Infinite flow, but I submit myself

“Do it!”

A familiar voice rang out from the audience. Tang Mo Bai instinctively looked over and saw Yan Wuzhen’s serious expression. The man mouthed the words, one syllable at a time.

“Don’t forget the deal.”

The deal.

If they were acting, they had to commit to the role completely.

Tang Mo Bai clenched his fists. As Seth staggered, trying to get up, Tang Mo Bai threw another punch at his face. When Seth collapsed again, he swiftly straddled him, leaning down to whisper, “Don’t blame me.”

Seth looked at him indifferently and muttered in an almost inaudible voice, “Just do it quickly.”

Tang Mo Bai nodded, then adjusted his position. He locked Seth’s waist tightly with his legs, reached around from behind, and pressed his forearm against Seth’s throat.

It was a textbook guillotine choke—a move that restricted blood flow and oxygen, forcing the opponent into unconsciousness.

For the first time, a hint of confusion flickered across Seth’s face. Even the audience started booing.

“What are you doing?”

“As you can see, making you pass out.” At such close range, their voices remained unheard by the crowd.

“That won’t work on me. I’m a cyborg. I don’t rely on oxygen like you do. Half of my organs have been replaced with mechanical parts, and I barely have any blood. You’d need to inflict at least 80% structural damage on me to force a system shutdown.” Seth quietly informed him.

“Is there really no other way? Don’t you have a power-off button or something?” Tang Mo Bai stubbornly searched around his neck.

Meanwhile, the audience’s booing intensified, and the live chat was now flooded with insults… Wait a second—since when did those chat messages appear inside the arena? This level of audience participation was a bit too immersive!

Clearly, the livestream viewers knew exactly what Tang Mo Bai was doing, but they didn’t care. They didn’t want to see a clean, technical victory.

They wanted blood.

They wanted savagery.

They wanted to see human dignity trampled like a stray dog, to witness pain and despair erupt in a spray of blood—just so they could vent their own frustrations through the spectacle.

Seth didn’t answer his question. Instead, he simply said, “Don’t waste your energy. Besides, this is part of the deal too.”

“So… does that include dying as well?” Tang Mo Bai asked softly. “I’m a rookie, you know. What if I can’t control myself?”

“Then that’s just my bad luck.” Seth’s voice was eerily calm. “People die every second of every day. Now, it’s just my turn. You don’t need to feel guilty about killing me—I’m just a machine. A tool created by humans.”

Tang Mo Bai remained silent for a moment before saying, “If that’s the case, then I won’t argue anymore. Spread your legs—I have a move that won’t kill you, but it’ll definitely knock you out from pain…”

Seth froze for a second, then suddenly started struggling violently. “W-Wait! Hold on!”

“What’s the problem? Didn’t you just say you’re a robot?!” Tang Mo Bai sneered. “Only humans fear losing their reproductive abilities. A machine shouldn’t care, right?”

Seth visibly stiffened.

Tang Mo Bai’s firm words echoed a voice deep within his memory—

“Seth, you must protect humanity. Not just because we created you… but because you are human too.”

Tang Mo Bai could feel the resistance in Seth’s body fading.

“Second vertebra from the bottom. Push sideways.”

Tang Mo Bai understood immediately. He reached for the spot Seth had indicated, but the angle made it difficult to see. He could only fumble blindly and press down.

Beep—Beep—Beep—Identity recognized.

A faint, hoarse electronic voice sounded, and the body beneath him instantly went limp.

【Gladiator match over. Winner: Tang Mo Bai!】

The moment the fight officially ended, Wang Yuan Zhi finally released his death grip on the armrest. He shook his sweaty hands, exhaling deeply. The staff who had been prepared to intervene also sighed in relief.

He chuckled, “See? I told you, this kid wouldn’t let himself be manipulated so easily.”

You were staring at the screen like your life depended on it just a second ago. The others silently ridiculed him but didn’t say anything. They simply nodded in agreement.

They had already prepared for the worst outcome, but Tang Mo Bai had exceeded all their expectations.

“A man holding a blade will inevitably develop the intent to kill.”

“But those who can stay true to themselves—are rare.”

【You’re awake?】

【The surgery was a success! You’re a woman now!】

The moment Tang Mo Bai opened his eyes, these two massive chat messages slammed into his vision. He shot up in bed, instinctively reaching toward his lower body—

Whew, still there.

“What the hell are you doing?”

A voice came from nearby. He looked up to see 009 approaching with a bottle of medicine, his face dark with exasperation.

“I don’t recall you being injured there,” 009 said dryly.

If anything, someone else should be more concerned about that area.

“Uh…” Seeing 009, Tang Mo Bai flinched, recalling his previous hostility toward the man. His first instinct was to move away, but the sudden movement tugged at his wounds, making him wince in pain.

“Alright, just stay put.”

009 stepped forward, pressing him down. Before he could react, snip—with a quick motion of scissors, his shirt was cut open, exposing his pale chest, though it was now covered in bruises.

Before Tang Mo Bai could struggle, the hospital bed suddenly came to life. Straps extended from all four corners, locking his limbs in place.

Forced into submission, he could only watch as 009 picked up a tray of medicine, tilting the bottle.

Cold liquid splashed onto his skin, sending a shiver down his spine. Before he could adjust to the sensation, an icy hand pressed against his chest, moving in slow, deliberate strokes—drawing something on his skin.

Tang Mo Bai was completely bewildered. Before he could even ask, a sudden and intense itch spread across his body. At the same time, a familiar fluorescent glow appeared on his skin. In the midst of the glowing light, the area where his rib had been broken itched extraordinarily, like ants crawling through his bone marrow.

It was the first time he realized that itching could be even more unbearable than pain.

