Chapter 200 – Happy Birthday, Coach

“Senior Brother Lin, the medical expert you’re waiting for can’t save Lin Mo…”

“I’m the only one in this world who can save her.”

“Join me, Senior Brother Lin… I can give you everything you want.”

Lin Zhiqin silently crouched in a corner on the first floor, lips tightly pressed together, haunted by certain words that echoed like a nightmare in his mind.

Rustle—

The sound of someone moving upstairs could be heard.

Lin Zhiqin immediately held his breath, staying as still as a stone.

Footsteps quickly descended from the second floor.

As the person reached the stairwell, something seemed to trigger, and a taut string sound was heard.

Thud!

Followed by a sudden, urgent scream.

He swiftly emerged from his hiding spot, moving across the floor as silently as a cat.

In no time, he reached the stairwell.

A person lay there, wearing a mask, with short spears piercing through their arm and shoulder, pinning them firmly to the floor, struggling desperately.

Upon seeing Lin Zhiqin, the blood warrior’s eyes filled with tension and ferocity, struggling even more violently.

A low growl emanated from under the mask, as if warning him.

With a cold gaze, Lin Zhiqin quickly approached, raising a fist and striking the person’s head hard.

The latter immediately lost consciousness.

Then he began to pull out the short spears from the person’s body, using the bandages and medicine he had prepared to quickly stop the bleeding.

After finishing this, he quietly retreated from the building, slipping into a nearby house.

He then swiftly started setting up new traps.

The traps were set on the lower level.

This was because most blood warriors entered the house from the top floor and came down.

“Twenty-fourth.”

Lin Zhiqin silently mouthed the number.

This was the twenty-fourth blood warrior he had defeated.

The Victory Points might be higher because some of them had accumulated a certain number of points, which would naturally transfer to the victor upon defeat.

Lin Zhiqin was very cautious.

So far, he hadn’t directly confronted any blood warrior.

He had won entirely through ambushes and traps. This kind of behavior from Lao Liu was also within the rules.

After all, in the worship of the “Deity of Combat and Hunting,” hunting, which involves strategy, was equally important as combat.

Pitter-patter—

The sound of rain started outside.

On the roof and the street outside, dense and hurried footsteps echoed.

Lin Zhiqin carefully peered outside through the gap in the window.

He saw many people hurrying in the same direction, carrying an urgency and excitement, as if they were about to partake in a grand hunt.

Lin Zhiqin frowned, puzzled, but didn’t blindly follow.

He had to be cautious.

Because… he only had one chance.

The footsteps quickly passed, and the surroundings fell silent again, with only the sound of raindrops tapping against the window.

No one came for a long time.

Lin Zhiqin remained patient, without a hint of impatience.

Three years ago, he had watched an Ultimate Blood Battle of Mosa as a spectator and knew that such a hunting opportunity came only once.

It wouldn’t be long before all blood warriors would be driven by the rules to the central pyramid.

There, the next round of fierce combat would take place, which was the toughest part.

Before that, besides collecting as many Victory Points as possible, he also needed to conserve enough strength and energy, avoid injuries, and stay in good condition.

Time passed by slowly, and distant sounds of intense fighting could be heard.

But it seemed unrelated to Lin Zhiqin.

Taking advantage of the lull while waiting for his “prey,” he glanced at the sky through the window gap.

Large screens on all sides displayed scenes of slaughter, but Lin Zhiqin didn’t look much at them; his main focus was the leaderboard recording Victory Points.

Among the thousands of names on the leaderboard, which constantly changed, finding his own name wasn’t easy.

Lin Zhiqin immediately noticed a Title with rapidly increasing Victory Points—”Feast Eater”!

His pupils slightly contracted, and a figure quickly flashed in his mind.

But he soon regained his composure.

In an arena with thousands of fighters, it’s normal for Titles to be duplicated; it’s nothing unusual.

Lin Zhiqin’s Title of Rock Goat had been repeated many times, to the point where a sequence number had to be added for distinction.

He finally found his ranking—Rock Goat (9), Victory Points: 51.

The Victory Points needed to exchange for a bottle of Divine Blood were 10,000, and he currently had 51.

He still needed…

Lin Zhiqin silently did the math, slowly clenched his fists, and then regained his composure.

Swish, swish, swish—

The sound of chaotic footsteps echoed once more in the heavy rain.

This time, it was much more disordered, as if many people were fleeing.

Lin Zhiqin frowned, considering a brief investigation.

Suddenly, a short, sharp scream reached his ears.

“Ah!”

His expression shifted, and he silently stood up.

But before he could act, he heard voices.

“Damn, someone set traps here!”

“They must still be in the house!”

“Don’t let them escape!”

Several footsteps approached quickly from all directions.

Lin Zhiqin’s expression tightened. He immediately abandoned the idea of fighting back, instead crashing through the window and bolting out of the house without hesitation.

“He’s running! Over there!”

“Block him!”

Several figures darted towards Lin Zhiqin from different directions.

Lin Zhiqin immediately employed crane style Movement Techniques, attempting to quickly widen the gap between himself and his pursuers.

Whoosh—

A faint whistling sound came from behind him.

His heart skipped a beat, and he twisted his body to dodge.

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

Three crossbow bolts embedded deeply into the concrete ground, their tails still vibrating intensely.

