Chapter 87

Very soon, Ma Le arrived at the twelfth floor and found the apartment in District 12. Inside, the three tributes, Hei Miqi, Mrs. Effie, Xina, Portia, and the stylist Sinda were in a meeting.

The concentrated training would begin the next day. Over the four days of training, the tributes had to learn as many survival and combat skills as possible and would be inspected by the wealthy four days later. This inspection would be the best opportunity to secure sponsors. The training ground offered various types of cold weapons and different simulated outdoor environments, with the only rule being that tributes could not fight each other. Although the coaches would certainly explain these rules the next day, Haymitch still repeatedly warned them: "Don't just focus on practicing combat skills; survival skills are even more important. In fact, in previous Hunger Games, most people died from hunger, cold, and disease."

"But we still don't have a chance, do we?" Peeta said somewhat pessimistically. "At the venue, you saw those tributes from Districts 1 and 2. They are well-fed, well-nourished, tall, and strong, with fierce eyes. These guys can enter schools to learn various skills before they turn 18, and they consider participating in the Hunger Games an honor. There's no lottery there; countless people sign up voluntarily, and even district-level selections are needed to choose the strongest... We can't possibly win against them..."

Haymitch fell silent. He knew these things better than anyone and couldn't comfort Peeta because it was the truth. The Hunger Games seemed fair, but from the beginning, the tributes were divided into different classes. Haymitch looked at Ma Le, who was no longer seen as a mere contestant in his eyes. However, under Haymitch's gaze, Ma Le still had an indifferent expression, calmly picking his nose.

"You're right!" Mrs. Effie, seemingly not understanding Peeta's distress, added fuel to the fire: "But they won't have any special treatment. Although they are stronger, they will live in the same apartments, eat the same food, and participate in the same training as you!" Peeta sighed, thinking to himself, "What's the use of the same treatment when the foundation is different..."

After dinner, the group went to bed early. Perhaps they were tired from the day's activities, Ma Le was very well-behaved all night, only going to talk to Haymitch once before returning to his room to sleep. However, Lingzhi, with her keen senses, noticed that when Haymitch saw Ma Le out of the room, he was sweating and had a shocked expression. The reason Lingzhi paid attention to Ma Le was that before he left, he had borrowed the surveillance jammer from her.

The next morning, Haymitch gathered the four tributes and asked about their specialties. As in the original story, Katniss mentioned that she could use a bow and arrow. Then Peeta began to praise Katniss's archery skills, which made Katniss unhappy, and she began to reveal that Peeta was very strong and good at wrestling. The two even argued about it. Young people are like that, rebellious and self-centered, even negating others' praise, a typical trait of adolescence.

Next was Lingzhi, the twin-tailed glasses girl, who only said she was very alert and could detect enemies in advance. As for Ma Le, Haymitch opened his mouth to speak but then stopped, choosing to skip over him.

"Whatever your specialties are, try not to show them in front of others. Save your special skills for individual training and try to learn as many new abilities as possible during the group training!" Haymitch advised.

Around ten o'clock, the four of them took the elevator down to the basement of the building, which was a vast underground training ground divided into several stations, each teaching a different skill. Some trained survival skills, others combat skills, and there were various dummies and sparring partners ready. Here, even the most ordinary tributes could quickly familiarize themselves with combat.

The four from District 12 were the last to arrive. A total of forty-eight tributes were gathered in the training ground, forming a circle. Soon, a tall woman named Atala, the head trainer, walked forward. Atala briefly explained the rules and discipline and then let the tributes start their training. The characters from the story naturally began to show their skills: the two from District 1, one excelled in archery, the other in throwing; the boy from District 2, named Cato, was tall and strong, considered the strongest tribute in the original story, and his partner, Clove, was a cold and skilled knife-thrower. These were the career tributes, trained for years and considered formidable opponents by tributes from other districts. Many of the other characters watched their training with expressions of despair.

However, other districts also had their strong points. The girl from District 5, known as Foxface, not only had a fox-like face but was also cunning and agile. The black girl from District 11, Rue, though only twelve years old, climbed like a monkey and was very good at hiding. Her partner, Thresh, was a black giant, as strong as Cato, and an excellent fighter in direct combat.

Of course, no matter how much these characters struggled, they were still just ordinary people. Lingzhi had already determined that even the strongest, Cato, had a strength of only 8 points. To the twenty-four entry-level elites, these teenagers were not a concern. While the characters from the story trained hard, the adventurers gathered together, ignoring the coaches' urging, and had a low-voice meeting.

