Chapter 22: Black Race

After submitting her course registration, Jiang Tang gave up on her hopes.

Since she had been randomly selected, she would just have to roll with it. Beyond the mandatory foundational and combat courses, she had additionally signed up for Firearms, Interstellar History, and Advanced Xenobiology. These classes were concentrated between Monday and Thursday.

She planned to spend the remaining three days taking on missions, climbing the leaderboards, and participating in black-market bouts. These black-market bouts were the underground challenge matches Wang Laicai had mentioned.

Jiang Tang checked the time; there were less than two hours until the matches began, which was just enough time to grab a meal.

Twenty minutes later, she sat down at a well-reviewed restaurant in the residential district.

"Hello, what would you like to order?"

The voice sounded familiar. As a flash of bright gold crossed her peripheral vision, Jiang Tang looked up, and both of them froze.

"Why are you here?" Jiang Tang and Lia asked in unison.

Jiang Tang: "...I'm here to eat."

As for Lia, the Pendragon family wasn't exactly a minor household; did they really not provide their offspring with living expenses?

Lia lowered the brim of her hat, remained silent for a moment, and asked, "What are you eating?"

Jiang Tang’s lips moved, and she inexplicably blurted out, "You're paying."

Lia looked up sharply, her eyes filled with disbelief, and then she lowered her voice: "How can you be so shameless!"

Jiang Tang decided to play the rogue: "Girl, just because we’re out of the dungeon doesn’t mean we aren't friends anymore, right? Fine then, pay me back! Return my ten thousand Star Coins!"

She held out her fair, open palm.

Lia hurriedly grabbed Jiang Tang’s hand, glancing around like a thief: "Didn't I send you an IOU?"

"When?" Jiang Tang asked, looking confused. "I didn't receive one."

"Open your terminal!"

Jiang Tang opened her terminal and, sure enough, saw Lia in her friend request list. Lia muttered sarcastically from the side: "And you call yourself a friend. I’ve sent the request twice, and you never accepted it."

"I was just busy..." Jiang Tang guiltily accepted the request.

Her terminal notified her of a new IOU. Jiang Tang changed the interest to zero; she wasn't short on that kind of money, so she naturally wouldn't charge Lia interest.

"Busy, it's good to be busy!" Lia snorted, patted the table, and asked fiercely, "What are you eating? Hurry up, and don't order anything expensive!"

Jiang Tang looked at the menu, tentatively ordered a dish of stir-fried green peppers with meat, and then looked at Lia.

Lia looked impatient: "You're only eating one dish?"

"Then add the smoked Big-Horned Beef and an iced lemon soda."

Lia’s blue eyes swept over her: "The soda is 88 credits. Just drink cola; a large bottle is only 8."

That was fine, as long as she could eat. Jiang Tang nodded.

The food arrived quickly. Lia set the plates down and then sneakily slid a dish onto the table that Jiang Tang hadn't ordered.

"This is expensive, eat this first, eat it quickly," she whispered, looking around from time to time like a thief.

Jiang Tang couldn't help but chuckle. She picked up her chopsticks and finished the pitifully small yet exquisite dish in three bites.

Because she ate so fast, it was only afterwards that she noticed the earthy, slightly bitter taste in her mouth.

She frowned: "What is this? It tastes awful."

"Roots of a beast-plant hybrid."

The roots of these hybrids—essentially their excretory organs—were proven to accelerate the recovery of mental energy, but the contents were very difficult to process cleanly.

Jiang Tang: ...

Jiang Tang began to gag.

Lia covered her mouth: "Don't spit it out! That portion cost 8,888 Star Coins; I stole it from the kitchen just for you!"

Jiang Tang’s complexion turned green, her eyes conveying the message: "I really, truly thank you!"

For the first time in two lifetimes, she had eaten waste.

...

The venue for the black-market bouts was located beneath a café at the intersection of the residential district and the wilderness.

The café was aptly named "Always Win." Its location was hidden, and there were many things to criticize about it.

Who would open a café out in the wilderness, anyway...

Jiang Tang arrived right at eight o'clock.

She had disguised herself, temporarily dyeing her hair blue and wearing a white mask as she walked into the café.

Inside, there were quite a few people gathered in small groups who were dressed similarly to Jiang Tang. They mostly kept to themselves, with very little interaction.

Jiang Tang gave the secret code to the clerk, who understood immediately and led her underground.

AAA Challenge Match Coordinator Little Wang: [Big Boss, have you arrived?]

Receiving the message, Jiang Tang tapped the person in front of her on the shoulder: "Here."

Wang Laicai shuddered: "Big Boss, how did you recognize me?"

"I recognized you with my eyes."

Jiang Tang spoke the truth. It was just identifying a person; she had a sharp eye.

Wang Laicai gave a knowing "Oh": "I get it, I get it! Follow me, I'll take you to register!"

Jiang Tang followed Wang Laicai to the registration desk and received a form.

"Paper?" Jiang Tang shook the registration form.

Wang Laicai explained: "Yeah, right now all terminals are under the jurisdiction of Tianyan. You know the nature of these challenge matches, Big Boss—paper can prevent us from being monitored by Tianyan."

The form only had a few simple items: nickname, transfer account, and the account for academic credits. Further down was a disclaimer, which essentially meant "life and death are determined by fate; we aren't responsible if you get killed."

Wang Laicai explained from the side: "Winning a C-level match earns you 0.5 credits or 5,000 Star Coins. Losing one deducts the same, unless you have nothing left, in which case nothing is deducted. B and A levels work the same way. Once you have 10 credits or 100,000 Star Coins in your account, you can withdraw."

Wang Laicai pushed the registration form behind the counter and traded it for a wristband, which he handed to Jiang Tang.

"The wristband records your balance and points. Every win gets you 1 point, and every loss deducts 1, with no deduction if you have none. After accumulating 10 points, you promote to the B-level arena, and 100 points get you to A. Of course, you can also exchange consumption for points; spending 50,000 equals 10 points, and 500,000 equals 100."

Jiang Tang asked casually: "Are there a lot of people who come here to fight?"

Star Cloud Academy only had a little over twenty thousand students across all four grades.

Wang Laicai smiled mysteriously: "The population flow on this planet is far greater than you imagine, and 'Always Win' turns no one away. You might even run into someone you know, Big Boss~"

After briefly explaining the situation of the challenge matches, Wang Laicai left Jiang Tang to her own devices.

Jiang Tang wasn't in a rush to enter the arena; she first went to watch the C-level matches.

The C-level arena had very few spectators, and the match Jiang Tang watched ended quickly.

She had intended to watch a B-level match, but was blocked at the entrance by a guard.

The B-level arena required an accumulation of 10 points for entry, and the ticket cost 5,000 Star Coins.

Jiang Tang turned and left, going to the registration desk to sign up for a C-level match.

She felt the gap during her very first fight.

It was the gap between her opponent and herself.

Jiang Tang kicked her opponent off the stage without even needing to use a card.

The host spoke toward the empty spectator stands, passionately announcing her nickname: "Interstellar Flat-Pusher, winner!"

Jiang Tang curled her toes in embarrassment, silently sighing at how professional the host was.

The subsequent matches became more intense, but she resolved all of them within ten minutes. Jiang Tang didn't even have to use the skills of her Chang'e card.

She won all the way to the promotion match.

Jiang Tang grappled with her opponent for half an hour and, unsurprisingly, lost.

She didn't fight again, choosing instead to go watch the B-level matches.

There would be plenty of opportunities to win it back later; there was no need to rush.