Ch. 234 - Sexy Bandit, Dealing Cards Online [1]

The Slime glanced around with its blank, innocent eyes.

Even with its low intelligence, it could tell the crowd's chanting didn't sound like a compliment.

Chen Shu's mouth twitched as well. He sure as hell hadn't hired any paid commenters for this.

Your contract spirits were the poop monsters!

...Even though the Slime really did look like one.

What Chen Shu hadn't expected was that the moment the beast taming match ended, the textbooks had already been updated with a brand-new race: Poop Monster!

Because the Slime was simply too absurd, they had no choice but to classify it as an entirely new species.

Did they really expect to keep calling it a Slime?

How would every other Beast Tamer with a Slime feel then?

Chen Shu's Slime beat the crap out of everything, while their own Slimes were either getting beaten up or on their way to getting beaten up — how was anyone supposed to live like that?

The three of them returned to the rest area amid the roaring cheers.

The moment they stepped inside, every other contestant's expression shifted in a different direction as all eyes turned toward them — the vast majority filled with wariness and fear.

"Hey, everyone!"

Chen Shu flashed a grin, looking so sunny and bright it was almost impossible not to warm up to him.

But no one was fooled by appearances — this bastard fought brutally as hell.

When no one returned his greeting, Chen Shu shrugged and let it go.

To ensure every team could give it their all, only one match was scheduled per day.

Otherwise, a simple provincial competition couldn't possibly stretch across two months.

Fortunately, all the contestants were geniuses who didn't rely too heavily on their teachers — self-study worked about as well as classroom learning.

Aside from Xia Bing, everyone was a Level 9 Beast Tamer.

The only things that could still improve their results were academic subjects and combat experience.

Chen Shu had originally wanted to give an interview and bask in the spotlight.

He hadn't gotten two sentences out before the reporters grabbed their cameras and ran.

He let out a sigh — modern journalists had such weak psychological fortitude.

In truth, Chen Shu was already famous enough by now.

The terrifying Slime made everyone want to know more about him, and overnight the name "Nanjiang Bandit" spread throughout all of Nancang Province.

What people remembered wasn't that Nanjiang City had produced a genius student, but that it had produced a bandit boss.

Chen Shu swaggered out of the rest area.

Watching his departing figure, everyone stayed silent.

If it had been an S-rank contract spirit, they wouldn't have cared this much. The problem was they couldn't figure out what they were dealing with.

"Brother Xie, what do you think?"

A teammate from Nancang First High asked.

Captain Xie Fengyu gave it a moment's thought, then answered with a completely straight face: "I use my eyes to watch."

"..."

Xie Fengyu continued, "No need to be too concerned. He's the only real threat — his two teammates might not be anything special. Besides, the three of us are an unbeatable combination..."

---

Walking along the path back, Chen Shu asked:

"Xiaoyu, Xia Bing, what are your plans? Our next match is at least sixteen days from now."

"Studying at the hotel!"

The two answered in unison. They didn't have a system, so of course they had to go all-out for the college entrance exam.

Chen Shu shook his head. When had the involution gotten this bad?

Just as he was settling in at the hotel, a message came through on ChaoXin.

Shen Wushuang: "Chen Pi, rein it in! Don't cause any trouble in Nancang City, or no one will be able to save you!"

She was genuinely worried that out of sheer boredom, Chen Shu would stir up something massive — and Nancang City was packed with hidden powerhouses.

Chen Shu curled his lip. Screw that, he was the Nanjiang Bandit, what was there to fear?

He typed back: "Who are you? Don't know you!"

And with that, Chen Shu blocked Shen Wushuang outright.

The thrill of courting death — fucking exhilarating!

Chen Shu chuckled to himself. No way she'd ditch the Special Training Class and come all the way to Nancang City just to bury him.

---

Early the next morning, Chen Shu arrived at the Spirit Fighting Arena.

"Careful, careful! Handle it gently!"

