That night, Feng Xue was playing a little game of close personal protection with Lika when he suddenly sensed a sharp gaze. He shivered despite himself and instantly entered sage time.
Seeing that Lika had no reaction at all, he knew where that gaze had come from and sighed.
“It’s not exactly appropriate to suddenly appear behind someone like that, is it?”
“And is it appropriate for you to amuse yourself while I’m working so hard?”
Suxin fixed her eyes on Feng Xue. For a moment, she really did have the air of a cyber ghost woman.
“This isn’t amusement. It’s close personal protection.”
Before Feng Xue could speak, Lika propped herself up, her unfocused eyes turning in Suxin’s direction.
“Ms. Suxin, your current work is to organize and translate the sword manuals. If you require leave, you may apply in advance, but please do not interfere with my work.”
“Hah?!” Suxin’s eyes widened, and she snapped, “Whose close personal protection looks like this? Shouldn’t you be guarding outside the door, listening to the sounds inside the room, and then doing this and that?”
“I do not quite understand what you mean, but Master’s physiological health is also part of the ‘life, property, and health’ I am tasked with protecting. Compared to seeking out an untrustworthy female to engage in behavior that may endanger his safety, it is only by having me, who possesses the corresponding functions, perform the task that Master’s safety can be maximally guaranteed. In addition, I am equipped with a force-field generator module. In the event of an attack, the closer I am to Master, the faster I can bring him within the protective field.”
Lika’s tone carried that uniquely cold texture of an AI, infuriating Suxin until she was practically steaming red. Unfortunately, in her female ghost state, she had no physical body whatsoever, and it was impossible for her to actually fly up and chop this robot apart with a sword. She could only puff out her cheeks and mutter incomprehensible things like “the study materials weren’t like this, you should…” while sniffling as she flew toward the study. Whether she was truly crying or just crafting a persona, no one knew, but it had to be said—Feng Xue was rather fond of this sort of thing.
Sadly, she had no physical body!
“Do you need to continue the mission?” Lika’s voice cut in at just the right time, even giving Feng Xue the feeling that these two were competing for favor. But with the atmosphere like this now…
“In any case, let’s sleep first.”
…
At the same time, under that same curtain of night, no one knew how many thousands of li away, amid the clamor of countless people, Kong Wu, who had completed his full-body modification, finally returned to this arena to which he was so devoted.
“You’ve been gone so long I thought you’d run off!”
Seeing Kong Wu’s highly recognizable face, the broker immediately came over.
Kong Wu said indifferently, “It just took some time to assimilate the new body.”
Hearing Kong Wu say that, the broker’s brow twitched, but immediately after, a look of approval appeared on her face.
Blood-Flesh Origin Energy had always been nothing more than a gimmick, but even after assimilating a high-grade prosthetic body, one’s stats would still show a noticeable drop among others of the same level. Because of that, the broker—and the boxing ring behind her—had never forbidden Blood-Flesh Origin Energy fighters from assimilating prosthetic bodies, as long as it could not be seen from the outside.
So—
“How’s the assimilation level? There are still a few days before the final deadline. If it’s no good, you can rest a bit longer.”
“You actually know how to care about people?” Kong Wu looked at the broker, surprise showing on his face. The broker’s expression darkened when she heard that.
“Mainly, you vanished without a sound for more than half a month. So according to the rules, your opponent this match will have a bit of a punitive nature. If you die because you’re in poor condition, my share will be reduced too.”
“Oh. Didn’t you say it was fine as long as I fought once a month? It’s not time yet, is it?”
Because of the commotion on the main body’s side, Kong Wu’s tone inevitably carried a hint of flippancy. The broker did not care in the slightest and merely said in a calm, somewhat cold voice,
“Normally, there wouldn’t be a problem. But your identity can’t be found at all. We can’t even find any trace of you leaving the lawless zone. Under those circumstances, the contract is almost treated as invalid by default. If you don’t show up for a long time, the higher-ups will naturally start having ideas.”
“Oh. So does that mean I won’t be able to leave after this?” Kong Wu was utterly fearless. He was now occupying a five-star prosthetic body, with strength, charge, and enhancement all maxed out. He could uproot the entire lawless zone, and besides, the evacuation point was right behind him. There was nothing for him to be afraid of.
“It’s not to that extent. After all, you’re Blood-Flesh Origin Energy. Not using your true appearance is normal to begin with. That’s why I said your next match will be punitive in nature. If you win, you’ll be judged as possessing upper-division strength. For fighters of that level, we’re much more lenient. But if you lose, then you’re just someone with no ability who still dared to provoke us. If you die, you deserve it.”
The broker’s words carried undisguised coldness, but Kong Wu only heard the first half.
“So if I win this match, I can move up to the upper division?”
“It only means you have upper-division strength. However, if your performance is dazzling enough, I can help you apply for a promotion match. But it’s still the same as before: before the Masters, you can’t lose the Blood-Flesh Origin Energy label. If you have any abilities that still exceed normal human function after assimilation, you’d best not use them either. Otherwise, your value will drop accordingly. As for fighters whose value is insufficient… you understand what I mean.”
Hearing the broker’s reminder, Kong Wu nodded.
“Then I really do have to thank you for the warning. But the thing I installed this time is very powerful! That tester or whatever—there won’t be a problem if I kill him, right?”
“Don’t worry. Tasks like this are usually given to fighters demoted from the upper division. But don’t be careless. Although losing several matches in a row in the upper division sounds humiliating, being able to keep one’s life through three consecutive losses—and even maintain combat strength—is a skill in itself.”
The broker could be considered attentive toward her money tree, tirelessly explaining all the various details of a punitive match.
However, at this moment, the main event had yet to begin, and there was not much consciousness in Kong Wu’s body. He basically did not take any of it in. No matter how much was said, it all came down to fighting.
Faced with Kong Wu’s attitude, the broker simply took it as overconfidence. While inwardly hoping that his new body really was strong enough, she also felt a headache over this guy’s personality.
“But no matter what, at least I can still take commission from one more match!”
As the broker thought this, her terminal suddenly pinged. She glanced at it and immediately said,
“The match has been arranged. It’s in two hours, as the finale before tonight’s Masters. Your opponent is skilled at explosive bursts…”
“Two hours, huh… Then I’ll sleep for a bit first.”
“Aaaah!” Seeing that Kong Wu had actually closed his eyes as if no one else were around, the opponent information the broker had just pulled up immediately froze there. If not for her professional integrity, she would have used the vocal-cord prosthetic she had installed for her part-time announcing work to show this bastard what a super alarm clock was!
…
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for waiting! This next match will be no less exciting than tonight’s closing performance! He is a body of mere flesh and blood with no active prosthetics! He is the slaughter maniac who has maintained an undefeated record in the middle division! After nearly a month of extreme adjustments, he has finally returned like lightning! Let us welcome, standing at 182 centimeters and weighing 87 kilograms, winning every match by K.O., the Muscle Demon from the mysterious Great Yan—Kong! Wu!”
“And today, this expert who has been stomping his way through the middle division will finally meet his opponent! Demoted from the upper division after three consecutive losses, possessing formidable burst power and lethality while also being extremely skilled at preserving his life, standing at 175 centimeters, weighing 90 kilograms, and with a kill record of 143—the deadly hunter, Poison! Bee!”