"I have a proposal!" The speaker was one of the strongest candidates, Helias from Holy City. Up close, he was much taller than he appeared on TV, and even Ma Le had to look up to him, standing at least 1.95 meters tall.

Helias slowly said, "All of you here are skilled, and you must understand the dangers of the Hunger Games. Since the Hunger Games world appeared, many adventurers have been killed by the characters. To avoid such accidents, I propose that everyone immediately kill their district partners once the game starts. Let us, the adventurers, have a fair fight!"

Several adventurers nodded in agreement, but others had doubts. The first to speak was another strong candidate, Moon Lake: "Hey, the handsome guy from Holy City is afraid of those kids? Killing the characters is a good idea, but I can't agree. As a weak woman, I rely on my high charisma to gain the characters' favor to survive. If you ask me to kill the characters, you might as well kill me!"

She secretly nudged her partner, Kerlayev, from Agile City. He was a short, sturdy man with a playful expression, clearly smitten with Moon Lake and obedient to her every command. Taking Moon Lake's hint, Kerlayev immediately confronted Helias: "Lady Moon Lake is right. You come from the weak District 8, so you suggest this. We are from the strongest District 2, why should we kill our teammates first?"

Several adventurers from the advantageous districts also chimed in, and in a short time, the twenty-four participants were roughly divided into two camps: one supporting Helias and the other supporting Moon Lake. Although the others didn't have Lingzhi's intelligence, they had enough experience to see that both Helias and Moon Lake were not to be trifled with. No one here was a fool, and they naturally chose to side with the stronger.

Of course, a few didn't take a stance, including Ma Le and Lingzhi, as well as a handsome young man and an old man with no background information.

Ma Le had noticed this old man from the beginning. He completely ignored the conflict between the two major figures and moved to the old man, asking, "Old man, I'm Eater, what's your name?" The old man looked at him, a hint of surprise in his eyes, and nodded with a smile, answering, "Soros!" Ma Le nodded and chatted with the old man for a few moments before asking the question that had been bothering him: "Old man, how did you get in at your age?" Soros stroked his beard and said, "It's simple. I told them I have premature aging and am only sixteen, and the records were wrong, so they let me in."

Hearing this reason, Ma Le felt his intelligence was insulted. "Damn, I risked my life to get the information, and you just made up a ridiculous lie to get in. Unbelievable..." However, if the old man was telling the truth, Ma Le dared not underestimate him. To pass the examination with such a ridiculous method, this old man must have some unusual skills!

While Ma Le was talking to Soros, the two camps were in heated debate, but no one could convince the other. At this point, both Helias and Moon Lake noticed the few "loafers" and began to court them.

Helias walked up to Ma Le and the others, nodded, and said, "Gentlemen, do you think it's better to kill the characters or... " "Or to keep them!" Moon Lake interrupted before Helias could finish.

Ma Le was discussing life and ideals with the old man when these two interrupters appeared, making him somewhat impatient. He waved his hand and said, "Those who want to kill, do it. Those who want to keep, keep them. Those who can't decide, wait and see. You think killing someone needs to be synchronized? Do you think you're marching in step? A bunch of idiots!"

Ma Le's contemptuous attitude immediately enraged the other adventurers, especially the two major figures. Compared to Moon Lake, a woman, Helias was different. He was considered a rare rationalist in the Cross Order, but as a skilled person, he could not tolerate such insults and contempt. Helias's face twitched, and he strode to Ma Le, grabbing his collar and lifting him with one hand.

However, Helias overlooked one thing. Ma Le had mentioned the tall Gale during the election, and to perform such an action, one needed at least 200 pounds of strength, which meant his strength was at least 20 points. From the video, he should have been aware of Ma Le's capabilities.

Ma Le, being grabbed by the collar, was not about to back down. He grabbed Helias's wrist and twisted it, causing a crackling sound, and Helias, in pain, released his grip. Ma Le then placed his palm on Helias's face, using his fingers to press on the skull, causing a crackling sound, and lifted him up!

Helias, being tough, gritted his teeth and did not make a sound. Ma Le, wanting to kill him on the spot but fearing disqualification, coldly snorted and threw him, sending the at least 100-kilogram man flying and crashing into the wall several meters away.