Evolution - Chapter 84
Chapter 84
According to normal logic, Zhuyan City and Cishu Street had a subtle correspondence.
If the city planners hadn’t been out of their minds, Cishu District must have had some special significance.
That was why both the resistance and the invaders had their eyes on it.
Ji Changqing mulled it over and sent people to dig into the secrets of Cishu District, though she didn't hold out much hope.
In an abandoned city, many records would have certainly been destroyed to avoid benefiting the invaders.
The most pressing matter was how to survive for a week.
The city was practically deserted, and many places in Cishu District were empty as well. During the day, one could occasionally see a few elderly people sitting by the street, basking in the sun and chatting idly. They had a kind of open-mindedness that came from having lived a full life, as if to say, “Let the world do its worst.”
But once night fell, a desolate chill descended, as if the world itself were adrift. Even in the occupied houses with their lights on, where families had gathered for dinner—a scene that should have been filled with the worldly warmth of hearth and home—that warmth was absent.
Even the young children, who knew nothing of the situation, seemed to sense the unease and cried less often.
The young thugs had forcibly occupied the central park, the only place in Cishu District large enough to accommodate their thousand-strong group. After the military drill, they naturally dispersed to their respective homes for dinner.
Ji Changqing pressed a hand to her stomach, which was stubbornly sending out hunger signals. She decided to swallow her pride and go scrounge for a meal. A person is iron, and food is steel; miss one meal, and you'll be starving!
In the afternoon, they had sent people to search for supplies in unoccupied houses, which had drawn a wave of ridicule from onlookers. Anything useful or edible had long been scavenged by those unable to leave the city. What could possibly be left for them?
Burning with shame after mooching a meal, Ji Changqing endured the complicated stares of a family of complete strangers and forced herself to remain composed as she made a swift exit.
She silently vowed to solve the food problem tomorrow.
In the dead of night, the original residents of Cishu District, who had been disturbed by them all day, were gradually falling asleep. The 111 military cadets chose two adjacent courtyards as their base and gathered once more. After a brief meeting, they quietly and quickly got to their respective tasks.
The tech specialists attempted to hack into the network to obtain more critical information and data, while non-tech personnel like Ji Changqing formed small groups and headed out to blend into the city's nightlife districts.
What to do without money?
Not a problem.
Ji Changqing was particularly ruthless. Letting herself loose, she led Du Zhong to corner two well-off, middle-aged Alpha men who were out looking for fun. Just like that, the money problem was solved.
As for what would happen when the two mugging victims came to their senses, Ji Changqing wasn't worried at all. If things went smoothly, there would be no trouble in a couple of days. If they didn't, well, they already had plenty of trouble—one more thing wouldn't make a difference.
Spending money you didn't earn yourself was exhilarating. Without batting an eye, she used the cash to buy the first piece of information she wanted.
Then, Ji Changqing led Du Zhong into a bar that was doing quite a brisk business.
They had been squatting outside watching for a while. Most of the people coming and going from the bar had a murderous air about them, and it was even frequented by some officers in the invaders' military uniforms.
"Two Night Flights." Ji Changqing handed over the money, slipping in a jeweled cufflink—part of the loot from the "fat sheep" she'd just fleeced.
The bartender took the money, his gaze somewhat meaningful. "First time for you two?"
"Yeah. Looking to make a name for ourselves. Thought I'd ask you for directions," Ji Changqing said nonchalantly, with a reckless, fierce air.
The bartender pocketed both the cash and the cufflink. A moment later, he slid two drinks across the bar. Then he called out lazily toward the shadows, "A Si, time to greet the customers!"
A burly man nearly two meters tall slowly rose from the shadows.
He was like an emotionless robot, his eyes cold. "What information do you want?"
"I want to latch onto the biggest backer and make a deal."
A Si's eyes shifted slightly. He named a price, and Ji Changqing paid without hesitation. Only then did he speak. "Follow me."
He led them out the back door of the bar, twisting and turning through alleys until they arrived at a fighting ring.
The moment he pushed the doors open, a wave of sound washed over them, almost deafening.
In the ring, a match had just concluded. The victor, a cruel smile on his face, was raining punch after punch on his opponent, who was already down and whose condition—dead or alive—was unknown.
The ring was spattered with bloodstains.
"Go buy a ticket. The fights are to the death. Win ten matches, and if you're still alive, someone will make arrangements for you."
Du Zhong's face turned a little pale.
Ever since entering the fighting ring, A Si seemed to have thawed, showing more life than the living corpse he'd appeared to be before. He glanced at Du Zhong and sneered, "He won't make it. He wouldn't last two rounds."
Ji Changqing frowned. "To the death? Are there any other restrictions for getting in the ring?"
A Si looked at her in surprise. "You're fighting?"
He couldn't be blamed for his shock. Looking at their builds, anyone would have assumed Du Zhong was the one who would fight, not this seemingly frail person.
But A Si had little sympathy to spare. Whatever their reasons, plenty of people tried to take this shortcut to the top. Not one in a hundred could survive ten matches.
