Inside the small room, there were only a few buckets, chairs, and a closed iron door in the wall.
Several usherettes, wearing cheongsams slit up to their thighs, stood at the entrance.
One short-haired woman, with a smile on her face, walked up to Jiang Yan: "Boss, please follow me, I'll take you to your seat."
With that, she led the way, opening the iron door and walking inside.
Jiang Yan followed into the iron door, and what appeared before him was an elevator. Next to the elevator, there was also a downward staircase.
After Jiang Yan and the woman entered the elevator, the cheongsam-clad woman pressed for the basement floor.
Ding!
As Jiang Yan waited, the elevator doors opened.
An iron door appeared before them, with two tattooed strong men standing at the entrance. Seeing people arrive, they immediately opened the iron door.
"Ahhh!"
"Damn it!"
"Hit him, hit him for me, I bet everything on you!"
"Can't you fight? Kick him in the balls!"
As soon as the iron door opened, roars, shouts, and howls came through.
Jiang Yan walked out of the iron door, and dazzling lights hit him. Only then did he clearly see his location.
The entire underground space was like a small coliseum, with spectator stands stacked in tiers, and protruding viewing platforms at the very top.
He stood in the corridor at the very top, looking down. Paths to the stands branched off to his left and right.
His seat was in the left stands, and the other stands were also filled with people.
The cheongsam-clad lady left after escorting Jiang Yan to his seat.
Jiang Yan sat in the stands, looking down.
A match had just ended there; a short-haired youth, covered in blood, with his arms twisted behind his back, was being carried off the stage.
A middle-aged man in a blue suit, with a smile on his face, walked onto the stage holding a microphone.
He looked at the surrounding audience and excitedly shouted: "Hahaha, dear esteemed audience, today's appetizer has ended!"
"Hurry up, don't dawdle!" Before he could finish, a fat man dressed in luxurious clothes below roared.
He held a stack of tickets in his hand, his eyes bloodshot, clearly having lost heavily just now.
The host's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this: "Then, please welcome tonight's heavyweight fighter, who has won 13 consecutive matches, the martial artist from Haizhou, Li Yong!"
As the host's spirited voice rang out, Jiang Yan saw a young man about 1.8 meters tall, shirtless, wearing black shorts, with a buzz cut and a sinister expression, walk into the ring.
"Li Yong!"
"Li Yong!"
"Li Yong!"
The venue immediately erupted in cheers.
With Li Yong's appearance, Jiang Yan, who had initially felt the match would be ordinary, suddenly had his eyes light up. Information about the Ghost Buddha came to his mind.
"It seems this kid named Li Yong is a bit special, to attract the Ghost Buddha's attention." Jiang Yan mused.
The last person to attract the Ghost Buddha's attention was the man who tried to kill him at the barbecue restaurant.
Thinking of this, Jiang Yan turned to look at Han Qi, who was standing behind him: "Send me the information on that Li Yong below, as soon as possible."
"Yes, Mr. Jiang." Han Qi immediately nodded, walked to the back, and started making a call.
Below, the host continued to introduce loudly: "And his opponent is a retired soldier from the Dragon Snake Special Forces, Viper, Pei Gaoda!"
As soon as these words were uttered, the cheers in the arena immediately stopped, and the audience looked at each other in confusion.
Because this Viper had never appeared here before.
Soon, a buzz-cut youth, wearing white shorts, with an ordinary appearance but a defiant expression, quickly entered the arena.
In the audience, a young man wearing a gold chain laughed heartily as he watched Viper: "This kid is here to give Li Yong another win, right?"
"This is a freebie, everyone bet on Li Yong, hahaha." Not far away, a scrawny young man shouted, as if he had seen an opportunity to turn the tables.
Viper and Li Yong stood on opposite sides of the ring, with the host in the middle, passionately saying to the ready fighters: "Alright, esteemed audience, limited-time betting begins! You now have ten minutes to place your bets."
