Chapter 31: Standing Out

“Hahahaha, good, good!”

The Blood General stood up and patted Qiao Jun on the shoulder with satisfaction, seemingly delighted to have gained a capable subordinate.

His hoarse, night-owl-like laughter echoed over the ruins. The Scavengers of the Dawn Gathering Place all turned pale, their eyes filled with terror, as if they had already foreseen their own miserable fate.

Unlike the Dawn Gathering Place, a survivor settlement that still maintained some order, the Blood General’s Crimson Territory was undoubtedly a chaotic and lawless brutal place. There, the Blood General was the absolute dictator, holding the power of life and death. The thousands of survivors in the territory were all his personal property, working tirelessly for him day and night.

Those with skills in mechanics, forging, planting, and such were better off. People like them, who had no special skills, would likely become the lowest-tier laborers and coolies in the Crimson Territory, eventually worked to death under cruel exploitation.

Yet they had no choice at all.

Qiao Jun stood beside the Blood General, his face ashen, silent like a puppet. Then, a few underlings carried over the Scavengers’ bundles and presented them to the Blood General like offerings.

“General, look, these fat sheep even picked some Spiritual Fruit!”

The Blood General swept his gaze over them, revealing a very satisfied expression. “Pure Qi Fruit, huh? Not bad, not bad. Although it’s a common-grade Spiritual Fruit, this type is quite rare. And with such a large quantity, Qiao Jun, you’ve really given me quite a few surprises.”

Qiao Jun’s face twitched, and he said in a low voice, “We were just lucky and found a Spiritual Plant not occupied by Radiation Species.”

He couldn’t help but glance at his teammates, knowing that once these Scavengers were taken back to the Blood General’s territory, they would inevitably be split up and turned into laborers. Their situation wouldn’t be any good. He tried to plead for them. “General, what do you plan to do with my companions? Could they continue to follow me?”

“You mean them?”

The Blood General glanced at the other trembling Scavengers, as if remembering something. He turned his head and said thoughtfully,

“As for these fellows… Tie Shan, how many more people can our vehicle hold at most?”

The bald, burly man called Tie Shan immediately understood the Blood General’s meaning and chuckled sinisterly.

“General, we’ve had quite a haul this time. Most of the extra space in the vehicle is already filled, and there’s hardly any room left. Adding these bundles, I estimate… we can only fit four more people at most?”

“Four… four it is, then.”

The Blood General chuckled, his tone teasing.

“Qiao Jun, unfortunately, including you, I’m afraid I can only take four people.”

Qiao Jun’s expression changed slightly. He didn’t believe the Blood General would be so kind as to let the rest go. He immediately asked uneasily, “What about the remaining people?”

“What remaining people?”

As if thinking of an interesting idea, a cruel curve slowly formed at the corner of the Blood General’s mouth. His gaze swept over Chen Chong and the other eight Scavengers, and he spoke unhurriedly.

“My territory doesn’t keep useless people. Of course, I must choose the fiercest, the ones who dare to fight and kill. I’ll give you nine a chance. Your captain is already my subordinate and has taken one spot. That means I can take at most three of you back to the territory.”

“Then, let’s decide those three lucky ones through a gladiator match! The rules are very simple: barehanded, your fists, feet, and teeth are your weapons!”

“Fight, kill each other! The last three remaining won’t have to be lowly labor slaves. They’ll drink and eat meat, becoming glorious warriors and hunters under my command!”

“A friendly reminder: the time limit for the gladiator match is thirty minutes. If you keep being polite and courteous without fighting, then I will kill you all!”

Roar!

Hearing the Blood General’s bloody, cruel, and vicious declaration, the dozens of thugs present burst into bestial cheers. Everyone wore crazed expressions, revealing a thirst for blood, like demons dancing wildly!

Amid this hellish scene, Chen Chong’s expression was calm, his eyes deep, his thoughts unknown. The Scavengers, however, were already gritting their teeth, faces drained of color.

Nearby, Qiao Jun’s scalp tingled. He could no longer hold back and shouted, “General! You can’t! They are, after all, my… Ah!”

Before Qiao Jun could finish, he let out a scream under the Blood General’s cold, staring gaze. He collapsed as if pierced by ten thousand arrows, writhing in pain on the ground.

The Blood General glanced at Qiao Jun at his feet and sneered. “Qiao Jun, you have potential, but don’t challenge my bottom line. This is the second warning. If you dare openly defy my decision again, I’ll have the Bloodline Gu bite through your heart. Understand?”

Qiao Jun was utterly powerless to resist, twitching and trembling amidst pained howls. The Blood General ignored him, raised his hand, and laughed wildly.

“Boys, help them clear a battlefield! Prepare to enjoy their performance!”

Immediately, under the direction of the leader Tie Shan, half the thugs watched Chen Chong and the others to prevent them from making any moves, while the other half quickly cleared an open space of several dozen square meters. Then, Chen Chong and the other eight Scavengers were gathered in this clearing, surrounded by over thirty thugs, who shouted with excitement.

“Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!”

Amid the malicious shouts, all the Scavengers except Chen Chong looked at each other in shock and rage, their expressions struggling, but no one made a move.

After all, those present were teammates they had once faced life and death with. How could they bring themselves to fight in a moment?

Under the moonlight, amid the boiling cheers, the Blood General sat on a human chair, smiling as he observed everything in the arena.

He knew the evil of human nature clearly. These Scavengers simply hadn’t broken free from the last moral restraints in their hearts yet. He believed that as time passed, someone would eventually lose patience. Then, their madness and bestiality would erupt from their instincts, turning them into desperate beasts fighting for survival, presenting him with a spectacular death performance.

“Fight!”

“Do it, idiots!”

“Hahaha, if you don’t fight, the General will kill you all soon!”

Time passed bit by bit. The thugs in the surrounding circle clamored and reveled, while the expressions of the Scavengers in the arena grew more and more conflicted, more and more shaken.

“I have something to say!”

At that moment, however, a thunderous shout overpowered the boiling clamor, ringing out abruptly.

Immediately after, everyone saw Chen Chong, dressed in prison clothes, step out from the crowd in the mad thugs’ encirclement. He walked step by step toward the Blood General, took a deep breath, and spoke loudly.

“There is a piece of news that I believe the General will definitely be interested in! And I believe that if the General misses this news, he will surely regret it and find it a pity!”