174: Chapter 174 Who Broke My ATM?

Pool 2, Rest Area.

If not for the futuristic holographic projection sign at the entrance, Jiang You would have thought he had accidentally wandered into a high-pressure boiler room.

The air here felt as if it had solidified; everyone's face was etched with anxiety, tension, and even hostility.

Aside from the few unlucky ones who fell from Pool 1, everyone standing here was a ruthless character who had fought their way up from a pile of thousands of corpses.

There are no weaklings here.

Everyone starts at the peak of Tier 3, and there is no shortage of seniors at the early stage of Tier 4.

"Big Brother, the people here have such fierce looks in their eyes."

Bai Lan shrank behind Jiang You. The lollipop in her mouth no longer tasted good; her keen animal instincts told her that this place was filled with the scent of malicious competition.

"It's fine. Being fierce is good; it just means they can take a beating."

Jiang You walked in with his hands in his pockets and a relaxed expression on his face.

However, the moment he walked into the hall, his originally relaxed expression instantly froze.

In the corner of the rest area, a crowd had gathered.

From the center of the crowd came several piercing sounds of mockery, and... a heartbreaking, whimpering sound.

"Wuwuwu... My abacus... My limited edition gold-plated abacus..."

"This was custom-made with a huge investment of two thousand yuan... The paint chipped off, it's all chipped off..."

Hearing this familiar voice, Jiang You's eyebrows twitched violently.

He pushed through the crowd and saw Gou Fugui, Su Nuonuo, and Mo Wu from Class F sitting disheveled and slumped on the ground.

"This is too bullying! This is simply lacking martial virtue!"

Gou Fugui slumped on the ground, the gold abacus in his hand nearly deformed from his grip. His eyes were bloodshot as he glared fixedly at the few boys opposite him, who were wearing sneers on their faces.

Beside him, Su Nuonuo buried her head in her knees, her shoulders heaving. Her signature heavy machine gun was tossed aside, its barrel glowing red from firing:

"That bad guy was too fast... My bullets couldn't catch up to him at all..."

"He even mocked me for being short... Wuwuwu..."

As for Mo Wu... well, although Mo Wu wasn't crying, he was squatting in the corner drawing circles, clearly having shut himself off.

And opposite them.

A burly fourth-year senior wearing a specialized Class A combat uniform and sporting a buzz cut was standing on a chair, pointing down at Gou Fugui with a look of extreme arrogance as he laughed:

"Hahahaha!"

"Is this the so-called elite of Class F?"

"A profiteer who only knows how to hit people with an abacus? A brat who only knows how to play with duds? And another... oh, I almost forgot, another air-person who doesn't even have a presence?"

The senior with the buzz cut looked disdainful. His gaze swept over the crowd watching the commotion, and he mocked loudly:

"Everyone, look here."

"Is this the genius that Principal Pang spent a huge amount of money to nurture?"

"In that last match, I only used a little bit of strength, and this profiteer actually asked me if he could pay money to buy a draw?"

"It cracks me up! This is the Hundred Schools League selection! Do you think this is a vegetable market?"

A burst of laughter erupted from the surroundings.

"Senior Zhang Kuang is a Tier 4 early-stage Metal-type Supernatural Ability user with a body of copper and iron. That profiteer's abacus didn't even leave a mark when it hit him."

"Yeah, and that little loli, her rocket launcher hits on the senior were like scratching an itch."

"I'm afraid those guys from Class F will stop here this time. I guess this is them showing their true colors, right?"

Listening to the surrounding discussion, Zhang Kuang became even more smug.

He even stretched out his foot and kicked the calculator Gou Fugui had dropped on the ground in an extremely insulting manner:

"Hey, you dead profiteer."

"Weren't you quite good at scheming just now? Come on, calculate again. If you lose one more match, are you going to have to crawl back to Pool 3 to eat dirt?"

"How about this: call me Grandpa Zhang, and if we get matched again next round, I'll go easier on you?"

Gou Fugui was trembling with anger, but he really couldn't beat him!

In the virtual battlefield, his money-power was greatly restricted; those pay-to-win items couldn't be brought in at all. He had to rely on raw strength, but as a logistics person, where would he get the raw strength to go head-to-head with a Tier 4 Metal-type tough guy?

Just as Zhang Kuang was preparing to continue humiliating these Class F "soft persimmons."

A hand reached out from the side without any warning.

Then, it picked up the kicked-over calculator from the ground with extreme naturalness.

"Oh my, oh my..."

A lazy, yet bone-chilling voice sounded behind Zhang Kuang:

"I was wondering why the air here smelled so bad."

"So it turns out there's some trash from who knows where, relieving itself all over the place here?"

Zhang Kuang's expression changed, and he turned around abruptly:

"Who! Which blind fool dares to..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw the young man in the black combat uniform, hands in his pockets, gently wiping the calculator with the corner of his clothes.

Jiang You stuffed the cleaned calculator back into Gou Fugui's arms, then patted Gou Fugui's shoulder, his tone as gentle as an old father:

"Fugui, don't cry."

"If this calculator is broken, we'll deduct it from our prize money later... ah no, buy a new one."

After speaking, Jiang You slowly turned around.

Those dead fish eyes, which were usually half-closed, were now wide open.

Deep within his deep blue pupils, it was as if a sleeping beast was awakening.

He looked at the bewildered Zhang Kuang in front of him, a dangerously cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth:

"Senior."

"Just now... you seemed to have stepped on and broken my brother's livelihood?"

"Do you know that is my ATM... oh no, that is my beloved friend?"

"You have to look at the owner before hitting the dog... pfft! You have to look at the captain before hitting someone."

"Shouldn't we settle this score?"

Gou Fugui: "Brother Jiang, that sounded a bit off!"

Zhang Kuang looked at the suddenly appearing Jiang You, stunned for a moment, then reacted as if he had heard the greatest joke in the world.

"Yo?"

"I was wondering who it was."

"Isn't this Jiang You, the so-called SSS-rank captain from Class F who has been smurfing in low-tier matches?"

Zhang Kuang looked Jiang You up and down, the disdain in his eyes practically overflowing.

"What? Did smurfing give you a sense of superiority?"

"Running to Pool 2 to act like a big shot?"

Zhang Kuang took a step forward, the sharp and heavy aura of a Tier 4 early-stage user, like metal, erupted, making the surrounding air feel a few degrees heavier.

"Kid, don't think you're something just because you won a few games down below."

"This is Pool 2!"

"I am a genuine Tier 4! A fourth-year senior from Class A!"

"Those little tricks of yours might fool freshmen, but in front of me?"

Zhang Kuang extended his finger and jabbed hard at Jiang You's chest:

"You are nothing but a fart!"

Facing the face-to-face mockery of a Tier 4 powerhouse, Jiang You not only didn't retreat, but actually leaned in closer.

He tilted his head, looking at Zhang Kuang with the expression of someone looking at a mentally disabled person:

"Tier 4?"

"Is that very strong?"

Jiang You picked his ear and asked Bai Lan, who was beside him:

"Little Bai, didn't you also beat up a few Tier 4s earlier?"

Bai Lan was busy helping Su Nuonuo up from the ground. Hearing this, she tilted her head and thought for a moment:

"Hmm... I think there were a few."

"But they were too fragile; they were gone in one punch, so I didn't remember their names."