Chapter 53: A Big Bet

There was no doubt that Angel, who had once been pushed into a ditch by Lin Qi, was a great beauty. Her long, reddish-brown hair cascaded in waves down her back. Her small, delicate face was pale and smooth, with a small, crimson mouth like a cherry. Her lively light green eyes were like fine emeralds, deep and captivating.

In the noble circles of Dun Er Ke, Angel was the most famous beauty of her age and the target of many young masters from wealthy families. Angel’s family controlled all the ore import and export business in Dun Er Ke. From common iron and copper ores to precious gold and silver ores, as well as other rare metals, all the ore produced from the mines of Arthon Province passed through Angel’s family’s hands. It was loaded onto large cargo ships at Dornick Port and transported to various parts of the continent.

Although Angel’s family might not be as rich as a kingdom, it was certainly among the top families in the province.

Moreover, Angel herself was a great beauty. Winning her heart would mean gaining both wealth and beauty. Therefore, Angel had a powerful influence among these young masters. Whenever she made a move, followers would quickly rally around her.

A maid standing beside Angel took out a small leather pouch from her waist and carefully pulled out thirty gold notes, each with a face value of one thousand gold coins. Angel raised her chin proudly, looking at Lin Qi like a proud peacock. “Mr. Lin Qi, I will bet against you—thirty thousand gold coins. Since you fancy that ugly, ferocious, vicious, disgusting reptile, I will bet on this honest, brave, majestic, and adorable polar bear!”

Lin Qi casually waved the gold notes in his hand and turned a provocative gaze toward the young masters behind Angel. “Look, look, look! Angel is betting thirty thousand gold coins against me! Oh my, oh my! The Ice-armored Polar Bear has a natural advantage over all cold-blooded reptiles. My one hundred thousand gold coins against one hundred fifty thousand is perfectly reasonable! Isn’t anyone willing to raise the stakes?”

Lin Qi smiled brightly, but his cheerful expression seemed utterly detestable to the young masters and ladies he had bullied before. A few elegantly dressed and beautiful young ladies let out soft snorts and signaled to their personal maids with their eyes.

The maids quickly took out their purses and pooled together gold notes ranging from a few thousand to ten thousand. The families behind these young ladies were not as wealthy as Angel’s, nor did they have her level of financial resources. A few thousand gold coins, or even ten thousand, represented all the pocket money they had painstakingly saved.

If they hadn’t both hated and feared Lin Qi to the core, they would never have made such a desperate move. After all, if they lost today, they would have to tighten their belts for many months to come. Although their families were wealthy, these young ladies had little say in family matters and no other sources of income.

With the bets from these young ladies, the pile of gold notes in front of Lin Qi had reached a value of eighty thousand gold coins.

Whistling triumphantly, Lin Qi winked at Enzo and excitedly waved his hands. “Aha! The young ladies of Dun Er Ke are much braver than the young masters! Tsk, tsk! Eighty thousand gold coins? That’s not enough, not enough at all! I have one hundred thousand gold coins here—one hundred thousand!”

A thick stack of gold notes was thrown into the betting pool. A young man who looked as arrogant as a rooster, while stealing glances at Angel, sneered, “Lin Qi, this time you will lose badly, because Miss Angel’s choice is never wrong. I have fifty thousand gold coins here—I’ll join the bet against you too!”

Seeing this young man take the lead, the other young masters in the arena eagerly dug into their pockets. They scraped together every last copper coin they had to place their bets. Gold notes, gold coins, silver coins, and even gem-encrusted cufflinks and buttons were thrown into the betting pool.

Golden Rose had professional appraisers. Grinning from ear to ear, Jin quickly called over an appraiser to evaluate the value of the small, gem-encrusted accessories. In the end, Lin Qi was facing a total bet value of three hundred five thousand seven hundred eighty gold coins, fifteen silver coins, and seventeen copper coins.

According to the 1:1.5 betting ratio, Lin Qi still needed to come up with one hundred three thousand gold coins to match the total bet from the other side.

“Dear Lin Qi!” Jin rubbed his hands vigorously, his eyes shining. The total bet amount exceeded five hundred thousand gold coins. Golden Rose alone would take a cut of over fifty thousand gold coins. After deducting the cost of purchasing the two magical beasts, Golden Rose’s profit would still be more than double. A one hundred percent profit was a rare deal.

However, Lin Qi’s betting funds were insufficient!

Rubbing his hands awkwardly, Jin sighed and said to Lin Qi with a dry laugh, “Dear Lin Qi, you see, your betting funds are not enough!”

Lin Qi frowned. He tightly gripped the one hundred thousand gold note in his hand and glanced back at the Green-patterned Golden-eyed Python, which was restlessly twisting and turning in its iron cage. It seemed that Lin Qi’s earlier jump in front of its cage had startled the terrifying creature. The large snake was panting heavily, continuously exhaling faint, pale green poisonous gas.

The surrounding Magic Arrays had automatically activated, forming a thin barrier that confined the poisonous gas within the arena.

The polar bear, agitated by the snake’s movements, stood up angrily. Its massive claws scratched frantically at the iron cage, striking against the bars and sending sparks flying everywhere.

Everyone could see the hesitation and anxiety in Lin Qi’s heart. Angel triumphantly raised her eyebrows and suddenly took off her dazzling ruby necklace, casually tossing it into the betting pool. “Lin Qi, this necklace of mine was made by a Goblin master and is worth forty thousand gold coins. Do you dare to accept this new bet?”

Several young ladies giggled flirtatiously and also removed their necklaces, rings, and other accessories, adding them to the bet. The total bet value quickly surged to over four hundred seventy thousand gold coins.

Lin Qi’s face instantly turned pale green!

Seeing Lin Qi’s ugly expression, a young master threw down his sword, which was adorned with countless jewels. Golden Rose’s appraiser assessed the sword’s value. The sword itself wasn’t worth much, but the jewels on it were valued at over thirty thousand gold coins.

Lin Qi’s face grew even more unpleasant.

As the other young masters noticed Lin Qi’s increasingly distressed expression, they grew more confident. They too took out their swords or other valuable accessories and placed them as bets. Rounding off the numbers, the total bet value soon rose to seven hundred eighty thousand gold coins.

Dozens of young masters and ladies from Dun Er Ke’s noble families had gathered here to gang up on Lin Qi. The total bet value of seven hundred eighty thousand gold coins made Lin Qi’s face change colors repeatedly, growing more and more troubled.

After hesitating and stammering for a while, Lin Qi helplessly looked at Jin.

“Jin, do you offer loans here? I think, if you lend me a few hundred thousand gold coins, that should be enough!”