Chapter 40: He Doesn't Respect Me

Li Yu's voice was loud, clearly audible even in the noisy arena. The Howler's eyes bulged like a bull's, completely stunned as his brain struggled to process what had just happened.

The audience, however, reacted much faster. After a brief moment of shocked silence, an overwhelming tide of curses and insults flooded the venue.

"Screw your ancestors! Damn you, Tyron Chamber of Commerce, are you treating your grandfather like a monkey?!" a monkey-headed man covered in brown fur and wearing white clothes roared at the top of his lungs.

"Blub, blub, blub..." In a nearby fish tank, a half-fish was fiercely blowing bubbles, baring its teeth and grimacing in extreme fury.

"Even Fish Bro knows there is a conspiracy going on here! There is definitely something wrong with this guy called Li Yu!"

"We cannot back down this time! Return our hard-earned money!"

"You have completely ruined the honor of the Tyron Chamber of Commerce!"

Goblins, dwarves... they were of different races and spoke different languages, but they all shared a single, unified purpose: refund their damn money!

However, there were also others protesting for a different reason.

"That kid is skinny and weak. It is obvious at a glance that he is no match for The Howler. Isn't it completely normal for him to forfeit?"

These were the people who had bet on The Howler's victory. They were not a small minority, and they argued so fiercely with the opposing protestors that they were about to come to blows.

Down in the stands, The Hunter's gaze had gone blank, all the usual sharpness drained from his eyes. He muttered under his breath, "He actually surrendered. He really surrendered. Is this lunatic out of his mind? Just over a piece of clothing?!"

Mo Duo did not show much of a reaction. She had already guessed this outcome from the few words and emotional cues Li Yu had revealed earlier.

"Mo Duo, your man has gone crazy. Let us run," The Hunter whispered in Mo Duo's ear after finally recovering his senses. "We need to leave the Tyron Chamber of Commerce right now, before anyone else figures out what to do."

Hearing The Hunter's words, Mo Duo shuddered. Her face darkened so much it looked like it could drip water, and her eyes began to glow with an eerie green light.

Beside her, The Hunter's expression froze. His own eyes suddenly flashed with the same green light. Then, he raised his fist and punched himself hard in the stomach.

A punch with the left, then a punch with the right. He struck himself ruthlessly, showing absolutely no mercy.

"I have put up with you for a damn long time..." Mo Duo snarled, gnashing her teeth.

The spectators nearby were horrified by this display. One man looked at him in terror and said, "Brother, how much did you bet? There is definitely a conspiracy going on here, but you do not need to resort to self-mutilation over it..."

Up in the second-floor VIP room, crimson liquid spilled across the rare purple fox-fur carpet. The managers, who had been dressed impeccably and speaking with refined politeness just moments ago, now glared at Tu Rui with dark, sinister eyes.

"Manager Tu, we need an explanation." The goat-headed manager tore open his suit, revealing a ferocious expression.

"That is right..." Another human manager said, his face looking awful. "Is this what you meant when you guaranteed there would be no problems?"

Tu Rui clenched his fists tight. Even though he stood a full head taller than the managers in front of him, he could not lash out. Suppressing his inner fury, he gritted out, "Void the bets first."

"Voiding the bets is a given..." one manager scoffed coldly. "But a pool of this size only comes around once or twice a year. What about our losses... who will cover them?"

Not every match attracted enough betting funds to fill their pockets to the brim.

Could a mere few tens or hundreds of thousands of Star Coins satisfy their greedy appetites?

It took a veteran fighter like The Howler, combined with the gimmick of a hundred-win streak, to barely push the betting pool up to hundreds of millions of Star Coins.

Ordinary matches were completely beneath their notice.

"Manager Tu, are you not going to show us some form of compensation?"

Tu Rui's eyes were bloodshot. He stared at these ugly-faced bastards and let out a cold sneer. "What, do you all expect me to cover the gap?"

"If you want to keep making a living off these betting pools in the future, then you better swallow it! Do not forget, I am the manager of the Boxing Match Department!"

Tu Rui was also furious. 'If a Troll does not show his might, do they really take me for a sick pig?'

The managers were instantly cowed by the furious Tu Rui, looking at each other in dismay.

"I will give you an explanation... but it will not be in Star Coins." Tu Rui turned his head and glared at Li Yu down in the arena, his eyes brimming with murderous intent.

He had been worrying about finding a proper excuse to deal with the kid. "Accepting a bribe" was a far better pretext than something ridiculous like choking to death on food.

Down in the venue, the Tyron Chamber of Commerce security guards had already begun driving the crowd out. It even escalated into bloody conflicts, but under the threat of Psionic Light Guns, all beings were equal.

"Then we will give Manager Tu this face..." The managers ultimately decided against pushing him too hard. After all, they still needed to profit from the boxing matches in the future.

On the arena...

"Why?" The Howler asked, his expression complicated. He was not moved, just genuinely confused.

Because even with Li Yu surrendering, the Tyron Chamber of Commerce would never acknowledge his hundredth victory and grant him Citizenship in the Star Glory Empire. It was far too obvious that there was foul play involved.

The Tyron Chamber of Commerce would most likely invalidate this match on every possible level.

It would have been better for the two of them to put on a fake fight for a few rounds before Li Yu pretended to be overpowered and conceded.

"It is nothing. I just purely wanted to disgust certain people," Li Yu replied. He had no intention of getting sentimental with The Howler.

He had already learned from the phone call between Tu Rui and Taotie that Tu Rui never had any intention of letting him go.

...

"...I will help you get rid of Li Yu for free..."

"Why?" Even Taotie was a little curious about why Tu Rui would do his dirty work for him.

"Because... he sat in the chair in my office without my permission."

...

This was an excerpt from the conversation between Tu Rui and Taotie. To be completely honest, when they heard this reason, both Li Yu and Taotie shared surprisingly identical reactions.

'What the actual fuck...'

Tu Rui clearly had an unimaginable obsession with being respected. He would not hesitate to kill over it, just like what he did to Black Cannon Gary.

Since the outcome was going to be the same regardless, Li Yu preferred to use his surrender to disgust and humiliate Tu Rui.

Of course, when Li Yu walked out of the Arena Passage, what awaited him was a massive figure built like a brick wall, sporting slicked-back hair, blue skin, and a lit cigar.

"I gave you a chance..." Tu Rui did not waste any more words. The raging fire in his heart could no longer be contained.

Boom!

He bent his knees, his leg muscles pulling taut, and the metallic floor beneath him caved in, forming a massive crater.

A fierce gale blasted his face. Li Yu's pupils contracted as he crossed his arms in defense. Brown Scale Armor surfaced across his skin, piece by piece, as he leaned forward, fully intending to take the blow head-on.

Bang!

With a muffled crash, terrifying force cascaded through Li Yu's body. His Cells were pushed past their limits, crying out in protest as the metal floor beneath his feet buckled and sank.

But he blocked it!

"Interesting. Is this your trump card? You fused another Gene Chain..." Tu Rui retracted his fist and stretched his massive frame, a cold sneer playing at the corner of his lips.

A violent series of cracks echoed from his bones, and wisps of freezing air began radiating from his body. This was his Gene ability.

"This?" Li Yu pointed at the slowly receding scales on his arms. Suppressing his churning blood, he shook his head. "Of course not..."

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Right at that moment, the Smart Terminal on Tu Rui's wrist suddenly started ringing, sounding incredibly jarring and out of place in such a tense situation.