Chapter 55 Semi-finals

Night Feather and his companions logged out of the game one after another. Although the time spent inside the virtual world felt exceptionally long, in reality, less than two days had passed in the physical world. Therefore, indulging too deeply in such immersive gaming experiences could inevitably take a toll on one's physical health.

Upon leaving the dormitory, Night Feather and his group headed outside, naturally discussing the recent events as they walked.

Due to the nature of boosting services, hired boosters would not get paid if they failed to complete the specific tasks ordered by their clients, and in severe cases, they might even have to compensate the clients for losses. Based on this premise, Night Feather had already formed a logical deduction.

"I reckon that in our next match, we will most likely run into the other characters belonging to that boosting studio," Night Feather analyzed. "Considering that the blockhead managed to single-handedly defeat three boosters last time, I am afraid they will quickly figure out their original, proficient classes to fight us. Naturally, they want to prove their strength and wash away the humiliation inflicted upon them."

For high-tier ladder players to participate in low-tier arena matches was inherently troublesome, even for professional boosters. They would be forced to use accounts they were not entirely familiar with, relying purely on mechanics and game sense to clash with opponents. While their win rate might still be high, situations where they found themselves helpless were bound to occur.

Night Feather's prediction was remarkably accurate. Hearing his words, the others fell silent. Although their own combat prowess was impressive, their opponents were, after all, professional boosters whose skill levels were far from weak. The next time they crossed paths, they would likely be facing opponents piloting their main, mastered classes. Under those circumstances, the miraculous outcome of the previous battle might not easily repeat itself.

"Third Brother is right. If that happens, it's very likely that our next encounter will be against their actual main classes," Luo Feng mused, stroking his chin with his left hand as he spoke directly.

"If their skill level is what I think it is, they fall into the mid-to-upper tier of the Glorious Platinum ladder bracket. While they aren't quite at the very top, their combat capabilities are undoubtedly superior to ours," Night Feather said, looking around at the group before continuing, "If we want to win, it won't be as easy as before."

"Indeed. If we want to hold back our ultimate skills to deal with 'Three Years Younger', winning might not be such an easy feat," Luo Feng said with a furrowed brow. At this moment, Luo Wei offered a suggestion: "How about letting me handle them in combat? Given my class's mechanics, I can secure a victory without even needing to unleash my strongest skills."

Luo Wei was a puppeteer-class player. For opponents to clash with a puppeteer was inherently a grueling nightmare. In the fair PvP environment of the arena, the puppeteer class was practically a bug-like existence. Because they could summon puppets to fight alongside them, enemies facing a puppeteer often found themselves fighting multiple targets at once.

"Allowing Little Wei to step up is certainly enough to handle the situation. Furthermore, Little Wei's skill set includes a minor self-healing mechanic, and he likely still has a few hidden cards left in his talent skill tree. Still, I imagine it won't be that simple to achieve an easy victory. After all, our opponents are genuinely skilled players from the Glorious Platinum tier—they are completely different from the players in the Desolate Silver tier," Luo Feng reminded them. While Luo Wei held a certain class advantage, it remained uncertain whether he could widen the gap through pure operational mechanics alone.

"In that case, let's settle on this plan," Night Feather decided, stepping in. "If anyone is on the verge of losing, just tag out and swap someone else in. Counting Old Hu and that blockhead, as long as we use basic, minor skills to engage the enemy, our winning odds are still quite high. We should be able to take down at least six or seven of them."

"In any case, we'll just fight as best as we can," Huang Hong snorted coldly, taking the matter in stride. Even when facing a fixed team like 'Three Years Younger' backed by club training, Huang Hong felt no fear. He turned his gaze toward Night Feather and asked, "By the way, Third Brother, how much money have we made from our bets so far?"

"Not much. This time, I placed all our bets on ourselves to win, but the odds weren't very high. In the end, the Chinese Yuan we earned amounts to at most forty thousand. After all, this isn't the grand finals yet, so naturally, not many people were willing to place wagers. The true pivotal moment for betting will naturally be the championship match," Night Feather replied with a helpless shrug and a frown.

Since the payout depended on how many people guessed correctly and shared the final prize pool, Night Feather had taken charge of placing all the bets for the group. The winnings would then be funneled directly into the construction funds of [Purple Void City] before being evenly distributed among everyone.

"But can we really be certain about the championship match?" Luo Feng said with a shrug. "After all, our opponents are essentially a fixed roster from an official professional club now, and they are bona fide academy trainees, not to mention affiliated with the RG Club. Whether we can actually win is genuinely hard to say, so let's not get ahead of ourselves about betting."

Listening to Luo Feng's remarks, Night Feather instead shook his head slightly and said, "Think about it from another angle. 'Three Years Younger' has inadvertently helped us generate massive publicity, and the odds for our match have skyrocketed to an unimaginable height. As long as we manage to win, the ultimate payout will undoubtedly exceed our wildest imagination."

"That is assuming we actually win in the first place," Qu Zheng said, crossing his arms with a somewhat solemn expression.

Night Feather rolled his eyes at Qu Zheng and continued, "There is one thing you are all forgetting: because of the sheer popularity of the RG Club, an enormous number of people are bound to place bets this time. Just imagine—an arena match in the Desolate Silver tier featuring academy trainees from the RG Club? Countless people will undoubtedly flock to place their wagers."

"Of course, we can't completely rule out the possibility that some people might bet on us to win, right? So this time, let's have all our brothers inside the [Purple Void Mirage] place their bets as well. That way, we won't have to split the prize pool with outsiders," Luo Feng said with a slightly helpless smile. "Besides, the main point is that the stakes aren't that high anyway."

"A gamble with an uncertain outcome?" Tan Cong murmured, rubbing his chin in deep thought.

