Chapter 18: Battle
Su Ke arrived at the entrance and signed a Life and Death Waiver.
Although the waiver was signed under his codename, it was still legally binding.
He turned to a nearby staff member and asked, "You take bets here, right?"
"Yes," the staff member replied. "But as a contestant, you can only bet on yourself to win. Do you want to place a bet?"
Su Ke hesitated for a moment.
'Should I bet? I still have the 100,000 coins Wang Zhong lent me. If I lose, it doesn't matter—at worst, I can sell some potions to pay him back. But if I win, I can earn 200,000 coins.'
The phrase burning one's bridges suddenly flashed through his mind.
'I'll bet. If I don't push myself, I'll never know how much potential I really have.'
Su Ke handed over the 100,000 coins, bet on himself to win, and walked onto the arena.
On the stage, a large crowd was already cheering for his opponent.
"Supersonic! The guy opposite you is a total rookie. You can't lose! I've bet a lot on you!"
"Tear his face apart!"
"Looks like I'll be living it up tonight!"
Only Wang Zhong and Lin Ning were cheering for Su Ke.
"Go, Young Hacker! Take him down!"
"You must win!"
Because Su Ke was a newcomer, his odds were extremely high—1 to 3.
Supersonic, although he had lost many matches, was still a veteran. His odds were much lower, only 1 to 1.1.
Across from Su Ke stood a thin, middle-aged man who sneered at him.
"A rookie, huh? You're slow enough. But that's fine—guys like you are just here to give me free money. To thank you, I'll go easy on you later."
Su Ke naturally refused to lose in terms of presence.
"Looking down on me already? Be careful, or I might take your bones apart later to make soup."
Supersonic laughed mockingly. "Rookie, talking big in your first match is impressive. But your intimidation would be much stronger if your voice weren't trembling."
Su Ke felt slightly awkward. He really had exposed his nerves right at the start.
He adjusted his mindset.
"Enough talk. Referee, start the match."
Seeing this, the referee didn't waste any time.
"The veteran Supersonic, who has fought 13 matches here, faces the newcomer Hacker. What kind of sparks will this battle produce? I declare—the match begins!"
Su Ke immediately transformed into XLR8.
Since his opponent's codename was Supersonic, his Supernatural Ability was clearly speed-related. Judging from his build, he wasn't a power-type.
Sure enough, the moment the match began, Supersonic rushed forward at extreme speed, daggers clutched in both hands.
Su Ke dodged instantly, but Supersonic followed the momentum and spun around, stabbing toward Su Ke's face with the dagger in his left hand.
Clang!
The dagger struck Su Ke's visor, producing a sharp metallic sound.
"Young man," Supersonic sneered, "your Beast Transformation form has some tricks, but you're still going to die!"
"Extreme Pierce!"
Supersonic activated a skill. His twin daggers stabbed forward like a torrential downpour.
Fortunately, XLR8 was a pure speed-type Alien Hero. Speed was comprehensive, not just straight-line movement. Su Ke dodged left and right, narrowly avoiding each strike.
At the same time, he counterattacked with his sharp claws.
Forced onto the defensive, Supersonic could only swing his daggers to block.
The fight turned into a close-quarters stalemate. Both of them stood nearly in place, arms moving so fast they left afterimages, weapons clashing nonstop.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The spectators grew increasingly excited as they watched the intense exchange.
"You've got some skill, kid," Supersonic said coldly. "But at best, this will drag on for a while. I took a Spirit Energy Recovery Potion before coming up here. Soon enough, you'll run out of spirit energy and revert to normal."
Su Ke frowned. "You can use potions in this match?"
Supersonic laughed. "Naive. There's only one rule here—there are no rules. As long as you win, any means are allowed."
Su Ke nodded. "Thanks for the reminder. You're right. There's no point dragging this out."
Supersonic sneered. "At least you're smart enough to—"
Smack!
Before he could finish speaking, a tail whipped across his face.
Supersonic's body froze for a split second.
That instant was all Su Ke needed.
