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墨書 Inktalez
Open up.
I pulled my opponent closer to his room and said to him indifferently, "You once stole five hundred dollars from me? Now I want you to pay back double!"
"You won't kill me because you want my money," my opponent replied coldly. I laughed; he was right. In any place, there are various rules, and within those rules, there are often subtle loopholes. To survive here, one must not only possess strength but also understand and even master the local rules, so that I can bend them to my advantage.
"You’re impressive, Tonma. Congratulations, the higher-ups appreciate you. They see your intentions; otherwise, they wouldn’t have let me live."
My opponent lay on the ground and spoke to me. I was taken aback for a moment, then smiled. I realized that the higher-ups had analyzed my actions and decided to send him back as a way of sending me money.
Thinking it over, it made sense; to the people above, I appeared capable—someone worth cultivating for future dealings with them.
I didn’t hold back; I opened his safe and took out all the cash inside—about seven thousand dollars.
"Can you help me to bed? I don’t want to die on the floor."
As I was about to leave, my opponent slowly said to me. I glanced at him, nodded, and helped him onto the bed. He even asked me for a cigarette. I didn’t have any, but there were some in his safe. He asked me to get them for him since both of his arms were broken and he needed my help to light one up.
"Is it ready?"
I lit his cigarette and asked him. Whether he was an opponent or an enemy, when dealing with someone who was about to die, I didn’t want too many excuses.
"That’s enough; you can go."
He took a deep drag on the cigarette, greedily inhaling the smoke. I turned and walked out of his room. As soon as I stepped outside, everyone looked at me; by now, they knew why I had entered that room.
I felt no fear at all as I walked straight to my own room, where I placed all the money along with this round’s prize into my safe. Now I had nearly ten thousand dollars—close to the twenty thousand dollars needed for my life buyout.
What was important was that I needed to protect my money.
The number of people daring enough to rob me when I wasn’t resisting was minimal; after firmly rejecting Nigen’s attempts, very few would dare take my money again—only the top-tier fighters in the district would be bold enough to try.
Now wasn’t the time for that; there was only one formidable figure in the district—the one who had robbed me before: Hai Feng. He often stole from others right after finishing a fight. As previously mentioned, each fighter wouldn’t have another match for at least a week after their bout, so even if injured, they had a week to recover.
Hai Feng hadn’t robbed me today simply because he hadn’t been in the Gladiatorial Arena for a week; he feared my retaliation and needed to conserve his energy for fighting before using what remained to steal from me!
The next day came. They were still gambling as usual. Today, instead of pondering battles in my room like before, I stepped outside and approached Hai Feng directly.
"What the hell do you want?"
Hai Feng looked at me arrogantly; in this place, his strength was top-notch. Usually, if he didn’t provoke others, they would steer clear of him—who would dare challenge him?
"I’m here for you!"
I shouted loudly! Suddenly revealing the broken toothbrush I had!
Before Hai Feng could react, the blade plunged into his thigh!
Such a minor injury would hardly attract the attention of those above; Hai Feng still needed to fight! This wound was enough to disrupt his performance in battle. Even if he managed to walk out of the Gladiatorial Arena alive, he would undoubtedly be covered in injuries!
I’ll see how you can still rob me of my money!
Ah!
Hai Feng screamed in agony!
A massive slap came flying toward me!
My reflexes were quick, and I dodged just in time, but I couldn't evade Hai Feng's follow-up kick. He sent me flying with a single blow.
You want to die, huh?!
Hai Feng roared at me, pointing angrily. The spectators around us were numerous, yet not a single one intervened; our mutual destruction was quite entertaining for them.
You want me dead? You’re doing me a favor!
With a cold smile on my face, I got back up from the ground, unafraid as I looked at Hai Feng. I even reminded him, “As far as I know, you haven’t fought in over a week. Come on, let’s have a little spar before you step into the arena!”
You’re despicable!
You’re the one who’s despicable!
Hai Feng cursed loudly, but I wasn’t intimidated at all.
When you were robbing me of my money, did you ever think about how despicable that was?
If I don’t injure you now, do you think you’ll let me off once you leave the Gladiatorial Arena?
It’s all nonsense!
Here, survival is the only thing that matters!
Alright! I’ll give you that—you’re ruthless! Just wait; one day I will kill you! I will make you suffer!
