"Next fighter, fifteen-year-old Dash Hale." The image of Dash's last fight was displayed on the screen, catching the interest of many.
"Dash, known in China as the Dragon Warrior, winner of numerous international tournaments, has demonstrated a profound knowledge of Kung Fu. He is one of the stars of the Kung Fu school called Sakura Bushido and currently undefeated in official matches."
Jack Duquesne nodded, and at that moment, his assistant said, "We offer 500,000!"
"700,000!" Carpio looked at Jack's indifferent expression and threw out a number just to annoy him.
"1,500,000!"
"3,000,000!"
Jack Duquesne looked away and said, "Come on, Carpio, I don't plan on leaving all my money in this insignificant auction when the real business is in the competition of our choices. Do you really want that boy?"
Throughout the room, the only ones who couldn't stand each other and made it public were Jack and Carpio. They openly displayed their mutual dislike every time they exchanged words.
Carpio heard Jack's question, smiled modestly, and said, "Are you really offering such a small amount for a fighter I've personally chosen?"
"10,000,000!"
This number wasn't enormous, but it set a record for one of the highest bids so far, and that was considering there were even better fighters according to many standards.
Jack Duquesne didn't want to appear desperate, but if the sum exceeded fifty million dollars, he knew he wouldn't bid anymore. At least he would leave it to someone interesting in his eyes, but not Carpio; that could never happen.
"15,000,000!"
"Sir, I would advise going for Wei Chen as our next target since Carpio would be out with his bid."
"Do you want me to lose face against that idiot?" Jack made his final bid and said, "30,000,000!"
This time, everyone stayed silent. Many of them might have sums of several billion dollars, but offering that amount of money to a fighter they knew little about, even if he wins the tournament, is an exaggeration. The chances of a fighter winning are low, as it involves continuous fights in a span of no more than a month, and everyone understood that. It didn't matter if you had the best fighter; if he got injured in the first fight, he could be defeated by someone with less profound skills.
But now that Jack had offered that amount of money, no one else wanted to get involved. They knew perfectly well the consequences of doing so and preferred to be spectators of the tournament in peace.
Even Carpio smiled at how easy it was to anger Jack and stopped bidding. He feared becoming the sponsor of someone like Dash and, as a result, losing his chance to win this tournament in bets against other VIPs, as that would be boring.
The sponsors chose their fighters, many of whom surpassed ten million dollars, but it wasn't comparable to Jack's offer, from which no one wanted to interfere.
"Remember, gentlemen, now that you have your fighters, it's time to be good partners and take care of them as much as you can. If any of the fighters win, as sponsors, you have every right to pay them the offered sum, and you will keep the rest offered by other fighters as a reward."
After saying that, the auctioneer bowed and quickly left the auction. Jack Duquesne didn't want to stay here either, so he also left the auditorium and spoke with his assistant about not meeting Dash until he won another battle.
In a hotel room, Dash was checking some of the marks his previous opponent left on his skin.
"Nothing serious…" Dash murmured, a bit more relaxed knowing he was in perfect condition to continue the tournament tomorrow.
Santiago entered followed by several people and said in an anxious tone, "Kid, they will check you and take care of all your assistance for the fights from now on."
"What do you mean?" Dash looked at all these people and frowned. Wasn't everything given to him in this place supposed to be attributed to success in the fights?
Santiago smiled and said, "This is a gift from your sponsor. They will take care of giving you the best information about your opponents, nutrition planning, and the fastest recovery processes for each fight."
"Do you know who chose me?" Dash's eyes widened after knowing that someone had taken an interest in him.
A young woman smiled modestly and said, "The hard part is not getting a good sponsor but having the right people with you."
Dash nodded and said, "Then I'll be in your care. When can I meet my sponsor?"
"He will call you; you just need to put on a good show for that…" Santiago was crying with happiness since none of his fighters had previously reached the gates of a tournament of this scale.
"So I guess that's it. Is there any protocol I should follow?" Dash was blank about this tournament, and everything he did was what Santiago knew.
A man with glasses approached and said, "All you have to do is follow your diet, recovery process, and be in perfect condition for the fights, which will be at noon."
Dash nodded with his gaze, and after a few more things, everyone left. According to what he had to consider, it was the injuries because these could be present without realizing it, so he would be under review after each fight.
"Surprised?" Santiago asked, looking at the silent Dash.
"I thought it would be like the illegal fights in movies. This is even more sophisticated and luxurious than any tournament I've participated in."
Santiago nodded and said, "That's understandable, but I didn't put you in just any competition but a very exclusive one, so you should be grateful."
"You know we both benefit. I'll win this tournament, and then there will be nothing to be thankful for…"