Chapter 60: Chapter 60: He Lit a Cigarette and Spoke of the Past
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...
The uncle melancholically pulled out a cigarette. "Here, buddy. Have a smoke, have a smoke..."
Su Zhi, checking the bet winnings that had just been transferred to him, waved his hand with a smile. "No, thanks, I don’t smoke. You’re too kind..."
The recovered Skeleton Lion cowered behind the middle-aged man, curled into a ball. Its bony face took on a frightened expression as it stared helplessly at Yu Bao.
Yu Bao sat primly, wagging its tail and wearing a polite smile: ⌓‿⌓
Skeleton Lion: =͟͟͞͞=͟͟͞͞(●⁰ꈊ⁰●|||)
’Don’t look at me!!!’
"Listen, buddy, I’ve had a tough life myself."
The man lit a cigarette and began his sob story. "Don’t be fooled by how impressive my Pet Beast looks. I had to take out a loan to buy it. What little I make each month? After the mortgage payment, it all goes to my wife..."
Su Zhi and his two friends stood with their hands in their pockets, wearing expressions that said, ’Go on, we’re listening.’
’A guy like you who throws around ten thousand without batting an eye? It’s a good thing you have a wife to keep you in line.’
"So, buddy, could you possibly..."
The man tugged at his clothes, tears of regret hanging in the corners of his eyes.
The man was currently filled with regret. Immense regret.
"No, no, sir, I understand. Even though I’m just a student, I know you have to honor your bets."
"Don’t you worry. Fair is fair. And it’s still goddamn fair!"
Su Zhi confirmed the winnings had been transferred to his phone, then put it away and tucked his hands back in his pockets.
’Come to think of it, this betting transfer app is even officially certified by the Common Defense Alliance. Looks like the higher-ups tacitly approve of and regulate these underground matches.’
The referee couldn’t help but glance at the man. "Look at you. Always trying to shake down newcomers. This time you picked the wrong one."
"I..." The man looked like he wanted to cry but couldn’t, so choked with frustration he could barely breathe.
Another adult gets a harsh lesson from the school of hard knocks.
"By the way, sir, you need a certain rank to fight in the main arena, right? Do you know where I can do that?"
Su Zhi was never one to hold a grudge and struck up a conversation with him naturally.
The man’s head shot up. "If you want to fight, I can get you in right away!"
"Really?"
"It should be," Cao Mingyu nodded. "Anyone with a rank of Gold or higher can sponsor a person of any rank to fight in the arena."
"If the sponsored person wins just one match, they’re immediately promoted to the Gold rank."
"Exactly!"
The man shot a grateful look at Cao Mingyu and started talking a mile a minute. "Fengyun Arena has some real experts, but most of the fighters are just greenhorns. If you have to fight your way up the ranks one match at a time, what a waste of time that would be! For a... an expert like you, it’s pointless!"
Su Zhi nodded.
’This guy may not have much hair, but he’s sure a sweet-talker.’
"Then I’ll take you up on that."
The corners of Su Zhi’s mouth curled up. "And if it works out, I’ll compensate you for your trouble. Yes."
’A chance to get my money back!’
The man was inwardly delighted and immediately led Su Zhi out of the room...
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「Five minutes later, below an arena.」
"Well, well, well, if it isn’t the ’rookie killer.’ Haven’t seen you in a few days. How’d you get so pathetic?"
"You’re sponsoring this kid? Are you out of your mind?"
The onlookers murmured among themselves, the gazes they cast at Su Zhi and Yu Bao filled with ridicule and disdain.
"No, they’re very strong!"
With a solemn expression, the man pointed at Yu Bao. "He wiped out a whole health bar from my Mad Bone Evil God in a single blow!"
The onlookers’ gazes shifted downward, and only then did they notice the little dog.
Seeing everyone looking at it, Yu Bao puffed out its chest, raised its head, and curled its tail, putting on an intimidating expression:
"ARF!"
"..."
"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The crowd roared with laughter. Even the two fighters who had just finished their match on the stage couldn’t help but chuckle.
