Chapter 66
After checking the surveillance footage inside and outside the door, they discovered that Duan Heng had stopped in a blind spot. He must be talking to someone.
An acquaintance. Pei Huai thought that if he wasn't someone he knew and trusted, it would be impossible for him to be called out so easily.
After checking the security cameras at the staircase and the mall entrance, Pei Huai discovered another figure besides himself, lurking in a blind spot, making it difficult to confirm their identity. It wasn't until the side door that Duan Heng got into a car around the corner.
"Wow, there's no hope for him, right? He should be dead by now." Xiang Mingqi watched the fun from the sidelines, not minding the big deal. "How about we just take it easy today and see if he can come back on his own when he wakes up tomorrow?"
Tao Ran frowned at him: "Why are you so lazy?"
"You're clueless. I call that strategic thinking, okay? Maybe he just found an excuse to skip work. I used to do that in school too. I see right through him."
"What if something really happens?"
"If something really happens, just ignore what I said. I can't bring the person back to life."
"...Why are you so shameless?"
"Rewind." Pei Huai, who hadn't joined the argument, pointed to a frame and asked for a zoom. It was a sticker on the trunk of a car. Unfortunately, a plastic rain cover obscured much of it.
The monitor immediately stepped back, and when the progress bar reached the third segment, Pei Huai squinted his eyes to analyze the details on the pixels, then stood up and walked out the door.
Tao Ran was still standing there, confused, when Xiang Mingqi, accustomed to his style, chased him to the main street. He glanced up at his senior's expressionless face and asked, "It's rare to see someone so solemn when calling you brother. Was the person who kidnapped him unusual?"
"There's a symbol in the reflection of the glass," he replied. "It's gold, in the shape of an eagle with its wings spread. In Kensos, it's very iconic. If it appears with a malicious incident, it means 'stay out of the way.'"
"So the first thing we need to do now is, 'mix it up.' Where?"
"An underground black boxing ring." Pei Huai hailed a taxi. "I know what's going on."
On the way, Pei Huai briefly explained the general situation of the boxing ring. PBL was established in the early days of Kensos, and while it's not a long time ago, it's undoubtedly the most secretive violent organization in Kensos. Money. As long as they bet, this thing will double in their hands.
Boxing matches are categorized as real or fake. Real matches are often baited, relying on newcomers and small profits to attract bets. Fake matches, on the other hand, are the source of the bulk of the profits, conveniently allowing controversial fighters to be eliminated. Through this tactic, the PBL has siphoned off a significant amount of money from spectators.
"So, Comrade Duan Heng was brought to this black boxing arena called PBL for unknown reasons, and this arena is full of black-hearted gamblers, so we have to go in and rescue him before he is divided up."
"Theoretically correct."
"But why would the boxing ring kidnap him? They have no shortage of people or profits, so they shouldn't be interested in the little money in his pocket... Maybe someone asked for it?"
"There's a candidate."
"Who is it?"
He buckled the burlap around his thumb and passed it through his wrist, wrapping the front end around his other four fingers, one by one, and then looping them around. Finally, he relaxed, biting the knot at his wrist and stretching his fingers. "Yan Xu. Remember?"
"Ah, I remember now! Is he the bad boy who almost killed our Zhuang Ge? Ouch, he stabbed me that time, it hurts now when I think about it." Xiang Mingqi muttered while glancing sideways, and was disappointed to find that Pei Huai didn't want to care about him. "I remember he said that he did some black boxing for a while before joining the Dexing family... Plus, he did know the Chuunibyou guy. Ha, I really don't know what he wants to do."
"Just a guess. Don't overthink it."
Eliminating other possibilities. Thinking of the young man who wandered the streets and ultimately vanished after the factory incident, Pei Huai was silent for a minute. Facts had proven that letting Yan Xu go was a mistake he would never forget. Now, this mistake had truly brought about an unknown danger: Why did he take Duan Heng away, and... from what standpoint?
"Brother, is the boxing ring dangerous? I've never been to a place like this where it's so obvious they're trying to rip you off."
"—By the way, do I need a ticket to enter as a spectator? Do I need to sign a confidentiality agreement? What are the seats like? Does it hurt to sit there? How can I place bets and make a few hundred thousand?"
"have no idea."
"Ah, I know that someone like Brother Pei Huai, who has a pure lifestyle, would definitely not be interested in gambling in places like that. So what should I do? How about I check Baidu first?"
"--But speaking of which. Brother, why are you wrapping bandages around your palms? Is this some kind of necessary ritual?" When the taxi stopped at the station, someone finally made up his mind, poked the Muay Thai-style cloth strip on Pei Huai's fist with his hand, and asked.
The latter pushed open the car door, leaving him with a backless look.
"No." He heard Pei Huai's tone calm, "I only know the entrance to the competition."
The fresh produce shop smelled terrible, a sour, pungent stench, and flies swarmed in the air. Xiang Mingqi couldn't describe the smell; it felt like a combination of sweat and moldy food. The owner sat by the freezer, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan. His sweatshirt had been washed so loose and thin that half his arm was visible.
There was no light, and the sunlight shone in obliquely, but it was slow to shine into the store.
"What would you like to order?" The boss yawned and didn't seem to want to move.
"Open the door."
Xiang Mingqi was caught off guard by this blunt statement: "Ah, do we have to be direct when talking to people here? Not like in the movies, where we exchange secret codes?"
The palm-leaf fan stopped waving and rested on his chest. Footsteps approached from the darkness. But throughout, Pei Huai's expression remained unchanged.
"No matter who you got the news from, my answer is, 'No'. I've never seen you, and I won't let outsiders in. If you want to place a bet, you've come to the wrong place." The boss squinted his eyes and looked at them. The wrinkles at the end of his eyebrows looked very deep, like cracks. "Forgive me for not seeing you off. But if you don't leave now, we have to follow the procedures and 'invite' you-"
He didn't have time to finish his words.
