Chapter 24: Teacher Tu, Huh

Although the other party phrased it as a question, Li Yu had a gut feeling that he didn't have the option to refuse. He was now a member of the Tyron Chamber of Commerce.

Tu Rui appeared to be asking for his opinion, but in reality, he was merely informing him.

In the dead silence, only the smoke curled upwards. The image of Black Gunner Gerry's corpse surfaced in Li Yu's mind.

"I am willing to serve Lord Tu Rui..." Li Yu grinned, showing absolutely no signs of displeasure.

"Haha... You won't regret it!" Tu Rui laughed, his voice booming like a sudden clap of thunder right next to Li Yu's ears.

......

"What?! Lord Tu Rui wants you to fight that gray-skinned rat?" Gugu jumped a meter into the air. His already prominent eyes bulged so wide they seemed to lack eyelids, exposing all the bloodshot veins.

As soon as they stepped out, Gugu had learned the news and completely failed to control the volume of his voice.

Several people nearby immediately cast peculiar glances their way. Some even revealed inexplicable smiles, as if they were anticipating a good show.

"My, my, my, who is it that's going to fight Mr. Ash Spear?" From around the corner, another Goblin strutted in with his chin held high, looking incredibly arrogant.

This was just how the Goblin race was. They possessed no sense of humility. They were like mountain wolves—the moment they found success, they became wildly arrogant and completely unbridled.

Realizing his slip of the tongue, Gugu straightened his tie. "Mr. Ash Spear? Since when did you become a lapdog for those gray-skinned rats?"

"What gray-skinned rat? That is my esteemed Mr. Ash Spear. Consider yourself unlucky this time."

The two Goblins confronted each other, each trying to raise their head higher than the other.

Lulu lifted his chin and sized Li Yu up with a hint of mockery. "Look at this scrawny body. I'm afraid he won't even be able to withstand a single punch from Mr. Ash Spear. Remember to drop to your knees and beg for mercy quickly when the time comes."

"Heh..." Gugu sneered. "They are both E+ rank. It's still uncertain who will win and who will lose."

"Haha!" Lulu let out an exaggerated laugh, clutching his stomach and rocking back and forth. His shrill laughter was painfully piercing. "He's a newcomer, so he doesn't know, but don't you? Do you really think the bookmakers would choose an uncertain variable to stop The Howler?"

Gugu's expression stiffened, and he glared viciously at Lulu. Many nearby staff members had started to gather around to watch the commotion.

They quickly grasped what was going on, and the gazes they directed at Li Yu were filled with pity.

"Who did this newcomer offend? With such a bright future ahead of him, why is he being sent to deal with Ash Spear?"

"Who knows? In the past, they would just send a random opponent. Why is Lord Tu Rui so willing to throw an E+ rank to fight Ash Spear?"

"Enough, stop arguing out there and scram!" A harsh reprimand echoed from the innermost room. Everyone froze before hastily scattering to return to their respective tasks.

"Poor Gugu..." Lulu brushed past Gugu, his head held high like a proud rooster.

Gugu's face was grim. Looking utterly dejected, he led Li Yu back to the Lounge, staring at the young man nonstop.

"Did you offend Lord Tu Rui?" Gugu couldn't help but ask.

"I didn't..." Li Yu felt completely baffled. Hunter and Mo Duo also walked over, unsure of what had just happened.

"Ah... poor Gugu..." Gugu hugged his head and wailed. "I had finally seen the dawn of freedom..."

Li Yu was utterly speechless. He casually opened his System Log to check the most recently refreshed entries.

[Day 9: Morpheus is preparing to rescue Neo from his incubation pod, and plans to rescue you along the way. You refused in every way possible, but it was no match for Morpheus's enthusiasm.

You requested some time to bid farewell to your youth, but were stopped by a furious Trinity. Seeing that Neo was leaning toward taking Trinity's side, you wisely chose to back down.]

[Acquired Normal Talent - Forced Calmness]

Seeing things progressing exactly as he had planned, Li Yu felt very gratified.

"This is definitely Thorn Flame's doing!"

Hunter said angrily. Having just learned the news from Gugu, how could he not be furious? He and Li Yu were now grasshoppers tied to the same rope.

"Didn't you say they couldn't influence the Tyron Chamber of Commerce?" Li Yu was snapped out of his thoughts and stared intently at Hunter.

Hunter pulled down the brim of his hat and offered an awkward smile. "They can't influence the Tyron Chamber of Commerce as a whole, but they can certainly influence an underground boxing ring boss."

"He's playing dirty within the rules. No one can do anything about it."

Mo Duo wasn't too pessimistic. She shook her head and said, "They are both E+ rank. Li Yu won't necessarily lose."

"Ah... woohoo..." Gugu suddenly cried even louder, rolling around on the floor. "That gray-skinned rat definitely isn't E+ rank! He's highly likely to be D- rank, otherwise, Lulu wouldn't be acting so smug!"

"That damn Lulu, I'm going to be bullied by him this time."

"D- rank!"

Hunter shivered, breaking out in a cold sweat. If E-rank could only be considered the preliminary stage of being non-human, then D- rank surpassed E-rank by a massive margin.

The most crucial point was that many Gene Chains only manifested Attribute Power at the D-rank, and Attribute Power granted a crushing advantage.

Hunter let out a bitter laugh. "In the underground matches hosted by the Tyron Chamber of Commerce, surrendering isn't allowed during the first five minutes. You won't even have the chance to forfeit."

This was to maintain the entertainment value and prevent fighters from giving up the moment the match started. Above-ground matches didn't have such a rule.

Mo Duo also fell silent. She pursed her lips, her green eyes flickering. "If it really comes down to it, let's just run away."

"Run? Where to? Offending the Tyron Chamber of Commerce will result in a much more miserable fate than offending Thorn Flame," Hunter laughed miserably.

"Run? Why should we run?" Li Yu looked at the utterly devastated group.

"Gugu, how many days until the fight?" Li Yu asked.

Gugu rubbed his swollen, red eyes. "At least... two days. Since you are both newcomers, they need time to build hype. Furthermore, given the special nature of this match, the Chamber of Commerce will probably promote it heavily."

"If that's the case, it might take more than two days..."

"Ha..." Li Yu couldn't help but chuckle. In two days' time, he refused to believe his Avatar couldn't manage to get itself killed!

"You..." Hunter hesitated to speak. 'Has the shock driven this guy insane?'

Soon, the match notification was sent to Gugu. Three days from now!

"As expected, the Chamber of Commerce is building up the hype." A poster projected from Gugu's personal Intelligent Brain.

"The opponent for The Howler's final battle, the Vice-Captain of the Ash Blade Mercenary Group, taking on a newcomer from The Junkyard!"

On the left side of the poster, Ash Spear's dark silhouette was hidden beneath a gray robe, looking incredibly sinister and surrounded by rotting, withered bones.

On the right side stood Li Yu wearing a tattered shirt that wasn't even dry, stained with damp water marks. He was grinning like a neighborhood Simpleton, separated from his opponent by a blazing fire in the center.

Such a highly impactful and contrasting visual instantly seized everyone's attention.

Who was this Simpleton? Was there even any suspense to this fight? Anyone would bet it all on the guy on the left!

Li Yu was completely exasperated. Damn it, were there hidden cameras all over Tu Rui's office? They actually managed to capture that fleeting smile of his.

Teacher Tu, you really outdid yourself.