Chương 97: No-Show

"Contestant Bernard has timed out and failed to appear. Contestant Aren Voss wins by default." On the stage, the referee stared at the pocket watch in his hand. The instant the second hand passed twelve, he raised both hands and announced the result.

"Hey, what the hell?"

"We paid money to watch a match."

"Exactly. One hundred thousand Jenny, and this is what you show us?"

"Damn it. Refund." The moment the referee made the call, the audience exploded. Aren's ticket prices were already higher than average. Many people had not managed to buy tickets directly and had paid several times the price to scalpers. Now, after spending that much, they had seen nothing. They had come mainly to see Aren, yes. But what they wanted to see was Aren defeating an opponent with that elegant, icy posture. Even if every fight ended in one hit and lasted less than a minute, they did not mind.

Today, there had not even been a fight. The people who had paid so much had no reason to accept that quietly. In a corner of the audience, a disabled man with one leg missing had an ashen expression. He was not upset about the ticket money. He was furious that Bernard had fled at the last moment.

"That useless waste." Lawrence cursed under his breath. He had spent half the previous day analyzing the situation for Bernard. As long as Bernard attacked the space behind him the instant Aren disappeared, the plan would work. Aren had only shown overwhelming strength and speed so far. But every person had weaknesses. Since Aren had both attack and speed, his weakness was very likely defense. Lawrence had also discovered one of Aren's habits. Or rather, a habit most people shared.

They liked moving behind an opponent and attacking the back. Following that logic, the moment Aren vanished, Bernard only needed to attack the space behind him. In Lawrence's mind, that meant Aren would be throwing himself into the trap. Then Bernard could exploit Aren's weak defense and defeat him in one move. Look at that. What a perfect plan. Lawrence had practically handed Bernard a win, and the man had still thrown it away. Absolutely useless.

"Everyone, please calm down." The commentator hurriedly began explaining after an assistant handed her a stack of notes.

"We have just received news that contestant Bernard suddenly developed acute gastroenteritis shortly before the match and had to go to the medical room for emergency treatment. Please believe in the fighting spirit of Heavens Arena contestants. This is merely a rare accident." The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Whether Bernard's condition was real or fake did not matter right now. The most important task was calming the crowd.

Unlike Sadaso in the future, who was threatened by Killua and simply left Heavens Arena, Bernard did not need to leave completely. Aren had not been killing his two-hundredth-floor opponents. Bernard had only deliberately eaten until his stomach failed so he could avoid fighting Aren. Aren had not killed Zald Yasa or Muir Jim, but both were still unconscious in the hospital. Whether they would suffer lasting aftereffects remained unknown. Bernard did not want to suffer for no reason. It was only one loss.

Even after losing this match, he still had two chances left. Preserving his condition mattered most. Since his chance of defeating Aren was slim, backing out early was the smarter move. The crowd remained restless, but Lawrence had already begun leaving quietly. Bernard's retreat was impossible to change. But Lawrence still trusted his own judgment. As he understood it, a person could not be perfect. Since Aren had both attack and speed, defense had to be his weakness.

Lawrence pushed open the exit door with a dark expression.

"If that coward Bernard can't be trusted, I'll do it myself. I refuse to believe my deduction is wrong." As for Aren, he had already left the stage as soon as the referee declared his default victory.

"Master, Master, why did you win today without fighting? Was that person too scared of Master to come onstage?" Neon looked at Aren, who had merely gone up for a walk and returned, with confusion. Aren rubbed her hair.

"It's normal. Two people in a row were defeated by Master in one move. He probably didn't dare come."

"Come on. Master will take you to eat something good." Aren took Neon's hand and walked toward the venue exit. The dissatisfied audience behind him was Heavens Arena's problem, not his. Heavens Arena would handle them properly.

"Mm, mm. Neon wants to eat flame chicken again today." The moment food was mentioned, Neon's eyes shone, and a little sparkle almost appeared at the corner of her mouth. Several days later, the final match of Aren's four-day streak on the two-hundredth floor arrived.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today is finally the last match in contestant Aren's four-fight run."

"To avoid yesterday's accident, we have confirmed multiple times that both contestant Aren and contestant Lawrence are in perfect condition."

"Can contestant Aren achieve four consecutive victories immediately after reaching the two-hundredth floor? Let us wait and see."

"Now, please welcome contestant Aren Voss to the stage first." Compared with yesterday's chaos, the commentator was in excellent spirits today. Bang. With a slight burst of pressure, the platform rose, and Aren slowly appeared before the crowd.

"As you can see, contestant Aren's expression today is still calm and composed. It is clear that he is quite confident in this match."

"Ah! Husband, I love you." The moment Aren showed his face, his growing fanbase immediately sent out declarations of love. In the VIP seats, Neon looked at the female spectators shouting "husband" and muttered angrily,"Shameless." Neon clearly understood enough to dislike the word.

"Next, please welcome our other contestant, Lawrence." After Aren appeared, Lawrence entered as well. Aside from some male spectators jealous of Aren's enormous female fanbase, all Lawrence received was a wave of boos.

"Contestant Lawrence appears confident as well. Could he have prepared some special technique against contestant Aren?" Once Lawrence reached the stage, he looked at Aren's ever-calm expression and felt a surge of imbalance.

"Aren, don't think I don't know just because you hid your Nen. I watched every one of your matches."

"It's true. I admit I can't match your speed or strength. But since you specialize in speed and strength, defense must be your weakness."

"Watch carefully. I have already found your weakness. This match is mine. Even Jesus can't save you. I said what I said." After finishing his threat, Lawrence returned to his side and prepared for the match. He had not gone over to show off because his brain had stopped working. He had no confidence himself and wanted to test Aren's reaction. Aren's reaction was no reaction. His mind was full of question marks. He understood every word Lawrence said. Put together, they made no sense.

"Wow. It seems the tension between contestant Aren and contestant Lawrence is intense. Contestant Lawrence challenged contestant Aren directly before the match began. It appears he truly has confidence today."

"Lawrence, you idiot. Stay away from my husband." Aren's fans immediately started cursing when they saw this man dare provoke him. The referee ignored the waves of scolding from the audience and looked at both sides.

"Begin." Threats aside, Lawrence fought according to his own plan. Like Muir Jim, he did not intend to attack first. Seeing this, Aren understood. Lawrence was also waiting. Aren still did not know what gave them the illusion that they could win by refusing to attack. He clicked his tongue slightly. Forget it. He would take the fourth win and go find Uvogin. Whoosh. The next second, Aren turned into a breeze and vanished.

'Now.' Lawrence had kept all his focus on Aren. The moment Aren disappeared, he knew his only chance had come. Phantom Leg. A powerful aura suddenly surged from Lawrence's missing right leg, forming a huge Nen leg. Lawrence turned his hip and controlled the giant leg, kicking hard behind himself. But there was nothing behind him. Lawrence kicked empty air. Aren had appeared beside him at some unknown moment and looked at him speechlessly.

"I have to ask. What are you doing?" The voice in his ear frightened the already tense Lawrence so badly that he lost balance and fell onto his backside. Collapsed on the floor, he looked ridiculous, like a clown.