Pit Slave

According to the terms of the negotiation, all soldiers of the First Legion were granted freedom of movement.

The soldiers were also permitted to visit their families at home, and they had the option to stay or leave, though this choice held little meaning for the vast majority.

Aside from a few officers who were minor nobles themselves, everyone else had but one thought: to quickly bring their families to New Kato and enjoy unlimited fresh water.

In less than two days, almost everyone had brought their families to the passage leading to the Underhive, and then they were all teleported back to New Kato.

But some people couldn't find their families.

Grot was one of them.

"What's wrong, brother?" Grey saw Grot sitting on a bunker of the defense line, staring blankly, and immediately jumped up to sit beside him.

"I couldn't find my family," Grot said in a low voice. "They lived in the Fourteenth Sector, but when I went there, I found nothing. My house was rusted and moldy, proving they had left a long time ago..."

Grey knew about Grot's family situation. He had an older brother and a younger sister.

Logically, his two relatives should have been capable of protecting themselves in the Hive City. They shouldn't have gone missing under any circumstances.

Grey racked his brain for comforting words for Grot: "Maybe they ran into some trouble, maybe they're wandering around the Underhive... I'm not good with words, I just wanted to say..."

"Did you bring your family to New Kato?" Grot asked.

"Yes," Grey nodded.

"Congratulations, brother."

"I..."

Grot grabbed Grey's hand, bumped his shoulder, and then fell silent.

A moment later, Klein walked over and called out to Grey and Grot, "Come on, I'll take you guys to the First Sector to have some fun."

"Klein? I thought you weren't coming back," Grey said, very surprised. He had assumed a noble like Klein would stay in the Upper Hive.

After all, although New Kato in the Underhive was better than the lower levels, it still couldn't compare to the Upper Hive.

"The idiots in my family think I'm crazy and don't want to go to the Underhive with me," Klein said, not wanting to discuss the topic. "Come with me to the First Sector, we've been fighting for almost a year, it's time to relax."

"The First Sector? Isn't that all gangs?" Grey knew very well what the First Sector was like; it was a dangerous place for civilians.

The First Sector was entirely populated by gang and guild members. Forget civilians, even a criminal walking in there would have everything useful stripped from them.

"The First Sector is very dangerous, for others, but for wealthy people, it's paradise. I guarantee we'll receive VIP treatment," Klein said with a smile.

Grey shook his head and looked at Grot, thinking that comforting his friend was more important than playing right now.

"Come along," Klein also looked at Grot and joked, "Maybe your family joined a gang? Isn't this a good chance for you to find them?"

It was meant as a joke, but Grot felt it was actually possible. His brother was strong and a good fighter, so joining a gang wasn't strange.

So Grot immediately jumped down from the bunker. After Grey also jumped down, the two followed Klein towards the First Sector.

It seemed the gangs wanted to curry favor with the First Legion. Even without Klein showing any money, the three of them were treated with courtesy. A woman whose body was highly augmented to achieve a perfect physique acted as their guide, taking them around the First Sector.

It was a perfect night.

The three of them went for drinks first, then ate Ant-Man beef, and were introduced to many gang leaders. All of this was free.

Finally, the female guide took the three of them to the arena and into a high-level VIP box to watch the fights.

"Each of you has a betting credit of ten thousand Throneys," the female guide said, holding two metal cards and walking up to Grey. "This is a gift you deserve. If you lose your bet, you can still keep the ten thousand Throneys. If you win, you'll take back even more Throneys."

Klein was somewhat surprised to hear ten thousand Throneys. That amount was enough to feed and pay a whole regiment for a month.

"I want to bet..." Grot looked at the two metal cards, then randomly picked a gladiator name he thought sounded good. "I'll bet on Gravity Hammer."

"Then I'll bet on Gravity Hammer too."

"Me too."

Grey and Klein didn't recognize any of the gladiators here, so they both followed Grot's bet.

The female guide immediately turned and stored their betting information into the machine.

Soon, the gladiator match officially began.

Under the colorful lights, the first gladiator entered the arena.

"Let's welcome the gladiator most likely to win..." an excited and fervent voice boomed from the broadcast. "Ant-Man! Ant-Man! Ant-Man! Ant-Man!"

Cheers and applause instantly filled the entire arena.

Amidst the fervent cheers, a burly man walked out of the cage. His body was highly modified, standing two meters tall. Armor plates were directly implanted into his vital areas, and even his arms were transformed into two long blades.

"Kill!" the gladiator named Ant-Man roared at the audience, raising his arms.

His roar only intensified the cheers and applause.

"Let's welcome the gladiator who is about to be cut into countless pieces by Ant-Man," the broadcast voice sounded again. "Gravity Hammer!"

Another gladiator walked out of the gate. His appearance was far inferior to Ant-Man's.

The left side was a strong physique, the right side was metal. Both arms were modified into clamps suitable for industrial production. The technology used for the modification was poor, resulting in crude workmanship.

"This guy is a Pit Slave," Klein said.

"What's a Pit Slave?" Grey asked. "How come I've never heard of them?"

"You might not have heard of them, but Pit Slaves are quite common..." Klein then began to explain what a Pit Slave was.

Simply put, some guilds would design a person to bear a massive debt. That person, of course, couldn't pay it off. It was fine, though; they could accept modification and be sent into factories to work as slaves.

This was the so-called Pit Slave.

Their bodies were basically modified for industrial production. This was why the gladiator named Gravity Hammer had a pincer for an arm.

"Some Pit Slaves kill their overseers and escape, then live out their days as gladiators in the arena until they're killed by their opponents," Klein said.

"I see," Grey said, enlightened. "This person's life is quite miserable."

Grot did not participate in their conversation.

Although he was too far from the arena's stage to get a clear look at Gravity Hammer's face, Gravity Hammer's physique and that half-mutated body gave him a sense of familiarity.

A strange, inexplicable familiarity.