." The slovenly man irritably cut off the staff's whispers.
Someone cautiously asked, "Director, then... should we continue recording?"
"Isn't that a stupid question?" The slovenly man fiercely slapped that person's head. "Isn't this exactly what we came for? Was that last scene recorded? This is a perfect hook, saving us the trouble of creating one ourselves."
"Don't worry, Director. It's all recorded."
"Good. What about the contestants? All come over and change into the prison uniforms." The slovenly man turned and waved towards the players.
The blessing inexplicably failed, the shaman acted bizarrely—this was practically a classic horror movie opening.
Xu Xi silently complained.
And their group of eleven players were the protagonist team in the horror movie who, fully aware the camp was haunted, still chose to march right into the haunted camp.
Oh, and there was also the show team that, no matter how weird things got, refused to believe it and insisted on ordering the protagonist team around to their deaths.
Xu Xi thought about it.
He intended to experiment more with actively utilizing his reload ability in this instance. Therefore, he didn't necessarily need to follow the "background script" now.
Just like playing a game, two choices were now laid out before him. One: knowing full well the camp was suspicious, still follow the competition rules, enter the camp, and try to win the show team's bullshit five million prize. Two: withdraw from the competition immediately.
He didn't even need to think much before Xu Xi chose the second option.
So, just as the other ten players were preparing to go to the slovenly man to change into prison uniforms, they heard the hoodie-wearing young man of East Asian appearance say in a cool, detached tone, "I request to withdraw from the competition."
"Huh?!"
The ten players immediately turned looks of astonishment towards Xu Xi.
Under the gazes of the crowd—some shocked, some puzzled, some thoughtful—Xu Xi, expression unchanged, continued speaking to the slovenly man. "I'm timid. I'm giving up on this five million. I'm withdrawing."
The slovenly man frowned but didn't say much. "Fine. Since you're unwilling to participate, then you don't need to go in. However, you'll have to wait until the show team finishes recording before you can leave. After all, we only have one boat and can't send you back early."
Xu Xi nodded. "No problem."
The slovenly man then looked at the remaining players. "Are any of the rest of you withdrawing?"
The ten players looked at each other, but in the end, all prepared to continue participating.
They didn't believe that simply withdrawing from the competition could allow them to avoid danger. While not understanding this East Asian player's actions, they were also pondering the young man's intentions.