313: 7.3 I Want Him

7.3 I Want Him

"On the left side we have Shea The Hulk, two times Hellraiser's champion, ready to spill some blood and flesh for you! Will our newcomer turn the tide to his favor or will Shea teach him an unforgettable lesson? Everyone, place your bet! NOW!"0

The roars and screams intensified. Feet thumped on the ground and Lu Yizhou almost felt the vibration from where he was standing. "Kill! Kill! Kill!" They chanted. 

From the opposite side of the stage, the partition lifted to show… a man. Lu Yizhou cursed under his breath. Alright, they weren't exaggerating when they introduced him as 'The Hulk'. His whole body was made of bulging muscles, height easily towered over eight feets, making Lu Yizhou look like a dwarf in comparison! 

Shea — who the hell gave him that kind of name? — threw his head back and let out an animalistic roar and the audience resonated along with him. The bloodlust spiked in the air, so thick that Lu Yizhou's blood boiled in response. What did the MC say earlier? This was his fourteenth as well as the last round? 

Alright, Lu Yizhou exhaled, widened his stance and squared his shoulders. He had a belly of curses ready to vent and a whole barrage of questions. Then again, he should have known better that the simulator wouldn't let him off so easily. Everything else could wait after this.

A death fight, that was.

He re-tied the loose bloody cloth around his fists and shook his head to clear the ringing in his head.

[Body Nourishing Pill. Five.]

[666: A—Alright, Host! QAQ]

The pills appeared inside his mouth and Lu Yizhou chewed on it. Almost immediately, the heaviness in his chest alleviated, and the soreness along his body numbed albeit just a little bit. He twisted his neck and grimaced at the muscles that pulled on the wounds on his back. Damn it, how could he fight if every single movement felt like agony?! [Can't you block my pain receptors?]

[666: H—Host, 666 has shielded 50% of the pain for you! QAQ that's the most 666 is allowed to do!]

Lu Yizhou rolled his eyes. He took a deep breath and focused on his body. He had no idea whether it was because he had been through a life as cultivator or sentinel who could freely control the spiritual element in his body, Lu Yizhou found himself able to map every nerve and strand of muscle that was either broken or bruised under his skin.

Shock jolted through him when he realized how severe this body's condition was. Exactly how could 'he' remain standing up until before Lu Yizhou arrived? If it wasn't because of the system's shield and the Nourishing Pills, Lu Yizhou was certain he would have blacked out from the sheer internal bleeding in his organs! He concentrated harder and steeled the muscles around his frayed nerve endings. A sigh of relief escaped his chapped lips when the pain gradually receded into a faint buzz he could ignore to the back of his mind.

[666: Host, Host, if you do this then you won't know the extent to which your body will be able to endure the strain! You might even die, Host!]

He was already half-dead anyway, Lu Yizhou thought. He didn't dignify that with an answer and asked instead, [In the original plot, do I win?]

[666: Uhhh, wait a moment. Let 666 checks…]

The shrill bell pulled Lu Yizhou away from his reverie and he opened his eyes at the same time when the MC declared. "The final stage of Hellraiser begins… NOW!" 

Shea The Hulk gave another roar and actually thumped his chest like a gorilla. Lu Yizhou almost snorted. He stretched out a hand and crooked his fingers, taunting. "Come." 

Instantly, the atmosphere exploded and Shea The Hulk lunged straight toward him with the force of a hundred bulldozers, the wind picking up behind his feet. The hair on the back of Lu Yizhou's neck prickled in response to the threat and he found his lips curling into a bloodthirsty smirk. It had been too long since he received a challenge where he was uncertain of the outcome… so long that he had forgotten how the excitement and thrill felt like. 

Whether he won the fight or not in the original plot, Lu Yizhou didn't care. His only focus was to get out of here alive and if he had to kill Shea for that, then so be it. Lu Yizhou slid one of his feet behind him and pushed himself off the ground to meet Shea in midair.

***

A few distance away from the Deathbound Stadium was an elevated VVIP walking platform that was connected to the Devil's Casino. A tall man in a burgundy suit with long hair tied in a high ponytail paused when his eyes caught sight of the intense battle below.

His right hand man, nicknamed Poison Blade, Kaede, paused when he realized that the man had stopped walking. "Boss…?" He called out tentatively and followed the man's line of sight. That was… the gladiator fighters? Since when did his Boss get interested in such a crude establishment? "Do you see something that piques your interest?"

