Zhou Xiong stumbled back from Xu An's punch, nearly losing his footing.
"What did you do!" Zhou Xiong's pupils dilated, his eyes filled with terror.
Though he didn't know exactly what Xu An had done to him, in that split second, he had felt a tingling sensation spread through his entire body.
Xu An smiled without speaking. Her guess was correct; apart from her, no one else present had seen the red butterfly.
The situation became a stalemate, but Xu An didn't give her opponent much time to react.
As the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot!
Xu An was never a gentleman and wouldn't miss the chance to attack Zhou Xiong while he was incapacitated!
Using her momentum, Xu An dashed behind Zhou Xiong and delivered a kick, sending him flying. That wasn't all.
Xu An lunged forward, grabbed Zhou Xiong's wrist as if he were a lamb to the slaughter, and drove her knee into his soft abdomen.
"Ugh..." Zhou Xiong's stomach churned from the impact, making him feel nauseous. He was completely unable to retaliate.
But his torment was far from over; Xu An was no saint.
Just as Zhou Xiong had said, killing was forbidden in arena matches, but disabling someone's limbs was not.
"Even if I did something, what can you do to me?" As she spoke, Xu An pressed the heel of her sharp boot against Zhou Xiong's ankle, hidden from the audience's view.
Meanwhile, her hands continued their assault.
A faint "crack" was heard, accompanied by Xu An's blooming smile.
Xu An returned Zhou Xiong's own words to him, verbatim.
That butterfly was beyond Xu An's control; she didn't know if it would appear again to help her. It was better to rely on herself than to beg for help.
She couldn't waste this opportunity to counterattack.
Before Zhou Xiong could even cry out, Xu An delivered another powerful kick, slamming her elbow into his ribs.
Zhou Xiong was then flung away by Xu An like a tattered rag.
He lay on the ground like a dead fish, his chest visibly caved in, clearly struggling to breathe.
At this moment, the referee finally stepped in to call a halt and announced Xu An's victory.
Afterward, Zhou Xiong suffered a comminuted fracture of his left foot, leaving him a cripple. His chest also sustained multiple fractures, resulting in permanent, irreversible damage...
But that was a story for another time.
After Xu An won the match, a ripple of murmurs went through the stands. The few people who had been shouting the loudest now glared at Xu An with fierce eyes, wishing they could skin her alive.
The reason was simple: Xu An's victory meant they would lose a large sum of money.
"Inside job! Corruption! Zhou Xiong was fine ten minutes ago, he was beating this woman senseless, how did he suddenly get knocked down? This woman must have cheated!"
"Yes! She cheated! The organizers must give us an explanation!"
"Exactly! This woman must have done something! How could she possibly beat Zhou Xiong?"
Facing the accusations from the crowd, Xu An remained unfazed. No one paid attention to Zhou Xiong's sudden outburst and his clearly abnormal reactions. But the moment she was in a dominant position, the onlookers would loudly condemn her.
But this was the apocalypse, did these people still think they were living in the old world?
Could a little bit of gossip destroy a person?
Xu An looked disdainfully at the crowd, a mocking smile on her lips. Only the incompetent would lash out in frustration, trying to find fault with the victor.
"Quiet! Quiet!"
An armed staff member walked to the center of the arena, frowning and looking displeased at the surrounding crowd. "We are selecting warriors, not playing house with fairness and justice. We only acknowledge the one who stands at the end."
"However," the staff member's tone shifted, "we did not detect any harmful substances on Zhou Xiong. Instead, we found a prohibited substance in Zhou Xiong's mouth."
"To control the circulation of prohibited substances, starting this afternoon, all participants will undergo a full body examination, including an oral examination!"
Having said that, the man scanned the crowd and then looked at Xu An expressionlessly, stating, "You won. Go prepare for your next match."
Xu An showed no reaction to the man's words, but the crowd below erupted.
"Who are you! Do you just order examinations as you please!"
"Is this woman your mistress? Why are you protecting her like this!"
"Exactly! You t—"
Hearing the shouting from below the stage, the man exuded an aura of coldness, his gaze icy. He cast a dismissive glance and asked, "Are you questioning me?"
The shouting from the crowd immediately ceased. Those who were being stared at felt as if they were plunged into an ice cellar, as if sharp ice picks were scraping against their eardrums, raising goosebumps all over their bodies.
None of those present knew the man's identity, yet none dared to defy him further.
Xu An sized up the man with curiosity. Who could this man be?
Before Xu An could ponder further, someone answered her question.
"Report to Commander, your orders have been relayed!"
A man in an enforcement uniform approached and replied to the man beside Xu An.
The surroundings were in an uproar, but no one dared to question the man's words again.
"Yes, I know," the man nodded, lifting his chin slightly with an arrogant air. His gaze was fixed on the people who had tried to instigate the trouble.
"Take these few for an examination. If there's a problem, disqualify them immediately."
"Yes! Commander!"
The man's words were crystal clear. The unsuspecting onlookers finally understood why these people had been so vocal.
The crowd instantly divided, and everyone distanced themselves from those who had dared to challenge the military.
No one wanted to be associated with someone who had offended the military.
And those few men panicked.
They had bought the drugs from Zhou Xiong at a high price. If they were caught, not only would their money be wasted, but they would also be disqualified.