Dreadful Radio Game

The blade was still dripping with Qiu He’s blood. Director Zhou’s fingers touched the blade; then he waved his palm, and the blade disappeared.

Su Bai wiped off the blood from his lips. His breath had become heavier.

There was silence between them. Actually, this silence didn’t start just now; it existed since Su Bai and Director Zhou had pointed at each other with their guns.

Su Bai slowly walked toward Director Zhou, while Director Zhou just stood and waited there.

Su Bai started to walk faster and faster, and Director Zhou’s eyes became deeper and deeper. Between them, there was an imminent peril growing rapidly.

Finally, when Su Bai was less than one meter away from Director Zhou, he stopped.

Director Zhou seemed to be surprised at his action.

“Continue the pursuit?” Su Bai asked. Then he walked directly to the police car, opened the door and sat on the driver seat.

Director Zhou went to the passenger seat. When Su Bai started the car, Director Zhou lowered his head and coughed in pain with one hand over his mouth. After the cough, there were blood clots all over his palm.

He found some tissues in the car, cleaned his hand and leaned against the back of the his seat. He seemed to have aged by 10 years all at once, and his face had turned very pale.

“You know how weak I am,” Director Zhou said.

He had been Nona’s target; although Nona was thrown out at last, he must have paid a heavy price. Then he had to fight against an audience; it looked like he killed Qiu He easily, but he was forced to use that hidden blade, despite of showing his true capability in front Su Bai. He was in fact sparing no effort to handle Qiu He’s attack, even had no choice but to end it in this way.

Su Bai knew all this; and Director Zhou believed that Su Bai knew all this very well.

Su Bai didn’t answer and just kept driving. After some distance over the bridge, they found the minivan in the farm land with half of it sinking into the mud.

Su Bai and Director Zhou got off together. Director Zhou’s steps were a little unsteady, but he was fine for now.

Inside the minivan, there was also frost, but it was far less solid than that on the windows of Director Zhou’s office. Su Bai broke the window glass by smashing it with his gunstock. A man was lying on the driver’s seat; his lips were green. Apparently, he was dead, but there was a unique line on his face, which was odd.

Director Zhou stretched out his hand, pinched the man’s neck and took his hand back.

“Nona’s evolved.” Director Zhou looked around. It was a vast farm land; they had been held up by those two audiences, and Nona was nowhere to be seen now.

“Why did you kill her?” Su Bai asked.

Director Zhou smiled, stared at Su Bai and said in a low voice:

“Because, I didn’t tell them the complete main task— experiencers will get awards for killing audiences, they already knew that; but they’ll also be awarded for killing experiencers. That’s what I didn’t tell them. Even audiences will be awarded for killing audiences as well.

“This story world is basically an arena built by the Dreadful Radio for us to kill each other! There are no parties here!

“To kill all the experiences or all the audiences are two main tasks; a third one is to find the murderer. As long as one out of the three main tasks is fulfilled, we are good to leave this story world. Of course, every experiencer or audience killed shall be counted in for rewards.”

………………

Wang Hongsheng, Fat Dong and Sun Fei were all in Wang’s room, sitting on the couch and chairs in silence.

When footsteps came from outside, they stood up at the same time.

Su Bai walked in, supporting Director Zhou with his arms.

The three of them had so many questions, but all at once, none of them knew where to start.

Director Zhou, on the other hand, gently pressed with his hand and sighed: “We ran into two audiences.”

All the three people began to look serious. They ran into audiences during the pursuit of Nona?

“The two audiences were killed by Liu Yang and me.”

While saying so, Director Zhou laid on Wang Hongsheng’s bed.

“Zhou, how about I go to make you some ginger decoction so you can warm up?” Fat Dong said.

“Thanks, Fat. ”

Zhou said in a weak voice. Then he closed his eyes.

Just then, a shout came from downstairs:

“Sun Fei! New case!”

Sun Fei frowned. She was completely fed up with acting by now and couldn’t even get herself together to muddle through her work.

“Go.” Director Zhou said weakly, “Finish the play. I’ll rest here in Wang’s room for tonight. You guys go back. If you guys keep staying here, it will be as good as telling the other three audiences that we’re experiencers. Wait until late in the night; we’ll have a meeting then.”

