Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Fighting
Due to Nanya Island’s isolated location, the chances of a prisoner escaping were virtually nonexistent. The only way out was to survive until their sentence was served. However, every inmate sent here was a serious felon serving a sentence of ten years or more. For them, the gladiatorial matches were the only opportunity to become a cut above the rest.
Luo Kai was naturally envious, but he didn’t know how to fight. Besides, a fistfight and a fight to the death were two completely different things. In the final stages of the tournament, the prisoners fought like wild animals, using every means possible to bring down their opponents—biting, clawing, anything went. The winner often achieved only a pyrrhic victory, while the loser would never see another sunrise.
Furthermore, the entire system was rife with corruption. The Prison Tyrants cultivated their own factions among the inmates, formed secret alliances, and even manipulated the matches. Anyone who showed the potential to challenge them was ruthlessly persecuted.
To make control easier, the prison administration didn’t just turn a blind eye; they actively encouraged participation in the matches. All they had to do was control the five Prison Tyrants, and anyone planning an escape or harboring other rebellious thoughts would inevitably be discovered by the Tyrants’ vast network of informants.
Of course, Luo Kai knew none of this. The old, white-haired man, Li Gui, was the one who told him. The five condemned men had gradually grown familiar from "commuting" to and from work together. Strictly speaking, ’familiar’ was too strong a word; they merely knew each other’s names.
Li Gui was savvy with people and was doing well for himself among the prisoners. No one knew what methods he used, but he had somehow become as close as brothers with one of the Prison Tyrants.
The Four-armed Giant had no name, only a codename: Shisan. He was taciturn and took no part in any inmate activities, even refusing an invitation to join a small clique of fellow Mutants. The guards had even considered promoting him to be the sixth Prison Tyrant, an offer he also rejected. He was like an unyielding reef, battered by the waves but forever unchanging. Only the occasional desolation that surfaced in his large, bell-like eyes betrayed a hint of his inner emotions.
The black man was named Grant, and he was also in high demand. He was now one of a Prison Tyrant’s key enforcers, responsible for eliminating potential rivals.
The last one was a small, skinny man named Dicky. Because of his size, he was an object of ridicule when he first arrived. But then, prisoners who bullied him started turning up dead, usually from a sudden fall off the mountain the very next day. After this happened three times in a row—every bully dying from some inexplicable cause—no one dared to mess with him again, even though there was no evidence linking him to the deaths.
Luo Kai really disliked Dicky, because he had personally seen Dicky hit a prisoner’s ankle with a small stone, causing him to slip down a slope and die from his injuries. That time, Dicky had intentionally let him see. After it was done, he even smiled at Luo Kai. The cruelty in his eyes reminded Luo Kai of a vicious wolf from a nature documentary.
In comparison, Luo Kai was the most unremarkable of the five. He would always try to endure any provocation, only fighting back when he had absolutely no other choice. And when he did fight, he was usually the one getting beaten. Perhaps it was because Luo Yang’s soul came from a civilized world, but he struggled to adapt to the brutal law of survival here. He knew he had to become cold-blooded and vicious, yet he couldn’t change his fundamental nature overnight.
Every night around midnight, Luo Kai persisted in digging his tunnel. Because he had changed direction, half of the tunnel he had already dug was now useless. During this time, not only had he been unable to see Shui Su, but even the Big Gray Rat hadn’t come to find him. Everything that had happened those days felt like a dream.
The work of digging the tunnel was arduous and long. Over the past year, Luo Kai’s mind had been forged into something incredibly tough. ’Right now, I have nothing but time. I hope that time can not only wear away the scars on my Physical Body but also fade the longing I feel for my family from my past life.’
「...」
Today was the founding day of the Dongyuan Upper Country. Since the Xingma Kingdom was a vassal state of the Dongyuan Upper Country, it also had to hold celebrations. The mine, for the first time ever, served an extra meal. The counters of the open-air cafeteria were piled high with steamed rice balls. You could see that inside them, there was not only green vegetables but also snow-white fish meat.
The prisoners lined up in a long queue, their eyes full of longing. Luo Kai also held his battered iron bowl, drooling as he stared at the fragrant rice balls. They were always served thin soup here; he had almost forgotten what solid food tasted like.
When it was finally his turn, the burly cook glanced at him. Perhaps because they were both Yellow, the cook added a large piece of salted fish, grilled to a golden brown, to his bowl. This was the kind of food that only foremen and guards were allowed to enjoy. Luo Kai nodded gratefully at the stout cook, then hurriedly carried his bowl to a less crowded corner to chow down.
Another group of prisoners in the corner had already finished eating and were about to leave. When they saw the grilled fish in Luo Kai’s bowl, their eyes turned green with envy. One of them, a tall white prisoner, snatched Luo Kai’s iron bowl and started to walk away.
Luo Kai was stunned for a moment. He recognized the white man as a notorious scoundrel in the mine nicknamed Wai Gou. Relying on the fact that he was one of the first lackeys to follow the Prison Tyrant Fat Dragon, he often bullied new prisoners. Luo Kai quickly stood up, grabbed his clothes, and roared, "Give it back!"
Wai Gou slowly turned around, a cold sneer on his face. "You piece of shit," he falsely accused, "you dare to steal my stuff?!" Before the words had even left his mouth, he suddenly raised his hand and slapped Luo Kai across the face, then smashed the iron bowl down over his head.
Luo Kai was dazed by the slap. Before he could react, the half-eaten rice ball was dumped on his head. But Wai Gou wasn’t finished. He lifted his foot and kicked Luo Kai in the stomach.
Luo Kai clutched his stomach and fell to the ground. ’I never bully anyone, yet these people always single me out.’ A wave of violent rage surged up from within him. With a roar, he charged straight at Wai Gou.
Wai Gou hadn’t expected the skinny monkey to dare to fight back. He raised his fists and began raining blows on Luo Kai’s face.
The two were quickly locked in a brawl. Luo Kai didn’t know how to fight; he just used his brute strength to wrap his arms around Wai Gou’s waist, trying to tackle him to the ground.
Wai Gou, however, was an extremely experienced fighter and far stronger than Luo Kai. It wasn’t long before he had Luo Kai pinned to the ground, hammering heavy punches into his face. Blood splattered everywhere, and Luo Kai’s face instantly swelled up like a pig’s head.
Seeing a fight break out, the other prisoners immediately gathered around in excitement. No one tried to break it up; instead, they all jeered and cheered.
Pinned to the ground, Luo Kai had no strength to fight back. After a while, Wai Gou seemed to get a little tired. He spat viciously on Luo Kai, then stood up smugly, about to saunter off. But just as he turned, he felt a sudden tightness around his waist. The damn kid on the ground had lunged at him again. This infuriated him. "Son of a bitch! You’re looking to die, aren’t you!" he roared, immediately swinging his fists in retaliation.
The two grappled together once more. Wai Gou’s strength was clearly flagging; he could no longer dominate the fight as he had before, and it became more of a back-and-forth struggle. This time, Luo Kai had learned his lesson. ’My strength is no match for his; I’ll just end up taking a beating.’ So he simply wrapped one arm tightly around Wai Gou’s waist, completely ignoring the rain of fists on his body, and used his other hand to pummel Wai Gou’s kidneys.
A long time later, Luo Kai spat out a mouthful of blood, staggered to his feet, and looked down at Wai Gou, who had passed out from the pain. He spat viciously on his face, then looked down, searching for his food bowl. ’Getting beaten up is nothing,’ he thought. ’But losing my bowl would be a real problem.’
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