Steak

When someone was focused on what they were doing, they lost track of time.

Lu Hao watched the movie intently. It was nearly over before he realized it had been an hour and a half long.

For that entire hour and a half, Lu Hao had sat quietly watching the movie, completely unconcerned by the corpses around him.

After being startled once or twice at the beginning, Lu Hao gradually found it rather boring. Maybe it was just his personality, or perhaps he was naturally bold, but the corpses beside him were less interesting than the movie.

So Lu Hao watched the whole movie without looking away.

The three people in the next room were already dumbfounded. They had expected to see a show, thinking the boy would be scared off. Instead, Lu Hao's reaction had shocked them.

If the movie hadn't still been playing on the monitor, they would have thought something was wrong with the feed.

Just imagine it: you're in a room with two corpses. The lights are dim, and a huge screen is playing a horror movie. There's no one else around. The only ones watching the movie with you are those two corpses, and the stench of blood fills the room.

"Brother Li, is this kid suffering from some kind of psychological disorder? Most people can't last ten minutes in there. Even the bolder ones only stay for half an hour. But this kid watched the whole movie."

One of the burly men spoke. He really wanted to ask whether they were sure this was a student and not some killing machine trained somewhere.

"He should be fine... Look at the monitor. He's just watching the movie. Maybe he was born especially brave and isn't afraid of this stuff. What's wrong with that?"

Xiao Li replied.

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

Just then, a voice came through the walkie-talkie. Underground dueling arenas like theirs were places where martial artists settled their disputes, but few people fought in the Life-Death Arena. Once you stepped onto it, you either lived or died.

They hadn't expected anyone to fight there today.

Xiao Li acknowledged the order, then led the other two toward the room where they kept the corpses.

When he opened the door, Xiao Li swore he had never seen eyes like that before. Looking at Lu Hao, he felt his legs go weak.

There was no killing intent in those eyes, but they were calm—and in a place like this, that calmness was all the more terrifying. It made his blood run cold.

"Y-young man, someone died in the arena out front. Brother Snake wants you to go collect the body."

Xiao Li was practically stammering.

"Oh, sure. No problem. Take me there."

Lu Hao hadn't expected his ordinary expression to frighten Xiao Li so much.

He didn't think there was anything scary about himself. He was just a little braver, a little more composed. What was the big deal? Plenty of people could do that, couldn't they?

Lu Hao stood up and looked at the two corpses, which had already stiffened. It wasn't a big deal.

Following Xiao Li and the others, Lu Hao passed through a hidden door and stepped straight into the arena.

The moment he emerged, he heard the spectators' shouts and curses. It felt as though he had left that place of terror and returned to reality.

Lu Hao walked over and looked expressionlessly at the corpse on the ground. From the outside, it didn't appear to have suffered any injuries. Only the blood spurting from its mouth gave any indication of what had happened.

Lu Hao and Xiao Li carried the body away. It was only while moving it that Lu Hao discovered the cause of death. Nothing showed on the outside, but the man's chest had caved in completely.

His heart had probably been smashed. Lu Hao realized he really wasn't like ordinary people. He could still bring himself to analyze how this martial artist had died. Most people would have been scared out of their wits by now.

The corpse was right in front of Lu Hao. He could feel its warmth and see the blood pouring out nonstop.

Yet he didn't seem to have any psychological reaction. Physically, he felt a little nauseous, but he could keep it under control. Mentally, he felt nothing.

If Lu Hao had lived in ancient times, he would have been like Bai Qi—a born butcher. He didn't think much of it. Ever since he obtained the Slaughter Panel, he had known that if he didn't want to live a life of idleness, he would inevitably become a Killing God on the level of a butcher.

In this world, how could he survive without being ruthless, without killing?

After they carried the body back to the room, Xiao Li and the others didn't lock the door again. In their eyes, Lu Hao had already passed the test.

His performance had already surpassed that of the Martial University students who had spent ten days or half a month working here.

After keeping watch for a while longer, Lu Hao received dinner. That was part of the top-tier treatment, too.

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

Fortunately, the steak came with a dipping sauce.

Otherwise, Lu Hao wouldn't have known how he was supposed to eat it. It wasn't the smell of blood that put him off. It was simply that it tasted awful.

Lu Hao immediately guessed why they were serving rare steak for dinner: they wanted the Martial University students to get used to eating on the battlefield—and to eating raw food.

After all, in the Earth Cave, you only had rations or raw food. If you wanted cooked food, you could use an Energy Stone to cook, but Energy Stones were so valuable that no one would waste them on a meal.

So eating raw food in the Earth Cave was basically the only way to replenish your strength. You had to fight at any moment, and if you couldn't recover in time, you might die the very next second.

Lu Hao didn't think much of it. He cut off a piece of steak with his knife and fork, dipped it in the sauce, and ate it. As for the taste, all he could say was that it was awful.

Lu Hao decided that if he ever went to the Earth Cave, he would bring plenty of food. With the help of his Storage Space, why make things difficult for himself by eating raw meat?

After dinner, Lu Hao's test for the day was more or less over.

Xiao Li led him back to the front desk, where his mother had been waiting for a long time. When she saw Lu Hao, she held back her tears and led him away.

Bai Qiuyao knew how Lu Hao had performed that day. In her eyes, it was her decision that had made him face all of this so early. Seeing how he had handled it only made her feel guiltier.

"Mom, I'm fine. This was my choice. I really am fine. Maybe I was just born with a strong heart. I thought it would take me a long time to get used to it, but now that I've actually experienced it, I don't feel much at all."

Seeing that Bai Qiuyao was upset, Lu Hao quickly tried to comfort her.

As soon as she heard Lu Hao's words, Bai Qiuyao could no longer hold back her tears. They slipped from the corners of her eyes.

Seeing this, Lu Hao hurried to comfort her. After all, he truly didn't think it was a big deal.

It took a long time and many assurances from Lu Hao that he really hadn't changed at all before Bai Qiuyao finally felt a little more at ease.