It didn’t take long before Qiuqiu’s voice rang out.
"Hi there, welcome to the 20 players from Zone 632 of the 12th District and Zone 666 of the 88th District! Since you’ve made it here, you must be the strongest in your zones. Let’s witness a showdown between the best of the best!"
"Now, let me announce the rules of the Cross-Zone Challenge Arena! To save time, we have two arenas on each side. Each team must send two fighters to step onto the arenas simultaneously.
The leaders of both zones must submit their match-up lists in advance, and no changes are allowed once submitted. The countdown for submission begins now—one minute left..."
As soon as Qiuqiu finished speaking, a list appeared in front of Qi Xu.
Qi Xu turned to Chinese Master Chef and asked, "What’s the maximum attack value your weapon can withstand?"
Chinese Master Chef replied with absolute confidence, "As long as their three-dimensional stats don’t exceed 150, no one can break my defense."
Qi Xu’s lips twitched slightly. This kid clearly didn’t care about his own stats at all, placing all his hopes on boosting his defense...
With that thought, Qi Xu decided to put Chinese Master Chef in the first slot—a suggestion from Bian—to see if they could use the "Tian Ji’s Horse Racing" strategy to take down one of the opposing team’s strongest fighters.
Warwolf 007 and Warwolf 009 likely had similar stats and fighting styles, given that they used to be in the same squad. But Warwolf 009’s three-dimensional stats were still 20 to 30 points short of 150, and Warwolf 007 was probably in the same range.
To play it safe, it’d be better to have Chinese Master Chef go up first and wear down one of their top fighters.
If he didn’t end up facing one, no harm done. But if he did, it’d be a win.
So Qi Xu moved Chinese Master Chef to the first position, pushing everyone else back by one slot, and submitted the list at the very last second.
Soon, two gym-like fighting arenas appeared before them.
Qiuqiu announced, "Falling off the arena, surrendering, or death all count as a loss. Among these, ‘death’ takes the highest priority. The match only truly ends when the winner declares it over.
The winner has the right to decide the loser’s fate. At this moment, you must not show mercy. You can’t even trust your own teammates, let alone your opponent. Only when your opponent is dead can you truly be safe!
Any form of combat is allowed on the arena, and any weapons except firearms may be used."
Hearing the rules, everyone cast wary glances at the opposing team.
Warwolf 007 spoke up first, "Old Nine, in a fight, there’s bound to be wins and losses. Regardless of the outcome, can we agree not to let it affect our camaraderie? Let’s keep it civil—stop when one side yields?"
Though the two had been close before, they now represented different factions. It was better to clarify things upfront.
Warwolf 009 took a slight step back and gestured toward Qi Xu.
"This is our boss, Cyclone. She’s also the leader of our zone."
Though he didn’t say it outright, his meaning was clear: "We follow our boss’s orders."
Warwolf 007 froze. He’d actually been trying to figure out which one was Invincible Black Cyclone earlier—the girl in the gray tracksuit at the front or the towering man at the back both seemed like possibilities.
To avoid an awkward misidentification, he’d addressed his old comrade first, both to make his stance clear and to prompt Old Nine to introduce Invincible Black Cyclone himself.
He’d even worried that Old Nine, being a bit simple, might agree outright and upset Invincible Black Cyclone.
But it seemed Old Nine had grown a bit wiser.
Yet the next moment left him stunned. Wait… Invincible Black Cyclone was a girl? And one who looked so harmless at that…
For a moment, his mind went blank.
Qi Xu could guess what he was thinking and spoke up, "Hello, I’m Invincible Black Cyclone."
"Hahaha, nice to meet you, Boss Cyclone! I didn’t recognize you earlier. Let’s agree to stop once one side yields, alright?
I’m a man of my word, and my team listens to me. If anyone breaks this rule, I’ll eat ten pounds of shit on the spot!"
Qi Xu had been observing the opposing team closely. While the saying "the face reflects the heart" might not always hold true, in a survival game that hadn’t been running long, those who committed atrocities and took lives recklessly would inevitably carry an air of arrogance and brutality.
But there didn’t seem to be anyone like that on the other side.
Six men and four women—the six men subtly positioned themselves around the four women, clearly protective. So Qi Xu agreed.
"Fine. I hope no one pretends to agree but then tries to sneak in a lethal attack."
Warwolf 007 let out a quiet sigh of relief. Since he’d brought these nine here, he wanted them all to return safely, win or lose. Thankfully, the other side didn’t seem bloodthirsty either.
Thanks to the connection with Warwolf 009, both sides felt relatively at ease with each other.
Once the terms were settled, the Cross-Zone Challenge officially began.
Qi Xu and Chinese Master Chef stepped onto the arenas first. Qi Xu’s opponent was a burly man wielding an enormous meteor hammer, while Chinese Master Chef faced… Warwolf 007.
Warwolf 007 raised an eyebrow. Was this strategy, or…?
Did Old Nine not even rank in the top two of Zone 666’s fighters?
Since both arenas started simultaneously, Qi Xu stopped paying attention to the other match and focused on her opponent.
Just by looking at him, it was clear his strength stat was off the charts.
But Qi Xu’s biggest advantage was her balanced three-dimensional stats—no obvious weaknesses.
After exchanging a few moves, she had a good grasp of his fighting style. Though his strength was formidable, his movements were sluggish.
Qi Xu didn’t rush to pull out Pink Chainsaw, opting instead to practice her skills with the Level 6 longsword first.
The blade was about a meter long, light in her grip, and sharp enough to slice through iron like mud.
Her relentless assault forced the meteor hammer wielder into a defensive stance, leaving him no room for counterattacks. Qi Xu pressed her advantage, steadily cornering him.
Her movements grew faster and faster until, finally, she delivered a horizontal slash at his neck—though at the last moment, she flipped the blade, striking him with the flat side.
By their earlier agreement, he should’ve surrendered then. If Qi Xu hadn’t held back, he’d either have shattered a life-saving item or been severely injured—or worse.
But this was the arena. She couldn’t let her guard down.
Fortunately, her opponent was honorable. He promptly conceded, leaping off the arena and clasping his hands in salute.
"Thanks for that. I can’t beat you—really, I can’t. I surrender."
Qi Xu gave a slight nod but said nothing, though she couldn’t shake a strange feeling…
Then… the burly man turned away, shyly stomped his foot, and dashed back to his teammates, whining and sulking to one of the girls for a long time.
The sight was… unsettlingly incongruous.
........
