As soon as the Human Emperor Banner came out, I became the Lord of the Old Ones

Chapter 248 Remote Betting
"At first, I followed Captain Long's instructions to investigate Jean-Jacques' properties to see where the defenses were relatively weak and the value was relatively high, making it easier to lure this guy out."

Gao Ce said, "However, after checking several clubs, casinos, bars and card-making workshops, we found that they were either heavily guarded, located in sensitive areas, or of relatively low value. With our current manpower, it is difficult to formulate a perfect action plan."

"However, at an underground arena adjacent to a slum, I sensed something unusual."

Gao Ce told everyone that, judging from the location and decor of this underground arena, it should be of a relatively low standard.

This is not surprising.

As the saying goes, "even a small grasshopper is still meat," although the Golden Iris Entertainment Center mainly serves the wealthy patrons of high society.

However, setting up several low- to mid-range underground casinos and fighting arenas can, on the one hand, provide a devastating advantage to competitors, and on the other hand, allow for intelligence gathering, talent acquisition, and expansion of influence.

The problem is that Gao Ce discovered that the security facilities and personnel configuration of this underground arena were somewhat high relative to its size and level.

Moreover, he saw the old monsters on the arena.

"Someone hunted ancient monsters from the wilderness, but instead of killing them, they implanted suppressors and self-destruct systems in them and secretly transported them to Dawn City, making the battle between spirits even more bloody and insane."

Gao Ce said, "There are also terminal patients with spiritual erosion, who have become neither human nor ghost, have long lost their minds, and are purely bloodthirsty killing machines, baring their teeth and claws on the arena as well."

"Whether it's ancient monsters or end-stage sufferers of the Spirit Corruption Syndrome, the cost of capturing and modifying them goes without saying."

"The fact that they were allowed to make their grand entrance while various departments, including the Security Bureau, turned a blind eye to it requires navigating complexities and incurring astronomical costs."

"What I find strange is that most of the audience and gamblers in this underground arena are ordinary citizens living in and around the slums. The wins and losses in each match are not too many. Even if all the gamblers lose everything, it is not enough to cover the cost of sending the old monsters and the terminal patients of the Spirit Corruption Syndrome to the arena."

“I told Ms. Kelly about this, and she was very knowledgeable. After we went for a walk, we immediately discovered dozens of hidden cameras.”

"Oh?"

Long Jianhuan turned his gaze to Kelly Gracey, "What exactly is going on?"

"The main source of profit for these underground arenas does not lie in the audience and gamblers."

A veteran female war correspondent explained with a smile, "Instead, they used multiple cameras to clearly record the bloody and brutal arena battles from various angles, then created immersive video cards, which were transported to the core area for sale."

"As we all know, the core area of ​​the Alliance has been peaceful and boring for decades. The Alliance citizens who are lucky enough to be born there probably have never seen any 'Old Monsters' or 'Spirit Erosion End Patients' in their entire lives."

"And the core area, with its strict laws, obviously cannot tolerate the appearance of evil spirit masters, malevolent spirits, forbidden cards, ancient monsters, deformed and twisted spirit-corrosion patients, and other strange and bizarre things in regular spirit battles."

"Therefore, many organizers of spirit battle competitions will secretly make deals with local bullies in the border areas. The local bullies will organize some thrilling and illegal competitions and use the skills of old remnant souls such as 'Phantom Butterfly' that can record information 100% to make light and shadow cards, which will be sent to the core area to earn high profits."

“If it’s a reputable big player in the industry, they might even accept bets from remote locations. The total bets from dozens of major cities in the core area would far exceed the paltry sums of the Dawn Cup.”

“I see.” Long Jianhuan frowned as he looked at the underground casino that Gao Ce and his team had targeted on the map. “But aren’t they afraid that the ancient demons and the patients with the Spirit Corrosion Syndrome will go out of control? This underground casino is so close to the slums. If an ancient demon goes out of control, escapes the arena, and rushes into the slums, who knows how many lives it will endanger!”

"What does this have to do with the core area?"

Kelly Gracey shrugged and said, “You should know very well that the so-called ‘core area’ is the direct jurisdiction of the four original shelters that formed the Alliance, and the citizens there are born as noble saviors.”

"In the eyes of these noble saviors with golden blood, what difference is there between a resource-depleted border city like Dawn City, a planned area that only wastes resources but produces nothing, or even a wasteland full of filth, dirt, and evil?"
“I’ve even heard that some unscrupulous event organizers occasionally let the old monsters escape from the arena and slaughter the surrounding spectators and gamblers, while hidden cameras capture all the incredibly cruel scenes, just to add some fun for the ‘real spectators’ in the core area who are willing to pay a lot of money.”

Upon hearing this, everyone present gritted their teeth.

"go on."

Long Jianhuan took a deep breath and refocused his gaze on Gao Ce. "What does this have to do with Carlos?"

"I saw Carlos in the ring."

Gao Ce thought for a moment and then said again, "Okay, that spirit master wore a tightly sealed mask, and even his eyes were covered by dark lenses. I can't confirm his identity, but my intuition tells me that his spirit mastering style is very similar to that of 'Golden Boy' Carlos, which I saw in the investigation materials. However, in addition to being gorgeous and swift, he also has a touch of coldness."

"I also think they look somewhat similar."

Kelly Gracie said, "However, this elegant multi-card spirit master used a very strange card—'Silver Moon Meteor'."

"what?"

Long Jianhuan was slightly taken aback.

"Silver Moon Meteor" is a new annual product card launched by Aurora Life Group.

It is said that it can exert combat power comparable to silver level with the quality of the peak of bronze level.

It also features autonomous combat capabilities. Even if the Spirit Master has limited computing power or is seriously injured and unconscious, the "Silver Moon Meteor" can still surround the Spirit Master, forming a crisscrossing and impenetrable defensive line, or even directly attack the enemy.

Unfortunately, this new product card has had a rather bumpy history.

His first appearance at the Dawn Cup was marred by serious problems, even becoming entangled in the scandal of Chu Zhifeng injecting banned drugs, transforming into a spirit-corroding body, and killing Sheikh Krat.

Since that incident, Aurora Life Group has remained very quiet and has not made any public response to the matter.

Related reports have also mysteriously disappeared from various media outlets, as if an ice cube thrown into a lake, creating a few ripples, and then vanishing without a trace.

Now, this potentially dangerous card has appeared in Jean-Jacques' underground arena, in the hands of someone suspected to be "Golden Boy" Carlos.

(End of this chapter)