The two corpses in the arena had been devoured, and the beast returned to its cage behind the gate, still hungry for more. As the gate clanged shut, the aircraft circling overhead spoke again. "The draw for the next round will now begin!"
"We have an exciting surprise: a fresh batch of completely unharmed contestants has just entered the arena! They hail from different districts, and every one of them is strong and full of energy. Each guest may cast a precious vote. The two contestants with the most votes will take center stage in this match!"
"Please don't hold back. Vote to your hearts' content!"
Before the voice faded, a voting board displaying animated images of Xu Huo and the others was projected above the arena. As the audience joined in, the numbers beside the images kept changing. Contestants were pushed up the rankings, then knocked back down. Of the dozen or so people, half took a turn at the top.
This was a warm-up, and naturally also a way for the arena to make money. Spectators could buy extra votes to push their chosen contestants up the rankings, making the competition fierce.
The more excited the crowd became, the grimmer the faces of the players in the cages grew. It wasn't just the brazen humiliation, but what that attitude implied-the fact that arena matches could draw such enthusiastic crowds, with ordinary spectators freely watching A-class players fight to the death, was proof enough of the main city's control over players from other districts.
It meant that anyone who entered this arena would have a very hard time escaping.
In the end, the two chosen were, surprisingly, Xiduo and Xu Huo.
Xiduo looked at Xu Huo in astonishment. "Is there something special about the two of us?"
Neither of