Finally, Mr. Tang cajoled and sweet-talked his way into getting Xu Qian to smile, thus exempting her from the laboratory task for the next day.
He also mentioned he'd take her to the fighting arena to relax.
Lying in bed, Xu Qian secretly shook her head. She knew clearly that she had degenerated, that she had been spoiled.
It had been too long since she had gone out to kill zombies. Preoccupied with sweet talk and fake romance, her mind and legs had grown sluggish.
In the past, Xu Qian would have emerged with Mr. Tang, dressed in a black silk qipao and high heels.
She would have looked the part of a wealthy wife.
The fighting arena had been converted from the former S City Central Stadium. It featured fights between zombies, mutated beasts, and humans, with bets placed on the outcomes. It was one of the activities created by S City's wealthy merchants after the apocalypse.
As for why it was allowed to operate legally, Mr. Tang said the boss offered too much, making it impossible to refuse.
They arrived quite early, yet it was already packed.
The entire arena was circular, with 12 rows on the first level, all densely packed with people.
Xu Qian suspected everyone in S City had come.
The couple took an elevator to the sixth floor, to Mr. Tang's private room. It had a large screen for live broadcasts, and they could also open the windows to feel the fervent atmosphere outside.
Leaning on the plush sofa, sipping hot tea, and eating breakfast while watching the live broadcast was simply the pinnacle of life.
The allure of money, no, the allure of crystal cores.
However, she knew how much Ah Shen could earn.
You could call him: the ruthless Tang Skinflint.
The matches downstairs had already begun. It was a fight between a mutated bull and a woman.
The room's small screen displayed the win/loss ratio of bets, with the vast majority betting on the mutated bull to win.
Dust kicked up from the arena floor as the fight intensified.
Xu Qian held her bowl of shrimp dumplings, her eyes fixed on the screen.
Tang Zhishen sighed softly and advised, "Don't choke."
The intensity of the fights made it, frankly... not suitable for eating while watching.
"Mmhmm, mmhmm!" Her attention was completely elsewhere, fixated on the match.
That woman was likely a power-type ability user, possessing immense strength. She could grab both of the bull's horns with her bare hands. However, the mutated bull's strength was not to be underestimated. It dragged her several meters forward while she gripped its horns, yet she managed to hold it back.
The woman had ordinary features, a slightly sallow complexion, and wore a gray tank top. Sweat glistened on her back, and her arm muscles were firm, her jaw clenched tightly.
Winning this match would earn her 1000 crystal cores! That was more than she could earn from half a year's worth of missions!
For her child! She had to win this match!
The woman's hands were beginning to strain against the bull's horns. But the rules of the match dictated that the opponent must be severely injured until they could no longer stand or surrendered. She needed to free one hand to destroy the bull's crystal core.
The bull's hot breath, smelling suffocating, hit her face. She subtly loosened her grip on one horn, and the bull immediately flipped her five meters away.
The woman spat out a mouthful of blood.
She had lost her grip on the bull's horns. She was going to die!
The mutated bull lowered its head and charged towards her. Its horns, like blades, warned her of her impending death.
The instinct to survive made her immediately roll to the side, dodging the charge. She didn't even have time to catch her breath before standing up.
Lying down meant death.
While the fighting arena didn't explicitly require a waiver of life and death, it was close to that.
Surrendering would bring rescue, but whether it arrived in time depended on fate.
It was the same during the fights. No human or beast held back. Except for mutated beasts and zombies, everyone was fighting for crystal cores. Heavy blows could also kill, but most people would respect the unspoken rule and not continue attacking someone who was already severely injured.
But... mutated beasts and zombies wouldn't stop their attacks.
They weren't human.
Therefore, very few people would take on contracts involving zombies and mutated beasts, unless... they were particularly desperate for money.