8: Chapter 008 Victory! Settlement! Alas, this child has a serious illness!

Kamigawa froze, staring blankly at those three stars, his face turning deathly pale in an instant!

Three stars!

The guy in front of him had actually managed to chase down a 3-star Kalista!?

How is he supposed to fight this?!

Kamigawa looked at the 'Hwei' right in front of him, already shining with three stars, but felt no joy in his heart. He had lost. Even though he was still ahead in points, the pressure Shen Mo had put on him was too great!

It was like having won second place, yet knowing in your heart that the gap between you and first place was like an insurmountable mountain, making you lose even the courage to challenge it!

...

"Ah!!! Kamigawa-kun already has a 3-star Hwei! Why! That guy actually got a 3-star Kalista!"

"Heaven does not bless our Sakura Country!"

"It's over, we were only a little bit away from the championship!"

"The Dragon Country people are so damn lucky! This round was just their good luck, they will definitely lose next time!"

...

The netizens of Sakura Country were furious, but this could not change the result in the slightest!

The countdown finished.

The 3-star Kalista launched the first attack; a greater rain of arrows appeared, the blood-red spears seeming to be stained with so much enemy blood that they turned blackish-red.

Wherever the skill landed, the spears scattered like flowers falling from the sky, marking every one of the opponent's enemies!

Hwei was dealing damage, but beneath the Frost explosions, there was a gushing of blood brought about by the spears!

Mordekaiser fell.

The Dragon Girl was wailing!

Nunu's mountain-like body slammed into the ground, emitting a roaring tremor!

"I have seen their sins..."

"I will pierce their souls!"

Scarlet eyes filled with murderous intent, and the light formed by countless thin lines was like the tolling of the Grim Reaper's bell—a health bar disappearance act!

Until the last person on the other side fell while screaming in pain.

A cold settlement sound rang out across the massive Gods Arena!

...

[Gods Arena Third District, Match 128, match ended!]

[Champion: Dragon Country, Shen Mo!]

[Lineup recorded...]

[Calculating points... No multiplier, congratulations to Dragon Country contestant Shen Mo, received +12 points!]

A pale blue light screen appeared.

A line of text made of mechanical metal appeared on the light screen!

[Name: Shen Mo (Dragon Country)]

[National Destiny Points: -135 points!]

[Personal Points: 12 points!]

[Do you wish to settle personal points?]

[Please note! Once settled, personal points will be reset to zero!]

Shen Mo pondered for a few seconds, looked up at the sky, and asked: "Um... may I ask, after settling personal points, does that mean the National Destiny Points are paid off? Can I still compete?"

The referee's cold voice rang out: "After personal points are settled, the point amount will be applied to National Destiny Points, personal points will be reset to zero, and you may continue to participate in the competition. When points are negative, you are eliminated, and National Destiny Points are settled immediately."

"Please note, if personal points exceed the negative value of the National Destiny Points, settlement will be triggered immediately."

So that's how it is!

Shen Mo understood. Simply put... right now the National Destiny Points were -135, but he had 12 personal points. He could choose not to settle, meaning not pay off the National Destiny debt.

But this non-repayment had a limit. Once his personal points exceeded 135, it would automatically pay it off!

"Then... let's pay it off."

Shen Mo smiled.

The referee was slightly taken aback, and that cold voice seemed to have a hint of emotion: "Are you sure?"

"Sure."

Shen Mo nodded. Whether paid early or late, it still had to be paid, so why bother delaying?

Although having personal points on hand meant he effectively had an extra life, did he need it?

It was only 135 points!

Oh no, it should be 123 points now!

Being familiar with the rules, and with the unique ability to see the Synergies, he wouldn't dare say much else, but Shen Mo was certain he could secure scraps of points every round—not even Jesus could stop him!

Plus, the rules allowed for super multipliers, a 4x bonus; 123 points could be paid off very quickly.

Of course, the biggest reason for making this decision was that Shen Mo had already decided: next round he would use the super multiplier! 4x bonus, win or lose, it was all 4x. If he got 8th place and was eliminated, he would lose 48 points directly!

