Chapter 76 Arena 9

Chapter 76 Arena 9

Day 10 was bound to be chaotic.

At exactly 9:00 AM, the system’s mechanical voice announced, "Day 10 of the game. Starting now, players may freely leave the dungeon."

Immediately after, the system’s voice echoed in Su Han’s ears, "Experience points 30/30. Congratulations, player’s innate ability level +1."

Name: Su Han (Real-name verified)

Level: 5 (Experience points 15/30)

Profession 1: Nutritionist (Has maxed-out innate ability, cannot be upgraded further)

Profession 2: Soap Maker (Possesses intermediate innate ability, experience points 0/30)

Hunger: 604/620

Cleanliness: 598/620

Stamina: 615/620

Innate Ability (Intermediate): In this dungeon, there is a 45% chance of obtaining two handmade soaps per day, a 10% chance of obtaining three handmade soaps + two lilac soaps, and a 1% chance of obtaining a rare soap.

When acquiring a second profession, the level experience points did not reset to zero, so the upgrades for the two professions were separate. Clearly, leveling up the innate ability did not automatically restore hunger, cleanliness, and stamina to full values.

Out of habit, she checked her inventory. Recently, the casino had provided food and drinks, so all the bread, milk, chocolate cakes, handmade soaps, and lilac soaps she obtained had been stockpiled, nearly maxing out her portable storage.

Soon after, the system announced, "G78 Casino Resort (current player server) has 298 players and 456 NPCs remaining."

Su Han pondered. She wondered how many of those 298 were contestants… She’d probably have to wait until the evening broadcast to find out.

Just then, an explosion rocked the building.

Su Han felt the ground shake violently, as if the building was about to collapse.

Her face fell. She thought to herself that the gladiator players had planned this well. The moment they gained the ability to leave the dungeon at any time, they immediately made their move. They must have planted timed explosives long ago, just waiting for the system notification!

A sudden announcement crackled, "Attention: Contestants on the first floor are disrupting order and causing extensive damage to the building. Please proceed with caution. Security is handling the arrests. They'll be shot on sight."

"Repeat: Contestants on the first floor…"

"Shot on sight?" Su Han mused. "It seems the casino has no intention of letting serious rule-breakers off."

But…

"Who did this?" Su Han pondered. "The original contestants wouldn't pull something this crazy. So, Fu Hongyu? Xiao Nan, whom Fu Hongyu rescued? The fighter saved by Jiang Cheng? The player rescued by Zhong Rui? Or the other person who paid their own way out?"

There were only five possibilities, and she analyzed and eliminated them one by one.

In truth, Su Han wasn’t sweating it. Based on the current situation, the situation wasn't critical. Besides, how many timed explosives could one carry in their portable storage? Points were needed for stockpiling daily necessities, leaving little to spare.

However, at that moment, the third-floor buffet went up in a massive explosion. The scale and power of the blast far exceeded that of timed explosives.

Su Han instinctively hit the deck. When she looked up again, she was horrified to find her stamina had dropped to 72%.

"Someone bought high explosives!" she nearly cursed out loud. But the next second, her face went pale. "It was breakfast hour. Many contestants were gathered in the buffet. And other troublemakers lying in wait… there might be more than one."

Without hesitation, she rushed to the first floor, trying to help prevent the gladiator players from breaking free en masse. As for her companion, she believed they'd have similar thoughts, so the two would meet by chance on the first floor.

**

First-floor casino.

"Was it you who planted the timed explosives?!" Fu Hongyu exclaimed in shock and anger, unable to believe she had misjudged someone.

"Sorry for dragging you into this," Xiao Nan smiled apologetically. "I have many friends trapped on B1 level. To save them, I had no choice but to do this."

"You deliberately got close to me and used me? Because of my financial aptitude?" Fu Hongyu quickly pieced it together.

Xiao Nan scratched his nose. "Not at all. I originally just wanted to get familiar with you and borrow some money. Who knew she'd be so capable and directly buy my freedom."

Fu Hongyu angrily drew her gun and, almost without thinking, emptied four rounds into him.

The distance was too close, and the shots were too fast. Xiao Nan couldn't react in time to dodge and took all four bullets.

One bullet pierced his heart, another struck his throat, a third aimed at his abdomen, and the last one headed straight for his forehead.

"Shit!" Xiao Nan was stunned. His health bar wasn't full to begin with, and before he could even attempt to request to exit the game, he blinked out in a white flash.

Fu Hongyu holstered her gun and said calmly, "I've won marksmanship awards before—at least nine out of ten shots hit the bullseye. Gambling wasn't useful early on, and later in the arena, guns were restricted, which made me seem particularly weak."

Now that Xiao Nan had seriously violated the rules, she figured the NPCs wouldn't say much about her killing him.

Sure enough, the man in black soon appeared. After confirming that the troublemaker—Xiao Nan—was dead and that Fu Hongyu had killed him, he immediately thanked her and handed her 100,000 in chips.

Who would refuse extra money? Fu Hongyu wasted no time taking the chips.

