Shi Lang came to Theodore and they proceeded to the secured passage. The two of them were thoroughly checked, and then they were told to leave their communicators and jewelry behind. Shi Lang was confused and asked the guard, “Elder Brother, how do we bet if the communicator is placed here?”
While he said this, he extended the cigarette bow towards the guard with both hands. His posture was akin to a slave in the cooperate company trying to please his boss. The guard was going to flare up but when he saw the stance of the person he sighed and took a cigarette and said, “Inside you will be able to access your accounts by biometric login. Do not worry, our place is legit and upright. You will not be cheated.”
Shi Lang nodded repeatedly and thanked the man before heading ahead. Theodore looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze and said, “I did not expect you to be socially adept, brother. These guards are all rough men, yet you conversed with one of them. Good guy, I admire you.”
The young general laughed goofily. The two of them came inside from a pair of sliding automated doors, and Shi Lang found himself standing in a new world. Theodore said, “Welcome to the Arena.”
A lady approached them, she could be classified as a mediocre beauty, but she smiled with great enthusiasm and asked, “Patrons, would you like me to show you to the betting counter?”
Shi Lang nodded and the lady bowed as she said, “Please follow me.”
The lady was wearing exposing clothes, the cut on her blouse had left the valley of joy on display completely. Theodore has been gazing at her with a fiery gaze and almost drooling, but the lady did not have any reaction to this gaze, after all, everyone here was the same. Shi Lang did not want to stand out, as he did not know if anyone was the spy of the syndicate leader.
The lady led them through the bustling crowd to find a counter where the match-ups were listed and also the number of matches the fighters have won and their previous achievements. Theodore looked at the holo screen and said in a hushed tone, “Brother, you are from the military background, who do you think we should bet on?”
Shi Lang was surprised and said, “Data can be deceiving, can we not see the people fight and then bet?”
The hostess behind the counter heard this and said, “Sir, you can bet after thirty seconds of the fight begins. However, any later than that, your bets will not be accepted.”
Shi Lang thought about it, they are not wrong, the fights will be high-paced, and allowing the patrons to bet later might result in the fight ending. He nodded and asked for the relative procedure for betting at the match.
The hostess patiently guided him and the two people were led to grab a seat in the observation area. Shi Lang and Theodore sat on a rather high seat surrounded by other people. Shi Lang could not believe how these people managed a venue housing thousands of people at the same time. The government had no idea of such a place existed.
This was not a threat to anything other than the infrastructure. Such a big unauthorized place must have some loopholes, such as lacking foundation and stuff, after all, the buildings standing over the surface were all skyscrapers, how could this underground place handle so much weight from above?
Shi Lang focused on another problem, the people working here all seemed to have forced their cultivation breakthroughs and almost all of them carry the strain wounds from back then. This was definitely something terrible, such a forceful breakthrough was done for a reason, to intimidate the crowd and project a strong image. This way the people will be hooked and try to make contact with the syndicate.
This was a complicated business action, by more people connecting with them, the roots of the syndicate will grow deeper, and slowly the entire Federation will become a hollow ruin of glory. Shi Lang’s brows furrowed, he wished to kill this guy who was standing between his goals.
This investigation was nothing but a time consumer for him. Just when he was lost in thoughts the lights went out. The only place lit up was the center of the arena, where a cage was erected. This was the ring, ten feet square feet. A beautiful woman walked into the cage with minimal clothing to cover her body, and the crowd started cheering.
Shi Lang said, “They really went all out in the attention-capturing aspect.”
Theodore beside him nodded and said, “Indeed, if they do not add the pinch of glamour, how will the broken and desperate come here?”
Shi Lang nodded, this was indeed true, those who thought of their lives to be broken and devastated looked for joy and bliss in such exhibitions. The woman walked around while swaying her waist and the men were almost drooling, suddenly, the lady stopped and spoke up with a seductive tone, “Welcome, my dear patrons. I am Wilma, and I welcome you to another night of blood boil rumble of the warriors!”
The crowd erupted at her words, Shi Lang furrowed his brows at such a loud noise. To think that this place did not have any high-quality music system but was drowned by intoxicated humans. The woman in the cage waved her hands and the people calmed down. To think she had such a command, suddenly Shi Lang thought if he could have this woman.
Just as this thought came to his mind, his eyes gleamed with a cold light. Finally, he understood what was happening in this place, this woman had cast a charming spell or to say a bewitchment technique on the men here. He hid the chill in his eyes to prevent detection and began to act like the people around him.
The woman said, “Now the time has come for the first battle of the night, I give you the two boxers from the black level, Tian, and Holmes. While Tian has won seven fights in a row, Holmes had won nine, and they both stand in front of each other with an undefeated march, but can Holmes make a record and complete a ten-win streak?
Let them come in…”
The two people walked inside the cage from different sides and they both were entangled in a stare-down. The crown was also cheering for their favored fighter. It was a chaotic situation. Shi Lang was, however, focused on the woman standing at the side of the cage. She seemed to be smiling at the two people, but her lips were faintly shivering.
Shi Lang raised his eyebrow and internally lamented, ‘To think this lady can even use subtle mind control and fix the battle.”
His spirit sense detected the blood circulation in Holmes’s body to fluctuate. He was going to be the first person to win ten fights in a row, and the people could not let this opportunity go. The entire arena had almost better on Holmes.
Shi Lang curled his lips and using a remote access console on the chair armrest, he withdrew a few thousand credits from the bank and then placed them on Tian. He was not going to meddle with the operation here, but this woman was going to be his slave from now on.
The battle began as soon as the woman in the ring waved her hand and headed out of the cage. The two candidates rushed at each other and as expected, Holmes rained down a furious assault on the opponent. The people who were yet to bet thought Holmes will win and they placed their money on him.
Shi Lang leaned back in the chair and watched the scene unfold, as soon as the marker of forty seconds passed, Holmes fumbled, and Tian exploited the mistake of his enemy with an uppercut to the latter’s chin. This punch rambled Holmes from the inside out. The impact on the chin sent his body into shock and Tian lashed out with inhumane assault.
Holmes, the expected favorited lay on the floor with blood gushing out of his nose and mouth. His condition was not very good. The team of medics rushed in and took him out for medical assistance.
The woman walked into the cage again and she began to congratulate Tian for his victory, and said, “Now we will take a small break till the ring is cleaned up before the next fight.”
At this moment, a husky voice sounded in her ears, “A fox is truly a captivating beast.”
The pupils of the lady constricted to pin-points. She could not understand who was talking to her. The voice sounded again, “Come to find me after the match, otherwise, you will lose out big time.”
The lady shivered, she could not understand, who was this person talking to her, but since he knew her tricks, a meeting was the only option left.