Chapter 280: The Blood Matrix
Xia Fei kept his Celestial Moon as he slowly paced toward Skyhook. “I wish to know just one thing: How much did Li Mo give you?”
He did not make this statement loudly, yet it was very penetrative. When people were in trouble, they would sometimes be reticent or make a last-ditch gamble. Xia Fei just happened to be the latter. As long as there was a slim glimmer of hope, he would not easily give up.
Hook chuckled but did not say a word. His finger tapped on his chair rhythmically. “Indeed, the person who contacted me has connections to Li Mo, but whether he’s the mastermind or not, I’m sure you’re clearer on that fact compared to me. You’re a smart man, so you should know very well whom you’ve offended.”
All of a sudden, hundreds of pulse laser beams shot out around Xia Fei, trapping him inside. Xia Fei had experienced something like this before, and the heat coming off from the lasers was not something he could not withstand. A quick glance was all it took for him to decide against forcing his way out.
“Oh, right. I’m the sort of person who loves seeing people put their lives on the line in a fight. I heard that you’re a speed ability user with high cultivation. Wait while I arrange for my strongest gladiator to fight you in a deathmatch. If you win, perhaps you can live just a bit longer. You can consider this as the final chance I’m giving you.” Hook smirked.
Xia Fei was silent. It was clear that this scenario had long been planned, and he could not think of any good solution at the moment, so he had no choice but to follow along, step by step.
The pretty, white marble surface suddenly parted to reveal a solitary secret cell. Without anywhere to land his feet, Xia Fei helplessly dropped down into the darkness.
…
The walls of the underground pa.s.sage were also enclosed by heavy metal alloy, which even his Celestial Moon could not make a dent out of. Xia Fei tried this for some time before concluding that it was useless, and thus he began to make his way forward.
“What do we do now?” Phantom anxiously asked.
“This is a situation that someone has long planned for us. At this point, all I can do is take it one step at a time. I refuse to believe that everything is well in his grasp. I’ll try and leave as long as I find a flaw in anything,” Xia Fei said.
“Should we contact the a.s.sa.s.sin Sect? After all, you are their envoy and also Shadowless’s unacknowledged disciple. Sect Master Craneshadow might just show face and send men to come get you,” Phantom said.
Xia Fei replied, “I’ve already contacted them.”
“What? When? Why didn’t I realize this?”
“When I was retrieving Celestial Moon from the wall. You were busy looking at our surroundings then.”
Phantom nodded. Given Xia Fei’s speed, it was completely possible for him to send that message then without anyone realizing.
“The a.s.sa.s.sin Sect can be considered at most a backup plan; it won’t be easy for them to get here because even I have no idea where this is.”
“What did you tell them?”
Xia Fei smiled. He did not tell Phantom, which made the latter slightly disgruntled as he followed him deeper into the pa.s.sageway.
This pa.s.sageway was very long; Xia Fei tried shattering the walls along the way but to no avail.
He could see light in the distance, sounding full of life, yet he had no idea why they would be so noisy.
Xia Fei curiously took a few steps toward the end of the pa.s.sageway and saw a huge round clearing. The ground itself was made of heavy metal alloy, and there was a net of laser-emitting device overhead. Two topless warriors were in the middle of a gory fight as tens of thousands of audience watched the cruel battle unfold while eating popcorns, engrossed in this bloodsport.
Several of the people were even brandis.h.i.+ng golden slips of paper, which Xia Fei guessed to be the money that they had placed on these fighters, looking absolutely hysterical, as if they wished that they could just bite the enemy themselves. Of course, none of them had the guts to risk their lives against these gladiators but still loved watching them lose their lives.
Xia Fei suddenly thought of the roman colosseum. This place might be a bit more high-cla.s.s, but they still shared the same unhinged temperament.
Lighting a cigarette, Xia Fei stood by the laser fence as he watched the two fighters duel. There were plenty of similar fences on both sides, but it was only this cell where Xia Fei was that had a direct route to Hook’s residence.
To his right stood a middle-aged man with cold eyes—tall, big, and bronze skin. His body was littered with scars, and right now, he was noisily eating a peach in hand.