12 points were absolutely useless.

Rather than that, it was better to just pay it off.

[Personal points reset to zero!]

[National Destiny Points repayment effective! Current Dragon Country points: -123 points!]

[Leaderboard has changed!]

[First place: USA, National Destiny Points: 295 points.]

[Second place: Bangzi Country, National Destiny Points: 288 points.]

[Third place: Savage Bear Country, National Destiny Points: 272 points.]

[...]

[199th place: Dragon Country, National Destiny Points: -123 points!]

...

The moment the points changed, everyone watching the live stream instantly understood what had happened!

"Wait! Why are that Dragon Country contestant's points still 0?! Did he use his personal points to settle the National Destiny Points?"

"Look quickly, the Dragon Country's National Destiny Points have changed, -123 points! He really paid it off!"

"Is this contestant an idiot! Why pay off the points!?"

"Dragon Country only has him left as a contestant, 12 points is like an extra life. Even if he gets 8th place next time and loses 12 points, he could still make a comeback. Now everything is back to square one, this..."

"Confidence? Stupidity?"

"I get it! Perhaps Dragon Country forced this contestant to do this! Think about it, Dragon Country already owes so many National Destiny Points, they must be desperate and grabbing at straws now, they don't care about this contestant's life or death at all!"

"Hiss... it's possible! They're in last place, might as well pay back a little bit, right?"

"Hahaha, stupid Dragon Country, they are indeed good at internal strife; is a genius contestant just going to be buried like this!"

The discussions at the live broadcast venue were heated, and netizens around the world were shocked.

Conspiracy theories, coercion theories—all sorts of speculations emerged one after another!

...

At the commentary desk, Handlebar Mustache rubbed his eyes and suddenly burst into loud laughter: "Hahahaha! You Dragon Country people really aren't suited for this game; you actually ruined your own contestant with your own hands!"

"Who's to say otherwise? Sigh, poor Shen Mo, I can already feel his rage."

Big Baldy and Handlebar Mustache started mocking again.

Bai Ling, however, had a slightly stiff expression. At this moment, she even began to suspect whether the country had ordered Shen Mo to do this.

...

"Bang!"

Old Man Li smashed his teacup again.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he glared furiously at the technician: "Who! Who sent a message to Shen Mo, who hinted that he should transfer his points to the country! Is Chief No. 1's word no longer effective now!"

Zhang Zhiwei was also full of anger.

He looked around at everyone present, wanting to see something in their expressions!

At this moment.

A weak voice spoke up: "Chiefs, I've been wronged... Shen Mo hasn't looked at the message backend from the very beginning. Even if you wanted to send him a message, he would have to look at it first!"

The scene suddenly went quiet!

Old Man Li's body stiffened for a few seconds, then he gave a light cough: "So... it was Shen Mo's own decision?"

The technician said weakly: "Yes."

The atmosphere suddenly became strange.

Old Man Li nodded calmly, picking up the teacup from the floor as if no one else was there.

Very good.

Irritable Old Man Li retracted a teacup.

...

"How pitiful..." Kamigawa's expression was full of pity. Although he had lost, for some reason, his mood suddenly improved. He looked at Shen Mo with a smile: "Shen Mo-kun, your strength commands my respect."

"But the Dragon Country doesn't need a contestant like you; come to my Sakura Country!"

"The doors of our country are always open to you!"

Shen Mo didn't speak, but looked at Kamigawa as if looking at a moron, until the other party said uncomfortably: "Is there a problem? Shen Mo-kun? Everything I said is true..."

"Sorry, I have mysophobia."

Kamigawa was full of question marks: "???"

Shen Mo patiently explained: "Your place is too dirty; I don't want to go."

Veins bulged on Kamigawa's forehead; he hated this opponent!

Why does he always speak so directly!

And in such a serious, calm tone too!!!

Shen Mo felt helpless.

This kid is sick, right!

Always asking me to change my nationality for no reason, screw you!

Pfft!