Trapped in a Deadly Survival Show

Chapter 009

"I'll chop you into pieces and feed you to the fish. And as for this pretty little thing you've brought, I'll have my fun before I finish her off. That'll double my prize money!"

Carrying Sandra slowed Anthony down. "I'll hold him off, you run! You know what will happen if he catches you!" Anthony whispered. He didn’t consider himself a particularly good man, but there were lines he wouldn't cross. He was unlike these merciless Predators.

With that, Anthony swung his dagger at the bearded man. But he managed to dodge it.

Sandra carefully made her way toward the cave entrance. But she couldn't bear to leave Anthony behind. She was close to tears, her whole body trembling.

The bearded middle-aged man laughed heartily. "Useless! You think too simply. What do you think this communicator is for? The two red dots it showed are tracking you. Wherever you run, I can catch and kill you."

Hearing this, Sandra was utterly shocked, despair flooding her heart. Anthony was also frightened by his words.

This was no mere wilderness survival show they'd joined. It was a brutal game, like the Roman Colosseums. Every participant either had to kill their opponents or be killed themselves—those were the only possible outcomes.

As Anthony stood there in shock, a young man suddenly appeared at the cave entrance. He was short and slender, oddly swinging a rope in circles above his head.

Just as Anthony noticed him, the rope was thrown. That man looped a noose over Anthony's head in the blink of an eye. Anthony realized it was a lasso, typically used by cowboys to catch horses or cattle. Pulled hard, they could subdue these powerful animals.

Anthony intended to cut it with his dagger, but the young man had already tightened the noose. In a flash, it was cinching Anthony’s neck tight.

"Ah!" The immense force on his neck pulled him forward.

Anthony lost his balance and dropped his dagger. His breathing became extremely difficult with the rope tightening around his neck.

The young man with the rope grinned triumphantly and handed it over to the bearded man. His arms were covered in scars and tattoos, and he sneered coldly, "Haha, boy, let's see you resist now. Is this your girlfriend? She's quite pretty. Thanks, brother. I’ll soon find out just how sweet she is."

Sandra, with her face etched with horror, pleaded, "No, this murderous game is illegal! Even if you dare to break the rule now, this show will eventually end, and you'll have to come out. The police will surely catch you then."

Hearing this, both of them burst into wild laughter. "The show's producers have already sorted out immigration visas and new identities for all the Predators. What can you do to me then?"

Anthony had told himself countless times to stay calm. He was a skilled martial artist in the military, and he had never lost a one-on-one fight against someone of the same stature. But to his surprise, someone here was wielding a lasso, a rare weapon. If it hadn't been for the unexpected ambush, he wouldn't have lost even a two-on-one fight.

Seeing that Anthony was still breathing, the middle-aged man with the goatee violently yanked the rope in his hands, and dragged Anthony by the neck across the ground.

Anthony clutched at the hemp rope around his neck and strained with all his might to prevent being strangled. His palms bled from the tightening rope.

"Even if you're strong, it's useless. You're alone, so how can you fight us?" said the young man. He tied Anthony up and then glanced at Sandra. She was shivering in the distance. His eyes were filled with lust. "You waste! Soon, I'll take good care of your lady and make you watch. And in the end, I'll kill you right in front of her."

With that, he stomped on Anthony, imagining the piles of dollars waving at him.

"Although this jerk is a bit sleazy and takes advantage of me, he hasn’t really tried to hurt me. And sometimes, he's even kind of nice. He'd rush out first to let me escape. I can't just leave him behind," Sandra thought.

Anthony knew that turning the tables with his own strength would be extremely difficult. ‘What to do?’

His gaze instinctively fell on Sandra. His last hope rested her. Only if Sandra worked with him to resist could there be a chance to escape or even turn the tables.

Sandra also looked at him in panic.

Just then, Anthony had a flash of inspiration. With the fingers he could still move, he grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and blinked furiously at Sandra.

Sandra got the message immediately. Lying on the ground, she crawled towards Anthony while pleading for mercy.

"Ha ha ha, I'm not going to spare you," the goatee laughed. He had unbuckled his belt and slipped off his jeans. The short fellow approached with a lewd smile.

Seizing the moment, Anthony shouted, "Now!"

Sandra spun around, flinging dust into their faces. The dirt flew and blinded them. They screamed in pain and were unable to open their eyes.

"Quick, cut the rope!" Anthony yelled.

Sandra gathered her courage and picked up a knife from the ground. She rushed over and cut the rope.

Anthony grabbed the knife without hesitation and plunged it into the neck of the man. Blood spurted out, and there was no chance of survival.

The short fellow saw that his companion was killed. He panicked and scrambled towards the cave entrance.

But since Anthony's leg ropes hadn't been cut yet, he couldn't chase after him. The short man escaped.

Anthony calmed down, but he couldn't stop his hands from shaking. He felt waves of nausea. Despite his many years in the army, this was indeed his first time taking a life. Many soldiers in peacetime experience similar reactions on their first battlefield.

Sandra's face was pale; she lay on the ground, unable to look at the bloody, twitching corpse.

Anthony was scared, but he had no regrets. Now was not the time for fear. To prevent further dangers, he quickly picked up the goatee man's luggage and helped Sandra out of the cave.

Sandra was nearly fainting, her teeth chattering. "Anthony, I didn’t see you kill anyone. I won't snitch, just don’t kill me..."

Anthony felt speechless.

Anthony explained, "This was self-defense. They pulled knives on us first, threatening our lives. Don't worry. If we had ended up in their hands, it would have been much worse. These people would do anything to us"

Just then, a beeping sound came from the backpack. Anthony opened it to find the communicator that had been in the goatee man's hand. The red light on it suddenly started blinking, and a mechanical voice spoke: "Anthony Dumas, Sandra Thompson, congratulations on successfully killing two people. Well done."

The voice on the other end was mechanical and calm. It seemed very aware of their situation, as if it had been watching them the entire time.

A chill ran down Anthony's spine; clearly, this communicator wasn't something helpful.

"I'll send you a gift now to make the game more interesting."