Since Sheng Zhe had issued such an order, it meant that Su Xia would not be able to take the 1.2 billion away. Of course, this was within Su Xia's expectations.
In fact, Su Xia knew that Sheng Zhe was not a good person. He would not allow the residue of the True Origin Crystals to be transported away from the port, nor would he allow her to take the 1.2 billion for nothing.
Therefore, Sheng Zhe smiled sinisterly and said, "Miss Su, everyone likes to gamble. I wonder if you can temporarily rest here for two hours?"
Su Xia smiled and said, "President Sheng, if I continue to play dice, even if I lose 100,000 or 100,000, I'm afraid I won't be able to lose 1.2 billion even after a day and night, right?"
Sheng Zhe also smiled and said, "Miss Su, if you think I'm reluctant to part with the 1.2 billion, you're wrong."
Su Xia's eyes flashed. "Oh?
Then why does President Sheng want me to stay? "
Sheng Zhe smiled and said, "If there is a better game for you to win money, I wonder if you are interested in participating?"
Su Xia said proudly, "I have great luck today. President Sheng, aren't you afraid that I will make a lot of money?"
Sheng Zhe laughed and said, "Okay, then I'll have to trouble Miss Su to wait patiently for a while. In two hours, the VIPs from Planet Beidou will arrive. I hope Miss Su's luck will be as good as always."
After that, he got up and left the private room with his bodyguard.
When Sheng Zhe was far away, Ding Meng said, "He still wants to gamble?"
Su Xia said seriously, "If I'm not wrong, he definitely wants to invite me to the real underground fighting arena to gamble. Not only does he want me to spit out the 1.2 billion, but he also wants me to lose all my money. In the end, the goods on Old Long's side will be confiscated, and I will be swallowed whole."
Ding Meng was speechless. "So ruthless?"
Su Xia sneered and said, "The people of the Hubolles family have always been like this. They eat people without spitting out the bones. If we don't set a trap for him to get in, we won't be able to get any information."
Ding Meng could not help but sigh in admiration. Fortunately, he had brought Su Xia with him on this trip. If he and Meng Yan had acted alone, the difficulty level would have been more than ten times higher than that time on Cypress Ancient Star.
He immediately understood Su Xia's idea. First, he won a large sum of money in the Xinghao Clubhouse to attract Sheng Zhe's attention. Then, he told Sheng Zhe's intention to transport the goods. Either he deducted the goods or paid the money. If he couldn't win back the 1.2 billion yuan, he had to introduce a bigger gambling game. A bigger gambling game meant that there were higher-level bigwigs. If he had the opportunity to get in touch with those people, he wouldn't be far from the truth.
"Sister Xia, thank you for your help this time!" Ding Meng said.
Su Xia said, "I've heard of the real underground fighting arena for many years, but unfortunately, my level is too low to go. This is a good opportunity to see it for myself."
After the two of them chatted for a while, Sheng Zhe's bodyguard arrived. "Miss Su, Mr. Ye, please follow me!"
The bodyguard didn't take them downstairs. Instead, after several twists and turns, they came to a shuttle ladder. It looked like it was ready to go underground.
After the shuttle ladder went straight down for tens of meters, they arrived at a very narrow room. There were actually three shuttle ladders here. The bodyguard pressed a few buttons on the control panel of the first shuttle ladder and said, "Gentlemen, this way please!"
They actually had to transfer!
Ding Meng was a little surprised, but he didn't ask much. Anyway, he wanted to see what kind of tricks they were playing.
This time, the shuttle ladder was a bit like a skateboard in an underground mining area. It was extremely fast and slanted deep into the ground. Judging from the smooth alloy steel walls around it, it was obviously man-made.
Before entering the Xinghao Clubhouse, Ding Meng had noticed that there was a passage under the building, but he didn't perceive it so deep. It turned out that there was another mystery under the ground. It seemed that Su Xia's guess was right. This underground fighting arena was very secretive.
As the shuttle ladder continued to move forward, Ding Meng sensed that the two of them had already descended to a depth of about 500 meters. At this moment, on an alloy open space similar to an airplane apron, a beautiful woman wearing a cheongsam was waiting for them.
"Welcome to the Seven Stars Underground Fighting Arena. Distinguished guests, I am the number three attendant for this competition. You can call me Xiao Miao. This is preparation area number three, please follow me!"
On the south side of the open space, there was a passage that led to the so-called preparation area. This was a large room similar to a warehouse, but the room was not furnished with shelves. Instead, there were stacked platinum boxes, but it looked more like a cage. If you looked carefully, you would see that there were all kinds of origin ability users locked up inside.
Xiao Miao was already introducing the rules to the two of them. First, they had to choose from the preparation area. These origin ability users were the contestants that they would bring to the fighting arena, but each area could only choose one contestant.
These contestants were gathered by the Hubolles family from all over outer space. They were the purest of low-level origin ability users. Once they were chosen, they had to pay the Seven Stars Fighting Arena an entrance fee of one billion star coins.
Su Xia glanced around. Most of these origin ability users were sleeping in their cages. They were all undressed and dirty, but there were also some who were sitting cross-legged with their eyes closed.