Sun Fei nodded, “Zhou, you take a rest here. I’ll come back later.”

Fat Dong went to make the ginger decoction. Sun Fei was out on a case. Wang Hongsheng looked at Director Zhou, “Zhou, I should get you some hot water so you can clean up.”

“Thanks.”

Then Wang Hongsheng went out.

Now Su Bai and Zhou were the only people in the room.

“If we do that, according to the contribution I’ll be rewarded far more than you.” Su Bai started.

“I don’t care. I’m kind of different. Besides, I’m not greedy.”

Su Bai took a glass of water from the tea table and took a sip.

“I have to go to the storeroom. For bullet supplements.”

“You’ve got my authorization before. Just go ahead.”

“Have a good rest.”

Su Bai left the room. Only Director Zhou was still lying on the bed, breathing weakly.

…………

After about three hours, Su Bai returned to Wang Hongsheng’s room in the midnight.

The lights were still on. Director Zhou must have slept for a while; he looked better.

Seeing Su Bai walk in, Director Zhou greeted him:

“You brought me a fruit basket?”

“Just to make it look real.” Su Bai put the basket onto the tea table, then he picked up a banana, sat on the couch and started eating.

Seeing Su Bai’s casual look, Director Zhou smiled, “I had Wang Hongsheng get Fat Dong and Sun Fei. We’re going to have a meeting in the name of discussing our next move. Now it’s impossible for both parties to hide our real identities. Sooner or later, we have to face those audiences. After losing three men, those audiences will get smarter. So no matter what decision we make, we have to do it faster.”

“Including turning against our own people?” Su Bai asked.

“We’re just here to maximize the benefits.”

“I suddenly wonder why I have become as cunning as you.” Su Bai took out his cigarette and offered one to Director Zhou.

“I don’t smoke.” Director Zhou refused.

Su Bai lit up the cigarette for himself and smoked, “You’re so cold-blooded. I don’t know them, and I don’t have anything to do with them, but you do.”

“If it wasn’t me in charge of interrogating the cop girl, then no matter who it was, he would do exactly the same thing. This Dreadful Radio Game is like a one-way trip. We can only keep going forward and getting stronger; there’s no other way out. There’s no true friendship or any other relationship.”

“Can’t argue with that.”

Su Bai totally agreed. This was a twisted world.

Director Zhou took out a small paper bag. Then he took the five teacup on the table, shook off some white crystalline powder into three of them and poured tea into all the cups.

“This one’s yours, and this one’s mine.” Director Zhou said slowly, “None of them is ordinary. Even with guns or by surprise attack, there may be accidents. So, this is the most direct and secure way. Of course, we’ll have an even contribution rate by then.”

Su Bai nodded to show that he totally agreed.

Soon, Wang Hongsheng, Sun Fei and Fat Dong all went in. They took seats around the tea table.

Director Zhou sat there as someone important. Seeing everyone was here, he started analyzing a lot, then stating advantages and disadvantages. Everyone listened carefully. At last, Director Zhou said:

“Today, Liu Yang and I had killed two audiences; with the first audience we killed before, now three audiences have died directly in our hands, while we have only lost Nona. Now Nona’s change is endangering this story because it might become a horrible ghost story. Therefore, the longer we stay in this story, the more danger we will be in.

To find the real murderer…”

Su Bai could feel Director Zhou’s eyes lingering over him for a little while.

“To find the real murderer, it may take longer time than we can afford. So, I think our next step should be to find out the remaining three audiences and kill them, so that the story world will end, and we will be safe.

Now, here we drink tea instead of wine to our coming success.”

Director Zhou then stood up with his cup. So did Su Bai, Sun Fei, Fat Dong and Wang Hongsheng.

Then, all the five of them drank up their own tea.

Su Bai put down the cup and sat down. But he was the only one who sat down. The other four people were still standing.

Fat Dong looked at Su Bai with a vicious look and smiled. “Aren’t you curious why we are not falling down?”

Su Bai shrugged his shoulders and looked at them.

At last…

… Su Bai’s sight landed on the fruit basket he had brought in.

The others also looked at that basket.

Then…

… everyone’s face changed.