Swallowing the Seas (吞海)

Chapter 3

Translate: moon | Edit: Ice, juurensha, Amelea

Nine o'clock at night.

Wu Yu walked out of the subway station wearing a black baseball cap on his head, exposing only his tall and straight nose bridge and the paleness of his lower jawline. He had both hands in his pockets as he was swept along by the turbulent crowd of people rushing towards their hedonistic, materialistic pursuits until he arrived at the KTV and nightclub filled city centre, Yongle Main Street. He then lowered his head before slipping through the back door of a bar with smooth and familiar motions.

Ding—

The golden bell above the arena sounded, and applause, cheers, and whistles immediately thundered from all around, nearly lifting the entire roof off the establishment. The referee, who doubled as the MC, moved forward with large strides and lifted the winner's hand up high above. His excited voice resounded through the entire audience, "——'Red Whirlwind' is once again victorious! This is his seventh straight win, seventh straight win! Tonight's challengers have yet again been unable to leave their mark on this stage——!"

A Vietnamese boxer draped in a crimson cape gazed coldly down at the assembled crowd below with disdain, while the loser could only press a hand against his bleeding ear as he struggled upright, wobbling dangerously and cursing as he stumbled from the arena to quickly vanish behind the stands filled with exuberant audience members.

"Congratulations to the supporters who placed their bets on 'Red Whirlwind'! Let's see what his odds are for the next match——1:3! For the next match, Red Whirlwind's odds are 1:3!! The blue side's odds are 1:3.8!!"

Such a small difference in odds pushed the crowd to the peak of excitement. Brightly colored lights flashed wildly below the arena as the excited shouts rose to a roar. Countless people fought each other to be first to stuff their banknotes into the red moneybox.

"Can 'Red Whirlwind' continue his undefeated legend?! Has the person who can defeat him not even been born yet?!" The MC shouted himself hoarse into the microphone. "Don't leave yet! We'll return after half an hour!"

*

The roar of the crowd that traveled through the hanging curtain to the area backstage was so deafening that it caused one's ears to ring. Wu Yu took off his short jacket, and as he raised an arm to hang it on the coat rack, the black T-shirt that clung to his figure revealed a lithe and powerful physique.

"50,000 dollars, same rules, first two then three." The bar owner slapped down two stacks of banknotes in front of him. His fingers were so fat that flesh bulged around the large golden ring. "You get 10% of the money in the box for a fight and half if you win. If you want to join and be your own banker, then it's also fine... hey, I'm giving you special treatment by telling you this! Don't say that this brother isn't looking out for you!"

Wu Yu lowered his head as he removed his shoes. His expression hadn't changed in the slightest. "I'm not betting on myself."

"Haiya—really you!" The plump owner bore an expression of having fed his goodwill to a donkey. He forcefully pulled his shoulder closer and said in earnest, "I'm going to be completely upfront with you. That Vietnamese guy has fought seven rounds so far, and in every round, if blood wasn't shed then bones were broken. That Guangdong boxing champion from last week is still laid up in the ICU today, and he owes me this sum from his medical bills alone... is it easy for me? Do you think it's easy for me to bet like this?! See, today I'm depending on you so I'll cut to the chase; I'll add 10% on to my bet for you, and tonight I'll play the host, invite you out for drinks, and we'll get ourselves two girls! ..."