The next day.
The dark-red runes on the door had completely faded when "daybreak" came to Slaughter City. The twelve-hour protection period had ended, and the dark-red light receded from the door, like the last trace of moisture evaporating from dried blood.
Luo Chen pushed the door open and stepped out. The corridor was empty, and the doors on both sides were shut. Some still glowed with runes—those belonged to newcomers whose protection period was still in effect. Others had gone dark, just like his. At the end of the corridor lay a corpse. It was impossible to say how long it had been there. A deep gash marked its throat, and all its blood had drained out, leaving a dark stain spread across the floor. No one came to collect the body. No one even spared it a second glance. Passersby skirted the bloodstain and went on their way, faces blank.
That was how things worked in Slaughter City. The living kept living; no one cared about the dead.
Luo Chen made a circuit of the inner city. It was larger than he'd expected. The outer city was home to the lower classes, who scraped by on two cups of Bloody Mary each month. The inner city was where those who had won matches in the Hell Slaughter Arena lived. One win earned a year's residence, two wins earned two years, and so on. But most people never lived to see their second year.
"Something is watching you."
The Evil Emperor's voice came out of nowhere, very soft, as if afraid something might hear.
Luo Chen didn't break stride. "What?"
"Ever since you entered this city, a strand of spiritual power has been probing you. At first, I thought it was my imagination, but it wasn't. That thing isn't