A deep, contemplative hum sounded in response. The man fully turned his body toward the battle ground, eyes following the man — all stout and sinewy muscles packed in an almost slender body — who fought an enemy almost twice his size. 

He was soaked in blood all over that it was impossible to define his features clearly. But there was just something in the way his muscles rippled… the precise and elegant way he moved… the beads of sweat that glided down the column of his neck and seeped into his sweat-soaked clothes... and the mess of strawberry blonde hair that resembled flickers of flame under the scorching sun, that intrigued him to no end.

The longer he observed, the more he realized that the man was… very interesting. In one glance it seemed like his attack didn't cause any damage but actually, he was focusing on the enemy's weak spot again and again, slowly grinding down the latter's offensive strength with unscrupulous moves.

On the other hand, his enemy didn't even realize it as he displayed a boorish fighting style akin to a rabid animal. No plan, no finesse, only pure physical strength. A street thug through and through.

His eyebrows twitched in disgust. What an eyesore.

"Boss…?" 

He had just wanted to turn away when the wind blew, fluttering the fighter's hair in time for him to catch sight of a glimpse of wickedness within a pair of sharp, striking silver eyes. His heart thumped in his chest.

[Our soul will recognize him at first glance. We will love him, protect him and keep him safe. Again and again.]

He turned to Kaede. "What did you just say?"

"Huh…?" Kaede looked around in confusion before pointing at his own nose. "Me? No, I didn't say anything…"

What was that…? He seemed to have heard something weird. He discreetly rubbed his own chest, a furrow forming between his brows. Why was his heart beating so fast? He stretched out his arm to the dumbfounded Kaede. "Check if there's any poison in my body."

"What?!" Veins bulged out along Kaede's neck as his face twisted in anger. "Damn those sneaky Cobalt snakes! I should have known that nothing good will come out of their lunch invitation! Are you okay, Boss?!" He fished out black needles from his sleeves and lined them along his boss' arm. "What are the symptoms? Dizziness? Nausea? Cramps?"

Whilst Kaede was spewing out a barrage of questions, his heartbeat had gradually returned to normal. He pursed his lips and searched for that weird sensation again to no avail. "Nothing."

Kaede's fingers shook and he almost stabbed the needle through the man's arm. Fuck! Fortunately he stopped himself on time otherwise it was his own arm that would be full of holes in the next second. "N—Nothing…? Then?" He pulled out the needles and inspected it thoroughly. "No poison. No obvious reaction either. Do you think it's an untraceable one? We should go back as soon as possible then!"

He rolled down his sleeves. "No need, must be a false alarm." His eyes unknowingly drifted again to the stadium arena to see the silver-eyed fighter stumble on his feet after receiving a punch right on his gut, blood gushing out of his mouth like a fountain. 

Irritation coursed through him. There it was again, another squeeze in his chest. Maybe he had gotten poisoned afterall?

Kaede whistled beside him. "Oh too bad, that man will die soon. There's no way he can continue to fight."

And true to Kaede's words, the fighter collapsed onto his knees, trembles wrecked through his whole body as he couldn't stop hacking blood. The crowd went wild with boos. "Kill him! Kill him!"

"No." He casually denied. "He won't die. He will stand up again and win."

"What are—woah!" Kaede's eyes widened when he saw the fighter struggling to his feet, just as his boss had predicted. Even from such a distance away, Kaede could sense the intense bloodlust that sizzled on every inch of his skin, almost lighting sparks in the air. Kaede sucked in a breath and shuddered. "Such a strong fighting spirit. Even our members don't have an aura like his."

The tide turned in an instant. Before anyone could react, the fighter — who looked as if he was dying just a second ago — pounced forward agilely like a cheetah and directed a flying kick on the side of Hulk's neck. A resounded crack was heard, so loud that the audience froze in shock. Heavy silence descended on the stadium as the Hulk let out a wet gurgle from his throat and then collapsed sideways, cooking up a storm of dust with the sheer size of his body.

The silver-eyed fighter swayed on his feet as the MC lifted his hand and declared him the champion. 

"Wow…" Kaede couldn't help commenting. "That was a magnificent kick. Shall we go—"He offered his boss a sideways glance and promptly choked on his saliva when he saw a calculating smile playing on his boss' lips. His eyes almost sparkled in a way that Kaede had never seen before except when he was torturing someone. Shivers ran down Kaede's spine and he hugged himself in reflex.

Uh-oh, nothing ever ended well when Boss was smiling like that. 

Kaede's premonition was proven in the next second.

His boss licked his lips and pointed at the fighter. "I want him."

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