"Win three matches, and I can arrange a meeting with an officer of the corresponding rank. You should think it over."
Ji Changqing glanced at him. "If we're going to play, let's play for the highest stakes. What's the point of messing around?"
"No firearms. Melee weapons are your choice. If you don't have one, you can borrow one," A Si explained briefly before turning away. There was no point reasoning with someone who was gambling with their life.
In any case, in Zhuyan City right now, if you didn't have skills or connections, you could lose your life at any moment without even knowing why.
After buying a ticket, Ji Changqing stuffed the rest of the money into Du Zhong's hands. "Go. Bet it all on me to win."
Du Zhong hesitated. Ji Changqing was formidable, but fighting ten consecutive matches, especially with her strength greatly reduced, seemed incredibly risky. "Changqing, let's go back and think of another way, okay?"
Ji Changqing pushed him away. "What's the difference between dying sooner or later? Might as well risk it all!"
With that, she followed A Si to meet the ring's organizers. When one of them saw her, he let out a whistle. "A Si, what's with you? This little thing is just begging to die!"
A Si shot him a cool glance. "She dares to fight, but you don't dare send her up? The greater the disparity, the better, isn't it?"
The organizer rubbed his hands together and laughed. "That's true."
"She needs to borrow a weapon."
"What kind of weapon does she use?" The organizer clicked his tongue. "I'll pick one for you. As long as you can survive the first match, I'll give you an extra half-percent cut of the betting pool for the following matches. How about it?"
A Si rolled his eyes.
If they rigged it a little so she won the first match, the house would make a killing. As for Ji Changqing's subsequent matches, he didn't think she'd survive the second.
"A long spear." Ji Changqing nodded in agreement. The organizer took her to choose a weapon. She felt one, weighed another, and finally picked one that was a suitable weight and had no hidden mechanisms or projectiles.
The organizer nearly fell to his knees. He had planned to cheat to let her win the first match by picking an opponent with an obvious weakness and giving her a sufficiently treacherous weapon, which could have turned the tables in the ring. But this one was completely impervious to his schemes.
As Ji Changqing was signing the death waiver and the betting pool agreement, she suddenly asked, "Since the fights are to the death, does that mean the lives of those I defeat belong to me?"
The organizer rolled his eyes. "Yeah!"
Only one person could walk out of each match. In a fight to the death, no one dared let their guard down until their opponent was finished.
"Then add that clause," Ji Changqing said, tapping the document.
The organizer thought nothing of it. While amending the financial split, he casually added the clause for her.
In their eyes, Ji Changqing was as good as dead anyway. Adding the clause or not made no difference, so why not indulge her?
After signing, Ji Changqing cradled the long spear and slowly walked toward the entrance of the tunnel leading to the ring.
When she entered the ring, the crowd erupted in boos.
Before making her move, she replayed Big Sister Chu Ci's words from the game instance over and over in her mind, from back when she was being thrashed in training: "In all of martial arts, only speed is unbeatable. Don't think about how your opponent will attack. As long as you are fast enough, you can make them follow your rhythm."
The idea of striking only after the opponent has struck was, in her big sister's view, utter nonsense.
Of course, if you could finish it in one move, you shouldn't use a second.
Her opponent in this match was a saber user.
The bets were placed, and the match began. Ji Changqing sensed a swift and chilling killing intent approaching. Without a second thought, she stepped forward and swung her long spear.
A Si, watching with his arms crossed, had a flicker in his eyes. "So fast!"
The saber user's slash came down with the sound of wind and thunder. Then, everyone heard a single ding as the spear and the long saber clashed.
The saber broke, but the spear remained intact.
Only a few people present could see that in that instant, Ji Changqing's spear had struck more than a dozen times. Each time, the tip landed on the exact same spot. The succession of blows was so fast that it was impossible to see, and naturally, impossible to hear as distinct sounds—the dozen or so strikes sounded like one.
After shattering the long saber, Ji Changqing flicked her wrist. The spear tip shifted, turning a thrust into a sweep in the blink of an eye. It struck the saber user's limb joints hard, then slammed into his jaw, sending him flying.
The saber user crashed heavily to the ground, having lost control of his body. His limbs dangled at unnatural angles, and he couldn't even speak.
In one move, Ji Changqing had destroyed his weapon. In another, she had broken his limbs and jaw.
She had completely eliminated any possibility of a comeback.
The ring fell silent. Not two seconds later, curses erupted from the crowd:
"Fuck, you guys are shameless! Fixing fights to scam our money?!"
"Are you trying to screw us in the next round?!"
A Si nodded at the organizer.
Someone immediately stepped into the ring. "If you're not satisfied, you can pick the opponent for the next match!"
They had wanted to fix the fight to make a quick buck, but they weren't so shameless as to not even put on a show.
Ji Changqing's move had given them a huge shock.
They thought she was a bronze-level scrub, but it turned out she was a king! The thought of the extra half-percent of the betting pool they'd given away made their hearts bleed.
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