109: Colosseum, meet other players

Below the poster, the rules and rewards for participating in the gladiatorial combat were detailed.

Each victory could earn a reward of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of star coins.

If one could win consecutively, the rewards would be even greater, with chances to obtain some rare equipment and skill runestones.

"Feifei, look at this!" Lin Mengzi pointed at the poster, a hint of hesitation in her eyes.

This kind of bloody gladiatorial combat instinctively repelled her.

Lin Fei's eyes, however, lit up.

"Sister, this is a great way to make money fast!" He rubbed his chin.

"These insectoid beasts shouldn't be weak. They'll be perfect for testing my current strength."

"But, won't it be dangerous in there?" Lin Mengzi looked at the poster with worry.

"Don't worry, Sister. Have you forgotten how strong I am now?"

Lin Fei smiled confidently. "This is just a Rank 11 instance. I could poke these big bugs to death with my finger."

"That's true, but you must be careful."

Lin Mengzi knew it was hard to change Lin Fei's mind once he had made a decision, so she could only softly urge him to be cautious.

"Hmm, I will."

Lin Fei followed the instructions on the poster and soon found the registration office for the Giant Insect Arena.

The registration office was bustling with people.

Many capable players and desperate outlaws on the Starship flocked to this bloody game, which offered a quick path to wealth and fame.

After paying a registration fee of one thousand star coins,

Lin Fei received a metal badge engraved with the number "77," along with a simple map of the arena and the rules for participants.

The rules of the competition were simple: a group of people fights a group of bugs, and whoever kills the most wins!

"Mr. Lin Aniu, your first match is scheduled for three o'clock this afternoon. Please arrive at the A-Zone waiting room early to prepare," the staff member in charge of registration said routinely.

Lin Fei nodded, took the badge and the documents, and led Lin Mengzi into the audience stands of the arena first.

They needed to get an idea of the strength of those insect beasts beforehand.

The Giant Insect Arena was less of a venue and more of a massive circular underground pit.

It was incredibly wide.

In the center of the pit was a specially reinforced yellow sand arena, surrounded by towering metal railings and transparent blast-proof glass, separating the audience stands from the bloody battlefield.

At this moment, many people were already sitting in the audience stands.

They were eating chunks of juicy meat while pounding on the tables.

"You damn idiot, stab that bug in the eye!"

"Damn! If this keeps up, I'm going to lose my bet!"

"Useless thing, why did I buy such a waste!"

It seemed that many of the people fighting below were contestants under the command of the powerful figures above.

Lin Fei and Lin Mengzi found a relatively quiet spot to sit and turned their gaze to the arena below.

Soon, a new battle began.

Screech! —

With a harsh sound of metal grinding, the massive gate of the arena slowly rose.

"Roar —!!!"

A deafening roar erupted from within.

Immediately following, a terrifying insect beast, the size of a small car, covered in dark red carapace, with six sharp articulated limbs and a pair of giant sickle-like front pincers,

came crawling out from the gate, panting.

[Name: Akakabuto Sickle Worm (Common-Grade Battle Beast)]

[Rank: Lv25]

[Skills: Carapace Hardening, Sickle Pincer Thrust, Acidic Spray]

[Danger Level: High]

"Oh oh oh! It's an Akakabuto Sickle Worm! I love this guy!" The audience stands immediately erupted in excited cheers.

Then, the gate on the other side of the arena opened, and seven or eight contestants holding various weapons walked out, looking nervous.

Judging by their equipment and the auras they exuded, most of them were between Rank 15 and Rank 20, clearly trying their luck to obtain the reward.

"These people can't possibly be a match for the Sickle Worm," Lin Fei commented.

Sure enough, just as the gong for the match began to sound, the Akakabuto Sickle Worm let out a violent hiss and turned into a dark red blur, pouncing on the contestants.

Splat! Splat!

The sharp sickle pincers swung like scythes, blood splattered, and one figure after another was cut open.

"Ah!!"

"Help me!"

"Don't lose your formation, Mages use fireballs, Archers shoot arrows!"

"Shield Guard, use your taunt skill, help block it!"

"How do you expect me to block this kind of monster? Just dodge it yourself," the tall man holding a shield yelled through gritted teeth.

Although the contestants fought back desperately, unleashing various skills,

their attacks landed on the Akakabuto Sickle Worm's hard carapace, only sparking a few times and failing to cause any effective damage.

Instead, the Sickle Worm seized the opportunity to easily tear their bodies apart, making the scene incredibly bloody.

