Chapter 199: How About a Bet?
Zhao Manyan's rash move had completely disrupted Nanyu and Ai Jiangtu’s original plan to probe the sea monsters cautiously.
Originally, they had intended to observe the terrain, identify the number of Scarlet Scale Sea Demons, and decide whether to draw them out in small groups. Yet Mo Fan, after sensing the monsters hiding nearby, had casually allowed the situation to escalate and even provoked them into revealing themselves. His logic was simple. Since they had already found the enemy, wasting time circling around was pointless.
However, the others were proud young mages as well. Everyone here had passed through the selection process of their respective institutes, military recommendations, or faction evaluations. Even under the newly tightened system, each of them was among the best of their generation.
Gong Yu was definitely eager to show off his talents. Mo Fan was still thinking of how to teach the annoying guy a lesson when Gong Yu took the initiative to walk up to him and challenge him.
“Hey, vice captain, how about a bet?”
Mo Fan glanced at him and said indifferently, “Sure, but let’s go big or go home. I like the feeling when my heart beats faster.”
Gong Yu smiled coldly. He had been troubled by Mo Fan constantly staying close to Mu Ningxue, yet could not find a proper chance to drive him away. The fight against the Scarlet Scale Sea Demons had given him an opportunity. What he did not expect was that Mo Fan would ask for even higher stakes.
He knew Mo Fan was not simple. Anyone who could stand here as vice captain of the National Team was not someone weak. However, jealousy made him unwilling to back down.
“What do you have in mind?” Gong Yu asked.
“We’ll collect their gall bladders. Whoever collects the most wins. The winner can ask the loser for a favor,” Mo Fan said, never lacking wicked thoughts.
“Any favor?” Gong Yu emphasized.
“That’s right. Any favor,” Mo Fan nodded.
Gong Yu narrowed his eyes. The stake was extremely high if the winner could ask for anything. Did that mean he would have to kill himself if Mo Fan asked?
“You know the advisors strictly forbid infighting among ourselves. If they find out, we’ll be expelled from the National Team. Are you sure it’s any favor?” Gong Yu asked cautiously.
He had never expected Mo Fan to seize the initiative when he was the one who suggested the bet. Somehow, he already had the urge to back out.
“We’re teammates, so of course it won’t involve anything too crazy,” Mo Fan said smoothly. “Don’t worry, it’s just a harmless favor. It won’t destroy the peaceful relationship between us.”
“Self harm?” Gong Yu asked.
“It won’t be,” Mo Fan replied, then clicked his tongue. “Do you still want to bet or not? If you don’t have the courage, don’t pretend you do.”
Kid, your Grandpa Mo Fan is going to kick your ass!
“Bring it on. You think I’m scared?” Gong Yu said coldly. “But you must promise it won’t affect our positions in the National Team.”
Gong Yu was not stupid. The National Team was their first priority. He did not want to ruin his future just because of a rivalry over Mu Ningxue.
“Of course not. I’m still looking forward to shocking the world in Venice,” Mo Fan said lazily. “But I’ve been unhappy with you for the past few days, so if I don’t teach you some manners, I’ll feel uncomfortable. Ai Jiangtu definitely won’t let me beat you up directly, and that military blockhead is too serious. If I start anything, he’ll lecture me for half a day.”
Mo Fan paused, then grinned. “Besides, that maniac is scary. Maybe I can’t beat him.”
His tone was so obviously careless that Zhao Manyan immediately rolled his eyes from the side.
“Can you at least pretend properly when you lie?” Zhao Manyan muttered.
Gong Yu’s expression darkened. He had never seen such an honest asshole.
It was not like he was any better. Every time he saw Mo Fan sticking beside Mu Ningxue like a shameless dog, his chest filled with anger. Did this man even have dignity? What difference was there between him and a street thug?
“Alright then. I also find you annoying,” Gong Yu said with a cold smirk. “Don’t blame me for being cruel if you end up with fewer gall bladders.”
—
The bet had begun.
The person with fewer gall bladders would lose.
Just as undead creatures had undead crystals that contained their life essence and energy, many beast type demons had valuable organs that Hunters collected as proof of kills. For Scarlet Scale Sea Demons, the gall bladder was the most useful trophy. A clean strike to that area could kill them quickly, and the harvested gall bladders were valuable materials often sought by Hunters.
As soon as the bet began, Mo Fan and Gong Yu lunged toward the Scarlet Scale Sea Demons like mad dogs.
Zhao Manyan crossed his arms from behind and clicked his tongue. “These two really are childish.”
The others looked at him strangely.
