Chapter 14 of 100

Chapter 14

16 min read3,967 words

Su Zhe went to the club and exchanged 50,000 yuan for chips, then sat down opposite Brother Liu, ready to compete in the betta fish fight.

"Hmm, are you going to participate?" Brother Liu had won four consecutive matches, and no one was willing to bet against him anymore. He was already preparing to pack up and leave, so he was a bit surprised to see Su Zhe sit down.

Su Zhe just nodded and placed the chips on the table, indicating that he had the capital to bet.

When Su Zhe expressed his intention to bet against Brother Liu, the onlookers around him began to boo, clearly not expecting Su Zhe to win. However, Su Zhe did not pay attention to them, and the confident Brother Liu cared even less. He signaled the staff to start preparing.

To ensure fairness, the betta fish fights here used special fish tanks provided by the club, with a staff member acting as a notary.

The staff member approached, changed the water in the fish tank, and added a drop of mysterious liquid. This mysterious liquid's main function was to stimulate the aggressiveness of the betta fish, making them more ferocious and combative.

Although betta fish are naturally aggressive, a normal match often takes one to two hours, or even a whole day to determine a winner. With the help of this liquid, the betta fish can fight to their full potential, and a winner can be determined in just a few minutes.

This is one of the reasons the betta fish club attracts people. The source of this liquid is kept secret by the club. However, the club charges 100 yuan for each match on the second floor.

Brother Liu first placed his betta fish in the competition tank, but it was not the same fish that won the previous match. Every participant changes their fish after each match because the fish are often injured and need a few days to recover before they can participate again.

Su Zhe also took a fish net from the staff. When he scooped the betta fish out of the black plastic bag, the onlookers booed even more. Indeed, few people use plastic bags to transport betta fish for matches, especially for a 50,000 yuan match, as plastic bags can easily affect the fish's condition. Most people use plastic containers.

Hearing the jeers, Su Zhe blushed, knowing he had made a fool of himself.

He placed the betta fish in the tank. Su Zhe's blue betta fish and Brother Liu's red betta fish, one blue and one red, were very distinct in the water. The two fish met as if they had a deep-seated hatred, and both charged forward with high spirits.

Everyone expected the blue fish to be completely defeated because the two fish were significantly different in size. The blue fish was only about 10 cm long, while the red fish was nearly 14 cm long.

However, the first confrontation was unexpected. The blue fish, using its smaller and more agile size to its advantage, bit off a piece of the red fish's fin. Then, the blue fish pressed its advantage, forcing the red fish to retreat.

In just three minutes, the red fish was floating on the surface, while the blue fish continued to bite. The result was clear: Su Zhe easily won the first match.

After the match, Brother Liu indicated that he wanted another round. Su Zhe, who had just tasted victory, naturally did not refuse. He even said he would not change his fish and would use the same blue fish for the next match, which made people think he was being arrogant. In reality, Su Zhe only had one betta fish and could not change it.

Brother Liu replaced his fish with a black one, and the two fish quickly engaged in battle. Despite having already fought one match, Su Zhe's blue fish remained strong and even more aggressive. It quickly defeated Brother Liu's black fish, and the blue fish won again.

The people who had been jeering earlier were now silent, no longer daring to mock Su Zhe for his overconfidence. No one dared to mock him for using a plastic bag to transport his fish. After winning two consecutive matches against a top betta fish player, Su Zhe had become a betta fish expert in their eyes. They thought his use of a plastic bag was a sign of his expertise or perhaps a special training method.

"It's been a long time since I've met such a strong opponent. If I didn't have only one fish left for the King of Fish competition, I would really like to continue this match with you," Brother Liu said, still appearing calm despite losing 100,000 yuan.

"It's just luck, all luck," Su Zhe said modestly, waving his hand.

"If this is luck, then I must admit that my personally trained betta fish are not up to the task," Brother Liu said with a smile.

While scooping up his betta fish and placing it back in the plastic bag, Su Zhe casually changed the topic: "Brother Liu, what is this King of Fish competition you mentioned?"

"Hmm, you don't know? The betta fish club holds a competition on each floor every so often. Anyone can participate for 10,000 yuan, and the winner takes all the prize money. There's one starting soon," Brother Liu said, a bit surprised. He thought a betta fish expert like Su Zhe would know about such competitions.

In reality, Brother Liu had no idea that Su Zhe had only participated in two matches, both just now against him. Su Zhe's knowledge of betta fish was limited, and he had only learned the rules of the competition from the onlookers.

Su Zhe was extremely interested in the betta fish competition and asked Brother Liu for more details. Upon learning that the competition would start in half an hour, he paid 200 yuan for the venue fee to the staff. The venue fee is usually paid by the winner, an unwritten rule that Su Zhe had noticed after watching a few matches.

After paying the venue fee, he thanked Brother Liu and hurriedly went to register for the King of Fish competition. He paid 10,000 yuan as the bet and an additional 500 yuan as the registration fee, receiving a number tag that represented his eligibility to participate. Number 42, if Su Zhe's guess was correct, 41 people had already registered before him.

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