Chapter 33: On the Arena

Wang Zhi endured various jealous and hostile glances as he entered the cafeteria.

As usual, it was one meat, three vegetables, and one soup.

“I heard that someone from the Level 3 team died during an outing. Is that true?” Fatty asked, shoveling food into his mouth.

“Well, if everyone’s saying it, then it’s probably true,” Wang Zhi replied.

“Looks like the Level 3 team isn’t as amazing as they seem,” Old He said.

“Don’t think like that. The Level 3 team is still the Level 3 team. Even if they spend 10,000 survival points on equipment, they shouldn’t die easily. Either the mission was too difficult, or there was an internal conflict,” Wang Zhi explained.

“I hope it’s an internal conflict. If the mission was too hard and the Level 3 team couldn’t handle it, who’d dare go out from our Level 2 teams?” Fatty said.

After eating, Wang Zhi and his group returned to their quarters. Wang Zhi checked Linglingyao, where a new message popped up. It was a notification about new rules. The message stated that from now on, every survivor brought back during an outing would earn 100 survival points, and materials would be rewarded according to their categories. Training rewards would be canceled after ten days.

Wang Zhi read the new rule, which essentially meant that the teams relying on passive survival would either have to go to the basic agricultural zones as laborers or venture out to collect resources and find survivors to supplement their survival points. After ten days, training tasks would be canceled, forcing everyone to go out for survival points. Those who couldn’t go out would have to stay as laborers, which meant a life of servitude with no chance to rise above.

Despite this, Wang Zhi wasn’t in a rush to go out for the second time. He planned to wait until the last day. This was because their survival points were still sufficient, and it would be better to observe the casualties and intelligence from the teams who had already gone out. They had been lucky the first time, but he couldn’t rely on luck again.

Ten days later…

In these ten days, the training area on the second floor became the busiest it had ever been. Everyone had earned their 100 survival points through training. After these ten days, the crowd in the training hall visibly decreased, as many teams started preparing to go out on missions.

“Bro, you’ve got to do something about this. We’ve been working as laborers on the second floor for a whole month because of that Wang Zhi!” Zhao Yang said. A month had passed, and the first thing he did when he came out was find his brother, Zhao Yan, to discuss how to deal with Wang Zhi.

“Oh? Wang Zhi? The captain of the Sunset Twilight team?” Zhao Yan asked, recalling the person he had seen standing in the office of Jiexi. After making some inquiries, he learned that Wang Zhi was the captain of the Sunset Twilight team.

“Yeah, that’s him. What’s wrong, bro? You know him?” Zhao Yang asked anxiously.

“Sort of, just a nuisance. But since you have a grudge against him, how can I just sit back and do nothing? Tell me, how do you want to deal with him?” Zhao Yan said confidently.

“Last time we had the guards with the captain, but without them, we would’ve beaten Wang Zhi’s team to the ground. This time, do you have a way to keep the guards busy?” Zhao Yang asked.

“I do have a plan. We’ll wait until the guard captain is not around, then make our move. As for the guards, I’ll go over and hold them up. That will be enough for you to teach them a lesson,” Zhao Yan replied, while secretly calculating another plan in his mind.

Meanwhile, in the second-floor training hall, Wang Zhi and his team continued their daily training, pushing their physical limits. With just ten days left before their next outing, the other teams were preparing for their final days of training, while some had already set out.

The training hall was unusually quiet today. Wang Zhi was just thinking of concentrating on his practice when Zhao Yang brought his team toward Wang Zhi.

Sensing the approaching danger, Wang Zhi quickly signaled the rest of his team through his earpiece.

“Hey, it’s been a while. Wang Zhi, I see your Level 2 team is here. Wow! And you even picked up a sister? Wang Zhi, you really are lucky,” Zhao Yang said, walking over and interacting with Wang Zhi.

“It’s been a month, and you still don’t learn,” Wang Zhi shot back, directly hitting Zhao Yang where it hurt.

Hearing Wang Zhi mention it again, Zhao Yang’s anger flared. “Kid, last time you were lucky, but this time… hehe.”

“Captain, why waste time with them? Let me go up and scratch those two women’s faces first,” said Wei Xiaolian, wearing a mask.

“Xiaolian, don’t be hasty. Let’s catch up with Wang Zhi first,” Zhao Yang said, turning to Wang Zhi. “So, what’s it going to be? Are we fighting on the arena, or staying here?”

Wang Zhi, now fully aware that Captain Jiexi wasn’t around, and that the guards were probably preoccupied, knew Zhao Yang was confident because of Zhao Yan’s backing.

“Alright, I’ll grant your wish. The arena it is,” Wang Zhi replied.

With confidence in his team, which had been forged through a month of intense training and battle experience, Wang Zhi was ready to face Zhao Yang and his team. In the arena, there were no rules—blades and swords had no eyes. Even if someone was accidentally killed, it was considered part of the fight. After all, once in the arena, it was a mutual agreement between the two teams.

Zhao Yang was stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter. “Hahaha, Wang Zhi, do you really think you can beat us just because you trained for a month longer?”

Ignoring their laughter, Wang Zhi turned and led his team toward the arena.

A 5v5 battle was about to erupt. The crowd around the arena had already noticed the situation, and whispers spread like wildfire.

“Hey, if you ask me, it’s better to make peace. Why fight when everyone’s just trying to survive?”

“I heard it’s because the captain of the Red Flame team flirted with the women of another team, and that’s how the conflict started.”

“Women are the cause of so much trouble, huh?”

“No, what’s the point of blaming women? If you don’t have the strength, don’t go around wooing women. When things go south, don’t blame the women, blame the men who are weak.”

“This lady’s got a point, sounds like my thoughts exactly. How about we grab a meal afterward and talk about life? What do you think?”

“Get lost…”

As the crowd around the arena grew, more and more people gathered, eager to watch the first fight in ages—a battle to the death, where killing was allowed. The excitement was palpable as the atmosphere ignited.