Chapter 82

Katiniss turned around, somewhat annoyed, and saw a tall, handsome boy walking down the mountain path. His name was Gale, a good friend of Katiniss. "So what if you hunt a hundred-pound deer? Today is the Reaping, and peacekeepers are everywhere. You won't get a chance to do anything!"

Katiniss angrily replied, "Then I'll sell it to the peacekeepers. I only encounter a deer like this once a year. I could have traded it for a lot of things, and now because of you, I have nothing!"

Gale smiled, "Alright, I'll make it up to you..." As he spoke, he bent down to pick up a pebble and threw it at a distant tree. The birds on the tree were startled and flew away. Katiniss drew her bow and arrow, and with a "whoosh," a bird fell to the ground. The two laughed happily.

"Have you heard, Catnip? Last night, some unknown person attacked the town hall. There are still some bold people around!" Gale asked. Catnip was Katiniss's nickname. The first time she met Gale, she was very shy and introduced herself in a very soft voice. Gale mistakenly heard "Katiniss" as "catnip," and from then on, Katiniss had this nickname.

"How could I not have heard!" Katiniss replied irritably. "Last night, the peacekeepers searched every house, causing a big commotion, and Prim had nightmares." Prim was Katiniss's twelve-year-old sister. Unlike her somewhat stubborn sister, Prim was pure and kind, a very likable little girl.

Gale shrugged, "I don't know who that criminal is. They say he was shot several times and finally escaped by tearing through the electrified fence. What a monster!" Gale paused, then looked at the distant green trees. "It would be great if the Reaping were canceled because of this. My name has been registered 42 times. How about you, Catnip?"

"20 times!" Katiniss replied. Every year during the Reaping, every teenager aged twelve to eighteen had to register their name once. These registration slips were then divided by gender and placed into two glass balls for a "lottery." The selected person would participate in the Hunger Games. The registration was cumulative, so the older you were, the more times you registered, and the higher your chances of being selected. Additionally, there was a special rule: poor families could choose to register their children extra times, with each extra registration earning one person's ration of food. Katiniss and Gale always registered extra times. Katiniss had to support herself, her mother, and her sister, so she registered four times a year, including the mandatory one. Gale, with a family of five, registered six times a year. For children from poor families like theirs, the chances of being selected were quite high.

Mentioning the upcoming Hunger Games, both felt a faint sense of worry and fear, but as a boy, Gale didn't want to show it, and Katiniss, being a quiet girl, didn't speak either. It wasn't until Gale took out a nut bread he had traded for with a squirrel at the bakery that the aroma of the food piqued their interest.

At that moment, a loud noise came from the sky, and a large aircraft slowly flew over the forest. Gale pulled Katiniss to hide under the shade of a tree, not even daring to breathe, just quietly watching the aircraft pass overhead.

Both knew who was on the aircraft: Effie Trinket, the envoy from the Capitol, who would draw the names of the Hunger Games participants at the Reaping at two o'clock in the afternoon. For the children of District 12, this heavily made-up woman was the grim reaper they least wanted to see.

...

Time passed quickly, and by afternoon, everyone in District 8 had gathered in the square. The teenagers aged twelve to eighteen were in the center, while the others were in the outer circle.

The teenagers lined up to have their blood samples taken and their names registered. Some also had to collect food vouchers. Male and Lingzhi were among the teenagers. Lingzhi was fine, being a girl of the right age, but Male looked well over twenty. Despite applying half a bottle of skincare cream before leaving, he couldn't hide his weathered face.

When it was Male's turn to have his blood drawn, the staff member looked at his information and asked incredulously, "You're only eighteen?" Male nodded, "I just grew up fast..." The staff member, half-believing, took out the blood collection device and pricked Male's finger. However, Male's armor was 30 points, and his skin was as tough as a car tire. With an ordinary person's strength, it was hard to pierce his skin without applying significant pressure.

The staff member lightly pricked him, but there was no blood. He looked puzzled at the needle. Seeing this, Male cried out in pain, "Ouch!" and naturally put his hand in his mouth, secretly biting his finger to break the skin. The staff member quickly shouted, "No, mixing saliva will make the test inaccurate!" Male took his finger out, wiped it on his clothes, and pressed it on his name tag, saying, "It's clean now, it will be accurate!" The staff member, speechless, frowned and took out the blood testing machine, shining it on the blood. There was a crisp "beep."

