Weird Rules: Start by playing God in Bikini Bottom!

Chapter 12 Comments: "This hype is fucking awful."

This hardly seems like dealing with the rules of a life-or-death supernatural tale.

It felt like visiting a museum themed around my childhood.

As the audience in the Dragon Kingdom watched this scene, their tense mood unconsciously relaxed, and they even felt a bit amused and exasperated.

"Jiang Xiu's expression... why does it look like he's visiting someone's home?"

"He was watching with great interest?"

"Look at your watch! We need to get things done before ten!"

Jiang Xiu seemed to hear the audience's thoughts. He raised his wrist and glanced at the simple watch.

It was just past 6:30.

"Hmm...it's still early."

He muttered something, his voice carrying the languor of someone off work.

"Take a shower and change your clothes first. You need to clean up the grease and... well, the smell of money.

As he spoke, he actually turned around and walked familiarly toward a small door inside the house, which was the bathroom.

He even pulled out a wrinkled but soft-looking striped pajama from a closet.

A barrage of question marks instantly filled the live stream chat in China:

"??? Take a shower? Dude, there are rules! You have to do your favorite thing before 10 o'clock!"

"Isn't that a bit too ambitious? But... it seems like there's still enough time?"

"He seems so confident. Isn't his favorite thing to do to start right away?"

"Perhaps he wanted to relax a bit and perform in better condition? After all, the rules say to 'maintain a stable mental state'."

"I believe in Jiang Xiu! Every step he takes has a deeper meaning!"

International audiences, on the other hand, were more incredulous:

"What's Squidward doing in China? Isn't he in a hurry to find his favorite thing to do? Isn't he afraid of running out of time?"

"It seems the Dragon Kingdom is truly doomed!"

"This mental fortitude... compared to the panic of the other survivors, it's like they're not even in the same instance!"

Jiang Xiu ignored the discussions in the virtual world and actually went into the bathroom.

A moment later, the sound of rushing water came from inside.

About ten minutes later, he changed into his striped pajamas, a towel draped over his wet, bald head, and slippers, and walked out looking refreshed.

After taking a shower, he didn't immediately touch the clarinet. Instead, he slowly paced around the room, beginning to explore it more closely.

He opened the notebook on his desk and checked the sheet music on the music stand. The titles were all things like "Sorrowful Tentacles" and "Sighs from the Sea".

His exploration was not aimless; it was more like confirming the state of "home," reliving memories, and perhaps also checking for other hidden clues or dangers.

Time slowly passed, and the hands of the octopus-shaped wall clock pointed to 7:30.

In the other surviving chosen ones' live stream rooms, the atmosphere had reached the extreme of despair.

Wendy searched the entire house, trying to draw, read, play with her collection, and even stare blankly at the fish tank, but she couldn't figure out which one was her favorite, and she was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Barbatos finally gritted his teeth and picked up the clarinet, trying to play, but he didn't understand music at all, and the sound he produced was extremely harsh. He even covered his ears in pain, let alone calm himself down.

However, some participants chose to lie in bed and wait for the results from the National Institute for the other participants.

Although this may also lead to mental pollution, it is the only safe method.

Their live stream began to show unstable static and distortion, as if mental pollution had begun.

Meanwhile, in the Dragon Kingdom's live stream room, Jiang Xiu finally ended his exploration.

He walked to the music stand, picked up the brass clarinet, and gently wiped it with a soft cloth.

Then, he took out a sheet of music, turned to a certain page, and set it up.

He adjusted his posture and brought the clarinet close to his mouth with exceptional precision.

He glanced at the clock; it was 7:40.

"Yes, the timing is perfect."

His movements carried a habitual, even somewhat affected, artistic flair.

Global viewers, especially observers and commenters from other countries, immediately focused on how this uniquely performing contestant from China would handle this challenge.

Jiang Xiu brought the clarinet to his lips, his bulging eyes half-closed, adopting a somber and melancholic posture. Then, he began to play.

"Ooh—hmm—pfft—squeak—"

A melody that is hard to describe flowed out.

The melody fluctuates, the rhythm is rambling, and there are often discordant glissandos and inexplicable interruptions in breathy sounds. Overall, it exudes a strong "artistic youth" vibe.

Simply put, from the perspective of ordinary human musical aesthetics, this playing level is disastrous, not much better than the random noise produced by the previous survivors, except for a deliberate and grating emotional expression.

In the Dragon Kingdom's live stream room, the viewers who had initially been full of confidence in Jiang Xiu were instantly stunned upon hearing this music, and the chat froze briefly.

"...?"

"...What is that...blowing?"

"Uh, Jiang Xiu...did you grab the wrong instrument? Or did you miss the key?"

"This sound... even my kettle sounds better when it's boiling!"

Meanwhile, international viewers, who had been eagerly awaiting the downfall of China, erupted in a barrage of sarcastic and self-righteous predictions:

"Hahaha! This is the 'art' of the chosen ones of the Dragon Kingdom? This is utter auditory pollution!"

"Completely out of tune, chaotic rhythm, unsteady breath... lacking even the most basic musical literacy. This could never be an activity beneficial to the mind."

"God, make him stop! This is more torturous to the soul than eerie whispers! The Chinese athlete is being killed by his own 'art'!"

"See! Playing wind instruments was wrong after all! The Dragon Country contestants are blindly confident and are going to follow in our footsteps!"

"He's really getting into it? Doesn't he realize he's about to die? An hour of this noise and he'll definitely have a mental breakdown!"

"The rules' emphasis on maintaining a stable spirit certainly doesn't refer to this kind of torture! The Dragon Kingdom has misjudged this time!"

"As expected, there's no room for luck in S-rank dungeons! The Dragon Kingdom's luck has run out!"

Inside the Lianlong Kingdom Strange Tales Research Institute, some experts who didn't know much about music turned pale instantly upon hearing this eerie playing.

Zheng Peng stared intently at the screen, his brows furrowed, but he didn't draw any conclusions immediately. Instead, he kept a close eye on Jiang Xiu's expression and the changing environment of the live stream.

In the video, Jiang Xiu is completely immersed in his "performance".

His eyes were closed, his brows sometimes furrowed and sometimes relaxed, and his body swayed slightly with the out-of-tune melody, as if he had forgotten himself.

More importantly, after he started playing, the cold and lonely atmosphere of Squidward's house that was conveyed in the live broadcast seemed to gradually settle down and become a stable state.

There were no signs of the distorted images or fogging that appeared when other contestants attempted incorrect actions.