Chapter 3: Death Acrobatic Troupe 03

The viewers in the livestream room, seeing the training content Jian Bumian had drawn, immediately erupted.

【With this difficulty, feels like this new player is doomed.】

【Bindings, underwater suffocation, and a time limit. This little beauty is too unlucky, drawing this kind of training content.】

【Ah, finally find a player I like, and now he’s about to die. Hope he dies beautifully, otherwise it’s a waste of that face.】

【Mmm, wanna see the little beauty bound and unable to resist~~】

After reading the training content, Jian Bumian’s expression remained unchanged. He just folded the paper and put it into his bulging pocket.

A broadcast sounded in the hall—the eerie child’s voice accompanied by crackling static, over and over.

“Acrobats, please proceed to your respective training grounds within thirty seconds! Acrobats, please proceed to your respective training grounds within thirty seconds! Acrobats, please proceed to your respective training grounds within thirty seconds!”

“Practice acrobatics hard today too! Or you’ll be, el, imi, nated!”

A massive countdown appeared suspended in mid-air within the hall. Many doors appeared, each bearing a sign with the corresponding training content.

The crowd scrambled to squeeze into their assigned training doors.

Jian Bumian casually walked through the door bearing the sign “Underwater Cage.”

After he walked in, the text on the sign suddenly changed.

The metallic text transformed into the blood-red words “Water Corpse Cage,” as if written with fresh blood mixed with filthy freshwater.

The chosen Acrobat was the “Corpse” inside the Water Cage.

After entering the training door, Jian Bumian discovered that the Underwater Cage training ground was quite large.

A water tank, a full story high, was placed upon a massive stage.

Dim, ruined spotlights converged on the water tank.

The tank was made of glass, but because the light was so dim, Jian Bumian couldn’t see what the situation inside the water was like, only the pitch-black water in the tank.

It was very quiet around; only the sound of cold wind rippling the Water Flow on the surface could be heard.

Suddenly, the crackling broadcast child’s voice echoed in Jian Bumian’s ear again.

“The training props have been placed at your feet! Acrobat, please equip the props properly and enter the water tank within ten seconds!”

“To provide the audience with the most thrilling and fast-paced spectacle! Acrobats who delay will be eliminated!”

The crisp, almost eerie child’s voice reverberated endlessly through the large stage.

Jian Bumian looked down. Sure enough, he saw something had appeared at his feet.

…It was a pair of Handcuffs.

The handcuffs were completely made of Metal. The thick metallic surface gleamed with a cold, icy silver light.

The other end of the handcuffs was a long, thin metal chain.

The Bullet Comments exploded.

【Metal handcuffs? How is this Player supposed to break free!】

【If it were hemp rope, you might escape within the time limit…】

【Underwater without any tools, it’s basically impossible for a human to break metal handcuffs with sheer strength alone, right?!】

【Fufufu, want to see the little fool bound, weakly struggling, awaiting death with a pitiful look. Hits my kink hard!】

Jian Bumian half-squatted and put the handcuffs on himself amidst the countdown’s noise.

His wrists were very fair, the skin delicate. Cyan veins faintly visible, the wrist bones very slender, looking… utterly devoid of explosive power, only suitable to be held and played with by a man.

Compared to the cold, metallic texture of the handcuffs, they appeared incredibly fragile and insignificant.

After Jian Bumian properly put on the handcuffs, the child’s voice chirped up again: “Ding! Detected Acrobat has correctly put on the handcuffs! And didn’t tamper with the handcuffs! Must complete training according to the rules!”

“Training countdown begins! Time limit: ten minutes!”

Click.

The stage was instantly filled with suspended holographic countdowns, large and small. Glancing over, all one could see were rapidly ticking time numbers.

The handcuffed Acrobat must enter the water tank and escape it within ten minutes.

This kind of acrobatics, Jian Bumian had glanced at a few times online in the Real World.

Audiences wanted to see whether the Acrobat would drown or successfully escape. The thrill was exactly the appeal.

Jian Bumian took a deep breath, climbed the ladder, stood on the edge of the water tank, his back facing the Water Surface.

The Water Surface was very dark; one couldn’t clearly see what obstacles the Acrobatic Troupe had placed within. But from the nature of Infinite World instances, the obstacles probably weren’t anything good. Jian Bumian couldn’t be bothered to dwell on it.