"Go, go!" The staff member waved him away impatiently, and Male nodded and left. Lingzhi, who had been watching, whispered to him, "I didn't expect your skin to be so thick. I was worried about you yesterday!" Male confidently patted his chest, "I'm a natural tank. It would be embarrassing to bleed from such a small needle!"

Soon, all the teenagers had registered. A few local dignitaries walked out from behind a temporary stage and sat in the chairs behind the podium. In front of the podium were two large glass balls, one containing all the boys' names and the other all the girls' names.

After a brief speech by the mayor, a woman in purple walked onto the stage. She was Effie Trinket, the envoy from the Capitol. When Male saw this woman, he frowned. He thought she was probably still quite beautiful, despite her age. The reason he used "probably" was because Effie had the typical characteristics of a Capitol person: exaggerated and awkwardly flamboyant clothing. This woman in her forties was dressed in purple, with an exaggerated purple headpiece and a white, curly, voluminous wig. All the skin visible on her body was snow white, not because her skin was beautiful, but because of the thick, flaky foundation. The only part that wasn't white was her lips, which were a deep, vibrant purple to match her outfit. This made her look more like a circus clown than a high-ranking Capitol noble.

"Happy Hunger Games! May the odds be ever in your favor!" This was Effie's catchphrase. She loved the Hunger Games and enjoyed the job of selecting participants, so she came to the dilapidated District 12, risking getting her clothes dirty from the dirty commoners, and smiled throughout the process.

Effie first played a short video explaining the origin of the Hunger Games, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then began drawing the names of the participants. As in the story, the first female participant drawn was Prim, Katiniss's sister. Katiniss then broke free from the peacekeepers and volunteered to take her sister's place, becoming the first volunteer in District 12's history. This act moved all the people of District 12, except for Male and Lingzhi, who had already seen this scene many times the night before.

The first male participant, as in the original story, was Peeta Mellark, the son of the bakery owner. He had good nutrition and a solid, well-proportioned build, and he was quite handsome. However, unlike the determined Katiniss, this male participant showed a look of despair and had tears in his eyes from the moment he stepped on stage.

It was important to remember that this scene would be recorded and shown to the other districts' participants. If he appeared weak now, he might be seen as an easy target during the actual Games. Peeta must have known this, but for some reason, he kept crying, making Katiniss feel uncomfortable.

What followed was a part not in the movie. To accommodate the adventurers who had joined halfway, the rules of the Hunger Games were changed by the city battle system, adding two more participants per district.

Effie reached into the glass ball and drew the second female participant. The girl's name was Maycee. When this name was called, the mayor, who was sitting on the stage, visibly flinched. Yes, this Maycee was his daughter, the mayor of District 12! He never imagined his child would be selected for the Hunger Games!

Maycee walked out of the crowd with a blank expression. She was Katiniss's classmate, and because of their similar quiet personalities, they got along well. Seeing Maycee selected, Katiniss's expression was complex. She never thought the two girls selected would be the ones she liked the most.

At that moment, a girl with glasses ran out of the crowd, volunteering to take Maycee's place. It was Lingzhi, of course. Seeing her, the mayor and Katiniss both breathed a sigh of relief, while Maycee shrugged indifferently and returned to the crowd.

Next was the selection of the second male participant. A thirteen-year-old boy was chosen, and he moved out of the crowd with a helpless look, crying and being led to the stage by the peacekeepers.

Male looked at the poor boy and thought, "Lucky you to meet me. I'll save your life." Male smiled confidently and raised his hand.

"I volunteer to take his place!"

Male turned around in surprise. Although he had raised his hand, he hadn't said those words.

A tall, handsome young man walked out of the crowd, standing in front of the crying boy. He said to the stage, "I volunteer to take his place. I volunteer for the Hunger Games!" Although he was looking at the stage, his eyes were not on the host Effie but on Katiniss, who looked surprised.

Yes, this boy was Katiniss's best friend, the one who had interfered with her deer hunting in the forest, the second male lead in the original story, Gale.