The man lying on the ground was trembling all over. At first, it was just his legs shaking, but soon his whole body was quivering. He had been thoroughly searched, his hands and feet bound with shackles, unable to move, and a bite stopper stuffed into his mouth made even swallowing difficult; he could only manage to squeeze out a voice.

Logically, under such circumstances, the man should have given up struggling, but his continuous trembling was unusually severe. Seeing this, Luo Yi, holding a whip, lashed it fiercely onto the man’s battered flesh and demanded, “Spit it out already, stop dawdling!”

A second after the whip struck, the blood-soaked man jerked violently, his back arching high in agony and despair, curling up like a shrimp. Then, he retched and suddenly rolled his eyes back, fainting straight away.

Realizing something was wrong, Luo Yi quickly squatted down to check the man’s pulse. After touching his fingertips to the man’s wrist, his expression drastically changed. He turned around, his face grave, and announced, “Sir, he’s dead.”

Jiang Yu’s expression remained unchanged. He picked up the pistol from the table, walked over to the man, and looked down. The man’s body bore marks of torture, and he didn’t even have the strength to raise his arms to defend himself, let alone commit suicide. After pausing for a second, Jiang Yu’s gaze fell on a black hourglass-shaped tattoo behind the man’s ear.

In the next instant, Jiang Yu averted his gaze and ordered indifferently, “Take the body for an autopsy.”

“Yes!”

…

Elsewhere, Li Po had already used his access card to open the VIP room door, wandering around inside the arena. As he wandered, he gradually understood the rules here. Rather than an arena, it was more of a large-scale gambling den.

Bets were placed on the fighters here, and after a winner was decided, the victor would divide all the chips while the loser had to keep investing money into the next bet until they won enough to leave.

That’s why the onlookers were so frenzied; they weren’t just crazy for the blood and thrill but for freedom and life itself. If they ran out of money, they had no choice but to use themselves to settle the debt, becoming the lowest slaves in the Lower District.

But everyone knew that the odds of winning were even. As long as they were lucky, winning that one-half chance, they could turn their 100 star coins into 500 or even more. With a 50% chance, who wouldn’t be tempted?

For gamblers, this was truly a feast.

Li Po watched the group of red-eyed maniacs with an imperceptible detachment and calmness in his eyes. He silently turned around and walked deeper into the arena with his access card.

The arena was quite large and densely packed with people, and Li Po was dressed so ordinarily that he went unnoticed. As he observed his surroundings and looked for Jiang Yu, not only did he fail to find Jiang Yu, but he also encountered a stranger attempting to strike up a conversation.

The man, dressed in clothes that stood out in the Lower District, had a mocking and playful look on his face. At that moment, he was holding a drink, offering it to Li Po: “Interested in making a friend?”

Li Po replied expressionlessly, “Sorry, I’m not interested right now.”

The man laughed out loud, “You’re really cute. I can’t see your face, but I can imagine, you must be a pretty and interesting omega, right?”

Li Po was annoyed. He coldly glanced at the man and ignored him. However, he didn’t expect the man to be so persistent. Seeing that Li Po refused the drink, he put down the glass and stepped forward, attempting to lift Li Po’s hood.

Li Po’s eyes instantly turned icy. He instinctively went to twist the man’s wrist but someone else beat him to it—

With a chilling sound of bones breaking, the man’s forehead broke out in cold sweat. He screamed in agony, forcefully pulling back his hand, his face turning ashen from the pain.

“Who the hell is being so reckless…”

Li Po, still caught up in the awkwardness of being caught, suddenly felt his mood sour when he heard the man’s words. Without thinking, he grabbed the drink that the man had placed aside and splashed it onto the man’s face—

The man got drenched in the yellow liquid, instantly soaking his expensive-looking shirt. Furious and about to retaliate, he looked up only to meet a pair of eyes filled with cold menace.

There was an unspoken threat in those eyes, devoid of any visible emotion, but the man could sense a hint of murderous intent from them. The swear words on the tip of his tongue were forcibly swallowed as he was taken aback, immediately lowering his gaze, but he then noticed the shape of a pistol bulging at the other’s waist side.

In that moment, the man’s back went cold. Knowing he was dealing with a tough opponent, he dared not offend further and could only shut his mouth tight, leaving with his dignity soaked in alcohol and his wrist painfully broken.

Li Po, having witnessed everything, slightly raised his eyebrows. He glanced at Jiang Yu beside him and suddenly smelled a hint of blood. The blood wasn’t strong but was fresh, as if it had just been smeared.

The next moment, a very cold voice came from above him, “Why are you running around?”

Li Po looked up to see Jiang Yu’s expressionless face. In fact, Jiang Yu showed no emotion at all, his voice flat, but Li Po inexplicably felt he was angry.

Angry about what? He didn’t understand; it was Jiang Yu who had left him first.

With a forced smile, Li Po retorted, “Who ran off first? You were the one who left me here. If you were by my side, how could I possibly run around?”

Li Po’s words were full of sophistry, and Jiang Yu simply watched him silently for a long moment without speaking.

