Keep It Up

"Um."

Lu Bai responded and continued to remove the remaining protective gear from his body.

"Time seems to have flown by, doesn't it?" the gaunt old man remarked. "But with your current skills, you should have no problem achieving a good result in the second round of the Deathmatch Showdown."

"That's hard to say," Lu Bai said with a kind smile.

"Be more confident. I probably couldn't even beat you when I was young."

The gaunt old man patted Lu Bai on the shoulder, looking slightly helpless. "You still have to prove yourself. The results of the first round of the deathmatch for your class are out, and our campus is ranked at the bottom. I even heard the principal cursing in his office the other day."

There is more than one Deathmatch School in No. 9 Underground City, so there will naturally be competition between them.

If a campus has a lower ranking, the resources and benefits will be lower, which is why higher-ranked campuses are more likely to recruit good students.

It's worth mentioning that Lu Bai didn't submit his results from the first round of the Deathmatch Showdown. At first, he didn't know where to register, but later he simply stopped looking for it, figuring it would be the same to submit them after the second round.

Lu Bai made a gesture. "I only make three thousand yuan a month now."

I walked out of the combat training arena and stretched, facing the setting sun.

After looking at this holographic screen overhead for a while, it actually looks quite real.

"To be more precise, I guess I've almost forgotten what the real sky looks like?" Lu Bai smiled unconsciously and strode towards the direction of Livability City.

After nearly a month, he has become very familiar with this road.

For the first few days, he was surrounded by delinquents every day, but after he taught them a lesson a few times, even those who wanted to cause trouble stopped.

Although he was a little afraid of school violence, Lu Bai did not encounter Fan Ding during this time. That guy never showed up and seemed to be deliberately avoiding him.

Just a few hundred meters outside the school gate is a steel bridge spanning the river.

Traffic on this road is always heavy; Lu Bai has hardly ever seen a time when there isn't a traffic jam.

"This hobby is really niche," he remarked, walking on the steel bridge.

He saw the girl in the white dress again on a bench by the river.

I don't know if she "refreshes" to this location every day, but if Lu Bai passes by the steel bridge after noon, he can almost always see her.

I didn't intend to strike up a conversation, but seeing such unique behavior, I couldn't help but glance at it a few more times.

The high-rise buildings in the Livability City are predominantly gray and black.

Row upon row stood side by side, exuding a suffocating sense of oppression when viewed from afar.

Once you get closer, this oppressive feeling will lessen considerably.

Because the ground floor has been almost entirely converted into shops and restaurants, including hot pot restaurants, the streets are bustling with people.

Lu Bai didn't linger on the streets for long; he went straight to his residence after entering the Livability City.

Thump~ thump~ thump~

He knocked softly, knowing that if someone was inside, they would hear him.

That is indeed the case.

A moment later, a girl's voice rang out from inside the house. "Coming."

The door opened, Lu Ziyi appeared wearing a pair of oversized men's sandals, holding a spatula in her hand.

"Why are you back so early today?"

Upon seeing that it was Lu Bai, her voice turned somewhat cold, but she still quickly stepped aside.

Lu Bai entered the house, closing the door behind him. "Tomorrow is the second round of the Deathmatch Showdown."

He also didn't act overly friendly.

It wasn't that he was trying to spite the little girl. He always remembered that the original body belonged to the siblings, and even though he had entered this body after their deaths, he was not truly himself.

The reason for concealing this matter was partly due to the potential risks of prematurely exposing it.

On the other hand, it is also felt that such a fact is perhaps too cruel for the siblings who depend on each other for survival.

Upon hearing that Lu Bai would be having a second Deathmatch Showdown tomorrow, Lu Qingyan jumped off the sofa barefoot. "Shouldn't we go out for something nice tonight?"

"Go out for food, you idiot!"

Lu Ziyi raised the spatula in her hand and gave the little boy a light tap. "All you ever think about is eating out. We have plenty of food at home."

As she spoke, she turned around, turned off the induction cooker, and plated the stir-fried dishes, placing them on the table.

If you look closely, you'll notice that the dish was actually cooked long ago; it wasn't plated just to keep it warm.

Lu Bai scooped three bowls of rice and sat down at the small square table where they ate.

During this time, the siblings also took their seats.

Lu Ziyi glanced at him, then tapped her chopsticks on the Desktop to indicate the time. "Let's eat."

The dinner table immediately fell silent.

The little boy pretended to be mature for his age, pursed his lips, and Observe in secret with his head down.

He didn't dare to speak, knowing that if he opened his mouth, his older sister would definitely spout some old-fashioned nonsense about not speaking while eating or sleeping.

Lu Bai silently chewed the synthesized rice in his mouth.

In fact, these artificially synthesized foods don't taste good. For example, this kind of rice tastes like strong glue with a grainy texture, and its nutritional value is not as good as that of real rice.

Its only advantage is that it's cheap.

"You guys clean up after you're done eating. I'm on the night shift this week." Lu Ziyi put down her chopsticks, got up, and went into the bedroom to change her clothes.

A moment later, she changed her clothes, slung her small bag over her shoulder, and came out. "I'll try to come back early tomorrow."

After saying that, she opened the door, hesitated for a moment in the hallway, and then couldn't help but turn to Lu Bai and say, "Get some rest tonight. We'll come pick you up tomorrow after the deathmatch... Good luck."

"Okay," Lu Bai replied.

Click~

The door was closed.

Watching her sister leave, Lu Qingyan's eyes lit up. She leaned closer and whispered, "Brother, how about we go out for something to eat later?"

Lu Bai placed the chopsticks flat on the rim of the bowl and poked the little boy's forehead with two fingers.

"Forgive my brother, maybe next time."

The next day, in the morning.

For most of the time, the holographic sky is bathed in bright, cloudless weather.

After all, good weather can always make people feel good without them even realizing it.

Outside the enormous Multi-purpose Venue, the atmosphere was bustling with activity, as large groups of students gathered to chat and rub their hands together, eager to participate.

"Please enter the venue in an orderly manner and do not crowd," a staff member directed through a megaphone.

Lu Bai stood on the outermost edge of the crowd, not in a hurry to squeeze in.

He surveyed the crowd before him but didn't see anyone familiar, not even Fan Ding; he wondered where he was hiding.

Compared to these students, he felt quite relaxed.

"Next, please have the students from Class 05B enter."

Upon hearing the broadcast, Lu Bai then began to walk towards the Multi-purpose Venue.

This year's students are already in their second Deathmatch Showdown, so everyone is familiar with the process and it goes by quickly.

Holding his student ID, Lu Bai quickly arrived at the designated location under the guidance of the faculty and staff.