Chapter 136: A Trip to the Treasure Island (9)

Zhao Bin had no liking for Shen Moran, so for the moment even the heiress could only swallow her pride and huddle beside Fang Yu. The sight made him look as though he had a beauty on either arm, drawing envious glances from everyone around them.

On his left was Xia Churan, giving off a tempting, sweet fragrance; on his right was Shen Moran, wearing an expensive perfume. Mixed with the club’s own scent, the aromas immediately stirred Fang Yu’s baser instincts, and his roving hands began to wander.

He simply put an arm around each of them, looking every inch the spoiled young master out on a debauched night.

“Didn’t you see? They’re both with me.” He cast a provocative look at the trendy young men who had come over to chat.

One glance at Fang Yu was enough for the local youths to realize he was not someone to provoke. Fortunately, they had not come looking for trouble, and they promptly muttered among themselves before turning away.

Once the young men had left, Shen Moran angrily slapped away the wandering hand at her waist.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed? Where are you touching? You’ve even undone my buttons!”

Xia Churan was displeased as well. She pinched his arm and snapped, “You lecherous brute, Fang Yu! Misbehaving again! I’m telling Qin Lu as soon as we get back!”

He gave an awkward laugh, withdrew his hand, and rubbed his nose.

“I was only helping you out of a tight spot. Why are you hitting me? All right, all right—let’s drink!”

After a few more drinks, the atmosphere grew lively again. Apart from Lu Zhen, who was not good at drinking, most of them were already slightly tipsy.

Lu Zhen was hardly idle, however. Before long, he had his arms around an unknown local girl in the dance area, swaying with her in an awkward imitation of a cuddle dance. His movements were clumsy, but he managed to make the girl in his arms giggle nonstop.

Zhao Bin was clearly somewhat displeased. He sat alone in the corner of the booth, holding his glass with a cold expression. From the look on his face, he had been silently cursing Lu Zhen for quite some time.

Soon it was fifteen minutes before midnight. The waiter approached the booth again with a beaming smile.

“Sir, you and your honored guests can head over to the VIP area now. Would you like us to take these drinks with you?”

Fang Yu glanced at the unfinished alcohol on the table and waved his hand generously.

“Leave it. Didn’t you say there’d be more drinks waiting for us? Come on, let’s go have a look. It’ll be something new.”

With that, he stood up first.

The others followed, gathering their clothes and bags before leaving the booth behind the waiter. They went around the back of the dance floor and arrived at a doorway, where several waiters were checking tickets.

“Damn, does Shawan have a thing for basements? Why is it the same setup again?” he muttered as he pulled his ticket from his pocket.

“Where else would an underground fight be held if not underground?” Cheng Chen cheerfully lit a cigarette. “Am I right?”

Fang Yu looked around. Quite a few people had bought tickets. Some were inland tourists like them, there for the novelty, while others were local youths who had probably come specifically to place bets.

Following the waiter through the entrance and down a flight of stairs, they soon saw that this bar was far larger than the little establishment where Cheng Chen had lost his money.

“Wow, the basement is huge!” several of the girls exclaimed at once.

The basement was not only spacious; the ceiling was remarkably high as well. A large boxing ring stood in the center, surrounded by rows of seats. Directly facing the ring were several luxurious private seats, presumably reserved for major customers.

The waiter led Fang Yu and the others to one of the rows. Before long, several large pitchers of draft beer and assorted snacks were brought over.

“These tickets are selling pretty well. Shawan must have a lot of rich people,” Cheng Chen remarked.

In no time, the basement was packed with spectators.

About twenty minutes later, once every seat had been filled, a plump man who looked like a host hopped cheerfully into the ring, microphone in hand.

“Good evening, gentlemen! It’s time once again for Demon’s monthly championship bout. Tonight, we have Aquina, a fighter from Greenpine, challenging our four-time defending champion, Chapan…”

The fat host rambled on at length, but Fang Yu had no interest in listening. The alcohol was beginning to catch up with him, and he was just about to visit the restroom when the waiter returned.

“Sir, please choose the fighter you’d like to support.”

The waiters were carrying two small markers, one red and one blue, along with several cards whose writing was too small to read. Fang Yu immediately understood. They were for placing bets.

A large screen above the ring was displaying information on the two fighters. Aquina, represented by blue, was offering odds of ten to one, while Chapan was offering odds of only 1.05 to one.

“What kind of odds are those? One to one-point-oh-five? What’s the point of betting on him? Even if we win, we won’t make any money!” Cheng Chen was the first to complain.

The waiter continued smiling as he explained, “Please don’t be upset, sir. Our champion Chapan has defended his title four times in a row. If everyone bet on him, we’d be losing money constantly.”

Fang Yu was too desperate to relieve the pressure on his bladder to listen carefully. He shakily pulled several large bills from his wallet.

“Put it all on that Aquina guy. All of it!”

The waiter paused in surprise.

“Sir, if I heard you correctly, you want to bet on Aquina to win?”

“That’s right. Hurry up!” Fang Yu impatiently waved him away.

The waiter pursed his lips but asked no further questions. He quickly tore off several betting cards and handed them to Fang Yu, along with a small blue marker representing the blue corner.

Cheng Chen counted the money remaining in his wallet, then sheepishly pulled out a large bill.

“Damn, I’m out of money. Otherwise I’d bet more. Waiter, put this on Chapan.”

With the exception of Fang Yu, the other three men all placed their bets on the champion. The odds made it clear that Chapan had an overwhelming advantage. Even a ten-thousand-yuan bet would yield only five hundred in winnings.

By the time Fang Yu returned from the restroom, he looked regretfully at the marker in his hand.

“Damn it. I couldn’t have come earlier or later? This money is going to vanish for nothing.”

“Heh-heh, what if you get lucky? You have to take a chance if you want to win,” Cheng Chen teased with a sly grin.

The three girls had not placed any bets. As far as they were concerned, they had come to watch the match for the sake of the men and were treating it as nothing more than entertainment and relaxation.

After the chubby host stepped down from the ring, two fighters soon climbed inside. From the looks of them, however, they were not the contestants announced for the championship bout.

“Something’s wrong. Their faces don’t match the ones on the screen,” Cheng Chen said doubtfully, examining the marker in his hand.

“Please don’t worry, sir. The championship bout is the final match. There will be two ordinary matches beforehand.”

Whether it was mixed martial arts or boxing, the duration of a fight was never certain. Some fighters were knocked out in a single round, while others went the full ten. The organizers knew this well and had arranged two less important matches to warm up the crowd.

No bets were placed on the two preliminary bouts, and the spectators appeared relaxed. Once the matches began, cheers rose one after another throughout the basement. The underground fights were clearly much more thrilling than official competitions. Before long, both fighters in the ring had swollen, bloodied faces.