Xavier was lucky that it was a big fight night at the Wild Dog Fight Club and, skimming through the line-up that Zack had prepared for him on the way there, there were multiple fights between those in the top 100 that he was looking forward to.
However, despite going to be entertaining, those weren't the fights he foresaw making the most money on, since the odds wouldn't be high.
Both fighters would usually be not far from each other on the rankings, and so the potential for profit, if he bet on the winner, wasn't that high, which was why Xavier had to maximise his earnings early on in the night.
And to do so, he arrived at the Wild Dog Fight Club before the opening fight, but despite being relatively early, it was still bustling and there were too many people to count already finding seats.
That also didn't account for those considered important people by the Wolf Gang that would have private viewing rooms, and although that included him since he was in the top 100 rankings, he was at the bottom of the VIP list.
Xavier could only imagine the kind of politicians and wealthy figures that would attend these kinds of enthralling, yet animalistic, events, especially on such a big night.
The venue itself was enormous and the Wolf Gang's capabilities never ceased to amaze Xavier, which excited him for the Outlaw Gang's future as he got comfortable in the viewing room he had been led to.
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Just as the man who spoke to him on the phone had said, there was someone to welcome him at the side entrance that he had been sent the location to, and there seemed to be quite a few of these side entrances.
They were ways of getting into the venue without being spotted by any of the other viewers, who, although had been verified before being granted memberships to the Wild Dog Fight Club, were quite the rowdy bunch.
In the case of wealthy, influential or famous figures, it wouldn't be a good look if they were spotted in such a place, and one thing Xavier did have to admit, the Wolf Gang that ran the fight club offered great service.
There was high security, quality entertainment, great treatment and likely anything else that anyone could ask for as long as they provided value to them in some way.
And despite Xavier being quite the popular fighter, especially after Connor's debut that made the Unstoppable Trio the stars that they were, he didn't come across anyone that wasn't a Wolf Gang employee.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThat just went to show how great they were at concealing those that wanted to remain hidden, and how crazy the number of people that worked for them was.
But with all those people working for them and watching at the fight club that they ran, not a single police officer catching on was simply impossible, especially with the frequency of the fight nights.
And just thinking about all the money such a place generated, which Xavier did every time he came to the fight club, caused his mouth to water.
But there were lessons to be learnt, and he saw the Wolf Gang as a blueprint that the Outlaw Gang could quickly replicate and take over.
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Numbers, connections and money were necessary for any big operation, and as long as there was enough of those three things, they could handle anything that came their way.
Making it even more important for Xavier to place the right bets as he started to prepare himself to watch the fights and was about to read through what Zack had handed to him.
However, before he could, he suddenly received a notification from the system.
[Mission Issued: Triple the money you currently have on hand, which is 27,630 dollars tonight, then triple the money you have then tomorrow night and the night after that.]
[The reward for successful completion of the mission, which to reiterate is to triple your money for 3 nights in a row, is Expert Precision.]
Hearing that, Xavier was overjoyed and fought the urge to jump up, not wanting to appear crazy in front of the worker that was standing behind him in the viewing room to help him place his bets.
[With the reward of Expert Precision as well as the future reward of Quick Drawing, if you are able to successfully complete your other mission, you will be unrivalled in ranged combat, making you even more dangerous.]
[And just to remind you, the other mission is to crush the 2 small gangs that go by the names: 'The Armed Crooks' and ' The Cobalt Crew'. And the time period for that mission is a week from when it was set, which isn't far from now.]
'Yes, I know. And thanks for this mission,' he responded as he took deep breaths and calmed his breathing so that he could focus.
With the additional incentive and a target in mind, Xavier couldn't afford to fail the mission the system just issued him and needed to make sure to bet wisely.
If he placed a big bet and was wrong, recovering from the loss would make it hard to meet his target, but if he missed out on betting a large amount on a secure bet, he would miss out on an opportunity.
And to avoid doing either, he had to be prepared and focus completely on analysing the fighters, which he started doing immediately after collecting his thoughts, blocking anything else out of his mind.
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Reading through the surprisingly detailed records of the fighters that Zack had created for him, Xavier couldn't help but thank him internally as he did so, and made his decisions based on them and his instincts.
Seeking to put on the most entertaining fights, the Wolf Gang would avoid any match-ups that would end quickly, as the longer people stayed at the fight club, the more they were likely to spend on alcohol, drugs and gambling.
However, from what Xavier had seen and experienced, the fights were still authentic, and there didn't seem to be any match-fixing, so there was a way to win all the bets he placed.
But doing so was easier said than done, which he quickly started to realise...
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The first fight of the night wasn't much compared to the bigger fights that the Wild Dog Fight Club had in store later on in the night, but they wanted to start the night off with a bang, so it was a fight between 2 fighters in the top 200.
Xavier didn't know that fighters were ranked outside of the top 100, and they officially weren't, but there was an unofficial ranking made by the viewers for those that were not in the top 100, which Zack had accessed.
And from that, all the fighters on the line-up had ranks that went as low as the 900s, which begged the question, just how many fighters did the Wild Dog Fight Club have?
But that was a question for another time, as Xavier placed his bets on the first fight.
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Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Sorry sir, but I must push you for your bet for this fight if you wish to place a bet on it. Any longer and your bet won't be accepted," the woman accommodating Xavier stated.
Xavier, who was deep in thought and analysing both the fighters' stances, expressions and records, snapped out of it and placed a bet of 1000 dollars on who he thought would win the fight.
Just to test the waters and see how his simulation of how the fight could go compared to how it actually went.
But to his surprise and disappointment, the fight went unlike he had foreseen.
Albeit it wasn't completely different to what he expected from the fighters, the result and ending differed slightly and there were just too many things to account for that it would be impossible to be right every time, no matter how hard he tried.
'No wonder gambling is so dangerous. Even as confident as I was coming in here, I still placed an incorrect bet,' he thought to himself, and since it was a close fight, he understood why some people could be drawn into gambling.
Losing all of your money before one knew it isn't a rare occurrence, and Xavier could see why.
The adrenaline rush and optimistic belief that one would get the next bet right causes a downward spiral that many are unable to break out of.
However, he wasn't someone to be so easily swayed or addicted to something, but that also didn't take away from the fact that he was drawn in and had no choice but to continue betting.
He needed money quickly, and the reward that the system was offering for tripling his money 3 nights in a row was too great to miss out on, so there was no turning back.
And he also wasn't discouraged by the bad start and instead was getting more excited.
'I never lose as long as there is an element of skill involved, so even if I am unlucky today, I'll still overcome it,' he thought to himself.
There were things he couldn't account for and were out of his control such as one of the fighters having a bad day or their opponent getting an accidental blow that ended the fight, but there were many others that he could recognise and use to steer his bets.
And that's what he was planning on focusing on as he continued placing bets on every single fight, slowly increasing the amount he was betting on the matches as he became more and more sure about what to expect.
However, just like always, things are never that easy...