The Divine Ladle

Xu Kai's body was still trembling. In his daze, it felt as though he were still lying in the arena, sprawled on the ground like a rag.

After a long while, his body finally registered that the arena was gone. Xu Kai breathed hard, a sharp pain shooting through his lungs with every breath. His hands and legs were numb. He closed his eyes, let out a long breath, and fell back into his seat. The chair squealed beneath him.

The monster's final roar still rang in Xu Kai's ears.

He tilted his head back again, and in his black-and-white vision, Xu Kai could finally make out that he was sitting in the same spot as he had at noon. What was more, the table and chair were intact—the same ones he had used before.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

It was an instinctive reaction. After escaping such tremendous harm, Xu Kai's body began to retch involuntarily, beyond his control.

After coughing like that for a long time, Xu Kai finally recovered from the reaction. His whole body was covered in scabs, formed when the Weird Energy inside him had forcibly pulled his shattered tissues together and barely held them in place.

His mouth felt dry, his head buzzed, and the black-and-white world swayed before him. But Xu Kai focused his gaze on the button on the table and forced himself to press it. He held it down until the light on the table turned green.

The green light meant he was in the queue. The cafeteria served meals to the entire hospital, so its serving windows and queues were extremely complicated. Even the route Xu Kai would take to collect his meal once his number was called was exceedingly complicated.

Xu Kai rested where he was for a while. Thanks to Evil's unreasonable regenerative ability, he came awake from the nightmare and could just barely make out his surroundings.

The first thing he did was check the clock hanging by the serving window. It read 6:05 p.m. It wasn't too late for Xu Kai to start queuing.

Xu Kai leaned back against his chair. A phantom pain appeared in his right hand. Some of the Weird Energy in that hand was missing, and the phantom pain belonged to that energy.

That Weird Energy was now with Leng Chong, disguised inside a toothpick jar. The moment the phantom pain appeared, Xu Kai knew Leng Chong was contacting him.

"What is it?"

"Brother Xu Kai, I found where Nurse Lin is sitting. Should we go over and kill her?"

"Sure, no problem. Where do we meet?"

"Cough, cough. Let's not meet up. She's in booth four, across from elevator three. How about we head straight there?"

"That works. Leave now?"

"Of course."

After their exchange, Xu Kai made no further move. He stayed sprawled in his chair, resting and recuperating. Not only that, he kept track of the time, and when he figured enough had passed, he used the toothpick jar to tell Leng Chong:

"I'm already here. Why haven't you arrived yet?"

"...I'm hiding behind booth four. Shall we make our move together?"

"Okay!"

After that, there was another stretch of silence. Then Leng Chong sent the first message:

"How did it go? Did you kill her?"

"Almost. She ran off badly injured. Hurry and stop her!"

"...Brother Xu, do I look like an idiot to you?

"Then, Brother Leng Chong, do I look like an idiot to you?"

Sensing the words formed by the Weird Energy in the toothpick jar, Leng Chong clicked his tongue. He hadn't managed to fool him.

He stopped communicating and forced himself to reach out, the muscles in his face tightening hard,

Then, seeing that the Weird Energy in the toothpick jar was still very active, Leng Chong carefully enclosed the jar in an ice shell he had formed.

Xu Kai's Weird Energy had been sluggish for a while earlier, but now it was too active again. For the moment, Leng Chong couldn't judge what condition Xu Kai was in.

At the time, the three of them had all been badly injured and sent flying by the monster. Leng Chong's vision had gone completely dark, and all he could think about was escaping with his life. He had no attention to spare for the other three.

Now that Leng Chong had recovered somewhat, he naturally had to test the waters. After all, only one person could survive this instance.

He carefully enclosed the toothpick jar in the ice shell. The Weird Energy inside sat there like a grand old master, not moving an inch as it let Leng Chong do as he pleased.

Naturally, Leng Chong didn't dare underestimate Xu Kai. He thickened the ice shell to three centimeters, until the whole ball of ice was nearly the size of a basketball. He had used almost all the strength he could still muster.

He discovered that even with the ice this thick and his own Weird Energy surrounding it, he still couldn't sever the connection between that mass of Weird Energy and Xu Kai. What was more, its quality was simply too high. Leng Chong could feel the violent power within it.

