Chapter 3: A Fist Explodes with Blood!

  The moonlight creeps up the old window frame, casting a hazy radiance inside the wooden house, filling it with a chilly clarity. Like a lover's hand, it gently caresses the young boy's tender and delicate face.

  Sun Yun let out a low moan, slowly coming to, sat up, rubbing his dizzy head, feeling like he had drunk 100 kilograms of strong liquor, that kind of stomach-churning, gut-wrenching feeling, as if he was about to vomit out his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.

  "Just drank a bottle, shouldn't be like this! Could it be that practicing martial arts is too exhausting?" Sun Yan muttered to himself, "The dreams I have aren't even sweet dreams, very rare indeed."

  Looking at the empty wine bottles on the ground, Sun Yan vaguely remembered the dream after getting drunk. He seemed to have picked up a strange square seal, and then the dragon pattern on the seal suddenly came alive and drilled directly into his body.

  "What a strange dream."

  Sun Yan patted his aching head, gradually regaining consciousness. He glanced at the time and exclaimed, "Grandma's bear, it's already 8 o'clock! Hurry back!"

  After putting away the things in the ancestral house, Sun Yan finished packing and quickly ran towards the city with his backpack on.

  When I returned to Luoshan City, it was already 9 o'clock. The hustle and bustle of the city, with people and cars coming and going in a lively atmosphere, formed a stark contrast with the quiet desolation of the outskirts.

  Walking on the crowded street, Sun Yan unknowingly arrived in front of a high-rise building with bright lights, the sound of exciting and wild music faintly came from inside, and the screen in front of the high-rise building flickered with five words - Starry Sky Fighting City.

  Gedo City, this is the most popular destination for young people today, just like the game city on Earth thousands of years ago, loved by many young people.

  The fighting referred to here is not real-life combat, but rather creating virtual characters on a "virtual fighting machine" and engaging in highly realistic battles. This type of machine was originally used by the military for formal training, but after technology opened up, it quickly spread among civilians, and thus, one fighting city after another emerged like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

  This is a place where young people can vent their excess energy, test their own strength, and also an excellent place for many companies and families to discover folk talents.

  Pinched his pocket, Sun Yan still had 0.003 credit points on hand, "0.003 credit points can play three rounds."

  This "Stellar Fighting City" is very famous in the southern urban area of Luoshan, and the fee is also very low. A game costs only 0.001 credit points. If you can win consecutively, not only do you not need to pay any fees, but you can also exchange points for prizes prepared by the Fighting City.

  Sun Yan is a regular at the Starry Sky Battle Arena, but his past record was so bad that it's pitiful. After 5 years of lurking in the arena, his points are still only 7, which means he has won a total of 7 matches.

  "Just go in and play a game, leaving 0.002 credit points as living expenses." After hesitating for a moment, Sun Yan couldn't help but walk towards the main gate.

  The door opens, and the deafening music pours in, the heavy metal melody making one's blood slightly boil, with women's wild screams rising from time to time, the colorful neon lights flashing constantly, the air filled with strong liquor, cheap perfume, and thick tobacco smoke.

  On the circular venue, 4 giant projection screens are suspended in mid-air. Only contestants with a score of over 10,000 have the qualification to appear on the screen.

  The edge of the hall was a rest area, where Sun Yan couldn't afford to consume anything. As usual, he walked straight to the center of the hall after entering, where thousands of "Virtual Fighting Devices" were placed.

  "The Virtual Fighting Chamber" was like a miniature room, after swiping his card, Sun Yan walked into a "Virtual Fighting Chamber", the interior decoration was very simple, a metal chair and a helmet.

  He put on his helmet and suddenly everything went dark in front of him. When he opened his eyes again, Sun Yan found himself in a completely different environment.

  A cold voice echoed in his ear, "Connecting, please wait..."

  "Connection established, user ID 2437521, codename: One Fist Blasting Blood, points: 7."

  "Please wait, matching opponent automatically."