Seeing this, Li Po also remained silent. His face was hidden under his hood, revealing only the lower half, but even that small portion was strikingly handsome. At the moment, his lips were slightly pursed, his face filled with discontent. He believed he was not at fault. The one to blame was the contradictory Jiang Yu and the sleazy rogue from before.

The atmosphere became tense, and Li Po suddenly felt irritable. He no longer looked at Jiang Yu but turned to watch the center of the arena. The fight had already concluded, with one party lying barely alive on the ground and the victor triumphantly pounding his chest in a victor’s pose.

Just then, a man in a suit urgently stepped onto the stage, whispering something to the winning fighter. The fighter’s face turned pale; he shook his head and even made a move to leave the stage.

The man’s demeanor changed instantly; no longer negotiating gently, he forcefully pulled on the fighter’s arm, raising it high: “Ladies and gentlemen, the thrilling show has concluded, and the winners may joyously claim their rewards.”

As the onlookers cheered ecstatically, he suddenly shifted his tone, “However, to provide our esteemed guests with an even more thrilling visual feast, we are adding a new round of performance—”

As he spoke, a hollow suddenly appeared in the center of the platform. Following that, an exquisite and luxurious giant cage slowly rose from the center, trapping a fierce beast inside, which snarled at the onlookers.

The moment Li Po saw the cage, he was taken aback—it was imprisoning a wolf.

The wolf’s eyes gleamed green, its nostrils twitching as it smelled the blood, and in that instant, it frantically clawed at the cage, even biting the iron edges of the giant cage into deformation. Drool dripped continuously, and the fighter’s legs trembled; Li Po even suspected he might urinate himself the next moment.

However, the man in the suit didn’t care about the fighter’s life or death. He ordered the protective barriers to be opened, then walked off the stage without pausing.

With a creak, the cage containing the beast was unlocked.

The wolf twitched its nostrils and almost at the instant the cage was opened, it lunged out, charging straight at the defeated fighter—

Li Po’s pupils dilated.

Before he could react, a cool hand suddenly covered his eyes. That hand was slender and strong, loosely covering his eyes, shielding him from the outside view.

At the same time, the sounds of flesh being chewed, liquids splashing, organs being squeezed, and a large animal feeding resounded next to his ear. A thick scent of blood rushed towards him, and he helplessly raised his hand, grasping the hand belonging to Jiang Yu that covered his eyes.

What chilled Li Po the most was the reaction of the surrounding onlookers:

“It’s his fault, he made me lose everything, even his death won’t satisfy me!”

“Exactly, such bad luck, he’s truly a curse! Bite him fiercely, not a single piece of flesh should remain!”

“Damn it, he’s dead, who will pay me back? His worthless life isn’t even worth 10 star coins!”

“Ptui!”

…

“Still want to run around?” Suddenly, a cold voice sounded next to his ear.

Li Po silently shook his head. He pulled down Jiang Yu’s hand and, caught off guard, caught a glimpse of the bloody scene on the stage. As if stung by the pool of blood, he turned silently and looked up at Jiang Yu, “Let’s go.”

At the top of the arena hung a huge crystal chandelier. Li Po looked up, his light brown pupils reflecting the chandelier’s light, embedding a crystal-like sparkle in his eyes, looking extraordinarily beautiful.

Jiang Yu silently pulled down Li Po’s hood, letting the brim cover Li Po’s eyes, then murmured a soft “Hmm.”

The arena’s crowd was growing, with more people arriving to watch the spectacle. Li Po pulled on Jiang Yu’s wrist and pushed through the crowd, almost getting squashed.

Others glanced at this pair, finding it a bit odd, but no one thought much of it; after all, all kinds of people were here, and even appearing completely naked wouldn’t be strange.

Just as Li Po was about to push into another crowd, Jiang Yu stared at his own wrist being pulled and finally spoke, “What are you doing?”

Li Po glanced at him, puzzled as if he didn’t understand why Jiang Yu would ask that, “Of course, I’m going out.”

Jiang Yu’s silence grew longer.

Suddenly, Li Po’s hand was grasped in return, and feeling the cold touch in his palm, he looked at Jiang Yu in slight confusion.

The next second, Jiang Yu bluntly stated the fact without any sympathy, “You’re going the wrong way.”

“…” Li Po’s face darkened instantly.

He stared gloomily at the circular arena, and after confirming it several times, he had to admit that Jiang Yu was right.

“Why didn’t you remind me earlier…” Li Po complained somewhat embarrassingly. Then, he naturally took Jiang Yu’s hand, ready to head back.

“There’s a VIP passage.”

At those words, Li Po’s steps halted abruptly.

His expression collapsed in an instant, and he let go of Jiang Yu’s hand with a flick, his beautiful face filled with mock annoyance, “Sir, if you wanted to see me make a fool of myself, just say so, no need to beat around the bush.”

Seeing Li Po bristle, Jiang Yu looked somewhat helpless. He raised his hand to touch Li Po’s head, speaking softly, “Don’t overthink it.”

Li Po pursed his lips, still looking somewhat upset. But he didn’t make a scene, only murmuring, “Then you lead the way.”

Just as they were about to leave the arena, a large crowd suddenly surged from behind, running for their lives and screaming:

“Help! There’s a contaminant here!!!”