Chapter Eighty-Four: The Underground Arena, Part Six

By now, Viata no longer had any mind to care what Chudong was shouting. He let out a howl like a wild wolf, released his grip, and his eyes, even without being shut, could no longer be opened. Blood kept seeping from the corners of them, and it looked as though blindness was all but certain.

The fool still had not realized that Chudong’s claim about a contest fought with closed eyes had been a lie. If it was impossible to do with eyes open, then how had Chudong managed it? He must have had some sort of miraculous sight, for he had found the exact position of his eyes with uncanny precision. Through a stream of snarled curses, he kept flailing at the air like a maddened beast, thrashing about the vast arena with all the reckless abandon of a man spending his strength without restraint. More than once, his blows came frighteningly close to striking Chudong, who evaded them with some difficulty. Had they landed, Chudong would have been in real trouble.

Viata’s ferocious fists and feet posed a grave threat to Chudong, who continued to taunt him at intervals. After slapping him across the face once more, Chudong was struck on the chin by a cautious counterpunch from Viata, and blood immediately spilled from the corner of his mouth. Fortunately, Chudong reacted quickly, rolling away at once to avoid the relentless string of punches that followed as though Viata were pursuing a mortal enemy.

“Damn it! You bastard really has a hard hand.” After getting out of range, Chudong spat out a mouthful of blood and wiped his mouth with his hand, staring hard at Viata, who was charging toward him again.

Step by step, Viata advanced, his left fist extended like a probe, his right hand coiled with power, ready to unleash a killing blow at any moment.

The entire arena held its breath. Everyone watched the unusual duel with amazement.

Chudong was no different. He carefully steadied his breathing, and when Viata drew near he suddenly drove a punch out, landing squarely on the corner of his mouth. Then he slipped away again to a safe distance, calmly watching Viata vent his rage like a madman.

Chudong was that petty; whatever loss he suffered, he had to take it back in kind. Just now he had been bloodied at the mouth, and now he was giving his opponent the same result by different means. Seeing blood well up from the other side, he felt much better. He even had time to wink at the audience and make a face.

“Hahaha...”

“Brother, that was awesome...”

The crowd was delighted by Chudong’s antics. Some especially exuberant spectators even clapped and shouted, “Again, again...”

Chudong was vicious enough that whenever Viata seemed close to exhaustion, he would slip up and kick him once. Viata would erupt again in fury; and the moment he paused, Chudong would slap him across the face.

Viata ground his teeth in rage. At last, when he was truly near collapse, Chudong kicked him several times in a row, yet he still held his ground, waiting for Chudong to make one careless mistake so he could seize him.

Catch him?

Chudong was not that foolish. Even when Viata stood still, he would not come too close. His policy was simple: strike once, then run. But later he felt that would not do. Seeing that Viata could barely open his eyes and had to keep his legs spread wide to maintain his balance, Chudong quietly circled behind him, gathered all his strength, and drove the tip of his foot straight into the place below his belt.

Viata was truly exhausted. On top of that, the shouts from all around had drowned out every warning. He had been thinking of resting before making his move again, when this blow struck the still-pondering Viata like a bolt from the blue. He leaped high into the air, then landed clutching his groin and darted about the arena like a wounded monkey. Every man who saw the scene instinctively covered his own manhood, feeling a chill wind there and a tight involuntary contraction of the muscles.

The time was nearly up. Chudong still did not feel satisfied, so he swept Viata off his feet with a leg sweep while the man was bouncing around like mad. He did not dare rush in and beat him, afraid that if the fellow somehow caught him, it would not end well.

Glancing back at where he had been sitting before, he saw that Tan Xue and Li Youran were still guarded by several men in black, though their attention was also fixed on him. Since the two women did not seem to be in immediate danger, he finally relaxed.

Perhaps someone had misunderstood when Chudong looked up just now and thought he was searching for something. No one knew which patriotic young man had found a wooden stick as thick as a child’s arm and, not minding the trouble it might cause, tossed it into the arena. Chudong understood at once. He went over, picked it up, and brought it down on Viata, who was rolling on the ground, with a flurry of blows, all while calling out in a light, casual tone.

“Get up. Come on, get up. You came all the way here just to mop our floor? Get up. I said get up.”

Even after Viata had lost the use of his eyes, Chudong had still been on the defensive and taking blows. At last, he had truly turned the tables. Beating Viata so thoroughly left Chudong himself panting and exhausted. He tucked the stick under his arm, spat on his palm, and kept on hitting him.

“What kind of crap is the boxing king, what kind of undefeated champion? To hell with it...”

The organizers of this underground gladiator pit really did have rules; even in such chaos, no one came forward to stop him. It was not until the ten minutes were up that the gong sounded.

And at the very instant the gong rang, Chudong broke the wooden stick in two.

Cheers followed, rising like a tsunami. Chudong, the national hero, was infected by the atmosphere as well. He threw down the broken stick, did not even look at Viata lying motionless on the ground, and raised both hands to acknowledge the crowd’s acclaim.

