Chapter 253: Newcomer Sparring

"All in, bet all the points on Han Fang. The odds are almost at two times now. If Han Fang wins, our 50 points will instantly become 100!" Wu Xing said excitedly.

"Do you think everyone else is a fool? That only you are smart? Last time, Qi Lang fought two matches in a row and only lost to Han Fang in the third. This time, both are at full health. Even with your toes, you can think and know that Qi Lang definitely has the better chance of winning, right?"

"Do you understand anything? I have inside information. Han Fang has improved a lot these days; I'm afraid Qi Lang is no match for him."

"Is that for real?"

"Just you wait and see."

Three minutes passed quickly. The points bet on Qi Lang reached 9,000, with odds of 1.33, while the points bet on Han Fang were 6,000, with odds of 2.0.

Lu Yu narrowed his eyes and pondered to himself: the Association is taking a 20% cut.

No matter who loses or wins, 2,000 points will fall into the pockets of the Shi City Association. Calculating based on this, the more people who participate in betting, the higher the cut the Association can get.

No wonder he was targeted as soon as he joined.

This battle on the Arena was even more intense than the last one; it could be described as fist-to-flesh, and some female Awakened at the scene were screaming non-stop in excitement.

Two minutes later, the battle ended.

To the surprise of most people, Qi Lang lost.

"See? I told you."

Wu Xing's voice came from the side, "Luckily you listened to me just now; 50 points doubled straight to 100. How about it, convinced?"

"Brother Wu, you're awesome. Good thing I listened to you."

"Heh heh, that goes without saying," Wu Xing said triumphantly, "I'm someone with inside information. Just watch, it won't take until the afternoon for me to make these 100 points double or triple again."

As Qi Lang left the stage, Han Fang also walked down from the Arena.

Don't look at this battle as only lasting a short one or two minutes; the consumption of both physical strength and Mental Power was extremely huge.

They also wanted to achieve three consecutive wins and take home the extra 1,000-point reward, but alas, the spirit was willing but the flesh was weak.

"Number 16, take the stage."

The broadcast voice sounded again.

Under the gaze of over a hundred pairs of eyes, Lu Yu walked onto the Arena. Soon, a wave of discussion arose around the Arena.

"Who is this guy? How come I've never seen him before?"

"Yeah, is he from our Association? Why do I have no impression of him at all?"

"Seems like a newcomer. I just saw him come down with Wu Xing and the other one."

The crowd's gazes brushed over and looked at Wu Xing and his companion.

The two were startled and were just about to explain when the voice of the man in sunglasses came over the broadcast.

"Let me introduce everyone. This is Su Luo, a newcomer who just joined the Association today, an E-rank Awakened whose ability is Speed Enhancement. He wants to spar with everyone. The bet is 50 points. Is there anyone willing to come on stage and trade blows with him?"

As soon as the words fell, the area around the Arena became as quiet as death, but soon, it became as lively as a pot exploding.

"Damn! It really is a newcomer! Are newcomers these days all this confident?"

"Speed Enhancement, that's a physical enhancement type ability, right? Sounds like it's passable."

"So what? He's just an E-rank Awakened. When I first joined the Association, I was also E-rank and didn't even dare to breathe loudly. This guy is actually this fierce? Who exactly gave him the courage?"

"Isn't this obviously giving away points? 50 points! Damn, I'm even tempted, what do I do?"

"Do you have no shame? A dignified D-rank Awakened, going to bully a newcomer?"

"Since you all care about your faces, then I'll do it."

Just as many people were eager to move but held back by face, a man a little over 1.6 meters tall with a face full of pockmarks had already climbed onto the Arena, grinning as he spoke to the crowd.

A wave of jeers immediately erupted from off-stage.

This person was named Chen Mazi, an E-rank Awakened who had joined the Association three years ago; his ability was Sound Wave Manipulation.

Once hit by his sound waves, the light cases would result in headaches and fainting, while the heavy cases would result in bleeding from the seven orifices and death.

The countdown ended quickly.

The avatars of Lu Yu and Chen Mazi appeared on the big screen.

However, somewhat embarrassingly, the points bet on Lu Yu were pitifully few; occasionally jumping, it only increased by 10 or 20 points.

Looking at the points under Chen Mazi, they jumped up by fifty or a hundred at a time, and in a moment, they had accumulated to 1,000 points.

After that, the growth rate gradually slowed down because everyone basically didn't favor Lu Yu, but if one bet on Chen Mazi, the odds were too low, and after deducting the service fee, there was almost no profit. So, many people preferred to watch the fun from the sidelines and were too lazy to place a bet.

On the Arena, Chen Mazi smiled and said:

"Brother, even if I don't come to take these 50 points, someone else will. Don't blame me. Rest assured, I won't be too heavy-handed; just endure it and it'll pass."

Lu Yu smiled slightly. He had already learned a bit about the other party's situation through text messages before, although it wasn't particularly detailed.

Two minutes passed, and the betting points for both sides had reached about 200 to 2,000.

"Wu Xing, why did you bet all your points on Chen Mazi? The odds are so low, even if you bet right, you won't earn much, right?"

"This is called steady and sure."

Wu Xing rolled his eyes at his companion and said unhurriedly, "Don't look at the high odds for betting on the newcomer; that's basically throwing money away. Betting on Chen Mazi might have low odds, but you're sure to win. Even the smallest mosquito leg is meat; accumulate little to make much, understand?"

"That's what you say, but couldn't you bet a little on the newcomer's side? Even if it's just 10 points? Didn't you see, the odds are almost at ten times. If there's an upset, wouldn't you make a fortune?"

"Where are there so many upsets? Didn't you see me just double my 50 points? Don't worry, I know what I'm doing, it won't go wrong." Wu Xing looked full of confidence.

"Fine."

Zhang Xin nodded helplessly.

Last time, Wu Xing was indeed accurate in his judgment; if he hadn't listened to him, the 50 points would have been gone long ago.

But this time, even if he bet right, the odds were pitifully low. Sigh, he could only pin his hopes on the next time, wishing for some good luck to let the points double again!

Soon, three minutes passed, and the point ratio between the two sides had reached 300 to 2,200.

Lu Yu's odds had risen to 7.33, meaning that if you bet 1 point and guessed correctly, you could get 7.33 points; if you bet 50 points, you could get 366 points.

While Chen Mazi's odds were only 1.05; betting 10 points, even if you guessed right, you would only get 0.5 points more, and you still had to deduct a little service fee.

"Brother Hu, the match is about to start."

The man in sunglasses said.

"Mm."

Du Hu yawned, thinking to himself that this was just two rookies fighting each other; what was there to watch.

In his view, the outcome of this battle had no suspense before it had even begun.

Around the Arena, the crowd also shook their heads one after another.

In the crowd, Wu Xing looked at Lu Yu on the stage, a trace of pity revealing itself in his eyes: Brother, I did try to advise you, but you wouldn't listen; you're in for a rough time in a moment.