Steak

When a person is focused on doing something, they lose all sense of time.

Lu Hao watched the movie intently, only realizing it was nearly over when it reached its final moments; one must remember that this film was a full hour and a half long.

Throughout those ninety minutes, Lu Hao had remained quietly in that spot, watching the screen without the slightest concern for the presence of the dead bodies nearby.

Aside from being startled once or twice at the very beginning, Lu Hao gradually found the situation rather dull. Perhaps it was just his personality, or perhaps he was naturally bold, but Lu Hao felt the corpses beside him were not as interesting as the movie.

And so, Lu Hao finished the movie with complete focus.

As for the three people in the adjacent room, they were utterly dumbfounded. They had originally expected some entertainment, thinking the boy would be scared away, but instead, they were the ones frightened by Lu Hao's performance.

If not for the movie still playing on the monitor, they would have suspected that the surveillance system had malfunctioned.

Imagine being in a room with two corpses, dim lighting, and a giant screen playing a horror movie, with no one else around—the only company you have are those two bodies, accompanied by the stench of blood they emitted.

"Brother Li, does this kid have some kind of psychological disorder? A normal person can't stand it in there for more than ten minutes, and those with slightly stronger nerves only last half an hour. This kid actually watched the whole movie."

One of the burly men said. He really wanted to ask if he was sure this was a student and not a slaughter machine cultivated somewhere.

"It should be fine... look at the monitor, he's just watching the movie. Maybe he's just naturally bold and isn't afraid of these things. What kind of problem could that be?"

Xiao Li replied.

"Xiao Li, someone died in the Life-Death Arena. Have that little brother go collect the body."

Just then, a voice came through the intercom. In an Underground Duel Arena like theirs, although it was a place for martial artists to resolve disputes, very few people actually engaged in a Life-Death Arena. After all, once you stepped onto that stage, it was either life or death.

He hadn't expected anyone to actually fight a life-death match today.

Xiao Li acknowledged the order, then took the other two men and headed toward the morgue.

Opening the door, Xiao Li swore he had never seen a gaze like that. Looking into Lu Hao's eyes, Xiao Li felt his legs go weak.

Although there was no murderous intent in that gaze, it represented a profound calmness, and in such an environment, that calmness appeared terrifyingly chilling.

"Little... brother, someone died on the arena stage. Brother Snake wants you to go collect the body."

Xiao Li was stuttering slightly.

"Oh, sure, no problem. Lead the way."

Lu Hao said. He hadn't expected his plain, unremarkable gaze to cause Xiao Li such immense fear.

Lu Hao didn't think there was anything to be afraid of; he just had a strong heart and a bit of courage, right? That was something many people could do.

Lu Hao stood up and glanced at the two corpses that had already stiffened. It really wasn't a big deal.

Following Xiao Li and the others, Lu Hao passed through a hidden door and arrived directly at the arena.

The moment he stepped through the door, Lu Hao was hit by the shouts and jeers of the audience, feeling as if he had instantly returned to reality from that terrifying place.

Lu Hao walked up and looked expressionlessly at the corpse that had been beaten to death on the ground. From the outside, there were no visible injuries, save for the blood gushing from the corners of the mouth.

Lu Hao and Xiao Li lifted the body away. It was during the transport that Lu Hao discovered the cause of death; while it wasn't visible from the surface, the man's chest cavity had completely caved in.

His heart had likely been crushed. Lu Hao realized he really was different from ordinary people; he still had the presence of mind to analyze the cause of the martial artist's death, whereas an average person would have likely been scared out of their wits.

Lu Hao looked at the dead man within arm's reach; he could feel the temperature of the corpse and see the blood flowing incessantly.

Yet, he didn't seem to have any psychological reaction. Physically, he felt a bit of nausea, but he could suppress it; as for his mind, he felt nothing.

A person like Lu Hao, if placed in ancient times, would be a Bai Qi—a natural-born butcher. Lu Hao didn't have any particular thoughts on this; after all, ever since he obtained the Slaughter Panel, he knew that if he didn't want to just lie flat, he would eventually become a slaughter-god level butcher. In this world, how could one survive without being ruthless and willing to kill?

After moving the body back to the morgue, Xiao Li and his men didn't lock the door this time, because in their eyes, Lu Hao had already graduated.

Based on his performance, he had completely surpassed the martial arts students who had been here for ten days or half a month.

After standing guard for a while longer, Lu Hao received a dinner, which was part of the top-tier treatment.

Lu Hao looked at the rare steak on his plate and was instantly speechless. What was the difference between this rare steak and eating it raw? They might as well have brought him a whole cow to gnaw on.

Fortunately, there was a dipping sauce that came with the steak.

Otherwise, Lu Hao wouldn't have known how to eat it. It wasn't that he couldn't eat it because of the smell of blood; it was simply because it tasted terrible.

As for why the dinner was a rare steak, Lu Hao guessed it immediately: they wanted the martial arts students to adapt to eating on the battlefield, specifically raw food.

After all, in the Earth Cave, there were only dry rations or raw food. If one wanted cooked food, they would have to use Energy Stones to cook, but Energy Stones were far too valuable; no one would use them for cooking.

Therefore, eating raw food in the Earth Cave was basically the only way to replenish energy. Since one had to fight at any moment, if they didn't replenish their energy in time, they might die the next second.

Lu Hao didn't pay it much mind. He used a knife and fork to cut the steak, added the dipping sauce, and ate it. As for the taste, it could only be described as awful.

Lu Hao made up his mind that if he went to the Earth Cave, he would definitely bring enough food. After all, with the help of his storage space, why make things difficult for himself by eating raw meat?

After dinner, Lu Hao's trials for the day were basically over.

Led by Xiao Li, he returned to the front desk, where his mother had been waiting for a long time. Seeing Lu Hao arrive, she suppressed her tears and took him away.

Bai Qiuyao knew about Lu Hao's performance today. In her view, it was because of her decision that Lu Hao had been exposed to these things so early, and seeing his performance only made her feel more guilty.

"Mom, I'm fine. This was my own request. I'm really okay. Maybe I just have a naturally strong heart. I thought it would take a long time to accept it, but once I actually faced it, I didn't feel much of anything."

Seeing that Bai Qiuyao was not in a good state, Lu Hao quickly comforted her.

Upon hearing Lu Hao's words, Bai Qiuyao, who had been holding back her tears, could no longer contain them, and they streamed down her cheeks.

Seeing this, Lu Hao hurriedly offered more comfort, as he truly felt there was nothing to be upset about.

After comforting her for a long while and repeatedly expressing that he really hadn't changed, Bai Qiuyao finally felt a bit more at ease.