Counterfeit Hero

After announcing a series of strict management measures during the fighting tournament, warden Picard began to read out the list of prisoners selected to set up the tournament venue. The selected prisoners were those with relatively short sentences and well-behaved ones who would construct a large circular stand between the laundry room and the management building on the east side of the prison yard.

In the center of the stand, capable of seating three thousand people, lay an open-air fighting arena. This arena consisted of eight small fighting arenas close to the stands and a large one in the middle. The entire venue was simple in design but with a strong visual impact. Especially during the group matches, sixteen contestants fought like beasts amidst the nobles’ whistles and laughter, with only one person ultimately standing in the center, earning the right to advance.

In the modern age of highly developed human civilization, this ancient and traditional combat appealed to the darkest parts of many people’s hearts. In the name of tradition, they tore off their gentlemanly masks and joined in a primitive and savage revelry. At this time, women were not allowed to watch; this was a man’s paradise, a heaven of blood and excitement.

Fatty, as an untried spy, naturally had no chance at this favorable task. In the cell, only Big Plane and Rex qualified to bask in the warm sunshine while working this not-too-hard job. In addition, prisoners participating in the construction work could get an extra meal, hoping they would fully unleash their initiative in this political task.

From this moment on, it also signaled that the power struggle surrounding the fighting tournament had entered a white-hot phase.

After announcing the list, Picard waved his hand, the automatic doors of the cell opened, and the day’s work officially began. The group led by Gino was the first to step out of the cell, looking arrogant. The fighting tournament had truly been put on the agenda, and Gino’s faction, confident of winning the championship, had long been impatient. After this competition, they would completely rule the prison, and other rival forces would be defeated one by one during and after the tournament. Their number-one assassin, Ghost, could openly and grandly use combat to eliminate any opponent of rival forces, or show mercy to those who had defected to them.

During the tournament, the prison’s practice was not to meddle in the power struggles unless someone crossed the prison’s bottom line; the prison authorities would turn a blind eye. They would watch from afar, provoking and maintaining conflicts like a director. The disputes among prisoners were originally part of the grand tournament. A match without tempers and bloodshed could not satisfy the nobles’ bloodlust. Only the sharper the confrontation, the more brutal and crazy the bloodshed scenes would become.

As the crowd went downstairs, Rex, Big Plane, and Fatty separated. They had to gather in the ground-floor hall to receive the guards’ assignments. Fatty walked while stealthily watching other prisoners arriving at the hall until he confirmed that at least three warriors from the Freedom Front lurking in the prison were also among those selected, then sped up his steps towards the machine shop.

During work, Tian Xingjian took a chance to slip into the management room. Over a month of prison life, Fatty had already become friends with Davis, the guard supervisor in charge of the workshop. His identity in the Mythical Army and his expertise in Mecha made Davis turn a blind eye to Fatty sneaking into the management room for a smoke. Since the guard said nothing, Beilu was content to relax, as long as Fatty completed the assigned tasks each day without anyone bothering. With Fatty’s quick hands, it was impossible not to complete the prison’s assigned tasks, even if he smoked in the management room for two hours, he could still finish his work on time.