  Sun Yan is the 2,437,521st registered user of this Stellar Grid Fighting City, which is a relatively early number, as the current numbering has already broken through to eight digits.

  A figure flashed in the virtual space, and a silhouette similar to Sun Yan's appeared, with well-defined muscles and explosive power. The character created on the "Virtual Fighting Machine" had a uniform body strength of a first-class warrior. Sun Yan's virtual character was named One-Punch Blood Explosion, but unfortunately, he was always the one being beaten until blood exploded.

  However, this did not dampen Sun Yan's enthusiasm, because for him, wanting to experience the battle of a first-class warrior was probably something that would happen very much later.

  Take a deep breath, Sun Yan excitedly shouted: "Come on! Tonight I'm going to make a big kill in all directions, gods will be killed by gods, and Buddhas will be killed by Buddhas."

  "Auto-match complete, opponent code: Butcher, score: 34527. Countdown begins, 30, 29..."

  "Instantly, Sun's eyes widened in shock, 'Points: 34,527, Butcher? What the f**k, is this a joke?'"

  Another 0.001 credit points gone down the drain...

  ……

  In a corner of the lobby's rest area, two people sat in the shadows. One was a giant of a man, 240cm tall, with short, spiky hair and a scar on his face that ran from the outer corner of his left eye down to his chin, giving him a ferocious look. The other was a middle-aged man who was slender in build, dressed in a crisp suit and wearing thin glasses, looking out of place in his surroundings.

  Two people stared at the suspended projection screen, their eyes fixed on it. The scar-faced man grunted and took a hard drag on his cigar, "Nowadays, the level of Starry Sky Fighting City is getting worse and worse. Even if these people were summoned to the Star River Group, they would only end up as cannon fodder."

  "Don't be impatient, Quake, you're too hasty." The slender middle-aged man raised his cup and took a sip. "If excellent martial artists were that easy to find, we'd all go hungry. Patient searching always yields results."

  "Hmph!" Scarface Quake glared at the middle-aged man in a suit, "Wu Zhong, don't be so smug over there. Last time, when I wasn't paying attention, you secretly signed those two people into Hengxing. This account hasn't been settled with you yet! Tonight's bill is on you."

  Wu Zhong slowly swayed his wine glass, smiling and saying: "Our Hengxing Group and your Xinghe Group are originally in a competitive relationship. Why should I pay for you? If we talk about our private friendship, this meal should be on you."

  Kui Ke rolled his eyes and said rudely, "Anyway, I've already decided on the three people this time. If you Wu Zhong continue to cause trouble, don't blame me for being impolite."

  Wu Zhong smiled: "Quake, we're familiar with each other, but when it comes to discovering talent for the company, that's my job. It can't be mixed up with personal relationships. Whether or not you can sign on depends on your own abilities."

  Everyone who has lived in Los City for a long time knows that the Star River Group and the Constellation Group are two well-known interstellar mercenary groups in this city, and places like Starry Sky Fighting City are where many interstellar mercenary groups discover talent.

  At this time, a holographic screen hanging in the air in the hall flashed with the code name: "Slaughter", immediately attracting the attention of both people, and at the same time, a cheer erupted throughout the entire Martial City Hall.

  "Is he a butcher?" Quake chuckled, biting his cigar, "This kid is not bad, fierce enough in battle, and talented too. At 18 years old, he can already master the 1st-grade combat skill 'Bear's Fury'. As soon as this match ends, I'll go sign him right away. Wu Zhong, don't even think about competing with me for him."

  Wu Zhong's eyes sparkled with shrewdness as he said, "Giving it to you is fine, but what about the remaining two? Will they both belong to our Xingxing?"

  "Sly Han people." Quirk muttered, "Everyone relies on their own abilities, let's see who's not enough, your stars are still not enough."

  In the virtual light screen, the two sides of the battle appeared, and the player with the code "Slaughter" was a two-meter-tall man, bare-chested, with perfect muscles full of shocking force. His appearance caused the audience in the Fighting City Hall to cheer and scream, showing extremely high popularity.