Just at that moment of intense excitement, a shrill police siren sounded from outside. No one knew how many police cars had swiftly surrounded the enormous factory building. Panic instantly broke out inside.

Chudong grabbed the rope barrier and jumped out of the arena. He seized Tan Xue and Li Youran, who were being jostled and twisted by the crowd, one in each arm, and brought them to the center of the arena. This was the least crowded place now. Everywhere else, people were surging like mad toward the two small exits, and many were being crushed and battered into bleeding messes. Just moments ago they had been shouting themselves hoarse; now they were crying for fathers and mothers.

These people were usually figures of status. If they were caught by the police here, how could they face anyone afterward? Illegal gambling gatherings on such a scale would earn anyone three to five years in prison. No one wanted that. So they all fought desperately to escape.

“Young master, hurry up. The police have surrounded the place.” A man in black ran in from outside and anxiously addressed the young master, who had just lit a cigar.

“Damn it, who let the leak out?” Cursing, the sofa chair turned around. The young man was actually Wang Dongliang, the heir to the Hai Feng Group.

“Young master, if we don’t leave now, it’ll be too late.” The man in black moved aside a cabinet-like piece of furniture, revealing a hole, then switched on the flashlight in his hand and urged Wang Dongliang urgently.

“Wait for me.” Looking at the three people still visible on the screen, Wang Dongliang picked up the hat on the table in front of him, put it on, and hurried into the hole.

“What... what should we do now?” Tan Xue hid under Chudong’s arm and looked up at him plaintively.

“What else can we do? Wait. It’s fine.” Chudong lowered his head and smiled faintly at her. There was no time to blame either of them now. He could feel Tan Xue and Li Youran trembling slightly against his arms. If he had not held them, they might have collapsed already.

Li Youran and Tan Xue exchanged a look. Li Youran awkwardly stuck out her little tongue. What could Tan Xue say? She had agreed to come in the first place, so she could hardly blame anyone else. She smoothed her long hair, rested her head against Chudong’s chest, and listening to the steady, powerful beat of his heart, she suddenly felt as though the world had grown quiet.

“People inside, listen up. You are surrounded. Resistance is useless. Open the door and come out one by one.”

The loudspeaker crackled to life, carrying across the peaceful night for a great distance.

Police cars all around switched on their headlights, turning the windows white with glare. The shrill sirens never ceased. The chaos in the building gradually subsided, and the noise slowly faded. Apart from the groans of those injured by the crush and the sobbing of a few girls, everyone else fell silent. At some point, all eyes had turned toward Chudong and the others.

“Quiet. Damn it, stop making a scene!” Seeing many people trampled underfoot and hearing cries of pain rise and fall without end, Chudong shouted at the top of his lungs.

It actually worked. His roar miraculously calmed the riot. Everyone slowed down and retreated from the doors. The two little exits were quickly cleared. There was no organization, yet everything became orderly.

“Open the door. Clinging here won’t help,” Chudong said. Just now everyone had surged toward the entrance, leaving the arena the emptiest place. The three of them were standing out like sore thumbs.

“Spread out a bit. Those who are injured help one another and move aside. Running now won’t get us out. Accept it,” Chudong said, then led Tan Xue and Li Youran toward the door. The crowd automatically opened a passage for them.

“Open the door.” Chudong barked at the bald man who had threatened him earlier.

“This...” The bald man hesitated. Only now was his mind clearing. He had been squeezed and battered black and blue, and someone had even stepped on his forehead, leaving a large footprint there.

“What do you mean, this? All your people who needed to leave are already gone. If you don’t open up, are you waiting for someone to bring you dinner?” Chudong’s tone was unfriendly, but he did not press him too hard.

The bald man thought about it and saw that it was true. Several of his men in the corner had been squeezed so badly they could not even stand. He turned around and yanked the little door open.

Chudong led Tan Xue and Li Youran out first, with their hands raised high. As soon as they stepped outside, someone quickly came up and cuffed Chudong. Li Youran and Tan Xue were not cuffed, but someone was watching them closely. No one else came out behind them, clearly wanting to see what would happen to Chudong and the others first.

“Move forward. Quickly.” A fully armed police officer behind Chudong shoved him.

His footing wavered, and if Li Youran had not caught him, he might have fallen.

“Hey, be gentler, will you? Savage.”

Unexpectedly, Tan Xue spoke up because the officer had pushed Chudong. Chudong’s next step landed badly and he nearly stumbled. He turned back in surprise to look at her.

“Mind your own business. Why are you staring?” Realizing she had lost some of her usual composure, Tan Xue blushed and lifted her foot, giving him a kick.

“Little sister, go boldly forward, forward you go...” Chudong was not merely untroubled by the cuffs; even if he had been locked up outright, he could not suppress the joy in his chest.

Outside, the glare of headlights made it seem as bright as day, but Chudong and the others could hardly open their eyes. They walked with unsteady steps through the light until they reached the area where the police cars were parked.

The three of them were brought to a stop beside one of the police vehicles. A uniformed officer holding a radio looked them over from head to toe, then suddenly smiled at Chudong.

“So even you have a day like this?”