NOVEL NEXT 29
Chapter 29
“Wow!! Amazing!!”
“No wonder he’s Lightning No. 37!! So strong!”
“Ah, I really want to know what he looks like… but he never takes off his mask, sigh.”
“He’s wearing it because he’s disfigured, have some sympathy.”
“Ah? How do you know he’s disfigured?”
“That’s what they say.”
Arena competitions are one of the hottest events among the zerg race, attracting numerous top-tier zergs with generous prizes, contributing to intense and exciting matches that attract countless spectators.
Among the spectators are scouts from prestigious families, who will recruit suitable female zergs into their families upon finding them.
With prizes and the chance to enter a family if lucky, there’s no better thing than this.
In the vast arena spectator area, there are groups of zerg races everywhere. Before the competition begins, they wander around various shops.
It looks like a bustling commercial district, but the only difference is that the walls are adorned with many screens playing recent exciting matches. Many zergs gather around the screens, chatting happily.
Lu Xi leaned against a corner, yawning boredly.
Gu Qing kept urging himself to leave early, saying that the arena was far from the military academy and he absolutely couldn’t be late, but now he was here and Gu Qing hadn’t arrived yet.
And he didn’t even sleep.
He took out his communication device and sent a message to the group.
The group consisted of him, Gu Qing, and Luo Zhao.
[Lu Xi: When will you guys arrive?]
[Luo Zhao: Traffic jam.]
[Lu Xi: ?]
He opened the real-time traffic map and took a look. The entire city was flowing smoothly, so where was the traffic jam?
The communication device beeped again, and Luo Zhao sent him a picture. Lu Xi opened it and was instantly “…” for a moment.
On the side of a swamp, Gu Qing squatted on a small path, watching as the car slowly sank into the marsh.
The north wind blew through his hair, and his silhouette looked so desolate.
[Lu Xi: You’re unbelievable, Gu Qing.]
[Gu Qing: Haha.]
Hopeless, might as well take the bus.
Lu Xi rubbed his hair and tucked the communication device into his pocket.
Gu Qing had already taken the tickets in advance, and he didn’t have the admission ticket in his hand right now, so he couldn’t enter the spectator seats of the arena and could only wander outside.
He decided to find a place to sleep and wait for them to arrive.
Just as he was about to go, he lowered his head and walked out. When he stepped out, he met a small female zerg head-on.
The small female zerg only reached up to his thigh, holding a bunch of food in her hands, blocking his view and walking unsteadily.
Lu Xi stepped aside, feeling a bit worried about the small female zerg: he’s definitely going to fall like this.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, the small female zerg stumbled over something and his whole body fell forward—
In the blink of an eye, Lu Xi took two quick steps forward and grabbed the small female zerg’s shoulder with both hands, narrowly avoiding his face from hitting the ground.
“Bang! Clang!”
The soda cup overturned, and the spilled soda soaked Lu Xi thoroughly.
The zergling looked at Lu Xi timidly, fingers nervously clutching his clothes: “I-I’m sorry, I got you wet.”
Lu Xi: “It’s okay.”
Even in the dead of winter, the mall’s heating, no matter how sufficient, still felt a bit cold, so Lu Xi immediately put on airs.
He handed the zergling over to a passing staff member and asked, “Where’s the bathroom?”
The sticky residue from the soda was really uncomfortable.
The staff member pointed him in the direction, saying, “Over there is where the players clean up before and after the game, you can go in and use it.”
Lu Xi: “Thanks.”
He casually bought a piece of clothing from the mall and walked towards the bathroom carrying it.
Originally, visitors were not allowed in here, but Lu Xi’s situation was special, and the staff, seeing his pitiful state covered in soda, let him through.
There were a total of three dressing rooms, one with a sign that read “[Awaiting Repair]” while the other two were operational.
The staff chatted, “There was just a fight between two female zergs over there, and now the floor in the room is all broken.”
That must have been intense.
“Alright, go in.” The staff opened the door in front of Lu Xi.
Lu Xi: “Thank you.”
