行尸走肉第3季

For the next few hours, Ryan found himself stalking prey after prey, claiming a few points here or there but finding no substantial opponents.

Glancing at his wristband, Ryan pulled up the tournament\'s current leaderboard.

<Enhancer Tournament Standings>

<1. (312 Points) Paracox Jara>

<2. (211 Points) Ovarir Kan>

<3. (205 Points) Tara Phan>

<4. (201 Points) Anthony Dire>

Even though Ryan had been diligently collecting points, he still was only in fourth place.

Deciding now was the right time, Ryan pulled out a small device from his pocket.

The device looked like a compass, but unlike a regular compass, no matter which direction Ryan turned, the needle didn\'t move.

After holding the compass for five seconds, a prompt appeared in Ryan\'s vision.

<Would you like to activate the compass of location?>

Saying "yes" another prompt appeared in Ryan\'s vision, and he selected the option for finding the participant with the most points.

The needle started to shake and, after spinning in circles a few times, pointed south of Ryan and stayed still.

"513… sounds like a good number to me," Ryan said with a slight smile before he disappeared in a burst of speed.

===

In a thick bundle of trees, nine figures were kneeling around a skinny man with metal-framed glasses.

Even if these figures hadn\'t been on their knees, it would have been obvious to anyone that looked at the skinny man that he was a leader.

His cold, calculating eyes looked at his subordinates like he was looking at pieces on a chess board.

"Garth," the leader said, glancing at one of the kneeling men. "Why did I only receive 312 points?"

Hearing his leader\'s words, Garth trembled slightly before gulping and replying, "L-Leader, 312 is all the points we\'ve received so far."

The leader narrowed his eyes in anger and kicked the kneeling man in the shin, causing Garth to collapse on the ground in pain.

Even though the leader might look weak, the kick felt like he had been shot in the leg to Garth.

Unbeknownst to the group, Ryan was watching them silently from the trees. He crouched low to the ground, staying still as possible to avoid detection. His eyes were fixed on the group of men, focusing primarily on the leader.

The leader was a man of a lithe build, his wiry frame belying an explosive strength evident in how he moved. He had sharp, angular features, with a thin, chiseled face and piercing dark eyes.

The leader\'s hair was cropped short and neat, and his skin was deeply tanned from years in the sun. Despite his lean build, his muscles were toned and well-defined, a testament to the rigorous lifestyle he led.

As he moved, the leader exuded a sense of cruelty and ruthlessness that was both intimidating and awe-inspiring. His movements were precise and calculated, each strike and block executed with a deadly efficiency.

Despite his obvious skill and power, something was unsettling about the leader - a sense of darkness and malice that seemed to lurk just beneath the surface. His eyes gleamed with a cold, calculating intelligence, and his lips were twisted into a cruel smirk that sent a shiver down Ryan\'s spine.

Ryan\'s breathing became slow and measured, allowing him to maintain focus and concentration. A plan began to form in his mind, and he decided to make this round of fights a little more interesting.

He remained still and silent. Keeping his balance and waiting patiently for the right moment to strike.

"Why do you only have 312 points?" the leader growled, his face twisted in anger and frustration.

"We attacked a lot more people but a lot of them didn\'t have points," whined Garth, sniveling on the ground.

"What do you mean they didn\'t have points?" demanded the leader, slamming another kick into Garth\'s side.

"Someone else has been attacking them, gleaning their points, but leaving the participants in the game," Garth yelped, holding his side and using his other hand to try to fend off the leader\'s kicks.

The leader\'s face contorted into an expression of disbelief. "You\'re just making them up! You\'re just making it up. You\'re hiding the points!" he roared, his fists clenched.

Garth swallowed hard, realizing that he might be in serious trouble. The leader was about to lash out at him when Ryan stepped forward.

"He\'s telling the truth," Ryan said calmly, his emerald eyes shining in the dim light.

The leader spun around, surprised by Ryan\'s sudden appearance. "Who are you?" he demanded, his voice laced with suspicion.

Ryan stepped forward, his emerald eyes locked onto the leader\'s dark gaze. "You think you\'re so tough, don\'t you?" he said, his voice laced with a hint of sarcasm.

The leader snorted in response. "I don\'t have to think it. I know it. And you should know better than to question my skills, boy."

Ryan grinned, his muscles tensing as he prepared for a fight. "Oh, I\'m not questioning your skills," he said, his voice dripping with confidence. "I just don\'t think they\'re good enough to beat me."

