Chapter 64: Game Complete
The next morning, the current Void Arena had been open for three days.
After the second round of matches, the area where contestants gathered was noticeably quieter. Originally 260 participants, only 22 remained.
Among these 22, each one's strength could not be underestimated. With the brutal rules of the Void Arena and successive fierce battles, anyone who had made it this far could not be weak.
In the notary office, Su Xiao quietly awaited the draw results for the next round. Because the number of contestants had always been even, no one had been lucky enough to draw a bye in the first two rounds.
"Ow~"
A pained cry came from nearby. Su Xiao glanced over and saw the little detective girl slumped against the wall. She had turned into a "porcupine."
Several laser arrows were embedded in her torso. Whenever she tried to pull one out, the arrows would activate, sizzling as they burned the surrounding flesh.
"It hurts so much!!"
The little detective girl screamed in pain, but no matter what, she had to remove those laser arrows before the third round started, or she wouldn't be able to fight.
"Hey, little lady, need some help?"
Three burly men approached, surrounding the little detective girl and looking down at her. Tears welling in her eyes, she looked up, appearing somewhat pitiful.
"Thank you so much, please help me. I won't forget this favor."
The three burly men were the Three Brothers of National Football. They exchanged glances and let out sleazy laughs.
"One heal costs 2000 Paradise Coins, pulling out one arrow costs 3000. We guarantee you won't die during the extraction."
"Huh?"
The little detective girl's voice trembled as she spoke.
"Fair and square, cures all ailments."
The third brother stepped forward and patted the little detective girl on the shoulder.
"Eight arrows total, plus the treatment costs during the process, that's 34,000 Paradise Coins. We'll give you a 15% discount, so just 30,000 Paradise Coins."
"Big brother, I think you miscalculated..."
"Shut up, that's not the point."
The Three Brothers of National Football had clearly set their prices. Unfortunately, the little detective girl didn't have 30,000 Paradise Coins. Before entering the Demon Castle, she had spent all her Paradise Coins, and there was no income during the Demon Game.
"Can I trade equipment instead?"
"Deal."
The Three Brothers of National Football reached a "PY" deal with the little detective girl. Seeing this, Su Xiao felt a bit regretful. Why hadn't he thought of this as a business opportunity?
A moment later, the little detective girl let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered.
"Don't move."
"Third brother, hold her legs down. This girl just kicked me in the face."
"Help! I regret this! Give me back my equipment! I'm fine like this! Don't... don't pull them out! I'm dying of pain! Waa~"
The notary office became lively, occasionally punctuated by the unscrupulous laughter of the Three Brothers of National Football.
Su Xiao looked around. Soon, he spotted an "injured" stone golem—the same one who had been selling shampoo for the Three Brothers of National Football.
The stone golem had one arm broken off. Su Xiao looked at him.
"Need treatment? 20,000 Paradise Coins, cures all ailments."
The stone golem wasn't paying attention to Su Xiao. He pulled out a large bottle of gray viscous liquid and poured it into his mouth.
Gulp, gulp...
After a few big swallows, the stone golem finished the entire bottle of gray liquid and let out a satisfied burp.
"What did you say?"
The stone golem looked at Su Xiao blankly as his broken stone arm rapidly regenerated.
"Nothing."
The sale failed, costing him 20,000 Paradise Coins.
After waiting about half an hour, the draw results came out. Su Xiao checked his number plate. His opponent was Number 2.
Seeing this number, Su Xiao's eyes narrowed. He knew whose number this was. At the same time, a gaze fell on Su Xiao.
Su Xiao looked up to meet the other's eyes. It was Pi Pang. Pi Pang was contestant Number 2.
"I've wanted to fight you for a long time. Looks like my luck is good."
Pi Pang chewed on the food in his mouth. This was his daily routine—only by storing enough fat in his body could he have combat power.
"Then I'll see you in the Sand Field."
Su Xiao stood up and walked toward the contestant viewing area. Once the draw was complete, it meant the third round would start soon.
He walked into a dim corridor. Dried bloodstains could be faintly seen on the walls. The voice of the commentator, Hake, reached his ears.
At the end of the corridor, the roar of the audience greeted him. It seemed the spectators were looking forward to the third round.
After Su Xiao took his seat, several other contestants were already waiting nearby, including Wind Prince, the insect race member Bunker, a fully armored Iron Man, and a drunken woman with a single ponytail.
"Dear audience, haven't seen you for a night. Miss me? Hahaha."
Commentator Hake was wearing a pair of small round sunglasses today, making this demon look somewhat handsome.
"As usual, Hake won't waste time with nonsense. Let's get straight to the point. The first match's contestants are taking the stage: Contestant Number 37 and Contestant Number 203."
Except for the first round, the order of contestants was randomly drawn. From what had happened so far, the Void Arena's match format was somewhat standard. It was hard to understand why it had such high popularity, given that there were many arenas in the void.
Soon, two contestants took the stage. It was the same old process—the two contestants clashed in battle.
The audience had already watched countless matches, inevitably experiencing visual fatigue. The cheers were not loud.
Hake felt a bit anxious. He had to speed up the matches. The truly exciting battles were about to begin. Before that, he couldn't let the audience lose patience. This would test Hake's personal skills.
After more than 20 minutes of fighting, the first match ended. Both contestants were carried out horizontally. One had his neck twisted, and the other lay on a stretcher, coughing up blood. Before the staff could carry him out of the Sand Field, the contestant's legs kicked out, and he went cold.
The two had essentially killed each other. Neither side held back in the fight. Mutual destruction was not uncommon.
As soon as these two contestants died, Su Xiao received a notification from Reincarnation Paradise.
[Notification: The Hunter has advanced to the top 20 of the Void Arena. The fifth round of the Demon Castle game is complete.]
[The Hunter can return to the first floor of the Demon Castle at any time. Upon returning to the first floor, the castle owner Alice will award the Hunter the Game Winner's Badge. After obtaining the Game Winner's Badge, the Hunter will complete the Demon Castle game and can return to Reincarnation Paradise at any time.]
[The Hunter may continue participating in the Void Arena. Remaining forced return time: 49 hours 59 minutes.]
...
Receiving this series of notifications, Su Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. He had finally completed the Demon Castle game. As long as he returned to the first floor of the castle, he could clear the Demon Castle game. As for whether Alice would cause trouble, Su Xiao wasn't worried about that at all.
"What a huge loss."
The little detective girl clenched her small fist and slammed it against her thigh. She wouldn't continue participating in the arena. Her only purpose in joining was to pass the fifth round of the Demon Castle game.
"Top twenty is enough. Pushing harder is important and could bring more opportunities, but only if you live to enjoy them."
A "Dokian Star" contestant wrapped in bandages snapped his number plate in half, signaling surrender.