No one had any idea what was going on as they watched Chen Shu enter the rest area.

Behind him, several people were carrying a circular gambling table inside.

"Sexy Bandit, dealing cards online!"

Chen Shu grinned and announced:

"To make sure no one gets bored while waiting, I've brought you all a little entertainment!"

"Just scan the QR code on the table, place your bets online — pick whichever team you like and drop your wager!"

"To eliminate any concerns about rigging, I'm only taking a 20% commission from the winners! Go nuts, everyone!"

The rest area went dead silent.

Could you be any more ridiculous? Setting up a gambling den in the Spirit Fighting Arena?!

Were you seriously not afraid of getting arrested?!

And on top of that, you're providing ONE table and TWO QR codes... and charging 20% commission?!

"Come on, don't be shy! If anything goes wrong, I, the Nanjiang Bandit, will take responsibility!"

Chen Shu swept his gaze across every face and added:

"One more thing — if anyone dares report me, I'll beat you every time I see you. Until you're dead."

The bandit's aura radiated outward, and everyone felt a chill.

This guy was just too goddamn brazen!

Right at that moment, the rest area door swung open and a middle-aged man walked in.

"Chen Shu, I need to speak with you. Could you step outside for a moment?"

Wang Qing had barely gotten the words out when his expression froze — he'd noticed something was off.

His eyes landed on the gambling table, and his mouth twitched involuntarily. What the hell was this now?

Chen Shu's heart sank. Shit luck.

This was the same man who'd announced the start of the competition yesterday — definitely someone in a high position.

"Put this thing away right now! One more stunt like this and you're disqualified — handed straight over to the Spirit Suppression Bureau!"

The man furrowed his brow.

Leave it to you to try milking money out of the competition on day two.

Everyone else was cheering internally — the bandit had finally been sanctioned!

Chen Shu wore a face full of misery as he had the table hauled back out.

His career had ended before it even started.

Not only had he made zero money, but he'd actually lost several thousand yuan bribing the security guards at the Spirit Fighting Arena entrance.

A failure. An utter failure.

Chen Shu put on an innocent expression. "I'm just an aspiring young entrepreneur. What did I do?"

"Cut the crap! Come with me!"

Wang Qing's mouth twitched. Were you physically incapable of not causing trouble, goddammit?

The matter could have been blown up or brushed aside. Wang Qing genuinely didn't have time for petty nonsense, so he decided not to blow it out of proportion.

Chen Shu hung his head and followed Wang Qing out of the rest area.

The two of them entered an empty room in the Spirit Fighting Arena.

Wang Qing spoke first: "I want to ask a question."

"A hundred thousand Huaxia Currency per question. No haggling."

"???"

Wang Qing's expression blanked, then he broke into a laugh. This kid had the nerve to extort him?

He cleared his throat lightly. "I am the Nancang Province Education Minister. In other words, the Nancang Province college entrance exam falls under my jurisdiction."

Chen Shu's face jolted. He hadn't expected the man to be such a heavyweight.

He immediately said, "The Minister's questions — I, Chen Shu, will answer everything without holding back a single word!"

Wang Qing raised an eyebrow. "And the hundred-thousand-yuan fee?"

Chen Shu's face went blank. "Fee? What fee?"

"..."

[1] 性感悍匪，在线发牌 (Sexy Bandit, Dealing Cards Online): A parody of the viral Chinese internet meme "性感荷官，在线发牌" ("Sexy Dealer, Dealing Cards Online"), which originated from spam advertisements for Southeast Asian online casinos that flooded Chinese social media circa 2016-2018. The ads typically featured attractive women in casino uniforms with this catchphrase. Chinese netizens repurposed the format by replacing "dealer" with absurd professions for comedic effect. Here, "悍匪" (violent bandit) replaces "荷官" (dealer), perfectly characterizing Chen Shu as a lawless hustler now running an impromptu gambling operation.