It sounds like a somewhat friendly bet. After all, to lose, each participant tries to cut smaller pieces with their knife.

But in reality, this isn’t the whole bet, since the participants aren’t fixed. Each time someone is eliminated, they gradually cut away all the easily accessible skin on the body of this player, and then move on to other parts.

"How long will this bet last?" Xu Huo asked.

"Until the carnival begins." The player next to him didn’t even look up, just trying to invite him to join this warm-up.

The bound player was naked, struggling uncontrollably in fear and anger. But if his struggling caused a player to win the bet, the winner would vent their frustration on him. A whip or shaving off hair and eyebrows were the lightest punishments... Every act of abuse would be met with the cheers of the onlookers.

"Are these people... all crazy?" An irrepressible exclamation came from behind, causing several players to turn their heads, making the scene go quiet.

A few young-looking players arrived, together, and the one speaking, judging by the lower half of the face and stature, seemed to be the youngest among them. Being watched by so many at once, the young ones were terrified. After a moment, one of the female players tugged on the person next to her, indicating they should leave quickly.

But the players who were having fun wouldn’t let them leave. Someone immediately blocked them, with a teasing tone, "Youngster, watch your words outside, saying the wrong thing might get you into trouble."

The young ones had already realized this, and the young one who had exclaimed earlier stepped forward to shield their companions, sneering coldly, "Do you know who my father is?"

The players on the scene first looked at each other, then burst into laughter. A wiry player put an arm around him, teasingly lifting his chin, "Look at where you are, does having a big shot for a dad help? If we kill you and make you into a meatball, would your dad recognize you?"

The young man seemed to have had his worldview shattered, looking at this person in shock and fear, wanting to shake him off but failing, he had no choice but to shout loudly, "Uncle Ma!"

With his shout, the wiry player suddenly froze in place, then began bleeding from the nose and eyes. In just two breaths, he was dead on the spot!

The young man quickly shook off the corpse in disgust, retreating a bit farther.

Only then did the people present look back, gradually making way as an unremarkable-looking old man walked over, taking off his fisherman’s hat and nodding to the players, "If you don’t mind, please make way."

This Ma-named elder was genuinely a Rank-A Player, even though he looked frail and spoke feebly, no one dared to underestimate him. After a brief silence, the fun-seekers stepped aside.

"Thanks." The Ma-named elder put his hat back on, gesturing for the young players to walk in front.

But at that moment, three more players started bleeding from the eyes and nose, struggling as they fell to the ground, while the Ma-named elder continued without turning back, casually adjusting his hat as he disappeared around the corridor corner.

"That old coot has some skills, I didn’t see when he poisoned them." A player glanced at the bodies on the ground, calling a waiter with some annoyance. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

The uncooperative ones left, and the entertainment resumed.

"Let’s go too." Xu Huo called the Girl in the painting.

Perhaps because their fun was interrupted, or maybe they were intimidated, someone even set their sights on the Girl in the painting.

A man with a mouth full of black teeth silently reached out toward her.

Xu Huo moved the Girl in the painting aside, placing the Black Blade against the man’s hand.

Unexpectedly, not only did the man not retreat, he instead grasped the blade and stepped closer, speaking strangely, "This woman’s got a nice figure, bet she’s not bad looking either, rent her to me for a night, I’ll pay whatever you want."

The Girl in the painting, at a disadvantage of not being able to speak, couldn’t swear effectively, so she resorted to action. However, before she could pull out her paper toy, the Black-Toothed Player’s Prop seized her hand, and he bypassed the Black Blade, his large face almost pressing against hers, even disgustingly sticking out his tongue...

But in the next second, his expression changed drastically, and he immediately dodged back, as where he had just stood, a sharp force had swept through—spiritual power can’t be seen with the naked eye, even a Materialized Item, so nearby players could only sense something powerful passing by, unable to identify it. Xu Huo’s Spiritual World was retractable at will, and after the Materialized Item cleaved through several players’ Defense Barriers, the spiritual power evenly enveloped every corner of the rest area.

"Sorry." Xu Huo said to the few affected players, "You were standing too close, and I lost control a bit."

His tone was polite, but his words said otherwise. What does he mean by they were standing too close?

Continuing to view the black shadow spreading on the floor, these players involuntarily backed away: indeed, they were standing too close.

Only now did Xu Huo return his gaze to the Black-Toothed Player, "Your teeth are nice, I love collecting all kinds of bizarre items. Pull your teeth out. Oh, I can pay for them too."

The Black-Toothed Player, furious, spread his arms, causing countless Metal Slivers to rise up, forming streams of blades that surrounded Xu Huo and the Girl in the painting from various directions.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" In the end, these Metal Slivers all struck the Defensive Barrier, and taking advantage of the Barrier’s opening, the Black-Toothed Player approached, using the hand that had held the Black Blade to cover the Barrier. The metal at his fingertips immediately stood up, transforming into weapons to cut through the Barrier.

The Black-Toothed Player seemed unwilling to completely destroy the Barrier, so upon seeing the crack, he immediately retreated. At that moment, tiny clouds of black mist-like insects surged forth from the crack.

Players watching from a distance who saw these insects had varying expressions, but whether familiar or not, everyone instantly erected their Defense Barriers.

"These are Poisonous Insects that burrow in any gap. If you have the guts, hide in your Barrier forever. Otherwise, once they remember your scent, as long as one survives..." Just as the Black-Toothed Player was gloating, Xu Huo pulled out a bottle of insecticide.

Yes, insecticide. He didn’t even open a second Defensive Barrier, just started spraying the insecticide at the black mist.

As the mist emerged, the Black-Toothed Player felt both humiliated and contemptuous, sneering, "Those are Poisonous Insects. What insecticide do you think can kill Poisonous Insects from the Rank-B category?"

Whatever category the Poisonous Insects belonged to, once moistened by the mist, they perished promptly, strewn lifeless on the ground.