He closed his eyes. His long, fine eyelashes trembled slightly in the cold breeze, his skin appearing snow-white under the dim light.

He clasped his handcuffed hands behind his back, —and then, without the slightest hesitation, toppled backward into the dark Water Surface of the tank.

A sharp wind whistled past Jian Bumian’s ear.

In an instant, his body made contact with the icy-cold Water Surface. The pool water exploded, white spray flew up, whipping a layer of white foam across the surface, completely engulfing the youth’s figure!

【Countdown: 09:12】

Jian Bumian kept sinking downwards.

He noticed the reason the Water Surface was so black didn’t seem to be just the light; rather, the surface was covered with a layer of something black and dense.

This thing seemed like a still, dead object. As Jian Bumian passed through them, they didn’t react in the slightest.

Click!

The end of the long iron chain attached to the metal handcuffs was fastened to the bottom of the water tank.

The chain end was instantly pinned firmly to the glass surface at the bottom of the tank. The handcuffed Jian Bumian couldn’t swim upward at all, locked at the very bottom of the tank together with the chain.

And the countdown continued ticking away coldly.

Jian Bumian leaned against the glass wall of the water tank.

His hair floated up with the Water Flow, his collar was pulled loose, revealing skin that looked even paler in the water.

He opened his eyes. His caramel-colored eyes took on a hazy, misty beauty underwater, looking wet as if he’d cried.

Too bad this beautiful player was about to die.

【Countdown: 07:45】

Jian Bumian adjusted his breathing and looked around.

…According to the training content the circus mentioned, there should also be “obstacles” inside the water tank.

But where were the obstacles?

He didn’t see any, only the pitch-black water and heard the faint sound of flowing water.

But when he looked up, his pupils constricted slightly.

The obstacles were on the Water Surface of the tank.

…When he jumped into the water, passing through the surface, he did indeed bump into some cold, hard black objects.

What were they exactly??

Hard, elongated, icy cold.

As Jian Bumian pondered, a spotlight happened to sweep across the Water Surface, and he finally saw what those things were.

Silver-black fish scales, huge fish heads, translucent fangs protruding past the lips, exposed.

—Piranhas!!

The moment Jian Bumian’s eyes met the bulging, grey fish eyes of the Piranhas, the previously motionless, seemingly dead Piranhas began to slowly revive!

The bulging grey fish eyes slowly rotated behind their thin membranes, reminiscent of some insect egg about to hatch.

Tails covered in sharp fins gently swayed. Dark red gills contracted rhythmically. The hard, dense scales seemed to flutter as if breathing.

A foul, fishy stench permeated the water!

For now, the Piranhas hadn’t started swimming, remaining still near the Water Surface, as if sizing up how tasty Jian Bumian might be.

This calm before the storm was the most terrifying thing!

As time passed, the Piranhas’ mobility was gradually recovering. Who knew, in the next second, they might surge like ravenous wolves, baring bone-scraping fangs, towards Jian Bumian, restrained at the bottom of the tank!

The Bullet Comments instantly exploded!

The viewers had thought the obstacles would at most be things like wooden planks or stones. They never imagined Piranhas would be placed inside!

And the Piranhas weren’t at the bottom of the tank.

They were at the very top of the tank.

This meant that even after Jian Bumian broke free from the handcuffs, he would still have to pass through the school of Piranhas at the top of the tank.

【WTF, this acrobatic act is too terrifying. Even if the little beauty escapes the tank, he has to get past a huge school of Piranhas at the surface to reach the edge.】

【Mianmian still hasn’t unlocked his handcuffs, how can he deal with the Piranhas? If the Piranhas try to bite Mianmian, Mianmian has absolutely no way to resist!!】

【Time’s almost up!! Aahh, Mianmian has to free himself, fight the Piranhas, and avoid drowning!】

【??? I thought the mission for this instance, “survive until the acrobatic performance in five days,” would be easy. Turns out surviving is the hardest part!】

The comments swept across the livestream room like a flood. The atmosphere was pushed to its peak by the imminent sense of death, and countless new viewers continuously joined!

Viewers loved seeing Players in life-or-death situations.

