Chapter 27: Underground Fighting Tournament

Time flew by in the blink of an eye, and soon it was lunchtime. As Chen Erpao and Wang Xing were leaving the security office for the cafeteria, Li Ziyang drove his Q7 out of the school gates and stopped beneath a large tree a few hundred meters from the entrance.

“Brother Li.”

“Brother Li...”

Beneath the tree, six or seven young men stood or squatted—their hair dyed yellow or green, noses and ears pierced with studs. When they saw Li Ziyang arrive, they all straightened up and greeted him.

“This is the photo of the guy you need to deal with. Take a good look. Find a chance tonight to cripple him. There will be benefits for you when the job is done.” As Li Ziyang spoke, he pulled out a photo. The image was blurry, obviously snapped with some high-tech device.

“Brother Li, do we really have to cripple him? Won’t that cause trouble?” one of the yellow-haired youths asked hesitantly.

Li Ziyang shot him a contemptuous look. “And you call yourself a street tough? All that talk about being ruthless, and now you’re scared to mess up a nobody. I’m not asking you to take out some crime boss—he’s just a lowly security guard. What’s there to worry about? He’s moonlighting as a driver now, chauffeuring someone around in an S-Class Mercedes. Don’t worry. If anything happens, I’ll take care of it.”

“Brother Li, that puts our minds at ease. We’ll have good news for you tomorrow. But, uh, everyone’s a bit short on cash right now, so could you...” The yellow-haired youth grinned sheepishly.

Impatiently, Li Ziyang pulled a thick wad of hundred-yuan bills from his bag—easily tens of thousands—and tossed it to the yellow-haired youth.

“Handle this well, and there will be plenty more where that came from.” With that, he got back into his Q7, turned around, and headed straight back to the school. As soon as he left, the yellow-haired youth spat disdainfully on the ground.

“Damn it, he only acts tough because his dad’s some official and he’s got a bit of money. If it weren’t for the cash, I wouldn’t stoop so low in front of him. I’ve got a bit of a reputation on this street myself.”

After lunch in the cafeteria, Chen Erpao and Wang Xing were walking back toward the main gate’s security office when they happened to cross paths with Li Ziyang returning to school.

What surprised Chen Erpao was that, for the first time ever, Li Ziyang actually smiled at him and even greeted him.

“Damn, a smile that sinister can only mean trouble,” Chen Erpao thought. He wasn’t stupid—knowing Li Ziyang’s character, there was no way he’d suddenly turn over a new leaf, let alone let go of their rivalry over a woman.

Back in the security office, Chen Erpao had barely warmed his seat when Li Meili walked in. The look she gave Chen Erpao was much more indifferent than before, but she seemed unusually friendly toward Wang Xing. Chen Erpao just gave an awkward smile.

After she left, Chen Erpao took the documents from Wang Xing to have a look. It turned out the school was planning to hold a sports meet in a week’s time, and these were instructions for all security personnel. The documents were meant for him, the deputy captain, but clearly Li Meili’s grudge wasn’t going to fade anytime soon.

“Brother Pao, the sports meet next week is going to be fun. We should go have a look. Those pretty underclassmen will be wearing sexy shorts and sportswear, their white thighs on display. When they run, everything worth watching will be bouncing like crazy. Think about the feast for our eyes!” Wang Xing looked as if he were staring at a delicious ham.

“That’s true, but all we can do is look, not touch. That’s even more frustrating,” Chen Erpao replied, shaking his head.

“Heh heh, Brother Pao, want to go out tonight for something exciting?” Wang Xing suddenly whispered, grinning.

“What kind of excitement?”

“There’s an underground boxing arena in Tuen Mun—illegal fights, sometimes even to the death, and you can place bets,” Wang Xing explained.

Chen Erpao had always been interested in boxing. He’d heard of underground fights, but never seen one in person.

“All right, let’s go check it out tonight.”

“I heard that winning a match there gets you at least a hundred thousand yuan, plus the right to spend a night with an underage girl,” Wang Xing added, snickering.

“Such a generous perk?” Chen Erpao was skeptical.

“That’s what I heard, but I believe it. The place is run by the biggest gang in Tuen Mun, the Hongxing Society. Besides their own fighters, they let outsiders in for the prize money and girls. The underage girls are used as rewards and to lure outsiders to join.” Wang Xing spoke as if he’d been there himself, describing everything in detail. At the mention of underage girls, a strange look flashed in his eyes—there was no need to guess what he was thinking.

“So, are you thinking of entering? There are underage girls, you know. For people like us, it’d be hard to get one otherwise—unless you bought a truckload of lollipops and went to a kindergarten.” Chen Erpao shot Wang Xing a mischievous grin.

Wang Xing shook his head vigorously. “You think I’m like you? I know my limits. With my skills, I’d only end up crippled, and then my happiness for the rest of my life would be over.”

Time slipped by, and soon it was the end of the workday. Chen Erpao first took Wang Xuemei home, then returned to the school to pick up Wang Xing. As soon as they drove the Mercedes a few miles from school, on a lonely stretch of road, two motorcycles suddenly zoomed out ahead to block their path, while two more appeared behind them, cutting off their escape.

Four young punks, decked out in bizarre outfits, got off the bikes—some wielding iron chains, others steel pipes, their weapons a motley assortment, clearly amateurish.

“Which one of you is Chen Erpao? Someone doesn’t like you and paid us to cripple you. Don’t blame us—we’re just doing our job for the money. At most, we’ll go easy on you,” the yellow-haired youth said, glancing at the blurry photo in his hand. Somehow, he couldn’t tell which of the two was Chen Erpao.

“He’s Chen Erpao. If you’ve got business, talk to him,” Chen Erpao quickly said, pointing at Wang Xing with a bright, innocent-looking smile.

Wang Xing was speechless, shooting him a look of utter disdain. He was about to explain, but the yellow-haired youth and his crew were already charging at him, weapons raised.

“Ah Xing, these guys shouldn’t be a problem for you, right? Don’t embarrass us former soldiers of China!” Chen Erpao decided to stand aside, light a cigarette, and watch the show unfold with leisurely amusement.