Chapter 444: A Game
But when the name 02 appeared in the arena, the entire place fell silent for a moment.
Not only is the name 02 a terrifying presence in the arena, but his name didn't even appear among these twenty people at the beginning.
The arena is the largest entertainment venue in Sky City, and not just anyone can break the rules, otherwise it would be difficult to manage.
Everyone in Tianzhicheng knows who 02 is, so it seems the person behind this match is clearly very interested in the players on the field.
02 is not released easily. Once 02 is released, it means that the people above have taken a liking to this person and want to turn him into a knife slave like him.
In the arena, the winner can gain a place in the City of Heaven, remain there, and may even be invited to the Golden Palace.
But if you lose, at best you'll be easily manipulated, at worst you'll die.
Looking at the exceptionally beautiful girl on the field, everyone had their own guesses.
They won't die, but their fate will probably be no better than death; it's just a difference between becoming a dead object and a plaything, and they have no choice.
On the best viewing platform in the arena sat several men and women dressed in fine clothes. They all wore the same black energy stones, but with different blue runes surging on them.
They gazed at the girl in the arena, their eyes gleaming with interest.
"Doesn't Fei Jue want her? Once she loses, she'll be mine."
The man sitting in the center had blond hair and green eyes, exuding an arrogant and noble air, with a natural disdain for everything in his eyes. Blue lines meandered across half of his cheek, gleaming faintly, and the energy he emanated made the people sitting next to him feel wary, their faces filled with obsequiousness.
A man sitting next to him swirled the wine in his glass and said to him, "What use are all those sword slaves the king gave Fei Jue? Most of them have defected. No matter how many sword slaves you have, they can't compare to the 02 in your hand, Caius."
As soon as the man finished speaking, a barrage of flattering words rang in Caius's ears.
"This time, Lord Caius will definitely win. No one has ever won a match against 02 before."
“She must be yours, Lord Caius. Such a beautiful little girl. When Lord Caius has had his fill of her, let us have a look at her too.”
"She's so beautiful. The prettiest little figurines I've collected aren't even half as pretty as her. Even Mo doesn't know what race she is. It's really intriguing."
"They probably came from outside. These people outside are all reckless and don't know their own mortality. They shouldn't be allowed to live so comfortably in Lyca. It would be better to wipe them all out."
The red-haired, curly-haired woman sitting on the far side curled her red lips and said, "Caus, she's such a delicate girl, you'd better tell 02 to go easy on her. I really like her."
The woman smiled, but there was no warmth in her eyes.
A hint of annoyance flashed across his eyes at the flattering voices around him.
Caius glanced at her sideways and raised his glass to her.
"Damn it, how did he get in there?!"
Upon seeing that the competition was already in its final countdown, Shi Yi immediately turned on his personal terminal, preparing to have the event organizers cancel the match.
Lingqi pressed down on Eleven's hand and shook his head at him: "It's no use. When he goes on stage, he represents Caius, and he has always been at odds with Lord Feijue."
"We'll have to go up there later. Lord Feijue must have thought of that, which is why he sent us here."
"Isn't Anno bound to lose?" Upon hearing this, Eleven kicked the chair next to him away in anger.
Lingqi's expression wasn't much better. "Anno can't win now. We can only make sure she doesn't get hurt."
Eleven snorted coldly, "If we can't win, Anno can only be taken away by Caius, unless Lord Feijue breaks the rules."
Lingqi turned and walked towards the entrance of the arena. "This is their game, we can't interfere. Let's go, the gladiatorial combat is about to begin."
In the vast arena, only Anno's small figure stood in the middle.
She touched the knife in her hand, not paying attention to why the scene had suddenly fallen silent.
Looking at the sword radiating blue light, she thought how wonderful it would be if her sword were still here. She loved the sword she had back on Earth; it was given to her by an older man who taught her many fighting techniques and how to survive. But not long after, he was overwhelmed by a beast tide.
Later, her mother forged her the same knife, but she hasn't been able to carry it with her since.
Her beautifully shaped fingers gently traced the tip of the knife before she looked up at the large screen.
With three seconds left in the countdown, she was waiting for the person numbered 02.
When she first chose her opponent, this 02 wasn't there; clearly, he had jumped in halfway through, just to deal with her.
She also understood that this was just a game played by those people in power.
Treating battle like a game is something only those corrupted by money and power would do.
The Zerg will never treat combat as a game. Combat itself is not a game. As long as there is combat, it represents confrontation, violence, struggle and bloodshed. Even if it is a game, it is a cruel game.
At the last second, a second figure appeared in the arena.
Anno turned around and saw a tall, slender figure wearing a fitted combat suit, with long white hair tied in a ponytail, and a mask covering his face, revealing only a pair of emotionless red eyes.
A faint energy emanated from his body, indicating that he also relied on energy to survive or enhance his abilities. With the support of energy, he was much more difficult to deal with than ordinary combatants.
On the little skin of his face that was exposed, Anno saw some kind of pattern, but it was not much and not very clear.
