Chapter 2363: Everyone Has Their Own Fun
It sounded like a relatively friendly gambling game, because in order to lose, every participating player would try to make their own cuts as small as possible.
But in reality, this wasn't the whole picture of the game. Since the participating players weren't fixed, each time someone was eliminated, they would slowly cut off all the skin from the easier-to-cut parts of that player's body, and only then move on to other things.
"How long will this game last?" Xu Huo asked.
"Until the carnival begins." The player beside him didn't even look up at him, simply inviting him to join this warm-up.
The bound player was completely naked, unable to stop struggling out of fear and anger. But if his struggle caused another player to win the bet, that player would vent their anger on him—a whip strike or shaving off his hair and eyebrows were the lightest punishments... Every act of abuse was met with cheers from the onlookers.
"Are these people... all insane?" An uncontrollable exclamation came from behind, causing many players to turn around, and the atmosphere suddenly cooled.
The newcomers were a few relatively young players traveling together. The one who had spoken, judging by the exposed lower half of their face and their stature, seemed to be the youngest among them. Under the simultaneous gaze of so many people, the young ones were all intimidated. After a moment, one female player tugged at the person beside her, signaling them to leave quickly.
But the players looking for entertainment wouldn't let them go. Immediately, someone blocked their path, speaking in a teasing tone, "Little kids, when you're out in the world, you can't just say whatever you want. Say the wrong thing, and you'll easily bring trouble on yourselves."
The young people had already realized their mistake. The one who had exclaimed stepped forward to shield their companions, snorting coldly, "Do you know who my father is?"
The players present first exchanged glances, then burst into loud laughter. A gaunt player reached out and draped an arm around him, teasingly hooking a finger under his chin, "Look around—what kind of place do you think this is? Does daddy-pulling work here? If I kill you and turn you into meatballs, would your daddy even recognize you?"
The young man seemed to have his worldview shattered. Shocked and terrified, he stared at this person. He tried to shake him off but couldn't, so he had to shout loudly, "Uncle Ma!"
With his shout, the gaunt player suddenly froze in place, then blood began to flow from his eyes and nose. Within the span of two short breaths, he had died on the spot!
The young man quickly shoved the corpse away, stepping back in disgust.
Only then did the crowd look behind them. As they gradually made way, an unremarkable-looking old man walked over. He took off his fisherman's hat, nodded to the assembled players, and said in a frail voice, "If you don't mind, could you please make way?"
This old man surnamed Ma was a genuine A-rank player. Even though he looked sickly and spoke without much strength, no one dared to underestimate him. After a brief silence, the players seeking entertainment cleared a path.
"Thank you." The old man surnamed Ma put his hat back on and gestured for the young players to go ahead.
But at that very moment, three more players among the crowd had blood streaming from their eyes and noses, struggling before collapsing to the ground. The old man surnamed Ma didn't even look back, simply adjusting his hat as he calmly disappeared around the corner of the corridor.
"That old bastard has some skills. I couldn't tell when he administered the poison." A player glanced at the corpses on the ground and, with a hint of annoyance, called over a server.
With the clueless ones gone, the entertainment resumed.
"Let's go too." Xu Huo called out to the Painting Woman.
Perhaps because the fun had been interrupted and wasn't satisfying, or because they had just been put in their place, someone actually set their sights on the Painting Woman.
A man with black teeth silently reached out toward her.
Xu Huo pulled the Painting Woman to the side, using his black blade to block the man's hand.
Unexpectedly, the man didn't retreat. Instead, he grabbed the blade directly and leaned in, speaking in a strange tone, "This woman has a good figure. Her face probably isn't bad either. Rent her out to me for one night, and I'll pay whatever you want."
The Painting Woman suffered from not being able to speak. Unable to curse properly, she was about to resort to violence. But before she could pull out her paper toys, the black-toothed player's prop lifted her hands, and he himself sidestepped the black blade, his face nearly pressing against hers. He even disgustingly stuck out his tongue...
But the next second, his expression changed drastically. He immediately leaped backward. At the spot where he had just been standing, a sharp force sliced through—spiritual power couldn't be seen with the naked eye, not even as a materialized object. So the nearby players could only sense a powerful force passing by, unable to immediately identify what it was. Xu Huo's spiritual world was under perfect control. After the materialized object slashed through the defensive barriers of several nearby players, his spiritual power evenly covered every corner of this rest area.
"My apologies." Xu Huo said to the players who had been caught in the crossfire. "You were standing too close. I lost a bit of control."
His tone was polite, but his words weren't quite that. What did he mean by "you were standing too close"?
When their eyes met the black shadow spreading across the ground, these players unanimously stepped back: indeed, they had been standing too close.
Now, Xu Huo looked back at the black-toothed player. "Your teeth are quite nice. I enjoy collecting all kinds of strange and unusual items. Pull out your own teeth. Oh, I can buy them with money too."
The black-toothed player was furious. The next second, he spread his arms wide, and countless metal flakes flew up, converging into streams of blades that surrounded Xu Huo and the Painting Woman from several directions.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" In the end, all the metal flakes struck the defensive barrier. Taking advantage of the barrier's activation, the black-toothed player closed in, pressing the hand that had grabbed the black blade against the barrier. The metal on his fingertips immediately stood up, turning into a weapon that sliced through the barrier.
The black-toothed player didn't seem intent on completely destroying the barrier, so as soon as it cracked, he immediately retreated. At that moment, a small cloud of black mist-like insects surged out from the crack in the barrier.
The players who hadn't retreated to avoid the fight changed expressions to varying degrees upon seeing those insects. But whether they recognized them or not, everyone immediately activated their defensive barriers.
"Poisonous insects that burrow through any opening. If you've got the guts, stay inside your defensive barrier forever. But once they've memorized your scent, as long as one survives..." The black-toothed player's smug words were cut short as he saw Xu Huo pull out a bottle of insecticide.
Yes, insecticide. He didn't even activate a second defensive barrier. He simply sprayed the insecticide directly at the black mist.
When the mist of liquid came out, the black-toothed player felt both the humiliation of being underestimated and contempt for his opponent's ignorance. He said sarcastically, "Those are poisonous insects. What insecticide do you think can kill B-class poisonous insects?"
What classification the poisonous insects were was unknown, but after being drenched by the liquid mist, they died quite cleanly, their corpses littering the ground.