Underground Fight Club

Xiao Wang was very interested in this Elite Talent Program. Though there were only ten slots and the competition would be fierce, there were even fewer slots to enter the inner city. In other words, if he could not get into this Elite Talent Program, he could forget about entering the inner city.

More importantly, the slots for entering the inner city would most likely be selected from those ten people in the Elite Talent Program.

But there was no rush for that yet. There were still several months left. Right now, the most urgent matter was raising tuition fees.

The last time he delivered goods for Sister Hua, she had given him an extra 10,000 federal credits, bringing the total to 15,000. Including what he already had, he had a little over 40,000 federal credits. But the martial arts school tuition and living expenses ahead, together with Mount Yuan Martial Arts Academy's tuition, would still require more than 130,000 federal credits.

And that did not even include all sorts of expenses after enrollment.

"That's still a long way off."

Xiao Wang sighed inwardly, then casually asked Chu Wenlong beside him, "Brother Long, got any ways to make money? Give me a couple."

"Brother Wang, you're short on money? You should've said so earlier. How about this? Fight me a few rounds every day, and I'll give you 1,000 federal credits per match. Sound good?"

Xiao Wang smiled as he listened. "You really don't treat money like money. Forget it, I'm heading out first."

With that, Xiao Wang prepared to return to the martial arts school. Maybe another delivery job would come along, and he could earn a few thousand more.

As for making money by sparring with Chu Wenlong, he decided against it after thinking it over. Though the price was clearly stated, it was obviously a favor. Favors owed in Mount Yuan City's outer district were not easy to repay, especially to a family that did not lack money.

"Brother Wang, wait."

After Xiao Wang had taken a few steps, Chu Wenlong called out from behind him and caught up.

"Brother Wang, are you really short on money?"

"I am. Very short."

Xiao Wang answered as he kept walking toward the exit without slowing down.

Chu Wenlong walked beside him. "Brother Wang, wait a second. I actually do know a way, but making money through it isn't easy either. I know you don't want to owe me a favor, so I'll give you this information as repayment for the favor from our last fight."

Xiao Wang could tell Chu Wenlong was not joking. He stopped, turned to look at him, and asked, "What way?"

"Have you heard of underground fight clubs?"

"Underground fight clubs? Illegal boxing?"

Chu Wenlong froze. "Illegal boxing? What illegal boxing?"

"Nothing. Go on."

"Underground fight clubs. You can make money by fighting."

As Xiao Wang listened, he thought, Isn't that just illegal boxing? "Doesn't the Patrol Bureau care?"

"Huh? Why would the Patrol Bureau care? Everyone fights voluntarily. It's not like anyone's being forced." Chu Wenlong looked at Xiao Wang in surprise before continuing, "Not only do they not interfere, they encourage it."

"They encourage it? What kind of logic is that?"

"A large part of the public security incidents in the outer district come from conflicts between gangs. Rather than letting them fight over territory in the streets, it's better to let them settle things in the ring."

As Xiao Wang listened, he had to admit that made some sense.

At the same time, he remembered the drug trial at Fusheng. So many people had died, and the matter had been settled with a bit of compensation. The Patrol Bureau had not interfered then, so why would it care about something like boxing?

And from that drug trial, he had already seen that people seemed accustomed to such things.

Clearly, Chu Wenlong was very accustomed to them.

"Fighting... would someone at my level be able to do it?"

"Brother Wang, you're underestimating yourself. You'll be fine. There are different levels. You can definitely handle the non-death matches. You'll understand once you get there."

"Non-death matches?" Xiao Wang repeated. "So there are death matches too?"

"You'll understand once you get there."

As Chu Wenlong spoke, he gave Xiao Wang an address. "They open at night. You can go take a look. Find someone called Fish Brother and tell him I sent you."

Xiao Wang memorized the address. He returned to the martial arts school and practiced his boxing techniques for the entire afternoon. At last, he had nearly converted all the damage within the bead, and it had faded back to a grayish-white color.

After dinner, he made an excuse to leave the martial arts school and headed toward the address Chu Wenlong had given him.

After leaving, he crossed seven blocks in succession, then turned into an alley and went down a flight of stairs into a basement. He walked another thirty meters, opened a heavy iron door, passed through a long corridor, and arrived before another door.

Standing outside, Xiao Wang could see faint light leaking through the crack beneath the door and hear very subdued clamor from within.

Then he opened the door, and bright light and wave after wave of shouting immediately rushed out.

"Get him!"

"Hit his legs!"

"Go for his lower body!"

Looking at the scene before him, Xiao Wang knew he had found the right place. This was the underground fighting arena Chu Wenlong had told him about.

Amid the deafening shouts and dazzling lights, Xiao Wang surveyed the venue. It was not very large, but the ceiling was high. Its layout was unlike the boxing gyms from his previous life; it resembled a billiards hall more. There were no seats, only three fighting rings placed in the center of the venue.

At that moment, fierce matches were taking place on all three rings, while crowds of spectators surrounded them, shouting and screaming.

Xiao Wang did not hurry to find the Fish Brother Chu Wenlong had mentioned. Instead, he stood to one side and observed the situation.

He noticed numbers written beside each ring. After asking some onlookers, he learned that they represented the odds of victory, the proportions of people placing bets, and other such information.

"This isn't a fight club. It's basically a boxing casino."

Xiao Wang thought as he observed the three rings. The intensity of the fights increased in order, and after watching for a while, he judged that his own level fell somewhere between the second and third rings.

He also learned that the fighters on the three rings earned 1,000 federal credits per match, 5,000 federal credits per match, and 10,000 federal credits per match respectively—provided they won.

He also noticed that this place differed from the boxing he knew. During matches, spectators could offer federal credits to make requests of the fighters. If the fighter fulfilled the request, they would receive the corresponding payment.

For example, one fighter in the intermediate ring had clearly already been knocked down and could not get back up, yet an announcement came over the loudspeakers. "Contestant Niu Renli, if you win this match, you will receive an additional 5,000 federal credits."

Clearly, a spectator had placed an extra wager during the match. As long as Niu Renli won the round, he would receive an additional 5,000 federal credits on top of the original 5,000.

And that would bring out a fighter's potential, making the match more exciting—and more brutal.

Sure enough, Niu Renli, who had been unable to get up, slowly tried to rise again after hearing those words. But Xiao Wang could see that his knee was probably already shattered.

No matter how hard he tried to stand, he could not manage it. Then he let out a shout.

"Ah!"

Even through the excruciating pain, he still tried to get up.

But in the end, he could not do it.

At the same time, his opponent drove a knee into his jaw, and Niu Renli completely passed out.

After he lost consciousness, the spectators showed no fear and had no concern over whether he was dead or alive. Instead, cheers erupted from those who had won their bets, along with sighs from those who had lost.

Then staff members carried Niu Renli off the ring and tossed him into a corner.

Then a woman carrying a frail-looking child on her back came over to Niu Renli's side, crying as she called his name.

As Xiao Wang watched, he was about to go over and see what was happening when Niu Renli spat out a mouthful of blood, then slowly sat up. Looking at the woman before him, he said dejectedly, "Wife, I'm sorry. I didn't get the 5,000 federal credits. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, it's okay." The woman cried as she spoke. "Come on, let's go home. We'll think of something else once we're home."

Then the woman supported Niu Renli as they limped toward the exit.

Watching their retreating figures, Xiao Wang suddenly thought of the older brother who had taken the drug trial with him before, as well as the man's daughter who had collected the compensation for his death in the trial.