When it was all over, he curled up on the hospital bed, his entire body shaking. 009 coldly went to wash his hands. “Done.”

Several minutes later, he finally regained his composure. He looked down and was shocked to find that all his injuries had healed.

Even his broken rib was fully restored, and a faint, incomplete symbol remained on his skin. It soon faded away as the medicinal liquid evaporated.

His mind stirred. Could this be…?

【Tsk tsk, alchemy in this world is always so stunning, no matter how many times you see it. It’s probably the most versatile supernatural system after magic.】

【It’s really useful, but unfortunately alchemical products hardly circulate among the lower ranks. As soon as they appear on the market, they’re snatched up by the upper-level demons. Just having one bottle can be a trump card in the mission world.】

【Speaking of which, this place is the origin of alchemy, right? Too bad it’s been monopolized… even the roots have been destroyed.】

【Stop talking about it. There are fans of the big demons everywhere. Just watch the livestream!】

Alchemy?

Back in reality, the expert group that had been quietly collecting information was intrigued. One of them pulled out a file.

The file contained several photographs—screenshots taken from the livestream, all depicting mysterious symbols carved into walls or hidden in corners.

However, these engravings were quite scattered, some even too blurry or incomplete to make out. Even with access to the entire national database, the experts had spent a lot of time searching for similar traces.

Eventually, they found comparable symbols in ancient fields such as chemistry, astrology, or alchemy.

It didn’t seem directly related to the current revival tournament, but after peeling back the layers of information and considering the clues revealed in the livestream chat last night, the experts suspected that the local forces of Lost Paradise might have infiltrated the tournament to obtain alchemy.

Meanwhile, Tang Mo Bai marveled at 009’s miraculous medical skills. As he watched him treat Seth, who was lying nearby, he couldn’t help but ask, “So, you’re still working as a doctor here?”

The idea of associating 009 with a benevolent white-clad healer was strange. Were there no other people around?

Well, it seemed he hadn’t seen anyone else.

009 glanced at him. “After all, you’re all my property.”

Ah, yes. Even tools need maintenance.

Tang Mo Bai finally understood why gladiatorial matches were held so frequently here. With this level of medical expertise, as long as one wasn’t killed on the spot, they could be revived.

Alchemy… Tang Mo Bai felt a surge of excitement. Who hasn’t gone through a “chunibyo” (delusional) phase? And this wasn’t just outdated chemistry. From the few words in the chat, it seemed to be a fully developed, otherworldly system of power, different from modern technology.

A structured system meant it could be replicated, and the barrier to entry wouldn’t be too high. Even though Tang Mo Bai still had a vague understanding of it, he was sure this would be invaluable to any nation.

Even if it couldn’t be applied to Blue Star, seeing how these demons were coveting alchemy, it could easily be used as a bargaining chip to trade for other rare treasures.

Of course, he knew his limits. He could barely protect himself right now, let alone obtain something everyone wanted. He shook the thought off.

Suddenly, he remembered something. “By the way, how do I receive the reward after the match?”

“What? Afraid I’ll steal your earnings?” 009 turned around and sneered. He reached out his hand towards his forehead. The latter instinctively closed his eyes. He felt a cool sensation between his brows, then opened his eyes to see the number on his watch change from 0 to 30.

He had earned 30 soul coins from a single match? That was nearly a third of the required amount for the qualification test!

He gasped. Although he expected to earn a lot, he didn’t realize the demand would be so high. Yan Wuzhen truly was a genius at operations. If he won just two or three more matches, he could exchange them for a qualification test and win the revival tournament!

He grinned.

But before he could celebrate, 009 suddenly seemed to remember something. “Oh, right. I almost forgot the medical fee.”

With that, Tang Mo Bai watched helplessly as the 30 soul coins were immediately reduced by 5, leaving him with just 25.

He gasped, his voice trembling. “Wait, wasn’t there free healthcare?”

“That’s a welfare benefit for newcomers with zero soul coins,” 009 said, teasing him.

Tang Mo Bai stared at him in disbelief. Indeed, just a few seconds ago, his balance was 0, then it increased by 30, only to be immediately deducted by 5. On top of that, 70% of the earnings from the match went to his owner. And yet, the slaves still had to pay for their own medical expenses.

No wonder feudal slavery was eventually replaced by capitalism.

Even capitalists weren’t this ruthless! At least companies covered work-related injuries!

Tang Mo Bai sighed deeply, but he couldn’t voice his complaints. His expression became one of pure dejection, like a stray dog caught in the rain. 009 looked at him with amusement, and a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

“That’s why I don’t understand why you showed mercy,” 009 said in a flat tone. “When he broke your ribs, he didn’t show any mercy.”

“That’s different,” Tang Mo Bai replied. “In battle, going all out is expected.”

“But once you’ve won, slaughtering a defenseless opponent is no longer acceptable. It’s an affront to life and dignity. If I trample on him today, someone will trample on me tomorrow. The bottom line keeps getting lower and lower. I don’t like doing such things, nor do I need to.”

009’s mood soured instantly. He stared into Tang Mo Bai’s eyes, seemingly searching for something, but all he could find was innocence and confusion.

“…Your wounds are healed, what are you still doing here? This isn’t a shelter.”

With that, he ruthlessly kicked him out.

Tang Mo Bai: ???

Wasn’t the atmosphere just fine a moment ago? Why did he suddenly turn hostile?

He scratched his head. He had originally planned to ask about Seth’s condition, but before he could even speak, he was kicked out. Well, maybe next time he’d get the chance to ask.

As the footsteps outside gradually faded away, 009 finally calmed himself down. He lowered his head to look at the alchemical product he had just prepared. After a long pause, a cold smile spread across his face beneath the mask.

A bunch of demons… they really dare to speak like that.