Chapter 84: The Regretful Display of the Defeated

Only now, as she slipped off her coat, did it become clear—Dongguan usually wandered among the condemned wearing nothing but a white lab coat, fearlessly moving through the throng of death row inmates. The coat was halfway off when she paused, lamenting, “Some people simply love to disobey.”

As soon as she spoke, a dozen inmates scattered throughout the hall began to show cherry-pink phoenix butterfly patterns spreading from their eyes, deepening with every moment. Wretched cries echoed in succession, and amidst this chorus of despair, Dongguan regained her usual flamboyance and allure.

“My body, and you dare gaze upon it.” Without a care, she stepped over the newly fallen corpses, her graceful figure swaying once more. Amidst the sea of broken bodies and severed limbs, she danced as if strolling through a field of blossoms. Her steps were light, not quite practiced, yet she was perfectly at ease.

Across her bare chest, cherry-pink butterfly patterns spread and shifted, covering her hands, feet, and cheeks before finally stopping. With her half-revealed attire and this exotic makeup, Dongguan exuded an intoxicating, seductive charm that invited countless fantasies.

She approached Right Tyrant first. Owing to his earlier provocation, the Serpent Woman’s Phoenix Inferno Slash had targeted him, and he had plunged from the top of the bat-shaped edifice thousands of meters high. Of the eight instructors, his injuries were the most severe.

Dongguan straddled him, legs spread wide, standing unabashed. The man beneath her was battered but not unconscious; he forced his eyes open, the world coming into focus. The first thing he saw was the heart-shaped fringe he remembered so well. Right Tyrant grinned, content.

She had come—Dongguan. She was the only person in the Condemned Playground, no, in the entire world, who truly cared for him.

He had failed a game once and was forced to participate in the “Losers’ Regret Show.” Stripped naked and shackled to an operating table, he faced a slot machine. The air conditioning was set low, but terror made him sweat profusely. He knew the Playground’s cruelty well, and this was the infamous “Losers’ Regret Show.” Even survivors didn’t last long. No one spoke of what they endured within, and that only deepened his despair. Then Dongguan appeared—

She approached with a sweet smile and eyes filled with tenderness. As she traced his skin with her fingertip, he felt her body tremble with spasmodic delight and barely contained longing.

Her gaze was thrilled and satisfied—a look he had never received from anyone else: approval, affection, even… hunger.

Was this what it felt like to be loved? He was spellbound.

After lingering by his side, Dongguan went to the slot machine, beaming. “Let’s begin,” she said, pressing the spin button.

Screens displaying human organs whirred rapidly. Seeing this, Right Tyrant finally understood what the “Losers’ Regret Show” truly meant.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and surrendered to fate, shouting, “Stop!”

Children’s laughter rang from within the machine, followed by a cold electronic voice: “Congratulations, ordinary condemned Right Tyrant, you’re exempt this round.”

He opened his eyes, incredulous, staring at the pale glow on the clown’s nose display—no organ icons, just a blank space. He hadn’t misheard; he was truly spared!

“My goodness, you’re exempt! Sir, what luck—there are thousands of organs and tissues here, but only one blank spot. One in a thousand chance, and you got it. Congratulations!”

Right Tyrant broke into a fresh sweat of relief. He’d barely entered the Playground, braving the “Losers’ Regret Show” just to catch the boss’s attention. At last, his lifelong misfortune had been overturned—he’d met a woman as radiant as spring sunshine, and he had been spared!

He saw clearly: the blank spot was flanked by the heart on one side and the brainstem on the other.

“Come, let’s take a photo to commemorate this rare stroke of luck.”

Dongguan tapped her digital watch and trotted over, activating the camera. She leaned close, her heart-shaped fringe brushing his sweat-soaked cheek.

A faint, intoxicating scent of cherry blossoms filled Right Tyrant’s nostrils. Staring at the excited, innocent girl pointing the lens at him, he remembered his own frightened, disheveled state. He quickly wiped his face with his prison uniform, not wanting to soil Dongguan’s hair, his gaze unsettled, always dodging hers—flustered, overwhelmed by her attention.

Seeing the bashful, awkward Right Tyrant in the viewfinder, Dongguan couldn’t help but smile. She glanced at his reddening cheeks and laughed—a sound as melodious as silver bells, blending with the cherry blossom fragrance, sublime.

At that moment, Right Tyrant’s heart stopped completely.

Could it be that a lifetime of neglect had led to this day, to the concern of this young woman?

It was worth it…

“Such a big, muscular man, and shy too? Come on, smile… cheese!” Dongguan exclaimed, hugging him without hesitation, pressing her face against his greasy, unwashed cheek, flashing a broad “V” and laughing with delight.

Looking at the girl in the camera, then at himself, Right Tyrant felt something ignite within him—a feeling he’d never had as a civilian, as a rebel, as a condemned in the Playground, or even after surviving the “Losers’ Regret Show.” Not even when he learned he was spared. But when the camera flash went off, that feeling surged, growing stronger, illuminating everything around him.

“All right,” Dongguan said, finishing the photo and releasing him, leaving Right Tyrant with an aching sense of loss.

He didn’t want her to leave—not at all! She was the only woman who ever approached him with girlish innocence, undeterred by his identity, appearance, or situation. In that moment, he placed her higher in his soul than anything else in the world, even himself.

“But what a pity…” she said, stepping back to the slot machine, her expression tinged with regret.

Right Tyrant’s heart tightened. He couldn’t bear to see her sad—not at all! For her, he was willing to give up everything, no matter what came next.