“The fat one’s going to win.” The middle-aged man did not even register Xia Fei’s presence as he muttered this to himself.
Xia Fei smiled. “That might not be the case.”
This middle-aged man curiously turned his head and glanced at Xia Fei before he continued watching the intense battle playing out in the clearing. “I still think I’m right. That skinny man’s left leg’s already injured. With his movement speed largely reduced, it makes it harder for him to defend himself since his legs won’t obey. Look, he’s already at a disadvantage.”
Xia Fei commented, “Being at a disadvantage doesn’t mean that he’ll surely lose. The skinny man’s eyes are filled with vigor, while that fatty is fighting for the sake of fighting. The att.i.tude these two men have is vastly different, so the conclusion to this may not pan out as certainly as you presumed.”
The middle-aged man snorted. “That skinny man only arrived at the Blood Matrix last night. If he’s able to survive a few more days, his eyes will also turn into that of the fat man.”
“If that’s truly the case, that means the skinny man will win even if he loses,” Xia Fei said.
“And just why is that?”
“Once someone loses hope, then they’re no different from a living corpse. What’s the point of their continued existence? If the skinny man loses, then he’ll be killed while still having his fighting spirit burning in him. That can be seen as dying a worthy death. Conversely, the one who survives will continue to live on his days wis.h.i.+ng that he’s dead, so even losing here can be counted as a win.”
The middle-aged man furrowed his brows. “In that case, are you saying that the skinny man will win no matter the outcome? What sort of logic is that?”
“It’s the truth.” Xia Fei blew a smoke ring as he said these three words.
The middle-aged man burst into laughter, “What b*llsh*t truth. The way I see it, it’s just your warped logic.”
He reached out his right hand with a large grin. It was due to the laser fence, which separated them, that caused him to only mime shaking hands.
“Butcher.”
“Xia Fei.”
The two men performed a weird handshake in the air, which could be considered as them introducing themselves to each other. Xia Fei retracted his hand and continued watching the fight. The hooded, fat man stabbed the skinny man’s shoulder blade and thus ended the match.
The fat man raised his two arms and bellowed to the crowd, and the audience, which numbered in the tens of thousands, shouted in unison, “KILL HIM! KILL HIM!”
The skinny man collapsed onto the ground, his face drained of blood.
…
Just like a script that they had rehea.r.s.ed, the thickset warrior did his best to brag about his victory, exaggeratedly demonstrating the posturing of a victor. Later, he used the knife he held in hand to chop the head off the loser, spurting fresh blood several meters high in the direction of the crowd for the climax of his match. Satisfied, he left the ring as he rumbled with laughter.
…
Xia Fei sat cross-legged on the ground, chain-smoking. “That fatty seems to be very excited. Did he not consider that it will one day be his turn to have his head chopped off by someone?”
Butcher did not share his sentiment. “Everyone here knows that if they’re to go through the motions, they’ll have a feast waiting for them. You’ve just arrived. If you endure several days of hunger, you’ll come to learn that a piece of bread is far more important than some human lives. Meanwhile, respect and honor are all worth sh*t here.”
Xia Fei kept silent. The savage nature of humans was p.r.o.nounced here, so any discussion of morals was no more than empty words.
“We’ll be fighting soon,” Xia Fei said casually.
Butcher glanced at Xia Fei’s Celestial Moon and his spatial ring, “You’ve got some nice things. I’ll be sure to take care of them well for you.”
“Thank you,” Xia Fei said. “Just hearing the name, I expected Butcher to be a violent person. I never imagined that you’d be someone able to maintain his sanity in such a place.”
Butcher shook his head. “The crazy ones are already gone. It’s precisely because I’m clear-headed enough that I can survive till today. Of course, I can be crazier than anyone else when the need arises, but now is the time to rest, so there’s no need for that.”
Butcher raised his head and looked up to the sun with desire. To someone like him who was mired deep in a spiral of slaughter, freedom was like a life-saving medicine—something he could hope for but not obtain.
“I also walked out of that same pa.s.sage as you years ago. Hook’s compound is very well-designed. No one has managed to escape from this place yet. You’re not the first he managed to lure, but it’s been years since I saw anyone maintain their composure after getting entrapped. Perhaps that’s why I find myself chatting with you so much,” Butcher said.