He didn't exude any murderous aura; he stood there like a statue looking at Anno, yet Anno felt an unprecedented sense of oppression.
This feeling only comes from being on Earth, when facing opponents with superior abilities, almost as if facing death.
Because she knew that if she didn't win, she would die, and the person on the other side would take her life. At this moment, 02 gave her the same feeling.
Anno has struggled on the brink of death since birth, and she has an extremely keen sense of danger and death.
She slowly tightened her grip on the knife in her hand and met 02's gaze.
At that moment, all she could think about was her knife.
She wanted the knife that had fought alongside her, as it would give her a sense of security.
At the same time, she felt a strange excitement. A powerful opponent would trigger the Zerg's fighting instincts and self-preservation mechanisms, allowing them to perform at a higher level than usual.
Anno saw 02 place his hand on the knife.
"02 is about to draw his sword. It seems that this pretty little guy is stronger than we thought."
On the stands, the well-dressed celestial beings said this.
Caius smirked and raised the shield in the center of the arena, preventing even Zero Seven and Eleven, who had already entered, from interfering in the battle.
Both of them sensed something was wrong and quickly contacted Fei Jue.
The moment Chaos raised his shield, Fei Jue was already in front of Chaos.
Upon seeing the newcomers, the several Celestials of considerable rank immediately fell silent.
Caius raised an eyebrow, raised his glass to him, and said, "You've come, have a seat."
A man next to him stood up and gave up his seat, and poured Fei Jue a glass of wine.
Fei Jue pushed away the wine offered by the man and sat down next to Caius.
"Are you sure you want to play like this?" Fei Jue asked, looking at the shield that was rising in front of him.
Caius smiled and said, "I'm sorry, Fei Jue, this is a fight to the death. Unless that little guy admits defeat, the shield will only be turned off when one of the shields dies. There's nothing I can do about it."
Fei Jue didn't say anything, only saying, "Just don't regret it."
Caius paused in his drinking, turning his head to look at Fei Jue: "Why would I regret it? Would Lord Fei Jue be angry with me for this little brat?"
Fei Jue smiled, picked up his wine glass and clinked it against his. "How could that be? I just think it would be a pity to hurt such a beautiful little person."
As soon as he finished speaking, 02 swung his sword forward and was already in front of Anno the instant he drew it.
Anno's eyes sharpened; such swift movements!
She was prepared; she raised her knife to block, and a burst of energy erupted from between the two of them.
The energy blew their long hair up and crashed against the shield, creating ripples.
A gasp rippled through the crowd, not only because Anno was able to withstand 02's attack, but also because of the energy emanating from her and the faint, soft light that gradually appeared around her.
Seeing this, Caius's smile gradually faded, and he looked at Fei Jue, who stood beside him with a leisurely expression, "Who exactly is she?!"
Fei Jue shrugged: "I don't know. I just guessed that this cute little girl might not be someone we can afford to offend."
Caius felt like he'd been played. He gritted his teeth. "Then why did you still put her on the field?!"
Fei Jue looked completely innocent: "I never said I arranged for her to participate. From the moment she entered the City of Heaven, the girl had a clear goal of entering the arena. Perhaps she just wanted to have some fun. I was just fulfilling her wish."
He leaned closer to Caius, a wicked smile spreading across his face. "Isn't the proper way to treat a distinguished guest to satisfy all her demands and curiosity?"
Fei Jue also emphasized the word "noble".
Chaos had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Maybe it was just Fei Jue deliberately provoking him, or maybe...
He watched the girl fighting 02 in the arena without showing any panic, and a sense of unease spread through his heart.
He couldn't help but curse Fei Jue in his heart. He hoped that Fei Jue wasn't deliberately setting a trap for him, otherwise he would never let him off easily this time!
Seeing Chaos's slightly furrowed brows, Fei Jue smiled and said, "Haven't you been vying for the inheritance of the City of Heaven? I won't fight you for it. The City of Heaven is yours now, and what I want is..."
“What do you want?” Caius blurted out.
Fei Jue took a sip of wine and said nothing more.
What is the City of Heaven? The bloodlust of the Lyca people has long been blinded by this small, comfortable haven.
What he wants is the future of the entire Lyca galaxy.
The two figures fighting in the arena were locked in a fierce battle, their movements clean, swift, and powerful. With each strike, ripples would appear on the shields, causing everyone to hold their breath for the girl in the arena, and the earlier cheers were gone.
02 spun around and struck hard. Anno condensed her energy into her sword to parry. Her sword couldn't withstand the force and was cut in half by 02's sword. The moment the sword broke, she reacted quickly, dodging 02's sword at a very tricky angle. She grabbed 02's wrist and pulled him up, then kicked her leg high, hanging it around his neck. Then she clamped both legs around his neck and twisted it hard, flipping him to the ground.
The battle situation changed in an instant. No sooner had 02 fallen than he rolled over and pinned Anno down beneath him.
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