Global Lords: Starting with Female Hero Fusion

8:00 AM.

River Valley Town Virtual Training Ground.

The place was bustling with noise.

It was a sea of people.

There was almost no place to park outside.

Zhao Jiao had to park the car far away.

It took them several minutes to walk over.

They hadn’t even entered the training ground yet.

A large crowd had already gathered outside.

Everyone was chatting excitedly as if it were a festival.

"Don’t argue with me. Beiliu Village is definitely taking first this year. One of the Yuan Family’s young masters is competing."

"I know, Yuan Zhao. I’m his... uh... cousin-uncle."

"What kind of relation is a cousin-uncle?"

"Never mind that!"

"How come I heard that during the academy tests, Yuan Zhao was defeated by a Lord from Stream Village?"

"Not defeated. The guy from Stream Village just had the upper hand, so Yuan Zhao had to settle for second."

"The Yuan Family is impressive, sure, but my money’s on the Jiang Family from Binhu Village. The young lady of the Jiang Family took first place at the Seventh Academy this year. Yuan Zhao might have a tough time."

"The Wei Family from Jinsha Village is the really impressive one. I heard they’ve invested a lot of resources."

"Yeah, I heard that too. The Wei Family’s Lord got third place at the Seventh Academy this time."

"Just third place. Is that as good as the Jiang Family, who got first?"

"Rankings like that can come down to a split-second decision. If they competed again, the result might be completely different."

"Stop arguing with me. There’s betting over there. Wanna go place a wager?"

"You’re on! Let’s go!"

Zhao Chi watched them walk over to the side.

An even larger crowd was gathered there.

It looked like they were scrambling to buy something.

Zhao Chi asked in surprise, "Eleventh Brother, why are there so many people today? They’re not here to train, are they?"

Zhao Huai laughed. "Train? They’re all here to watch the matches."

Although he had guessed as much, Zhao Chi still found it a bit hard to accept.

This wasn’t what he had expected at all.

"Didn’t you say it would only be instructors, nobles, and military personnel? Why are there so many people?"

Zhao Huai said, "I never said it would *only* be them. I said they would *be here*. Of course, most of the audience is made up of ordinary people."

"Then how did they find out?"

"Huh? Our villages advertised it, of course."

"...Why?"

"’Why?’ what? I’m telling you, Zhao Chi, what’s gotten into you? To sell tickets, of course! One ticket is 5 Silver Coins. Just think, how much money is that?"

"They’re selling tickets? Isn’t this an internal competition?"

"Yeah, an internal competition, but nobody said it had to have an internal-only audience."

’Damn it...’

Zhao Jiao said, "It’s fine. Most of these people are just neighbors and locals. There are very few Lords, so they won’t be able to figure much out. Since you’re not afraid of the nobles and military watching, why would you be afraid of these neighbors?"

’That seems... reasonable.’

The last thing Zhao Chi wanted was for the nobles to watch him.

But now that the nobles and military would be watching anyway, it didn’t matter if these ordinary residents watched too.

’Alright...’

Zhao Chi pointed to the group nearby. "What are they doing over there? I heard them say they were going to bet. Are they betting on us?"

Lü Hong nodded. "Of course. I used to bet all the time. Lost more than I won, but I still want to place a wager. Should we go, too?"

Zhao Huai laughed. "Haha, I was just about to suggest that. Let’s go place a bet. Come on!"

Zhao Chi asked, "Is this legitimate? If you bet correctly, can you actually collect the money?"

Zhao Jiao said, "You can rest assured on that front. It’s run by nobles. They can’t afford to look like sore losers."

Zhao Chi nodded and didn’t ask any more questions.

He squeezed into the crowd and saw a person holding a Spiritual Ability Machine.

"Place your bets, place your bets! The competition starts in an hour. The earlier you bet, the higher the multipliers. You guys wanna bet, too? Connect to the system."

Lü Hong looked like an old hand at this.

He finished his bet quickly.

Zhao Jiao was still frowning in thought.

Zhao Huai said, "Do you know how to bet? Connect through the system terminal, click on who you want to bet on, and then wager your money. That’s it."

Zhao Chi nodded. "Yeah, I’m connected."