Xia Fei let out a self-depreciating chuckle. “Looks like I wasn’t the first to fall for that trap. I don’t know whether I should be happy about that or not.”
Butcher replied, “I don’t care how you take that. All I know is that it’ll be a deathmatch tonight. Between the two of us, only one will be able to leave with their life intact. I doubt anyone will just give up their chance to survive; I’m very happy to have met you, but we should stop here and now. I guarantee I’ll give you a proper end. While it may not necessarily be decent, I’ll be sure to be decisive and quick.”
With that, Butcher got up and went toward his bed. It was a small and narrow metal bed, slightly better than the bed that others had because he had a military-green towel for a bedding.
Xia Fei gave it some thought before laughing. “I doubt you’ll be able to get any sleep now; since I’m going to die by your hands, why don’t you talk to me about things related to Hook?”
Butcher turned his back toward Xia Fei. “You’re wrong. I’ll be able to sleep even if it’s Armageddon. Besides, there are monitoring systems here. No use taking more. You’re going to die, but I still have to continue living.”
Xia Fei lit a cigarette. “Is beer not enough to keep you up a few more minutes?”
Butcher paused for a good moment. “Indeed, it is hard to reject an offer of beer.”
…
The situation was fairly ridiculous. A man with the nickname of Butcher was actually a calm and collected surgeon, and even more absurd was how two men who were about to have a fight to the death in a couple of hours had decided to share a bottle of beer with each other.
Because Xia Fei had only been locked up without getting his equipment and spatial ring confiscated, he still had quite some food with him. He cracked open a bottle of beer and then covered the opening with his hand. He shook it vigorously a few times before loosening a gap to send the golden liquid shooting out.
Butcher, who was standing by the laser fence with his mouth open, greedily gulping what beer he could. Although most of it evaporated into mist due to the heat being emitted by the laser, a good portion still managed to reach Butcher’s mouth.
Using his sleeve to wipe his mouth a little, Butcher laughed heartily. “Awesome! It’s been years since I drank some beer. To think I would get a chance tonight. Have you got any more? Do another. ”
……
Hook sat in his seat, taking in everything that Xia Fei and Butcher were doing with his eyes.
“Lord Hook, seems that Butcher and Xia Fei are getting along quite well. Should we keep them apart? It won’t be good if this affects the quality of their fight,” an underling chimed in.
Hook smiled. “What do you know? The better they get to know each other, the more thrilling it’ll be when they fight each other later. I love this taste of people parting forever and never meeting again. It’s unfortunate. If we have more time, we ought to let them have days to get to know each other, to the point that they’re as close as brothers. Only then will we have them kill each other; that’s far more enjoyable. Too bad the person on top is hurrying us; it would’ve been a really good show to watch.”
…
Hook’s underling was speechless. It was quite cruel for anyone to enjoy watching brothers kill each other. Perhaps that cruelty was the reason Hook was the boss, while he would forever be a mere underling.
“Should we confiscate Xia Fei’s weapon?” Hook’s underling asked.
“No need.” Hook was unconcerned. “Do you think he can break the laser defense array with it? Just let him stay for two more days.”
“Lord Hook’s right. We spent plenty of money getting the laser defense array up, and countless wrongful innocents have lost their lives to it, so there’s no way that Xia Fei will be able to break it.” The underling quickly humored.
Hook glared at this man. “Who are you calling wrongful innocents? Yours truly spent so much money on this Blood Matrix; those people who died were hardly wronged.
…
Several bottles of beer later, Butcher was still unsatisfied. Unfortunately, Xia Fei had already run out of beer. He licked his lips and said, “Now that I’ve drunk your beer, it’s only right for me to satisfy your curiosity. If you have any questions, ask away, but you can forget about it if you’re hoping that I’ll be merciful to you.”
Xia Fei chuckled. “I’m not that ignorant. Besides, who knows who’s going to win when we fight? I’m simply very interested in Hook.”
…
“Hook is just his nickname. People here all call him Skyhook. As for his real name, no one has any idea; from what I know, he should be one of the top drug and entertainment merchants in the Alliance. Everyone living on this planet works for him, helping him produce and process the drugs.”