One bolt nearly grazed Lin Zhiqin’s cheek.

Instinctively, he looked towards the direction the bolts had come from and saw a young man standing on a nearby second-floor balcony, coldly aiming a compound crossbow at him.

Others were slowly closing in.

“You sneaky bastard! Setting traps like that!”

The leader, a burly middle-aged man with a face full of scars, squinted slightly and spat on the ground, glaring at Lin Zhiqin viciously. “I was already pissed off, and now I run into a Lao Liu like you… Don’t let him leave here alive!”

The others responded with low grunts, their eyes cold, as they slowly surrounded Lin Zhiqin.

Each of their eyes revealed unmistakable killing intent.

“Two martial masters, two Bone Training practitioners…”

Lin Zhiqin quickly assessed their approximate strength, his expression becoming somewhat grim.

He wasn’t terribly afraid of these four attacking him, but the presence of the crossbowman added a dangerous variable. With a crossbow aimed at him at all times, he would have to divert part of his consciousness to defend against it, complicating the fight significantly.

“No choice but to fight and look for an opportunity to escape!”

Taking a deep breath, Lin Zhiqin quickly made up his mind. His eyes grew cold as he prepared for the impending battle.

Just then, the expressions of the men in front of him suddenly changed dramatically. They looked past him with faces that seemed to have seen a ghost.

The men who had been ready to attack instantly turned around and fled without a word, vanishing in seconds.

“Uh…”

Lin Zhiqin was momentarily stunned and instinctively turned around.

What met his eyes was a shadow.

In the pouring rain, a towering figure over two meters tall loomed over him like a dark cloud.

An invisible pressure, combined with the moisture in the air, felt like a terrifying tidal wave close at hand, bringing a heavy sense of suffocation.

“Gulp—”

Lin Zhiqin’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, his scalp tingling, his body tensing up.

Slowly, he raised his head until…

He was face to face with a pair of calm, profound, jet-black eyes, as deep as the ocean.

A muffled but slightly familiar voice came from beneath the mask.

Lin Zhiqin heard the person softly say, “Yesterday… was your birthday, right? Happy birthday… Coach.”

“Uh…”

Lin Zhiqin stood frozen, as if struck by something. He remained motionless, speechless for a long moment.

…

“Feast Eater, Victory Points: 1032.”

Tap—Tap—Tap—

Rage King rested his cheek on one hand, leaning against the Iron Spear Throne. His long, thick index finger tapped lightly on the armrest, his face expressionless as he overlooked everything below.

“Lord, shall we…”

The silver-masked man beside him started to speak but was interrupted by Rage King.

“Forget it.”

Rage King squinted, looking at a certain figure in the arena. Suddenly, he smirked and said, “I’m actually starting to look forward to this Defiler making his way to me… Prepare to enter the next phase.”

“Yes, Lord.”

The silver-masked man nodded, about to make arrangements, when Rage King stopped him again.

“But a Defiler is still a Defiler…”

Rage King pointed to the area where a particular figure stood, sneering, “Give that area… special attention.”

The silver-masked man was slightly taken aback but quickly understood and nodded before leaving.

Rage King sat alone on his throne, overlooking the vast blood arena of the City Without a Roof. His eyes gleamed with an unknown thought.

…

Whoosh—Whoosh—

Several large red crates fell from the dome above.

As soon as the red crates began to fall, the numerous blood warriors charged madly toward where the crates would land.

“Air-dropped crates?”

Lu Yuan blinked, looking slightly surprised.

“You could say that.”

Standing beside him, Lin Zhiqin nodded and explained, “They contain valuable equipment and items, like Advanced protective suits, super alloy weapons, potions that temporarily boost combat strength, and so on. They are designed to encourage and stimulate blood warriors to engage in more intense battles. However…”

Lin Zhiqin frowned as he looked at the rapidly falling red supply crates in the distance. “In theory, each area should get at least one Blood Battle Crate. Though the locations are random, it’s strange that none have landed near us.”

A total of four red supply crates fell from the sky, but all of them landed far from their position, making it a considerable distance to reach any of them.

“Maybe it’s just bad luck.”

Lu Yuan replied casually, his gaze subtly shifting towards the top of the pyramid.

“It’s still worth fighting for. Don’t underestimate the power of good equipment. If you can get one, your combat effectiveness will greatly increase. It will also give you a better chance in the upcoming ladder matches…”

Lin Zhiqin spoke quickly, his eyes fixed on the distant locations where the supply crates had fallen, already beginning to plan for Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan looked at Lin Zhiqin’s profile hidden beneath the mask and suddenly remarked coldly, “If I take the equipment, what will Coach use to win?”

Lin Zhiqin was stunned for a moment and then fell into a deep silence, a thick wave of complex emotions washing over him.

After a while, he raised his head, just about to say something.

At that moment, thick red smoke began to billow from the ground, quickly spreading in all directions.

As soon as Lin Zhiqin saw it, his expression changed slightly.

“The ladder match is about to start. This smoke is non-toxic, but if it touches you, you’re automatically disqualified… We need to head to the pyramid!”

Lu Yuan, finding the situation intriguing, couldn’t help but mutter softly, “Wow… They’re already starting to push us into the finals area…”