347: Chapter 347 A Big Scene

Inside the arena, the first "prey" was dragged out.

It was a man in his thirties, not particularly robust. He didn't even struggle much as he was dragged across the sand by his collar—not because he didn't want to, but because his legs had gone weak from fear. He was tossed three meters in front of the giant Bone-Armored Mantis. Stumbling, he tried to crawl up but fell back down, using both hands and feet to scramble backward.

Scattered laughter drifted down from the stands.

The Event Host held a megaphone, his voice feverish: "This is today's opening contestant! Let's see how many seconds he can last—"

Lu Jianchuan turned his head slightly, his lips barely moving as he compressed his voice into a thin line: "What did the undercover agent tell you?"

Wei Ziqing leaned against the iron bars, his gaze fixed on the man in the arena as he spoke rapidly:

"There are three detention points. Besides our cell, there are two more groups in the northern warehouse of the park, totaling thirty-seven people. The second basement level has isolated cells holding survivors from previous 'unqualified' batches—fewer than ten are still alive. The core experimental area is on the first basement level of the east main building; regular guards can't enter. He only knows the location, not the internal structure. At the docks, ships transporting goods to the Mantis Tribe run twice a day, at 4:00 AM and 2:00 PM."

Lu Jianchuan nodded.

"That's perfect."

His voice was very soft, as calm as if he were saying, "We're having noodles tonight."

"Go rescue the others. I'll handle the one on stage. I'm going to make a scene here to draw as much attention as possible."

Wei Ziqing turned his head to look at him.

Lu Jianchuan didn't look back, his eyes still fixed on the arena.

"Take this chance to get everyone out. The detention points, the isolation cells—take everyone you can. Once the commotion starts, the undercover agent will trigger the signal—by then, GUPA's location should be locked as well."

"...And you?"

"I'll leave after I'm done fighting."

Wei Ziqing was silent for a moment.

"Fine."

There was no further conversation.

In the center of the arena, the Event Host was still drawing out his words to build the atmosphere. The mantis slowly raised its forelimbs, and the man finally let out his first wail, sounding barely human.

At that exact moment—

White.

Silver-white.

Beside Wei Ziqing, the crimson orb at the center of the armband on Lu Jianchuan's right arm flashed for an instant. Without charging or pausing, silver-white biological armor spread from his torso to his limbs like liquid metal surging from beneath his skin, solidifying into shape within half a second. Streamlined chest plating, skeletal textures covering the backs of his hands, and sharp lines along his legs—silver skeleton armor covered his entire body.

At almost the same instant.

Behind Wei Ziqing's waist, before the bone sword had even left its sheath, plain white armor unfurled down from his neck and shoulders. Red goggles lit up, and a shimmering skirt-piece floated gently in the windless preparation area.

Two sets of armor, less than two meters apart.

The guards finally turned their heads.

—But it was already too late.

Lu Jianchuan didn't shout "Go," nor did he give any pre-battle speech. He simply glanced at Wei Ziqing and kicked the iron bars open.

The moment the iron gate flew outward, he was no longer where he had stood.

As Lu Jianchuan landed, his fist was already flying.

There were no fancy opening stances. The silver-white armguards trailed a thin streak of light in motion, striking the guard who was turning to raise his gun right in the solar plexus.

The iron chest protector dented inward like paper.

The guard's entire body curled like a shrimp before slamming hard against the rock wall. The gun flew from his hand, and he slid down, silent.

—He was only unconscious. Lu Jianchuan had intentionally shifted his strike by three inches as he pulled back.

Behind him, the loud crash of the iron bars being kicked open hadn't even faded, and the dozen or so people in the preparation area hadn't yet realized what had happened. They only saw two sets of armor they had never seen before—one had already charged out, while the other still stood before them.

Plain white with gold trim.

The red goggles glowed in the dim light of the cavern like a lamp that would never go out.

Wei Ziqing did not look back.

With his back to the kicked-open door, facing a dozen faces where terror had not yet faded, his voice was not loud but steady enough:

"Everyone, follow me."

He paused.

"I will lead you out of here alive."

No one moved.

It wasn't that they didn't want to follow; their legs were weak. Their brains hadn't finished processing the fact that they were being held at gunpoint just moments ago and now this was happening. Meanwhile, that man was still slumped in the center of the arena, and the mantis's scythe had already been raised—

Wei Ziqing did not repeat himself.

He just stood there, waiting.

Three seconds.

The first to stand up was a young woman. She didn't speak, stumbling to Wei Ziqing's side. Then came a second, then a third. The burly man who had previously cursed about "fucking high-paying jobs being a scam" gritted his teeth and scrambled up. As he passed Wei Ziqing, he said gruffly:

"...Thanks."

Without waiting for a response, he rushed out.

Wei Ziqing stepped aside to clear the path, his eyes scanning everyone to ensure no one was left behind before he moved toward the door.

Over at the arena, Lu Jianchuan had already landed.

He didn't charge in a straight line.

A silver-white afterimage traced a zigzag along the edge of the sand, avoiding the path the mantis might immediately intercept, and cut into the center of the field from the side. The man slumped on the ground only felt a blur before his eyes and a tightening at his collar as his entire person was hoisted up.

—And then he flew out.