Wasn’t he the one who had just used Violent Waves and almost got everyone drowned?
Zhao Manyan cleared his throat and pretended not to notice.
Although he looked unreliable and loved stirring trouble, no one truly underestimated him. His Water Element was supported by a high grade Spirit Seed, his defense was notoriously sturdy, and his Light and Water spells made him one of the hardest people on the team to take down. He might act like a useless rich young master, but when it came to surviving dangerous situations, Zhao Manyan was frighteningly dependable.
Gong Yu was the cunning type. He had already noticed a Scarlet Scale Sea Demon pinned to the ground by a Giant Shadow Spike. With a flash of Wind Track, he sprinted forward, leaving a blurred afterimage behind.
In the blink of an eye, he reached the Scarlet Scale Sea Demon whose movements had been restricted.
Brown light flickered across his palm and hardened his arm. The effect spread down to the back of his hand, where sharp claws extended from his magic equipment and slashed forward.
Mo Fan glanced over and raised an eyebrow.
This guy was using Claw type Magic Equipment right away?
He was taking this seriously.
Gong Yu’s figure flickered like a phantom as he stabbed toward the Scarlet Scale Sea Demon’s chest with his hardened claws.
The claws were half a meter long. They pierced through the demon’s sturdy skin without resistance, tearing open its body in a brutal spray of blue blood.
Gong Yu mercilessly pulled the claws free.
“How weak,” Gong Yu said with a disdainful grin.
The Scarlet Scale Sea Demon shrieked and swung its claws at him, trying to tear the human apart.
Its upper limbs were thin, but they contained terrifying strength. Its claws crossed through the air, slicing apart the thick rock in their path.
However, Gong Yu reacted even faster. The instant the demon attacked, he had already appeared behind it.
Like a phantom assassin, he deliberately waited until the Scarlet Scale Sea Demon tried to turn around before letting out a cold laugh.
His gauntlet struck again at lightning speed, piercing the same wound. This time, he grabbed the gall bladder inside the demon and ripped it out with one vicious pull.
His attack was extremely fast. To an ordinary person like Liu Meng, Gong Yu’s movements were only a blur. The next thing he saw was a blood covered gall bladder raised into the air.
“One,” Gong Yu said with a smile.
After losing its gall bladder, the Scarlet Scale Sea Demon was certain to die within seconds. Gong Yu completely ignored its dying struggles and vanished again as wind circled around him.
The demon waved its claws wildly, trying to tear apart the human who had stolen its life organ, but after staggering a few steps, it collapsed from the rocks onto the sand.
Blue blood splattered across the ground.
Mo Fan glanced at Gong Yu’s first trophy and grinned.
“Not bad,” he said. “At least you’re not completely useless.”
Gong Yu’s smile stiffened.
Before he could respond, Mo Fan’s figure suddenly disappeared into a shadow beneath his feet.
The next moment, a streak of blackness slid across the battlefield like a living blade. Several Scarlet Scale Sea Demons turned their heads at the same time, but before they could react, purple black lightning erupted from the shadow.
Mo Fan stepped out from behind one of the demons, his hand already wrapped in crackling Lightning.
A compressed Lightning Strike pierced directly into the demon’s chest. The lightning did not explode outward immediately. Instead, it drilled inward, destroying the organs from within.
The Scarlet Scale Sea Demon convulsed violently.
Mo Fan reached in, pulled out the gall bladder, and casually tossed it into his storage space.
“One,” he said.
Then he vanished again.
His movements were nothing like Gong Yu’s clean assassin style. Gong Yu relied on speed and precision, but Mo Fan fought like a battlefield predator. Shadow helped him appear at impossible angles, Lightning pierced and paralyzed, and his brutal timing made every strike feel effortless.
A second Scarlet Scale Sea Demon tried to retreat into the water.
Mo Fan’s eyes flashed silver.
Invisible spatial pressure slammed down, forcing the demon’s body to freeze for half a breath.
Half a breath was enough.
Purple black lightning speared through its chest.
Another gall bladder flew into Mo Fan’s hand.
“Two.”
Gong Yu’s expression changed slightly.
Zhao Manyan whistled from the back. “Old Mo is bullying people again.”
Jiang Yu adjusted his glasses, staring at Mo Fan’s movements with admiration. “His combat efficiency is absurd. He isn’t wasting any mana at all.”
Nanyu nodded seriously. “Every spell is compressed. He’s not showing off. He’s harvesting.”
That single sentence made the others fall silent.
Mo Fan was not fighting like a student trying to prove himself.
He was fighting like a Hunter collecting loot.