Malice from Carnage

Kyle had Bai Bo stay on the fighter while Anli led him into the Interstellar Duel Arena. This time, however, they did not use the main entrance, but a secluded, little-known staff passage that led directly to the Underground Prison.

When they reached the door protected by laser barriers, they were immediately stopped by Sakaar guards holding Laser Guns. "Unauthorized personnel, halt! Take one more step, and you will be dealt with according to Sakaar law established by the Grandmaster."

Kyle frowned slightly. Anli quickly waved her hands and took out her identification badge to explain their purpose. "I’m Anli, a receptionist from the Exchange. This is Mr. Kyle. I spoke with your chief warden beforehand, and he has agreed to let us visit the challenger."

The Sakaar guards exchanged glances. One of the older guards nodded and said coldly, "Wait a moment."

He picked up his communicator and reported in a low voice. After hearing the order from the other end, his expression eased considerably. He said to Anli, "There is indeed such an arrangement. However, only one person may enter to visit, and you will only have five minutes."

This time, Anli frowned. Just as she was about to negotiate further, Kyle waved to cut her off and said slowly, "You stay outside with Bai Bo."

"All right." Anli agreed helplessly and stepped back several paces.

"I’ll go in alone." Kyle stepped forward and addressed the guards.

"I’ll escort you inside. You are not permitted to leave my side at any point, or I have the authority to kill you. Also, you need to wear this during the visit." The guard pulled a small device from his equipment pouch.

Kyle recognized it at a glance. It was a neural toxin control device. One end connected to the human body; with the press of a button on the remote, even Thor would be paralyzed and collapse to the ground.

Seeing Kyle hesitate slightly, the older guard could not help but give a bitter smile. "Sir, the chief warden has already bent the rules by allowing you into the prison for a visit. Please don’t make things difficult for us."

"No problem. Put it on." Kyle nodded calmly. Only then did the older guard approach and press the small neural toxin device into the area beneath his ear. With a faint sound, the device clung tightly to his neck.

Kyle remained expressionless and casually adjusted his collar, concealing the device flickering with electric light.

"Take this." The older guard handed the controller to another guard, opened the laser security door, and waved for Kyle to follow.

Kyle gave the controller in the guard’s hand one last glance, then calmly looked away and followed the older guard leading the way.

As they walked through the underground passage leading down to the prison, no one noticed that Kyle’s left wrist was bare. The electronic watch he had been wearing had long since vanished.

"Miss Anli, please wait outside for now." The guard outside the laser security door smiled at Anli.

"Okay." Anli nodded lightly and retreated outside. Every five steps, she looked back. For some reason, she felt an indescribable sense of unease.

"Maybe it’s because too many alien creatures have died here. It’s putting pressure on me." Anli mocked herself for being timid, took a deep breath, and completely left the entrance to the Underground Prison.

Not long after Anli left, the guard still stationed outside the prison door slipped the controller into his pocket and quickly picked up his communicator.

"Reporting to the chief warden, the one named Kyle has entered the Duel Arena prison," the guard reported urgently after the call connected.

After a brief silence from the other end of the communicator, a hoarse and steady voice said, "Very good. Maintain communication. Send several more squads of guards into the prison."

"No problem!" the guard replied respectfully.

At that moment, on the highest floor of the Interstellar Arena, on the platform where the Grandmaster usually watched the Duel Competition.

Inside the lavish, extravagant room, there was only a middle-aged alien man with blue dye marking his face, the kind used by Sakaar’s upper ranks. He sat in a mechanical chair with one leg crossed over the other.

The chief guard turned off the communicator with one hand. Veins bulged across his forehead, while the fingers of his other hand pressed hard against the mechanical chair, abruptly denting it inward!

A savage, chilling emotion surfaced in his eyes, and even his pupils turned dark crimson. He muttered hoarsely with fury, "Half a year… I thought that man would never come here again, yet he has appeared before me once more!"

As he spoke, a layer of black liquid enveloped the chief guard’s head like a real demon’s mask, continuously twisting his facial features into a savage, torn distortion.

The chief guard raised one hand. A tough keratinous membrane formed over it, making his palm enormous and his five fingers sharp. He grabbed the steel-and-glass cup from the table and burst into wild laughter, using it to suppress and dispel the fear in his heart.

"Venom! What you don’t dare do, I, Carnage, will do for you!"

"After all, we were originally one! Only by completely erasing that man from this world can we gain true freedom!"

Carnage snorted coldly and squeezed the steel-and-glass cup until it nearly cracked. With a slap, he set it back on the table, picked up his trench coat, and left the room.

The cracked cup left behind trembled slightly. Inside it, something like a mass of black liquid rolled and shifted, churning violently like a living thing that wanted to break free, before soon settling down weakly once more.

Inside the Underground Prison passage.

The guard walked in front, Kyle behind him. In the descending corridor, only their footsteps echoed through the passage.

"Um, who is the challenger you want to visit?" The guard turned back and asked curiously.

"I don’t know his name." Kyle thought for a moment, then described him. "The child with tentacles who made it into the final four this time and is about to participate in the Champion’s Match."

"Oh, so it’s him." The guard nodded, though his expression turned strange as he asked one more question. "What is that child to you?"

"He’s like a friend of mine." Kyle kept his answer brief, unwilling to reveal too much.

The guard hesitated before saying, "It’s strange, really. That child prisoner making it into the final four shocked even us guards."

"Hm?" Kyle looked at him in surprise.

"That child was arrested by a guard I know a month ago. He was originally a thief from the outer district. Before he entered prison, he had nearly been beaten to death and had been lying around in the prison looking sickly ever since. Don’t you think it’s strange that he suddenly became so powerful and fought his way into the final four?" The guard chuckled gossipy.

"But the universe is so vast. Maybe there are combat races that recover from severe injuries and experience a huge surge in strength." The guard came to this wild conclusion.

As Kyle listened, his eyes flickered. Of course, he knew why the child had suddenly become stronger. Venom had naturally bonded with him.

But why had Venom done that? It had bonded with a severely injured child—who had it originally been bonded with?

"It’s just ahead." The guard pointed forward as he spoke. The entrance to the prison was already visible in the distance.

Yet Kyle suddenly stopped. His expression became graver than ever, and the muscles throughout his body tensed slightly.

Something was wrong! Far too wrong!

Things had picked up a little, and the plot was starting to tighten. Tomorrow, I’ll try to get back to three chapters.

I’ll slowly repay the chapters I owe you all, QAQ.