Chapter 17: Underground Fighting Arena
The three of them changed into their familiar black robes and masks, then arrived at a storefront with a sign hanging above it—Underground Fighting Arena.
Su Ke rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.
"Can something like this really operate so openly?"
"Why not?" Wang Zhong replied. "They're here to make money. If they made it too hidden for people to find, how would they earn anything?"
"That logic is so solid I can't even argue with it."
Lin Ning said calmly, "It's best to use a code name when fighting here. Most of the people who come are vicious types. If your real identity gets exposed, they might come straight to your home to cause trouble."
"I've already thought of mine," Wang Zhong said proudly. "My code name will be Muscle Man."
Su Ke twitched. "Can you pick something with at least a little cultural depth?"
"I think it suits me perfectly."
"Alright, as long as you're happy. What about you, A Ning?"
"I thought of mine on the way here," Lin Ning replied. "I'll be Violet."
"Eternal beauty," Su Ke said lazily. "Didn't expect you to be so vain."
"What? Is it wrong for a girl to love beauty?" Lin Ning shot back. "What about you?"
"As for me," Su Ke said after a moment's thought, "I'll be Young Hacker. You'll never know what form I'll take next, or who I'll be next."
"That actually fits you pretty well," Wang Zhong said. "Let's go in."
He led the way, with Su Ke and Lin Ning following behind.
As they descended the stairs and pushed open the main doors, a massive wave of noise rushed toward them all at once. The soundproofing of the doors was impressive.
They went to the registration counter.
The receptionist was a beautiful woman dressed in extremely revealing clothing.
"Welcome. Please pay a deposit of 50,000 yuan each, then tell me your code names."
They handed over the money. Su Ke didn't have enough on him, so he borrowed it from Wang Zhong.
"Young Hacker."
"Muscle Man. Muscle as in brawn, Man as in male."
"Violet."
Even after hearing the rather questionable second code name, the receptionist's expression didn't change as she calmly entered their information.
"Please place your hands on the device beside you. We need to determine your exact Realm so we can arrange fair matches."
Each of them took the test.
All three were at the First Realm, Sixth Stage.
Su Ke had just broken through, Lin Ning had been there for some time, and Wang Zhong was already well advanced within the stage.
"Very well," the receptionist said. "We'll match you with opponents between the fourth and sixth stages. For privacy reasons, we won't verify your ability types. If any of you are Support Class, it's recommended you register for two-on-two combat. Otherwise, if you're matched against a Combat Class, the likelihood of defeat is very high."
There was something she didn't say—once a Support Class faced a Combat Class here, death was very possible.
"We understand," Su Ke said. "Thank you."
"These are your identity cards. If you win, use them to claim your prize money. Do you want to register that the three of you came together? That way, we'll avoid matching you against one another."
"Yes, register it."
"Understood."
After registration, they examined the cards. They looked ordinary, with only their code names printed on them.
"Before each match, an entry fee of 100,000 yuan is required," the receptionist continued. "If you lose, the fee is not refunded. If you win, not only will your fee be returned, you'll also receive half of your opponent's entry fee, plus 30% of the off-site betting pool."
"So a single win is worth at least 50,000 yuan," Wang Zhong muttered.
"Yes."
After Lin Ning and Wang Zhong registered for a two-on-two match, the three went to the spectator stands to observe.
The underground arena had three combat rings, where matches were randomly arranged.
They were currently watching Arena One. Below, a Fire-type Spirit Energy User was fighting a Beast Transformation Spirit Energy User who had transformed into a bear.
The fireballs slammed into the bear's body, but caused little more than scorched fur.
"Who do you think will win?" Lin Ning asked.
"The bear, obviously," Wang Zhong said. "Those fireballs barely hurt him. If that fire guy didn't have a speed-type spirit tool, he'd have lost long ago."
Spirit tools were weapons crafted by Spirit Artisans using special methods. Unlike common equipment such as Spirit Energy Armor—which only provided defense—each spirit tool had its own unique function. The shoes worn by the Fire-type user were a speed-type spirit tool.
"I agree," Su Ke said. "That Fire-type user's talent isn't very high. The flames are too weak. Normally, Element-type Combat Spirit Energy Users should have the strongest offense, but he can't do anything to his opponent."
Before long, the Fire-type user's spiritual energy ran dry. Unable to release any more flames, he was smashed into a bloody mess by the Beast Transformation user, who then calmly took his shoes.
Su Ke and the others instinctively shut their eyes.
Watching a Yao Beast die and watching a human die were completely different experiences.
Earlier, seeing the Thirst Wolf's corpse had only caused physical discomfort. This, however, was a living person being beaten to death in front of them.
Wang Zhong finally couldn't hold it in and vomited.
No one around them even glanced over. They were clearly used to scenes like this.
Su Ke and Lin Ning weren't doing much better. Their faces were pale, and their breathing was heavy as they suppressed the urge to retch.
"It's okay," Su Ke said quietly. "Take it slow. You'll get used to it eventually."
At that moment, the referee's voice echoed through the arena.
"Next match—Hacker versus Supersonic!"
The screen displayed their records.
Supersonic: 13 matches / 7 wins / 6 losses.
Young Hacker: 0 matches / 0 wins / 0 losses.
"My turn," Su Ke said. "Wait for me to give us a good start."
He tried to sound relaxed, but the tension still leaked through.
"If you really can't handle it, we can forget this," Wang Zhong said.
"Yeah," Lin Ning added. "This place is too extreme."
Su Ke took a deep breath and said firmly, "No. This is a hurdle I have to cross. We can't compete with people from major cities in terms of resources. If we want to surpass them, we have to be ruthless—to ourselves."
With that, he turned and walked toward the arena entrance without looking back.
On the stage, a thin, middle-aged man was already waiting, his expression impatient.
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