Chapter 100: Stinking Fish and Rotten Shrimp

"Brother Zhou, please, come in."

Zhang Mingze, the Private Secretary of the Tiger Blade Gang, invited a man wearing a black trench coat, who looked to be about thirty years old, to walk into a private box.

"Private Secretary, you are too polite. Please."

The man walked into the private box together with Zhang Mingze.

Inside the box, there was a sofa, a coffee table, tea sets, and also fruits and exquisite snacks laid out.

"Two gentlemen, do you require any service?"

A woman wearing a cheongsam with a graceful figure walked over, slightly bent her knees, and asked while bowing.

"No need. Go out, and don't let anyone come in to disturb us."

The man in the trench coat waved his hand.

His name was Zhou Yuan, the secretary to Deputy Inspector General Wu Yihua of the Inspectorate, and also the man's nephew and an absolute confidant; he was here tonight representing Wu Yihua.

After the woman walked out of the box and closed the door, Zhou Yuan got straight to the point:

"That old fox Huang Weiguang specifically arranged one last move before leaving, promoting Li Lei to be the Captain of the First Battalion. My uncle is very dissatisfied with this matter. You all know how important the position of First Battalion Captain is; is there any way to change this result?"

Zhang Mingze unhurriedly poured a cup of tea for each of them, then gestured to Zhou Yuan:

"Brother Zhou, please."

Zhou Yuan picked up the teacup, drank it in one gulp, and then stared at Zhang Mingze.

Zhang Mingze shook his head: "After all, Huang Weiguang has been the Inspector General for so many years, so he still has some connections. Plus, the trouble he ran into this time was an unprovoked disaster, so many people in the Administration Hall are willing to do him a favor before he retires. Moreover, Li Lei's son, Li Fei, performed a great service this time, and even Director General Gu met with him personally.

With Huang Weiguang nominating Li Lei to serve as the First Battalion Captain, many people might even think this was Director General Gu's intention, and they would be even less likely to obstruct it. So, this matter is already very difficult to change."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuan frowned: "This old fox, he really knows how to take advantage of every opportunity!"

"No matter, once your uncle becomes the Inspector General, there will be plenty of time to think of ways later; there will always be an opportunity."

Zhang Mingze smiled.

"Is it really only possible to be like this?"

Zhou Yuan stared at Zhang Mingze.

Zhang Mingze asked in return: "We went to great lengths to bring down both Lu Sheng and Huang Weiguang, just to scheme for the positions of Inspector General and First Battalion Captain, and now we have only succeeded halfway. If it were possible, do you think we wouldn't want to change this result?"

He had an air of a scholar and had always maintained a gentle image, but at this moment, an extremely fierce look appeared in his eyes, which actually made Zhou Yuan a bit afraid to meet his gaze.

"Alright, let's not talk about these frustrating matters. I heard that you, Brother Zhou, really like watching boxing matches, so I specifically invited you to this Qingyuan Boxing Stronghold tonight. There will be a 'Dragon-Tiger Fight' in a while. How about it, are you interested in placing a bet?"

Zhang Mingze's sinister look flashed and vanished, and he returned to a smiling face, saying to Zhou Yuan with a laugh.

"Oh?"

Zhou Yuan understood the other's meaning and laughed, "How does the Private Secretary want me to bet?"

"Which side is Brother Zhou more optimistic about?"

"In a Dragon-Tiger Fight, it has always been the dragon swallowing the tiger; it is rare for a tiger to swallow a dragon. If I am to place a bet, I will definitely buy the Dragon General to win."

Zhou Yuan said.

"Good, then let's have a small bet for fun. I will place a bet of three thousand for Brother Zhou, buying the Dragon General to win. If it loses, it's on me; if it wins, it all belongs to Brother Zhou."

Zhang Mingze said casually.

"Oh?"

Zhou Yuan's eyes lit up.

He did indeed like watching underground boxing matches very much, and he also liked placing bets; he was an old gambling addict.

"I wonder who the candidates for tonight's Dragon-Tiger Fight are? What is the current handicap?"

Zhou Yuan asked very professionally.

So Zhang Mingze called in the boxing stronghold staff member guarding outside and had the person give Zhou Yuan a detailed introduction.

"So the Dragon General is Ling Yong, then it's a sure thing!"

Zhou Yuan rubbed his hands excitedly and said to the boxing stronghold's attendant:

"Three thousand in cash, plus a credit slip for seventeen thousand, a total of twenty thousand, bet it all on the Dragon General to win!"