“Entertainment merchant?” Xia Fei curiously asked. “Why would a drug dealer also have the entertainment merchant hook up? This is really strange.”
Butcher pointed to the entire arena at large. “Wouldn’t you consider this entertainment? Watching men murder one another so brutally, what could be more exciting? This structure’s called the Blood Matrix. All the spectators you see are actually insignificant small fries, and they simply exist to help liven up the atmosphere.
“As long as you have the money, you can use the interplanetary internet to watch this match, where real people kill one another. Of course, the signal is repeatedly encrypted and bounced, so much so that there’s no way for anyone to locate this place with it. Hook can play G.o.d on this planet, for no one will be able to leave. Even though he brought you here, there’s no way for you to find it if you happen to escape.”
The interplanetary internet was like a highway; the toll stations were only in charge of collecting fees, not minding just what could be inside the package going in and out. That was why all kinds of erotica could be spread via the internet. While such violent content was banned, Starlink Corporation was only able to investigate the content of the mainstream broadcast. This meant that they had no way of handling the signals with more advanced encryption.
“Has no one attempted to escape in all these years?” Xia Fei asked.
“Of course, there were. Someone would make such an attempt every once in a while, but I’ve never heard of anyone succeeding,” Butcher answered.
Xia Fei responded, “Even the most powerful laser will need a laser emitted to be shot out. Even if no one has any means of destroying the lasers themselves, surely someone should’ve tried damaging the emitters. Besides, such a huge system will surely need to undergo routine maintenance.”
Butcher scoffed. “It’s not that easy. The laser emitters are all hidden within the building, so unless someone is able to break apart the thick metal alloy walls, there’s no way one can even threaten the emitters. This system here in the Blood Matrix is split into many different units, and they’re maintained every few days, but only a single unit will undergo maintenance at a time. The rest will still operate as usual, not at all affecting the defenses in place.
“I have no clue which company produced a system of such quality, but it’s a little bit too much. I’ve been here for years, yet there’s not a single issue with the defenses aside from the routine maintenance.”
Xia Fei was quiet for a good while. Everything he heard just proved that leaving this place would hardly be an easy task.
“Then there’s an even more important factor: the lack of unity. At its maximum capacity, the Blood Matrix is able to contain several thousand warriors at any one time. Logically speaking, that should be a really powerful force, but because these people are not united, no one’s willing to lead everyone to escape.”
“Aside from sacrifice, there’s no other way to get out of here. A bunch of warriors will first have to pay the blood price in order to overcome the defense systems, leaving the rest capable of escaping. Unless someone is really willing to sacrifice themselves for others’ freedom, there’s no chance of anybody escaping from here,” Butcher said.
“Several thousand warriors? Where is Hook even getting thousands of warriors to entertain him this way?” Xia Fei asked.
“Do you really have no idea after visiting Hook’s mansion? He’ll either offer a high salary or other things as bait, trick a few independent warriors to work for him. Once these people set foot on the planet, they can forget about leaving it. He’s not afraid no matter how high a cultivation rank one possesses; he’ll just pretend to invite them over for a banquet, and just as he arrives in that living room of his, those sets of hidden laser systems will entrap his target. Getting caught in any of those laser traps means you’ll be transported to the Blood Matrix. It’s not up to anyone to decide whether they want to join in the deathmatches or not, for their opponents are already numb to all this. All they care is to kill people so that they can live a few more days longer.”
Butcher’s voice was a bit hoa.r.s.e as he explained, his eyes drifting off into the distance.
Xia Fei asked, “Did you just tell me your own experience?”
Butcher nodded. “Precisely.” He grimaced. “Had I not been greedy back then and accepted Hook’s contract, who knew how things would have been like?”
Xia Fei was silent. He lightly drew a few words on the ground with his finger. As martial arts pract.i.tioners had keen eyes, Butcher very quickly noticed that something was off.
Xia Fei crooked his head as if he was randomly drawing on the ground out of boredom. Butcher used his eyes to very quickly read what Xia Fei wrote: “We’re being monitored. What I’m going to say next is very important. You must take note.”