Chapter 367 Win!
Ling Feng had been watching from the side without speaking, finding the situation rather amusing.
"Is it really necessary to make such a fuss over a simple boxing match?"
At that moment, the person inside the metal gate, upon seeing the two plastic pieces, pulled open the bolt with a clang, and then the door opened.
It was pitch-black inside, revealing only a deep passageway. After entering, the guard finally spoke, "Walk down the stairs and be careful, it’s slippery!"
Lin Xue didn’t speak either; she took Ling Feng’s hand and moved forward, then they started descending the staircase!
"So it’s underground?" Ling Feng became even more curious.
Scenes like this seemed to only appear in gangster movies, where such secrecy was reserved for underground gambling dens. He hadn’t expected a boxing match to be treated with such caution.
After a few turns, the two reached level ground, facing another corridor that was too dark to make out any figures.
After walking about ten meters, they came upon another metal door, by which stood a young man.
Seeing the two of them, he didn’t ask any questions and simply pulled the door open.
As soon as a small crack appeared, a cacophony of noise immediately poured through, as loud as a marketplace!
Ling Feng was left speechless. He hadn’t expected the door to be such an effective sound barrier, making the inside and outside seem like two different worlds.
The two entered the door and found themselves facing a huge circular space, brilliantly lit, making the area as bright as daytime.
In the center of the space was a boxing ring, where two people were fighting head-on. With each swing of fists and feet, the audience around them erupted into shouts.
Ling Feng had little interest in fighting. Scanning the crowd, he was shocked to find it numbered in the hundreds. He couldn’t help but click his tongue in wonder. A hundred bucks a ticket—that’s tens of thousands just in entry fees, isn’t it?
Seeing the flushed faces and excited expressions of the crowd, he couldn’t help but wonder why they were so thrilled by someone else’s fight.
But then he understood—most of them must have placed bets, rooting for the fighters they had backed, which explained their fervor.
Because the space was so large, even with hundreds of people, it didn’t feel crowded. Ling Feng and Lin Xue moved forward a few steps and sat down in an empty space.
Noticing that Lin Xue’s gaze was fixed on the two people on the stage, Ling Feng shook his head helplessly and didn’t disturb her. Instead, he turned his attention to the match.
It didn’t take him long to discern some patterns.
The man with the red bandana on his head was gaining the upper hand. Every time he landed a punch on his opponent, the crowd would let out a roar, urging him to quickly knock out his competitor.
"Looks like everyone’s bet on him winning," Ling Feng mused to himself.
After a while, the fighter with the blue bandana seemed to be struggling to remain standing, his eyes unfocused and his steps unsteady, barely preventing a fall. Ling Feng was certain that a few more punches would definitely decide the outcome.
Indeed, amid the cheers, the boxer with the blue bandana took a heavy punch and went down with a thud, failing to get back up.
Ling Feng frowned at this sight. The man must have been seriously injured, and yet the people around him were overjoyed simply because they had won money!
Others were visibly angry, cursing incessantly at the stage, obviously having lost their bets.
The scene made him uncomfortable.
Hundreds of spectators, none of whom cared about that life, only their own gains!
Disquieted by the scene, he couldn’t help but turn to Lin Xue, "What’s so interesting about this?"
"I’m watching the technique. Didn’t you notice something special about the winner?" Lin Xue asked.
Ling Feng thought back but did not notice anything out of the ordinary, so he shook his head, "I wasn’t paying attention. What’s so impressive about a special technique?"
"It’s about skill. Martial arts is all about skill. Mere strength isn’t enough," Lin Xue explained.
He was somewhat skeptical of her words, so Ling Feng laughed and said, "In plain terms, it’s all about taking down the opponent, and whichever aspect is strong enough will do."
"You’re right, but for ordinary people, skill is still very important!" Lin Xue said.
Ling Feng knew what she meant by that, so he didn’t say anything more.
At this moment, there happened to be some commotion on stage, which caught his attention.
The guy with the red band, not satisfied after his victory, took advantage of the referee’s distraction to run over and kick the person on the ground two more times.
The referee hurried over to pull them apart, only to be spun around in place by a sweeping punch from the assailant!
Naturally, the referee wasn’t going to take that lying down and immediately swung his fist up, resulting in the two of them fighting, while the staff at the side of the ring hurriedly jumped up to separate them.
The stage was instantly a mess.
The audience below, seeing this, immediately cheered together, wishing the fight would get even fiercer!
Ling Feng watched speechlessly, his gaze fixed on the guy with the red band, feeling that this person was a bit too arrogant!
Why not quit while you’re ahead? Why force someone to a dead end to be happy?
He turned to look at Lin Xue and saw that she also frowned, saying, "That’s a bit too much."
"It seems that besides skill, character is still the most important thing!" Ling Feng said.
Lin Xue turned to look at him, sighed softly, and said, "Otherwise, let’s just go back, I don’t want to watch anymore."
"As you wish, I have no objections." Ling Feng smiled.
However, just as they were about to get up, someone on stage shouted loudly, "Is there anyone else who wants to challenge? The prize money for this match has been increased, if you defeat Da Xiong, you will win two hundred thousand!"
No sooner had the voice ended than someone else shouted, "I’ll sign up!"
Upon hearing this voice, Ling Feng and Lin Xue exchanged glances, then both turned their heads back.
The stage had already been cleared, the injured person carried away, and a new referee replaced the old one, while the red-banded guy was proudly showing off his muscles.
As the challenge was accepted, a tall young man jumped onto the ring.
Ling Feng and Lin Xue exchanged a look again, both wordlessly saying, "What’s he doing here?"
The one who got on the stage was none other than Du Song!
Seeing that it was him, both of them decided not to leave, sitting down to watch the show!
Initially, Ling Feng didn’t deign to lift a hand to teach the red-banded guy a lesson, after all, he was just an ordinary person and couldn’t withstand his punches and kicks.
But now that Du Song had stepped up, it would be interesting to see how he would deal with the guy.
Seeing the red band knocked to the ground would be satisfying enough.
Both had the same idea, so they didn’t show themselves, ready to wait until Du Song won to go forward.
After going through the registration and signing procedures, the two competitors stood facing each other at opposite ends of the ring.
"Kid, you look like you can’t take a single punch from me. Better not fight and instead kneel down, apologize, and go home to drink milk," shouted the red band loudly.
Hearing this, the audience laughed out loud, many whistled sharply, causing a noisy scene.
"He’s deliberately provoking the audience to place bets," Lin Xue explained to Ling Feng as he frowned.