Just then, an explosion rocked the third floor.

The man in black's expression darkened, and he waved his hand. "Follow me." Then he hurried toward the scene.

The NPC underlings followed closely behind.

"They went after the third floor?" Fu Hongyu frowned and muttered to herself, "That's too ruthless... I wonder who did it."

Xiao Nan had tricked her into coming to the first floor and hadn't left since, so the third-floor incident couldn't have been his doing.

**

Meanwhile, Cui Yuankang was hiding in a corner on the first floor. Seeing the man in black and his subordinates rush away, he couldn't help but smirk slightly.

At the start of the game, he and two other companions quickly lost all their chips because they weren't good at gambling.

Although one of them had the "Jewelry Merchant" talent, the precious-grade jewelry they had obtained earlier had already been traded away, leaving no stock. The other jewelry, while plentiful, couldn't be pawned for much and couldn't sustain all three of them. So, by the third day of the game, they got eliminated.

They had expected to struggle for survival in the arena, but unexpectedly, one of them triggered a rare chance and obtained a 50-carat pigeon-blood ruby! Unfortunately, after paying off their debts, only one person could be freed.

Cui Yuankang hadn't held out hope, but his companion voluntarily gave him the chance, saying firmly, "Isn't your profession Demolition Expert? Staying underground won't help, and you'll die faster. It's better for you to return to the surface and find a way to blow open the arena gates. The two of us will hold out—surviving until Day 10 won't be a problem."

Deeply moved, Cui Yuankang bought his freedom and swore to rescue his companions! On Day 10, as soon as the system announced that players could freely exit the game, he immediately took action.

Unexpectedly, he wasn't the only one making moves that day. But this worked in his favor—the commotion on the first floor drew everyone's attention, making it easier for him to act.

So, unnoticed, he blew up the third-floor cafeteria with explosives! After succeeding, he quietly hid his tracks and made his way to the first floor.

Now, at the staircase leading to B1 level, only Fu Hongyu stood alone.

Cui Yuankang stepped into the open and quickly said, "The entire first floor is wired with timed explosives. If you shoot me, we both die."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Fu Hongyu snapped. "What was he doing, collecting them as a hobby? Goddamn timed explosives!"

So Cui Yuankang displayed his talent.

Explosives Expert (Advanced): Here, there is a 60% chance of obtaining a bundle of Timed Explosives each day. There is a 15% chance of obtaining a bundle of Timed Explosives plus a bundle of High Explosive. And there is a 2% chance of obtaining three bundles of High Explosive.

Fu Hongyu fell silent.

She lowered her gun muzzle-first to the ground, raised both hands high, and showed she meant no harm.

"Don’t stand in the way—get out of here." Cui Yuankang didn’t want to waste time.

Fu Hongyu backed away step by step. Once she reached the corner, she turned around without hesitation and ran.

Cui Yuankang, meanwhile, used the Timed Explosives to blow open the stairwell door and headed straight for B1.

By the time Su Han arrived, she was about to rush toward the stairs when someone grabbed her.

"Timed Explosives are planted all around," Fu Hongyu reminded her woodenly. "Get too close, and you’re dead."

Su Han, "..."

So all they could do was watch as the beast fighters emerged from the basement level?

"Should we defuse the bombs? Or set them off early?" Su Han asked Zhong Rui, who had arrived shortly after.

Zhong Rui remained expressionless and silent—this was beyond him.

"The beast fighters are about to riot. Should we call the guards for help?" Su Han continued to ponder.

"Many players had already been blown apart. Knowing that the beast fighters are coming up, even more will flee," Zhong Rui stated grimly.

The three locked eyes. Fu Hongyu silently walked away—now, it was every man for himself. Surviving alone was struggle enough; who could afford to worry about others? She planned to find a place to hide and stay ready for battle.

Left alone, Zhong Rui asked Su Han, "Any ideas?"

Su Han’s tone sounded wistful. "With 200+ players, nearly 200 guards—most armed with guns, some with explosives. If we get caught in the crossfire and hit by stray bullets, we might really die..."

A gunfight involving four hundred people had too many uncontrollable factors. Getting killed by bad luck? That’d suck.

"I think so too," Zhong Rui nodded. "So I plan to find a safe place to hide."

In the entire villa, where was the safest place?

They locked eyes again and simultaneously answered, "The basement!"

Those in poor condition or unable to hold on had already left the game. Those who disliked conflict and loved peace wouldn’t join the resistance. Those who wanted to rebel would all leave the basement and launch attacks on floors one through four.

Thus, after most of the beast fighters had left, the basement would turn into the safest spot in the entire server.

"Now there’s only one question left," Zhong Rui said slowly. "If players who haven’t been eliminated voluntarily enter the arena, will their *Portable Storage* be frozen?"

Su Han replied casually, "Only one way to find out."

After a pause, she added, "Before, I figured that once the beast fighters returned to the surface, their *Portable Storage* would automatically unlock. If their items still can’t be used, then there’s nothing to fear."

Against 200+ guns, skills wouldn’t save them from bullets.