He wore worn-out clothes bleached white from washing, and his exposed arms and calves were covered in purple bruises and scabbed wounds.
Several patches on his face were swollen as well, leaving him looking utterly bedraggled.
Tonight was his last chance.
For an entire week, he had been challenging the number 29 spot, only to suffer crushing defeats every time.
By now, he was the boxing ring's acknowledged deadweight. No one would place bets on him anymore.
If he lost again this time, he would be thrown out for good, left without even this meager and dangerous source of income.
Liu Xuan's day job was as a PE teacher at an elementary school in a neighboring city.
He had once lived a simple, happy life with his wife on a modest but stable salary.
But ever since their daughter had been diagnosed with a serious illness, everything had changed.
To pay for her treatment, he had entered this underground boxing ring, where lives hung by a thread.
A sudden phone ringtone shattered the storage room's dead silence.
When Liu Xuan saw the name on the screen, a gentle smile instantly appeared on his exhausted face, and even his voice softened.
"Wife."
"Hubby... Dr. Wu came by the ward just now. He said there's a foreign miracle drug we could try. It might even cure her."
The voice on the other end carried a timid glimmer of hope.
"That's wonderful! We have to use it! We'll buy it no matter how much it costs!"
The dead-gray look in Liu Xuan's eyes suddenly lit up, his voice urgent and excited.
"But... one bottle costs twenty thousand, and she needs one every month..."
His wife's voice grew quieter and quieter, laden with indescribable heaviness.
"Start using it! We'll definitely pay the medical bills