At this moment, he had no idea what was going to happen.
As soon as the door opened, a misty fog billowed out, blurring his vision, and vaguely, several naked figures became clearer…
The staff said, “There’s hot water inside—”
“Boom!” The door slammed shut in front of the staff member, almost catching his fingers.
He stared blankly at the black-haired, red-eyed zerg, “What’s wrong with you?”
Lu Xi’s face turned grim, squeezing out a sentence from between his teeth, “Thanks, I’m quite shy and not used to showering with others. Can I still use the hot water in that room?”
The staff member awkwardly replied, “You can…”
Lu Xi: “Can I use that room?”
“You can… but…”
“Thanks, I’ll use that room!” Lu Xi dashed over and opened the door, then stiffly nodded his thanks to the staff member before closing the door.
“Um, can I sleep in there for a while?”
“That’s fine.”
“Thank you.”
Then the door quietly closed.
The staff member: “…”
Good-looking indeed, but seems to really have some issues.
Leaning against the door, Lu Xi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
There were still traces of fighting in the room, fresh bloodstains on the walls, the floor was damaged, three out of four shower heads were broken, dripping water outside, making some noise, but fortunately, one was still usable.
On the right side, there was a small compartment with a door, cleverly hidden for aesthetics, inside were various towels and toiletries.
He quickly took a shower, changed clothes, and casually threw the dirty clothes into an empty laundry basket. There were still a few baskets with clothes inside, seemingly not yet cleaned up, with bloodstains remaining on them.
While blow-drying his hair, he took out his communicator.
[Lu Xi: I’m going to sleep for a while, call me when you arrive.]
[Luo Zhao: Okay.]
All’s well that ends well.
Lu Xi closed the communicator and slipped into the secluded compartment.
Inside a large cabinet were stacks of towels, and the cabinet came with a small table that was just big enough for him to lie on.
Lu Xi pulled out a few towels to pad the surface, then lay down.
To be honest, this wasn’t a comfortable place at all, but Lu Xi was really tired, and he fell asleep within seconds of lying down.
—
“Can I see your ID, please?”
The staff member’s gaze remained fixed on the screen, not even lifting their head, their fingers dancing— they were clearly very busy.
A hand pushed the ID over, showing the number “[37]”, with a photo of an ordinary-looking female zerg, nothing remarkable about him.
There were numerous wounds on that hand, still oozing blood.
Glancing at the ID, the staff member realized the name was obviously fake, but such things were common in the arena. He subconsciously glanced up, seeing a fully armed female zerg.
A woolen cap covered the eyebrows, a scarf covered the bridge of the nose, and sunglasses covered the eyes, leaving nothing exposed.
This was the rumored number 37, disfigured…
The staff member swiftly confirmed the ID and handed it back, “You can go in.”
Number 37 retrieved the ID, silently walking towards the inside.
What a strange female zerg, who knows if it’s really number 37 under this disguise.
But it doesn’t matter, the organizers of the arena don’t care who it is, as long as they fight well.
The staff member withdrew their gaze, getting busy again.
Number 37 confidently passed by the three dressing rooms, then after a few steps, maintaining the same posture, retreated back into one of them.
“[Awaiting Repair]”
He glanced for two seconds, then pushed the door open. Inside, three out of four shower heads were broken, making a noisy sound, but there was still one that was good.
Judging by the signs, it seemed like a fight had just taken place.
Number 37 looked back at the staff member, who hadn’t noticed him, so he walked in.
After closing the door, number 37 locked it behind him, tossing his bag aside, revealing a corner of the gas mask.
He removed the hat, sunglasses, and scarf one by one—
Silver soft short hair, azure blue eyes, exquisite facial features, unmistakably the person supposed to be going out for training, Xia Baiyuan.
Efficiently, Xia Baiyuan took off his clothes, applied medicine to the wounds on his hands, then took out bandages from his bag and wrapped his hands in circles.
He bent down to take out a gas mask and a brown wig from his bag, but at that moment, there was a sudden “swish” sound from somewhere in the room, a door opening.
