383: Chapter 383 Warm-up for the Competition

While the manager went to handle the paperwork...

Lin Yao quietly tugged on Zhao Tianyang's sleeve.

She kept her voice very low.

The Little Girl was still feeling a bit nervous in her heart.

"Big Guy, if I lose, how many points will you be docked?"

She knew Zhao Tianyang was acting as her guarantor.

She also knew the severity of the tenfold penalty.

However, she didn't have a concrete concept of exactly how many points that would be.

Zhao Tianyang was stunned for a moment.

He began to calculate on his fingers.

The expression on his face became somewhat complicated.

"Based on the current point pool calculations..."

He paused for a moment, seemingly weighing his words.

"If you end up losing this challenge, Miss..."

"The point penalty I'll have to bear would be roughly equivalent to working for free at the Organization for ten years."

Ten years of free labor!

He had imagined countless possibilities.

But he had never thought it would be such a heavy price.

He had vouched for Lin Yao.

He also firmly believed in Lin Yao's strength.

But he hadn't realized that the stakes were actually this high.

At this moment, snapping back to his senses, Zhao Tianyang looked at Lin Yao's slightly uneasy little face, and a surge of emotion suddenly welled up in his heart.

Is she worried about him?

Zhao Tianyang's posture involuntarily straightened a bit.

According to a conventional plot, Lin Yao would say "I believe in you" or "I won't lose" next.

These were all lines he had anticipated.

He was even prepared to give the girl a good word of encouragement.

But Lin Yao didn't say any of those things.

She suddenly slapped Zhao Tianyang on the shoulder.

"It's fine."

"If it comes to that, I'll have my big brother buy your freedom."

Afterward, Lin Yao went to warm up.

Lin Yao turned and walked toward a punching bag in the corner.

She threw a punch at it.

*Thud.*

The punching bag didn't budge an inch.

She shook her hand out and gave it a kick.

Zhao Tianyang stood in place, watching that petite figure bouncing in front of the punching bag.

Ten years of free labor.

Those words circled in his mind.

Actually, there was really nothing to worry about.

He knew Lin Yao's background inside and out.

Mythic Rank profession, Myriad Laws Comprehension.

Setting aside that perverted spell she only completed with Lin Yu's help at the end...

Just that move she cooked up herself... Thousand Void Illusion Blast!

No, no, no, no, no. Zhao Tianyang tried hard to dredge up that name from his memory that had left him in such awe and admiration.

The Thousand-Layer Illusionary Play of Infinite Spacetime Self-Coordination and the Storm of the Final Law-Breaking Celebration!!

Yes, that was the one.

Leaving aside the fact that the name was insanely cool, its power was enough to turn this group of half-baked losers—who had wasted half their lives and hadn't even touched the edge of Level 100—into dust.

Clearing the field wouldn't be a problem at all.

That's what Zhao Tianyang had originally thought.

But as his gaze swept across the crowd and landed on Yan Pojun at the other end of the passage...

His confidence suddenly faltered.

Zhao Tianyang rubbed his fingers against his pant legs a few times.

The aura around that man wasn't right.

His stance.

His breathing frequency.

The degree of muscle tension.

Everything was an instinct tempered through life-and-death combat.

The power of the Thousand Void Illusion Blast was unquestionable; the problem was the casting time.

Would a practical combatant like Yan Pojun give his opponent time to slowly chant a spell?

Most likely, the moment Lin Yao raised her hand, he would charge in directly.

After interrupting the casting, it would be a storm of attacks; he wouldn't let Lin Yao gain even a shred of momentum.

Zhao Tianyang's jaw tightened.

Ten years of free labor.

Was he really going to work for free at the Organization for ten years?

He stared at the back of Yan Pojun's head.

His knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists.

If he circled around from the left and avoided the three surveillance cameras...

It would take two and a half seconds.

Yan Pojun's reaction time was roughly zero point three seconds.

