Their Mistake, Her Rise - Chapter 440: Chapter 440

Seeing even Bill, the undefeated champion, get knocked down, the crowd knew that stepping up now was basically suicide. Yet the thought of their lost bets made their blood boil with resentment.
Someone in the crowd yelled, "I'll pay 300 thousand dollars to anyone who can step into the ring and take down that Clusian woman!"
Another man shouted, "Yeah, I'll put up 300 grand too!"
As more people started shouting out their offers, the place erupted into chaos. With such tempting bait on the table, it was only a matter of time before someone took the hook.
"I'm in." A hulking man said as he stepped into the ring, cracking his neck and rolling his shoulders while striding confidently toward Zoe.
"Those who promised the 300 grand, put it right here by the ring now. I'll take it myself after I beat her." He was so cocky, already acting as if victory was his.
The crowd erupted with excitement—finally, someone dared to challenge Zoe.
"Take her down!"
"Beat her into submission!"
"We got your back!"
The crowd figured that anyone with the guts to step up had to be a big deal—otherwise, they'd just end up as a laughing stock.
Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted, "Oh my god! Isn't that Brody Hatfield, the boxing champ from Navoria?"
"Brody Hatfield? The undefeated legend who crushed every opponent in Navoria?"
"Gosh! If that's really the legendary Brody, then the woman is totally screwed."
Brody grinned smugly as the crowd recognized him. "Guess I'm not exactly a nobody after all."
"Just watch how I put her in her place!" Brody boasted, sending the crowd into a frenzy of cheers and shouts.
"I'm placing my bet on Brody to win."
"Count me in."
"Hurry up! Don't miss this surefire win."
The crowd surged toward the betting tables, convinced Brody had this match in the bag. His victory seemed a done deal.
The mob leader shot Shawn a mocking look. "Your girl is toast this time. Don't you have anything to say?"
"Can I place a bet?" Shawn asked calmly.
The leader blinked. "What? You wanna bet on Brody?"
"No, I'm betting on my girl to win," Shawn said with unwavering certainty.
The leader burst out laughing. "Hear that, guys?" he jeered. "This dude actually betting on that chick to win!"
Someone in the crowd laughed, "Ha! This guy's lost it!"
"Boss, just let him bet if he wants. He's going down with that woman anyway," one of the thugs sneered.
"Yeah, let him waste his money on her," another chimed in mockingly.
After being pressured by the group, the mob leader finally relented. "Fine, go ahead," he sneered. "Consider it your final act for your woman."
Shawn handed his bank card to the bookie. When the guy checked the account, his jaw dropped—a staggering 33 million dollars sat in there.
"Wait—you're betting on Brody, right?" the bookie asked.
"No, I'm betting on my girl to win," Shawn said
The bookie figured Shawn had lost his mind, betting on such a long shot. But since that was what he wanted, there was no stopping him.
Shawn wagered 33 million dollars on Zoe to win, and his was the only bet on her; every other wager in the house was on Brody.
Without a word, Shawn returned to the edge of the ring.
Zoe noticed Shawn's move and gave him a playful grin. She was happy that he was actually learning to make money.
Before the match began, Brody sized up Zoe.
"I don't usually fight women, but those punches of yours could match most men," he said. "I'll give you a chance—why don't you just throw in the towel?"
Zoe stood tall in the center of the ring. "Just bring it on."
"Fine," Brody sneered. "You had your chance. Don't come crying later that I bullied a woman."
Unlike Bill, the gold medalist who'd just been defeated, Brody wasn't about to hold back against Zoe. His very first move was a brutal strike, clearly meant to take her down hard.
Zoe dodged with cat-like agility, then seized the opening as Brody withdrew—countering with a sharp twist that wrenched his arm violently aside.
With a sharp crack, Brody's face instantly darkened.
The crowd froze as Brody suddenly stopped moving, unsure of what had just happened.
Brody, with a dark expression, forcibly wrenched his dislocated arm back into place.
Zoe was tougher than he had expected. He decided to let her experience Unstoppable Barrage.
Brody had a signature move called Unstoppable Barrage—ten punches in just three seconds, so fast that only blurs of fists were visible.
Those who knew Brody could tell from the way he was coiling up—he was about to unleash his signature move.
They started laughing. "Check it out—that's Brody's Unstoppable Barrage! That chick's head is gonna get smashed in!"
"I can already see her face swelling up like a pumpkin!"
Amidst the crowd's jeering, the brutal fight in the ring raged on.
Seeing this, the mob leader sneered at Shawn and said, "Your woman's done for. Better start planning her funeral."
Shawn remained silent, completely trusting in Zoe's abilities.
Zoe immediately saw through Brody's plan. 'A speed contest? Wrong opponent,' she thought with a smirk. 'If he can throw ten punches, I'll throw eleven.'
There was rapid-fire succession of impacts. No one in the crowd could tell whose fists were flying—all they could hear was the sharp crack of punches colliding, echoing through the air and leaving everyone's ears ringing.
With a final bone-crunching thud, a figure was sent flying. Everyone assumed it was Zoe, so all eyes snapped to where the body landed, certain that after taking so many punches, her face would be swollen beyond recognition.
Sure enough, the person sprawled on the ground was so bruised and swollen that no one could tell who it was. The crowd gasped in horror—some, utterly stunned, just dropped to the floor in disbelief.
"It's over! I've lost everything!" someone suddenly broke down sobbing.
At that moment, the mob leader gaped in disbelief. "What the hell? Brody actually lost?" he roared.
Brody lay sprawled on the ground, his mind reeling. He couldn't believe that Zoe actually blocked his punches—and was even faster than him.
Zoe strode over to Brody, planted her foot firmly on his face—he wasn't getting up again.
Just like that, Zoe won again.
"S-she actually won..." the mob leader stammered.
Shawn strode straight to the edge of the ring, and as soon as he arrived, Zoe leaped right into his arms.
"How much did we win?" Zoe asked Shawn.
"330 million dollars," Shawn replied with a slight smirk.
Ten-to-one odds meant that Shawn had won 330 million dollars. The bookie was practically in tears—if he'd known, he never would've taken such a huge bet. Now he didn't know how he was supposed to explain this to his boss.
Shawn set Zoe down gently, and together they turned their piercing gazes toward the mob leader.
"W-what do you two want?" the mob leader stammered.
"A bet's a bet—you lost," Zoe declared.
The mob leader knew better than to mess with these two—crossing them would land him in even worse shape than Brody.
At that moment, Brody staggered to his feet, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. "I'm not done yet!" he spat.