C11 The Land of Entertainment

"Hmph, if it's a competition you want, then it's a competition you'll get. But let's make it interesting with a wager. Mr. Zhang Yang isn't scared of you guys."

Bai Ling's temper flared at Green Hair's provocation. She gazed at Zhang Yang with eyes full of admiration. "Mr. Zhang Yang, you have to show these thugs what for. You've trained in martial arts; you can't let these punks beat you."

Zhang Yang shot Bai Ling a look. Are you trying to set me up? "No way, I'm not going to compete with him. I don't want to be accused of picking on kids."

Green Hair had experienced roller coasters before, shouting at the top of his lungs while riding. At first, Bai Ling's talk of a bet had him worried about losing, but seeing Zhang Yang looking so feeble, Green Hair saw an opportunity to both embarrass him and make some cash.

"Hmph, Uncle, if you're scared, just admit it. Quit with the pretense of respect for the young and the old. Let's see who can scream the quietest, a thousand bucks a pop. Are you in or out?"

Green Hair's sidekick snickered, "Three Hair, why bet so little? A thousand yuan won't even cover a night's pocket money. It's no fun if we win."

"Keep it down. If we bet too much, will he even take the bait? I'm fishing here. If I go too high from the start, I'll scare the fish away and end up with nothing, not even a thousand."

"Green Hair, you're a clever one. I doubt these two will take the bet. Just look at this uncle, decked out in flea market fashion. And this young lady was probably conned by him, too."

Zhang Yang's blood boiled as he overheard their conversation. Can't you whisper a bit more quietly?

"Green Hair, a thousand is chump change. Let's up the ante to ten grand. Who do you think you're looking down on? Today, you're going to learn your lesson."

Bai Ling was fuming as well. Mr. Zhang Yang could easily drop over a hundred thousand on a meal; why would he fuss over a paltry thousand?

Zhang Yang was just about to reject Green Hair's bet when Bai Ling blurted out with her usual flair.

"Oh dear, I've only got a few coins left in my pocket. How can I afford to gamble with them?" Zhang Yang pulled Bai Ling aside and whispered urgently.

"I was worried it was something serious. I've got money, and Mr. Zhang Yang, you're sure to win. You're a martial artist, after all. How could you possibly lose to a bunch of thugs?"

Bai Ling clung affectionately to Zhang Yang's arm, offering words of encouragement. But surely, encouragement alone couldn't be enough in a situation like this, could it?

"Alright, 10,000 it is. Have you two made up your minds? Let's get a move on. It's time to hit the roller coaster. I've missed the thrill of it these past few days."

Green Hair taunted Zhang Yang with a sneer, his words dripping with provocation as he waited for Zhang Yang to respond.

"What's the hurry? Let's get going. Do you guys have your selfie hats? We'll use them to measure the decibels. The one with the higher pitch loses."

Bai Ling, with Zhang Yang still in a daze, led the way to the roller coaster's sign-up booth.

Zhang Yang steeled himself for what was to come. If this was the end, so be it. If he lost, he'd find a way to repay Bai Ling. Today, his focus was on completing the mission at hand.

Once they'd taken care of the preliminaries, Zhang Yang and Green Hair strapped into the roller coaster, donning their selfie hats. The ride hadn't even begun, but Zhang Yang's heart was already racing.

Ding! Host's heartbeat detected as abnormal, blood circulation is speeding up. Would you like to spend 2 temporary Achievement Points to enter "My Heart is Unwavering Mode"?

Activate! Activate! What's a little itch when you're covered in fleas? It's just 2 Achievement Points.

With the deduction of the Achievement Points, Zhang Yang looked down at the roller coaster with indifference. What was there to fear?

Green Hair, seated behind Zhang Yang, noticed his calm demeanor and scoffed internally. He'd soon wipe that calmness away.

As the countdown finished and the coaster lurched into motion, Zhang Yang gazed curiously at the screaming men and women around him, his heart steady, even feeling a bit amused.

Regardless of the roller coaster's speed and flips, Zhang Yang's experience remained unchanged. He watched everything with wide eyes. Though the novelty was intriguing, he quickly grew accustomed to it.

Glancing back at Green Hair, he saw him yelling with his eyes shut tight, too scared to even look.

After completing this unique adventure, the roller coaster came to a stop, and Green Hair immediately found a spot to retch uncontrollably. Despite having ridden it several times, he still ended up vomiting every time he disembarked.

"Mr. Zhang Yang is incredible," someone remarked. "Even after such an intense roller coaster ride, he's still unflappable. We've definitely won this bet."

As soon as Zhang Yang stepped off the ride, Bai Ling latched onto his arm. She seemed increasingly fond of clinging to him, and he couldn't quite figure out why.

The group of thugs with Green Hair were not pleased. They hadn't even reviewed the video yet; how could they be so certain of victory?

"Little lady, don't count your chickens before they hatch. Let's watch the footage now and measure the decibels with some software," one of them suggested.

Even though 10,000 wasn't a huge sum, none of them were eager to hand it over without a fight. Zhang Yang stood there, cool as a cucumber, while Green Hair was a mess from all the vomiting.

"Go ahead and watch it," Zhang Yang said with a chuckle. "No need for a decibel test. You'll understand once you see it."

Not wanting to waste any more time, Zhang Yang pulled the memory card from his selfie hat and popped it into a player. The thugs huddled around, eager to see Zhang Yang's screams and shouts.

