"Sha Arthur, kill him!"
In the fighting arena under heavy metal music, the surrounding crowd's roars were like a pack of beasts bellowing. The ax-wielding strongman Sha Arthur kept attacking, pushing his opponent towards the corner of the ring.
Blood dripped from beneath Bai Gui's ghost mask, and his arms trembled. He had been an ordinary person, incurring debts at the casino, lost a hand, and got a cybernetic arm from the "doctor" as reparation, conditioned on his participation in fights to pay off his debts. After some training, he entered the fighting arena and won several bouts, until today when he met Sha Arthur.
"I don't want to die!" Bai Gui's face beneath the mask turned pale, his gaze grim as he stared at the approaching Sha Arthur. The music and the crowd's roars stimulated his nerves, and he let out a mad roar, his body shooting up, both arms whipping forward, aiming to pierce the pressing Sha Arthur.
Sha Arthur raised his giant shield in front of him. With a loud clang, the shield blocked one cybernetic arm, while the other grabbed his exposed leg, the sharp blade slicing through skin, blood gushing out.
Sha Arthur let out a roar, moved the shield aside, and hurled his ax forward.
"Splat..." The ax cleaved directly into the ghost-faced man's head, the tremendous force splitting it open. The gruesome scene made Xu Mo close his eyes, his heart trembling slightly, so ruthless.
Yet the crowd around the fighting arena erupted in deafening cheers, like frenzied beasts roaring to tear their prey apart, making him feel out of place, as if disconnected from the world before him.
Someone stepped into the arena to clean, and the injured Sha Arthur, after enjoying the cheers, walked towards the passage opposite Xu Mo, the crowd's roars gradually dying down.
"Sha Arthur is too powerful, already with five consecutive wins. The appearance fee must be considerable by now."
"Depends on the opponent. This match against Bai Gui was likely quite profitable. If he meets stronger foes later, the appearance fee will only increase."
"Damn, that's real earning. I wanna make money too."
"You'll be throwing your life away."
The surrounding chatter continued, flowing into Xu Mo's ears. It seemed somewhat similar to boxing from his previous life, only more bloody and cruel, with lives at stake.
"Who's in the next match?" someone asked.
"Just saw Ryan enter the backstage, he might fight."
"Ryan, hasn't he won three consecutive matches too? He's quite strong."
"Yeah, Ryan is with Cobra. Fighting here is probably on Cobra's orders, risking his life. Ruthless."
"Shh, do you want to die?"
"Ryan?" Xu Mo thought to himself. Is that the villain? The passage he just walked through should lead to the backstage of the arena. His senses couldn't penetrate it.
Most people hadn't left. Xu Mo didn't either, waiting for a while. The passage opposite Xu Mo opened, and two figures stepped into the ring, standing in the two light circles.
"It's him!" Xu Mo stared at one person on the left side of the arena. He wore a silver helmet, his hands clad in metallic arm guards protecting his wrists. His opponent, a more burly man, wielded a steel knife, eyes filled with killing intent.
"Challenger, three-time winner Ryan; Defender, three-time winner Bai Ren," a metallic voice echoed through the arena, instantly igniting the crowd around the fighting ground.
Both had three wins. When titans clash, the victor reaches four wins, the loser dies.
Explosive heavy metal music boomed in their eardrums. Among the roaring waves of the crowd, a voice shouted, "Begin!"
With that command, Bai Ren advanced step by step towards Ryan, steel knife in hand, while Ryan stood his ground, raising his arms in a blocking stance.
In the violent music, Bai Ren's steel knife slashed down straight, filled with a brutal beauty. Ryan lifted his arms to block.
"Clang..." A sharp, piercing sound mixed with the music and roars. Ryan's arm was knocked down, his steps retreating a bit.
Bai Ren's movements didn't stop, the steel knife chopping down again, seemingly carrying immense power.
"Clang, clang, clang..."
The violent clash sounds continued, exciting the crowd's nerves. Ryan took steps backward, his arms numb.
"Cut him down, cut him down!"
Seeing Bai Ren gaining the upper hand, wild howls surged, eager to see Bai Ren cut Ryan down.
Xu Mo focused on the battle. Though Bai Ren had the upper hand, he exposed many flaws. If Ryan had any strength left, as long as he seized a counter-attack opportunity, the outcome could reverse in an instant.
Apparently driven by the shouting, Bai Ren became wilder, both hands gripping the steel knife with greater power, determined to end it all in one move, to kill Ryan.
"Screech..." The sound of metallic friction rang out, sharp and piercing. Ryan's arm deflected downward, making Bai Ren's body follow the momentum downward. At that moment, Ryan suddenly sprang up, violently swinging his right arm out, the steel arm guard smashing directly into Bai Ren's head.
