Chapter 1 Card Swiped Successfully?

Zuo You's eyes widened, seemingly unable to react to what she was seeing.

Were roadside breakfast stalls this advanced these days? Even equipped with card swiping machines as standard?

The auntie seemed to sense Zuo You's confusion and explained, "I didn't have a card swiping machine here before. But then some sly character came along, wanting to swipe a card even for a fried dough stick, so I got one."

Zuo You was silent for a moment before asking, "Auntie, the person you mentioned, did he have sword-like eyebrows, bright eyes, was tall and thin, with a very cocky expression on his face, like he was invincible?"

"Ah, yes, yes, yes! That sly character was exactly like that!" The auntie nodded repeatedly.

Zuo You held her forehead. Based on the current situation, the sly character the auntie was talking about was most likely Ma Fei…

Zuo You had a strange premonition. Her date with Qiao Yu today might not be peaceful.

And a woman's intuition was indeed particularly accurate.

She and Qiao Yu had just finished breakfast and were about to leave, not even having had a chance to exchange a few words in private, when they were stopped by a monk in a cassock.

"Amitabha, good, good!"

The monk had a smile on his face, but somehow gave the impression that he wasn't a proper monk.

The monk forced a booklet and a pen into Qiao Yu's hands, then put his palms together and chanted.

"Benefactor, please sign your name to form a connection with Buddha. Buddha will bless you, Amitabha!"

Qiao Yu refused several times without success, so he could only pick up the pen and write five large characters with a flourish – Uchiha Sasuke.

Seeing that Qiao Yu had written his name, the monk's eyes lit up instantly.

Qiao Yu returned the booklet to the monk and was about to leave, but the monk wouldn't let him.

"Benefactor Yu! Since you have left your name, you must have a connection with Buddha. Leave some incense money before you go! Amitabha!"

Qiao Yu: "?"

Good heavens, so this fake monk was waiting for him here?

"Benefactor Yu, this is a rare opportunity to do good deeds. If you leave some incense money, Buddha will bless you!" The monk said with a smile.

"Not giving any, get lost." Qiao Yu took Zuo You's hand and left. This kind of swindling fake monk was really annoying.

Seeing that he couldn't get any incense money, the monk's face instantly changed. The smile on his face turned into anger, and he began to utter vicious curses.

"Signing your name but not giving incense money, your Uchiha family will surely suffer a bloody disaster within three days!!!"

"Oh, then you should look up more when walking at night, and be careful of someone squatting on the utility pole."

Qiao Yu finished speaking and left without looking back.

The Uchiha family having a bloody disaster, what did that have to do with him, whose surname was Qiao?

If he wasn't in a good mood for his date today and didn't want to see blood, this fake monk would definitely have his head exploded. He knew that the entire Kyoto city was covered by the Otherworld Conversion Device during the Combat Competition.

What Qiao Yu didn't know was that after he left, a glint flashed in the fake monk's eyes, and then he disappeared strangely.

The coverage of the Otherworld Conversion Device was getting bigger and bigger, and perhaps it wouldn't be too far from Principal Ji's saying that it would cover the whole world…

Just as Qiao Yu was lost in thought, Zuo You playfully patted him on the shoulder.

"What are you thinking about so intently? Still thinking about that fake monk just now?"

"No, actually it's..."

Just as Qiao Yu was about to say something, his expression changed instantly. He held Zuo You's hand even tighter.

"Someone is following us! And they don't have good intentions," Qiao Yu said coldly.

"Huh?"

Zuo You's body tensed up at first, preparing for battle, but then she immediately relaxed and pretended to be nonchalant.

A murderous intent was already in Qiao Yu's eyes. It seemed someone didn't want him to have a good date…

If the Mechanical Empress hadn't reminded him, he wouldn't have even noticed that he was being followed.

The originally bustling street had now become eerily silent, as if a huge glass罩子 separated Qiao Yu and Zuo You from the crowd.

A sword pill appeared in Qiao Yu's hand. He and Zuo You were not far from the back street of Kyoto University. As long as he crushed the sword pill, Ji Pingyang could arrive immediately.

According to the Mechanical Empress, the person following him was not someone he could deal with at all.

But then, a strange voice suddenly sounded behind him.

"It seems this kid has already discovered us, then there's no need to pretend anymore."

Even stranger, with the sound of this voice, Qiao Yu actually felt that his entire body was unable to move!

"Who is it?" Zuo You instantly raised the Nether Spell Shield.

Two figures, one tall and one short, walked out slowly from the shadows. One of them was the fake monk from just now!

He had a sneer on his face, holding the booklet that Qiao Yu had written Uchiha Sasuke on in his hand, and pointed his staff at Qiao Yu's handwriting.

"A curse-type mage!"

Qiao Yu cursed inwardly. He finally knew why he suddenly couldn't move. He had really capsized in the gutter this time!

"Don't worry, we don't have any malice, we just want to reach a cooperation with you."

Next to the fake monk, an old man with a hooked nose walked up to Qiao Yu. Clearly, he was the leader.

"Cooperation? I really don't know what value I have that would make you risk being hunted down by the Combat Competition Organizing Committee to cooperate with me."

Qiao Yu's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Heh heh heh heh!"

The hooked-nosed old man laughed. His laughter was as unpleasant as a night owl's.

"Of course you have value. You've never lost, so losing is your greatest value!"

"Losing...? Are you people sent by the Umekawa Kochya High School?" Qiao Yu retorted.

"Of course not, even I can't admit to that. What a stupid question you're asking, kid."

The hooked-nosed old man smiled slightly.

"Do you know? The value of you losing this match is very great. Right now, your team's popularity in the Great Xia Ancient Country is at its peak."

"As soon as the promotion match starts, there will definitely be a bunch of people supporting you, and countless gamblers will go all in, betting on you to win."

"Say, if you were to lose your first match at this time, stopping at the top 32..."

The hooked-nosed old man didn't continue, but his eyes were full of greed.

That look made Qiao Yu a little frightened.

This old man was clearly from the Great Xia Ancient Country, but for the sake of profit, he was willing to offer victory to the Western Alliance with his own hands?

Were there really such scum and degenerates in the world?

"What if I refuse?" Qiao Yu stared at the other person.

"Heh heh, thank you for the compliment, but if you refuse, then you and your lovely little girlfriend will have to die here."

As soon as he finished speaking, the hooked-nosed old man moved in an instant.

Qiao Yu didn't even see how he made his move, and Zuo You had already been lifted up by him, her neck in his grasp.

"Stop! Let her go!" Qiao Yu wanted to struggle, but he was cursed and his body couldn't move at all.

"Don't waste your energy. As a high-level curse-type mage, and having obtained your own handwriting, as long as I don't let go, there's absolutely no way you can move."

The fake monk revealed a sneer.

The hooked-nosed old man held Zuo You's neck and lifted her even higher. Zuo You's face was already flushed red from lack of oxygen.

"How's your consideration going? My friend, your lovely little girl won't be able to hold on for much longer."