The sign of another civilization was something Nate and the others were not expecting to see out here in the wilderness.
Also, the fact that it was something near Ozzie's base, he has become the number of suspect of it. At this point, Nate was wondering what he was up to with this.
In the end, they have decided to go check it out.
Since the last time they came into the settlements, a few upgrades have been made that will help them in blending in with society without getting spotted.
For instance, one was the warmer that prevent their body from freezing in the cold. The second was the spray. Mark and his team of scientists were able to discover a spray that can mess up their zombie scent.
It is necessary not to make them smell like humans, rather, it made them have the scent of an altered human being rather than that of a zombie.
The last thing that they have built was a device that can replicate the sound of a heartbeat. With these things in hand, Nate and the rest can walk around in human society without facing direct criticism from the people.
In the end, Mark have decided to stay back at the tent while Nate and Bull were going off to see what was going on in the strange arena structure they saw in the mountains.
It didn't take long for them to arrive at their destination. Nate and Bull could see cars all around the places, it was something they didn't see earlier but now they are all here.
The cars didn't look luxurious, they were all military vehicle that was designed to make trips to rough places.
"Wait... When we were leaving the settlement, did you remember the hordes of vehicles that were leaving as well?" Bull asked as the whole thing was starting to make sense to him, at least he now know where all these cars came from.
"We have to get inside," Nate said as he used his blending skill to move through the cars and entered the cloud of people. Bull as well was following behind him as the two have finally found themselves in the arena where half of the sits surprisingly nearly filled up to the brim.
Using his hearing sense, Nate and Bull were able to pick up some of the conversations the people were having.
"What do you think he has for us today, last week's show is that bad, but I feel like all the contestants back then were way too weak," a lady asked an old man.
One thing Nate noticed among those in the arena was the fact they all are wearing masks, either a full one or one that covers just half of their face. Because of this, Nate and Bull had half-face masks covering their face.
'Contestant... What type of business are they doing here?' Nate wanted to ask but hold himself back.
If this place has been kept secret and it was only those with so much power, it is expected that anyone present at such a place must know what happens here. If Nate was to ask such a question, the others might suspect him as an intruder that was not supposed to be where he is now.
With this thought in mind, Nate have to shut up and keep listening to their conversation till he could make out what was going on.
---
Meanwhile, in a room that was so bitch black that even those with eye vision power might not be able to see a thing in it, lyon was sitting calmly as his eyes were closed.
The door to his cell opened and Benny walked in.
"I know you are up to something, no one has ever stayed in this cell for five minutes without looking horrified but you, how are you still calm after all this?"Benny asked in disbelief.
Where Lyon was kept was a special cell with no single noise inside, staying in a place void of noise was a torture of its own. It brings nightmares to someone, this kind of thing is usually used in keeping someone under you.
Whenever someone came out from such a place, their behaviour will be like that of a puppet, however, Lyon was the first person Benny know of that had not changed a bit after exiting the room.
The reason for this was simple, it was not that Lyon couldn't feel anything, however, he had his sister who for some reason have formed something she called a blood bond. This was one of her spells that allows all the pain that is inflicted on someone to be transferred to her.
With such a bond, all the mental torture Lyon was meant to go through was all being transferred to his sister. Although Lyon felt bad that Lynn was bearing his burden, he also know that this was a win-win chance for her.
With this, she can keep increasing her power and then even transfer some to him.
"Anyways... It's a good thing that you are still sane because you will be needing to use it to fight for your life," Benny said as he went to get Lyon ready for the match.
Lyon looked at his horde map and could see three dots that were not far from where he was.
'Only three of them... Is Nate joking or something ?' lyon thought but soon laughed at himself. 'What am I thinking about when he can call the other over.' lyon thought as he pretend to be weak.
Now was one opportunity for him to escape, but he decided against that.
Meanwhile, in another room, this time, it was a room that was inside Ozzie's office.
"Now... It's time to prove to me that you are strong enough to stand on top with me," Ozzie said as he left the room.
Following behind him was a four-arms man with eyes, His hair was jet black and it was bushy.
---
Nate and Bull have been eavesdropping on the conversation of others but it was all useless since they couldn't spill the beans yet. It was as if they were not meant to speak about what used to happen here.
However, Nate didn't have to wait anymore as the ceremony or whatever was about to start.
With a loud blow of trumpets, the cloud noise has died down as someone steps onto the arena field.
"Thank you all for coming again for this week's zombie tournament,"
Nate immediately recognize the man that was speaking as Ozzie, he have not seen him before but Lyon have describe his look to them and it exactly matched the man before them.
'He was the one behind it after all. Am just curious about what he is up to with this?' Nate wondered.
"For a long time now, we have been facing the whitebonez, am sure you guys are already tired of watching one show over and over again, that's why today, I have made a special preparation and it will differ from before," Ozzie said.
"Those that have either a puppet or so that he or she wants to put as a contestant should go and register now, and you better have the crystal to lay down your bets!"
While Ozzie was speaking, Nate could see that some of those beside him were already going out to either register their contestant or lay their bets.
Soon, it was time for Ozzie to call out those that will be fighting from his side.
"Benny Clown!!" as he shouted this, Benny dressed in his clown outfit started to climb towards the stage. Cheers were heard from the clouds.
"The second contestant is Lyon Lee !!"
On hearing this name, Nate smirked slightly. 'You will try to utilize his power to your advantage,' Nate thought.
Honestly, Nate was not worried about Lyon's safety, it was the other he should be worried about. Unfortunately, Nate thought was interrupted by the next name that was called out.
"The last contestant is FourArmss!!!" with this, the trumpet sounded once again as the cloud stood up at the sight of the person that just entered the arena. It was like a grand entrance of a king
"Look... He actually has four arms... No way. I bet two king-level beasts on his head to win all his matches," a lady shouted in excitement.
Meanwhile, if it was possible now, Nate's heart would have pounded out of his chest in shock. He was not shocked to see Chris, his father here, he was already aware that he is with Ozzie, however, what Nate didn't understand was why Chris was looking in his direction.
'There is no way to recognize me even with the mask on,' Nate tried to calm himself down.