Xiao Ran and Veranica's strength was beyond question. A Gym Leader Class Pokémon could sweep through the freshmen, and so far, no freshman anywhere in the world had been known to raise one.
Of course, that excluded those like Veranica who had been raising theirs since childhood.
"What do we do?" As soon as Franklin and Janice left the arena, Jefferson and the others crowded around them.
Five billion was riding on that bet—Pokémon Fossils of incalculable value, including even fossils of Legendary Pokémon.
A loss like that was far beyond what a handful of freshmen could bear.
"We did our best. What happens next is up to the higher-ups!" Janice said grimly. Ignoring everyone, she turned and walked away.
"Right, right. We did everything we could. Those were Gym Leader Class Pokémon. They can't blame us for this!" the chubby boy muttered, trying to reassure himself.
"Keep dreaming! That bitch Janice is an Awakened. She has nothing to worry about, but what do we have? Someone has to take the fall for something this big," Jefferson cursed, his face dark.
They had only just learned that Janice was an Awakened too. That status alone was enough to get her out of this mess, but none of them had that kind of leverage. With five billion lost and their reputation damaged, the higher-ups were bound to find someone to make a scapegoat.
"Then what do we do?" The chubby boy froze, his round face crumpling until he looked ready to cry.
"Enough. If you want to survive, shut your mouths and get through what's in front of us first!" Franklin growled. He had already spotted the Chinese teachers and students coming toward them, clearly there to collect.
"Well? When are you handing the stuff over?" Veranica asked triumphantly as their