Chapter 363: Chapter 363

Although the first person was dismembered into several pieces, leaving only a pair of handcuffed hands, at least he died quickly. The second one suffered more; the bulletproof vest he wore backfired. The snake bit him several times but couldn’t penetrate the vest, so it started to burrow into his waist from below, tearing off pieces of flesh. His screaming filled the Duel Arena with even more excitement, perfectly embodying the saying, "The louder you scream, the more excited I get."

Six people were strung up by a rope, all held at fixed intervals.

By the time the third person was dragged in, the second one was left with half a body and an arm half-bitten off. The big man, now missing both legs and his hands from the waist down, was first hung over the pit. Then, he was dragged forward on the ground, blood flowing everywhere. He didn’t die immediately, and what was more tragic was enduring the friction of being dragged back and forth on the ground.

"Kill me, just kill me!" Updates are released by 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚•𝙣𝙚𝙩

The third one kept howling in resistance, but he was still dragged into the pit. He cried out in agony. Even though he wore heavy armor, a snake waiting by the side bit his head off, making his death the fastest. Although his head was gone, his body still twitched involuntarily. No one knew if he was truly dead, and no one bothered to ask.

The fifth and sixth people chose to commit suicide. As United States soldiers, they knew they couldn’t survive such a situation. They yelled, "Despicable Asians! You’re toying with us! Your strength is far beyond this!"

The audience, however, thought they were sore losers, oblivious to what the United States soldiers truly meant: that the Asians were deliberately feigning weakness, their actual strength far exceeding what they displayed.

Only the fourth person miraculously survived. He was dragged to the middle while the two people behind him desperately pulled back, not wanting to go down. This tension pulled the rope taut. Relying on over ten years of fitness experience, he performed a handstand on the rope and then curled up on it. Since he wore the least clothing, he was the lightest. Thanks to his impressive technique and ability, the snakes missed him several times as they leaped into the air, until Tan Ke pulled him to safety.

The audience and Nobles, accustomed to bloodshed, found this display of extreme survival quite interesting and even applauded the lucky man.

The fifth and sixth men wanted to try the same, but they lacked the skill. Once they were dragged in, they fell completely into the pit. If the first few victims had been torn apart live on the rope, these two were hunted down and devoured in the pit by the snakes, like fresh rations being stored away.

Each person died differently, providing great visual satisfaction to the audience and Nobles.

The Duel Arena commenced a new feast. The spectators seemed numb to such brutal deaths, even finding excitement in them, showcasing their twisted worldview.

Jing Shu’s group emerged victorious! Little Black was so moved he cried; he had almost thought he would die here. Now, looking at the cruel scene within the arena, he couldn’t help but tremble and nearly wet himself in fear. The first person’s remaining hands were taken away as a display piece. The second person finally died from excessive blood loss. Staff members stripped off his bulletproof vest and threw his corpse, purple from the venom, back into the snake pit...

Pei Qi raised her glass to all the Nobles. "Unexpectedly, by being the house this time, I won everything! It seems these Asians aren’t so bad after all. I declare this team of Asians victorious! They earn an additional 3,000 Black Market Coins and will inherit all the assets of this mercenary group!"

Their victory in the first match yielded 4,500 Black Market Coins! They were now a big step closer to their goal. Furthermore, the most valuable possessions of the defeated mercenaries were their firearms and bulletproof vests. These were all sold to the Black Market for an additional 2,000 Black Market Coins. The supplies they would exchange for later would be their personal property, not part of the mission’s required handover.

"So, Asians, will you accept the second challenge I’m issuing?" Pei Qi was in an excellent mood. She had earned tens of thousands of Black Market Coins from the Asians this time and could finally shed her reputation as someone who always lost her bets.

After Little Black translated, Tan Ke nodded. "Ask her what the challenge is." He wanted to strike while the iron was hot, reach S-rank mercenary status sooner, and proceed to the next step of their overall mission. He detested this Underground black market.

Pei Qi spoke, and Little Black translated, "There was a very popular game before the apocalypse, PUBG, known in Huaxia by the moniker ’Eating Chicken.’ For the second match, let’s have a real-life version of that."

"The rules are simple. Contestants are not allowed to bring any weapons, not even something as small as a toothpick. They must change into clothes provided by the Duel Arena and carry a pack. After this, they will be randomly deployed to various corners of the arena. Then, they must search for scattered bullets, gun parts, axes, machetes, Crossbows, and even bulletproof vests or shields. To ensure fairness, fists, martial arts, or boxing are prohibited. Only weapons found within the Duel Arena may be used to kill."

"The last surviving mercenary team will be declared the winner."

"It’s worth mentioning that most of the scattered firearm parts will not be compatible. Besides one complete, ready-to-use gun, there are parts to assemble three more firearms, and one hundred bullets. The rest are melee weapons."

This meant that whoever was lucky enough to find a gun at the start would essentially secure a strong foundation for victory.

"Actually, this competition format isn’t perfect. I originally wanted a hundred-person battle royale—that would be fantastic! But for today, let’s start with two teams in this survival game. Killing an opponent earns 500 Black Market Coins, which do not count towards mercenary rank progression tasks. However, the sole surviving team will receive 8,000 Black Market Coins."

Finally, Pei Qi sipped her red wine and added, "A surviving team gets 8,000 Black Market Coins, and if only one person survives, they also get 8,000."

This was a blatant attempt to encourage everyone to kill each other, ideally leaving only one person standing! This temptation was manageable for Jing Shu’s squad, as their goal was the rich resources of the entire Underground black market. However, for those mercenaries who lived on the knife’s edge daily, it was a deadly lure.

Tan Ke counted on his fingers. "If we win this challenge, we’ll be promoted to A-rank, though it’s a bit risky." Why is he using his fingers for such simple math? Jing Shu wondered.

Little Black trembled and fell to his knees. "I-I’m out! I won’t participate! Oh no, damn it, I’ll be killed the moment I go in! I don’t know how to assemble a gun at all! Despite my size, I’m someone who’s even scared of chickens! BOO HOO!" (He was referring to Fat Chicken; the details of that particular incident won’t be narrated here, lest Fat Chicken become too smug.)

"Although I’ll lose my advantage without hand-to-hand combat, everyone here is decent with guns. What do you all think? The sooner we reach S-rank, the sooner we can complete our main mission." Tan Ke felt they could attempt it.

"I’m in too," Monkey said grimly. As an assassin, he had a natural advantage in dark environments. If I don’t find a way to earn some Contribution Value soon... I’ll lose big time, he thought.