They wanted to see how Players reversed a death sentence, how they grasped a thread of hope amidst mortality…

However, the most popular spectacle for viewers was watching a Player despairingly inch towards death, their life stripped away by various unexpected, thrilling methods, ending all their pre-death ambitions and madness.

【Countdown: 06:33】

Jian Bumian’s body curled up in the water, his knees drawn in.

His face was pale, an unnatural flush spreading from the lack of oxygen. His eyes were half-closed, lips slightly parted, tiny bubbles escaping them. The whole figure looked incredibly fragile and pitiful, exuding a strange sense of vulnerability.

He had been in the water for nearly four minutes, reaching the limit of a normal person’s breath-holding ability.

Perhaps before the ten minutes were up, he would pass out from oxygen deprivation.

He instinctively struggled a little.

The handcuffs chafed against his delicate wrist skin, creating faint red marks.

This struggle was useless.

The viewers couldn’t help but feel pity for Jian Bumian.

【Sigh, if only this player weren’t a newbie, if his rank were high enough to unlock the Tipping Feature. I’d definitely send him my prop, “Merfolk Buff”, so he could breathe underwater.】

【Hope the little beauty won’t suffer too much dying. Wuwu, poor thing~~】

【Why isn’t this player moving! Is he dumb!】

【So pitiful, weak and helpless. Sigh, but I really like seeing a beauty in such a miserable state. I’m excited.】

Suddenly.

Jian Bumian opened his eyes. He abruptly raised both hands. The metal handcuffs broke through the current, whipping up bursts of gray bubbles!

CLANG!!

The metal handcuffs slammed heavily against the glass surface of the water tank!

Everyone’s hearts leaped momentarily.

But… they didn’t see the scene they’d hoped for.

Not a single crack appeared on the glass surface.

Immediately after, that eerie child’s voice sounded from the stage again, muffled and distorted through the water and glass, reaching Jian Bumian’s ears:

“Aiya, aiya! The Acrobat has violated the rules! No damaging the training equipment! To teach the Acrobat a lesson, a small punishment will be added to this training session~ Don’t do it again~”

The so-called punishment—

All the blood-red countdowns surrounding the water tank suddenly flickered, as if manipulated by an invisible hand. The numbers, without any warning, decreased! Jumping to a time no one wanted to see!

Originally, there were over five minutes left. Now it became sixty seconds!!

【Countdown: 00:00:59】

The Piranhas, which had been motionless on the Water Surface, finally reached the moment of full revival.

Three or two Piranhas were beginning to notice Jian Bumian, starting to swim towards him.

They bared their silvery-white fangs, their fish eyes bulging high, tilting grotesquely in Jian Bumian’s direction, the eyeballs twisted at an eerie angle.

Their flat bellies contracted violently. Bubbles carrying a strong, fishy stench continuously puffed in and out.

They were very hungry, very hungry.

Wanted fresh blood and flesh…

All the Bullet Comments scrolled by rapidly!!

【I think the only way to survive is for Jian Bumian to bite or kick his handcuffed hands off while still alive, but that would be incredibly painful. Mianmian might not have enough strength…】

【Upstairs, after self-amputating his hands, how does he deal with the Piranhas? The Piranhas are above the tank; he has to kill them to leave. Right now this player has zero weapons or props. It’s a complete dead end.】

【What can you do in one minute???! Nothing! Just pray the little beauty’s head isn’t bitten into a mushy pulp. Too ugly!】

【Aaaaaah, I can’t watch. It’s going to be so bloody. Being eaten alive by Piranhas is incredibly painful!!】

【Don’t… Actually, I’d still prefer wifey to survive. Not asking for long, just survive this instance. Haven’t seen such a pretty little beauty in a while.】

【Wrong, look at Mianmian’s expression!】

Jian Bumian didn’t show the despair the viewers expected, let alone cry and wail pathetically.

Instead, he tilted his head back, looking at the now-stirring Piranhas and the countdown, revealing a faint smile. Neat white tiger teeth and dimples were faintly visible.

The smile was very clean and innocent.

All the viewers suddenly realized with a chilling shock—Jian Bumian had deliberately violated the rule to speed up the time!

【Countdown: 00:00:40】

Only forty seconds of survival time left!!

What exactly was Jian Bumian planning to do?!