"Isn't gambling always about something like this? Either you get rich overnight..." Night Feather said, the corners of his mouth curving slightly upward as he extended a clenched fist toward Tan Cong.

Seeing this, a matching smile touched the corners of Tan Cong's lips as he nodded and finished, "...or you lose everything down to the last penny!"

***

Following a full night of rest and preparation, Night Feather and his companions were fully energized and ready for their showdown with the [First Authority]. The victory or defeat of this battle would ultimately determine their final success or failure.

Moreover, the moment Night Feather and his group logged into the game, they received messages from Old Hu and 'Bottle of Wine Traps the Hero'. To their surprise, the remaining members of the opposing team who had yet to play had chosen to forfeit and surrender the rest of the matches. This development confirmed Night Feather's earlier deduction: their upcoming opponents would inevitably be those same boosters. If Night Feather's group failed to defeat them, ultimate victory would naturally fall into the hands of 'Three Years Younger' and his crew.

Today's arena map shared the exact same layout as the Roman Colosseum, with virtually identical contours and topography. However, the distinguishing feature of the arena map before them was that this specific variant was reserved exclusively for semi-final matches.

Furthermore, the arena was relatively compact, boasting a radius of roughly sixty meters, devoid of any obstacles that could block incoming skills. Yet, a unique mechanical gimmick was embedded within this map.

Four special trigger mechanisms were concealed in the four corners of the arena floor. Stepping on them would activate trap mechanisms within designated zones: the first triggered a barrage of lethal, sharp arrows firing from all directions; the second caused deadly iron spikes to emerge from the entire floor surface through hidden pitfalls; the third unleashed devastating pillars of fire bursting upward from the ground pits, complete with splash damage and continuous burning effects; and the fourth summoned a map-native Boss-tier monster that descended from the skies to relentlessly hunt down the players on the field. The match would conclude when all members of one side perished, granting victory to the survivors.

Players could either inflict fatal damage on their enemies through direct combat or lure them into hazardous trap zones to suffer lingering, continuous damage. This map was brimming with countless strategic possibilities and unpredictable tactics, offering the distinct advantage of transforming even 1:1 duels into deeply layered strategic warfare. However, the arena was vastly more lively than usual today, with the spectator stands packed to absolute capacity.

The competing players waited quietly inside the caged resting rooms situated beneath the arena floor, separated from one another as per custom.

"Does the entire stadium seat thirty thousand people? There are actually thirty thousand spectators watching our match today. What on earth is going on?"

'Bottle of Wine Traps the Hero' stared out at the sea of humanity filling the spectator stands, unable to suppress his astonishment.

Night Feather pulled up the opponents' data profile chart to review it. A faint smile touched the corner of his mouth as he spoke: "Just as I predicted. Among the currently known opponents, three of them played in the Glorious Platinum ladder tier last season. In other words, they are the exact same three professional boosters we encountered previously. The remaining members don't seem to be professional boosters. It appears the RG Club considers sending just three boosters to be sufficient to deal with us."

Luo Feng inspected the opponents' profile chart, his brow furrowing slightly. "I feel like I've seen these three IDs somewhere before."

"They are popular livestreamers from the boosting section on DYTV, and they supposedly belong to the same professional boosting studio," Qu Zheng explained, glancing at the opponents' profile chart before nodding to confirm, "Their strength is genuinely formidable; they are long-standing Glorious Platinum tier players. Rumors say one of them even possesses the skill level to touch the Brilliant Diamond ladder tier, though for special reasons, they deliberately avoid climbing into the Brilliant Diamond bracket."

"Heh, we actually have them to thank this time. The betting odds for us have reached forty," Night Feather said, checking the latest wagering information. The odds had unexpectedly climbed to a staggering forty-to-one, which was unquestionably something worth celebrating for the group.

"Alright, odds of forty—that is certainly something worth getting excited about. Now then, who's going first?" Luo Feng asked, a long-absent smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Luo Wei had originally intended to volunteer for the first match, but before he could speak, 'Bottle of Wine Traps the Hero' and Old Hu preemptively stepped forward. Old Hu looked at Luo Wei and said, "I've discussed this with this guy. Let the two of us handle the opening matches. Besides, since that blockhead has already exposed his hand, it's probably best to let him keep playing the wildcard role."

This was not a moment for petty arguments over who got to fight. Since Old Hu and 'Bottle of Wine Traps the Hero' had already volunteered, they would take the vanguard.

The countdown timer began ticking down. As the final seconds elapsed, the heavy gate in front of Old Hu suddenly swung open. Seeing this, Old Hu strode forward, stepping out onto the arena battleground.

"To be honest, Old Hu's true combat prowess likely exceeds our imagination," Night Feather observed, watching Old Hu's figure out on the arena floor. After a brief moment of silence, he smiled and said, "Although we don't know much about his past, the fact that he managed to survive and evade relentless hunting while carrying a bounty on his head proves that this guy's abilities are by no means inferior to those three professional boosters. After all, he's a veteran who has danced on the blade's edge, haha."

"Haha, I reckon Old Hu still has plenty of trump-card skills up his sleeve. But personally, I think Old Hu will defeat his opponents without even needing to resort to his ultimate abilities."

Once Old Hu stepped onto the arena floor, he was greeted by a wave of deafening cheers erupting from the spectator stands. His expression remained completely serene, utterly unchanged. He knew full well that these thunderous cheers were entirely directed at their opponents—after all, three of them were prominent streamers from the boosting section of DYTV.

Because of their exceptionally high ladder rankings from the previous season and the added boost of their livestreaming popularity, their fanbase was substantial. Capitalizing on their influence, they had naturally rallied their followers to attend the match, leaving a vast portion of the audience rooting for them.