Chapter 41

Chapter 41: The Ultimate Trump Card: Since You’re Already Here

She wasn’t doing this for free. Fighting a D grade Contract Beast was hard work. Why would she let them watch for nothing?

They would pay, watch the match, then bid on her Defense Fruit. One-stop service like this was something only Qian Qi could deliver.

She waggled a ticket and said cheerfully: “Classmate, 50 bucks won’t buy a designer brand or a Light-Brain, but it will buy a once-in-a-lifetime match. Worth it, right?”

She leaned in: “Don’t you want to see what a Defense Fruit that can resist a D grade Magibeast actually looks like?”

Then she used her ultimate trump card: “Also… since you’re already here, wouldn’t it be a pity not to go in?”

The line hit everyone right in the heart.

Yeah. They had already come all this way and waited so long. Going home now would be boring.

Plus, that post by Dong Fang Qian Qi had hooked their curiosity. This was a Human vs D grade Contract Beast match. Who wouldn’t be excited?

Sure, lots of streamers had recorded or live-streamed their fights in Dungeons, but those were behind a screen. It didn’t feel real. And most Beast Taming class matches were just E grade Flame Hound vs Flame Hound. Nothing new there.

But this was different.

This was a Human fighting a D grade Contract Beast. In school, that was completely new.

“Give me one! I’ll buy!”

“Me too!”

Students surged forward, buying tickets from Qian Qi. Awakener University had a huge student body, but thankfully she had printed plenty. The old fellows helped, which made selling easy.

Still, the turnout beat her expectations. She even spotted Su Xing Le leading a troop of Magibeast students to cheer.

She eyed their numbers, then checked her remaining tickets and pulled a red ink pad from her pocket. [Genius like me always has a plan B.]

“Junior,” said Su Xing Le as she stamped the back of his hand. Thinking it was just an entry mark, he glanced around and whispered, “Chen Tong posted on the forum too. Is he plotting something?”

Like, maybe he wanted the whole school to witness Qian Qi’s bloody end?

“Senior Su, don’t talk like that about Senior Chen,” she said in righteous tones: “He’s being kind and generous. He’s helping me make money.”

Su Xing Le blinked. “…”

“Senior, the ticket is 50,” she reminded him.

He froze. Right. You had to pay to watch the match.

He suddenly believed it. Chen Tong really was kind and generous.

Su Xing Le sent her 50 bucks just as Chen Tong walked up. Feeling sincere, he patted Chen Tong’s shoulder and said: “Chen Tong, you really have a big heart. I misjudged you before.”

Chen Tong only looked puzzled. He assumed Su Xing Le meant the 50,000 he had put up to sponsor testing the Defense Fruit, so he nodded and smiled: “It was the right thing to do.”

Qian Qi almost burst out laughing. She forced her face steady, pasted on a friendly, hot smile, stepped in front of Chen Tong, and said: “Senior Chen!” She checked that no one was close, then pulled a special ticket from her pocket and slipped it into his hand: “I saved a VVVIP front-row seat just for you. Only 200. You can watch me fight a Magibeast from up close.”

She winked: “Tempted?”

He stared: “…”

[Tempted, my foot. You scammed me out of fifty thousand, and now you want 200 more?] he thought.

She leaned to his ear and said in a low, eerie voice: “Don’t you want to see me up close when I’m bleeding three feet?”

He stiffened. He shot her a wary look, but she was back to her usual grinning rascal self, like he had imagined it.

“The other students are all paying,” she said with her chin up: “You’re not going to be the only one who won’t, right?”

His eye twitched. He really wanted everyone to see how stingy Qian Qi could be. He had already sponsored the match with fifty thousand, and she still wouldn’t give him a free ticket?

But his tongue was not as sharp as hers, and his skin wasn’t as thick. He could already see it: if he argued, she would twist it around and slap the Stingy Hat on his head.

Sure enough, she flicked nonexistent dust from her shoulder and said in a casual tone: “Senior Chen, you wouldn’t want the whole school to know you’re a tightwad, would you?”

He ground his teeth and transferred 200.

[Fine. She won’t be happy for long. I hope when she’s bleeding three feet, she’s still smiling that wide,] he thought with a cold, threatening smile no one else could see: “Then I’ll look forward to it.”

From a distance, Chen Miao Miao had secretly followed. She didn’t know what Qian Qi had said, but seeing the two of them “whispering so close,” alarms blared in her head. She hurried over on her injured leg and asked: “Senior, can I sit next to you?”

No way was she letting Qian Qi get too close to Chen Tong.

Qian Qi turned and saw the bandage. She clicked her tongue: “Our Miao Miao is really strong in spirit.”

Then she heartlessly pulled out another VVVIP ticket and said: “Your senior bought VVVIP. Do you want one too?”

Chen Miao Miao looked at Chen Tong.

He said flatly: “… Why are you looking at me? Buy your own.” He held up his VVVIP ticket and walked off without mercy.

A vein popped at the corner of her eye. [Scumbag.] She turned back and glared at Qian Qi.

Qian Qi raised two tickets with a sweet smile: “Miao Miao, do you want a regular ticket or a VVVIP?”

“…” Chen Miao Miao bit down, pinned under the weight of poverty, and said: “Regular.”

Qian Qi sighed in pretend regret: “Tell you what. Since we’re roommates, I’ll sell you one for 100.” She waggled her brows: “And I’ll seat you right next to Senior Chen. Deal?”

Suspicious, Chen Miao Miao asked: “Are you serious?”

“Of course,” said Qian Qi as she slipped a ticket into her hand: “Look at our relationship.”

Chen Miao Miao looked down. It was actually a VVVIP ticket. A hundred was painful but doable, so she sent the money.

Qian Qi’s plain little face lit up with joy. Once her two key people had arrived, she turned and shouted to Old Master Sun: “Grandpa, it’s about time. Let’s open the gate. Let in the students with tickets and hand stamps!”

“Got it,” Old Master Sun called back. He unlocked the gate and started checking tickets.

At the same time, the Principal sat in his office, opened the campus forum out of habit, and clicked on the thread “Is the Principal actually bald?” At the top, the hottest post read: “Dong Fang Qian Qi: The Principal is so scared he’s going bald! A normal student wants to duel a D grade Contract Beast. He has decided to rush to the Beast Taming Plaza at 10 a.m. the day after tomorrow to stop a tragedy!”

The Principal stared: “… Who is it? Which death-seeker dares challenge a D grade Contract Beast?”

Yes, there was a nonzero student death rate at Awakener University, but they could not afford anyone throwing their life away. He opened his Light-Brain and discovered the match notice had been posted by Mr. Elder Li, who managed the Magibeast storage.

He messaged Elder Li under the handle Afraid of Going Bald in Middle Age: “Elder Li? There’s a match at the Beast Taming Plaza today? And it’s a normal person versus a D grade Contract Beast?”

Elder Li, under the handle Old Li Loves Walking Magibeasts, replied: “Haha, yes. Old Sun asked me, so I put up the notice. Sounds fun. Little Zheng, want to come watch?”

The Principal blinked: “… Elder Sun?”

Elder Sun never liked to join the fun. Why was he involved?

The Principal then pinged Elder Sun, who guarded the plaza gate in his retirement, under the handle Afraid of Going Bald in Middle Age: “Elder Sun! There’s a match at the plaza today? A normal person versus a D grade Contract Beast?”

Elder Sun, under the handle Old Sun Loves Watching Gates, answered: “Haha, yes. Very interesting. Little Zheng, want to come play?”

The Principal exploded in his chair: “Interesting, my foot! Don’t you two dare treat a disaster like entertainment!”