36 ICE DUMPSTER

On the eleventh deck, at a particular spot known as Ice Dumpster, Lirzod was watching Burton compete with the rest. All the competitors brawled with each other in a three-foot-high icy-cold pool. At any chance, exactly a hundred of the entries were allowed to enter on one side, and the one who reached the opposite side first would be the winner who would then be eligible to go to the twelfth deck.

Burton had already tried it three times and failed. An entry could only participate once in every three consecutive contests. However, he first had to wrestle with the masses to get a ticket for entering the event which was nothing less than a brutal brawl of entries.

Getting a ticket for the contest was one thing but winning it was an entirely different thing. Inside the pool called Ice Dumpster, people pummeled one another pitilessly, dragged others by their legs, pulled each other down underwater, stomped over some, pulled each other's hair, tore others' clothes and did everything one could imagine as long as the contestants' actions didn't break the rules. In short, everyone did their best to stop every other from reaching the opposite end.

This was the deck test of the eleventh deck.

Even though armors and weapons weren't allowed, it was still quite unmannerly to observe. No footwear was allowed either. There was a famous saying that 'You can't pass the test without spilling blood in the ice dumpster."

As the contestants battered each other's bodies and broke bones likewise, the audience cheered wildly. Every time someone got their teeth fly into the air, or when someone bled from their legs, a wild response arose from the audience from witnessing the agony in that contestant's face. However, what made them bellow more than anything was the burning passion of the contestants who fight back even from the brink of getting crushed under others feet.

On the eleventh deck, neither were the losers looked down upon nor were they pitied.

The winner, however, would be praised by the rest and would be given a big cigar.

Some people made it their business to get tickets and sell them for others. Depending on the type of contestants that were present in a contest, people were either willing to spend more or less on the ticket.

Burton lost in his fourth attempt as well and came to Lirzod, gasping somewhat heavily. At least, he wasn't severely wounded anywhere and only suffered minor bruises here and there.

"What happened? Got scared?" Lirzod teasingly said, his arms crossed, standing in a poised posture. The number 'eleven' could be seen tattooed on the dorsal side of his palm. "Like when you face my buffets."

"Scared?" Burton was vexed from Lirzod's words. "I'm not like you who will blindly take part in every contest without putting much thought. And I was never scared of your lame buffets either."

"Right, so ... can you tell me what you discerned about the test with your four-time experience?"

"Well, this isn't a race but a team event..." Burton looked at some clustered groups among the participants that helped one another reach the destination. "It's chillingly cold in there, but to top it off, there are angled ice spikes hidden at random spots at the floor. Those are not ordinary ice spikes. They aren't breaking at all. I'm not showing it, but the bones in legs are still aching, especially my feet." He took a deep breath, getting his respiration under control. "As much as I hate to say it, unless we three help one another, I don't see any of us succeeding in this thing."

"So teamwork is needed for us to dump this Ice Dumpster," Lirzod looked at the event where men were brawling like beasts and screaming along those lines. "But I'm not entirely healed yet," he placed his hand on the ribs. Though it wasn't paining as much as it did an hour back, he could still feel the soreness and heat, "and Silly Sariyu is yet to finish the race. Your future doesn't look well."

"Not mine, but yours," Burton said. "We have to take all our chances to win, but I'm not going to team up with you alone."

"Fine by me," Lirzod said and smiled. "Show me how you'll win alone."

"Yeah, just stand there and keep wasting your time watching me win," Burton took part in the struggle to obtain the ticket for the event and he got a ticket. His eyes reflected a renewed vigor as the contest began. He slipped past a few men only to end up getting caught in a sacrificing circle a few contestants made. The result was his failure. He came back and stood at a distance to Lirzod.

"Getting to witness Big Brother fail at things might not be a rare thing," Lirzod chortled, "but I never personally saw it till now. So, how can I miss such a thing?"

Burton stood still and spoke nothing, but let out a smile that appeared forced.

"Here you are!" A voice sounded out, and someone placed a hand on Lirzod's shoulder. Upon turning back, Hundred's face flashed before him, backed by a cannot-be-contained girn that birthed on his lips.

"Whoa, what are you doing here?" Lirzod wandered in his thoughts.