He had to complete the knockout move within zero point two seconds.

A knife-hand strike to the back of the neck?

No, a soldier's resistance to blows was too strong.

Directly enter Asura State and smash him with eight golden Epic Rank hammers?

Would that be too wasteful...

Zhao Tianyang's fingers felt a Paralysis Rune in his pocket.

Crush it to release an area-of-effect static field.

Drag Yan Pojun into the utility room amidst the chaos.

And take him out directly!

He also had to consider the consequences; ever since he had nearly killed himself by going all-in on potions, Zhao Tianyang had learned to think twice.

Disqualification from the competition, points cleared to zero, and being completely removed from the Organization.

Zhao Tianyang calculated the costs in his mind.

If Lin Yao lost, he would have to pay ten times the points, go bankrupt, and work for free for ten years.

If he made a preemptive strike and got caught, he would also go bankrupt and be kicked out of here.

Hey!

The results seemed about the same.

But by acting early, at least he could save Lin Yao's face.

And he could beat up Yan Pojun while he was at it.

The cost-effectiveness was extremely high!

Damn it, let's do it!

Zhao Tianyang took a half-step forward.

His muscles began to coil with strength.

He looked up and saw a circle of people surrounding Yan Pojun.

Xu Biao was currently trying to get close to Yan Pojun.

Several Berserkers were also gathered over there.

There were too many people.

The static field would electrocute everyone.

If things blew up, the Organization' enforcement team would lock down the scene within three minutes.

The key point was...

Zhao Tianyang's fingers released the rune.

There was no more time.

"Attention all contestants!"

The loudspeaker overhead suddenly blared.

A deafening synthesized electronic voice echoed throughout the passage.

"The Special Challenge Match channel has been opened!"

"Contestant No. 8975, Lin Yao, has applied for a one-versus-many unrestricted competition!"

"Guarantor: Ladder Leader, Zhao Tianyang!"

"Penalty mechanism: Tenfold deduction!"

Zhao Tianyang's outstretched foot was jerked back.

Yan Pojun had already turned his head to look in the direction of the broadcast.

The surrounding crowd instantly erupted, blocking the passage completely.

He had lost the best opportunity for a preemptive strike.

Zhao Tianyang sighed.

He shoved his hands back into his pockets.

He could only count on Miss Lin Yao to hold her own.

At worst, I'll really have the Boss come and buy my freedom.

*Sob sob*, I'll never be able to repay the Boss's kindness in this lifetime.

Forget it, I already couldn't repay it anyway...

Since coming into contact with higher levels, Zhao Tianyang realized just how high the value of the potions Lin Yu had spent on him back then actually was!

...

The central hall of the Organization.

The circular virtual screens, which had been playing highlights of various matches, suddenly all went black.

Three seconds later.

Blood-red characters popped up on the screens one by one.

[S-Rank Special Permit: Unrestricted Battle Royale]

[Challenger: Lin Yao (Unranked)]

[Opponents: All contestants waiting in the rest area (Total: 142 people)]

The hall fell into a moment of dead silence.

Then, a wave of sound erupted that nearly blew the roof off.

The crowd rushed frantically toward the ticket terminals and the observation deck entrance.

"One hundred and forty-two against one? This is a freaking massacre!"

"Among the opponents are Poison Fang Liu San, Iron Wall Wang Gang, and... holy crap! Yan Pojun is also on the list!"

"Who is this woman? The illegitimate daughter of the King of the Heavens?"

"Buy tickets! Buy them quickly! Front row seats are already going for a hundred thousand!"

Scalpers wove through the crowd.

Waving electronic tickets in their hands.

The turnstiles of the observation deck flashed with high-frequency red light.

The flow of people surged frantically into Central Arena No. 1.

This was the largest venue in the Organization.

It was large enough to accommodate a hundred thousand spectators simultaneously.

At this moment, the occupancy rate was skyrocketing at five percent per second.