Being Targeted

"Heh, we all thought you were going to fall, but then you ran into that rookie..."

"Jinsha, teach him a lesson... Heavens Arena has been heavily promoting that kid lately... Don't embarrass us."

A few days later, in a lounge on the 200th floor of Heavens Arena.

Jinsha sat before the vanity, pale as a sheet, her head lowered and her mind clearly elsewhere.

Usually, she dressed flamboyantly, but for some reason... her hair was a mess today, and she had not even put on her signature lipstick.

She looked like she had lost her soul...

Competitors above the 200th floor all had private preparation rooms before their matches.

Several Nen users stood by the door. They were all "friends" who often spent time with Jinsha.

To them, facing Oboro meant not only getting a free win, but also a chance to make a name for themselves!

They had not reached the 200th floor as smoothly as Oboro had, much less drawn such enormous attention.

They had only been forced to "come into contact" with Nen after reaching the 200th floor.

After being eliminated, they had resumed their training and returned to Heavens Arena once they became Nen users... But with their prior records, they were no longer unfamiliar faces, could not be called newcomers, and were even less likely to be dark horses...

Even a winning streak would never generate the same momentum as Oboro's... Audiences were like that. They loved watching an unknown nobody rise to prominence with overwhelming force.

Those who already had some fame... were not nearly as well received.

"Jinsha, what's wrong with you... Did you even hear what we said?"

A woman with her hair in buns and two daggers tucked into her waist leaned against the doorframe, glanced at Jinsha, and frowned.

"Ah."

Jinsha came back to herself, her gaze vacant.

"Damn it! What's gotten into you... You've kept yourself locked in your room ever since you came back three days ago, and now... you're spacing out again." The bun-haired woman scolded her.

"What were you saying?"

Jinsha continued.

"We said you should give that guy called Oboro a proper beating... When he registered that day, a few of us already tested him. He knows Nen too, but he probably just got started..." repeated a fat man in green.

However, before he could finish.

The moment Jinsha heard Oboro's name, her expression changed.

She instinctively covered her ears with both hands, her limbs twitching uncontrollably...

"Hm?"

The Nen users exchanged looks.

What was going on? "Get out! All of you, get out!"

Suddenly, Jinsha screamed as though she had gone mad.

"Is she crazy?"

The Nen users had no idea what was happening. They stared at the tightly shut door, annoyed and bewildered.

Heavens Arena was especially lively today, with several times its usual foot traffic.

The reason for such popularity... was that Heavens Arena's hottest star, the "Suit Thug" Oboro, was about to have his first arena match since reaching the 200th floor.

And in many people's eyes, competitors who reached the 200th floor were no longer merely Fighters... To some extent, they could be called masters of the martial path. Any one of them had fought their way through countless Fighters to reach the top as an absolute powerhouse.

It was not just the audience looking forward to this match.

The venue was still packed to the brim, with even the aisles crammed full of people.

Heavens Arena knew how to build excitement too, arranging a grand opening.

Golden confetti, dazzling lights... and a young female host with a clear, impassioned voice.

Amid deafening cheers, Jinsha appeared first and stepped onto the stage... Yet the mere few dozen meters seemed unimaginably difficult for her... Her face was deathly pale, her body trembling faintly... Even the host noticed something was wrong and joked that perhaps she had not rested well.

Then another wave of cheers surged forth, nearly lifting off the roof.

The long-awaited Oboro finally appeared... Dressed in a crisp black suit, hands in his pockets, he walked slowly toward the arena.

Meanwhile, the host recounted all the records Oboro had set in Heavens Arena...

The instant Jinsha saw Oboro onstage, she instinctively backed away several steps. Her pupils lost focus, and a fine sheen of sweat emerged on her forehead.

In her eyes, the entire arena had gone dark, leaving only Oboro's figure... The man carried himself with lazy elegance, a faint smile lingering at the corner of his lips.

"Do as I told you."

"Otherwise... I'll hang your corpse from the tip of Heavens Arena's tower."

"Just skin... no flesh..."

"Don't even think about running... I'll be watching you the whole time."

All at once, the man's devilish whispers and warnings echoed through Jinsha's mind.

Every approaching step of Oboro's dress shoes striking the floor was like a massive hammer slamming into the woman's heart, leaving her unable to breathe.

After another round of introductions from the host, the match finally began.

The referee blew the whistle...

But... neither Oboro nor Jinsha moved.

"Hm?"

Oboro raised an eyebrow. What he had told the woman was that they would put on a brief fake fight, then he would deliberately expose an opening and let her defeat him.

That would conveniently fulfill her wish as well.

Oboro had not moved because he was waiting for the woman to attack first...

But Jinsha showed no fighting spirit at all when facing him. Even taking a simple step forward seemed immensely difficult for her.

Even her breathing had begun to quicken...

