Chapter 108: Psychic Combat

He was very curious about how such low-end matches could possibly entice adapters into participation, but upon reaching the arena, he was stunned by what he saw.

What is this?

The two people who were preparing to face off in battle were both extremely thin and frail. It was as if they had suffered some type of condition that resulted in muscular atrophy, and they were essentially nothing more than skin and bones, relying entirely on their prosthetic limbs for movement.

Furthermore, they were wearing some type of hollow helmet on their heads, and there were sharp metal spikes on the inside of the helmets, piercing directly into their skulls to connect with their brains. With each jolt of electricity that passed through the helmets, the two would spasm violently.

"What are those things?" Adam asked.

A teenage girl beside him rolled her eyes at him, then briefly inspected his get-up as she scoffed with a derisive expression, "How are you a local when you don't even know about this?"

"Er..." Adam offered no response, realizing that the more he said, the more he was going to expose himself.

Thankfully, the girl was very chatty, and she pointed at the helmets as she explained, "These are neuron exploiters, an invention of our Shadow City. They can stimulate the brain to temporarily enhance neuron function, granting normal people the same abilities as adapters for a short time."

"Is that right?" Never did Adam think there would be such strange inventions in Shadow City that could temporarily enhance the neurons of normal people to the same level as adapters.

However, looking at the physical state that the users were in, it seemed that attaining this ability came at an excessive cost.

"How much longer will these people be able to live?" Adam asked in a hushed voice.

"Who knows? These psychic combatants all sustain irreversible damage to their bodies and brains, and they generally don't live past seven years."

"Are they doing this out of their own volition?"

"Most of them are. As long as they can earn enough money, after they die, they can enter the Dark Metaverse."

"I see."

"You're an outsider, right? That's a nice disguise you have there. If you hadn't said anything, you would've had me fooled." The girl was a local resident of the area, and it was clear that she was very well-versed with the rules here, speaking with a sense of maturity beyond her years. "What did you do in the past?"

"I used to be a hitman," Adam replied, painting himself in a menacing light in the hope that the girl would be intimidated into keeping their encounter a secret.

However, to his surprise, the girl became even more excited after hearing this, and she even took the initiative to introduce herself.

"You're a hitman? That's fantastic!" The girl reached out to shake Adam's hand, then lowered her voice so that it was audible only to the two of them as she said, "Hello, Mr. Hitman. My name is Hailey, and it's a pleasure to meet you!"

Adam merely nodded in response, not wanting to speak with this chatty girl any longer.

Hailey could see that Adam was growing impatient with her, so she hurriedly cut to the chase. "Given your lack of understanding of Shadow City, I presume you've only recently arrived here, so you most likely don't have any laundered money to use, right? Do you need money?"

Adam continued to remain silent, but an intrigued look appeared in his eyes.

Hailey was clearly someone who was at the bottom of the societal hierarchy and had developed exceptional skills of observation. She could tell from the change in Adam's expression that she had struck the nail right on the head with her guess, and she hurriedly continued, "I have a great way to make money. Do you want to hear it?"

"Go ahead?"

"Before I begin, I have to confirm something. You're an adapter, right?" Hailey asked in a careful voice. "Nowadays, there are very few non-adapter hitmen. After all, everyone's scared of Mechguard."

"That's right."

"Great! If you need money, you can participate in our psychic combat matches, and you'll be able to earn lots and lots of money. My ultimate dream in life is to become a manager for a psychic combatant, and I've been coming here every day since I was eight years old, but I've never found an opportunity. I've studied up on lots and lots of professional specialized knowledge in this area. If we join forces, we'll be sure to make a name for ourselves here!"

"You talk way too much! Aren't you afraid of getting involved with someone like me? I'm wanted for some very serious crimes!"

"I wouldn't be able to live in Shadow City if I were scared of everything! All of us have to fight every day just to survive. Look around you, who isn't wanted for some serious shit here?" Hailey shrugged in response.

While Adam and Hailey were speaking with one another, a bell similar to the ones heard at boxing matches rang out, indicating that the battle was about to begin.

At this point, the pair of severely emaciated combatants had already put on their equipment, and they were placed together by the host. After that, the two machines were connected, and the two of them instantly entered the psychic world and fell unconscious.

At the same time, a projection device that was meant for surveillance purposes was brought out by another worker to display the battle that was taking place in the psychic world.

In the image, the two combatants had already entered a white space. In contrast with their frail and atrophied physical appearances, the psychic forms of the two combatants were a pair of muscular men. After they appeared in the white space, the pair of combatants took a glance at one another, but they didn't immediately begin fighting.

Meanwhile, the host began to introduce the psychic statistics of the two combatants while taking bets.

"Our stall doesn't take part in the gambling, we only take 10% of the winner's earnings. You can place your bets on who you think is going to win, and the one who places the highest bet can select the venue for the fight. You may begin placing your bets now!"

"Who do you think is going to win, Mr. Hitman?"

"How am I supposed to know? The two of them look roughly the same, so I can't really tell anything just by looking at them," Adam replied with a shake of his head. "Having said that, I'm very curious to see what they're capable of."

This was the first time that he had seen a clash between ordinary people in the psychic world, so he was very intrigued.

With the host fanning the flame of excitement, the arena was becoming rowdier and rowdier. Most of the spectators placed down their bets, then began to chug down beer while cheering for their fighter.

Meanwhile, the one who had placed the highest bet chose the venue for battle.

"Alright, this gentleman has chosen the most commonplace and fairest warehouse setting as the venue for the battle. I'm sure I don't need to make too much of an introduction about the warehouse setting. There are very few weapons in the warehouse, only some common tools such as spanners, shovels, and fire axes. It's clear that this gentleman wants to see a true contest of strength between our two combatants! Let's cut to the fight now!"

While the host was speaking, he made his way over to the machine that connected the two combatants before inputting a series of commands.

Moments later, the image in the projection slowly began to change, transforming from a white and featureless space into a warehouse.

The warehouse resembled a factory warehouse from the previous century with wooden crates and broken containers littered all over the place. and aside from some trash and hay, there were only some common tools on the ground.

In the instant that the pair of combatants arrived in the warehouse, they knew that the battle had begun, and they immediately crouched down to pick up weapons from the ground.