Chapter 484: High Stakes and Uncertain Odds

Has Fang Hao not arrived yet?

The death duel is about to begin! Where is Yenir?

Up in the stands, Zhao Hongtu—accompanied by Ming Luo and the others—looked visibly irritated.

With furrowed brows, he eyed the seat arranged by the Military and felt an eerie unease.

He had clearly informed the Military Department that Fang Hao and he needed to sit at the very front so they could rush in to save Yenir at a moment’s notice.

However, the middle-level official in charge of seating had placed them at the very top.

The difference may seem minor, but in a life-and-death battle even a moment’s delay could prove disastrous!

What the hell are those organizers up to?

Don’t they realize that nothing must go wrong in this battle!?

Suppressing his discontent, Zhao Hongtu had no choice but to sit down.

According to a relay from the Military Department, the Military would personally call upon twenty Third-Stage Advanced Awakeners—defense experts—to safeguard the entire duel. They even deployed high-end protective gear to ensure Yenir could be rescued in an instant.

It had to be foolproof. Nothing would go wrong!

Faced with such assurances, Zhao Hongtu fell silent.

Minister Fang Tong said he was flying in personally and would surely arrive before the duel started.

But as for Yenir, no one had the faintest idea where he had disappeared to…

Seated beside Zhao Hongtu, a Special Operations Department Third-Stage Middle-Aged Man let out a wry laugh. Glancing at Yenir, who hadn’t bothered to reply to his messages, his expression turned oddly subdued.

Although he doubted Yenir would run away, by this time he really should have shown up…

With his keen ears, he could pick up a lot of low, mocking chatter coming from within the arena.

Yet, listening to all those murmurs, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was terribly off.

“Minister Zhao, why does it seem like so many are brimming with hostility toward Lord Yenir?”

“I overheard them—every time they talk, it’s always about…”

With a puzzled look, the Third-Stage Awakener listened intently, catching phrases like ‘seriously injured with severed arms’ and ‘it’s fine as long as Yenir runs away…’.

It was as if the worse Yenir performed, the better it was for them.

Hearing this, Zhao Hongtu raised his head and, after a careful listen, noticed the same oddity.

Exactly.

Though he doubted Yenir could win, that kid was just too defiant.

Yet deep down, he hoped that even in defeat, Yenir would lose with grace.

This kind of nerve—having a Third-Stage Beginner face off against a Third-Stage Advanced—wouldn’t look honorable even if Lu Tianming triumphed! But judging by the atmosphere, it was as if everyone held a grudge against Yenir.

“Go find out what’s going on. Is Lu Tianming pulling some stunt?”

With caution weighing on him, Zhao Hongtu furrowed his brow and ordered his subordinates to check the situation.

Soon after, a Third-Stage member from the Special Operations Department, who had pretended to stroll around, hurried back to his side:

“Minister Zhao! Someone is setting the odds!”

“Everyone’s betting on Yenir losing… and losing miserably…”

The man’s face looked grim as he handed over a tablet that prominently displayed the live odds and wager amounts.

This is…

Glancing at the tablet, Zhao Hongtu’s eyes narrowed as he quickly scanned the figures.

Seconds later, his expression froze—he understood everything.

“1.8 billion to 1,200 points?”

“Odds of 1:698?”

Good grief—1.8 billion Credit Points were bet on Lu Tianming winning, while not a single token was wagered on Yenir.

By all accounts, many people had only placed symbolic bets—a token or two—treating it like a lottery.

Realizing this, and completely oblivious to the fact that external bets were a hundred times larger than those inside, Zhao Hongtu didn’t dwell any further.

“Ha! These people really have guts—they’re not afraid to lose everything, even their underwear!”

“No one’s betting on that kid Yenir winning. How are they going to cover their losses?”

“Minister, should we bet on Yenir winning? At least we’d be showing our support.”

Noticing Minister Zhao’s sour mood, the Special Operations Department Third-Stage Middle-Aged Man sighed. Looking at the lopsided bets, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pity for Yenir.

When money’s on the line, no one cares who you are.

That kind of ratio is simply laughably bad…

“Place a bet?”

After a brief pause, Zhao Hongtu sighed and nodded:

“Let’s bet a thousand. We can’t let Yenir look too bad.”

“Come on, we’re supporting him—even if it’s just in spirit.”

As Minister Zhao pulled out his ID Card, the middle-aged man’s face flushed with embarrassment.

Alright, although he too wanted to support Yenir, it felt like nothing more than tossing money away.

“Sir, I’ll bet a hundred…”

“But aren’t we betting too little? After all, Yenir helped secure our share of the ore…”

With a furious glare and puffing out his cheeks, Zhao Hongtu suddenly shot a look at his subordinate:

“I’m only betting less because I care about that kid!”

“The ore he brought back was long snatched away by those bastards! If we keep throwing money around, what will he do when he runs short of cash?”

“That kid spends money like there’s no tomorrow. You have no idea how that Researcher I’m supposed to look after has been gulping funds like a gold-devouring beast from the Operations Department!”

“Sigh…”

Zhao Hongtu sighed and shook his head; the very thought of that Researcher gave him a headache.

Who knows why Yenir trusts them so blindly and supports their research unconditionally? Rumor had it that Yenir had already burned through his yearly Credit Points quota, and even the much-needed North China supplies for recovery were snatched by Lu Tianming.

He knew well that Yenir’s days were tough—money was running scarce.

No matter how well the Military treated him, there were limits and reasons behind it all.

As if struck by an idea, Zhao Hongtu raised his eyebrow:

“By the way, have Fang Hao bet more! That guy’s rich—the Demon Hunting Legion is famously loaded!”

“Dammit, make him bet 100,000 points as a show! After all, he always claims that Yenir is like his younger self; shouldn’t we at least back that up!?”

………………

While a frenzied atmosphere erupted in the Capital Safe Zone, the quiet hospital room held a completely different mood.

Standing by the bedside, Yenir calmly looked at the visibly agitated Wang Tian and spoke softly:

“Is everything set up?”

“What are the current odds?”

Wrapped in white bandages from head to toe, Wang Tian struggled to sit up, his face alight with fervor as he stared at him in near-worship.

“Lord Yenir!”

“One hundred and forty-four billion! The entire Huaxia Battle Zone has gone mad! Nearly every Third-Stage fighter is placing bets!”

“And besides, Lu Tianming really is as you said—he’s behind the whole affair! According to our intel, he has personally sunk a lot of money into it!”

It was like gazing upon a deity, witnessing a miracle.

Once bitter and desperate, Wang Tian now seemed charged with adrenaline, trembling with excitement.

Ever since Yenir’s instructions led to his ore being snatched away, he had been tormenting himself daily—cursing his failure to guard it and lamenting the massive loss that had fallen squarely on his shoulders!

With a loss this huge, he could easily imagine what those funds could have accomplished!

But now, perhaps an unprecedented opportunity lay right before him!

“One hundred and forty billion…”

“That’s too low…”

“We’ll jump in once it hits 300 billion…”

“Get in touch with Xiao Hai, Chen Kailai, and with any funds you can reach.”

“I’m going to take in all that money!”

With a light laugh, completely unfazed by the imminent duel, Yenir turned his deep gaze toward the window.

Ever since Lu Tianming had snatched away the ore, he had already planned how to make that old dog cough it up…

“Who took my stuff and injured me?”

“Your life won’t be enough…”

Silently glancing at the electronic panel in his hand, Yenir couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh.

With one swift sword strike, Lu Tianming was taken out—odds…

That’s a ratio of 1 to 13,300…