Chapter 364: Chapter 364

"Of course I can. Firearms are like a part of my own body," Lingling said, raising her hand and looking down shyly.

"I have no problems either," said Snake Spirit.

Jing Shu nodded; she naturally had no problems. She had a life-saving trump card. Without any hidden cameras to worry about, she had a lot of room to maneuver. Jing Shu decided to forego assembling a gun or anything like that. I’ll find my own unique way, different from everyone else, she resolved. "I’m fine."

"Hey, I disagree, guys! I really can’t survive this! I’m gonna die, you know! And then you’ll all be in a tight spot without me," Little Black wailed, truly crying.

"Okay, approved. Let’s take on the challenge then. Everyone, go all out later; don’t hold back. We’ll discuss the detailed plan in a bit. Little Black, once you enter the arena, either hide or find any one of us here. Any one of us can protect you."

Little Black was still afraid.

"I’m not joking with you; the least capable person here is very strong," Tan Ke comforted him. "It’s not just about PK-ing six people; even sixty would be no problem. Have you forgotten what happened yesterday?"

This reassured Little Black somewhat, and he prepared to cling to a strong backer. He silently ranked everyone’s strength, concluding that sticking close to Tan Ke was the safest option.

But no one expected Tan Ke, ever the jinx, to actually be right. It wasn’t long before they did end up PK-ing that many people. That scene... TSK, TSK.

The Asian team chose, without any suspense, to join the contest. Immediately, many small teams came forward to challenge them. Perhaps the big guy, Tan Ke, was strong and capable, but judging from the recent match, the team seemed to rely entirely on him. That wimp who knelt on the ground crying was immediately discounted. And never mind whether the two skinny Asian men had any ability—there were also two women in the Mercenary Team! Ha! Weren’t they just courting death?

The scene instantly became very intense!

From among the many challenging teams, Pei Qi finally chose a Mercenary Team that had just advanced to A-grade. This team’s characteristic was that more than half its members were special forces, professional in assembling firearms and using weapons. They also had one sniper and one strength-based demolition specialist. It was a well-configured team with balanced overall strength.

Jing Shu and her companions donned clothes with striped patterns like prison uniforms, which made them even more conspicuous in the arena. They were also searched several times all over and prohibited from carrying any weapons; not even private areas were spared. If it weren’t all women conducting the search, I would have sent them to Heaven long ago, Jing Shu thought. Listening to the noise outside, someone must have been caught with a hidden weapon.

As for pets and the like, they were all tethered together. Jing Shu watched as Ah Huang obediently stuck out its tongue as if to say, "Masters, you all get busy. I’ll be good."

For some reason, Jing Shu felt a little worried about it. After quietly warning Fat Chicken not to bully Ah Huang, she shouldered her quirky-looking backpack and entered the arena.

This was the first time she had taken off her heavy, warm cotton clothes, and she felt an instant lack of security, as well as a bit chilly. Despite the Underground Black Market being warmer, it wasn’t by much. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⚑𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖⚑𝕟𝕖𝕥

After taking off the bulky cotton clothes and trousers and changing into lighter attire, Jing Shu underwent a transformation, like an ugly duckling turning into a swan. She instantly attracted a lot of attention. Just looking at her casually tied-up hair, the exposed fair skin of her neck, and her delicate and beautiful features, she stood out like Snow White in a prison uniform—truly beautiful!

Some people, even in a school uniform, have an outstanding temperament, pure and moving like a white lotus that rises untainted from the mud. Jing Shu, of course, was even more enchanting.

Her team members looked at Jing Shu as though they were seeing her for the first time.

"Is this the same auntie from before? The difference is too great, isn’t it?"

"Is this the true form of Mirror?"

Whistles started blowing in the arena, and Little Black, fearing that Tan Ke might abandon him later, did real-time translations: "Wow, this team even has such a beautiful woman mixed in!" "Let’s not kill this little darling later; I want to handle her personally!" and similar remarks.

Lingling, who usually wore a miniskirt, had now donned a prison outfit. It covered her long legs, making her look much more ordinary.

After half an hour of preparation and strategy discussion, the staff had successfully reset the stage. The survival challenge was finally about to begin!

Everyone was hooded in black as they entered the sticky ’map,’ scattering and mixing up the twelve competitors completely.

The map was a replica of a desert scenario from a battle royale game, complete with actual desert sand, a few simple metal shacks, and even some maze-like structures.

Meanwhile, above them, a thick layer of bulletproof glass had been installed, seemingly to prevent an ’uprising’ from the underground crowd, considering this was the only access to the first level.

"Dear mercenaries, first, let me share some good news. Those of you who managed to hide weapons and evade the search have passed. You are permitted to use your personal weapons in this match."

Pei Qi had thoughtfully arranged for a translator, sparing Little Black some effort.

Monkey cursed aloud; his weapon was too large to smuggle in.

Snake Spirit’s lips curled into a slight smile; his poison was in his mouth.

On the other side, the competitors were frustrated, as they had been unable to hide their weapons effectively.

Jing Shu was even more certain of her advantage. Whether she used the weapon or not didn’t matter. She suddenly pulled out a gun. Such a large gun—how could it have been concealed beneath her dress?

Of course, there were many reasons for Jing Shu’s confidence. While everyone else was blindfolded and fumbling, she could sense the rough layout outside—not through X-ray vision, but by controlling insects.

Jing Shu’s cultivation of man-eating insects, which she encountered during her captivity in West Mountain’s underground tunnels, was finally paying off. After nurturing and breeding them, she had multiplied these ferocious insects to a terrifying number. She had placed them beneath the sand. Though unseen, she had woven a vast web, much like a spider.

She could even sense where objects were located and, more impressively, the positions of all twelve participants.

This round, Jing Shu was going to dominate as if she had cheats enabled.

What a pity I can’t bet on myself to win, she thought.

Competing without bulletproof vests and helmets was dangerously reckless, practically playing with one’s life. Jing Shu disliked taking such risks, so she decided to act swiftly and decisively, resolving the match quickly.

The ’map’ was still quite vast. With twelve people widely scattered, they needed at least a chance to find a weapon. Otherwise, dying as soon as they landed would be no fun and not at all thrilling.

This kind of game, featuring real people slaughtering each other, was enormously popular among most audiences. Of course, it was extremely exhilarating for the participants as well.

As Pei Qi shouted for the match to start, the crowd erupted in excitement. All twelve competitors almost simultaneously ripped off their hoods and dashed towards the nearest weapon cache.

The deadly game had begun.