Edge of the Apocalypse

Chapter 24: Beth Cod

A man quickly got down from the passenger seat of the car. He opened the door behind the car and held up another umbrella. Only then did an old man emerge from the car. Short silver hair stood upright, and Fang Zheng's face was solemn. A well-groomed beard on his chin gave him some dignity. His gaze was sharp and his lips were tightly pursed, giving people the impression of a casual smile.

Even though he was over sixty years old, his back was still straight, and his still strong physique made him look at least ten years younger.

"Master, this way." The umbrella-wielding butler whispered.

The silver-haired old man nodded and quietly walked into the building with the butler. In the lobby of the building, a fat man came up and rubbed his hands and said, "Welcome, Mr. Horn. I didn't expect you to participate in this betting event. What a surprise."

"Alstair, if you don't lose weight, your small heart will explode." The old man, Horn, said indifferently.

Fatty Alstair took out a handkerchief and wiped away his sweat. "I'm just a nobody. I'm tired from running everyday. I don't have time to take care of my own body. Mr. Horn, this way please. The activity is about to start."

Alstair, who looked like a sales manager, led Horn and his butler to a private elevator. Although it didn't look shocking, this man was the chairman of the organizing committee of the death arena. He was also the host of every death arena in the past ten years. At the same time, he also held the position of federal treasurer. For such a person, there weren't many guests that he needed to personally welcome.

Not much.

The private elevator went straight to the top floor. When the elevator door opened, it was not a multi-function training hall, but a 600-square-meter banquet hall. According to the specifications of the banquet hall, the area here was not the largest, but the decoration was first-class. From the statue of David at the entrance to the colorful Persian carpet; From the dome's painted glass-decorated Blazing Angel Painting to the four Collins pillars that were both load-bearing and partitioned. All kinds of decorative methods made the banquet hall have a kind of reserved luxury, completely in line with the prevailing aesthetic standards of the nobles.

The butler handed the umbrella to the waiter, and Lord Horn arrived at a relatively quiet corner. At this moment, the so-called betting had not yet begun, and under the lights of the hall, twos and threes of people were gathered together, conversing in low voices or discussing loudly. No one noticed that there was an extra Horn in the hall, and only when a woman caught a glimpse did she whisper, "Isn't that Mr. Horn of Bescot?"

Then, he quickly put on a smile and walked over with the most elegant posture. But before he could get close to Horn, the butler stopped him and said, "Sorry, ma'am. My lord wants to be alone and quiet."

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An unnatural smile appeared on the woman's face. With a hint of unwillingness, she retreated angrily. A few more men wanted to talk, but they were stopped by the butler. Anyone who could stand in this banquet hall today would be a very respectable person to throw into Babylon. Normally, it would be too late for others to curry favor with them, and they would rarely be rejected.

However, after being rejected by Horn, they could only dare to be angry and not say anything. Most of them smiled bitterly and felt helpless.

In Babylonian high society, though, they were called nobles. However, the nobles were only a general division. In this circle, there were even harsher divisions. Ordinary people rarely knew that there were also rankings of rich families, aristocratic families, and noble clans among the so-called nobles. All three of them were clans that had been in business for over a hundred years and had a strong foundation. Only then could they be considered true nobles.

The Bethcord Family was one of the famous clans. Although the famous clans were not as noble as the aristocratic clans, there was already an insurmountable gap between them and the ordinary nobles. Moreover, Beth Cod was no ordinary famous clan. After all, ten years ago, this clan was still ranked amongst the aristocratic clans. However, because of a series of unforeseen events and the emergence of another clan, it slipped from the rankings of the aristocratic clans into the ranks of the famous clans.

That family was called Alexander!

At this time, the lights in the banquet hall suddenly dimmed, and then the spotlight focused on the small stage in front of the hall. "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen," said Alstair, standing on the stage like a TV presenter. "Let's cut to the chase. Otherwise, this damn light would have made me feel like I was getting greased. Perhaps, as an old friend had said, Alstair should have lost weight."

"As you can see, the death arena has begun, and the teenagers have gone through two weeks of examinations," said Alstair, after a friendly chuckle and a humorous opening remark that slightly altered the atmosphere in the hall. "For everyone, their current ranking scores should be of some reference value, so as usual, they actually guessed that the betting event would be held today. Please enjoy this biennial carnival."

Alstair snapped his fingers, and the curtain on the stage behind him opened, revealing a large screen. The first thing displayed on the screen was the youngster ranked at the bottom. Alstair smiled and stepped down. The other hosts were responsible for introducing the youngsters to the nobles in the hall, so that they could better understand the betting targets they liked.

