“No, listen to me, you’re not completely without hope.”

“Oh? How so?”

“Don't be fooled by that Clithia chick's ferocity. That kind of explosive power takes a huge toll on the body. It's unrealistic to expect her to recover quickly; her physical condition will definitely decline under normal circumstances. So, the only real threats are Boosler and Leot. If you can take down Boosler, you'll be well on your way to victory.”

“That's easier said than done. I've looked at everyone's profiles, and none of them are pushovers.”

Su Mo was also in a bind; every participant was a force to be reckoned with.

“Don’t worry, how could I not lend a hand to my brother? When it’s your turn, I'll get someone to grant you special signal privileges, connecting your mecha directly to all the arena's signal devices and surveillance eyes. The entire arena will be your eyes, allowing you to capture your opponents' movements in real-time, without any blind spots. You can also detonate and adjust the trajectory of your missiles without any delay, as you wish.”

Nan Qi revealed a sly smile.

Upon hearing this, Su Mo couldn't help but retort, "Good heavens, you can do that? Wait, could it be that Grillos of the Machine Tomb Empire used the same trick to detonate his missiles so accurately and at will?”

“Now you know.”

Nan Qi replied with a chuckle.

“Damn, isn't that cheating? Aren't you afraid of getting caught?”

“Caught? Who would know? Besides, if you have the ability to use it, it's your ability. There's absolutely no problem."

Nan Qi replied confidently.

Su Mo was left speechless. However, what shocked Su Mo even more was yet to come. Nan Qi lowered his voice and said to Su Mo,

“Also, bro, as long as you can beat Boosler, I guarantee you'll get a bye in the next round, the top five into three. Plus, I'll arrange for Leot of the Immortal Empire to run into Roche of the Machine Tomb Empire, and have Roche beat Leot half to death. Then you'll have a chance.”

Su Mo's expression became even more interesting after hearing Nan Qi's words.

“You’re capable of doing all this? You're such a dog.”

“For victory, anything is possible. This world is very realistic; there's no such thing as absolute fairness. Being relatively fair is already good enough. Let me tell you, it's only because I have good relationships that the judging panel are people from Star Ring City that I can pull this off. Otherwise, how could such a good thing happen? In short, bro, whether I eat dirt or live the high life in the future depends entirely on you.”

Nan Qi looked at Su Mo with deep affection.

Su Mo was also very troubled. He said helplessly,

“I’ll do my best.”

“Good, that's all I need to hear. I won't say much more. I'll wait for your good news.”

Nan Qi then hung up the call.

“Boss, you’re too awesome. You can even get away with backdoors in the competition.”

Sun Duo Xiang said with shining eyes.

“Alright, forget what you just heard, don't go around blabbing.”

Su Mo retorted in annoyance.

“Boss, don't worry, I definitely won't say a word.”

Sun Duo Xiang hurriedly promised.

Su Mo looked at the betting odds on the screen. 81,000 billion star coins. 50,000 billion were bet by Nan Qi, 3,000 billion by Sun Duo Xiang. Random people probably bet a few thousand at most, so who bet the rest?

After thinking about it carefully, the image of that old man, Enjita, suddenly flashed in his mind.

Su Mo's eyelids twitched. He had a feeling that the old man had most likely participated as well, and the remainder was probably bet by him.

“What are you thinking about?”

Creator·Devourer asked in a low voice, seeing that Su Mo had been silent for a long time.

“Nothing, I’m just thinking about how much of a headache tomorrow's battle is going to be.”

Su Mo said helplessly.

“Actually, if it’s really like Nan Qi said, and you can connect to the signal devices and surveillance eyes of the entire arena, it's not completely unwinnable. You can wear your opponent down!”

Creator·Devourer explained.

“That's all I can do.”

Su Mo didn't have a better solution for the time being.

At this moment, Su Mo's electronic bracelet vibrated again, and a message popped up.

The message was from Qian Chengxue.

“Su Mo, the competition is tomorrow, so I won't bother you with your preparations. I believe you'll be fine, good luck!”

Su Mo took a deep breath as he looked at the message.

At this time, Sun Duo Xiang, standing next to Su Mo, saw that Su Mo seemed annoyed, so he tucked his tail and tried to slip away, muttering in a low voice.

“Boss, I'm going to the hangar to watch over the mecha for you.”

“Go ahead.”

Su Mo waved his hand in annoyance.

Soon, only Su Mo was left in the room. Creator·Devourer asked in a low voice.

“Are you still betting?”

Hearing Xiao Shi's words, Su Mo suddenly realized that the betting pool for him and Boosler should have opened as well, so he quickly opened the betting pool to take a look.

Su Mo vs. Boosler.

8.3 trillion star coins, 9.5 trillion star coins.

The odds were barely 50-50, with slightly more people favoring Boosler, and the amount wasn't as terrifying as before.

It seemed that everyone had learned to be rational and smart, and didn't dare to bet randomly, for fear of being harvested like leeks again.

“These odds, cautious enough.”

Su Mo couldn't help but praise.

“How are you planning to bet? All-in on yourself?”

Creator·Devourer asked in a low voice.

After hearing this, Su Mo revealed a hint of hesitation on his face. After struggling for a while, he said,

“I really don't have a 100% guarantee that I can win. That Boosler is definitely hiding his strength, and I'm really feeling uneasy right now. But I can't control whether I win, but I can 100% control whether I lose, so how about going all-in on myself losing? Grab a fortune and leave?”

As Su Mo spoke, his eyes lit up as if he saw another windfall beckoning to him.

“Are you even embarrassed?”

“Cough cough, I'm just assuming, joking. How could I really do that? Of course, I'm betting on myself to win."

Su Mo replied sheepishly.

“Then bet.”

Creator urged indifferently.

“Bet, bet.”

Su Mo then made a series of operations and bet 4 trillion star coins.

Seeing the money that Su Mo bet, Creator·Devourer couldn't help but despise him.

“You're only betting that little?”

“It’s a lot.”

“When you bet on others, you operate like a tiger, but when you bet on yourself, you're just a fool? Really feeling虚 (xū, weak)?”

Creator·Devourer couldn't help but retort.

“Small bets are fun, big bets hurt. Just take a little bit as a token gesture, that's all."

Su Mo's face was also a little embarrassed.

“Hmph.”

Creator·Devourer was too lazy to despise him.

--------------

The next day, the sky was still gray and not yet bright.

Su Mo arrived at the backup private hangar in the arena.

Zhang Wei, Sun Duo Xiang, Zhang Hao, Wang Hai, and others were all there.

In particular, Zhang Wei's eyes were bloodshot, and it seemed that he had been busy these past few days, adjusting the Shenwei·Modified to its best performance.

“Boss, you're here.”

Sun Duo Xiang saw Su Mo come in and quickly shouted.