I was terrified! Raising a colossal star beast in the Beast Taming World

Chapter 146 All-in is a kind of wisdom

The competition venue.

As the contestants from Lanzhi Academy and Fentian Academy lined up to enter the arena, the atmosphere in the audience quickly shifted from anticipation to commotion.

Countless eyes swept quickly across the lineup of Lan Zhiyuan, confirming it three or four times over, and an undeniable fact was laid bare before everyone—

The snow is nowhere to be seen.

The audience erupted in uproar.

"Holy crap, where is my Lady Shirayuki?!"

"You can't possibly miss the quarterfinals? Are you kidding me!"

"What the hell has been brought up here—who even knows this Luo Yan?!"

"A cover-up!"

"A cover-up!"

"This is absolutely a cover-up!"

"..."

Not only at the scene, but even the live stream chat was filled with the word "black box" scrolling by, almost completely covering the competition screen.

It wasn't just Xue Youyou's fans who were emotionally agitated.

Many investors who had placed heavy bets on Lanzhiyuan were now ashen-faced, slumped in their seats, looking as if they had lost their parents.

Some people were muttering to themselves in the stands, holding their heads in their hands; others were frantically refreshing the real-time odds on their wristbands; their faces were as white as if they had just been dragged out of an ice cellar.

In fact, when Xue Youyou did not appear on stage with Xiaoxing to provide commentary as usual yesterday, some people had already sensed something unusual and began to speculate privately whether she was unable to appear due to some special reason.

However, Xiaoxing did not provide any explanation. In addition, this was a crucial quarter-final elimination match, and Xue Youyou did not provide commentary during yesterday's match. Everyone felt that, rather than those unfounded speculations, the more reasonable conclusion was that she was seriously preparing for the match.

Even after racking their brains, no one could have imagined that Xue Youyou would simply not participate.

On the commentary stage, Bao Xiaoxing's voice rang out, barely drowning out the noise in the arena: "Xiaoxing has received the latest news from the control room: Lady Bai Xueji is unable to play due to illness. In this match against Fentian Academy, substitute Luo Yan will take her place."

Once these words were spoken, the die was cast, and there was no room for change.

According to league rules, once the player roster is officially confirmed before the start of the competition, no one may make last-minute changes. This news was like a bucket of ice water poured over their heads, completely chilling those who were still clinging to a sliver of hope.

Compared to the unknown and temporarily pushed substitute Luo Yan, fans and investors quickly placed their last, faint hope on Meng Yanqing, the vice captain of Lanzhi Academy.

"Can we really expect this short, loli-like girl named Meng Yanqing to beat Yan Ji...?"

"That's pretty blue... Didn't this guy even lose to Beichen Peak...?"

"Oh no... I'm doomed. I'm out of money for food for the week..."

"A week's worth of food money is nothing! I mortgaged my whole house... and I didn't say a word..."

"Sister, you're having such a tough time... I'm giving you a hug..."

"..."

Where there are those who cry, there are those who laugh.

In stark contrast to the gloomy, mournful atmosphere of the investors who bet on Lanzhi Academy, there were a very few investors who bet on Fentian Academy—they were all grinning from ear to ear, regretting that they hadn't bet more back then.

After all, the odds outside the stadium have soared to over ten points. With such an incredible rate of return, no one could help but smile.

Among these investors who bet on the Heavenly Temple, some are seasoned veterans who specialize in reverse betting, always betting on the side with the higher odds, but they keep their bets small, purely gambling for fun.

Some of these people had inside information about Xue Youyou's disappearance. They had placed huge bets in this game, some even adding leverage and going all in.

Meanwhile, in the rest room of Lanzhiyuan.

"Giggle-giggle-giggle-haha-haha-haha-haha-"

After seeing that all the players from both sides had been confirmed to have entered the alliance's newly launched virtual battle device and that there was no room for any changes to the roster, Lu Yuan finally couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter.

The laughter bounced and crashed wildly in the closed and quiet space of the lounge, making the tactical whiteboard hanging on the wall buzz.

She laughed so hard she almost fell over, tears streaming down her face, her whole body bending like a reed in a strong wind, as if she might slip off the chair at any moment.

Lin Yueyao and the other five people watching were completely baffled, and they secretly exchanged glances as if to say, "Has the dean finally been driven crazy by the pressure?"

Finally, Lin Yueyao couldn't hold back any longer and cautiously asked on behalf of everyone, "Uh... Dean, why are you laughing?"

However, Lu Yuan remained silent, only laughing wildly. Her frenzied energy was like that of a gold prospector who had accidentally struck gold and was so excited that he forgot himself.

"Hehe—hahe—ha—haha—"

It's hard not to laugh, to say the least.

In one's life, one will encounter many, many opportunities.

But for mediocre people, they simply can't seize opportunities, and they don't even realize that opportunities have slipped through their fingers. Every time they look back afterward, they can only slap their thighs in frustration and curse themselves, "Why didn't I think of that back then?"

But this absolutely does not include her, Lu Yuan.

Although she was indeed mediocre in terms of beast taming talent, she considered herself to be among the best in the entire human population in terms of intelligence and vision.

Lanzhi Academy versus Fentian Academy.

The outside world is almost unanimously optimistic about Lan Zhiyuan.

More accurately, it's because they believe Xue Youyou possesses absolute strength that can overwhelm Lin Feiyan.

The most professional and authoritative bookmakers even offered odds of over ten points. The consensus reflected behind these odds couldn't be clearer—in the eyes of the vast majority, the victory of the Burning Heaven Academy was a completely impossible, low-probability event.

However, there exists an information gap known only to a very few people, a gap created by strict secrecy—that is, Xue Youyou has disappeared!

Based on this key variable, the balance of power between the two sides was instantly and dramatically reversed.

The Burning Heaven Academy, which had previously been as insignificant as a firefly and almost ignored by everyone, suddenly burst into flames. The balance of power, which had been zero to ten, was abruptly reversed and became ten to zero!

For this reason, Lu Yuan made a huge bet—equivalent to the entire operating budget of Lan Zhi Academy for a whole year.

If she succeeds this time, she will reap unimaginable wealth.

By then, the losses from last time will be nothing more than a drop in the ocean, a trivial incident.

At this moment, a twisted and dark, manic smile appeared on Lu Yuan's face. The curve of her mouth was exaggerated to an almost eerie degree, and her eyes flashed with an abnormal, fanatical light.

The sight of this made Lin Yueyao and the others' scalps tingle, to the point that they suspected their dean had been possessed by some unclean spirit, and they couldn't help but subconsciously move a few steps away from Lu Yuan.

It seems that only Xue Youyou's presence can subdue such evil spirits.

Everyone secretly thought this to themselves.

"Oh ho ho ho ho ho ho—"

Just as Lu Yuan was laughing heartily and completely lost in the moment, two crisp but restrained knocks came from the door of the lounge. Forced to stop, Lu Yuan's laughter came to an abrupt halt.

Before she could respond, the guest, who was clearly not very polite, pushed open the door and walked in.

As the door was pushed open, the person's figure was revealed to everyone in the lounge without any concealment.

"ah--?!"

Upon seeing who it was, the seven people in the lounge, including Lu Yuan, almost simultaneously gasped in surprise.

No one expected that Xue Youyou, who had mysteriously disappeared for a day and a half, would appear here at this time.