"I'm looking for you. That's what I was doing!" Hundred fumed as he fantasized violence, but at the same time, he seemed like he was about to cry. "After knowing that I didn't have the promised amount of almonds, those Stone Spitters toyed with me."

"They did?" Lirzod's softened voice contained wonder as he took a gander at the ceiling.

Hundred ground his teeth, controlling his urge to slap in Lirzod's face. "You have no idea of the hardships I went through because of you, just because of you."

Lirzod was startled. "I knew that you didn't have an entire kilo of almonds. That's why I waited in my room for you. But you didn't show up. So, I thought you must have taken care of it somehow."

"You did?" Hundred was taken aback a little. He didn't know whether to believe his words or not, but for sure, he slapped himself. "I was a fool. I never thought of coming to your room."

"So you thought I had fooled you, huh…" Lirzod turned away from Hundred.

"What else can anyone think?" Hundred tried to swallow all the sadness and frustration built upon his face. "I came here to rock your boat, but now … I'm not sure anymore."

"You can just watch us participate in the test until you decide," Lirzod said.

Hundred was surprised a bit. "This Ice Dumpster challenge isn't for the faint of the heart. Surely not for those that fear to face fists—" While saying, he remembered that Lirzod piqued a fight with Geragorn. "You can participate in it though."

"So, you are a Hollow. So you should have an estimate about this. How long do you think it will take to reach the hundredth deck?" Lirzod asked eagerly. "And also the top deck."

"If you maintain your current speed," Hundred didn't even pause for a moment, "forget about the top deck, you can't even reach the hundredth!"

"What?" Lirzod's whole body straightened and eyes widened. "That can't happen, no matter what!"

"If you keep standing like this doing nothing, that's what will happen."

"I should first help Sariyu pass through the tenth level," Lirzod said and took a quick turn towards Burton. "If we both go there, we will have to retake the test. So why don't you go to her?"

"There's no need for that," A voice came from the side, and those two recognized that it was Sariyu's.

Sariyu looked around, and thousands of people were clustered at different spots of the hall, though most of them were present nearby the ice dumpster. (The more the number of rooms in a residence there were, the more distant the hearts of its residents will grow, and such a residence never lasts long. The ridiculous number of rooms on this ship is disgustingly huge, but I guess these halls are making up for it by getting people together and providing them entertainment in one way or another.)

Sariyu somewhat felt comforted after arriving at the hall as most of the streets she strolled on the eleventh deck to reach its hall were pretty much uninhabited. Walking in such streets subtly ruffled her like never before. Some other streets were all packed with men and men alone. Her problem wasn't just that she didn't see a single female on the eleventh deck, but it was much more. In a few other streets, people minded their own businesses, having locked themselves in their rooms. She couldn't help but consider the fact that she probably had stayed in her room for almost a week if Geragorn wasn't sent to the higher decks as sooner.

"Hey, you finished it?" Burton quirked an eyebrow, keeping his smile at bay.

"Yes, with a few hints from this guy..." She pointed her fingers towards a guy, who was none other than 777.

"Your offsider was him?" Lirzod was displeased, and his eyes darted daggers at him. "He's a coward. He just slows you down."

777, however, pleasantly smiled back.

"Didn't you hear what I said?" Sariyu twisted Lirzod's ear. "I'm saying that he has already helped me. So, shut your mouth."

"F-Fine, but tell him to wear a mask," Lirzod implied with all his heart.

"Mask?" His words puzzled her a little. "Why?"

"If I see his smiling face, I might lose my temper and smack his face."

"Is he serious?" 777 was startled, his smile was all nerves.

"He's just kidding," Sariyu said and secretly glared at Lirzod, giving him chills.

"Y-Yeah, I wasn't kidding," He said, and instantly got pinched by her. "I mean I was!"

"I guess you both have been bungling every attempt to have not passed this contest till now," She looked at both Lirzod and Burton."Let's try this thing for real, shall we?"

"You want to try it right away, without any preparation?" 777 asked.

"Of course, even if we go at our current pace, we might only climb a hundred decks at best," Sariyu said, cracking her knuckles. "Now that would be a real waste of an opportunity of viewing the decks at the top, don't you think?"

"I'm fine with the hundredth," Lirzod said, saving the moments his imagination brought forth.

"Maybe you are, but I want to do better than that," she gave sharp eye contact.