[Rookie Competition Betting]

[Round 1]

[Round 2]

[Round 3]

[Round of 8]

[Round of 4]

[Semifinals]

[Finals]

These were the only options.

Zhao Chi clicked on Round 1 first.

[Round 1 Betting Multipliers]

[Wu Liang, Binhu Village] 1.3x

[Liu Neng, Nangu Village] 1.1x

[Li Ping, Jinsha Village] 0.9x

[Lu Yi, Beiliu Village] 0.1x

[Xiao Rui, Stream Village] 0.2x

[...]

[Zhao Chi, Stream Village] 0.3x

’How do you read these multipliers?’

There was an explanation on the side.

Zhao Chi gave it a quick look and understood.

The multipliers were set individually based on each contestant’s profile.

For example, if you bet on Lu Yi and she won the first round, you would get a 0.1x return. If you bet 2 Gold Coins, you would receive an extra 0.2 Gold Coins.

If you bet on Liu Neng and he won the first round, you would get a 1.1x return. Betting 2 Gold Coins would net you an extra 2.2 Gold Coins.

Of course, your principal would also be returned.

However, if the bet failed, your principal would be lost.

The higher the multiplier, the weaker the Lord’s usual performance.

The lower the multiplier, of course, the stronger the Lord’s usual performance.

Lu Yi’s multiplier was very low, only 0.1. Based on her record, she was highly likely to win, hence the low multiplier.

That Liu Neng’s usual performance must not be very good, so his multiplier was high. His chances of winning were slim.

Zhao Chi’s multiplier was 0.3.

It seemed his performance was fairly well-regarded.

As for where the data for this performance came from, Zhao Chi had no idea.

However, Zhao Jiao had just said that nobles were running this betting operation, so it was obvious.

The data came from the nobles.

The first round had the lowest multipliers.

The second round’s multipliers were a bit higher.

The third round’s were higher still.

Zhao Chi went straight to the Finals betting.

He recognized quite a few names.

Zhao Chi specifically filtered for people he knew.

[Contestant Betting Multipliers]

[Jiang Die, Binhu Village] 3x

[Yuan Zhao, Beiliu Village] 3x

[Lang Hu, Nangu Village] 38x

[Cao Feng, Nangu Village] 45x

[Lu Yi, Beiliu Village] 76x

[Zhao Chi, Stream Village] 88x

[Xiao Rui, Stream Village] 93x

As expected of betting on the finals.

The multipliers were sky-high.

Even for the top favorites, Yuan Zhao and Jiang Die, the multiplier was 3x.

However, this multiplier was only for now.

With each passing round, the multipliers would drop.

After all, the variables were greatest at the beginning.

Yuan Zhao was strong, but there was always the possibility of an upset.

Zhao Chi’s multiplier was 88x.

In other words, if he bet 2 Gold Coins now and won, he would receive an extra 176 Gold Coins, and his initial 2 Gold Coins would be returned as well.

Of course, if he didn’t win, those 2 Gold Coins would be gone.

However, Zhao Chi didn’t hesitate at all.

’I came here aiming for the championship anyway.’

’The multiplier is high, so I might as well bet on myself.’

He only had 23 Gold Coins on him right now.

’I’ll bet it all on myself, then.’

[We’re sorry, the maximum bet amount is 20 Gold Coins.]

’There’s a limit?’

’20 Gold Coins it is, then.’

[You are placing a bet on the finals. Target: "Zhao Chi, Stream Village, 88x". Bet Amount: 20 Gold Coins. If the target becomes champion, you will receive 1760 Gold Coins. Are you sure?]

’Nothing to hesitate about.’

Confirm!

[Your bet has been placed successfully.]

After exiting the system, he realized he was the last one to finish.

The other three were all waiting for him.

"Sorry, it’s my first time betting, so I’m not familiar with it. Took me a while."

Zhao Huai shook his head. "No problem. Who did you bet on? Yuan Zhao?"

Zhao Chi smiled. "You know Yuan Zhao too?"

Zhao Huai was stunned. "Huh? Of course I know him. He’s a celebrity in your year. The whole academy probably knows him, right? After you got second place at the start of the term, a lot of people were surprised. They all came to me to confirm the news about you."

