Chapter 341
Discrimination and targeting are pervasive, reducing Knight Competition to mere entertainment events. The Commercial Union responsible for these activities are, in fact, profit-driven corporations.
I know some people want to see my sister and me battle it out in the finals. Whoever falls, they'll make a fortune. Therefore, after careful consideration, I've decided to withdraw from this year's Knight Competition' Games.
The reporter got the answer, but wouldn't let it go:
"Bright Knight, don't you feel it's a pity to give up a championship that's within your grasp?"
I don't think so.
Margaret faces the camera with a resolute gaze:
"Even the previous champion withdrew from the competition just like that. What's the point of winning a championship that has no real value?"
Anyone who has visited the Knight Association building should know that there is a Champions Wall there. Portraits of past champions are displayed in the gallery for people to admire.
But one of the portraits is blank. That's from six years ago, when I won the championship. One blank space is enough; there's no need for any more.
At this point, she stood up, faced the camera, bowed, and apologized:
"I know there are many viewers who have been silently supporting me, and I would like to say sorry to them here."
My decision to withdraw from the competition this time was made after careful consideration. I once hoped that Knight Competition would have a bright future, but unfortunately the entire industry is now completely rotten.
Perhaps only when Knight disappear, yet everyone truly understands the meaning of Knight in their hearts, will Knight Competition embark on the right path.
After saying that, Margaret left the press conference.
"Bright Knight, please wait a moment!"
"Were you just implying that the Commercial Union manipulated the competition, which is why they decided to withdraw from it?"
"Bright Knight, are you saying that this year's Knight lacks prestige and that the title is meaningless?"
A bunch of reporters followed, bombarding her with all sorts of tricky questions. Margaret had already said everything she needed to say, without offering any direct responses.
The press conference held before the semi-final match caused a huge uproar in Cavaleria as soon as it appeared in newspapers and on television!
Rumors of match-fixing among the Knight Competition are escalating, like an unstoppable surge of people standing up during a movie screening.
The exposure of the Commercial Union's hiring of online trolls has thrust them into the eye of the storm.
Whether on online forums or on the streets, it seemed as if the entire population of Kazimierz was engulfed in the flames of suspicion.
Upon realizing that the situation was beyond repair...
Those senior executives within the Commercial Union who survived the assassination attempt quickly convened an emergency meeting.
Given the current dire situation, we needed to find a way to turn things around. Ultimately, after four hours of brainstorming, we found the only solution.
To reverse the increasingly rampant public opinion, we must not allow the rumor of 'Maria winning the championship' to come true.
Anyone can be the champion, but not her.
Now that the Bright Knight have withdrawn from the competition, and Maria is also excluded.
Of the remaining two semifinalists, the Lucky Knight has a better chance of winning than the Yellow Robe Knight. If we do everything we can to help him win, there's still a chance for things to turn around.
Perhaps the Lucky Knight's Originium Arts can protect him from this inexplicable fainting spell.
Thus, they defeated Maria in the finals, reversing the Commercial Union's decline!
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410 A clumsy attempt that backfired (4K)
July 16, 9:50 am
Today is the semi-final match between Maria Saria and the Yellow Robe Knight, and the venue is still the First Club Arena.
Because the Bright Knight publicly announced their withdrawal from the competition, the Lucky Knight advanced to the finals without a fight.
The winner of this semi-final will face him the day after tomorrow to determine the champion of the 24th Knight Competition.
A reporter at the scene photographed the Lucky Knight and tried to approach him for a quick interview.
As a result, the camera suddenly exploded as soon as the cameraman got close enough, forcing them to abandon the plan.
It's not surprising that Lucky Knight appeared at the semi-final match. Such occurrences are quite common in the Knight Competition industry.
As the saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle."
Many Competitive Knight, after learning their next opponent, will watch their matches. By analyzing their performance, they can develop targeted strategies, thus gaining an intelligence advantage in subsequent battles.
