"Director Huang, you've tested my strength now. This level of ability should definitely be able to make money for Tianli Fighting Gym, right?"
Huang Tianli thought to himself that this kid's strength was so formidable that as long as he provided a little guidance on the rules of boxing or combat sports, he would surely become a world champion. If that happened, his Tianli Fighting Gym would become the most famous fighting club in the country. With such terrifying potential, he would be a fool not to sign him.
"Alright, then we can sign a contract. It will be a three-year contract. Within these three years, you will only work for my Tianli Fighting Gym. We guarantee to arrange no fewer than sixty matches per year, and we will split the prize money fifty-fifty."
Upon hearing about a three-year contract, Zhang Shuai quickly said, "Director Huang, I can't sign a contract. I only have half a month; I have other matters to attend to afterward and won't have time to fight. So, what I meant was, could you arrange for me to fight in those underground black-market matches? I just want to earn some money within this half-month."
Zhang Shuai was currently obsessed with immortal cultivation and had no intention of lingering in the fighting circuit long-term. He never planned to be a professional fighter; he simply wanted to use his own abilities to make some quick cash. In his mind, as one of the country's well-known fighting clubs, Tianli Fighting Gym surely had connections to underground matches.
Huang Tianli was furious. "Xiao Zhang, what do you mean by this? How can you fight without a contract? And where am I supposed to arrange matches for you in just half a month?"
Zhang Shuai felt a bit disappointed and said helplessly, "Then forget it. Since you can't arrange it, I'll be going. Sorry for bothering you today, Director Huang."
Seeing Zhang Shuai about to leave, Huang Tianli suddenly called out, "Wait a moment."
Zhang Shuai paused his steps and asked, "Director Huang, is it possible to arrange it?"
Huang Tianli pondered for a moment. "Can you accept fighting abroad? The opponents might be extremely skilled combatants, and there could be life-threatening risks. However, the prize money for these underground matches is quite substantial. If you can accept that, I will find a way to arrange it."
Zhang Shuai replied, "I don't fear any experts, but the problem is I don't have a passport. How am I supposed to go abroad?"
Huang Tianli said, "That's fine. I'll arrange for someone to take you to get a passport. It can be done within a few days. I'll try my best to arrange as many matches as possible for you, alright? Fifty-fifty split on the prize money."
Zhang Shuai had no objections to this. Although he had the strength, he lacked the connections, so splitting half with the other party was only fair.
"That works. Let's add each other on WeChat first, and I'll arrange for someone to take you to get your passport immediately."
After the two added each other on WeChat, Huang Tianli picked up his phone and made a call to someone.
Then, he went downstairs with Zhang Shuai to the reception room to wait. Before long, a tall woman in her thirties walked in.
"Boss Huang, who needs to get a passport?"
Huang Tianli pointed at Zhang Shuai and said, "Xiaoyu, take him to apply for a passport and a visa for the Beautiful Country. A short-term visa for half a month is fine. I have only one requirement: as fast as possible!"
The woman nodded. "Alright, but the fees might be slightly higher..."
"A little higher is fine. Just take him to get it done."
Afterward, Zhang Shuai followed the woman named Pan Xiaoyu to the Exit-Entry Administration Bureau. He filled out forms, had his photo taken, and provided his fingerprints. Once finished, Pan Xiaoyu told Zhang Shuai to go home and wait, promising to notify him in two days when the passport was ready.
Back home, Zhang Shuai began to study ancient philology, occasionally sending messages to Lin Xiuwen to chat for a bit.
Ever since Lin Xiuwen saw the contents of the USB drive, she had developed a strong interest in immortal cultivation. She began practicing the Big Dipper Long Fist at home with her mother and even sent a video of them practicing together to Zhang Shuai.
Seeing that he would soon be going abroad to fight, he had to make sure he was fully charged before leaving. If he ran out of power in the middle of a match and became too weak from hunger, wouldn't he just get beaten to death?
Therefore, he had to be fully charged.
If he still had his electric scooter, Zhang Shuai would have gone back to that place in Fuzhu County, but unfortunately, his second-hand scooter had been wrecked by that island-nation female spy. The car he ordered from the dealership hadn't arrived yet, and he didn't want to waste money buying another scooter.
So, he decided to find a place in the city to charge. Daytime might be inconvenient, so he would have to wait until night.
At dusk, Zhang Shuai put on a small backpack containing some tools he might need and headed out leisurely. He first wandered around the Civic Square, looking for a suitable charging spot.
Since he needed several hours to charge, he had to find a secluded place that wouldn't easily attract attention.
After searching for a while, he actually found a perfect spot.
There were many benches in the park, and next to one of them was a lighting box with a charging port at the bottom.
Seeing that no one was on the bench at the moment, Zhang Shuai sat down next to the box, unplugged the socket from the charging port, and ran a cord out. He placed his backpack in front of the box to hide the outlet.
Zhang Shuai leaned against the bench, holding the wire in his hand to start charging. To avoid drawing attention, he took off his jacket and covered himself, which conveniently hid the wire in his hand.
The park was bustling with people coming and going. Not far away, some elderly people were practicing the Big Dipper Long Fist. Although their movements were slow, they looked like they knew what they were doing.
Many mothers were walking with their children, quite a few middle school students were laughing and playing, and pairs of young couples walked past Zhang Shuai hand-in-hand.
Zhang Shuai leaned against the bench and closed his eyes to doze off; none of the passersby paid him any mind.
After ten o'clock, the park became much quieter as the elderly and children went home to rest.
Most of those remaining in the park were young couples in love, inseparable and reluctant to part.
Right on the bench next to Zhang Shuai, a young couple began hugging and kissing, which annoyed Zhang Shuai to no end. He couldn't even charge in peace. He thought to himself, if these youngsters really couldn't hold back, they should go get a hotel room; was it really appropriate to be intimate in public in a park?
Zhang Shuai couldn't help but cough loudly, which finally scared the couple away.
Just as Zhang Shuai thought he could have some peace, a plump, gaudily dressed young woman walked past him, suddenly stopped, and headed straight toward him.
The woman was wearing a miniskirt, had fair skin, and looked average with a slightly large face and thick legs. Her face was caked in thick powder, and she wore blue eyeshadow.
"Handsome? Why are you sitting here all alone?"
As she spoke, the woman's gaze kept falling on the jacket covering Zhang Shuai's lap. Zhang Shuai's hand was tucked between his legs, holding the charging wire. Seeing the strange smile on the woman's face, he guessed she had misunderstood the situation.
Zhang Shuai asked irritably, "What? Do you need something?"
"Handsome, want to have some fun? Three hundred is all it takes. We can go into the small woods over there; it's very exciting."
Damn it, she was a streetwalker. Zhang Shuai felt annoyed. Did he look like a john to her?
"No, I'm not interested. Miss, you've come to the wrong place. If you want to do business, go to the main street; this is a park!"
"Handsome, if you think it's too expensive, two hundred is fine. Just help me out; I haven't had a single customer all day."
"Get lost!"
Zhang Shuai was angry. What was this? She wouldn't take no for an answer? Forget two hundred, he wouldn't even take it for free!
Seeing Zhang Shuai lose his temper, the woman walked away while grumbling, and Zhang Shuai finally found some peace.
Early the next morning, a fully charged Zhang Shuai restored the lighting box's socket and headed home. It seemed he should stick to more secluded places for charging in the future.
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