He sealed the toothpick jar securely away. Just then, his number appeared at the cafeteria window, and Leng Chong set off.

He supported his ankles with Weird Energy, pulling his muscles along as he drew on the energy. He walked extremely unnaturally, but this was already the best he could manage. He was lucky to have recovered this much in such a short time.

Leng Chong walked carefully along, and when he reached the front, he suddenly noticed that he wasn't the only one walking so strangely.

In another passage, two other people were walking that way on their feet. Their gaits were so odd that Leng Chong noticed them at once. When he saw their faces, he understood.

They were Xu Kai and Nurse Lin. The two of them were queuing at this time as well. All three saw one another, and all three were limping.

When the three met, they smiled and greeted one another.

"Heh, none of you are dead yet? How about we stay after dinner?"

Nurse Lin drew her knife. It had a few cracks in it, which were slowly healing.

"Feeling cocky? Brother Xu Kai and I are working together. Two against one, and you're asking for death? Bring it on!"

Leng Chong held himself upright, putting on an imposing show. In truth, even his waist was held straight by a backplate of ice he had formed. Without Weird Energy, Leng Chong couldn't even stand.

Only Xu Kai waved a hand and said:

"Quit your bullshit, all of you. In the state we're in, we'll be lucky if we get into the elevator without being bitten to death by the people lying there. Just get your food and stop fucking bragging!"

"Hmph!"

Judging by her tone, Nurse Lin seemed to disagree with Xu Kai, but she put her knife back into her sleeve, took a cane out of it, and used it to make her way to get her food right in front of the two men.

"Hmph!"

Not to be outdone, Leng Chong conjured an ice cane. Because he didn't have enough Weird Energy, he only managed to produce a short little stick. He didn't mind, though. Bending over it for support, he shuffled toward another serving window, hunched like an old man.

Xu Kai shook his head. Weird Energy poured out of his legs like probing tentacles, pulling him along by an indirect means.

The serving window was large and wide, with queue barriers laid out in front of it. The line was orderly.

Xu Kai stepped up to the serving window. The one dishing out his food was the same Fat Auntie who had swung the ladle earlier.

"Auntie, my eyes haven't felt right lately. What should I eat to help them?"

Fat Auntie looked up at Xu Kai, scooped a heaping ladleful of food from beside her into his meal box, and said:

"If you're sick, ask a doctor! I can't treat you! If you're hungry, I'll make sure you're fed! You've got your food, so get moving. There's a long line behind you!"

After she said that, Xu Kai still wanted to take a look, but Fat Auntie waved her ladle to hurry him along, pushing him toward the exit.

Xu Kai had originally wanted to ask more questions, but the instant she swung the ladle, he suddenly stopped thinking about them and concentrated on carrying his meal back to his seat.

He was making his way back unconsciously, so he was off guard as he walked. Even the Weird Energy supporting him withdrew into his body.

In an instant, the pain in his ankles shot into his brain. The muscles in his legs had long since been torn to pieces, and Xu Kai nearly fell. Fortunately, he came to his senses and immediately steadied his meal, keeping it from spilling.

Only then did Xu Kai realize that he hadn't asked a single one of his questions before Fat Auntie drove him away.

Now conscious of it, Xu Kai decided to take a risk. He immediately turned around, crossed the queue barrier, and rushed up to Fat Auntie. Speaking as fast as he could, he asked:

"Auntie, what's going on with the people lying there? Why do you have to wave them away as soon as you open the serving window?"

"Can't you just eat your food? Those patients are like this every day. If I don't drive them away, they'll snatch the food. What would you eat after they took it all? Always sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. Get going!"

With that, Fat Auntie started to swing her ladle. Xu Kai hurriedly reached out to touch it, his index finger reaching the edge first. He could feel many fine lines on the ladle, but just as Xu Kai fully wrapped his hand around it, Fat Auntie's kindly expression vanished.

Her face turned cold. Xu Kai felt as though he were a small boat on a sea lashed by a raging storm, and his body couldn't stop trembling. The terror was even more intense than what he had felt from the monster in the arena.

"Die!"

Fat Auntie said the word, and Xu Kai found his body shattering completely the moment it was spoken. He fell into darkness.