Kong Wu’s reaction was by no means inferior. Though he had never trained it specifically, under the long-term stimulation of the Tianwu Killing Dao in his Second Son Arm, his perception of killing intent had become extraordinarily sharp. In a narrow area like the ring, it was indeed difficult for him to avoid Poison Wasp’s sudden assault, but before the strike was launched, having already sensed the killing intent, he had already completed his dodge!
A current of air broke from the prosthetic body that brushed past his side and slapped against Kong Wu’s face. He was just about to chop down with a palm and sever the wasp stinger that clearly needed a certain amount of time to retract, and had even made up his mind that if he could catch it, he would directly perform an inch-force prosthetic-shattering strike!
Yet at the very moment his hand blade was less than ten centimeters from the venomous stinger, the sound of the bronze bell rang out abruptly. A gentle force field directly pushed the two of them apart, and in the end, that strike landed on empty air.
Dissatisfied shouts rang out from the audience stands. Those spectators who had bet on Kong Wu could naturally tell that as long as that strike had landed, it would have been enough to establish an advantage almost impossible to shake.
But seeing the provocative look in Poison Wasp’s eyes across from him, Kong Wu understood. The other party must have calculated the timing precisely. It was precisely because of this ring-exit protection that he dared to use a method that would leave him at a disadvantage the moment it missed.
“Despicable, but it still counts as experience. I may not necessarily use it, but at the very least I’ve realized that enemies might exploit the mechanics.”
Kong Wu thought to himself. Since Kong Wu had no assistant, the manager who had come over to work part-time handed him a sports drink, turning on a fan to cool him down while whispering:
“This is one of Poison Wasp’s usual tricks. He’s a veteran of the arena and very good at exploiting the rules. If you can, avoid getting tangled up near the edge of the ring. Watch out for him knocking you off!”
“Got it.” This time, Kong Wu did not pretend not to hear. He only glanced at the drink.
“You didn’t add anything to it, did you?”
“No. Leaving aside the fact that your flesh-and-blood source energy can easily metabolize it, the use of all kinds of drugs has to be publicly declared before the betting opens. If you didn’t report it, you can’t use it. But I’ve already registered the commonly used medical kit for you.” The manager spoke with a perfectly serious expression, not forgetting to add—
“I also have no need to take my own life, and the future commission you’ll be providing me, just to drag you down with me.”
Although the other party said that, Kong Wu still did not touch the bottle of drink. He merely adjusted his breathing in silence and waited for time to pass.
A mere minute might not be enough for a body of flesh and blood to recover much stamina, but for a prosthetic body, it was more than enough to replace muscle bundles or even energy modules. This was also why boxers whose gimmick was flesh-and-blood source energy were not forbidden from assimilating prosthetics. After all, compared to these conveniences, the tiny boost gained from assimilating prosthetics was hardly worth mentioning.
“Clang!”
The bell rang out once more, marking the beginning of the second round. The boxing ring once again changed from a stage for hot dance performances into a blood-soaked battlefield.
After they stepped onto the ring, the timer began again. But this time, Poison Wasp’s rhythm had changed.
He no longer used feints to intimidate. Instead, like a hornet, he circled, probed, and harassed.
That wasp stinger, extending and retracting at will, hovered half-open and half-closed, as though ready at any moment to pierce bloody holes through Kong Wu’s body.
“It seems Poison Wasp has already realized that Contestant Kong Wu is not an opponent who can be dealt with through fatigue tactics, and has instead switched to his classic bloodletting strategy! Compared to prosthetics, Contestant Kong Wu’s body is obviously much more easily injured. Oh, right, although the tournament forbids the use of strong poisons, toxins that increase pain are permitted. Unfortunately, among the drugs Contestant Poison Wasp registered, he just so happens to have one! Even if this stuff, widely used in the field of torture, is refreshed away by flesh-and-blood source energy, the phantom pain will linger for quite a while!”
The commentator’s schadenfreude-filled voice echoed by his ears, but Kong Wu seemed not to hear it at all. Leaving aside whether he would even be hit, with Abomination on him, the instant he was struck would in itself mean his opponent’s death. No matter how painful it was, a guaranteed-hit three-hundred-shi iron-fist basic attack was not something any prosthetic body below four stars that was not specialized in defense could possibly block! Not to mention throws and EX throws.