The leader\'s eyes narrowed, and he stepped closer to Ryan, his body coiled like a snake ready to strike. "Is that so?" he said, his voice low and dangerous. "Well, let\'s find out, shall we? I don\'t know who you are, but if you\'re the one who\'s been stealing my points, it\'s time to die!"

With that, the leader launched himself at Ryan, his movements lightning-fast and deadly accurate.

Ryan barely had time to react, but he managed to dodge the initial attack and counter with a swift kick to the leader\'s midsection.

Ryan\'s eyebrow twitched. \'This guy is shameless!\'

Still going with the plan, Ryan let the leader\'s fist fly toward him unimpeded.

In reality, the man moved as slow as a snail in Ryan\'s vision and could have easily dodged, but since he was putting on a performance, Ryan let the man\'s fist connect.

Ryan stepped back just at the last second, so to the onlookers, it seemed Ryan only had an average reaction time.

The leader tried to swipe Ryan\'s feet out from beneath him with a low kick, but Ryan, now playing the part of a focused and alert fighter, blocked it quickly.

The leader, off balance after missing the low kick, was an easy target as Ryan launched a high roundhouse kick, then used the opening to step in close and deliver a quick punch to the leader\'s chest.

The leader twisted out of the way, able to save himself from getting knocked to the ground, and landed a solid punch on Ryan\'s side.

Ryan pretended to be in pain and gritted his teeth, pouncing and launching a series of fast strikes aimed at the leader\'s head and torso.

Using his arms and legs to parry and deflect, the leader was able to avoid some of Ryan\'s pounding blows.

Ryan felt a whoosh of air out of nowhere as he flipped backward, barely dodging the leaders spinning back kick.

The leader landed a hard punch to Ryan\'s jaw, sending him staggering backwards. "You talk a big game, but you\'re nothing but a pretender," he spat, circling around Ryan like a predator.

Ryan wiped the blood from his lip and grinned wickedly. "Is that the best you\'ve got, old man? I thought you were supposed to be a fighter."

The leader\'s eyes flashed with anger. "You\'re playing with fire, boy. I\'ll make you regret those words."

Ryan chuckled. "I\'m not scared of you and never will be."

The leader\'s fists clenched at his sides, his muscles bulging with rage. "You\'re dead meat, kid. I\'m going to break every bone in your body."

Ryan didn\'t flinch, meeting the leader\'s gaze with a cool, steady stare. "Try me," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "I\'m not afraid of pain, and I\'m definitely not afraid of you."

Though the leader\'s strikes were fast and powerful, Ryan\'s strikes were precise and efficient, causing the most damage for each strike.

The men glared at each other, their footwork and bodies constantly shifting as they tried to gain the upper hand.

At one point, the leader seemed to catch Ryan off balance and landed a solid kick to his ribs.

Ryan grunted in pretend pain but quickly regained his composure and launched a flurry of punches aimed at the leader\'s head.

The leader tried to duck and weave, bobbing and swaying to avoid the blow, but Ryan, not taking a break from his onslaught of fiery punches, delivered a swift and final bone-breaking kick, aimed right at the leader\'s knee, and with a satisfying crunch, he knew he had his points.

He looked up, wiped the sweat from his face, and over the leader\'s screams, said to the onlookers, "Who\'s next?"

===

Mila and Abby watched with wrapped attention as Ryan fought the leader of the dragon-race enhancers.

Knowing the man she had been with intimately was fierce, Abby wasn\'t surprised that he had defeated the leader, but she still felt a burst of excitement at his victory and breathed a sigh of relief.

As the sister\'s looked at each other, sharing their excitement, a knock was heard at the door.

"Come in," Mila called, knowing who was at the door.

When the door was open, standing in the doorway was none other than First Lieutenant Valery, the person who had gotten Ryan into the tournament.

"I assume you know why you\'re here?" Mila asked.

An uninformed person might think that this lower-rank girl, who was talking to a First Lieutenant with such a lack of respect, would be punished, but they would be sorely mistaken.

Mila was a faction leader and on campus, was akin to an Empress in her palace.

Mila only nodded and sat opposite Mila.

Although Mila was powerful, Valery still had self-respect and wouldn\'t let the student walk all over her.

Turning to the screen, Valery watched as Ryan finished the last of the dragon enhancers and said, "Ryan."