A total of 150 super spaceships had not moved on from the old cultures of humankind.
They had even made a simple copy of civilization back on Earth...
Humanity's dining habits, social hierarchy, communication network, and even transportation systems were all reflected on the spaceships...
The only form of borders they have now was the distance of space between each spaceship.
For the convenience of currency circulation, paper currency from around the world had been completely abolished and replaced with digital currency.
Now, James said that they were going to set up a betting pool.
Some countries immediately became excited.
And some countries expressed their distaste with their silence, among them was China.
That country was a superpower but it had always tightly controlled its gambling industry.
Other countries did not have such misgivings.
When Las Vegas, once the largest gambling state in the United States, proposed the bet, it received the support of many on all the spaceships.
Faced with a five-hour waiting period on the subject though was no easy feat and most people were put off by it...
It was difficult to even maintain forty minutes of focused concentration and this result was backed up by scientific research.
Those who study hard and all night long often had to find an entertaining way of learning.
There was no time limit for people from any corner of the world to play a game.
Some people can spend the whole day on their mobile phones without getting tired.
Entertainment is a way for the brain to relax.
For ordinary people though, even in the absence of external pressure and interference, it is difficult to concentrate on boring and unfamiliar content for prolonged periods.
Moreover, there was only one man left on Earth, and he was a Western man.
American education emphasized a happy education since young. As a result, there were not many people who could focus on their studies.
In other words, there were very few people who thought that Shawn could read for five hours straight.
As a result, the odds dropped to a pitiful 1:1 which meant that even if someone won, there would be no profit.
However, the second bet attracted a lot of people.
"If he doesn't find a survival guide, Shawn will do something weird."
The betting company's initial payout rate was 1:1,000,000.
"Oh my God, this betting company. This time, they will lose so much that they will have to sell their underwear."
"Don't you understand? We are participating in big stakes. The betting company is the banker. Regardless of whether they win or lose, the betting company will make a lot of money."
The United States was a capitalist society and gambling was legal.
Every time the presidential elections came around, all its citizens would participate.
The biggest gamble in the United States happened over 100 years ago.
It was a presidential transition, the time when the two candidates ran against each other for the title of president.
In the beginning, the votes of the two presidents were evenly matched.
Everyone thought that the two presidents would tie but in the end, one would always win over another.
In the end, nobody thought that it would happen but it did. Bin Laden won.
That had cost the Americans a lot of money.
There were even many who had the guts to join the Congress.
A hundred years later, free speech became the norm and everybody thought that there was a betting company pulling the strings behind the presidential elections.
James, smiling, looked at nearly ten billion people from around the world.
He gingerly fished out an M dollar note and waved it on the big screen. "I'll bet this one note. I bet that Mr. Shawn will do something weird after reading five hours of books."
Paper currency had been abolished a long time ago. Now, it was only merely a token. Although it was just a piece of paper, it represented a once glorious era in American history.
Therefore, this piece of paper was worth quite a lot.
On the large screen on the spaceship, the image of James disappeared and was replaced by a video of Earth.
"I also bet that the ball owner will have a mental breakdown..."
"I want to bear a child for the ball owner but I can't support him in this. The ball owner will do something weird."
Ah San: "I bet that the ball owner won't be able to last five hours because the ball owner hasn't eaten since he woke up."
"If I lose this time, I really will eat sh*t..."
Rainbow Nation: "Ah San, why don't you eat sh*t first before you talk? I too bet that the owner won't be able to read for five hours."
"All of you men love gambling so much. What a bad habit."
"I will support the owner spiritually."
James' words had caused a butterfly effect. The words spoken on the public screen were not taken lightly. Everyone's ID number was recorded by the computer. As the words were said, the bets played out on the big screen.
A terrifying number of people had placed their bets.
What a presidential election.
No small amount of money could compare to the current situation.
In just a few minutes, the number of people participating soared to a few billion and it did not stop there. It continued to soar.
As for the amount of money involved, that was even more terrifying.
In just the space it took to take a breath, it had increased by a few hundred million.
Before the Earth's migration, Earth's population had reached a terrifying 15 billion people.
If everyone offered one yuan, the stakes would be 15 billion.
This was the biggest gamble in the history of mankind.
Advertising agencies.
The media did not want to miss out on this short-lived opportunity. They wanted to milk it for all it's worth.
Our ball owner, Shawn, had no idea he was the focus of the whole world.
In the end, the bet broke through the billions and soared to trillions.
Looking at the total amount of money on the public screen, people's minds went numb with shock.
The upper management of Las Vegas was over the moon.
Everyone in the American conference room was ecstatic.
This had been a great opportunity to make as much money as they could.
This allowed most, if not all, of the digital currencies of the world to flow into the United States.
It didn't seem like anyone had bet a crazy amount but the number had soared due to the bet being open to the whole world.
"Reporting, General. In short, citizens of more than 150 countries have participated in the gamble."
"The total amount in the prize pool is now sitting at more than two trillion."
The old general beamed.
"How can ignorant people understand the true meaning of a happy education in the United States?"
The old man said with a smile.
For the first time in the past few days, everyone on this spaceship had a smile on their faces.
Happiness education in the United States had been aimed at commoners but the children of the aristocratic capitalists were all educated differently, in a much stricter fashion.
It wasn't just strict, it had been a harsh education.
The children of middle-class families happily played games with their teachers in class.
The children of the rich capitalists learned to ride horses, play golf, or trained in football at the crack of dawn.
During the day, they would be assigned heavy academic tasks. At night, they were drilled under almost military-like management.
This was the secret of the United States, which had always been the strongest country in the world.
This had protected the fates of the descendants of the American elites.
This was a secret shared between the countries but ordinary people were not privy to this information.
"Our Mr. Shawn, according to our information, has gone through our harsh education system. He is a stock market expert..."
"Isn't a man who can make a lot of money in stocks someone who possesses high willpower, endurance, and great learning ability?"
"He is also not someone who does not blindly follow human instinct when he does not find what he seeks."
The old general smiled and took a puff of his cigar. He blew out a large smoke ring and said, "We have to control the public opinion a little. In the final minutes of the public bet, the United States will bet that Mr. Shawn can read for five hours without collapsing."
Everyone laughed. They laughed haughtily.
This was a game meant for capitalists. The people were ignorant sheep and the capitalists were shepherd dogs.
"General, China has placed a large bet. They bet that Mr. Shawn will be able to read for five hours and not collapse until he has found a survival guide."