There was zero thrill, zero excitement. The fight was completely one-sided, all firepower and no tension. If it'd been some desperate, close-combat brawl relying on pure skill, maybe that'd be fine, but watching a chicken mowing things down with a machine gun? Hell, that was less exciting than watching someone sweep the floor.
And the worst part? Everyone lost money. Once profits got involved, mercenaries went mad.
This wasn't a fair fight at all!
The bison barely made it halfway across the arena before it got riddled with holes, collapsing at Xiao Dou's feet. The proud hen stood tall, only missing a smoking gun and a pair of sunglasses to complete her boss pose.
"Refund! Refund!"
"Disqualified!"
The arena erupted in chaos. The match had to be paused because too many people were protesting that Xiao Dou used a gun, calling it cheating, demanding refunds, threatening to boycott the event.
But did the opinions of broke mercenaries matter? Of course not.
However, since this affected the black market's profits, the organizers had to take action. Soon, the host returned to the stage, announcing, "Apologies, everyone. As of one minute ago, the black market has issued a new law. In pet battles, all handguns, machine guns, sniper rifles, and other firearms are now banned. They violate the balance of the game."
The crowd quieted down. Everyone finally relaxed, pleased with the decision.
Jing Shu clapped. "Nice. They actually changed the law for me. So all those previous rules about animals being allowed to use guns got thrown to the dogs, huh? Then let me ask, everything other than guns is still fair game, right?"
After confirming several times, the host nodded. "That's right. The black market isn't heartless. You can use knives, axes, or whatever else, as long as your chicken can handle it."
Jing Shu approached the cage, took back her pistol and machine gun, and handed Xiao Dou something mysterious. "Alright, no complaints then. Let's continue."
Heh, how naive.
The eighth round was against the second-ranked beast in the black market—a massive crocodile. Its jaws took up half its body. Forget a chicken, even a human could be snapped in half in one bite.
Even with Xiao Dou wearing a steel helmet, once that crocodile bit down, it'd be over. Its bite could crush metal like paper.
The audience was thrilled. Finally, their ace contender was up. Jing Shu nodded with satisfaction. The black market never failed to surprise her. She'd heard crocodile skin made great leather, soft and smooth. She'd owned a crocodile wallet once, lasted for years.
This round drew crazy bets. Ninety-nine percent of people put their money on the crocodile. Without a machine gun, what could a chicken possibly do?
But when the crocodile lumbered in and the gate slammed shut, the crowd roared like maniacs, eager to win back everything they'd lost before.
Too bad, they were still too naive.
Because Xiao Dou pulled a wire, revealing what was hidden under her wings—a grenade.
The fuse hissed to life, and under Jing Shu's command, the hen threw it straight into the crocodile's open mouth. The beast instinctively bit down.
Boom!
The explosion rocked the entire arena.
The crocodile's insides were blasted to mush. Xiao Dou trembled, covered in gore, then licked herself clean. Huh, not bad. Tasted kinda good.
"What a waste," Jing Shu sighed.
Xiao Hei blinked. He understood when she said pigs were a waste for their blood, cows for their meat, but this time… "What's there to waste about a crocodile?"
"That skin, obviously. What a pity."
Xiao Hei immediately shuffled a few steps away. Damn, this woman was terrifying. After this mission, he never wanted to deal with her again.
"Oh shit!"
"She cheated again! Grenades are illegal!"
"We demand the black market update the rules! She's exploiting loopholes!"
Meanwhile, the Chinese crowd in the stands became a whole other scene.
"We support you! We bet on you to win! Ten in a row, let's go!"
"Keep blowing them up! Blast those bastards to hell!"
Jing Shu turned around. Wasn't that her group of Chinese middlemen? What a bunch of adorable lunatics.
The host was torn between frustration and glee. Damn, these Chinese were wild. If this kept up, he might really pocket 2,000 black market coins tonight. "Well," he said reluctantly, "technically, the lady didn't break any rules. There's no clause saying pets can't use grenades."
The mercenaries exploded. Even the nobles couldn't stay calm. The host might've let it slide, but the fight had to be paused again.
Jing Shu smirked, walked in, and dragged out what was left of the crocodile, half intact, half minced meat. She added it to the growing pile of corpses by her feet. The sight made her grin. This haul was turning out to be seriously satisfying.
A moment later, the host announced regretfully, "Oh my god. For the first time in three years, the black market has revised the rules twice in one day. Effective immediately, all thermal weapons and external tools are banned in pet battles. That includes defensive gear and armor. It seems the Battle Chicken's streak ends here."
Their arena, their rules.
Jing Shu clapped again. "Excellent. So just to confirm—no external weapons or tools allowed at all, and the animals can only rely on their own natural abilities, right?"
"Unfortunately, yes," the host said with a sigh. "No armor, no guns, no equipment of any kind. Everything else is fine."
"Perfect. Don't go back on that, alright?" Jing Shu grinned.
"???" The host blinked. Why would she say that? Shouldn't she be complaining about how unfair it was right now?
"I'm a law-abiding citizen," Jing Shu said cheerfully. "So I'll just take my chicken's gear back."
She stripped Xiao Dou of her helmet and other gear, turning the massive hen into a bare, half-feathered bird.
Xiao Dou looked humiliated and furious. Being forced to stand naked in front of everyone? Where was her dignity? Jing Shu whispered a few words, fed her some food and water, then stepped out. "Alright, we're ready."
"Don't mind me," the host said with pity. "Feed your chicken well. Might be her last meal." He shook his head and signaled for the match to begin.
"Next, the ninth round! The Battle Chicken versus the black market's giant, the almighty super python!"
The crowd erupted in cheers. Several men carried in an enormous cage. Inside was a python over ten meters long, easily big enough to swallow a human whole.