He knew that Chetan Ambani wouldn't agree to postpone the duel, his aim after all being to win money. He could always suggest that Chetan postpone the duel to another day, but he knew that Chetan would check up on him before playing and that it was highly probable that he wouldn't take the risk of fighting the top 1 of the first-year rankings. He wanted to make easy money, not prove that he was the strongest, so it was lost in advance.
He says to the arena officials, "Isn't there any way I could be considered William Walton? After all, who's going to notice? Only the student numbers engraved on Pip-Boy will really identify me! So all it takes is one word to one of your men to forget to check this aspect and the fight's on! I'll be wearing a hood to avoid anyone seeing my face or recognizing me with the Aurora system".
The man with the cigarrette laughed, "And why would I take such a risk?"
Alexander smiled and said, "Because I'm sure it'll be very interesting for you from a financial point of view!"
The man with the cigarrette said "Oh yes, and why?"
Alexander replied: "Because I'm sure you know my opponent Chetan Ambani well, and I'm sure he's a regular arena repeater, who regularly has to rehearse young inexperienced students before challenging them to a duel and betting on their victory. You, on the other hand, can't do anything, it's not a fraud or an arrangement between participants, so you can't simply refuse to pay the bets.
The arena manager replied, "So what? There's nothing against it".
Alexandre "If you know Chetan, then the public and therefore the punters know him too, so it's highly likely that they're betting massively on the 'grinder' rather than the 'victim of the day'. Chetan's odds must be very close to 1! After all, who'd want to bet on a hunter who can't walk straight? But correct me if I'm wrong, but this kind of duel with a very strong imbalance in terms of profitability isn't very profitable for you! Even though there are undoubtedly some novice bettors who bet on these opponents, I'm sure you're losing money with students like Chetan!"
The arena manager replied, "We never lose money as a rule, but it's true that this kind of fight is somewhat 'annoying' from a financial point of view."
Alexander "That's where my proposal comes in! If I bet a large sum of money on William Walton, that's me, this fight, which isn't profitable, become be very profitable, whoever wins!"
The man with the cigarrette thinks, he knows Alexander is right, then he says "What you propose would be a form of corruption, why the arena, will take such a risk?"
Alexandre thought about it, he was rather skeptical, after all this argument had been pretty good, the arena manager had recognized it himself, then he understood something, these words clearly had a double meaning, but he realized that this sentence probably had a slightly different interpretation as if to say "You're ready to put in how much money?"
Alexandre answered the manager: "Is 5,000 dollars enough?".
The man burst out laughing, "$5,000, you think I'm a bum or what?"
An annoyed Alexandre replied, "Tell me exactly how much you want?"
Arena manager: "I want you to put $20,000 on William Walton, otherwise there's no point! I won't stake the arena's reputation on it!"
Alexandre thought again, he still had $150,000 in his bank account, but he knew that to earn money he'd have to spend it, so he answered "Deal! 20,000 $ ! What can I do to bet it?"
the man with the cigarrette replied, "It's simple, it's got 'bets' written on it! I warn you though, I can see the bookmarker odds live! So don't try to fool me! If I don't see the Chetan price rise by at least 1.50, it means you haven't kept your word!"
Alexandre nods and says: "Okay, what about the Pip-boy and the perception?"
The arena manager replied, "For the Pip-Boy, there's nothing to worry about, the men who work in the arena are under my orders and will do what I tell them! "Then he added: "Regarding 'perception', as you put it, something that hides your face should be enough to prevent anyone from recognizing you, but unfortunately it's not enough. That's why the arena uses pheromones dispersed in the air to blur the perception of the Aurora system, to avoid systematic speculation about the strongest hunters.
Just as he was about to walk through the door of the manager's office to put his plan into action, the man with the cigarrette said, "Dude, don't take this the wrong way! But if you get caught by the Militia, I'll deny our arrangement! My job is just to leave a word for the arena controllers to let you take part in the fights, nothing more!"
Alexandre replied, "I understand, don't worry." Alexandre then left the room