Madman!

Chapter 67: The Betting Pool Opens

"Senior Sister!" Chen Wujun scrutinized Shark Jiu's eyes. They were indeed extraordinarily bright and piercing.

When he first met Shark Jiu, he had noticed how luminous her eyes were. At the time, he assumed it was due to her profound kung fu, but now it appeared she also practiced an eye-cleansing technique.

"How do you grind Magnetic Field Crystals into powder? I used a steel file yesterday, but I couldn't grind down the last third," Chen Wujun stated his purpose directly.

Shark Jiu was stunned for a moment, then rocked back and forth with laughter.

"Jun, who grinds them by hand these days? The medicinal pastes used in New Arts require crystals ground into powder, so naturally, there is specialized equipment for that!"

"Go to the shop I took you to last time. Buy the crystals and tell them to grind them. They'll know what to do."

After laughing, Shark Jiu's expression turned serious. "The betting pool will open in a few days. Do you want to place a bet on yourself?"

"Of course I do! How much can I bet? What are the odds?" Chen Wujun was immediately interested.

He currently held a significant sum of money in his hands.

"The dealer is already prepared. It's Master Xin and a few outside gangs running the bank together. They have solid financial backing. The Inner Pool should open in about half a month."Knowing Chen Wujun didn't understand, Shark Jiu explained, "The Inner Pool is for us in Hetu, Lidong, and some major clients. You can call it the VIP pool."

"The retail pool for the general public won't open until one week before the duel."

"As for the odds..."

"On the surface, Yu Wei is an expert under Wen Long with a widespread reputation. He comes from a special suppression unit background, has an Enhancement Reconstruction of over 48%, and a punching force exceeding 750 kilograms... You've been practicing Old Arts for less than a year. Even with unique talent, your punching force isn't expected to exceed 500 kilograms..."

"Although Cleft Lip Snake escaped, he will definitely leak some information about your strength. However, he was heavily injured..."

"I estimate your odds will be over 1 to 2, possibly reaching 1 to 2.5."

"Yu Wei's odds won't exceed 1 to 1.3."

"If I bet all 1.2 million on myself to win, how much can I get back?" Chen Wujun asked directly. He had always been bad at math and didn't understand odds very well.

"If it's 1 to 2.5 and you bet everything on winning, you'll get back 3 million!"

"Understand now? Don't go spending the money I gave you recklessly!" Shark Jiu smiled.

She was worried Chen Wujun didn't realize the stakes and would squander the 1.2 million, so she reminded him.

"Three million... Got it." Chen Wujun clenched his fist, feeling a surge of anticipation.

Leaving Shark Jiu's place, he went home to eat. He found that his eldest brother's right leg had healed completely, and his left foot could barely touch the ground.

He calculated silently. His brother's left leg had been broken over a month ago. It would probably take another half month before he could walk properly.

"Brother, how is the injury?" Chen Wujun asked with concern. "It looks a lot better."

"It still hurts intensely if I bump it! The doctor said it needs another month."

"Rest well and don't run around," Chen Wujun noted, memorizing the timeline.

The family sat around the table eating while the news played on the television: "Today, Federal Police discovered three bodies in Red Incense Burner Bay. One was a thirty-three-year-old female, and the other two were children... Police preliminarily judge this case as homicide..."

"I don't know who could be so inhumane..." Huang Meizhen commented after glancing at the TV.

Chen Wujun merely glanced at it and didn't take it to heart.

So many people died every day; there was nothing to be concerned about.

He had lost count of how many dead people he had seen in just these past few months alone.

...

"Shark Jiu, the Federal Police found the bodies of Old Ghost Bing's wife and children at Red Incense Burner Bay today!"

Hearing the voice on the phone, Shark Jiu's expression instantly became violent, and she kicked the table away.

"Damn it! Do you know who did it?"

"You are the biggest suspect!" the woman on the other end of the line chuckled.

"I fucking know everyone will suspect me!"

"Old Ghost Bing was so useless. He tried to scheme against me right before he died. I thought he would have arranged safety for his wife and kids, but instead, his whole family got wiped out!" Shark Jiu's forehead throbbed with rage.

"The human heart is hard to fathom, Shark Jiu! If Old Ghost Bing could see through people's hearts, he wouldn't have died at your hands," the voice on the phone spoke leisurely.

"Can we find out who notified his family that day? Was it Cleft Lip Snake or someone else? Can we track down Cleft Lip Snake?" Shark Jiu asked ferociously.

"It's difficult. I'll try!"

After hanging up, Shark Jiu looked at the table she had smashed, her mood worsening.

If she had actually killed them, it wouldn't matter. Since she dared to do such things, she wouldn't fear people pointing fingers at her backbone.

But she hated being wronged and being forced to take the fall for someone else.

...

Flower Market Road, a famous luxury residential area in East District 9, known for its low-density mansions in the city center.

"Uncle Wu." A man pushed a document bag in front of Uncle Wu.

Uncle Wu dumped the contents of the bag. Inside were several photos of bodies and an autopsy report.

Uncle Wu swept his gaze over the photos, then picked up the autopsy report to read.

After a long time, he frowned. "Is it the same group of people?"

The other party knew what Uncle Wu was asking—whether the people who killed Master Bing and those who killed his whole family were the same group.

"They are the most likely possibility! It is said that Cleft Lip Snake escaped that day. I am still looking for him."

Uncle Wu threw the autopsy report onto the table and closed his eyes, a glint of anger between his brows.

"They crossed the line!"

If only Master Bing had been killed, he wouldn't have said anything.

After all, Master Bing lived the life of the underworld; he had one foot in the grave.