"Are all the guests choosing here?" Su Xia asked.
Xiao Miao smiled and shook her head. "That's not the case. Every region has 20 candidates. For the sake of fairness, these 20 people have only been here for less than 10 days. We're in Region 3, so naturally, we'll be in Region 3."
Ding Meng said, "How many guests are there in this competition?"
Xiao Miao said, "Including us, there are a total of nine guests!"
Nine guests meant that there would be nine contestants in the competition, but in the end, only one could win. The guests could place their bets at random for each round of the competition.
Su Xia glanced around again and pointed at a cage. "Let's choose him!"
She had a good eye. The person she chose was dressed in rags and wasn't very tall. He was curled up in the cage and emitted a foul stench. He looked to be around 30 years old, but in Ding Meng's field of vision, this person's wrists, elbows, and ankles were all covered in thick calluses. Clearly, he had been doing manual labor for many years.
His telekinesis field of vision scanned very clearly. This person was a thermodynamic type origin ability user. There were four origin points constructed in his heart, and his index was around 2800 points. He was a high-level origin ability user. Through the pattern constructed from the origin points, he should be cultivating the four-star "Five-Colored Eternal Flame Technique".
Xiao Miao opened the iron bars. "Number 18, your sponsor is here!"
Number 18 appeared very calm. He slowly got up and walked out.
Ding Meng suddenly asked, "Manual labor?"
Number 18's originally calm eyes flashed with a trace of brilliance, but his expression was still calm. "Yes!"
Sure enough, he was a laborer from the refugee camp. He was an origin ability user who had awakened in the underground mine. Ding Meng continued, "How many years have you been working?"
Number 18 said, "12 years!"
Xiao Miao explained, "Number 18's code name is Wild King. He came from the Noka Star System. He's a thermodynamic type and specializes in close combat boxing. He signed up for our arena because he wants to move to the Empire's border."
Her explanation was very simple, but Ding Meng could imagine what Number 18 had encountered. Number 18 had likely awakened his origin ability at the prime of his life and obtained a four-star cultivation technique through some kind of opportunity. However, he had worked in the mine for 12 years, which meant that he had missed the golden beginning. Thus, if he wasn't a warrior at the age of 30, his future achievements would be very limited.
However, among the ranks of origin ability users, Number 18 had a very good foundation. As for wanting to move to the Empire's border, he was definitely short on money.
When Ding Meng was in the God Wars Star System, he had heard about the arena there. It was nothing more than a cruel fight to obtain the qualifications to enter the star ring. To put it bluntly, it was exchanging one's life for money.
Ding Meng said meaningfully, "You are called Wild King, and I am called Wild Wolf. It seems that we are quite fated. Perform well. I have high hopes for you!"
Wild King was expressionless. "I will."
Ding Meng glanced at him again. "If you can survive this competition, I will personally give you 100 million yuan as a reward."
Contestants also received dividends during the competition. Regardless of whether you lived or died, you would receive a bonus for every match. Even if you died, the bonus would be sent to your family or the beneficiary. Of course, if you lived to the end, you would receive a very generous reward.
Ding Meng's personal promise was also allowed within the rules. Wild King's eyes flashed again. "I will do my best. Thank you, patron!"
Xiao Miao smiled. "Alright, esteemed guests, please follow me to the arena!"
There was a long passage from the preparation area to the arena. After the door at the end of the passage was pushed open, there was a luxurious private room. It was only now that Ding Meng saw the entire underground arena.
This was a cylindrical underground space. It was 20 meters tall and had a horizontal diameter of more than 300 meters. Its scale could not be said to be small.
The entire arena was divided into two levels. The upper level was a private room with crystal glass installed. It was neatly embedded in the alloy walls. Every private room had a crystal symbol on its outer wall. Ding Meng's private room was lit with the number 3, which meant that he was esteemed guest number 3.
The lower level was the contestant area. Once a contestant entered the arena, the corresponding alloy door would automatically open. In the middle of the arena, a crystal projector would illuminate a screen. On it, the relevant match data and odds would be displayed.
Xiao Miao was still explaining the rules to Su Xia, but Ding Meng was secretly using his telekinesis to expand his vision. He discovered that every private room in the Seven Stars Arena was connected to a different building or area. In other words, the incoming guests would come from different places.
Ding Meng could already see that Sheng Zhe's figure had appeared in private room number 5 not far away. However, this time, Sheng Zhe was not sitting on the sofa. Instead, he was standing to the side.
There was a young man sitting on the sofa. This person was handsome, well-dressed, and had a confident smile on his face. Sheng Zhe also seemed to be explaining the rules, but from his bowing posture, Sheng Zhe seemed to be trying to curry favor.
Ding Meng knew the rules. He could not casually ask about the guests' background, so he asked, "How should I address guest number 5?"
Xiao Miao said, "According to the information, guest number 5 is Mr. You!"
Su Xia's focus was different from Ding Meng's. Her gaze was fixed on private room number 1. There were many people inside, but the person sitting upright on the sofa was a dignified old man. "Xiao Miao, how should I address the old gentleman in private room number 1?"
Xiao Miao smiled. "This is Mr. Yuwen from our Hubolles family!"