Chapter 117: Underground fighting

Jin Pili raised her eyebrows noncommittally, "I've never liked hiding things. You want to be friends with me, so I'll show you the real me."

As she said this, she settled Shen Ci and Gu Lianxing into two empty seats, "You two just sit here honestly. The drinks in the refrigerator by the wall are free. The restroom is at the end of the leftmost corridor. There are cameras and anti-camera scanners everywhere, so don't use your phones to film anything, understand?"

Shen Ci nodded, and Gu Lianxing followed suit mechanically.

Pili looked at the time again, "I'm out of time. I'm going over."

Shen Ci suddenly grabbed Pili's wrist, her brows full of worry, "Is it really okay?"

Pili shook her head at her, "It's fine. Although by the rules, everyone who comes in must participate in betting, I'll have a word about you two. You won't be involved. Don't worry."

"That's not what I meant," Shen Ci looked into her eyes and said earnestly, "I'm talking about you. Is it okay?"

Jin Pili was slightly stunned, meeting Shen Ci's eyes and seeing the clear concern and worry in her gaze.

After a while, she turned her head and chuckled, "Don't worry, I'm fine."

Seeming to really be out of time, Jin Pili pulled her wrist away and walked away quickly without looking back, but the worry in Shen Ci's eyes didn't dissipate.

At this moment, two contestants were competing in the arena. The surrounding audience was screaming and cheering as if they had been injected with adrenaline. The two contestants were muscular men, and at this moment, they were also bruised and bleeding.

Pili, she's a girl!

"A-Ci, let's... let's go."

Gu Lianxing seemed to have just come to her senses. She held Shen Ci's arm and said nervously and timidly, "I'm a bit scared. Will they beat people to death..."

Before Shen Ci could react, a man in a suit next to them suddenly smiled and spoke, "First time here, little girl? Don't worry, this fighting arena has been around for over a decade, and there has never been a fatality. The referees and contestants are all very professional."

Hearing this, Shen Ci quickly asked, "Sir, do you come here often? Is this underground black boxing? Specifically for opening gambling markets?"

The man looked at Shen Ci with interest. He curled his lips into a slight smile and gestured with his chin toward the position behind Shen Ci, "Look over there, that's where online betting is done."

Shen Ci turned back and saw an area behind them with eight computers placed side by side. Staff members wearing suits and headsets were all focused on operating something.

"On-site betting is over there," the man pointed in another direction, "If it's your first time here, I don't suggest you bet blindly. You can choose popular contestants to follow and bet; the chances of winning are higher."

Shen Ci understood.

The sentence the driver said before getting into the van, "Everyone who goes in must participate, this is the rule," referred to participating in betting.

But underground gambling was illegal, which was why Pili said she would have a word and wouldn't involve the two of them.

Just at this moment, a violent cheer erupted from the scene.

A match ended, and the red side won.

The big screen displayed the winner's image, and his historical record was clearly marked: 12 wins, 10 losses, betting odds 1 to 6.

That is to say, people who bet on this person to win this match could earn six times the prize money.

"Hey, it's another contest between 'Taekwondo' and 'Free Combat.' You win one, I win one. Boring."

The gentleman complained and shook his head, his tone lacking interest.

Hearing this, Shen Ci couldn't help but ask curiously, "Sir, aren't there groups according to project types during the competition? Why would 'Taekwondo' fight against 'Free Combat'?"

"That's the fun part of this place. There's no distinction of projects. The dueling sides are all decided by drawing lots. There are many uncertain factors. After all, there are so many types of fighting in the world. You can beat this one, but you might not be able to beat that one."

"What about gender? Don't they distinguish between male and female contestants?" Shen Ci quickly pursued the question.

The man nodded, "Of course. There aren't many female contestants to begin with, and the probability of drawing the same gender is extremely small. Anyway, I've never seen two female contestants in the same group."

Hearing this, Shen Ci's heart skipped a beat.

Gu Lianxing also understood. She looked at Shen Ci anxiously and said, "A-Ci, let's go. Call Pili and go together. No matter how short of money you are, you can't fight this. It's too dangerous!"

Before Shen Ci could speak, the sound of a gong accompanied by the cheers of the audience resounded through the scene once again.

The host held the microphone and announced excitedly that the next duel was about to begin. When Pili's name was read from the host's mouth, Shen Ci and Gu Lianxing both instinctively stiffened.

"It's over, Pili is going to play!" Gu Lianxing muttered.

Shen Ci's palms had already started to sweat.

The gentleman next to them looked at the two and asked with a smile, "Are you Pili's fans? I bet on her today too!"

But at this moment, the two couldn't hear his words at all, or perhaps they couldn't hear any other sounds at the scene, only their own "thump-thump-thump" heartbeats.

Before long, the blue side appeared first.

It was a muscular man about 1.8 meters tall. He only wore blue shorts, wore a pair of boxing gloves the size of a human head, and had a mouthguard in his mouth. From his external equipment, it wasn't hard to judge that the other party was a professional "boxer"!

With the natural strength gap between height and gender, in front of such a man, how could Pili win against him?

Soon, the red side's Pili also walked out slowly from the rest room on the other side. She wore a tight tube top on her upper body and tight shorts on her lower body. She had no equipment, crisp and clean.

But with this attire, Shen Ci couldn't tell what she had learned for a while.

As soon as Pili appeared, Gu Lianxing couldn't help but tremble a little, "Shen Ci, what should we do? Can Pili do it?"

Shen Ci was originally as nervous as Gu Lianxing, but when she saw Pili's fearless gaze on the field at this moment, she was also infected by it and inexplicably gained a bit of confidence.

"Hopefully," Shen Ci muttered.

The red and blue sides bowed and saluted. Pili clasped her palms and fists, her posture straight. The momentum flowing from her whole body made Shen Ci understand at this moment.

What Pili used was—"Chinese Martial Arts"!

The gong sounded, and the duel began!

The audience was restless. Shen Ci and Gu Lianxing stood up from their seats instinctively, their eyes fixed on the situation in the fighting arena without blinking.

The boxer on the blue side took the lead, wanting to grasp the initiative. He saw him sweep his arms, and his fist forced its way toward Pili's face with the momentum of breaking the wind, not slacking off in strength at all because the opponent was a girl.

Seeing this, Shen Ci and Gu Lianxing instinctively held each other's hands tightly, their breathing even stagnating, but they saw Pili just tilt her head slightly and easily avoid the opponent's full-force blow!

Second update

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 118 =====