Pei Huai grabbed the sparse hair at the back of his head, tightened his arm, and slammed it down on the cabinet door. Once, twice, the crack of bone was so horrifying that blood splattered on the shattered sheet metal door. When he lifted his hand again, he saw that most of the boss's face was covered in blood and flesh, and his nose was dripping with blood.
The man was not dead, but was dying. It was obvious that Pei Huai had left him with a breath.
Throwing aside the immobilized middle-aged man, he cut directly into the opponent's inner circle, pressing his opponent's punches and delivering a direct blow, causing the opponent's sternum to ache and retreat repeatedly. At the same time, he raised his right elbow, and the end of the bone hit the opponent's head and face, causing his neck to twist.
The swallow-like figure then twisted his waist and delivered a high sweep kick, severely injuring the other man's solar plexus.
Having knocked the two men down wasn't enough. Pei Huai flexed his fingers, then dodged forward with a swift, dodging motion. With the force of a steel blade clenching through water, he grasped someone's arm and swung it backward. With the resounding sound of bone cracking, Pei Huai casually wiped the blood from his face and stood up. This left Xiang Mingqi, accustomed to his Sanda moves, dumbfounded.
He really didn't expect that even Muay Thai could be played so easily by him.
"Open the door." This was Pei Huai's second reiteration. He took a step forward, and those who hadn't had time to enter the arena took three or two steps back.
Seeing no one was bothering him, he grabbed the boss, whose teeth were mostly broken, and stared at his bloody face. His dark eyes were as cold as usual, without a trace of confusion: "Don't make me say it again."
Things turned out much better after that.
Without hesitation, the boss arranged the competition procedures for Pei Huai alone. As for why Xiang Mingqi was not allowed to compete, Pei Huai gave a simple reason: "It's too troublesome."
"Then brother, are you afraid of my death because you love me?"
"No." He then ignored the man's distressed screams and walked through the door. Meanwhile, the boss led them into the backroom to discuss the schedule. His previous suffering had left him with a slurred speech, his words spitting blood, and he had no choice but to send someone else to explain.
The matches were held at 8:00 PM, with a total of twelve matches, all in a ring format. However, the PBL had a special rule requiring contestants to wear masks on the lower half of their faces, using animal names to distinguish them from one another to avoid trouble.
The introducer opened the suitcase in his hand, and there were four masks left in the box: Wendigo, Goat, Snake and Gyrfalcon.
"Oh my god, brother, quickly choose the Peregrine Falcon. I feel like this big white bird was born for you." Xiang Mingqi picked it up without thinking and measured it against Pei Huai's face with great interest.
"But I think you'd better not use the Gyrfalcon one."
This aroused Xiang Mingqi's curiosity: "Why?"
"It seems like... three or four years ago. Back then, PBL wasn't as popular as it is now. I remember back then, a dark horse emerged from our group and started saying that the competition was just a hobby."
"—It only took less than a night, and he already attracted all the famous customers. His skills are truly remarkable. He hits people like he's hitting a sandbag, so effortless. Yeah, he wears a gyrfalcon mask, too."
"And then what?"
"For some reason, he stopped coming after three weeks. Our current champion often competed with Gyrfalcon before he became famous. So, whenever he sees someone wearing a Gyrfalcon mask, he'll beat them to death."
"Then do you know what a gyrfalcon looks like?"
"I don't know, he must be quite handsome. I remember backstage, his mask was accidentally knocked off, and a wealthy man who saw it immediately paid a large sum of money and begged him to spend a night with him."
"Why is it that the more you describe it, the more I feel a sense of déjà vu."
The advice ended there. The introducer asked them if they had made their choice. If they had, they had to follow him into the locker room. Otherwise, staying there too long would get them into trouble. Pei Huai picked up the Gyrfalcon mask and walked into the shower room.
Xiang Mingqi was still digesting the information behind him: "Brother, isn't it too much of a fuss to find a living person to have a boxing match?"
“The audience is limited.”
"That's true, but don't you think it's dangerous to fight a bunch of thugs?" He smiled enthusiastically, his face brimming with enthusiasm. "But don't worry, if you get hurt, I promise... I'll pull their nails off piece by piece."
Pei Huai didn't follow his words: "I don't know PBL, and I don't know how far they will go for boxers. But as far as I can see now, whether Yan Xu did it or not, he should be a big cash cow here, as he was able to mobilize PBL people. "
“And you want to make this cash cow worthless.”
The shower curtain was drawn shut with a swish. From the narrow cubicle came the rustling sound of clothes and zippers.
"I always feel like something is wrong." Xiang Mingqi was still muttering in confusion, "Something has been wrong since I came here. Brother, do you have any connection with PBL? I always thought you knew a lot about it, but when I think about it, it doesn't seem to be the case. What do you say..."
Without noticing, he pulled open the shower curtain and stepped in.
His brain cells were still working at that time: Pei Huai seemed to be very familiar with this place. When he said he was participating in the competition, it didn't sound like he was going to participate in a black boxing match involving life and death, but just to go through the motions.
"……go out."
He raised his eyes subconsciously as soon as the words reached his ears. At this time, Pei Huai was lifting his shoulders to take off his shirt from behind, pulling out his braids.
The narrow, dynamic section of his waist became a source of attraction, imbued with an extremely vigorous vitality. His abs were alluring, and his waistline was clearly defined, overemphasizing his superior upper body proportions. Xiang Mingqi stared at the faint mermaid line beneath the muscles and bones, his eyes fixed.
That is to say, a very thin waist and great lower abdominal muscles.
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