But killing his entire family, and with his wife and children dying so miserably—this made him extremely angry.

He was originally Master Bing's financial backer. Over so many years, his relationship with Master Bing was not just about money; their personal friendship ran deep.

"Keep investigating. Notify me if there is news."

...

"Old Ghost Bing's family is dead? I see." Chen Wujun hung up the phone.

'Senior Sister didn't touch his family. This is clearly a frame-up. The human heart is unpredictable, and the underworld is full of conspiracies and schemes!'

'Sure enough, one must have strength. Even Senior Sister's strength isn't enough. If your strength is great enough to crush everyone, no one would dare use schemes against you, and naturally, none of this would happen.'

Chen Wujun felt that the only reliable thing was strength.

'But before becoming strong enough to crush everyone, I will definitely face many schemes. I can't assume that just because I walk straight and sit upright, I have nothing to worry about. Someone might be plotting against me anywhere. Being passive like this is bad. Unless the murderer is caught, it's very hard to prove innocence in such matters.'

'It's best to splash the dirty water on others before they launch their schemes. That way, at least the waters get muddied.'

Chen Wujun had a realization. He picked up the phone to call Shark Jiu, but on second thought, felt his Senior Sister would definitely have thought of this.

"Focusing on martial arts training is the most important thing for me right now."

Nevertheless, he sent a text message to Shark Jiu, then put the matter aside and looked at the roof tiles ahead.

Just as he thought, what he could think of, Shark Jiu naturally thought of as well.

That afternoon, rumors began to spread in the Walled City. They said Master Bing died at Shark Jiu's hands, and Master Bing's Head Horse, Cleft Lip Snake, took the family away to get Master Bing's 30 million, killing the whole family in the process.

Besides Cleft Lip Snake, there were various other versions involving Heyong, Heyi, Four Stripes, the Big Four... Some said it was for money, others said it was a frame-up...

There were even rumors that Master Bing's wife had an affair with the Dragon Head of Heyong.

Furthermore, as soon as these messages started circulating in the Walled City, they immediately began to spread in areas outside the Walled City as well.

"Have you heard? Master Bing's whole family is dead! His wife and kids were all killed! Shark Jiu is truly ruthless. The rules say not to involve family; isn't she afraid someone will do the same to her?"

"How did I hear it was Heyi who did it? Shark Jiu already took out Master Bing; there was no need to kill his whole family too, right?"

"Cleft Lip Snake is a bigger suspect. Rumor has it that as soon as Master Bing died, the family ran. Cleft Lip Snake notified them, and then they all died..."

Time flew by, and half a month passed. Various rumors were buzzing, muddying the waters of the underworld in half of East District 9 and North Port.

After all, this matter involved underworld bosses, a huge sum of 30 million, grudges, Master Bing being cuckolded, and so on... These were the most eye-catching topics, providing endless fodder for conversation.

Of course, the biggest suspect remained Shark Jiu.

At the Hetu Martial Arts Hall, Magic Lamp threw an incredibly fast punch. Chen Wujun extended his hand to support it, instantly sensing Magic Lamp's power and center of gravity. He guided the force to disrupt Magic Lamp's balance, twisted his body like a python turning over, slipped under Magic Lamp's armpit, and struck the armpit simultaneously.

It was the exact move Shark Jiu had used to critically injure Cleft Lip Snake.

However, he changed the knife-hand into a palm strike, slapping Magic Lamp several steps away. Magic Lamp twisted his body, grimacing in pain as he rubbed his armpit, shouting:

"Stop! Half my body is numb!"

Not far away, Saliva was still lying on the ground.

Chen Wujun jumped down from the ring. Not far away, Cun Bao said, "Ah Jun, your progress is godlike."

"Magic Lamp and the others are no use anymore. I'll train with you tomorrow."

"Thanks!" Chen Wujun smiled and sat down, picking up a bottle of mineral water and drinking half of it in one go.

Ah Fei, Curry, Saliva, Magic Lamp, and other Initial Construction Phase New Arts martial artists with over 25% Enhancement Reconstruction were still too weak. They could no longer bring much pressure to Chen Wujun.

There was still one month until the gambling duel. For the remainder of the time, he could only practice with Ah Hao and Cun Bao.

"We're on the same side, after all. I transferred a large sum of money this time to bet it all on you! If you lose, I'll go fucking bankrupt!" Cun Bao laughed heartily.

The kung fu Chen Wujun used was identical to Shark Jiu's. Their relationship was no longer a secret.

Naturally, Cun Bao would bet everything on him.

While the two were talking, Shark Jiu called: "The Inner Pool opens tomorrow. Get your money ready."

"Okay!" Hearing this, Chen Wujun's eyes instantly lit up.

After putting down the phone, he went to the punching force testing equipment. With a stomp of his foot, the great dragon of his body snapped and sprang. The muscles on his back bulged piece by piece as the power of his entire body converged.

Bang!

The cold blue numbers on the device jumped wildly, flying past 500... 600... finally stopping at 739 kilograms.

Just as his master had said, after practicing the Tiger Descending Mountain stance, his strength grew fastest between the fourth and eighth weeks.

Now, twisting his whole body's strength together and adding a bit of explosive technique, his punching force was approaching 750 kilograms.

Practicing Old Arts for less than a year and training his strength to nearly 750 kilograms—surpassing many New Arts martial artists in the Resonance Phase—Chen Wujun's physical quality was already terrifying.

Although he was still far inferior to Yu Wei—Yu Wei didn't need to charge up and hadn't mastered whole-body force, yet could punch over 750 kilograms with a casual strike; his physical quality far exceeded Chen Wujun's.

But this was enough.

And there was still one month left until the duel.