Unwanted Fight
"Hey, Rookie, move it. Move it. How long are you going to hold up the line, munchkin?" A random man, who looked as muscular and rough as any other person around, shoved Cyril Carcer from behind.
There is no way Cyril would have remembered all their names already. He has been in this place for at most six days, of which he was imprisoned in an empty dark room with no food or any other facilities for the first five days.
Yes, Cyril survived without food or water for a whole five days, and he was still living.
He could guess that it was the first step everyone had to go through in this prison.
It is a test of their stamina. If one couldn't even live without food for five days, how could one survive in this dog-eat-dog world?
Cyril was new to this sort of world. He never had to worry about food before. He thought he would be dead. But somehow he survived.
He slowly turned around to face the man who had just pushed him.
"Oh? Our little rookie wants to fight?" The man asked in amusement.
"..." Cyril was dumbfounded. When did he want to fight? He just looked at who pushed him, alright?
Even looking at someone who had just talked to him meant he wanted to fight? He had never heard of this weird rule before.
He wanted to speak something, but sadly Cyril did not have any strength. He had just come out of the darkroom and was standing in line to get some food for the first time in six days, and he was facing this rowdy weirdo.
He opened his lips to speak, but no voice came out. His throat was dry. He needed some water.
Did anyone care?
No. It is a prison. Who cares for others in a prison?
Instead, they wanted some entertainment if possible.
The entire place was suddenly filled with loud cheers.
"Fight! Fight!"
"Fight! Fight!"
"Fight! Fight!"
"Fight! Fight!"
"Fight! Fight!"
Cyril did not understand what was happening around him at all.
He was standing in his place all the while.
But when he looked around, he found himself surrounded by a large crowd. Facing him was the muscular man who shoved him earlier as he was cracking his finger joints.
Cyril blinked his eyes, "Huh?"
He understood. The man wanted to fight him and all the inmates in this prison came to watch the spectacle as if they were in an arena.
He looked around and everyone looked cheerful as they continued their cheers. At a corner, he saw someone placing bets as well.
"..." 'Bro! I don't want to fight, alright? I don't even have the energy to speak right now. Where do I have the strength to fight? Also, can you look at your size and then at mine? How can you have the thought of fighting me? I will be crushed like an ant under your feet. Please spare me, alright?' He wanted to speak these words out loud, but he lost his voice.
No one cared about his thoughts at all. They were all just excited about watching a fight.
"Before the fight starts, do you have anything to say?" Someone suddenly placed a microphone in front of Cyril's lips and asked.
"..." 'Huh? Bro! Isn't this place supposed to be a prison? Where did you get a microphone inside a prison?' Cyril was dumbfounded for the umpteenth time in a mere five minutes.
"Big bro, this rookie isn't speaking a word. Is he scared of you?" The person looked at Cyril's 'opponent' and spoke through the microphone.
'Of course, I am afraid of him,' Cyril wanted to say.
"Hey, rookie. Are you scared of me?" The big guy asked Cyril, but the grin on his lips showed that he wasn't concerned in the least.
Cyril understood that even if he said that he was scared, he wouldn't be allowed to leave this fight without getting a beating when he saw that grin.
Cyril had no choice but to give a weak smile.
"See? There is no way this rookie is scared to fight me. After all, he was the one who wanted to fight me in the first place," The big guy said again.
'Huh? When did I start this fight?' Cyril really did not understand.
"Oh, I see. That's good then," The 'anchor' said in a chirpy voice before looking back at Cyril, "Hey rookie. Please speak a few words before the fight, alright?"
Cyril wanted to fall to the ground and pretend to be unconscious at that moment.
He had no other choice after all. That seemed to be the only way to avoid this fight right now.
He placed his hand over his temple as he was prepared to 'faint' but before he could close his eyes, the 'anchor' suddenly shouted, "Hey, you aren't going to pretend to fall unconscious, right?"
"..." 'Bro, if you know it, can't you keep it shut?' Cyril was speechless.
The man did not feel guilty at all. Instead, he happily stuffed the tip of the microphone almost into Cyril's mouth as his eyes shone brightly.
"..." Cyril understood that this man was a reporter who loved any type of scoop that would go viral. He would kill to get an interview from someone others couldn't.
As an heir to a multi-billion conglomerate, Cyril had met many such reporters in his life who wanted to interview him.
He could see the sinister glint in the eyes of the people who wanted to twist his words to make him look weak or bad in the limelight.
If it was in his previous life, he would have called for his bodyguards to stay away from such reporters.
But he was now in a prison with no one guarding him against such people.
He had no choice but to hold the microphone and speak into it, "Umm, can I fight after I eat something?" His voice was raspy and dry with no strength. But his words shocked the entire place into silence.