As the host's words fell, the people below began to press the buttons next to their tables and chairs.
Li Yong's betting odds were not open before his 13 consecutive wins, but after many victories, they finally opened today. Everyone, as if crazy, bet all their assets on Li Yong.
Jiang Yan looked at a small screen that lit up next to his chair, showing the avatars of Li Yong and Viper.
However, Jiang Yan did not place a bet; he was not here to gamble.
In a viewing platform opposite, several burly men in shirts, with arrogant and overbearing expressions, sat on sofas, laughing as they watched the crowd below shout Li Yong's name.
"Hahaha, these idiots' money is so easy to earn." On the left armchair, a middle-aged man with a slicked-back hairstyle, his floral shirt open to reveal tattoos and knife scars, sneered.
On the right, a fierce-eyed young man with a wolf's head tattooed on his left cheek smirked: "Fighting and killing isn't as profitable as this. Just a little script, and you count money until your hands cramp. Brother Shan really has brains."
The Brother Shan they spoke of was a middle-aged man with an ordinary appearance, leaning back on the middle sofa, a faint smile on his face.
"It's not really a script, just good luck meeting a strong fool. Ten thousand per match, such people are rarer than national treasures."
The young man on the right smiled and continued: "An Conghao's people are here too. Brother Shan, shouldn't we go say hello?"
He Shan replied indifferently: "It's not An Conghao himself, no need to bother."
With that, he looked down at Li Yong.
At this moment, a subordinate standing behind them came up excitedly and said: "Brother Shan, the money bet on Li Yong to win has already reached over twenty million, and it's still increasing! It might reach thirty million before the betting closes!"
He Shan's smile was almost uncontrollable upon hearing this. He slapped his thigh: "Go immediately and book a private room at the Landscape Manor. After work, I'll treat the brothers to some fun!"
"Okay, Brother Shan!" The subordinate immediately perked up at these words.
Meanwhile, on Jiang Yan's viewing platform.
A few minutes later, Han Qi returned: "Mr. Jiang, Li Yong's information has been sent to your phone."
Jiang Yan nodded and picked it up to check.
[Li Yong, Haizhou, JX City native, age 27, raised by his grandmother since childhood, previously worked as a coach at a martial arts gym in JX City, skilled in Hundred Refinements Crushing Fist.]
[Half a year ago, his grandmother fell seriously ill, unable to afford the high medical expenses, so he came to Liuyang City to fight in underground boxing matches to earn money for her medical treatment. His boss is He Shan, the boss behind the underground boxing ring.]
As Jiang Yan was checking, the match below began.
The grim-faced Li Yong stood in the ring, raising his hands in a punching stance.
Viper walked up, a smile on his face: "You've managed 13 consecutive wins in this dump, so you must have some skill. But encountering me, your winning streak is destined to end."
His tone was flippant, as if these 13 consecutive wins meant nothing to him.
"Then come and try," Li Yong said calmly.
His voice was not small, and the audience in the front row heard it, their faces instantly flushing red as they angrily shouted: "Li Yong, cripple him! Show him your power!"
"Cripple him!"
"Cripple him!"
Everyone below began to shout.
"Hahaha!" However, Viper burst out laughing and attacked first.
He stomped his foot on the floor and powerfully kicked Li Yong's shin.
Li Yong's gaze sharpened, and he kicked out, not giving an inch.
Bang! Their legs collided with a dull thud, and they immediately engaged in close-quarters combat, trading blows back and forth.
"Kill him! Go, Li Yong, I've gone all-in on you!"
The crowd watched the unfolding battle, shouting excitedly.
However, after a few minutes, the crowd below gradually noticed something was wrong: Li Yong was being suppressed by Viper.
In the viewing platform above, Jiang Yan watched Li Yong being pushed back, somewhat puzzled: "Is this kid throwing the match?"
How could someone noticed by the Ghost Buddha lose to an ordinary person?