"Did I go too far?"

Oboro realized there was a problem.

Back in the alley, he had merely "taught her a lesson." He had not hit her hard at all. His words had just been rather intimidating... Yet now, it seemed he had left the woman with an indelible scar.

"Her mentality is that weak..."

Oboro had not considered that.

He had overestimated her.

She had dared to come kill him alone, and she was at least a Nen user, yet...

A full half minute passed as the woman closed the distance between them from three or four meters to roughly two. She was already drenched in sweat... Even the spectators outside the ring could hear her ragged breathing clearly.

"What is that woman doing?"

"Oboro, take her out!"

"Make your move already!"

Waves of shouts erupted from all around.

The woman could barely hold on... From beginning to end, she had not even released her Nen.

Oboro could not put himself in the woman's shoes.

The closer Jinsha got to Oboro, the more terrified she became.

Nen users possessed minds far stronger than ordinary people, which also made their five senses exceptionally sharp. Even though they had agreed beforehand that this would be a fake fight... warning lights were still flashing frantically in Jinsha's mind. Her instincts were telling her that the man before her was extremely dangerous... Run! This was... a physical reaction.

Yet because she was afraid and did not want to be killed, she followed their agreement and forced herself to fight...

The stimulation, contrast, and inner struggle were making Jinsha nearly faint and vomit.

"I..."

Suddenly, Jinsha's throat moved, and a single word slipped from her lips.

Oboro narrowed his eyes, then raised his hand before she could speak again. "I surrender!"

"What's going on?"

"What happened... Competitor Oboro actually surrendered directly!"

the host cried out.

The entire venue erupted.

"Ever since the referee blew the whistle, neither of them seemed willing to attack. Only Competitor Jinsha symbolically approached Oboro... Could it be that the 'battle' had already begun... and we simply failed to realize it?"

"Was it a contest of presence?"

No one understood, including the host.

After surrendering, Oboro immediately turned and walked off the stage.

He had seen it... If he did not speak first, she was going to surrender.

Thump.

Only after Oboro left did Jinsha finally collapse onto the stage and gasp for air.

"Did you see that?"

In a corner of the audience, a man in a military uniform sat with one leg crossed over the other and his arms folded as he asked his friend beside him.

"That woman had already lost her will to fight. From the moment this Oboro appeared, the aura she unconsciously gave off was that of a weak little lamb... like she had seen a lion."

His companion, a man with dreadlocks and a lollipop in his mouth, sneered.

"They must have crossed paths before this... I don't know why, but it's obvious that woman was scared out of her wits."

"Interesting..."

The dreadlocked man grinned broadly. "He seems like a pretty good opponent. You want him, or should I take him?"

"Since you're so interested, he's yours... Be careful. Don't trip and fall." The soldier rose and headed toward the exit along the steps.

"Relax... I know how to hold back. I'll try not to kill him."

The dreadlocked man pulled the lollipop from his mouth and chuckled.

"Let's go. What a disappointment... I thought we'd get a glimpse of what that kid could do, but he actually surrendered!"

At the other end of the audience, Biscuit pouted in irritation.

"His surrender really was surprising..."

Wing nodded.

"He did it on purpose."

Biscuit snorted. "That woman was no match for him at all, and he knew it."

"Then why..."

Before Wing could finish, his expression relaxed.

He had clearly thought of something.

"Tch, if I'd known it would turn out like this, I would've gone shopping instead."

Biscuit turned and stormed off indignantly.

"That bitch Jinsha actually won like that. It's utterly humiliating!"

"Hehehe... No matter what, this Oboro apparently doesn't even have the guts to make a move... I'll challenge him in the next match. None of you better fight me for him!"

"You think you're the only one with that idea? Take a good look around... This fight drew quite a few big fish. You're not the only one hoping to pick up an easy win."

"..."

A small group of Nen users exchanged a few words before leaving the venue together.

That was right. Aside from ordinary spectators.

There were also dozens of Nen users from above the 200th floor watching beneath the stage.

They had all come to observe Oboro, this Supernova, up close.

Among them were no shortage of Floor Master-level powerhouses! Though they had concealed themselves well... people had still noticed them.

After all, Oboro had been making far too much noise lately, and he had only just arrived on the 200th floor. Everyone wanted to see whether he was truly as capable as he seemed.

For now, the only certain information was that the kid was also a Nen user.

Naturally, Oboro had sensed the many hidden experts in the venue as well... Most of them had come for him.

The tallest tree in the forest was the first to be felled by the wind.

Sometimes, being too popular... was not a good thing.

However, Oboro was more than happy to see this situation.

Because... this was exactly what he had come for.

Hopefully... he would get to experience the joy of battle next.

To be honest, he really wanted to lose "seriously" at least once...

Only by losing could he grow... He looked forward to someone fulfilling that wish.