Chapter 963

The next morning, the Void Arena had been open for three days.

The second round had ended; the area where contestants were stationed was noticeably quieter, down from 260 participants to just 22.

Among these 22, none were weak—brutal arena rules and relentless battles had filtered out all the frail.

Inside the notary office, Su Xiao waited silently for the next draw; since the number of contestants remained even, no one had received a bye in the first two rounds.

“Ow～”

A cry of pain came from nearby; Su Xiao glanced over and saw Detective Little Luoli leaning against the wall, now a living “porcupine.”

Several laser arrows pierced her torso; each time she tried to pull one out, the arrows activated, sizzling as they burned the surrounding flesh.

“It hurts so much!!”

Detective Little Luoli screamed in agony, but she had to remove all these arrows before the third round began—or she couldn’t fight.

“Hey, kid, need help?”

Three burly men closed in, surrounding Detective Little Luoli and looking down at her; her tear-filled eyes lifted, pitifully.

“I sincerely thank you—please help me, I won’t forget this favor.”

The three burly men were the National Team Brothers; they exchanged glances and snickered.

“One sip costs 2,000 Park Coins; pulling out one arrow costs 3,000—I guarantee you won’t die during the process.”

“Huh?”

Detective Little Luoli’s voice trembled as she spoke.

“Honest prices, cures all ailments.”

The youngest National Team brother stepped forward and patted Detective Little Luoli’s shoulder.

“Eight arrows total, plus treatment fees—34,000 Park Coins. I’ll give you a 15% discount: 30,000 total.”

“Big brother, you miscalculated…”

“Shut up. That’s not the point.”

The National Team Brothers had set clear prices, but Detective Little Luoli had no 30,000 Park Coins—she’d spent them all before entering the Demon Castle, and earned none during the Demon Game.

“Can I pay with equipment instead?”

“Deal.”

The National Team Trio struck a “py” deal with Detective Little Luoli; seeing this, Su Xiao felt a pang of regret—he hadn’t thought of this as a business opportunity.

Moments later, Detective Little Luoli let out a pig-like shriek.

“Don’t move.”

“Little brother, hold her legs—this brat just kicked me in the face.”

“Help! I regret it! Give back my gear! I was fine like this—don’t… don’t pull them out, I’ll die of pain, Wu ～”

Inside the notary office, the scene grew lively, occasionally broken by the National Team brothers’ merciless laughter.

Su Xiao scanned the surroundings and soon spotted a “injured” Stone Man—the same one who’d sold shampoo earlier.

His arm was now severed; Su Xiao looked at him.

“Need treatment? 20,000 Park Coins—cures all ailments.”

The Stone Man wasn’t paying attention to Su Xiao—he pulled out a large bottle of gray, viscous liquid and drank it down.

Glug… glug…

After several gulps, he finished the entire bottle and let out a satisfied burp.

“What did you say?”

The Stone Man stared blankly at Su Xiao; his broken stone arm regenerated rapidly.

“Never mind.”

Sales failed. Loss of 20,000 Park Coins.

After about half an hour of waiting, the draw results appeared; Su Xiao checked his number—his opponent was #2.

Seeing that number, Su Xiao’s eyes narrowed—he knew whose number it was. At the same moment, a gaze locked onto him.

Su Xiao looked up to meet it—it was Pí Pàng, contestant #2.

“Been wanting to fight you. Looks like my luck’s holding.”

Pí Pàng chewed on his food—his daily ritual; only with sufficient fat stored in his body could he fight effectively.

“Then see you in the Desert Arena.”

Su Xiao rose and walked toward the contestant viewing stands; the draw complete, the third round would begin soon.

Entering a dim corridor, faint traces of dried blood stained the walls; the commentator Hake’s voice echoed in his ears.

At the corridor’s end, the roar of the audience surged forward—clearly, they were eager for the third round.

After taking his seat, Su Xiao noticed several other contestants already waiting: Prince Wind, the Bug Clan’s Banke, a fully armored Iron Man, and a woman with a single ponytail, visibly drunk.

“Dear audience, haven’t seen you all night—miss me? Hahaha.”

Today, commentator Hake wore a small round pair of sunglasses, making the devil look slightly dashing.

“As usual, Hake won’t waste time—let’s get straight to it. First match: Contestant #37 versus #203.”

Except for the first round, contestant order was randomly drawn. From prior matches, the Void Arena’s format seemed conventional—yet somehow, it drew massive crowds, despite countless other arenas in the Void.

Quickly, the two contestants appeared; the same tedious routine unfolded—they clashed violently.

The audience had seen too many fights; visual fatigue set in, and their cheers were muted.

Hake grew anxious—he needed to speed up the pace. True, brutal battles were coming soon, and he couldn’t let the audience lose patience; his personal skill would be tested.

After over twenty minutes of fighting, the first match ended: both contestants were carried out on their backs—one with a broken neck, the other lying on a stretcher, vomiting blood. Before the staff could even carry him off the desert arena, the man kicked his legs once and died.

They’d essentially killed each other—neither held back. Mutual annihilation wasn’t rare.

Moments after the two contestants died, Su Xiao received a prompt from the Cycle Paradise.

【Prompt: Hunter has risen into the top 20 of the Void Arena. Demon Castle’s fifth round completed.】

【The Hunter may return to the first floor of the Demon Castle at any time. Upon return, the castle’s master, Alice, will award the Hunter the Game Winner Badge. Upon receiving it, the Hunter completes the Demon Castle game and may return to the Cycle Paradise at any time.】

【Hunter may continue participating in the Void Arena. Remaining mandatory return time: 49 hours 59 minutes.】

…

Receiving this series of prompts, Su Xiao exhaled in relief—he’d finally completed the Demon Castle game. Returning to the first floor would seal his victory; whether Alice would interfere, he didn’t care.

“Got ripped off.”

Detective Little Luoli clenched her tiny fist and slammed her thigh. She wouldn’t continue in the Arena—her sole goal had been to clear the fifth round of the Demon Castle.

“Top twenty is enough. Sure, pushing further means more opportunities—but only if you’re alive to enjoy them.”

A “Duoqia Star” wrapped entirely in bandages snapped his number card—signifying surrender.