205 - Cinderella’s Dream: Together Forever

**Chapter 205 (Bonus Update)** The man’s gaze swept over the three of them—Chen Wan and her companions—as he sneered, "Hmph, three pretty boys think you can rely on your looks to get ahead? You think the boss will favor you? Dream on. Didn't you want to see the fourth underground level? I'll personally take you there. Why are you just standing there? These pretty boys don't have invitations, tie them up and take them away." "Didn't I give you an invitation?" Chen Wan frowned at the man. If not for the six guns pointed at her, she would have already taken action. Scar laughed at Chen Wan and then tore up the invitation in his hand. "Not anymore. You guys are intruders, and dangerous ones at that. Tie them up." Following the man’s order, Chen Wan and her companions were tied up and dragged by a few men to the fourth underground level. Chen Wan wasn't unable to break free from the ropes; rather, she wanted to see the situation in the fourth underground level. If all the victims were indeed held there, the rescue plan would be much easier. Meanwhile, in a room with European decor, a woman with half of her face veiled watched the two large televisions hanging on the wall. One screen was showing a live broadcast of the beast-fighting arena, while the other focused on the three of them—Chen Wan and her companions. By her side, the Left Guardian, noticing her interest in the trio, hurried to speak, "Master, if you're interested in them, I'll have Scar release them right away." The woman gracefully picked up a wine glass from the table and took a sip before responding slowly, "No rush. I want to see their reactions upon reaching the fourth underground level; it makes things more interesting." Her expression turned cold as she continued, "But Scar and his six men are unnecessary. Bold enough to act without my orders—they should be dealt with now." The Left Guardian immediately complied, "Understood!" He led a heavily armed ten-man squad straight to the fourth underground level. At the same moment, Chen Wan and her companions had just been brought by Scar and his men to the fourth underground level. It was a vast prison where people were categorized by their attributes, with ten per cell. Chen Wan estimated roughly around four thousand people were confined there. They were thrown into a cell that housed three people. Scar shut the door with a light laugh, "You thought you could catch the boss's eye? Just wait here for your doom..." Scar was about to say more when a gunshot rang out from afar, and before he could continue his insults, he dropped to the ground. What followed was a barrage of gunfire till Scar and his six men were all breathless. The sudden change left the fourth underground level silent. Chen Wan noticed a female Alpha leading a small squad into the area. It was their gunfire just now. She glanced coldly at the corpses, as if looking at trash. "Scar and his men failed to follow the boss’s orders—I took care of it for her. Everyone, carry on." Her tone was calm, as if such matters were commonplace. Shortly after, she left with her team. Chen Wan started to scrutinize the cell. It resembled the cells of ancient times, with steel bars standing one by one into the ground, reaching up to the ceiling, with gaps only the size of a fist. One couldn't escape through them. Chen Wan could break these bars, but she wasn't planning to do so just yet. She needed to understand the situation first. Even if the bars were broken, escaping wouldn't be easy. The prison cells were open on both sides and heavily guarded, roughly a hundred guards, all armed. Escaping would be challenging. Turning back to the original three occupants of the cell, she noted a male Alpha sitting quietly in the left corner against the wall. Wearing black-rimmed glasses, he seemed refined, disinclined to interact. He remained oblivious to their arrival. The other was a bulky male Alpha, a large figure nearly towering at 1.9 meters, making the cell feel small. In the far right corner was a shaven-headed female Alpha, curled up timidly and looking at them with fear. To avoid unnecessary trouble, Chen Wan didn’t plan to talk. In such circumstances, entering the beast-fighting ring was like heading to the guillotine—no one in there was in a good mood. However, the large man couldn't hold back and spoke first, "How did you all end up in here? I’m Big Guy, and I just got here yesterday." "I'm Chen Wan. These two are friends of mine. We got into the wrong place and ended up here. What about you?" Chen Wan queried. "I’m even unluckier. I was drunk by a so-called friend and sent here as a debt payment. Dammit, was I blind to make friends like that?" Big Guy was clearly full of regret, having not expected such betrayal. "But now that you’re here, at least I have someone to talk to. That glasses guy is so aloof, won't speak to anyone. As for the