Chapter 12: The Doomsday Arena of the Undead

When Li Xingyue opened his eyes again, he found himself surrounded by countless people, all dressed impeccably. They were seated at a great height, resembling the stands of a basketball arena. He, however, stood in a circular open space about ten meters away from the spectators, with a diameter of roughly fifty meters.

All eyes were fixed on him, but the expressions varied: surprise, pity, indifference... Li Xingyue felt the scene was strangely familiar, though he had yet to place it.

Suddenly, a noise came from the opposite side of the arena. He turned to see an iron gate there, now swinging open. A figure dashed out and sprinted straight toward him.

What?

Damn! It’s a zombie!

Finally, it clicked. That’s why this place looked so familiar—it was a perfect replica of the ancient Roman Colosseum!

So they’d brought him here to fight zombies!

Hell no!

Once he pieced it together, Li Xingyue cursed loudly. He tried to return to the gate, only to find it already shut tight.

What now? What can I do?

Li Xingyue was just an ordinary man. While he might have had a slight chance against recently mutated zombies, this one was clearly stronger than the one in Xinghai City. Its speed matched that of a person running at full tilt—there was little chance of winning!

As the zombie neared, Li Xingyue hurriedly ran to one side.

The crowd in the stands had hoped to see a fierce battle to the death between him and the zombie, but instead, it turned into a chase.

Many grew impatient and started shouting curses.

At first, Li Xingyue managed to put some distance between himself and the zombie, but as time passed, his stamina waned and his speed dropped quickly.

This endless running wasn’t a solution. After much thought, he stopped and turned to face the charging zombie.

The creature’s body was covered with rotting patches, and it showed little intelligence. If the one he’d fought in Xinghai City was a first-tier zombie, this one was likely second-tier.

Well then, it was time to fight back!

Li Xingyue retreated to the arena’s wall and waited silently. As the zombie opened its mouth to bite, he swiftly dodged to the side, grabbed its head with his right hand, and slammed it against the wall.

Bang!

Crack!

The sound was sharp. If it had been a normal person, that blow would have caused a severe head injury and disorientation. The zombie, however, felt no pain, though the skull did develop a crack.

Seeing this, Li Xingyue felt hopeful and prepared to strike again. But the zombie didn’t give him the chance. It grabbed his arm, leaned forward, and opened its bloody mouth, ready to bite.

Li Xingyue had never fought before. He had watched plenty of action movies, but applying that knowledge now was a different matter.

Instinctively, he used his other arm to block.

Ah!

The zombie bit into his forearm, blood flowing freely!

This was bad.

Feeling the blood draining rapidly, Li Xingyue knew that if he didn’t deal with the zombie quickly, his fate was sealed—he’d be devoured to the bone!

Unlike the tyrant-class corpse kings that only sucked blood, these low-tier zombies actually ate flesh!

He extended his right leg and kicked the zombie’s groin. The zombie staggered and loosened its grip, but its hand still clung tightly to his arm.

He tried to break free, but the zombie’s grip was strong, stronger than his own. What now?

A flood of thoughts raced through Li Xingyue’s mind. Steeling himself, he pulled back sharply, dragging the zombie forward. He circled around and tackled it to the ground.

Then, without hesitation, he bit the zombie’s wrist!

He had no other choice; this was the only way to break free.

The first bite felt like gnawing on hard bone. His mouth filled with black blood, his teeth clamped down fiercely, and to his surprise, he managed to tear off a small chunk.

There was hope!

Though the taste and sensation were overwhelming, life and death hung in the balance. He spat out the bits of bone and flesh and continued biting fiercely, one bite after another.

Meanwhile, the previously drowsy crowd in the stands suddenly awakened, cheering excitedly at Li Xingyue’s daring move.

“That guy’s got some guts!”

“Yeah, but no matter how brave he is, he’s still a lowly mutator!”

“Hahaha, exactly. A mutator is a mutator, no matter what!”

The zombie struggled to rise, flailing its limbs wildly, but Li Xingyue held it down tightly.

Finally, he bit through the zombie’s wrist. His face and mouth were smeared with black blood.

There was no time to rest. He knew this was the perfect moment to finish it. Grabbing the zombie’s head with both hands, he slammed it fiercely against the ground.

One strike.

Two strikes.

Three strikes...

After an unknown length of time, Li Xingyue collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.

The zombie’s head was now misshapen, motionless.

Pfft!

Li Xingyue spat out a mouthful of black blood.

Pain coursed through his entire body; his consciousness began to fade.

In a hazy state, he saw two arbiters approaching—a fat one and a thin one.

The fat one spoke, “What should we do with him, Yong?”

“We have enough zombies now. Just kill him and toss him aside later.”

The fat one’s eyes flickered, “Then Yong, I’ll handle this. You should rest.”

Yong looked surprised, “Hey, you’ve been pretty eager lately. Fine, I’ll go catch some sleep. I was up from 7 p.m. till midnight last night—pretty tired now.”

“Ha, no wonder you’re the brave one, Yong!”

As they spoke, they lifted Li Xingyue off the arena floor and carried him through the iron gate. Yong left immediately afterward.

The fat one carried Li Xingyue for a while, then glanced around cautiously before breaking into a run toward a nondescript small door. Pushing it open, they entered a narrow alley.

A car was parked there, and a young man in his early twenties was smoking nearby.

The fat one peeked out, saw no one else, and walked toward the young man.

“This one’s fresh—hasn’t turned yet.”

The young man turned and saw them.

“Fat bro, you really came through! Here, ten points.”

He extended his arm, revealing a black wristband.

The fat one frowned, “Only ten points? Your prices keep dropping!”

The young man shrugged, “Fat bro, our arena isn’t as popular as yours arbiters’. The boss can only offer this much. What can I do?”

The fat one found the reasoning sound and stopped complaining. He also extended his arm, displaying a similar black wristband.

When their bands touched, they vibrated simultaneously.

“Okay, give him a suppressant injection. Don’t let anyone find out. I have to head back—if I’m gone too long, Yong will get suspicious!”

Without another glance at Li Xingyue, the fat one returned through the small door.

The young man nodded and turned toward the driver’s seat.

Neither had noticed that Li Xingyue, lying on the ground, had already begun to recover...