Qin Xa walked along a road leading away from the cave, though not toward the combat area.
After saying those things to the Gladiators, Qin Xa decided to meet the head of the Tark Family, though that was not his main purpose.
"You're a wizard, so I won't blindfold you. It'd be useless anyway."
The overseer walked ahead.
Qin Xa observed everything around him, memorizing it all, including the route he had taken and everything along it.
Every few steps, an automatic machine gun hung overhead. Qin Xa estimated its caliber at around nineteen millimeters. He did not know what ammunition the Nucerians used for automatic weapons, but regardless of the ammunition, a weapon of that caliber would be terrifyingly powerful.
It could punch through the unremarkable blast door in the cave as easily as a knife through tofu.
Yet automatic machine guns were the most ordinary thing here.
From the seams in the walls of the metal corridor, hidden grooves, spray nozzles... and all sorts of other traces, Qin Xa's experience from his previous life told him that the corridor contained numerous traps, including but not limited to corrosive liquid, flames, and laser grids.
Soon, Qin Xa arrived at another intersection.
Standing in the middle of the crossroads, Qin Xa saw several signs.
Security Armory
Inspection Checkpoint
VIP Lounge
"That's the exit." The overseer pointed toward the end of the road directly ahead. "If you can get out from here, you'll have accomplished more than half of your goal of leaving the Arena."
Qin Xa followed the overseer's finger and saw the checkpoint at the exit.
Several staff members were undergoing inspection before entering their workstations inside the Arena.
But beyond the checkpoint at the end of the road stood a steel statue. It looked like some kind of large mechanical entity, lying motionless atop a steel platform.
It was utterly out of place.
"Cut the crap. I know you're not being kind. You just want me to get myself killed." Qin Xa looked away.
Annoyance at being seen through appeared on the overseer's face. He glared at Qin Xa and led him down another path toward the lounge.
When they reached a room whose lavish facade seemed absurdly out of place compared to the surrounding environment, the overseer gestured for Qin Xa to go inside.
"Watch yourself. Don't talk nonsense," the overseer warned in a low voice. "Otherwise, I'm afraid that vicious mouth of yours will curse everyone in the Arena to death."
"Don't worry. I doubt your control-freak master is that deranged yet," Qin Xa replied.
The overseer said nothing more and hurriedly opened the door.
After Qin Xa entered, the overseer shut the door and left.
The instant he stepped into the room, Qin Xa was startled by its splendor and insane extravagance. It reminded him of when he had grown up in the White Scars Chapter and accompanied the Chapter to defend a world that produced crystals.
Only the governor's mansion on that world had been as lavish as this lounge.
Qin Xa looked toward the dining table.
Beside a table covered with foods Qin Xa did not recognize, a richly dressed middle-aged man was arranging the tableware. He seemed to have obsessive-compulsive disorder, personally placing every utensil exactly where he believed it belonged.
He clearly did not trust the servants either. The attendants stood nearby, awkwardly watching their master do the work they were supposed to do.
"Oh, you're here."
Sensing the gaze behind him, Tark set down the last piece of tableware that needed straightening and turned to look at Qin Xa.
He wore a warm smile, and his eyes were equally warm, even carrying hints of admiration and approval.
But Qin Xa did not analyze the man's mind or personality, because he knew that everything people like this showed on the surface was false.
"Please, sit." Tark pulled out a chair along the side of the rectangular dining table. Once Qin Xa sat down, Tark seated himself in the chair opposite him.
Qin Xa had no appetite for food. He had already done what he most wanted to do after agreeing to lunch: gather information that could be useful in escaping the Arena later.
But it was not entirely because his interest lay elsewhere. Part of it was Qin Xa's unease over Tark's identity. He also did not believe any of the friendliness Tark displayed was genuine.
"You know..."
Tark held a knife and fork as he wolfed down food. His attendants constantly cut up and brought him dishes from the table. These personal Slaves knew what their master liked.
"The Slaughterers you killed—the ones whose necks you twisted into knots with sorcery—were all my nephews, all members of the Tarko Family."
Even as he said this, Tark continued wolfing down food, with a smile still on his face.
Qin Xa's heart instantly tightened. He secretly prepared to use psychic power to twist the head of the family's neck into a knot.
He did not want to do that, because choosing to act meant certain death. That was why he had not planned to kill Tark during this meal.
But since Tark had brought up hatred over blood relatives, then he had to...
"I should thank you for that." Tark swallowed a mouthful of food and raised his glass with a smile. "Those little bastards were young, but they could fight. Their father, my thirty-first brother, was a warrior, and he trained those little bastards from childhood. I never expected you to kill every last one of them."
"I meant no disrespect, friend."
"Absolutely not."
Tark smiled to the side and raised a hand, signaling Qin Xa not to misunderstand him.
"I only realized then how great your potential was. And I became certain that my decision to have my family's Slave Catchers conceal the fact that you were a wizard had been the right one."
After praising him, Tark looked at the slave beside him. "Beef tendon, thank you."
The slave raised a hand, speared a piece of stewed beef tendon, and placed it on Tark's plate. "Why did you suddenly feel like eating beef tendon today?"
"We all get sudden cravings sometimes, don't we?" Tark smiled at the slave, then began eating the beef tendon.
Qin Xa remained expressionless. He neither touched his knife and fork nor spoke, simply watching every move Tark made.
He had never expected that the head of the most powerful family on Nuceria had helped conceal the fact that he was a wizard.
Concealing the fact that a Gladiator was a wizard, then letting that Gladiator kill his brothers' sons... Qin Xa thought Tark was insane. If Qin Xa himself were insane too, then he might understand that a madman would truly help him conceal it.
"Aren't you curious why I wanted you to kill my nephews?" Tark asked with a smile.
"Not curious," Qin Xa answered. "To someone like you, family is less useful than a foot rag. You people don't know what love or trust is. You only know suspicion and murder, even toward your own blood relatives."
"No, that isn't the reason," Tark said. "People of your status have always been prejudiced against nobles like us, but I'm really not the sort of person you described. Guess again."
"..." Qin Xa fell silent briefly, then spoke again. "I don't know."
Tark took a gulp of wine, smiled for a second, then his expression suddenly turned savage and vicious. Like a manic episode, he pounded the table and howled, "Because I fucking hate every noble on Nuceria! Every last one!"
Before you continue