Although the official video recordings were provided, the camera positions were relatively fixed, making it far less efficient than watching the game live.
The fact that Lucky Knight appeared at the semi-finals actually proves that he wants to play well in the finals.
Having learned from the previous incident of a camera lens exploding, viewers who wanted to take a photo with the camera immediately abandoned the idea.
They viewed the Lucky Knight as a lotus flower in a pond after the rain—to be admired from afar, not to be touched.
"La Signora and gentlemen, welcome to the First Club Arena. I am your old friend, Big Mouth Mob, and I will be providing commentary for today's semi-final."
Big Mouth Mob, known for his outspokenness, started yesterday's quarter-final match by reciting advertising slogans. As a result, he was heavily criticized and attacked online.
He was worried that the Yellow Robe Knight wouldn't be able to play, so he swallowed his advertising copy. He'd consider whether to say it after the semi-final results were in.
To prevent any accidents, Big Mouth Mob repeatedly checked with the staff. He learned that the Yellow Robe Knight, who was participating in the competition, was outside the arena and would only enter when the match started.
Since the contestants fainted in the locker room after changing several arenas, we might as well skip this part.
With the competition about to begin, Shi Lei used his Psychic Scan the players' locker room, but found no target.
This discovery was not unexpected.
It would be incredibly foolish for Commercial Union to repeatedly fall into the same trap.
With tens of thousands of spectators present, searching them one by one would be an enormous undertaking. There were approximately a thousand male Kuranta spectators alone, all wearing yellow shirts.
Shi Lei was unfazed and showed no sign of panic.
Regardless, this is the semi-final. No matter where the Yellow Robe Knight is hiding, he will inevitably show up when the match begins.
There is no path from the stands to the arena; jumping from the platform into the arena requires a four-meter jump. For now, focus solely on the athletes' entrance on the north side.
"Without further ado, let's give a warm round of applause to welcome Maria Saria, the little Knight of the Nearl Family, on her dazzling debut!"
Amid cheers from countless spectators, Maria walked out of the players' tunnel and waved to the crowd.
She looked towards the players' tunnel across the way, unsure if no one would accept the challenge this time.
Big Mouth Mob glanced at the time on his phone; it would be exactly ten o'clock in three minutes. He was extremely worried that the same thing would happen again, just like yesterday.
Sigh, making money is hard, and getting by is tough.
No matter how unwilling Big Mouth Mob, he had to bite the bullet and explain:
"Next, let's welcome the Yellow Robe Knight, who have fought their way to the semifinals, into the arena!"
As he introduced the contestants, more than a dozen bodyguards dressed in black and wearing sunglasses walked out of the contestant passage.
These people stood guard around, protecting a yellow-clad athlete in armor as he entered the arena.
Just as Shi Lei was about to make a move, he noticed something amiss. The man surrounded by bodyguards had covered his face.
Such measures seem quite unusual for a Knight about to go into battle.
Do they think that covering their face can effectively prevent sudden fainting?
No rush, let's play around with them first.
Shi Lei wasn't in a hurry to make a move, since the match hadn't officially started yet. He kept a close eye on his surroundings and soon spotted the masked Knight standing up in the front row of the stands.
The other side was fully armed, wearing armor and carrying guns.
In an arena with security checks at the entrance, showing up with a long-handled weapon is quite conspicuous.
As he climbed over the railing, preparing to leap over the four-meter-high wall into the arena, Shi Lei's lips curled into a slight smile beneath his mask, and he unleashed a few tricks.
The masked Knight who jumped from the stands suddenly twisted his ankle upon landing. His right leg hit something hard, significantly reducing his mobility. Although he didn't injure any bones, it greatly affected his ability to continue the match.
As the masked Knight removed his mask and limped towards the center of the arena, the audience had various thoughts.
"The Commercial Union isn't even bothering to pretend; they're just throwing their weight around, aren't they?"
