Chapter 682

"What's the problem with that?"

The moment the host finished speaking, the scene fell silent.

Even those who had just been loudly cursing and shouting were stunned.

Everyone was thinking the same thing.

Was Yuan Zhao never actually present?

Then who the hell said Yuan Zhao had gone invisible?

Invisible, my ass—

Invisible, my fucking ass!

Who the hell started that rumor?

After a brief silence, an uproar broke out.

Some spectators even started blaming each other.

"Fuck, didn't you say Yuan Zhao went invisible? You said it so convincingly—stop trying to act so fucking smug from now on."

"How the fuck was I supposed to know he forfeited?"

"I really thought he went invisible, thought I was gonna win—my gold coins!"

"Why did Yuan Zhao forfeit? Is he afraid to fight Zhao Chi?"

"Bullshit! Yuan Zhao is the strongest, how could he fear Zhao Chi? Something must've happened, that's why he didn't come."

"Your mom's, Yuan Zhao is trash, and you call him the strongest? I lost 72 silver coins because of you, and you're still defending him?"

"I lost silver coins too, but Yuan Zhao really is strong."

"Strong, your ass—seeking death!"

"Why the fuck are you hitting me?"

"So what if I hit you? I'll hit you too!"

"Shit! Anyone defending Yuan Zhao? I wanna hit them too."

"Me too!"

"Ahhh, stop, stop, that's not what I meant, I lost money too—"

"Say it! Is Yuan Zhao trash or not?"

"Yeah, say it!"

"Yes, yes, yes, Yuan Zhao is trash, a cowardly turtle who didn't dare to compete, got us all to lose money."

"Fuck, I think the real trash are those goddamn staff members, and those hosts! They led us to bet on Yuan Zhao, like they already knew he was gonna forfeit!"

"If you put it that way… I think it's weird too. Just now it was obvious those staff were all biased toward Yuan Zhao, they were practically saying outright that Yuan Zhao would win."

"Right, right, right, I felt the same way. I was wondering why the final match was so obviously biased—now I get it!"

"This is fraud!"

"Son of a bitch, they even scam us commoners' hard-earned money—goddamn, they should die!"

"Yeah, they should die!"

Amid the uproar, Zhao Huai stayed silent.

He sat in the spectator seats, listening to the discussions around him, still unable to believe the situation.

Zhao Jiao looked at him quietly: "You just said it was invisibility too."

Zhao Huai said: "You saw the situation just now too—from the moment the fight started, we never saw Yuan Zhao, the ground wasn't churning, nothing in the sky either, so it could only be invisibility. Who could've guessed he forfeited… Damn, I bet on Yuan Zhao too… should've bet on Zhao Chi."

Zhao Jiao sighed: "Sigh, forget it, I bet on Yuan Zhao too. Although we should support Zhao Chi, betting and supporting are two different things. After all, Yuan Zhao had the better odds, so we should've bet on him."

Lu Hong said, a bit embarrassed: "Me too. Now half the money I earned is gone again."

Zhao Huai said: "Keeping half is fine. Zhao Chi must be laughing his ass off—champion! Fuck, this time our Zhao family takes the championship, I gotta tell the clan."

Zhao Jiao nodded: "Yeah, luckily the final odds weren't high, otherwise we'd have given back everything we earned."

Lu Hong said: "Just now I was thinking about how to comfort Zhao Chi, but now I actually have to congratulate him. I need to think of new words."

Zhao Jiao said: "Don't bother thinking of words, just say congratulations. He must be very happy right now, whatever we say is the same."

The two were talking when they heard Zhao Huai let out a "huh?"

"What's wrong?" Zhao Jiao asked.

Zhao Huai frowned: "Can you not communicate in this virtual space?"

"Where did you hear that rule? You can communicate." Zhao Jiao was puzzled.

"Then why did my contact fail? I can't reach Father or Uncle, and Big Brother and the others either."

"Huh? That can't be, let me try."

Saying so, Zhao Jiao opened the system.

But the system also showed connection failed.

"Huh? Weird, I can't reach anyone either." Zhao Jiao tried contacting others again, but couldn't reach any of them.

Zhao Huai said: "Could it be blocked? Is this virtual training ground broken? Why block the signal?"

Zhao Jiao shook her head: "Don't know, maybe to prevent on-site recording? After all, this kind of competition involves exposing the contestants' abilities… but that doesn't make sense either."

Lu Hong said: "Maybe that's the case. I'll go outside and try, I'll come back and tell you in a bit."

Zhao Huai nodded: "Okay, the award ceremony is coming up soon, hurry back."

"No problem."

Lu Hong squeezed through the cursing crowd and quickly headed toward the corridor.

The audience was still cursing, the host remained elegant, strolling gracefully.

Facing the abuse from the spectator seats, he was completely unmoved inside, a smile always hanging on his face.

He said softly:

"Everyone here is an adult, and your bets were placed of your own free will.

"Where's the logic in causing a scene just because you didn't win your bet?

"The staff didn't force you to place bets — you operated the system yourself. What does that have to do with us?

"Don't you have your own judgment?

"I can see at least ten percent of the audience here bet on Zhao Chi — how is it that they could judge for themselves?

"Everyone must be responsible for their own actions. If anyone wants to cause trouble, don't think we lack the ability to deal with it!

"Surely you all know who runs this virtual training ground?"

After the host finished speaking, the venue fell silent once more.

Many in the audience were red-faced, gnashing their teeth.

Of course they knew it was run by a noble.

Only a noble had the status and the means to open such a virtual venue.

They didn't dare to oppose a noble.

But their fury refused to dissipate.

The host smiled at the angry audience and said gracefully:

"Very well, the match is over, the betting results are already decided, and all prize money has been distributed.

"Next is the award ceremony. I wonder whether Yuan Zhao will attend the award ceremony — you can find him then and ask for an explanation.

"Enough, stop being unreasonable and causing trouble. All of you, quiet down.

"I'll say it once more — if anyone causes trouble, we'll take care of every last one of you.

"Quiet down!"

With that, the host vanished.

The venue fell into silence.

Gongsun Ning, seated up high, watched the scene below with satisfaction.

"These commoners really need to be taught a lesson. Nobody forced them to bet — if they bet wrong, they should take responsibility themselves."

She took a delicate sip of red wine, composed and elegant.

When she saw how many gold coins she'd earned this time, her smile grew even brighter.

Zhao Chi also received his gold coins.

【Your betting result is out】

【Your bet target was "Brook Village Zhao Chi 88x", bet amount 20 gold coins. When the target wins the championship, you will receive 88x returns】

【"Brook Village Zhao Chi 88x" has now won the championship. You have successfully received 1,760 gold coins. Please check and collect】