Lu Xi pressed the call button and opened the door, “Have you guys arrived? I’ve just woken up from a nap. If you don’t hurry, the match will be over!”
Stepping over the threshold, Lu Xi looked up and saw a brown-haired female zerg standing in the room, still wearing a gas mask, but the straps hadn’t been tied yet, so he had to press it with his hand.
To be more precise, he was completely naked.
Crimson patterns intertwined with pale skin, under the light of the dressing room, exuding a mysterious beauty.
“…”
“…”
Lu Xi’s face turned bright red, and the communicator slipped from his hand, but he didn’t care about it at all!
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
He frantically bowed, “I didn’t know someone was coming! I’ll leave right away!”
In his panic, he turned and ran, but this door was designed to automatically close as soon as you let go. He crashed into it hard, making a huge noise.
“…”
“Ah…”
As the white light faded, Lu Xi slowly crouched down along the door, holding his head.
For a moment, he felt like either his head or the door had shattered.
The communicator on the ground hadn’t died yet, and he heard Gu Qing’s voice, “Lu Xi? Lu Xi?!”
Facing the wall, Lu Xi’s voice was as thin as a mosquito, “Have you… have you finished getting dressed?”
There was no reply, only the sound of fabric rubbing against fabric.
In Lu Xi’s mind, the scene he had just seen replayed. Those were the patterns only a sub-female would have, so was this a sub-female?
But he had never seen such beautiful patterns before.
That pure crimson, like roses climbing over the chest, almost seemed like flowers growing from flesh…
Most sub-females’ patterns were shapeless, like birthmarks, mainly in shades of green and black, looking like scars at first glance.
Novels liked to describe sub-females’ patterns, but no matter how flowery the language, once you connected it to reality, you wouldn’t find it very attractive.
The sound of fabric rubbing stopped, and Lu Xi waited for a while before asking again, “Are you done?”
A muffled voice came from behind him, “Mm.”
For some reason, Lu Xi felt this voice was familiar, but he didn’t dwell on it. He picked up the communicator, lowered his head, and walked forward. Before he reached the door, a hand grabbed his.
Lu Xi instinctively turned to look, seeing a sub-female in a black tight combat suit, his hand wrapped in white bandages.
Actually, his physique was slightly taller than an average sub-female’s, but definitely not as strong as a female. But Lu Xi remembered from the video that it was this slightly slender body that unleashed such powerful force.
“Is there something wrong?”
The other person didn’t speak, but the fingers wrapped in bandages moved slowly in his palm, as if writing.
“Don’t tell anyone.”
The rough texture of the bandages, coupled with a medicinal smell, was a bit pungent.
Lu Xi nodded, looking at the other person through the gas mask, “I won’t tell anyone, I promise.”
The fingertips moved again to write: “Thank you.”
“No, no need to thank me,” Lu Xi whispered, “It’s my fault, I’m sorry.”
He heard a very soft laugh, which made a moment of confusion appear on his face.
The laughter was also very familiar, but he couldn’t remember.
The communicator in his hand vibrated, Lu Xi looked down, it was a message from Gu Qing and Luo Zhao.
【Gu Qing: What happened to you! You’re not being robbed, are you!!】
【Luo Zhao: I’m very worried.】
【Lu Xi: It’s nothing, I’ll be out soon.】
【Luo Zhao: We’re waiting for you at the entrance of the arena.】
【Lu Xi: Okay】
He put away the communicator, “Then I’ll go first.”
The other person nodded.
Lu Xi struggled to steady his steps as he stepped out of the door. As soon as the door closed, he slapped his face, bending over deeply.
Right now, he just wanted to turn into a snail.
[Inside the Room]
Until Lu Xi’s footsteps gradually faded away, Xia Baiyuan took off his gas mask, revealing his flushed cheeks.
This time, Lu Xi was awake.
What was he thinking?
…
If only he had asked earlier, but it was too late.
The water behind him was still dripping. If not for this sound, he would have definitely noticed that someone else was there.
Leaning against the wall, Xia Baiyuan’s lips curled slightly.