350: Playing tricks in front of the Holy Lord? You're courting death!

"Why not?"

"Because too many people are involved," the official said with a wry smile. "Now, almost every hotel, every restaurant, has people discussing and betting in private."

"If we crack down forcefully, it will inevitably cause widespread panic and backlash."

"Now the eyes of the whole world are on H City. If it's not handled well, and outsiders interpret it as Dragon Country being a sore loser or suppressing freedom of speech..."

"That would be a huge blow to the reputation of our government and the Holy Land."

Zhang Chen fell silent upon hearing this.

He understood. This was a hot potato.

The other party had accurately calculated that they were too cautious to make a big fuss, which was why they dared to be so reckless.

To crack down...

It would cause unrest and affect the overall situation.

Not to crack down...

It would be condoning the other party doing whatever they wanted on their territory.

He couldn't swallow this.

"These bastards..." Zhang Chen slammed his fist on the table, and the alloy surface instantly dented.

He felt like he was in a dilemma.

This matter had exceeded his scope of handling.

In H City, only one person could decide matters of this level.

Zhang Chen took a deep breath, his eyes becoming resolute.

"It must be reported to the Holy Lord immediately."

He knew very well that this kind of trouble, which seemed incredibly difficult to him...

In the eyes of that Holy Lord, perhaps, it was nothing at all.

The communicator was quickly connected, and a calm, unruffled voice came through.

"Speak."

Just one word instantly calmed Zhang Chen's previously agitated mood.

He organized his thoughts and reported the situation he had just learned, in detail and without omission, to Mo Yan.

He described in detail the scale of the underground gambling, the suspicion of the Eagle Country people, and the dilemma he currently faced.

He thought he would hear the Holy Lord's furious voice, or a complex set of countermeasures.

However, after listening to his report, the other end of the communicator fell into a brief silence.

Just as he thought the signal had been cut off, Mo Yan's voice, with a hint of a smile, leisurely drifted over.

"Oh? The odds are out?"

"What are the odds? If I bet on Dragon Country winning now, what's the payout?"

Zhang Chen: "..."

He was dumbfounded.

Isn't the focus of your attention a bit off?!

Zhang Chen didn't know how to respond for a moment.

He was in a desperate hurry, but the Holy Lord, on the other hand, was in the mood to care about the odds?

"What, is it strange?" Mo Yan's voice sounded very relaxed, with a hint of teasing.

"Someone is eager to give us money, so of course, we need to care about how much money we can collect."

"Give money?" Zhang Chen was even more confused. "They are causing trouble on our territory and challenging our authority!"

"Challenge?" Mo Yan chuckled lightly. "Zhang Chen."

"If a few flies are buzzing in your house, should you frantically chase them around with a fly swatter, getting all sweaty and making your house a mess?"

"Or should you open the window and light a mosquito coil, letting them fly in obediently to their deaths?"

This analogy... although a bit strange, Zhang Chen instantly understood Mo Yan's meaning.

He didn't take the Eagle Country people's small actions seriously at all.

In his opinion, this wasn't even a "challenge," but rather "sending wealth."

"Does Your Excellency mean... we won't stop them?" Zhang Chen asked tentatively.

"Stop them? Why stop them?" Mo Yan retorted. "They worked so hard to set up the stage and gather popularity."

"They attracted all the money from the world's lords. If we go and overturn the stage now, wouldn't that be foolish?"

"What we need to do is wait until they have almost prepared the banquet, then we'll just sit down, eat all the dishes, and even take the plates."

Zhang Chen's heart skipped a beat.

He seemed to understand Mo Yan's thinking a little, but he wasn't entirely sure.

"But Your Excellency, they are the bookmakers. How do we..."

"Who said they are the bookmakers?" Mo Yan interrupted him.

"On this territory of H City, whoever I say is the bookmaker, is the bookmaker."

"They want to be the bookmakers? Heh, are they even worthy?"

Although Mo Yan's voice was calm, the dominance and disdain it contained made Zhang Chen shiver.

"You mean..." Zhang Chen's voice trembled slightly, a crazy thought emerging in his mind.

"It's very simple." Mo Yan's voice became clear and direct.

"They like to open the odds, don't they? Then we'll play along with them."

"You, immediately, in the name of the H City government and Cangming Holy Land, establish an 'Official Tournament Betting Center'."

"They do it underground; we'll do it officially. They do it secretly; we'll do it openly."

"Build the venue as luxurious as possible, make the screens as large as possible, so that everyone in the city can see it!"

Zhang Chen's mind buzzed, stunned by Mo Yan's plan.

To cut them off at the pass!

This was blatant interception!

The Eagle Country people painstakingly laid out channels, developed subordinates, and hyped up the gambling atmosphere.

As a result, Mo Yan made a move and directly pulled the rug out from under them.

He wanted to build an official, legal, and more credible platform to attract all the funds to his side!

"But... wouldn't this mean that our government is openly organizing... gambling?"

"The impact..."

Zhang Chen still had some concerns.

"Don't say it so harshly," Mo Yan said indifferently.

"This is 'tournament betting', an entertainment activity provided for global lords, to increase the fun and participation of the grand competition."

"Besides, what do you mean by impact?"

"The rules are set by me. If I say it's legal, then it's legal."

"Whoever disagrees, tell him to come to Cangming City and talk to me."

A thin layer of sweat broke out on Zhang Chen's forehead.

Good heavens, the way he said that.

It was completely unreasonable, yet irrefutable.

In H City, Mo Yan's words were the ultimate truth.

"I understand!" Zhang Chen took a deep breath, all his worries and hesitation swept away.

Working with the Holy Lord was just this exciting!

"Then... what about the odds? How do we set them?" Zhang Chen pressed.

"Odds?" Mo Yan chuckled. "Of course, we set them to attract people. Their odds are biased towards Eagle Country, aren't they? Then we'll do the opposite."

"Slightly raise the odds for popular teams."

"And introduce some more interesting ways to play, like 'dark horse prediction', 'score prediction', and set up a high prize pool."

"In short, one principle: make them feel that betting here is more exciting and offers higher returns!"

"The Eagle Country people will definitely lose everything!" Zhang Chen said excitedly.