"They made the Yellow Robe Knight jump out of the stands and get injured, so they have a reason not to win the semi-finals. They really went to great lengths to make Maria win the championship."
"Ha, I can't be bothered to say anything about them."
In fact, the Yellow Robe Knight was also worried that he might suddenly faint like the opponent who had fought against Maria in the past.
Therefore, they agreed to the Commercial Union's proposal and specially found a stand-in of similar height and build to take the blame.
The idea was good, but unfortunately it backfired.
He injured his leg before the match even started, which greatly affected his performance in the upcoming battle.
The final outcome of this semi-final was pretty much as the audience had predicted.
The Yellow Robe Knight lost his mobility and was exploited by Maria wielded a sword and shield, and was defeated in one fell swoop.
"Oh dear, what a pity. It seems Maria is still the better player in this match. Let's give a warm round of applause to Maria Saria, the little Knight of the Nearl Family, for advancing to the finals!"
The audience in the stands felt that this blatant acting was an insult to their intelligence.
They tore up their tickets and stormed off.
Having achieved his goal, Shi Lei saw no need to linger. He followed the other spectators and swaggered away from the arena.
Big Mouth Mob tried his best to smooth things over, but the audience wasn't buying it. Today's match, which was nothing short of a disaster, quickly became the top trending topic.
Faced with public outrage, the Commercial Union's leadership could only remain silent. Holding a press conference to explain at this point would be pointless.
They must wait until Lucky Knight defeats Maria to win the championship before they can come out and have a chance to completely clear their name.
July 16, 10:30 AM
Shortly after leaving the arena, Shi Lei received a call from his agent Rebecca.
She said she hoped to go to a high-end restaurant in the city center at noon to have a meal and chat about some things.
There's no need to guess; it's obvious that someone else initiated the dinner party. Where would Rebecca, an intern agent, get the money to treat him to high-end entertainment?
Shi Lei didn't make things difficult for her and agreed. After confirming the time and place of the dinner, he hung up the phone.
Compared to the average person, he has more time each day to devise strategies. The fact that the Commercial Union, in its desperation, sought his help was entirely within Shi Lei's expectations.
Back at the hotel, he took out a third spare SIM card and inserted it into his phone. He then called several newspapers and television programs that were struggling financially and needed big news stories.
Using a deliberately faked voice, he revealed that Lucky Knight and the Commercial Union were secretly colluding to set up a scheme. He also provided a specific time and place for the meeting.
A friendly reminder: revealing the results before the finals are announced could make you vulnerable to being secretly dealt with by the assassins.
More than one media outlet knew this information, and there was no benefit in leaking it to the Commercial Union.
It would be best to wait until the champion of this year's Knight Competition is determined before revealing it to maximize the benefits.
After doing all this, Shi Lei took out the SIM card and destroyed it. After taking a shower, he went to the restaurant for his appointment.
In the designated private room, he met a strange man named Kuranta and Rebecca.
The latter was extremely guilty, staring down at his toes. He had absolutely no courage to meet Shi Lei's gaze.
"Mr. Lucky Knight, this is Mackey, the company's spokesperson. He'd like to discuss something with you."
The spokesperson wields considerable power within the Commercial Union, making it difficult for a lowly broker to disobey.
Shi Lei saw through it but didn't say anything, instead speaking up to drive them away:
"Okay, you can go now."
There will be people taking pictures outside later, so there's no need to involve her. It's better to get rid of her as soon as possible.
Rebecca felt embarrassed to stay any longer, so she leaned forward at a ninety-degree angle, as if apologizing.
"I'll leave now, without disturbing you two any longer."
After the agent left, Mackey finally spoke:
"Mr. Lucky Knight, please have a seat. Actually, I invited you here today to catch up on your recent situation. Just think of it as a gathering of friends, don't be too reserved."
Shi Lei smiled without saying a word, waiting for the other party to perform.