Yu Bao looked at Su Zhi in confusion, not knowing what it had done wrong.
’Wasn’t I being fierce enough just now?’
Su Zhi chose to maintain his smile.
’This reminds me of that meme where a kitten looks in the mirror and sees a tiger...’
Despite the man’s fervent testimony, the gossiping crowd didn’t believe a word. Some speculated the kid was his relative, which was why he was defending him so fiercely. Surprisingly, many people believed this theory.
"You can sponsor this kid," the referee in charge of the stage warned him. "But if he steps down with zero wins, he can’t be sponsored again. Your own rank will also drop by one level."
Su Zhi looked at the man. "Is that true...?"
"Don’t worry! I’m sponsoring him!"
The man patted Su Zhi’s shoulder. "Let’s do it! Get this young man on the schedule!"
"Then I will set this contestant as the new stage master. I hope the two of you on the stage don’t mind."
"No problem! I’m actually curious to see what this kid can do!"
"Haha, this’ll be fun to watch!"
The crowd was in an uproar. Some people, who had bet on the fighters now being forced to leave the stage, jeered and gave Su Zhi and Yu Bao a thumbs-down.
Su Zhi and Yu Bao looked at each other and smiled.
’It’s nothing. We’re rebels, used to doubt and condemnation.’
Amidst the crowd’s doubt and condemnation, Su Zhi directed his Pet Beast onto the stage.
The arena’s light screen flickered. The previous match record was cleared, replaced by the new stage master’s information—
[Name: Su Zhi]
[Age: 17]
[Pet Beast: Yu Bao (Yu Dian Dog)]
As Su Zhi stood at the command position outside the arena, the match light turned from red to blue, then to green.
The arena battle began!
"I’ll go first!"
The man who had been the stage master and had just voluntarily stepped down jumped back onto the stage.
A faint white Beast Taming Light Array appeared, and a large tiger with snow-white fur and jet-black stripes shot out—
[Pet Beast: Furious Thunder Tiger Venerable (Thunder Tiger)
Attribute: Electric Element, Fighting Element
Race: Low Level Elite Race
Real-time Energy Value: 499]
It still wasn’t anything special, but it was clearly a cut above the previous Mad Bone Evil God!
For a high school freshman, this would be considered Elite class level!
’The name was as ridiculous as ever... You could pretty much tell what kind of guy the previous stage master was from that alone.’
"Furious Thunder Tiger Venerable! Use Raging Thunder Cage!"
The red-haired man in the studded black jacket waved his hand to issue the command.
The Thunder Tiger roared. White arcs of electricity immediately flared to life across its body, and it fired several sharp bolts of lightning at Yu Bao.
Wild Thunder Tigers can master this move to Tier Three when hunting. Their prey becomes completely enveloped in a dense cage of electricity, unable to escape!
"Old Yang’s Tiger Venerable has gotten stronger!"
Another man in a studded black jacket laughed. "This young buck is about to learn a lesson."
Another gang member nodded in agreement. "Heh, it’s a rite of passage..."
However, when the two turned their gazes back to the stage, they saw the Furious Thunder Tiger Venerable showing a shocked expression.
His Raging Thunder Cage was ineffective against Yu Bao!
’Earth Element has a natural resistance to Electric Element moves, though.’
Su Zhi couldn’t help but mutter under his breath.
The man across from him was also stunned.
’Su Zhi’s right, but when the power gap is small, it shouldn’t be completely nullified...’
WHOOSH!
Before his surprise could even register, a violent sandstorm suddenly erupted in front of Yu Bao.
The storm engulfed more than half the stage. It even billowed over the edge, blasting a Pet Beast that had just stepped onto the neighboring stage right off its feet.
The sandstorm dissipated—
The crowd stared, dumbfounded, at the Thunder Tiger that had been sent flying right off the stage.
The entire arena fell silent for a moment, then instantly erupted into a frenzy.
It was as if a patch of the ocean had suddenly evaporated, only to come crashing back in an instant...
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