Chapter 104

The casino owner looked quite unwell.

Seeing yet another group of people come to redeem their bets, he felt a wave of dizziness and sighed deeply for a long time, "I worked hard for half a year to earn some money, and it's all been lost on the Mask Squad!"

Xu Jintang smiled slightly and slapped the receipt for his previous bet on the counter. "Boss, cash out."

Subsequently, Song Tianqi, Yan Yuting, and the others also took photos of their betting receipts.

The casino owner picked up Xu Jintang's bill and glanced at it.

[The Mask Squad advances to the semifinals; a bet of 20,000 is placed, with odds of 50 to 1.]

The boss, who had just recovered, clutched his chest and his vision went black again.

Seeing his appearance, Yan Yuting asked with concern, "Boss, are you alright?"

The casino owner couldn't even manage a smile. "Do I look alright to you?"

Song Tianqi scratched his head, "Then are we still able to get our money back?"

Upon hearing this, the customers waiting in line to exchange their bets all turned to look at him warily.

People place bets, naturally hoping for a chance to become rich overnight.

If they win the bet but don't get the money, they naturally won't accept it.

Under the watchful eyes of many, the casino owner quickly nodded, "Yes, yes, I can get it. I'll exchange it for you right away."

Fifteen minutes later, the casino owner counted the bets placed by Xu Jintang and his group of five, and handed out five bank cards to each of them.

"These are for the five of you; please keep them safe."

Xu Jintang bet the most money and earned back one million star coins.

She fiddled with the star cards in her hand and began to do the math.

This money will be enough to pay off the funding I applied for from the military academy, and there will be more than enough to cover it.

If they can win the championship again, they'll make a fortune.

Realizing this, Xu Jintang raised his hand to stroke his chin, a glint of light appearing in his eyes.

After leaving the casino, Xu Jintang and his group of five did not linger and went straight out of the black market.

But as soon as he stepped out of the black market exit, Xu Jintang keenly sensed that someone was following him.

A moment later, Jiang Shiyi also whispered a reminder: "Someone is following us."

"Huh?" Song Tianqi was still a little stunned. "Why are you following us?"

Xu Jintang curled her lips into a smile, "Because the five of us are rich."

As she said this, she glanced behind her and saw a simply dressed, unassuming man following them discreetly.

Chapter 104

Song Tianqi, who was initially confused, finally understood what was going on.

The people who frequent the underground black market are a mixed bag, and it's inevitable that some will covet the large sums of gambling chips they've just acquired.

Xue Zhongqi quietly gripped the grappling hook at his waist and whispered, "Shall we make a move?"

Xu Jintang opened his palm, and a faint ice-attribute power swirled in his palm.

The next second, a thin layer of frost quickly spread from the ground, reaching all the way to the feet of the man behind him.

The men were focused on observing Xu Jintang and his group of five, so they naturally didn't have time to notice what was happening under their feet.

As the frost thickened and froze into a solid layer of ice, it firmly held the man's feet to the ground.

The bone-chilling cold made him frown and lower his head.

The point where the ankle touched the ground was frozen to the ground.

Realizing something, he immediately activated his supernatural power, attempting to break free of the ice.

"Make your move," Xu Jintang said calmly, his face turning cold.

Song Tianqi and Xue Zhongqi, who were already prepared, quickly opened fire on the man.

Jiang Shiyi and Xu Jintang exchanged a glance. Just to be on the safe side, they didn't hold back and quickly rushed towards the man.

Yan Yuting consciously retreated to the back, drew the Wind Shadow Whip from his waist, and assumed a defensive posture.

The ice layer bound and restrained the man for a long time.

After he struggled free, Song Tianqi and Xue Zhongqi rushed in front of him.

A cold glint flashed in the man's eyes as he swiftly raised his hand, summoning his supernatural power.

A giant, gold-patterned writing brush appeared out of thin air, its tip made of soft, silver wolf hair, surrounded by twinkling starlight.

"Crimson Flames of the Nine Heavens!" Song Tianqi raised his hands, and nine balls of Scarlet Flame immediately attacked the man, making the air along the way extremely hot.

The man's expression turned cold as he manipulated the golden-patterned brush floating in the air to quickly draw a spell.

The pen tip fell, drawing a crescent moon pattern in the air.

The crescent moon grew larger, and the silver light it emitted gradually intensified.

--Crescent Moon Talisman, an attack talisman drawn with Gold-Patterned Spirit Brush, releases penetrating attack damage using the power of heavenly light.

As the Scarlet Flame reached him, the Crescent Moon Talisman unleashed its full attack energy.

The two forces collided, generating a powerful shockwave.

Both Song Tianqi and the man were knocked back two steps.

Immediately afterwards, Xu Jintang jumped down from the sky and punched the man with her fist.

The man, who had no time to dodge, was hit on the bridge of his nose, and warm blood gushed out instantly.

"With this little strength, you dare to follow us?" Xu Jintang said, pressing the man to the ground with a look of astonishment.

