Zhou Xiong's eyes held an unshakeable gloom; no one had ever dared to challenge him like this.
What Xu An didn't know was that what appeared to be a fair drawing of lots was actually a carefully laid trap.
Her encountering Zhou Xiong was no accident; it was Zhou Xiong's deliberate design.
After all, what could be more satisfying for revenge than to personally defeat Xu An, Zhou Haimei's "friend," and crush her underfoot?
Zhou Xiong wore a cold smile, waiting for the day Zhou Haimei would cry and beg him.
...
"The contestants for the next match, please take your positions. We will begin in one minute."
Xu An looked down at the number plate in her hand, comparing it to the numbers on the arena. She confirmed that she was the next competitor.
Just as she was about to step forward, a message suddenly came through her communicator. Xu An initially intended to ignore it, but she happened to see that it was from Zhou Haimei.
"Hello, Sister Mei, what's up?"
"Xiao An, have you started your match yet?"
"I'm just about to go on stage, what's wrong?"
"You need to be careful of Zhou Xiong. I just got word that he tampered with the draw. I suspect it's aimed at me, so you absolutely must be careful!"
Zhou Haimei's unfinished words caught in her throat. She knew exactly what kind of person Zhou Xiong was. The fact that he dared to tamper with the draw meant that he had undoubtedly made thorough preparations.
While this competition did not permit the taking of lives, any action that did not result in death was permissible.
There was no guarantee that Zhou Xiong wouldn't intentionally harm Xu An to settle a personal score.
She didn't know how to persuade Xu An to forfeit. Others might not know, but she clearly understood how hard Xu An had worked for this selection competition.
If she were to tell her to give up now, Xu An would certainly not agree. But if she truly went into the match, Zhou Haimei feared that something irrecoverable might happen.
Xu An, on the other end of the communicator, sensed Zhou Haimei's concerns. She hadn't ruled out the possibility of Zhou Xiong tampering with the draw.
Almost as soon as the group matches were announced, when she saw that she was grouped with Zhou Xiong, she had a feeling Zhou Xiong might cause trouble.
Xu An had previously seen the list of their group. Besides herself and Zhou Xiong, the others were also acquaintances.
Not that she knew them personally, but Zhou Haimei had long ago identified everyone participating in the expeditionary competition at the training hall.
The people in their group were all of average strength. Given the usual practices of the organizers, there was no way they would have scheduled her and Zhou Xiong for the first match.
The competition used an elimination system: one-on-one, the winner advanced to the next round, the loser was directly eliminated. Only the top two from each group would proceed.
Xu An knew what Zhou Haimei was hesitating about, but having come this far, she couldn't back down. Besides, it was yet to be seen who would truly emerge victorious.
"Sister Mei, don't worry, I'll be careful."
Zhou Haimei hesitated for a long time before slowly saying, "I'm sorry."
They both knew perfectly well who Zhou Xiong's real target was.
But since Xu An had received Zhou Haimei's protection, she wouldn't blame her now.
On the arena, Zhou Xiong was already standing there. He looked at Xu An with a provocative gaze. Seeing Xu An standing by the edge of the arena, hesitating to come up, he sneered, "What, scared? If you kowtow and apologize to me right now, I might end this match early."
Not only Xu An, but Zhou Haimei on the other end of the communicator also heard Zhou Xiong's provocative words. She was about to curse at him, but then remembered that he couldn't hear her if she did, so she let it go.
"Sister Mei, I'm going up." Xu An didn't show any anger; her face was utterly expressionless.
Xu An ended the communicator and walked up the steps, one by one. She stood on the arena, looking at Zhou Xiong opposite her, and said calmly, "Don't speak too soon. Otherwise, it'll be quite embarrassing when you're begging later."
Zhou Xiong's face flushed with anger. "You little slut, I'll see if you can still talk tough when the time comes."
When Xu An had made her bet with Zhou Xiong earlier, there were many bystanders around. Now, seeing the tense atmosphere between the two, they pushed the spectators' excitement to a fever pitch.
...
"It's Zhou Xiong, Zhou Xiong is a favorite to win. Who is that woman opposite him?"
"Don't know her. She's listed as Xu An on the screen, but I've never heard of her. Is she someone from your mercenary group?"
"No, she seems to have appeared at the training hall recently. She's one of Sister Mei's people."
"One of Zhou Haimei's people..." The man's tone carried a hint of unpredictability, leaving a trailing intonation that invited speculation.
On the arena, amidst the cheers of the surrounding spectators, their figures became entangled.
As Zhou Haimei had predicted, as soon as Zhou Xiong attacked, every move was incredibly fierce, each strike aimed at Xu An's vital points.
Xu An used retreating to advance, leading Zhou Xiong in circles around the arena.
She held back her attacks.
"You're a..."
"What, only good at talking tough?" Xu An deliberately provoked him.
Finally, Zhou Xiong cornered Xu An, completely encircling her.
"Where do you think you're going to run now?" Zhou Xiong grinned menacingly. He reached out to grab Xu An, and his legs were not idle, directly kicking towards Xu An's knee.
Xu An dodged Zhou Xiong's punch by tilting her head, extending a leg to block, and effectively parried Zhou Xiong's leg attack.
Seeing that Xu An had blocked his attack, Zhou Xiong was greatly surprised. He hadn't expected Xu An, as a woman, to be so lacking in strength.
Seeing Xu An about to break free from his encirclement, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
I absolutely cannot lose to this woman! I absolutely cannot fall here!
With this thought, Zhou Xiong's eyes hardened further, his eyeballs turning red. In a moment of Xu An's inattention, he silently crushed a pill with his back molars.
Xu An seized the opportunity to attack Zhou Xiong's opening, but in just a few seconds, Xu An felt that the opponent's movements had become abnormal.
Because of Zhou Haimei's instructions, she had led Zhou Xiong around the arena for a full ten minutes at the start of the match.
Under such intense offense, Zhou Xiong's speed had clearly slowed down.
But just now, as she was about to break free from Zhou Xiong's encirclement and counterattack, Xu An clearly felt that Zhou Xiong's speed had actually increased by several notches.
Xu An couldn't dodge in time and took a punch to her abdomen.
Looking at Zhou Xiong's clearly abnormal expression and his increasingly frenzied eyes, Xu An considered a possibility that was extremely unfavorable to her.
"Zhou Xiong took a special drug."
As soon as this possibility formed in Xu An's mind, Zhou Xiong charged towards her with a gust of wind.
Zhou Xiong's voice was very low, so low that only the two people present could hear it.
"You figured it out? But it's useless even if you did."