To their astonishment, the video showed Zhang Yang smiling serenely the entire time, not uttering a single scream. In fact, during the loop-the-loop, he even managed to film Green Hair, who was captured with his eyes shut and mouth agape, clearly in the midst of a yell.

"Get the picture now? Hand over the money; we're ready to leave," Zhang Yang said confidently.

The thugs watched the video in stunned silence. They had never encountered someone who could maintain such composure on a roller coaster before, but they had witnessed it firsthand today.

"Green Hair, you've lost. Pay up," they said to him.

Just then, Green Hair had finished his bout of vomiting and noticed his friends' gloomy faces. As he approached, one of them told him to cough up the cash.

"What the heck, you finished testing that quickly? There's no way I lost," Green Hair protested, taking the video with a skeptical look. But as he watched, his face turned sour. It was only after seeing the footage that he realized Zhang Yang was an oddity, maintaining such a stoic expression on the roller coaster without making a sound.

"Here's your money. We, the five young masters of Hongqiao, concede defeat this time. Hmph, we'll see about that."

Green Hair grudgingly transferred the money to Zhang Yang, who accepted it and continued on his mission with Bai Ling.

"Three Hair, come on, what are you still gawking at?" Green Hair stood his ground, unwilling to leave as he watched Zhang Yang. The other ruffians were puzzled.

"Hold on, I want to see just how gutsy he is. He managed to keep a straight face even on the roller coaster."

The ruffians watched as Zhang Yang flailed his arms and screamed on the ride, looking rather pale, especially when he got off and immediately clutched a trash can to vomit.

"Damn, was that guy out of it just now? Did it not hit him until later? Otherwise, with the way he's acting, he would've passed out on the roller coaster, right?"

Green Hair was frustrated. He himself wouldn't get dizzy on the swing ride, so why did Zhang Yang, who had just bested him, start throwing up after one go? Could the swing ride actually be scarier than the roller coaster?

"Three Hair, challenge him again. I bet he was just terrified on the roller coaster. Let's see how he does this time."

The ruffians all nodded in agreement. Three Hair, with a determined heart and seeing the petite and adorable Bai Ling patting Zhang Yang's back, stepped forward.

"I'm not content with that loss; I wasn't ready. Let's go another round. Do you dare?"

Bai Ling looked at Zhang Yang with concern. What was he doing? He was completely unfazed on the roller coaster, so why did he throw up after just a minute on this ride?

Zhang Yang had initially thought the swing ride was slow and short, hoping to save some Achievement Points. He hadn't anticipated his own inability to cope. Yet, it seemed Green Hair was about to hand him more money.

"No problem, let's compete. I'm not scared." Zhang Yang's feeble voice lacked conviction.

Bai Ling grew frantic, "Mr. Zhang Yang, please don't do this. Look at yourself; you can barely talk. You can't go on any more rides."

Zhang Yang gave Bai Ling a heartfelt glance. "You really know how to put me in a tight spot. Why can't you just try to understand what I'm thinking?"

"Look, mister, I think this young lady has a point. You might as well concede now before you scare yourself witless. Losing money is one thing, but if you lose your life, that's a far greater loss," someone chimed in.

Faced with yet another challenge, Zhang Yang decided to turn the tables. He was going to play regardless, so he might as well use an Achievement Point to activate "Indifferent Heart" mode for his body. Besides, with someone eager to hand over their money, he had nothing to lose.

"Hmph, kid, are you up for a real bet this time? Let's go for $50,000 on who can keep their eyes open the longest," Zhang Yang bluffed with feigned bravado.

Green Hair paused, considering the stakes. $50,000 was half a month's spending money for him, but judging by Zhang Yang's recent performance, he was confident of victory.

"Green Hair, don't be a chicken. Take him on. If we're short on cash, we'll chip in. We just can't stand to see this guy luck out and win again," his friends encouraged.

Bolstered by his companions, Green Hair agreed. "Alright, let's do this. We'll play the high-speed windmill game. Whoever closes their eyes first loses."

Half an hour later, the reluctant ruffians handed over all their money to Zhang Yang. Green Hair looked at them with a mix of resentment and disbelief. "Are you out of your mind? Every time you gamble, you sit there looking utterly despondent, eyes wide open, taking everything in. That's way more intense than any ride you've been on."

Triumphant, Zhang Yang and Bai Ling left to continue their quest, while the disgruntled gang huddled together.

"Green Hair, was that old guy playing us? Setting a trap?" one of them speculated.

Green Hair's face was a storm of emotions as he pondered their next move. "We should never have given him the money. He's just a guy with a girl. Let's just go take it back."

"Shut it. You don't know anything. I didn't recognize that woman at first, but then it hit me. Do you guys have any clue who she is?" Green Hair snapped at the suggestion, frustrated by their lack of insight. His friends shook their heads, clueless, and Green Hair smugly filled them in.

"The girl's name is Bai Ling, the sister of Bai Ya, the CEO of New Ya Company, which is a renowned publicly traded company in our city. Just imagine, if you could win over Bai Ling, think about how many times you could pocket 60,000 yuan?"

Green Hair explained with a smug look on his face. He was pondering how to charm Bai Ling. His own dad might be a boss too, but he was nowhere near Bai Ya's league. Plus, with two older brothers ahead of him, how much of the family fortune would actually trickle down to him?