Chapter 274 - 251: Rookie Tournament (30)
Chapter 274: Chapter 251: Rookie Tournament (30)
Zhao Chi put on a simple mask and returned to Battlefield 1.
In the stands, the crowd was in an uproar.
The spectators were still yelling and shouting.
At this moment, a host finally appeared in the center of the arena.
When the audience saw the staff member appear, many of them wanted to climb over the low wall and rush over to demand an explanation.
But only competitors and the host could enter the battlefield; the audience was firmly blocked by an invisible wall and couldn’t get in at all.
The host was an elegant man.
He wore an all-black formal suit, a professional smile on his face.
He quietly watched the roaring crowd around him.
The host placed a hand over his heart and bowed slightly.
Then, he began to speak softly:
"Please, everyone, calm down. It seems you all have many questions, and I am here to provide an explanation."
The host’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried clearly to everyone’s ears—one of the conveniences of the Virtual Space.
The clamor from the crowd instantly dropped by half.
The host continued elegantly:
"It seems everyone is quite surprised by this outcome? But rest assured, there was no foul play, nor was there any cheating.
"Because Yuan Zhao failed to arrive at the battlefield within five minutes of the match starting, he was disqualified by the system.
"This is stated very clearly in the competition rules.
"We are also unsure why Yuan Zhao did not enter the battlefield. We, too, are very disappointed that the final match ended this way.
"For the first five minutes of the match, we were continuously trying to contact Yuan Zhao, but he never responded.
"Furthermore, Yuan Zhao actively declined the automatic teleport.
"Therefore, we had no choice but to follow the rules, declare that Yuan Zhao had forfeited, and award victory to competitor Zhao Chi.
"Is there any problem with that?"
As soon as the host finished speaking, the arena fell silent.
Even those who had just been loudly cursing and shouting were stunned.
Everyone was thinking the same thing.
’Could it be that Yuan Zhao was never here at all?’
’Then who the fuck said Yuan Zhao used mass invisibility?’
’Mass invisibility...’
’Invisibility my ass!’
’Who the hell started that rumor?’
After a brief silence, an uproar erupted.
Some audience members even started blaming each other.
"Fuck, weren’t you the one who said Yuan Zhao was invisible? You sounded so damn sure of yourself. Don’t you dare spout that bullshit to me again."
"How the hell was I supposed to know he forfeited?"
"I really thought he was invisible, thought he could win! My Gold Coins!"
"Why did Yuan Zhao forfeit? Is he scared of fighting Zhao Chi?"
"Bullshit! Yuan Zhao is the strongest. How could he possibly be afraid of Zhao Chi? Something must have come up that kept him from coming."
"Fuck you! Yuan Zhao is trash, and you’re still calling him number one? He made me lose 72 Silver Coins, and you’re still defending him?"
"I lost Silver Coins too, but Yuan Zhao really is strong."
"Strong my ass! You’re asking for a beating!"
"Why the fuck are you hitting me?"
"What’s wrong with hitting you? I’m gonna hit you too!"
"Fuck! Who’s defending Yuan Zhao? I’ll hit ’em too."
"Me too!"
"AHH, stop hitting me! Stop! That’s not what I meant! I lost money too!"
"Say it! Is Yuan Zhao trash or not?"
"Yeah, say it!"
"Yes, yes, yes! Yuan Zhao is trash, a coward who’s too scared to compete, making us all lose our money."
"Fuck, you know, I think the real trash is that damn staff, and those hosts! They guided us to bet on Yuan Zhao. It’s like they knew all along he was going to forfeit!"
"Now that you mention it... I thought it was strange too. Earlier, it was obvious the staff was heavily biased toward Yuan Zhao. They might as well have come right out and said he would win."
"Right, right, right! I felt the same way! I was wondering why the bias was so obvious for the final match. So that’s what it was!"
"This is a scam!"
"Sons of bitches! Scamming us common folk out of our hard-earned money! They fucking deserve to die!"
"Yeah, they deserve to die!"
Amid the uproar, Zhao Huai was silent.
He sat in the audience, listening to the discussions around him, still finding the situation hard to believe.
Zhao Jiao watched him quietly. "You said he was invisible, too."
Zhao Huai said, "You saw what it was like. From the moment the fight started, we couldn’t see Yuan Zhao, the ground wasn’t churning, there was nothing in the sky—the only possibility was mass invisibility. Who could’ve guessed he’d forfeit... Dammit, I bet on Yuan Zhao too... If I’d known, I would’ve put my money on Zhao Chi."
Zhao Jiao sighed. "Ah, well. I also bet on Yuan Zhao. Even though we should support Zhao Chi, betting and support are two different things. After all, Yuan Zhao had a better chance of winning, so you bet on who you think will win."
Lü Hong looked a bit awkward. "Me too. Now I’ve lost half the money I just won."
Zhao Huai said, "Keeping half is still good. Zhao Chi must be laughing his ass off. The champion! Fuck, this time it’s a Zhao Family champion. I need to tell the family."
Zhao Jiao nodded. "Yeah. Good thing the final odds weren’t too high, or we would have given back everything we earned."
Lü Hong said, "A moment ago, I was thinking about how to console Zhao Chi, and now I have to congratulate him. I need to think of something new to say."
Zhao Jiao said, "No need to overthink it. Just say congratulations. He must be ecstatic right now; it won’t matter what we say."
As the two were talking, they heard Zhao Huai make a sound of surprise.
"What’s wrong?" Zhao Jiao asked.
Zhao Huai frowned. "Is communication blocked in this Virtual Space?"
"There’s no rule like that. We can communicate," Zhao Jiao said, confused.
"Then why are my calls failing? I can’t reach Father or Uncle, or my older brothers."
"Huh? That’s impossible. Let me try."
With that, Zhao Jiao opened her system.
But her system also displayed a "Connection Failed" message.