When Xu Jintang first discovered that the man was following them, she thought he was very strong, but after exchanging blows, she found that he was only at the Fourth Tier.

Fourth Tier ability user fighting five of them? Isn't that suicide?

Before they could even make a move, Jiang Shiyi and Xue Zhongqi exchanged a glance.

The two stopped simultaneously and came to Xu Jintang's side. Jiang Shiyi asked, "Should we report this to the Administration Bureau?"

Robberies on the street also fall under the Federation Administration Bureau.

The man pinned to the ground struggled to his feet, pleading, "I was wrong, big brother/sister, please let me go. I'll never do this again."

He now regrets it; he was indeed tempted by the large sum of money Xu Jintang and his group of five had taken.

But he never expected that these five kids who looked so young would be so strong.

Xu Jintang touched his face. "Does my face look a lot like my eldest sister's?"

Xue Zhongqi also looked incredulous and quickly distanced himself from the title, saying, "Exactly, how do we look like the eldest brother?"

Yan Yuting made a decisive decision. "I'll report this to the Administration Bureau right away."

The man's lips twitched, and now he wished he could slap himself to death.

I should have spoken more sweetly.

Fifteen minutes later, the Federation Administration Bureau arrived at the scene.

Fortunately, there were surveillance satellites near the square, which captured evidence of the man following and stalking her.

After confirming that everything was correct, Song Yuanlang nodded to his subordinates, "Take him away."

Several subordinates immediately escorted the man onto the Administration Bureau's private hovercar.

Song Yuanlang's gaze lingered on Xu Jintang. "We meet again, Ms. Foodie."

The last time I met Xu Jintang was after the bombing at the dance.

Although Xu Jintang was wearing a ghost mask at the time, he had to remove it when he entered the Administration Bureau for investigation.

As the captain of the Administration Bureau, Song Yuanlang naturally already knew the true identities of Xu Jintang and his companions.

Xu Jintang smiled and said, "Captain Song, it's been a long time. How have you been lately?"

"Not bad," Song Yuanlang replied in a very businesslike manner, then looked at Yan Yuting and the others, "Is anyone injured?"

Everyone immediately shook their heads, "No."

"That's good, but you all still need to go to the Administration Bureau to give a statement about what happened. If you have time, you can go to the Administration Bureau to give a statement today or tomorrow," Song Yuanlang added.

Xu Jintang nodded obediently, "Okay."

Seeing that they were alright, Song Yuanlang turned and left.

Only after watching the Administration Bureau's private hovercar disappear from sight did Yan Yuting and the others, who had been on edge the whole time, finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Yan Yuting patted her chest, still shaken. "I was terrified. Captain Song's eyes are so sharp; I feel like he could see right through any lie."

"After all, they're from the Administration Bureau; their experience is definitely beyond ours," Xue Zhongqi said in a low voice.

Xu Jintang withdrew his gaze and turned to Yan Yuting and the others, "When would you like to give your statements?"

Song Tianqi quickly suggested, "How about tomorrow? It's too unsafe for us to carry such a large sum of money today. Let's leave the money in the dorm first."

Yan Yuting nodded in complete agreement, "Yes, yes, I think so too."

Therefore, Xu Jintang and his group of five did not linger and quickly returned to their villa dormitory.

Night gradually fell.

Even in the still of the night, the dormitory villa was still brightly lit.

Lights were on in everyone's room, and laughter could be heard from time to time.

"Aaaaaah! We lost again! Xue Zhongqi, let's play one more game! We were so close to making it into the top five!" Song Tianqi shouted excitedly, lying on Xue Zhongqi's bed.

Xue Zhongqi leaned back on the sofa, wearing a virtual reality gaming headset, and slowly opened his eyes, his expression full of excitement. "One more round!"

It's likely that their loud shouting disturbed Yan Yuting next door.

A knocking sound came from the next room, "Xue Zhongqi! Song Tianqi! Keep your voices down!!"

The previously passionate Song Tianqi immediately sat up obediently, lowered his voice, and gestured to Xue Zhongqi, "Keep your voice down."

The next room.

After hearing the noise subside, Yan Yuting picked up the cards and sat back down on the sofa.

"Come on, let's continue."

Sitting opposite them were Xu Jintang and Jiang Shiyi, each holding a hand of cards.

"Two Pika Beast." Yan Yuting drew two cards and threw them onto the coffee table.

Jiang Shiyi looked up, "Two Blizzard Wolf."

The card game rules here are somewhat similar to those on Lanxing, but the cards are not ranked by numbers; instead, they are arranged according to the quality and level of the monsters.

Pika Beast has the lowest quality and level, while Blizzard Wolf is of a higher level.

Xu Jintang glanced down at the cards in his hand, pulled out two Ice Soul Dragon cards, and tossed them onto the coffee table. "Two Ice Soul Dragon."

The Ice Soul Dragon card has the largest artwork of all cards, surpassing all other cards.