"Then feel free to do that," Lirzod bit his finger and gave a silent look, negative thoughts flooding his mind.

"You don't have to tell me that," she glanced at 777, maintaining a positive outlook. "Get a ticket."

"Oh, is that ticket for me?" Lirzod hurriedly asked, stepping closer.

"For me," a cold glance from her made Lirzod go back to where he was.

Seeing that the contest just ended, 777 went and participated in the struggle for a ticket. Burton was next to do that.

Hundred crossed his arms before looking at Lirzod. "When are you gonna go?"

"I thought you would bring it for me," said Lirzod casually.

"And why would I do that?" Hundred was rather tolerant.

"Because only you can bring the ticket for sure," Lirzod said, "you have the ticket selling experience, didn't you? I doubt if there's anyone in this hall who can get a ticket faster than you."

Hundred blankly stared at him for a few seconds, trying his best to not show over compliance. "Fine." He quickly moved onward and slipped through the crowd as he headed towards the assistant referee who was distributing the tickets.

"You could have gone in," Sariyu looked at Lirzod in a stony expression. "It would have served as a good warmup at least."

"No worries. Lirzod knows when he needs one," Lirzod's eyes shone as his palm pressed to the heart.

Sariyu observed the ice dumpster. (It sure looks unpleasant. Luckily, I'm wearing an old dress.)

777 came back with a ticket and began to murmur something in her ears.

"Hey," Burton who was right behind him, placed his hand on 777's shoulder, making him turn back. "Don't act like you're her close friend." His voice was as cold as ever, and his eyes were devoid of warmth. "Keep your distance."

777 squeezed his eyes shut, and his hands slapped against the cheeks. "Sorry."

"I don't want your sorry," Burton indifferently said, "just don't repeat it."

"Y-Yeah," a tentative smile exuded out of his lips.

Sariyu didn't say anything and fixedly looked elsewhere for a moment.

Lirzod furtively stretched his tongue out and teased 777, making him look down from the loss of face.

Hundred returned with a ticket and handed it to Lirzod. "You owe me a kilo of almonds. Remember.that," he took short breaths as he spoke.

Lirzod awkwardly smiled as he scrubbed the back of his neck with his palm. "Forget about the almonds. I will give you money."

"No. I don't want money. I want those almonds grown in mid-summer and watered three times a week," Hundred said, his calculations coruscating through his eyes, "those almonds only."

Lirzod's smile stiffened as he slid his forefinger on the eyebrow. "Isn't there any other way?"

"No. I could have easily asked you for two kilos, but since you said you waited for me in your room," Hundred's utterance was unsentimental. "I'm now only asking what you owe me."

Lirzod ruminated for a few seconds before whispering in his ears, "How about this? You place bets that all the three of us would win, and if we did, the almonds deal is canceled."

Hundred was more or less astonished, but his mannerisms still demonstrated diffidence. His itinerant gaze vetted over Lirzod while weighing all the options. "What if you fail?"

"I'll give you half the money you bet," Lirzod's words were as straight as an arrow, " plus the promised almonds as well."

"Deal." Hundred didn't have to think when agreeing to such a deal. He put his hand forward for a handshake.

"Handshakes are for the unknown, Hundred," Lirzod said and asudden looked at Sariyu, slowly sliding his feet closer to her. "Let's get a hug after we win, got it?"

"Don't be silly. I'd rather hug the unknown than hug you," Sariyu straight out denied his request, making him sulk.

Lirzod's feet slid back towards Hundred, albeit unwillingly. "Alright. Handshakes then."

"Y-Yeah," Hundred put his hands in his pockets.

At that moment, everybody had finished taking the tickets. And the time for their participation arrived.

The three of them stepped ahead, leaving Hundred and 777 behind, both of whom briefly glanced at each other before minding their own business. 777 stayed right where he was, while Hundred went to the betting counter.

"All the contestants who took the tickets must come to the starting point," the referee spoke through what appeared to be like that of a paper mike. "All the ticket numbers that won't make it will not be able to participate in the next two rounds, but only in the one after that. Now, come on!" He still had to shout out of his lungs like a vendor at a local market, maybe lacking in grace but not prowess.

Most among those who didn't yet make it to the starting spot hurried like their lives depended on it.

A very helpless few, however, were still bargaining for the ticket in a dreaded tongue.