Guess betting is one of the entertainment programs accompanying the death arena. It is open to all residents of the floating island of Babylon. To put it bluntly, it is a nationwide gambling event. The banker behind the scenes is, of course, the federal government, which will further stimulate enthusiasm and play an interactive role. Of course, the youngsters participating in the competition could also benefit from it.

For each supported teenager, they will receive a 1% dividend from the total bet. Their dividends will be paid in the form of goods and materials to help them obtain more favorable conditions in the competition. It could be said that the competition was one of the main reasons why Babylonians were so keen on the death arena, and it was also an important revenue of the federal government.

Alstair walked over to Horn, who was probably the only person in the banquet hall who was qualified to sit near Horn. Alstair called for the waiters to serve them fine wine. After drinking a cup with Horn, Fang said, "Looks like there is a target for Mr. Horn in this year's class?"

Horn smiled and nodded. Alstair could not help but say, "I wonder which kid Mr. Horn is after?"

"You'll know later." Huo En cherished his words like gold, and after saying that, he kept his mouth shut.

At this time, the host on the stage had already briefly explained the information of the 21 teenagers, and then announced that they would start accepting bets. While others were calculating the corresponding return on their investments, Horn glanced at the butler. The butler immediately understood. He raised his hand and whispered, "We will throw Allen a ton of high-grade platinum."

Altese's expression stiffened, then he shook his head and said, "So Mr. Horn is interested in Alan. He is not bad. Don't forget that he is currently ranked first. This position is not very advantageous."

Altes was telling the truth. Ranking number one in the death arena was a mixed blessing. The advantage was that he had obtained a lot of material support in order to maximize his strength before the competition. The disadvantages were obvious. Apart from being the target of public criticism, the top three teenagers would reveal their coordinates to the other teenagers at the beginning of the game.

In the death arena of previous years, there was no lack of precedents where the number one player was killed by a gang just after entering the arena.

Generally speaking, investing money in second or third place is safer. However, the odds in the top three were not high. If they wanted to earn a lot of money, sometimes the dark horses at the bottom would be pleasantly surprised.

"I have faith in him," Horn said calmly.

Alstair nodded to the host, and Allen's head suddenly received an additional 10 million federal dollars, which was equivalent to the market price of a ton of platinum. This figure will be released in real time to all government trust platforms in Babylon, and all bettors will be able to immediately see the changes in the funding of all the teenagers.

The other nobles in the banquet hall were shocked by Beth Cod's large sum of money. After all, ten million federal dollars was not a small sum. The applause suddenly rang out. Everyone looked back, and a few people entered through the door. Walking in front was a middle-aged man. His brown hair was fixed with wax and combed behind his head. Each strand of hair was carefully calculated, showing a meticulous quality.

His sea-blue eyes were filled with smiles, but if he looked deeper, he would discover that the depths of this person's pupils were actually a blue ocean of ice. A suit made by a master craftsman is well-tailored and can withstand the most critical scrutiny, from collar to cuffs. A black and white striped tie, in the decoration of the role of decoration, but also further emphasize the host's efficient and practical temperament.

When he saw this man, Alstair smiled bitterly. This person was Horn's sworn enemy, the patriarch of the Alexandrian family, Maine.

"Mr. Horn is laughing," Maine said from afar. "It's a ton of platinum. Others don't know, but they think Bescot is rich. But I read the most recent annual report and Bescot's revenues have shrunk by 30% from the same period. Mr. Horn, this ton of platinum isn't your old book, is it?"

Horn remained calm and said indifferently, "No matter how bad Beth Cod is, there are no upstarts who have little luck and are complacent."

Maine sat down at the table between Horn's seats. This was actually a very impolite act, but he sat there as if he was taking it for granted. Considering that the Alexander Clan had leapt from the bottom of the clans to the top of the aristocratic clans in just twenty years, no one dared to accuse Maine of anything wrong. The reason for that was because the clan had a close relationship with Maine, who had taken over the heavy burden from the clan leader back then.

"The Alexandrian family naturally cannot compare to Mr. Horn's family background, but they can still take out a small sum of money." Maine smiled as he looked at the big screen. His gaze swept across the faces of the teenagers. Finally, he said, "I think that kid Ans is quite pleasing to the eye. Just throw me two tons of platinum."

Immediately, the hall was in an uproar. As long as he wasn't blind, he could tell that Maine was provoking Horn.