Xu Bo had just learned the most important details and was itching to share them. He immediately lowered his voice and began explaining to Jiang Yue with relish:
"Jiang, you have no idea. This kind of arena match isn't an ordinary wager. The Veteran Camp set it up specifically to settle blood feuds and irreconcilable disputes over interests!"
"The rules are simple. Both sides agree on their fighters, the time, and the stakes."
"To keep anyone from backing out afterward or sparking a larger brawl in camp, they have to bring in Butcher to witness the wager."
"Once Butcher gives his approval, anything goes in that arena, including death. The underground rules protect the result, and even the Supervision Team usually can't be bothered to interfere!"
Jiang Yue nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the tall pile of Points chips nearby. "How do the stakes work?"
"That's the most exciting part!"
Xu Bo swallowed, his eyes gleaming with a feverish hunger for wealth. "Shen Qing won too much money a few days ago. The Veteran Camp faction he angered happens to have five core members, so they agreed to fight five matches!"
"Each side put up a full two hundred Military Merit Points as the base stake!"
"The winner takes all four hundred Points! And since this is the only life-or-death wager running tonight, veterans and recruits alike are betting like mad. The winning side also gets a hefty appearance fee from Butcher's total betting pool!"
"But the price is just as brutal," Xu Bo added.
"The losers won't just be ruined. They'll spend ages in a Medical Pod, and they might even suffer hidden injuries that keep them from ever advancing in martial arts again!"
A base stake of two hundred Points, plus a cut of the betting pool as an appearance fee.
Even Jiang Yue felt tempted when he heard those numbers.
"Five matches..."
Jiang Yue forced down the eerie green light rising in his eyes and asked in a calm voice, "If they have five fighters, who else is fighting on Shen Qing's side? In his current condition, there's no way he'll last through the final match."
As Jiang Yue saw it, a five-on-five contest meant someone else would naturally take over after Shen Qing's fourth match.
But at the question, Xu Bo raised his eyebrows sharply and stared at him as though he were mad.
"No one!"
"No one?" Jiang Yue frowned.
"That's right! Just him!"
Xu Bo spread his hands. "The kid's a martial arts fanatic who does nothing but train. He barely knows anyone. What recruit would be stupid enough to stand up for him in a life-or-death match against an entire Veteran Camp faction?"
"So when that lunatic signed the contract, he planned to take on all five of them by himself!"
Xu Bo clicked his tongue, watching the unsteady figure on the platform. "He's out of his mind! If he actually beats all five in a row, it won't just be about the money. Every veteran at The Boundary will feel like he's ground their faces into the dirt. They won't be able to let that stand!"
One man against five battle-hardened veterans!
At those words, Jiang Yue turned his gaze back to the arena.
Shen Qing stood alone beneath the spotlight, clenching a bloodstained strip of cloth between his teeth as he wound it, loop by loop, around his fractured fist.
He looked at no one below the platform. His bloodshot eyes stayed fixed on the last two veterans who had yet to fight. He was like a lone wolf backed into a corner, ready to fight to the death.
So that's it...
Jiang Yue saw through Shen Qing's motive in an instant.
The lunatic had not fought this far for the Points.
He wanted to use five life-or-death matches, with no room to hold back, to temper his will. He meant to push his body to the brink of death and force it past the Gene Lock and the barrier in his martial arts path!
Using the match as a means to break through. He's ruthless. No wonder Instructor One-Eye noticed him.
Jiang Yue thought highly of Shen Qing for that.
But admiration was one thing. The levelheaded Jiang Yue still shook his head. "Two hundred Points and half your life is a steep price to pay for an attempt."
"Winning five straight will be hard."
It was not merely a question of willpower. Shen Qing's body was on the verge of collapse.
What Shen Qing sought was that instant of growth in martial arts between life and death.
"Fourth match—prepare!"
The Referee's rough, emotionless voice rang over the metal arena.
He swept his gaze across the crowd below. "Who's coming up from your side?"
Of the Veteran Camp faction that had initiated the five-match wager, only two fighters remained: Red Hair and Baldy.
They looked at each other. Fine beads of cold sweat had formed on their foreheads, and their legs felt rooted to the spot. For a moment, neither dared answer or step into the arena.
They were afraid.
Shen Qing stood in the arena drenched in blood and barely steady on his feet. He looked so spent that a gust of wind might knock him over.
But Old Cripple had thought the same thing before the third match!
And what had happened?
That strange burst of force had torn through Old Cripple's defenses in an instant. He had not lasted ten moves, and now he lay in an emergency pod like a dead dog, his fate uncertain.
Shen Qing's furious, death-defying counterattack had shattered the nerve of both Red Hair and Baldy.
As they stood there, unable to advance or retreat, a deep, grating voice suddenly rang out from the back of the veteran crowd.
"Well? Are you going to consider my offer or not?"
The crowd was shoved roughly aside, and a giant of a man strode out. He stood a full two meters tall, his muscles knotted like an iron tower.
A hideous, dark-red scar stretched across the giant's right cheek, its raised edges like a centipede clinging to his face. He gave off a savage, oppressive air.
Scar looked down at Red Hair and Baldy and named an outrageous price. "I get the entire appearance fee. If I win, I'll only take half of the two hundred Points you staked. Fair enough?"
Baldy's face flushed red. "Scar! That recruit is running on fumes! He's about to collapse! You'd be getting an easy win, and you want to take most of our money for it? That's robbery!"
"An easy win?"
Far from growing angry, Scar threw back his head and laughed so loudly it hurt their ears.
He folded arms thicker than most men's thighs across his chest and sneered. "Sure. He's almost dead. He can barely stand. If it's that easy, why don't you two go up there yourselves?"
"You!" Baldy had no answer.
Beside him, Red Hair stared at Shen Qing's bloodshot eyes. The image of Old Cripple's carotid artery being severed by a kick flashed through his mind, and a violent shudder ran through him.
Money meant nothing if they were dead!
With their half-baked close-combat skills, they might only end up dying alongside that Ancient Martial Arts lunatic!
To save what remained of their stake and their own lives, Red Hair stamped his foot and made the call through gritted teeth. "Fine! We'll do it your way!"
Scar's vicious grin widened.
He raised both arms and slammed his iron fists together. Each was as big as a cooking pot, and the dull thud made teeth ache.
"I'll take the match!"
Scar turned toward the Referee in the arena and roared, "I'm fighting the fourth match!"
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