Blood splattered, Bai Ren's head smashed open, his body flying leftward, blood streaming out, and his body twitching in agony.
The crowd around the arena went completely wild.
"Smash him, smash him!"
The roars drowned out the loud music. Ryan, picking up the fallen steel knife, walked towards Bai Ren, raising the knife and stabbing it down amid the wild roars, piercing directly into Bai Ren's head, blood splashing onto him.
Xu Mo didn't close his eyes this time, staring at the arena, the surrounding roars seeming automatically isolated from him.
His mind recalled that day's scene, the boundless fear of a family of four, the thug breaking into the room with a blade stabbing directly into his parents' hearts, eyes showing a cruel smile.
He remembered his helplessness huddled in a corner, remembered the five-year-old girl's despairing, hysterical crying. These scenes flooded in instantly, like a nightmare, filling his mind.
A surge of violent emotion rose in his heart, and Xu Mo turned and squeezed through the crowd.
In that wild roar, his figure appeared somewhat out of place.
This is a savage world.
Xu Mo squeezed out of the crowd, heading towards the passage Ryan had previously walked through, but was stopped at a door inside.
"I want to participate in the fight," Xu Mo said. One person opened the door, and another led Xu Mo into the passage's interior, the backstage of the fighting arena.
A sexy woman wearing glasses received him. She wore a fake smile and asked, "Sir, participating in the fight?"
"Yes." Xu Mo nodded.
"Familiar with the rules?" the woman asked.
"The loser dies?" Xu Mo asked.
"Depends on the winner's mood," the woman smiled. But in the arena, the victor rarely showed mercy, usually choosing to kill the opponent.
"What's the appearance fee?" Xu Mo asked.
"Depends on your opponent, but it's given after the fight," the woman smiled warmly. If you die in the arena, naturally, you can't take the fee.
"How much for challenging Ryan?" Xu Mo asked.
The woman was stunned, then her smile grew even brighter.
A rookie, challenging Ryan?
Though Xu Mo wore a mask, he seemed frail, especially in the arena, among the skinniest. Judging by his voice, he wasn't that old. He wanted to challenge Ryan?
"Let me calculate." The woman counted seriously for a moment, then smiled, "Winning would get you eighteen hundred Federation credits, losing would be three hundred, but I need to ask Mr. Ryan if he accepts."
The fee differed whether you won or lost. However, losing likely meant not taking the fee.
"Okay." Xu Mo couldn't understand how she calculated it, but eighteen hundred Federation credits was no small amount. His original parents' monthly salary was about two hundred Federation credits.
Not little, but definitely not much. Losing meant only three hundred, with a high chance of leaving his life behind. It's a gamble with life. Even so, many took the risk. In the underworld, many were already desperate.
Of course, the biggest source of new fighters was the adjacent casino, full of gamblers.
For old hands like Sha Arthur and Ryan, they were already experienced.
"Please wait." The woman left, and Xu Mo sensed her approaching Ryan coming from backstage. Ryan looked over, disdainfully agreeing.
The woman returned smiling at Xu Mo, "What's your name, sir? Real name or codename is fine."
Xu Mo came masked, likely using a codename.
"Hunter!" Xu Mo said.
The woman seriously looked at Xu Mo's expression under the mask, Hunter!
The codename seemed meaningful.
"Mr. Hunter, please rest in the backstage," the woman led Xu Mo to the backstage area where several people were. The injured Sha Arthur already had bandages, recovering. Ryan shirtless had someone massaging his arm, fatigue showing from the previous fight.
Ryan sneered at Xu Mo, thinking of him as a dead man. Fighting a rookie, although the fee wasn't high, brutalizing a rookie was easy, and frequent appearances could boost his popularity. The more popular, the higher future appearance fees.
Xu Mo stared at Ryan, eyes unwavering under the mask, making Ryan frown. From the rookie's eyes, he saw an intensely fierce aura, like wanting to devour him.
After a while, the woman came to Xu Mo, "Mr. Hunter, follow me to the arsenal to select a weapon."
"Okay." Xu Mo averted his gaze, following the woman through another door to the arena's arsenal, filled with various weapons of different kinds and weights.
"You can select a set or a single weapon, or use your own. Once confirmed, no switching during the fight, or you'll be executed on the spot," the attendant warned Xu Mo.
Xu Mo filtered out the heavy weapons, armor, and guards which held no meaning for him. He needed offensive weapons.
Xu Mo walked to the blades section, filled with different knives of varying lengths, weights, and hardness.
Reaching out, Xu Mo gripped a scimitar!