In just a few minutes, all the contestants were brutally killed under the claws of the Sickle Worm, turning into a pile of minced meat.

Lin Mengzi watched quietly without speaking.

Lin Fei rubbed his chin, his eyes locked on the Akakabuto Sickle Worm, analyzing its attack patterns and weaknesses.

"This bug's carapace is indeed very hard. Ordinary physical attacks are hard to work, and its speed and power are quite impressive. That Acidic Spray also has a corrosive effect," Lin Fei assessed inwardly.

"The abdomen is its weakness."

In the following few matches, the types of contestants and insect beasts varied.

Among the contestants, there were quite a few ruthless characters with strong strength.

Lin Fei noticed that several of the contestants had good coordination and excellent equipment; they were clearly elite pawns trained by some powerful figures. Their goal was not just to kill the insect beasts for rewards,

but to compete for higher rankings and prestige in the arena for their masters.

"The water in this arena is deeper than I imagined," Lin Fei said.

Soon, it was three o'clock in the afternoon, and it was Lin Fei's turn to enter the arena.

He settled Lin Mengzi in a relatively safe position in the audience stands and went to the A-Zone waiting room alone.

In the waiting room, more than a dozen contestants with different expressions had already gathered.

Some were closing their eyes to rest, while others were wiping their weapons.

Lin Fei's arrival did not attract much attention; his not-so-imposing figure made it easy for people to overlook him.

These people included local outlaws on the Starship and experts recruited by powerful factions.

There were also a few guys whose clothing and appearance were clearly different from ordinary people.

They spoke in low voices, but it still couldn't escape Lin Fei's ears.

"Captain, which round is this? When will we be able to save up that one million star coins?" A thin young man with a disproportionately large Sniper rifle on his back fiddled with his weapon in boredom.

"What's the rush!" The one called Captain was a handsome youth wearing an ancient Daoist robe embroidered with Yin and Yang fish patterns. His black hair was like a waterfall, and there was a faint flow of black and white Qi between his eyes.

"I've only saved up over seven hundred thousand so far; we are still far off."

"But since we showed our strength, the gladiatorial matches we participate in are becoming more and more dangerous, but the bounty we earn is also getting higher and higher!"

"I'm afraid that when the time comes, we won't have saved enough. If we miss that medium-sized Starship that the Captain announced after changing course, our mission will be a complete failure."

A hot Female Mage holding a staff added, her tone filled with anxiety.

Although their conversation was quiet, with Lin Fei's sharp hearing, he heard it clearly, and his heart couldn't help but stir.

A one-million star coin route maintenance fee?

The Captain announced a course change?

A medium-sized Starship?

It seems these people are players too!

And they also possess some key intelligence that he doesn't know about.

Just then, the door to the waiting room opened, and a staff member in uniform walked in with a list.

"Number 77, Lin Aniu! Number 11, Ishida Ryunosuke! Number 23, Natasha! Number 35, Barbara..."

As each number and name was read out, the called contestants walked out of the waiting room one after another, heading to their respective preparation areas.

Soon, it was Lin Fei and the Yinyang Master team's turn.

A shrill alarm sounded, ringing out in a long tone.

The gate of the arena opened with a clang.

Lin Fei walked out of the waiting room, and was met with deafening cheers.

He looked around and saw that on the central yellow sand arena, more than a dozen contestants were already standing scattered, with different expressions.

Among them, the youth wearing the Yinyang Daoist robe, as well as the Sniper and the Female Mage beside him, were prominently listed.

They seemed to have noticed Lin Fei as well. The Yinyang Master Captain nodded slightly at Lin Fei, considering it a greeting, with a hint of inquiry in his eyes.

"Roar —!!!"

"Hiss hiss —!!!"

With a few deafening roars and sharp hisses, this time, a full dozen ferocious insect beasts swarmed out from different gates!

Among them were not only the thick-skinned Akakabuto Sickle Worm from before, but also several larger insectoid battle beasts with fleshy wings on their backs that could fly.

There were even several Zerg vanguards that looked like mantises, with huge hand blades on their arms flashing with cold light!

"Damn! So many! And there are flying ones!" The audience stands erupted in even more enthusiastic cheers and screams.

The faces of the contestants competing in the same round also instantly turned ugly.

In previous matches, there were usually only three to five insect beasts. Unexpectedly, this time the number had multiplied several times, and the variety was more complex. Clearly, the arena had deliberately increased the difficulty to increase the spectacle.

"Are you kidding me! How are we supposed to fight this lineup!" A burly man holding a giant axe couldn't help but curse.