Chapter 891: Can I Place a Bet?

Wang Yun sat alone in the preparation room, waiting.

Time slipped straight to six o’clock that evening.

A man in a perfectly tailored suit stepped onto the ring. Holding a microphone, he officially opened the night’s event.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I’m your old friend Jack, and I’ll be your host for tonight’s festivities.”

The moment his voice fell, many of the young people in the audience burst into applause.

Jack swept his gaze around the room and said with a grin, “Looks like we’ve got quite a few new faces here tonight! And it’s not just the audience. One of our fighters is stepping into the ring for the very first time today.”

Then he pinched his throat and put on a coy, affected tone.

“This is his boxing debut, you know!”

A wave of boos immediately rose from the crowd.

Seeing that he had gotten the reaction he wanted, Jack finally began the formal introduction.

“As for the other fighter, we have our six-time champion—Achir!”

The moment Achir’s name left Jack’s mouth, thunderous applause erupted from the audience. Most of it came from young men who loved to stir up noise.

Backstage, Wang Yun merely watched the scene expressionlessly.

On the other side, Walter looked full of pride and shot Wang Yun a provocative sidelong glance.

Wang Yun, however, remained completely unmoved and gave no reaction at all.

Walter’s jab landed like a punch thrown into cotton, leaving only himself feeling stifled and annoyed.

Achir, meanwhile, gave Wang Yun a friendly smile.

Wang Yun continued standing there with a blank expression, showing not the slightest intention of paying either of them any attention.

The two of them found themselves snubbed and exchanged a glance, then stopped talking.

Onstage, the host was still talking animatedly, spitting out the so-called rules of the match. But in underground boxing like this, what rules were there?

There was only one objective: stay standing. Be the one left standing at the end, and you won.

Watching the host prattle on without end, Wang Yun’s eyes held a trace of mockery. Only when the host got to the betting did Wang Yun show the slightest bit of interest.

“Every one of you can place your bets now. Will Mr. Wang from Dragon Country take the crown, or will our six-time champion Mr. Achir continue his winning streak?”

Then the host glanced at the cue card.

“The odds have now reached an unprecedented one to eleven!”

The moment he said that, whispers immediately began spreading through the audience above.

“This time even the house doesn’t believe in that guy from Dragon Country.”

“The house isn’t stupid. Just look at him. He doesn’t even look like he can fight.”

“Man, no way to make much money this time.”

“Exactly. The house will probably have to pay out this round, since nobody’s going to bet on the Dragon Country guy anyway.”

“That’s why the odds are so ridiculous. They’re afraid of taking a loss.”

“But do you think he might pull off an upset and end Achir’s winning streak?”

The one who said that was a young man. Everyone around him looked at him with the indulgent pity one reserved for an idiot.

“Does he look like he has any chance of winning?”

The young man looked puzzled.

“Why not? He’s from that mysterious Dragon Country, isn’t he?”

His words left the people around him unsure how to answer for a moment.

“Then go ahead and bet on him.”

The young man nodded.

“I definitely will put a little on him.”

No one paid him any further attention. They all thought he was crazy, knowing full well there was no chance of winning, and still throwing money away.

By then, it was already six-thirty.

The host checked the time and shouted excitedly again, “Betting time! Ladies and gentlemen, place your bets while you can. Betting closes at 6:50. You have twenty minutes!”

After the announcement, the host added another line in an air of mystery.

“With the odds this high, if Mr. Wang Yun pulls off a miracle and actually beats…”

The host deliberately left the sentence hanging, then pointed behind him to the betting odds displayed on the giant screen overhead.

“Then, Jack, did you bet on the Dragon Country guy?” shouted someone in the audience immediately.

Jack held the microphone and replied with a grin, “Of course I did.” 

Then he lowered his voice and added, “But I only put down ten thousand.”

The moment he said that, a chorus of jeers broke out above.

“Jack, that’s low. You might as well not have bet at all.”

Anyone who could enter a place like Blood Banquet—including the staff—would not be someone who couldn’t scrape together ten thousand.

Jack’s words sounded as if he was showing Wang Yun some respect by betting ten thousand on him.

But in reality, it was an indirect insult.

In the eyes of these people, even tossing alms to a beggar would probably be more than ten or twenty thousand.

Faced with the crowd’s laughter, Wang Yun remained calm. He had already expected a scene like this. What he had not expected, however, was that the host would openly make him the butt of a joke.

He glanced at the host onstage, still talking nonstop and spraying spit everywhere, and a mocking smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

As betting began, the crowd onstage started to move.

They had already exchanged their money for chips earlier. Now all they had to do was place the chips in their hands.

Wang Yun turned around and softly asked the attendant behind him,

“Am I allowed to place a bet too?”