XLR8's tail wrapped around Supersonic's legs, and with a sharp pull, Su Ke yanked him upside down into the air.
"My tail isn't just for decoration."
The Flash Orbs beneath Su Ke's feet ignited, and he began spinning rapidly in place.
"Ah! Stop! Blegh—You despicable bastard!"
"I didn't break any rules," Su Ke replied calmly.
Su Ke spun for a full 2 minutes. XLR8 was completely unaffected, but Supersonic's eyes had already turned into spirals.
Recalling what he had seen in earlier matches, Su Ke calmly disarmed Supersonic, took both daggers, and gently tossed him off the arena.
Su Ke reverted to his original form.
"Referee, I won, right?"
"I declare this match's winner—Hacker!" the referee announced.
Fireworks and streamers erupted around the arena. On the display screen, Su Ke's record changed to:
1 Match / 1 Win
"Awesome!"
Winning his first match filled Su Ke with a powerful sense of accomplishment.
After stepping down, a staff member handed him his earnings.
First was the base reward of 50,000 coins for winning the match.
Next came the 100,000 coins he had bet, plus the 200,000 payout.
Then there was his 30% share of the off-field betting pool, which came to a little over 30,000 coins.
Finally, the 100,000-coin entry fee he had paid was returned.
In total, after one match, Su Ke had made a net profit of 280,000 coins.
"This place really makes money," he muttered.
Carrying the bag of coins, Su Ke happily returned to the stands.
After meeting up with Wang Zhong and Lin Ning, he immediately returned the 250,000 coins he had borrowed.
"There's no need to rush," Wang Zhong said.
"Clear accounts make good brothers," Su Ke replied. "Take it."
"How did the match feel?" Lin Ning asked.
"Great," Su Ke said. "We were both speed-types, but I had an extra tail. It was fairly easy."
"Don't get cocky," Lin Ning warned. "You were lucky this time. You'll eventually meet someone troublesome."
"I know."
"Next match—Muscle Man versus Super Colossal Strength!"
Wang Zhong grinned. "My turn. Judging by the name, his ability should be similar to mine. Watch me crush him."
Full of confidence, Wang Zhong walked onto the stage and even bet 100,000 coins on himself.
One minute later.
Looking at the dejected Wang Zhong, Su Ke patted his shoulder.
"It's fine, Old Wang. Victory and defeat are normal. We'll win it back next time."
"Exactly," Lin Ning added. "At least you're alive and uninjured."
Earlier, the moment the match started, Wang Zhong activated Muscle Reinforcement and charged forward.
Super Colossal Strength was also a strength-type Spirit Energy User. Just as Wang Zhong closed in, his opponent used a leg sweep, tripped him, and then lifted him up and threw him straight out of the arena.
Wang Zhong lost the 200,000 coins he had spent on the entry fee and the bet.
Win big or lose hard—this was the reality of the underground arena.
"This was mainly a problem of combat experience," Lin Ning said seriously. "We rely too much on brute force. Others use technique."
"Even though we've had family combat training, it's too rigid," she continued. "Here, no one follows fixed patterns. He exploited Wang Zhong's weakness immediately. This is something we must improve."
"When we get back, I'll ask my uncle to help with real practical combat training," Wang Zhong said.
"The homeroom teacher?" Su Ke asked. "Wouldn't that be too much trouble?"
"It's fine," Wang Zhong replied. "We'll have combat assessments after school starts anyway. If our results are good, it reflects well on him too."
"After I fight a match as well," Lin Ning said, "we'll leave and focus on improving our real combat ability."
After a few more matches, it was finally time for their 2-on-2 battle.
Their opponents were a fire-type and a water-type Spirit Energy User, clearly aiming for synergy through evaporation.
Unfortunately for them, in front of Wang Zhong—reinforced with Defense Aura and Panshi Armor—they stood no chance.
The victory came easily.
They earned a net profit of 350,000 coins.
The 3 of them left the arena together, spirits high and pockets heavy.
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