buzzcut girl, she cries whenever I talk to her. You’re the most normal so far," Big Guy rambled on. "So, what’s the deal here? And who’s this boss they talked about?" Chen Wan inquired. "How would I know? All I know is that entering the beast-fighting ring is a death sentence. Regular people fight zombies until all the zombies are dead; only then are you lucky enough to survive. Fifty entered yesterday; none came back," Big Guy said, slumping against the wall in despair. "Folks, use these days well. Could be our turn any day." Fifty lives, just tools for these people’s venting. Post-apocalypse, such distortion of humanity was expected, but Chen Wan hadn’t realized the extent of it here. Half an hour passed before a female Alpha, her face smeared with dirt, was brought into their cell. In her twenties, she anxiously watched from the bars. Big Guy, seeing another newcomer, cautioned, "Save your strength. I tried for an hour; it's solid. Take a seat and rest." Discouraged by Big Guy's words, she nodded to Chen Wan and the others as a greeting, then sat down on the straw-covered ground by the bars. "And how did you get in?" Big Guy, curious as always, asked. "I was out finding supplies with two friends. We agreed to meet back up but were suddenly caught by uniformed people, then brought here," she explained. "Your face is all muddy; how'd that happen?" Big Guy persisted. "I struggled when they captured me and was pressed into the ground to be tied up. What is this place anyway, and why are they capturing all of us?" the woman frowned, asking. "To satisfy those bored people—with a twisted game," Chen Wan, recalling the arena footage, replied coldly. "A twisted game?" the woman's voice rose in distress. "Yes, humans versus zombies. Heads-on till you've killed all zombies to survive," Chen Wan explained. "That's impossible! I need to get out. My friends are waiting for me." The woman stood up, hitting the bars, "Anyone there? Let me out! I need to go back." A male Alpha across the cell whistled tauntingly, "Save it; no one's letting you leave unless you leave dead." After shouting with no reply, she reluctantly sat down again. Big Guy resumed his chatter, "I'm Big Guy. And you?" "Xiao Yu. So, once inside, there's truly no way out?" Xiao Yu worriedly asked. "It’s unclear yet. We'll just have to see how it goes," Chen Wan replied, closing her eyes afterward. She was actually sending a message through her mental network to Yi Yi, instructing her to inform two people to return to District One for reinforcements, wait nearby in ambush, and then, at Chen Wan's signal, move to take down the Canglong Bar. However, this place wasn’t near District One; their round trip, explaining the situation, and informing the guards would take ten hours. Until then, they’d have to endure. Chen Wan didn’t think they’d be that unlucky. Having just been captured, they wouldn’t be thrown into a match on the first day, right? As she transmitted the message, Xiao Yu chatted a bit with Qin Ke and the others, before everyone sank back into silence. When Chen Wan reopened her eyes, half an hour had passed. Huang Mao and Black Bear, fresh from the arena, returned unscathed. They were the only survivors of the day’s first match; everyone else had perished. Huang Mao and Black Bear, satisfied, returned with a youthful Omega each in their arm, though the Omegas were clearly reluctant. Chen Wan overheard a conversation from the Alpha prisoners in the adjacent cell discussing, "Damn, that Huang Mao is something else. Every time he survives the arena and gets to enjoy an Omega on the boss's whim. How sweet is that?" "Something else my ass. If he were really that good, he'd have moved on to the second stage by now. Why linger in the arena back and forth like this?" "Do you think he wants this? Getting out after passing all four stages is harder than reaching the heavens. Staying alive in the arena isn't a bad deal in comparison. As tough as it is, it's better than dying." "True. Who the hell came up with this Mobius game anyway? It's messed up. I heard the best anyone’s done these past few months is finishing the third stage, and they went crazy by the time they came out. Nobody has cleared all stages. Someone like Huang Mao, looping in the first stage, is already doing pretty well." Listening to their words, Chen Wan turned to Qin Ke and her friends beside her, saying, "So the arena is just the first stage? Did they mention there are four stages in all?" "This place seems really complicated," Qin Ke replied, her brows furrowing slightly. "From what those people said, if you win the first stage and don’t choose to proceed to the next one, you're stuck doing the first stage again next time. It's a continuous loop. According to the rules, the only way out is to clear all four stages." Indeed, the perversions of these sadistic individuals are beyond what any normal person could comprehend!