With that guarantee, Kong Wu could be said to be facing Poison Wasp with the mentality of the Fourth Calamity facing a tutorial monster. I’m not cheesing you because I’m worried I won’t be able to cheese things later, not because I don’t have a wheelchair to use!
Under this mentality as steady as a father-in-law, Poison Wasp could not find even the slightest opening. Perhaps feeling that the previous reminder had been too obvious, the commentator did not announce the time this round, but the referee standing up still indicated that the second round was about to end.
Was he repeating the same trick, or was it a feint?
Kong Wu looked at Poison Wasp, whose leg prosthetics were clearly accumulating power, yet he did not sense any killing intent. He steadied his mind, and Poison Wasp finally attacked!
But his movement this time was completely different from the attack with which he had previously tried to deliver a killing blow. Those thick-looking pieces of carapace had already linked together into a shield, while the wasp stingers in both hands began spinning like electric fans!
“To cause damage?”
Kong Wu immediately realized the other party’s intention. His right hand clenched in the air, only to loosen in the next instant. He turned, twisted his waist, raised his left hand level, and then chopped down with a palm!
“It’s appeared! Contestant Kong Wu’s hand-blade attack! They are clearly a pair of fleshy palms, yet they can easily cut through D18-grade alloy, and they ignore force-field neutralization, which is enough to show that this is not a force-field blade. I wonder whether Contestant Poison Wasp’s shield-armor system can block—oh! It didn’t block it! The shield-armor system, whose strength reaches D24 grade, was shattered in a single blow. If Contestant Poison Wasp didn’t buy a shoddy product, then Contestant Kong Wu’s strength has improved again! Ah, not good, Contestant Poison Wasp’s prosthetic design is specialized for vital-point relocation. This strike did not produce an effective attack. Ah, Contestant Kong Wu is injured! This is a neurotoxin that would make even a Supa Beast, which almost has no sense of pain, scream in agony…”
“Clang!”
The bell suddenly rang out, and the two were once again separated by the force field. Kong Wu had only a scratch on his forearm, while Poison Wasp’s half-body armor had been cut open.
However, Poison Wasp was smiling extremely happily at this moment. Although Kong Wu’s expression had not changed, his twitching arm was enough to prove that Poison Wasp’s desperate strike had taken effect.
“Do you want painkillers? Although they don’t work very well against this kind of special toxin, it’s still better than nothing.”
“No need.” Kong Wu shook his head. He truly did not need them. The toxin had already been refreshed away by his source energy, and after most of his consciousness had been transferred to other bodies, the little bit of phantom pain remaining in this body’s brain was nothing much.
He only quietly looked at Poison Wasp, who seemed to be replacing his armor plates, and engraved this lesson in his heart. The match might not allow the use of strong poisons, but in reality, that would not necessarily be the case.
The bell rang again. Kong Wu slowly walked onto the ring, and across from him, Poison Wasp had changed into a different appearance. The thick armor from before had vanished entirely, replaced by a prosthetic frame that looked extremely gaunt.
“My heavens! Contestant Poison Wasp has shed his armor! It seems he intends to end the battle in this third round. The only question is whether Contestant Kong Wu can keep up—”
Before the words had even finished, Poison Wasp had already vanished. In Kong Wu’s eyes, the movement was so straightforward, but that speed had truly reached the limits of this body’s reaction.
He had to take this seriously!
Feng Xue’s consciousness began to descend, and then…
“Ah—!!!”
An incomparably shrill scream erupted in that instant. The sound was so loud it nearly shattered the huge screen hanging high above the ring. And when everyone recovered from that scream that was like the scene of a pig being slaughtered magnified hundreds of times, Poison Wasp had already turned into a wasp pancake…
Staring in astonishment at the flattened corpse that looked as if it had been trampled by a toothed rhinoceros beast, the commentator blankly began replaying the footage. Only then did he belatedly shout—
“K.O.!!!!! The winner is, Kong—Wu—!!!”