If it’s just delivering food, so be it. After all, having once endured starting as a prisoner, this start seemed fine to Lv Bai, at least there’s a rental apartment to serve as a foothold.

Lv Bai glanced at the time on his phone; it was just after ten at night.

Having just arrived at this Death Arena, he was still feeling quite invigorated.

He pondered for a moment and decided to go outside to check out the situation first,

Lv Bai grabbed the keys hanging on the wall, put on his shoes, and pushed the door open to head out.

As expected, the rental apartment he lived in was indeed a basement conversion, requiring him to climb a few steps to reach the ground level.

Based on what he had gathered so far, this Death Arena seemed to exist in a modern setting, slightly more advanced than the previous underworld setting, even having apps such as food delivery and ride-hailing.

Strangely, though they were in a modern city, ten at night shouldn’t count as late night at all.

Yet, the community where Lv Bai resided had already fallen into silence.

Looking up, only one or two households still had their lights on in the building.

Pressing the unlock button on his keychain, two beeps later, he quickly found his electric bike.

Riding his little electric scooter, he made two laps around the community, and it seemed like some residents were already peeking out.

"Such strong safety consciousness." Lv Bai held onto the handlebars, blinking his eyes.

He didn’t continue wandering around the community, instead, he twisted the throttle and headed straight along the road.

He had to admit, the eerie silence was terrifying along the way.

At first, he thought it was just because he lived in such a remote area, with hardly any cars.

But after riding five or six kilometers on the scooter, the deathly silence persisted, and the number of vehicles he saw along the way was few.

Bear in mind, it was only just past ten o’clock.

In such a big city, even at four in the morning, traffic shouldn’t be as sparse as this.

He accidentally passed by a police station next to a park; the officer on duty at the guard post widened his eyes in shock when he saw him and, if looked closely, you’d notice the officer even involuntarily retracted his neck.

"What’s going on in this Death Arena?"

Lv Bai frowned.

He continued riding for a while, but noticing his scooter’s battery was less than half, he decided to turn back the way he came.

Passing the police station again, he suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable.

That subtle unnaturalness, as if something was watching him.

Lv Bai slowed his bike, gazing in the direction that made him uneasy.

The indescribable staring sensation seemed to emanate from the park across the street from the police station.

The park’s vegetation was indeed dense, but not pitch black. In the glow of a few streetlights, visibility was actually quite high.

Lv Bai hesitated for a moment, then parked his scooter by the roadside and walked deeper into the park.

Though it wasn’t eleven yet, the surroundings were as silent as a soundless world.

Lv Bai quickly realized the problem; this park...had no sounds of insects or birds.

He took a deep breath and, relying on a few abilities he possessed, continued forward with courage.

As he advanced, the strange sense of being watched intensified.

To describe it, it felt like an unprepared ordinary person walking into the vast plains of Africa, a sense that some wild beast might suddenly pounce and take his life at any moment.

Thump~ Thump~ Thump~

Suddenly,

Lv Bai’s ears caught a sound approaching from afar.

The sound wasn’t very rhythmic, but it was clear that whatever was making it was steadily approaching him.

Lv Bai stopped, waiting silently for it to appear.

Closer!

Rustle~ Rustle~

There was a slight movement in the dense forest by the roadside.

Lv Bai held his breath, ready to act at any moment.

Yet, in the next second.

An elderly man with graying hair emerged from the dense woods leaning on a cane.

The length of his graying beard exceeded ten centimeters, his eyes were slightly clouded, looking somewhat presbyopic.

He glanced around with his cane, finally focusing on Lv Bai.

"Hey, young man, why are you here alone?"

The elderly man’s tone was quite friendly, merely asking out of curiosity when he saw Lv Bai.

Lv Bai relaxed just a little, involuntarily showing a friendly smile: "Couldn’t sleep at home in the evening, what about you, sir? Why are you here alone?"

"Hehe, I’m just old,"

The elderly man sat down on a public bench by the roadside, gently tapping his knee with his hand.

Then looking at the night sky, he sighed, "The older you get, the more you regret, losing so many people over the years..."

This scene, to onlookers, was filled with a melancholic sense of a fading twilight.

Lv Bai was about to comfort him, saying that conditions like Alzheimer’s could be treated or alleviated.

Before he could find the words, the elderly man continued, "...maybe being a tour guide isn’t a good idea."

Lv Bai: "..."

The elderly man conjured a blood-red pennant out of thin air, still smiling kindly, "Since you’re here, come with me, I’ll show you around the park."

"I refuse."

Lv Bai shook his head.

If he didn’t realize by now that something was wrong with the old man, that would be truly odd.

"Young man, don’t resist."

The elderly man stood up with his cane from the public bench.

Lv Bai’s eyes narrowed gradually, "I really hate tour guides engaging in forced purchases at scenic spots."

...

Outside the park at the police station.

Having sneaked a smoke and returned, finding an electric scooter parked outside the park, the officer on duty at the guard post was immediately flustered.

Quickly using the radio, he called out, "Re...report, it seems a citizen has accidentally entered the park."

Static~ Static~

The radio emitted some noise, then a middle-aged man’s voice came through.

"No ’seems’, are you confirming a citizen has accidentally entered? Didn’t we issue warnings to nearby citizens?"

The officer replied awkwardly, too embarrassed to admit he had been slacking off.

"It should..."

Halfway through speaking, he noticed the style of the scooter and suddenly remembered seeing someone ride past earlier. He quickly added, "Yes, I am sure something has entered the park, but I can’t confirm if it’s related to a new anomaly." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"How long has it been? Why didn’t you report it sooner!"

Hearing the officer’s explanation, the middle-aged man’s voice on the other side of the radio carried a suppressed anger, "Don’t you know how dangerous the elderly tour guide in sequence 183 is? You are... fine, you keep your position, I’ll bring people over now."