Chapter 361 Let's Begin

There were quite a few people scattered across the depression, performing on the surface.

But the nature of these performances leaned towards abuse, the kind meant to help people release stress.

For instance, right now:

A dozen iron pipes were erected in the depression at uneven intervals, with people tied to some of them.

About half a meter in front of the iron pipes, there was a thick painted line, and beyond that line stood two rows of racks.

On them were whips, belts, scissors, pliers, barbed chains... and so on.

At this moment, four people had already paid and were holding various tools, beginning their performance.

Whipping, beating, slapping, abusing.

Different price points corresponded to different methods, and the onlookers around them appeared extremely excited.

A dozen or so men in black, responsible for maintaining order, were stationed around the perimeter of the venue.

"Are we going to keep moving? Why are you watching this performance?"

Mira had no interest in this and prepared to head back the way they came.

In her view, the existence of such performances must have its reasons.

Especially in this doomsday environment, where people had nowhere to release their stress, it was normal for someone to organize these performances to let everyone have a bit of fun.

But Chen Yu's gaze remained fixed on the depression.

Mira turned back: "Hey? Are we still looking for people or not? You aren't thinking of sitting down to watch for a while, are you?"

Chen Yu did not reply, his gaze still fixed on the depression, because there—they were acquaintances...

Liu Xiaoqian, Zhang Yufeng, Miao Yin, and Liu Ming.

They were all his college classmates.

Back in the first Living Area, Liu Ming, as the car owner, had accumulated quite a few supplies by picking locks and had generously treated the Baby Bus to a meal.

Although Zhang Yufeng was always lecturing him, stopping him, and expressing much dissatisfaction with him, his intentions were not bad.

Liu Xiaoqian was clean and pretty back then, considered a brave girl, and Miao Yin was one of the few girls before the apocalypse who didn't have much of an opinion against Chen Yu.

But now... Chen Yu's heart sank an inch.

He waved his hand: "Mira, go outside and wait for me."

"?" Mira was stunned: "What are you going to do?"

Chen Yu said in a low voice: "I said, go outside and wait for me."

Mira had rarely seen Chen Yu like this.

His voice was much deeper than usual.

She first looked at the people in the depression, then swallowed: "Alright, then you..."

Mira originally wanted to say, "Then hurry up," but she didn't say it out loud.

She turned around and walked quickly toward the door.

Meanwhile, in the depression, the disfigured Liu Xiaoqian was sitting slumped on the ground, waiting for judgment.

Zhang Yufeng and Miao Yin were the same.

And Liu Ming was the worst off; his glasses had long since flown off somewhere.

He was currently acting as a human punching bag, being slapped fiercely by a thin man, with bruises and swelling piling up, and two gashes torn at the corners of his mouth.

"Fuck you!" "Fuck you!" "Fuck you!"

Every slap was delivered with full force; the thin man's palm was turning red, but he felt no pain at all. On the contrary, he became more excited the more he hit, and his breathing became heavier and heavier.

The thin man shook his hand, and was stopped by a man in black on the side: "Sir, your time is up."

"So fast?"

The thin man was slightly stunned, feeling somewhat unsatisfied and unwilling...

The man in black nodded: "You purchased the basic experience package, with a standard duration of ten minutes. If you don't feel satisfied, we suggest you get a weekly card—we are open all day while the Living Area is open, and you get one hour of exclusive vent time every day, for only ten Low-grade Energy Cores."

The thin man was stunned: "This... forget it, forget it. Ten cores, I still need to save them to trade for supplies usually..."

The man in black nodded slightly and lowered his voice a little: "If you sign up now, you can enjoy a first-time subscriber discount, only eight cores. This discount is only for first-time customers; if you miss it, it's gone."

The thin man was silent for a few seconds, then shook his head: "Forget it, forget it. If I want to vent in a couple of days, I'll just look for him again; this guy is quite durable."

After saying this, the thin man left the depression and returned to his seat, watching the performances of others.

"I want to pick this ugly freak!"

Suddenly, a greasy middle-aged fat man stood up and pointed at Liu Xiaoqian.

He was wearing a polo shirt, the buttons at the collar stretched to the point of bursting.

"I want to use a knife to draw on her face!"

"Uh... sir, the project you have chosen is priced much higher than projects like the punching bag."

"How much?"

"It costs ten units of Energy Core for one time, or one ordinary item."

"So expensive? I only paid two for hitting that one."

"The punching bag area is a basic service with low costs and low wear and tear, but the one you chose... is a special person. Some people just like to torture this type, so the price is expensive."

The greasy fat man hesitated upon hearing this.

The man in black bowed slightly: "And our knives are all maintained. You don't have to worry about sharpness, feel, or even the cleanup afterward. Once you step out of this door, there won't be any trouble."

He paused and added: "This price buys you peace of mind."

The greasy fat man gritted his teeth: "Fine, ten it is!"

He smiled sinisterly and looked at Liu Xiaoqian: "Ugly freak, your pitiful appearance is just too similar, too similar to those cats I used to kill..."

Liu Ming was on the side, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, his face bruised and swollen: "Let go... let go of her..."

The greasy fat man looked at Liu Ming on the side with some displeasure.

He suddenly thought of something: "These two wouldn't happen to be a couple, would they? Then can I..."

"Sorry, sir, that's an extra cost," the man in black explained.

The greasy fat man snorted coldly and walked to the rack, preparing to choose an instrument of torture.

Liu Ming's voice was broken: "I... I have already called the Baby Bus, number two on The Highway in Haicheng... you guys..."

"Shh." The man in black gestured, and from the side, a few more men in black rushed out to seal Liu Ming's mouth.

The greasy fat man picked out a short knife, becoming more and more satisfied.

Liu Xiaoqian's eyes were filled with terror, and tears streamed down.

Since the apocalypse descended, most of her time had been spent at the mercy of others, and this time she and her teammates had been deceived and ended up here.

"Ugly freak, then let's begin." The greasy fat man chuckled.

"Clang!!!" The sound of the rolling shutter door hitting the ground caused over thirty people to turn their heads simultaneously: "?"

Three lights at the entrance were broken, leaving only one incandescent bulb at the very top still lit. The halo of light spilled down from above, spreading out a cone-shaped light area on the ground.

In the center of that light area stood a man.

He was wearing a black trench coat that reached his knees, his posture upright, and in his hand, he gripped a ghost head blade.

And on his face, he wore a bone-white mask.

The mouth of this mask was stretched into an exaggerated arc, almost reaching the ears, and the eye sockets were two downward-curving arcs; at first glance, it seemed to be smiling, but upon closer inspection, it looked like it was crying.

The depths of the eye holes were pitch black, reflecting nothing at all.

"Let's begin."