Hai Feng pointed at me fiercely as he spoke. I merely smiled and watched him turn to head back to his quarters; he needed to recuperate.
I glanced at the others watching me. Previously, their gazes had been filled with disdain, but at this moment, they no longer dared to look down on me or think about robbing my safe of USD!
The following days were the most peaceful I had experienced in a long time. No one hurled insults at me or kicked me anymore. I quietly contemplated my fighting strategies in my small room.
Occasionally, I would think about Wang Jia Ye Sun. Since my amnesia began, they were the only two friends I had. I wondered if I had friends before; what were they doing now that they realized I was missing? Would they come looking for me?
On the third day after injuring me, Hai Feng entered the Gladiatorial Arena. His strength was indeed impressive; even injured, he managed to win his match. However, he came back battered and bruised, barely able to defend himself. He certainly wouldn’t take this opportunity to rob others.
A few days later, I fought again against someone from the district. This time, instead of using my previous tactics to wait for him to leave the Gladiatorial Arena and then rob him, several of my former opponents had adopted my method after witnessing my success.
Now that someone stepped into the arena, strong fighters were waiting for them; there was no chance for someone just coming off a match and still recovering their stamina to rob anyone.
After winning this match, I had accumulated nearly ten thousand dollars.
I had already secured most of the ransom money needed for my life. They all knew I had money and frequently asked me to gamble with them. I refused; I didn’t like leaving my fate in the hands of chance—I wanted to hold it firmly in my own hands.
Time passed slowly, and before I knew it, I had been in the district for a month. During this month, whenever I faced Hai Feng in the Gladiatorial Arena, we were always provided with an abundance of food, while our opponents received none. It was clear that the higher-ups were favoring us, setting us up to lose to a newcomer.
Before losing to this newcomer, I suspected that the organizers would arrange for me to fight Hai Feng once more. The winner of that match would gain more popularity, attracting more bets on their victory, only to be defeated later by an infrequent newcomer—essentially a setup for a complete sweep.
Indeed, after two months in the district and nearly ten duels later, the day for my showdown with Hai Feng arrived. The last time I fought him, I had injured him, and since then, every battle he fought became increasingly difficult for him. His injuries had just begun to heal, and his stamina was still recovering.
The day before our match, both of us received food again. This situation indicated that the higher-ups were indifferent to who won or lost; they likely saw that our ticket sales were similar.
"Yellow-Skinned Monkey, tomorrow is your death day. Hand over the money from your safe to me, and I promise I'll make your death a bit more comfortable," Hai Feng said with a grin as he leaned against my door.
I chuckled in response. "You know there's no point in talking nonsense with me. We'll see each other in the arena tomorrow."
I casually replied, knowing that even if the organizers didn't arrange for me to fight Hai Feng, he was already eager to cause me trouble. After nearly ten life-and-death duels and countless hours of contemplation, my strength had improved significantly.
Now my techniques were sharper than anyone else's! My reflexes were just as quick as anyone else's. In terms of physical ability? As someone who had only been here for two months, I had fewer hidden injuries than any of them!
No one would dare risk a mutually destructive fight with me; even Hai Feng wouldn’t underestimate my strength.
"Well then, sleep well for your last night," Hai Feng sneered before turning to leave. Was he planning to torment me to death? I ignored him.
Two months had passed without my engaging in any gambling. After winning seven thousand USD from my first opponent, I now had ten thousand USD saved up. If I won four more duels, I'd have enough money to buy my freedom from this place.
During these two months, three people had managed to save enough money to escape; two had won it through gambling while one was a veteran who left after proving his strength. Surprisingly, the strongest among us—Hai Feng—had not managed to save enough.
There were several reasons for this: first, he was a gambler who often lost. Here, cheating is not tolerated; although there are no official rules against it, once you lose and try to cheat others out of their winnings, no one will want to play with you again.
Second, after being injured by me last time, he spent most of his time recuperating. Once he felt somewhat better and returned to the arena, his injuries would worsen again. With no strength left to take others' money, he was just starting to recover when the organizers decided it was time for us to face off.
Hai Feng's skills were exceptional; tomorrow's battle would undoubtedly be grueling. Would I die at his hands? I didn't know. Regardless of what happened, I would not give up—I would fight fiercely for every chance at survival!
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