The conversation in the lounge was over.

Kenichi Sora stopped talking, his chip heating up as if it were calculating something frantically.

John was also exhausted.

He looked at the countdown, suddenly thinking—the mercenary waits quietly in the dim players' lounge, marking both the beginning of the arena match and the end of a short-lived career.

Sora was no help.

He paid the price for his recklessness.

Insisting on the fight led to his body being depleted, getting killed by his opponent, failing to wait for the surgery opportunity.

This talk-of-the-town street experience had become a joke in an overreaching arena challenge.

This is the ending... right?

Suddenly.

A series of urgent footsteps echoed in the corridor.

Swoosh.

The electromagnetic door of the players' lounge opened.

Gino walked in first, visibly relieved to see John still alive and even smoking relaxedly.

"Phew, it really is you!"

"Why are you here?"

John was somewhat surprised too.

Gino made way, signaling to Macao who was carrying medical tools.

"He told me, 'Come quickly, there's an idiot jumping the queue at the season end, brawling with Crocodile Reigen, getting beaten to the ground!'"

She mimicked her brother's speech while accepting the suture and spray, checking John's wound. "Then I scanned the stage with my prosthetic eye and recognized the idiot as someone I know."

John smiled bitterly, taking off his shirt.

Gino removed the emergency bandage, using better equipment to treat John's torn muscle bundles and connecting professional devices to handle the fluid in John's prosthetic eye.

Her skill in wound treatment was indeed top-notch.

This was a skill polished in her brother's boxing gym, applying medication with expertise, and definitely more careful than the healthcare workers from Bone Shards.

Macao, dressed in work attire, was clearly there directly from the shop after receiving news.

"John, you're really something! You stole all the spotlight these days: assassinating a corporate executive, racing on the Eastern People's turf, openly shooting down the hottest driver of the Owl Town Gang... People were still guessing your survival, and here you are, jumping into the main arena for a title match!"

John accompanied with a smile, not explaining or commenting—through others' eyes, he was indeed hitting all the headlines in the underworld and the legal news.

Macao laughed in exasperation.

"You think I'm praising you? Being a legend doesn't mean rushing to your death. Even if you're healthy, no one should torment their body like a machine, right?"

Macao began with reprimands, then sighed.

He looked around, exchanged glances with Gino.

John noticed the glow in Gino's prosthetic eye, as within seconds, all the electronic devices in the room were paralyzed.

She quickly packed away the medical items and urged.

"Surveillance is taken care of, we have an insider at the backdoor, let's bolt right now, straight from the basement!"

Gino's expression was serious.

Macao stood at the door observing the situation.

John was stunned, instinctively asked.

"Why leave?"

"What else?" Gino retorted. "Do you want to die here!?"

"DM,"

Macao tapped his forehead with a metal knuckle. "Buddy, did Reigen's punches give you a concussion? Enough playing around, or are you volunteering as a punching bag?"

Gino knew about John's condition, trying a different approach to persuade him.

"Dying in the arena isn't glorious, people would just remember you as an idiot, leave here, find a crowded spot and have a drink, someone will brag on your behalf, telling tales of a street mercenary who did great things."

Neither could think of a reason for John to stay.

As friends, they didn't want him to die in front of them.

[Mission Objective Updated]

[Leave with Gino and Macao. (Optional)]

[Continue the fight. (Optional)]

Buzzing.

A faint electric current shot from John's neck, itching like dried sweat sticking to his skin, his brain neurons beginning to activate.

John didn't know what Sora was doing.

He didn't speak, his actions expressing a refusal.

Gino's prepared "disappearance" time expired.

The room's lights began to flicker.

"Damn, the Magic Puppet's invalidated, Internet Surveillance noticed my actions."

Gino showed a pained expression. "These bastards are so controlling, I didn't even touch those contestants."

Bone Shards had said:

Net surveillance also sponsors the black-circuit competitions.

Gino's tampering with surveillance was detected, not only failing to take John away, but someone might trace her location through cyberspace.

"This is troublesome."

Macao retracted his head from the corridor. "We're criminals now."

Gino frowned deeply, preparing to make an attempt.

John's hand rested on her shoulder, casually saying. "Stop overthinking for me."

He didn't have time to explain Sora's existence, so used another excuse.

"I have a side bet deal with Bone Shards, this scenario was arranged in advance, just watch, this round I'm going to shove that bastard into the cage."

"..."

Gino and Macao exchanged a glance.

Both read doubt in each other's eyes.

Especially Macao, as a boxing coach, he had observed the arena performance—Crocodile's flubbing, John's poor defense all laid bare.

He preferred to believe:

John just wanted to have one last moment of glory before dying!

Beep beep beep.

The room lights returned to normal.

The countdown for players to enter the stage neared the end, a reminder appeared on the mirror for John to go on stage.

"Hey, I remember..."

John pulled Gino closer, speaking at a volume Macao couldn't hear. "Have you been doing hacking work lately?"

A broker's assignments are always filled with danger.

Macao worried his sister might encounter another Ghoul incident.

Gino wasn't ready to come clean with her brother yet.

Faced with John's inquiry, her first reaction was to ask. "You're short on cash? Makes sense, treatment is expensive, no problem... I'll think of another way..."

"What are you thinking."

John interrupted her. "Why not try betting before I get on stage!"

"You're insane."

Gino threw used bandages into the trash bin, washing the blood off her hands and shaking her head. "It's not fair... John, you want me to bet on my good friend getting beaten to death?"

John didn't know how to answer.

Even he wasn't confident, what if Sora didn't play his part, leading him to die and cost his friend money?

John simply gave up, heading to the door.

Macao blocking the way just shook his head and sighed.

"From my experience, many reckless decisions are unfair to those who care about you."

He stepped aside. "I don't know how to advise you, but at least... enjoy the fight, buddy."

The goodbyes ended here.

They did what they could.

John went up alone, heading toward the end of the passage.

Lights and noise surged at him like waves.

John felt a sense of unreality, then gradually lost sensation from his toes upward.

He didn't fall, just couldn't control his legs.

Black Light quietly cloaked him.

This wasn't a regular hacking method, but a neural signal blockade from inside out.

John staggered a few steps, raising a hand to steady against the wall, wanting to say something but couldn't open his mouth, even unable to control his breathing pace.

His eyes widened, body trembling.

A piercing tinnitus started spreading from the ear with the Special Inhibitor, swiftly covering his head, like an invisible scalpel severing his consciousness.