  Code name: Slaughterer, points: 34527.

  Throughout the entire Starry Sky Battle Network, there were less than 100 players with a score of over 10,000 points. Tu Huo was one of them, and his score of 34,527 had earned him a spot in the top 10 rankings.

  His opponent, codename: One-Punch Bloodlust, score: 7.

  The difference in points was too great, making the battle completely lose its suspense. However, the people in the martial arts hall were still shouting loudly. What's the difference if the strength is too far apart? As long as you can thoroughly defeat your opponent, that's also an extremely exciting thing.

  "Butcher, knock him out with one punch and let him know what it's like to be knocked out."

  "Charge him, charge him."

  "Beat him up!"

  The two in the "Virtual Fighting Arena" couldn't hear this, but Sun Yan was feeling bitter at this moment. He had originally hoped to get lucky tonight and win a couple of rounds by chance, but he didn't expect to run into a ghost as soon as he started.

  "Alas, can't blame society for being unlucky!" Sun Yan sighed secretly, slowly opening up his defensive stance. The difference in strength was huge, but even if he lost, he couldn't lose too miserably.

  In the 5 years, he had lost no less than ten thousand battles big and small. Although Sun Yan's strength was not sufficient, he still had some attainments in defense. Especially when creating a character with unified first-class warrior strength, wanting to hold on for a few more rounds, he could still do it.

  Looking at Sun Yan opposite him, the butcher clenched his fists and struck his chest with a loud crackling sound, coldly smiling: "Kid, you can still withdraw now, otherwise, in a moment you'll become a laughing stock, don't blame me then."

  Sun Yan didn't say a word, his arms crossed in front of his chest, one forward and one backward, his body completely relaxed. The whip shape of the "Bing Xing San Shi" was a defensive move that also served as a preparation for attack, and Sun Yan's understanding of this move was the deepest.

  "I don't know whether I'm dead or alive." The butcher's feet stomped once, and he rushed out, suddenly dodging to the side while running, raising his shoulder and straightening his elbow.

  Wow!

  A fierce gust of wind suddenly rose, and Sun Yan's pupils contracted. He felt that the surroundings had suddenly quieted down, and the butcher's entire body was gone, only to see the butcher's shoulder and elbow muscles suddenly swelling, constantly enlarging in his eyes.

  Bear Hug!

  Bang!

  A dull thud, Sun Yan's entire body flew out, crashing into the virtual arena wall and slowly sliding down.

  In the fighting arena, Scarface Quake excitedly patted his thigh, "Haha... just like that, just like that. This butcher has always fought with all his might, one hit to kill. Only such a person can survive on the line between life and death."

  Wu Zhong nodded in appreciation, "This is a talented individual, cultivate him well and he can become a decent interstellar mercenary."

  The atmosphere in the entire hall was ignited, and the dim light reflected the excited and frenzied faces of many people who were screaming with excitement for Butcher's strike.

  However, the cheers did not last long, and people were shocked to see that the bloody fist that had fallen to the ground stood up again and returned to the center of the ring.

  The butcher looked up and down at his opponent, shaking his head: "Not received a fatal injury? The brain's judgment is problematic! Alright! You call one punch bloody, this time let you taste the flavor of bloody."

  Wow!

  Without warning, the butcher burst out again, sidestepping, raising his shoulder, and straightening his elbow, unleashing a fierce battle technique [Bear Ape Lean] this time with even greater ferocity.

  Before he knew it, those fierce shoulder leans and elbow strikes had arrived in front of Sun Yan, striking his face and chest.

  At this moment, Sun Yan suddenly raised his head, took a small step to the right, and swung his left arm out like a long whip cracking through the air, playing a lively tune.

  With a crisp crack, the two men crossed paths, and Butcher took two steps forward, his face twisted in a grotesque grimace, his eyes bulging out, before his body went limp and he crashed to the ground.

  In an instant, the entire martial arts hall fell silent...