Why... don't you have any poison on you?

There were fewer and fewer people left on the field.

The drowsy Luo Yun barely raised his head. "You two, go."

Yu Sheng did not move. Instead, he gave Luo Yun a curious look. "May I ask if weapons are allowed?"

When Luo Yun saw that he had pointed at Yu Sheng, he managed to perk up a little. He looked over the empty-handed, scrawny boy. "Sure. Use whatever you like."

"All right, thank you."

Yu Sheng nodded earnestly before stepping into the makeshift ring.

The eliminated students, meanwhile, kept stamping their feet and beating their chests!

Damn it, weapons were actually allowed!

If they had thought of that sooner, wouldn't they have avoided losing out because they weren't strong enough?

The thing was, they were all students.

They were reasonably well protected behind the lines. At the very least, they did not need to fight and kill before awakening, which meant weapons were not the first thing they considered when thinking through a problem.

After all, bringing weapons into it meant the fight would become dangerous.

The other contestant was Du Xu, the one Zhao Zicheng kept talking about.

He had been about to step into the ring, but when he heard Yu Sheng's question, his foot paused in midair. He silently drew it back, looked around, and eventually found a wooden stick in a pile of miscellaneous items before entering the ring.

Surprisingly, Yu Sheng, who had raised the question first, had no such intention.

Everyone looked at him as though he were an idiot.

Wasn't he just handing his opponent an advantage for nothing?

Zhao Zicheng, however, ignored his swollen face, took a deep breath, and shouted, "Go, Yu Sheng!"

"Don't disgrace Second High School!"

The fight began.

He was Liu Qingfeng's student, after all, and he had shown no reaction to Luo Yun's pressure earlier. Luo Yun was somewhat interested in Yu Sheng, and he smoked as he watched with a little interest and anticipation.

But soon, his eyes went wide.

He did not even notice the ash falling onto him from the cigarette between his lips.

"Ho... holy shit!"

The exclamation escaped him instinctively.

Du Xu, whom Zhao Zicheng had always been wary of, and whose reputation had spread through all three schools in Mobei City, had only just raised his wooden stick when Yu Sheng closed in and slammed into his chest.

But Du Xu was quite powerfully built, in stark contrast to Yu Sheng's scrawny frame.

As a result, Du Xu merely swayed a little.

Before Du Xu could steady himself, however, a razor blade appeared between two fingers of Yu Sheng's right hand.

Both sides of the blade were heavily worn, so much so that they would not reflect even under the light, yet its edge was exceptionally sharp.

With a light slash, pain shot through Du Xu's wrist. He instinctively let go of the wooden stick and backed up two steps, clutching his hand.

As though by magic, the razor blade vanished.

A dagger slid down Yu Sheng's sleeve, and he caught it firmly. With his fingers braced against the spine, leaving just over a centimeter of blade exposed, he stabbed Du Xu again and again.

A mere centimeter was enough to hurt without causing overly serious injuries.

But the visual effect was shocking.

Blood kept seeping from Du Xu's wounds, quickly staining patches of his clothes red.

Du Xu was also somewhat bewildered.

Clearly, he could not understand why someone had brought out a knife in what was only an assessment.

But there was clearly a reason he had made a name for himself in Mobei City.

Despite the pain, he had a vicious streak in him. Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, he ignored the dagger in Yu Sheng's hand and lunged at him like a bear, trying to pin him to the ground with brute force.

And it was then that a scene unfolded that left Luo Yun dumbfounded.

Yu Sheng's expression remained calm throughout. He decisively dropped the dagger and took just one step back, precisely evading Du Xu's lunge. He extended his right foot slightly, and Du Xu's powerful momentum sent him straight to the ground.

Pressing one knee into Du Xu's back, he rolled up his sleeve.

He revealed the... crossbow strapped to his arm.

And it was already cocked, ready to fire at any moment.

He instinctively aimed the crossbow at Du Xu's back, right over his heart. But after a brief pause, Yu Sheng put it away and punched him in the back of the head instead.

Du Xu had no chance to get up again. He passed out.

"Ha... haha... kid, you..."

Luo Yun was a little dazed now. Was this really something an eighteen-year-old could pull off?

Even some soldiers with fewer years under their belts might not be able to manage it.

For a moment, Luo Yun was amazed.

But...

Yu Sheng did not look toward Luo Yun at all. Instead, he silently turned Du Xu over and pried open his mouth. A piece of wire appeared in his hand. He wound it around his hand, reached into Du Xu's mouth, and gave a hard wrench inside his left cheek.

The entire sequence flowed seamlessly.

When he withdrew his hand, it held a bloody tooth.

But for the first time, surprise appeared on Yu Sheng's previously calm face. He examined the tooth closely, muttering, "Why isn't there any poison?"

"Could it be hidden somewhere else?"

Yu Sheng began searching Du Xu's collar and cuffs.

At that moment, Luo Yun finally formed a vague suspicion. He asked tentatively, "You wouldn't happen to be looking for..."

"Poison, would you?"

Yu Sheng stopped what he was doing, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper. "Yes. It's strange. I can't find where he's hidden his poison."

Luo Yun took a deep breath and looked at Yu Sheng as though he were a freak. "Have you considered the possibility that... he might not have any poison hidden on him?"

"Impossible!"

Yu Sheng shook his head decisively. "If your enemies capture you and you have no way to kill yourself, they'll torture you until you're better off dead."

Recalling all that had happened in Sin City, Yu Sheng spoke with utter seriousness.

Du Xu had only just managed to wake up when he heard Yu Sheng's words. Wisps of gray energy emanated from him, sinking continuously into the scroll inside Yu Sheng.

Even his gaze at the sky grew somewhat blank.

That's right...

Why didn't I hide any poison on me?

Then I could kill myself whenever I wanted.

Wait!

Why the hell would I hide any?

I'm living just fine. Why the hell would I kill myself?

Is this guy a psycho?!

Fuck!

Luo Yun's expression gradually grew solemn. He discarded his cigarette butt, scrutinized Yu Sheng seriously, and slowly asked, "You're... from Sin City?"

His moves were decisive and clean.

He was accustomed to hiding poison in teeth and collars.

He always carried weapons on him instinctively.

Every detail indicated that Yu Sheng... came from Sin City.

Perhaps the only thing that did not fit was his age.

"Yes."

Yu Sheng nodded lightly and once again asked the question troubling him. "Do people outside Sin City really not hide poison on themselves?"