It wasn't a throw, but a delivery. Lu Jianchuan had neutralized ninety percent of the force, and his direction was precise. The man traced a short arc through the air, landing exactly three meters in front of Wei Ziqing.

Wei Ziqing caught him, smoothly absorbing the momentum and placing the man steadily on the ground.

"Are you all right?"

The man's lips trembled, and he couldn't speak; he just shook his head frantically.

Wei Ziqing didn't press for an answer, giving his shoulder a light pat.

"Alright, let's go."

He stepped aside, letting the man into the group gathering behind him.

—From start to finish, the giant Bone-Armored Mantis in the center of the arena hadn't moved.

It simply withdrew its scythes.

Its compound eyes turned toward Lu Jianchuan. Those organs, composed of thousands of ommatidia, were now all focused on the silver-white armor.

The Event Host was still in the stands, holding his megaphone, mouth agape but unable to make a sound.

The mantis did not pursue the prey that had been released.

It didn't even show any anger at being "provoked."

It simply turned its body fully, forelimbs hanging naturally in a posture almost like "standing at attention" as it faced Lu Jianchuan.

—It was reassessing.

The previous prey was meat. This one was an opponent.

The mantis's antennae twitched slightly.

Then, it raised its right forelimb, the inner side of the scythe facing up and the blade pointed toward itself—the etiquette of the Mantis Tribe before a duel to signify "I accept this battle."

Lu Jianchuan did not return the gesture.

He just watched it, his expression unreadable beneath the silver-white faceplate.

The mantis was not displeased by this.

An opponent not returning the gesture was also an attitude.

Wei Ziqing led the twenty-odd people behind him, moving quickly along the rock wall.

"Where are we going?" a middle-aged man asked, panting as he caught up, the fear from the loud noise back in the arena still lingering in his eyes.

"To rescue people," Wei Ziqing said without stopping. "To get everyone else who is locked up out."

His voice was steady, and he didn't look back: "Then I'll send you to a safe place. People from the authorities will come to pick you up, and then you'll be able to leave."

The group was silent for a few seconds.

Someone asked in a low voice: "Can we... not involve the authorities?"

Wei Ziqing's footsteps paused for a moment.

He didn't ask why. Anyone who could ask that question knew exactly what was going on—criminal records, being on the run, or simply not wanting to be registered in any System.

"This is an island," he said. "If you don't want the authorities, you can figure out a way to leave on your own."

The person didn't say anything else.

After another dozen steps, he heard a mutter from behind, sounding like self-persuasion or perhaps resignation:

"...Forget it. Let's stick with the authorities. At least we'll be alive."

Wei Ziqing didn't respond. He continued to lead the way.

At the corner of the passage ahead, a guard was pacing back and forth with a gun. The man had just heard the footsteps and turned his head—

When Wei Ziqing's figure was already in front of him.

The bone sword left its sheath.

The plain white blade traced a cold arc in the dim corridor. The guard instinctively pulled the trigger, fire spitting as bullets flew toward Wei Ziqing's chest from point-blank range—

Clang, clang, clang.

Three crisp metallic impacts.

Wei Ziqing flicked his wrist slightly, the blade of the bone sword deflecting the bullets with minimal movement, sending a few sparks flying. The deflected bullets embedded themselves into the rock walls on either side, creating fine cracks.

The guard's eyes widened, but he didn't have time to make another move.

The edge of the sword swept across his arm.

It was an extremely shallow cut, like being accidentally nicked by a paper cutter. Yet the man seemed to have all his strength drained away; his body stiffened, the gun fell from his hand, and he collapsed to one side.

He hadn't lost consciousness. But his limbs would no longer obey him, and he could only lie on the ground with wide eyes, like a breathing plaster statue.

Neuroparalytic Toxin. Activation time: 1.7 seconds.

Wei Ziqing sheathed his sword and continued forward without stopping.

The crowd behind him followed silently.

A small, thin man in work clothes suddenly stopped as he stepped over the fallen guard. He looked down at the face lying there—the face that had just been firing at them with a gun.

He raised his foot and kicked the man hard in the face.

The sole of his shoe made a muffled thud against the flesh.

A second and then a third person also stopped to add a kick or two.

No one spoke. There were only silent, venting kicks.

Wei Ziqing didn't look back, nor did he urge them on.

A dozen seconds later, the group stopped on their own and hurried to catch up with the team, panting.

Ahead was another iron door.

Wei Ziqing slashed through the lock with his sword and kicked it open.

Inside the cell, seven or eight people huddled in the corner looked up in terror, squinting against the light and the crowd pouring in from outside.

"You're out," Wei Ziqing said, stepping aside from the doorway. "Follow us."

One cell.

Two cells.

Three cells.

Those deep in the corridors, those near abandoned pipes, those hidden behind camouflaged walls.

Following the locations given by the undercover agent, Wei Ziqing broke through doors one by one and took down guards with single strikes. The bone sword left its sheath seven times, and seven men collapsed, losing all mobility.

The crowd behind him grew larger and larger.

Twenty.

Thirty.

Nearly forty people followed silently behind him, like a river of humanity flowing through the dark rock tunnels.

"Everyone is here now." After confirming the last empty cell, Wei Ziqing turned around, his voice still steady. "Go this way."

He pointed toward a hidden fork deeper in the passage.

"That way leads to the back of the mountain."