The Lost Bet

When Lu Ye appeared, Freck slowly descended from the glass platform in a suspended basket.

"Longinus, what an impressive entrance! So what are you here for? To give my slave an award?"

A smug, malicious smile hung on Freck's somewhat pale face.

Lu Ye ignored him.

Flora, the gorgeous agent with a fiery figure, offered her delicate hand for Lu Ye to lean on.

Lu Ye stepped forward. Evan, wearing a comical crying-face mask, knelt on one knee in front of him, offering his shoulder and knee as steps for Lu Ye to descend farther.

In the stands.

Shalria watched through her binoculars as Lu Ye made his astounding leap with Jessica in his arms. Her cheeks puffed out with jealousy and her little fists clenched, wishing she were the one in his arms.

Rosward comforted her. "Shalria, it's all right. Celestial Dragons would never marry slaves."

Shalria snorted and looked at Charlos, who had his backside sticking out as he secretly ate Lu Ye's snacks. With a look of disgust, she said:

"Damn it, damn it! Why is my brother Charlos instead of Longinus?!"

With half a piece of apple pie in his mouth, Charlos had a few dark lines appear on his forehead. He said resentfully, "Little sister, Longinus is three and a half. Even leaving the families aside, he could only be your little brother."

A brief silence fell over the arena.

Doffy and Rosy were both amazed: they had never seen Charlos think so clearly.

A moment later, Shalria, her Dao heart shattered, chased Charlos around the stands with her little pug, biting at him like mad.

Back below.

Once her feet touched solid ground, Jessica seemed to wake from a dream. She ran to the front row of the audience, grabbed the iron mesh sealing it off, and tearfully called out to her father on the nearly ruined arena floor.

Freck was practically beside himself with glee. Aside from being unprepared in the stands and letting the brat overawe him, everything that followed had gone far better than expected.

The brat had lost his head and actually invoked Lord Garling's name to save a slave.

In the end, all Freck had done was offer a meaningless reward, and the situation had turned around in an instant-

Freedom. Ha! How many Beli was freedom worth?

Not only had he made the brat's decree a joke, but he had also made his own slave kill the brat's slave in front of everyone in the arena, thoroughly getting the better of him.

In this world, those with brains controlled those without them. Brains were the true power.

Freck looked down and said provocatively:

"Ignoring me won't help, Longinus. A loss is a loss. You're not planning to carry out your vow and use the Donquixote Family's power to take revenge on my slave, are you?"

Lu Ye watched the slowly descending basket and calmly uttered a word: "Ten..."

"Hahahaha... We're Celestial Dragons too. Our Gladiator King Family isn't afraid of the Donquixote Family's retaliation."

"Nine..."

"Mad King Longinus, perhaps we can sit down and discuss compensation..."

"Eight..."

"How about five million Beli? That's all an ordinary human slave is worth."

"Seven..."

"Seven million? Isn't that a bit greedy?"

"Six..."

"The Gladiator King Family can accept six million. Buying the Mad King's friendship with Beli is a good deal."

"Five..."

Freck gritted his teeth. "Longinus, what are you counting?"

Lu Ye said gently, "I'm counting how far you are from my kill line. Now it's four..."

Freck's breath caught. He fumbled for the control lever, and the basket swayed violently several times before rattling to a stop.

Freck leaned over the basket, his voice abruptly rising as he cried in horror, "You're going to kill me?"

Lu Ye shrugged. "What's the problem? I'm the Mad King, after all!"

Freck's face immediately turned extremely ugly. A moment later, his gray eyes darted around, and he straightened up, spread his arms, and laughed down at the audience:

"Gentlemen! You all heard that, didn't you? Mad King Longinus is going to attack me over a slave. Please bear witness for me. I'll report this to Lord Garling and have Lord Garling execute him!"

With that, he gave Lu Ye a contemptuous look.

A brute with nothing but strength could only be played by clever people within the rules.

Lu Ye rubbed his chin. "What a joke! I only said it; I haven't done anything. What grounds would my uncle have to execute me?"

"Well..."

Freck was instantly at a loss for words. Cold sweat beaded at his temples. He forced out a couple of laughs, then turned back to the audience and shouted:

"Hahahaha... You all heard that, didn't you? The Mad King only dares to talk. He's just bluffing! I say he lost the gladiator match but can't accept it. He's furious!"

Lu Ye's expression grew serious. He nodded, then shook his head and said dismissively:

"You're right. I am furious. But you're wrong too. This isn't a bluff. I never said I was afraid of being executed."

Freck hesitated for two seconds, his eyes full of confusion. "Not afraid of execution? Mad King Longinus, what exactly do you mean?"

Lu Ye raised a finger and pointed at him. "It's simple. Stay right where you are and don't move. If you come down, I'll kill you!"

Freck swallowed, a chill running down his spine.

Celestial Dragons' affairs were supposed to be contests of power and transactions in Beli, games of the mind!

How could anyone start off by going for mutual destruction?

More importantly, he was the one favored by the higher-ups right now. He was the fucking jade!

The World Government dignitaries in the audience all fell silent, wishing they could find a crack in the ground to hide in. They neither dared nor wanted to get involved in a dispute between Celestial Dragons.

Only Jessica's cries echoed around them.

As for the ring of private stands suspended high above, they were now packed with Celestial Dragons in spacesuits and bubble helmets, every one of them looking down at the unfolding events with mocking eyes.

The announcer in charge of the commentary cautiously glanced at Freck and reminded him in a trembling voice, "Lord Saint Freck... it's time to announce the result. The Mountain has been waiting for a while. That fellow isn't right in the head..."

Freck glared at the announcer. Feeling that the Celestial Dragons in the stands were all laughing at him, he viciously snatched the microphone. "The gladiator tournament is officially over... the winner is..."

"Dad! Dad, are you all right...?"

The girl's tearful cry interrupted Freck. He turned his head in annoyance, only to see Hector shake his head and slowly climb to his feet in the arena.

The corner of Freck's mouth curled up. He looked at Lu Ye and said provocatively:

"Hey! You care a lot about this slave, don't you? What a pity... Under the rules of the gladiator tournament, only one victor can walk out alive!"

Lu Ye's face was ashen. He hadn't expected Hector to still be alive; he had already been preparing to let Jessica see her father one last time.

He had even planned twenty years ahead to make this filthy world pay the price, only for Hector to get back up.

Taking a deep breath, Lu Ye spoke in an icy voice. "Are you sure you want to insist on that ridiculous rule?"

Freck grew even more smug. He slapped the basket, his eyes full of mockery, and grinned as he laughed. "That's right! That's right! Now it's my turn to call the shots!"

Freck raised the microphone high, his shrill voice ringing through the entire arena:

"Polo the Mountain! Take a good look at that slave behind you! That lowlife! I want you to beat him to death, tear him apart, and pull out every single bone in his body!"