The three thousand in cash was what Zhang Mingze helped him with; as for the seventeen thousand in credit, he often came to the Qingyuan Boxing Stronghold to play and had enough credit here, with a maximum credit limit of twenty thousand.

"Very well."

Upon hearing it was a big order, the attendant immediately became excited and trotted out of the private box.

Zhang Mingze looked at Zhou Yuan: "Brother Zhou is so confident that he can win?"

"If Ling Yong compares fists and kicks, he isn't particularly outstanding among the Heaven-rank boxers, but if he fights with weapons, his 【Tiger Pattern】 combined with that ninety-seven-jin black steel coiled-dragon staff makes him absolutely a top-tier Body-Breaking realm martial artist!"

Zhou Yuan spoke eloquently and analyzed it very professionally:

"His opponent tonight, a Steel Bear, although skilled in defense, definitely cannot withstand a few of his heavy strikes. The other one, Black Blade, is somewhat of a threat, but after all, he is not a formal martial artist, and the gap between him and Ling Yong is still too large. As for that new guy, Green-Faced Ghost, who just rose to the Xuan-rank boxing ring, it must be that the originally arranged boxer had some trouble, and the boxing stronghold couldn't scrape anyone together for a moment, so they just found some stinking fish or rotten shrimp who wanted to get ahead to fill the spot."

"Oh?"

Zhang Mingze listened calmly without making any comments.

Zhou Yuan became more excited as he spoke: "So tonight's match is a welfare game. The odds on the Dragon General's side are very low. I'm betting twenty thousand, and the odds might even get lower. I won't earn much in the end, just consider it earning some pocket money for myself."

"Private Secretary, do you want to throw in some too? It's a sure win tonight!"

Zhou Yuan even began to persuade Zhang Mingze to invest some.

Zhang Mingze smiled and shook his head:

"In my view, there is only one kind of sure-win bet in this world."

"What is it?"

"It is a bet where I am the bookmaker myself. Other than that, I will never sit at the table."

"Private Secretary, you are a bit too boring."

"Hahaha, as long as you are happy, Brother Zhou."

The two chatted while waiting for tonight's Dragon-Tiger Fight to begin.

Following Zhou Yuan betting twenty thousand on the Dragon General's side, plus some people who heard the news and followed suit, the odds on the Tiger General's side rose a little again.

"Welcome everyone to the Qingyuan Boxing Stronghold..."

A host stood in front of the loudspeaker and began to speak, giving the audience present a detailed introduction to tonight's match and the situation of the contestants about to take the stage.

This time period was also the peak period for betting.

By the last minute before the match started, betting closed. For tonight's Dragon-Tiger Fight, the final odds on the Tiger General's side settled at 7. .

"It's starting!"

In the private box, Zhou Yuan walked to the window and looked down excitedly.

First to enter the arena were the three Tiger Generals acting as the challengers:

Steel Bear, holding a square shield, who was evaluated by Zhou Yuan as 'unable to withstand a few strikes'.

Black Blade, holding a large guandao, who was evaluated by Zhou Yuan as 'somewhat of a threat'.

And finally, Green-Faced Ghost, holding a single blade, who was evaluated by Zhou Yuan as 'stinking fish and rotten shrimp'—Li Fei.

After entering the arena, the three quickly stood in formation:

Steel Bear held the shield at the very front, while Li Fei and Black Blade stood on the left and right behind him.

This was the tactic the three had agreed upon before taking the stage: Steel Bear would hold off the first wave of attacks from the front, while the other two would look for opportunities to attack from the flanks.

Because Ling Yong was a peak Body-Breaking realm martial artist who could burst forth with the power of his implants multiple times, Steel Bear and Black Blade had long agreed that they could not fight a war of attrition with him and had to give their all from the start.

If they won the fight, that was naturally fine; if they couldn't win the opening, they would decisively admit defeat.

In any case, this match was not a 'death match', so there was no need to risk their lives.

Li Fei did not raise any objections to this tactic; he thought very simply: if the combined strength of the three could defeat the opponent, then he would hide his true skill.

If it didn't work after trying, he would then take action to stabilize his teammates' state of mind.

Suddenly, the steel armor implant inside his body produced an anomaly, and Li Fei's skin felt as if it were being pricked by needles.

This was a signal of sensing danger!

Li Fei looked toward another entrance on the opposite side; that was where the source of the danger lay:

A figure full of power walked out.

Tonight's Dragon General had arrived!

(End of chapter)