"That happened?"

Zhao Huai and Zhao Jiao were also at the Lord’s Eighth Academy.

They were both a year ahead of Zhao Chi, making them his seniors.

Zhao Huai said, "That’s not important. But I’m guessing the champion today will probably be him. However, that Jiang Die girl is from the Jiang Family, so her strength should be formidable too. That’s why I bet 1 Gold Coin on each of them."

Zhao Jiao said, "You’re the rich one. I only bet 50 Silver Coins."

Lü Hong said, "Hehe, so you guys bet that way too? I also hedged my bets, putting 10 Silver Coins on both of them. Whoever wins, I’ll make a profit."

Zhao Chi scratched his head. "Me too."

Zhao Huai said, "I bet on you for the first two rounds. I don’t think you’ll have any problems."

Lü Hong also laughed. "Me too. I bet on you for three rounds. I think you’ll definitely make it to the top 16."

Zhao Chi smiled. "Thanks for the vote of confidence. I’ll do my best."

Zhao Jiao said, "Alright, let’s head inside. Time to check in and get you two matched with your opponents."

The four of them stopped joking around and followed the crowd through a back entrance.

In just a few dozen meters, Zhao Chi saw four different betting stations.

’This industry is pretty developed,’ he thought.

Entering the main hall of the Virtual Training Ground, they found it was even more crowded than outside.

It was really like a concert or a soccer match, with people packed shoulder to shoulder.

But most people were heading directly into several corridors.

The number of people registering wasn’t that large.

Zhao Huai pointed at a registration desk.

"Today, you two will have to go register yourselves. Just say you’re checking in for the competition and need to be matched with an opponent."

"Okay, thanks, Brother Huai," Lü Hong said gratefully.

"Thanks," Zhao Chi said with a wave.

The two of them waited in line for a bit before it was their turn.

"Here for the competition?" a staff member asked before Zhao Chi could speak.

"Yes," Zhao Chi nodded.

"Open your system. I’ll connect you for matchmaking."

Zhao Chi connected to the system.

The staff member spoke slowly, "...Zhao Chi of Stream Village, matching... Number 39! Your match will begin at 9:30. Don’t be late, or it will be considered a forfeit. The match duration is only 30 minutes. When time is up, the winner will be decided by score."

"Okay, thank you."

"You’re welcome. You only need to check in for matchmaking the first time. It will be automatic after this. Check the system notifications for details, and don’t miss them."

"I understand, thank you."

"You’re welcome. Next!"

At the same time, he received a notification.

[Match Result]

[Number] 39

[Time] 9:30

[Duration] 30 minutes

[Arena] Arena 3

[Opponent] Xiao Rui, Stream Village

’Xiao Rui?’

’My first match is against him?’

’What a coincidence.’

To be honest, although he didn’t know the full extent of Xiao Rui’s abilities, he was sure he wouldn’t be weak.

After all, with the support of the Xiao Family, he should be much stronger than an ordinary person.

His position was similar to Cao Feng’s.

Lü Hong asked, "Zhao Chi, which match are you in?"

"9:30, Arena 3. What about you?"

Lü Hong said, "I’m earlier than you. I’m in Arena 4, starting at 9:00. My opponent is Liu Neng, the one with the decent betting multiplier. Seeing his odds gives me confidence. Too bad I didn’t bet on myself."

Zhao Chi smiled. "Good luck."

Zhao Huai also came over to ask about their situation.

Zhao Jiao said, "Let’s not talk here. There are too many people. We can talk inside."

Zhao Huai agreed. "Okay, let’s go inside."

They went through another corridor.

It wasn’t long, just over ten meters.

But as they walked, the clamor behind them faded away, replaced by sounds from up ahead.

The competition area they entered this time was still that same enormous virtual arena.

It stretched out as far as the eye could see.

There were all sorts of terrains.

Zhao Chi saw quite a few people off to the side.

There must have been over a thousand.

’At 5 Silver Coins per ticket... that’s only 50 Gold Coins?’

’Doesn’t seem like that much money after all.’

After hearing about their matchups, Zhao Huai said, "Not bad. Your match times don’t overlap, so we can watch both from start to finish. That way, the two of us can help keep an eye on things for you."

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