The square-faced man was a man of few words. Since stepping onto the stage, he hadn't uttered a single sound. As soon as the referee called "start," both men charged directly at each other.
Xu An, wanting to test the opponent's capabilities, didn't hold back and went straight for a killing blow. To her surprise, the man, despite his serious demeanor, was merely all show and no substance.
He looked impressive but was useless.
As Xu An charged forward, the atmosphere around them ignited once more. However, instead of meeting her attack, the man was so terrified that he immediately knelt on the stage.
Xu An: "......"
The Lunar New Year hadn't even arrived yet; what was this guy trying to do?
"Don't hit me! I surrender! I surrender!"
Shouts filled with terror echoed throughout the venue, resonating in everyone's hearts and refusing to subside.
Everyone was stunned, utterly flabbergasted by the man.
After watching matches all morning, they hadn't been strangers to stage fright or outright surrender.
But this was the first time someone had knelt directly on stage.
Xu An was torn between laughter and tears. Seeing the man in such a state, she couldn't bring herself to continue the attack, yet she didn't let down her guard. After all, all's fair in war.
Who knew if this person was deliberately lowering her guard, waiting to stab her in the back?
However, Xu An's worries proved unfounded.
When the referee stepped onto the stage to announce her victory, Xu An remained in a state of bewilderment.
Even the spectators below were confused. Only the square-faced man, with a mix of relief and a grimace, walked off the stage.
"Damn, if you're so cowardly, why even participate in the competition?"
"Yeah, is this guy here to be funny?"
The murmurs from the crowd did not reach Xu An's ears. As soon as the match ended, she was escorted to draw lots for the next day's opponents.
The selection matches employed a point-based system.
Each match won accumulated one point. Ultimately, the first and second-ranked participants in each group would advance to the next mixed competition pool to continue.
To ensure the contestants' stamina, the organizers did not rush the schedule, providing ample rest time for the participants.
After drawing her lot, Xu An headed to where Zhou Haimai was competing. This time, coincidentally, she arrived just as Zhou Haimai finished her match.
Xu An witnessed Zhou Haimai cleanly KO her opponent.
Without Zhou Xiong, that meddlesome troublemaker, even the matches were proceeding much more smoothly.
Ever since that officer-like person spoke in the morning about strict investigations, hundreds of people had been disqualified.
The list was announced by noon. Xu An glanced at the names on the list and sneered inwardly.
Many of these were Zhou Xiong's lackeys. It seemed Zhou Xiong had not only suffered a major defeat but had likely also offended those who provided him with banned substances.
Upon seeing Xu An, Zhou Haimai quickly went to draw her lot. After drawing, she grabbed Xu An and headed towards the deeper parts of the competition venue.
"Sister Mei, aren't we going home? Where are you taking me?"
"I heard the points leaderboard is out. I'm taking you to see it."
Xu An asked curiously, "The points leaderboard? But we've only had two matches so far. How can there be a points leaderboard so soon?"
"I don't know what the officials are thinking, but since it's out, we might as well take a look. I heard there are many dark horses in this competition."
As she spoke, Xu An followed Zhou Haimai to the points leaderboard. What she didn't know was that the "dark horse" Zhou Haimai mentioned included herself.
The points leaderboard was projected onto a massive floating virtual screen, similar to the screen at the Lighthouse exit displaying the Lighthouse rules, both projected using special technology.
The leaderboard could be operated manually directly on the screen, with the points dynamically scrolling in real-time.
Before long, she found her own name and Zhou Haimai's on the leaderboard. The points behind their names were both displayed as 2, which she knew represented the number of matches they had won.
Continuing down, she saw that many people also had a score of 2.
"It's only just begun; winning two matches isn't uncommon. Having this leaderboard is actually a good thing. This way, we can keep track of our opponents' current status in real-time, which helps us understand who we're likely to face."
Xu An listened to Zhou Haimai's analysis and silently added in her mind.
"They themselves are more likely to be targeted."
In the apocalypse, most of those who survived were strong and healthy young men and women.
Among them, men were the majority.
However, any woman who managed to survive among them was undoubtedly an exceptional individual.
The selection matches had fewer female participants to begin with. Those like Xu An and Zhou Haimai, who had won two consecutive matches, were rare.
Naturally, they would become "prey" in the eyes of some.
Xu An kept her eyes fixed on the points leaderboard. Towards the end, she noticed an inconspicuous announcement in the bottom left corner.
She had always believed that such inconspicuous announcements were usually a deliberate move by the authorities when they intended to stir things up.
So, she walked over, crouched down, and examined it closely.
As expected, the announcement stated: As the competition progresses, a point-grabbing match system will be initiated.
Contestants could randomly select opponents, and if they defeated them, all of the opponent's points would become their own.
However, each contestant would only have one opportunity for a point-grabbing match.
Xu An: "......" The authorities really weren't afraid of making things complicated!
She then silently called Zhou Haimai over and whispered in her ear, "Sister Mei, look at this."
Zhou Haimai, who had been looking around inexplicably, followed Xu An's gaze to the forgotten announcement in the corner.
Her eyes immediately turned cold, and her normally charming demeanor became sharp and fierce.
Zhou Haimai did not make a sound. Gritting her teeth and pressing her tongue against the roof of her mouth, she suppressed the anger within and said in a low, deliberate voice, "Someone is deliberately targeting us!"