The poster was placed there so conveniently, like a pillow delivered just when you're about to fall asleep, that Xiao Cheng couldn't help but start to suspect what was hidden behind it.
"So you're going?" Fang He asked, his tone devoid of doubt, clearly having already guessed her answer.
"Of course I'm going." Xiao Cheng said, flipping the poster over to write down the address. "The seventh brick at the entrance of the third alley? What the heck?"
“Otherwise, it should be called underground,” Fang He said quietly. “But if everything goes smoothly, our store can open today.”
It's impossible for things to go smoothly.
Looking at the smiling cockroach head in front of her, Xiao Cheng wished she could just rip off its two antennae.
"Without an admission ticket, that's definitely not an option," the cockroach-headed man said, shaking his head. "You know, money talks. In the City of Gods, money is the real god."
"So how much are the admission tickets?" Xiao Cheng asked in a cold voice.
"Oh dear, not much, just three gold coins." The cockroach-headed man held up three fingers. "Three for each person, okay?"
Let alone six gold coins.
Xiao Cheng and Fang He currently have zero start-up capital and can't come up with a single penny.
"Of course, we have a humane management style here, so credit isn't out of the question. However, in return, collateral must be left." The cockroach-headed man's tone shifted, staring directly into Xiao Cheng's eyes, "Like your eyes... ouch ouch, it hurts!!"
He looked at his wrist, which was twisted to its limit, with a pitiful expression: "It hurts! It hurts so much! Let go, it's going to break!"
"There must be other ways, why don't you think about it some more?" Fang He curled his lips and casually shook off the cockroach-head's hand.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes!" The cockroach-headed man clutched his wrist, speaking in a defeated tone, "You can choose to enter as a contestant, but in that case, you will lose many privileges, and..."
"And what?" Xiao Cheng didn't want to hear him keep her in suspense and urged him impatiently.
"The mortality rate among participants is as high as 90%. I advise you to think carefully before you do this, don't do it for a mere six gold coins..."
"Then it's settled." Xiao Cheng and Fang He didn't hesitate at all.
His decisiveness left even the cockroach-headed man somewhat bewildered.
"No, this is such a big deal...aren't you going to reconsider? Although the final winner will receive a substantial reward..."
"There's even a reward?!" Xiao Cheng's eyes lit up instantly.
Cockroach Head: "...You need to think this through. Your opponents are all incredibly ferocious monsters, like the fish-headed man, or the lion-headed man..."
"That's even better!" Xiao Cheng exclaimed, even more excited. "These guys are all on my recipes!"
While questioning his existence, Cockroach Head led Xiao Cheng and Fang He into the underground hunting grounds.
They first passed through an extremely narrow and dimly lit passageway, with water pipes covering the walls and the sound of dripping water could be heard.
After walking for a long time, the view suddenly opened up before her, and a blinding spotlight shone on her, making Xiao Cheng's eyes hurt and causing her to squint involuntarily.
Fang He calmly shielded her behind him.
Suddenly, a burst of enthusiastic applause and cheers erupted around them. Only when the spotlight returned did they see clearly the structure outside the passageway, which resembled an arena.
The tiered seating area on the outer edge was packed with all sorts of monsters, who were wildly swinging their fists and staring at the two fish-headed men wrestling in the center of the arena with bloodshot eyes.
Blood and flesh splattered everywhere.
The strong smell of blood assaulted my nostrils, making me want to vomit.
"Welcome to the underground hunting grounds." The cockroach-headed man turned and gave them a meaningful look before walking out on his own.
Another cockroach head emerged from the crowd, and they touched antennae and conferred something before bursting into a series of strange laughs.
After laughing for a while, the cockroach-headed guy walked over to Xiao Cheng and Fang He, looked them up and down, and said in an exaggerated tone, "My God! Look at the contestants my brother brought me! It's unbelievable!"
"How do I participate in the competition?" Fang He cut straight to the point.
“As you can see, just like them.” The cockroach-headed man pointed to the two fish-headed men in the arena, who had hardly any meat on them.
"Your names have been added to the list, and you're expected to be among the last three to appear. Of course, you can also open your own betting pools and participate in your own betting, since the odds for newcomers are quite high here."
"What are the specific rules? What level constitutes a victory, and what are the consequences for the loser?" Xiao Cheng continued to ask.
"I didn't expect you guys to be so cautious." The cockroach-headed man chuckled. "But from the beginning, shouldn't my brother have already told you about the contestants here...?"
"It's either win or die."
The monsters in the audience seats suddenly screamed even louder, and some pounded their chests and stomped their feet while staring at the fallen fish-headed man in the arena, cursing angrily.
"It seems the outcome of this match is already decided."
The cockroach-headed creature waved to the side, and then several more cockroach-headed creatures emerged, calmly walked into the arena, and dragged the corpses off the ground.
"Be prepared," he reminded them again. "Once you decide to participate... there's no going back."
Of the two, Fang He was the first to be scheduled to go on stage, and his opponent was a tiger-headed creature that looked fierce and menacing.
Xiao Cheng didn't think this thing could pose any threat to Fang He, but the monsters who placed the bets obviously didn't think so.
"Tiger Head! Ten wins! I bet he'll get ten wins today!"
"That frail fellow, that strangely thin creature, he definitely won't last three hits!"
The odds on both sides gradually became outrageous. At the same time, with the cockroach head acting as the referee giving the order, the tiger head, which was already poised to pounce, roared and suddenly pounced on Fang He.
Unsurprisingly, they came up empty-handed.
His body was too heavy, so Fang He easily slipped behind him, stretched out two fingers, and gently pinched the back of his neck.
The tiger's roar abruptly stopped, its entire body instantly went limp, and it silently collapsed to the ground.
The monsters stared in disbelief, speechless, and stood frozen in place for a long time before finally agreeing.
"What is this?! A cover-up! A cover-up!" one of the monsters shouted first.
The cockroach-headed man made a fortune and smiled as he denied their guesses: "He's a specially invited contestant. We've said that from the beginning."
"So next... next up is the second invited contestant's home turf!" He gestured dramatically towards Xiao Cheng, "She will face off against... the Eagle, who is about to reach a hundred wins!"
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