"Call me...Viper."
"Yes, yes of course. I've entered your name into the battle, please wait for your name to be called." The man's heart was pounding as he spoke to the mysterious woman in front of him. Her murderous cold aura from a minute ago was gone just leaving behind a reserved and isolated person. He was shocked at how quick and skilled she was but even more so at her ability to quickly reign in her energy. As she walked away he could finally breathe safely.
"Man why did you act like that? She's just a weak female we could've taken care of her easily." The man beside him spoke as he turned to face him.
"Take her?! Are you the one who had a pen against your throat?!"
"So? She's just a harmless female, even if she had a pen against your throat you could've thrown her away. Never thought you would be so weak haha." His stumpy face gloated as he continued to taunt his friend. "Listen Zo, just admit you are afraid of the little girl."
"Shut up Bo! You don't know anything, you're so stupid!! Did you not see how fast she moved?! I'm surprised you've survived this long with that dumb brain of yours." His face flushed as he yelled at the stupid man in front of him named Bo. These were not their real names of course but underground they went by Zo and Bo. It was their tenth time holding a competition like this but it was the first time he encountered a woman like this before.
"So you're just going to let her go?"
"No. Why do I have to do anything, did you forget who's competing tonight?" Zo smiled with malice, while he knew that he himself could not take her, who said someone else can't? He was the organizer, all he had to do was set the schedule and let everything fall into place. She may have skills but let's see if she makes it out of here alive!
Ying Yue shivered as a slight chill went through her. She knew someone was talking about her and the likelihood of it being the stumpy man she just threatened was high. Forcing him to accept her submission with a pen to the throat was a risk but here in the underground it was normal. Ignoring the two men behind her she lightly walked towards the crowd and followed them through a passageway. This hallway lead to a huge abandoned factory floor where she could hear the sounds of the crowd grow louder. The space was big with dirty tools scattered around, high steel beams, and scraps from old factory equipment. The highlight however was the bright steel cage right in the center of the floor. A boxing ring was inside the cage to serve as the raised floor but the usual straps to keep someone inside were removed. Instead the four steel clamps surrounded the four edges meeting at the top like a closed flower bud. The four sides were surrounded by crowds of people who pushed to get to the front row before the matches started. In the corner she could see men yelling out prices and setting bids for the matches and their outcomes. She chuckled, 'guess things haven't changed much.' The smell of rusted tools, blood, and sweat mixed with the sounds of an excited crowd gave her a sense of nostalgia.
She walked briskly passed the floods of people, expertly avoiding contact with any of them. With her black clothing and face mask she easily blended into the crowd making her presence as light as air. Finding a deserted spot she made her way over to it and leaned against the wall as she waited for the matches to start. She was at a good spot where she could see everyone but be easily missed over unless someone was looking.
Bored she fiddled with her fingers as she left her phone at home. She had left with nothing but some cash and her fake ID if she ever needed to prove her identity. After a couple minutes she heard the crowd die down as a man walked to the middle of the boxing ring holding a mike.
"Ladies and gentleman welcome to this amazing event we love your support....heh. So before I release the match lineup I have to go over the rules and ...that there are no rules! Everything is free game but no murder, the cleanup is a hassle and we'd rather just not deal with it. If you want to kill him outside, that's fine but no murders tonight! Now for the fun part, the lineup for tonight will be:
Match 1 : Hetong VS. Qi Jinguang
Match 2 : Yue Fei VS. Li Feng
Match 3 : Viper VS. Sun Bin
Match 4 : Ze Mao VS. Scorpion
Whoever wins will go on to challenge another and the remaining two will fight for the championship, a prize money of 50,000 yuan and title of Underworld Fight King for this year! Fighters step forward when your name is called, let the battle begin!!!"
'Alright I battle in the third match -' before Ying Yue could finish her thought two people in front of her started shouting. What caught her attention was her name Viper, tuning into their conversation she heard them shouting about Sun Bin? 'Who is he?'
"Bro I didn't know Sun Bin was fighting again this year! Wasn't he the man who crippled his opponent last year and took the crown?!"
"Yeah he was, it was gruesome, I feel bad for this Viper. Whoever he is hope he's good or it'll be a repeat of last year."
"Viper? Who even is Viper, have you ever of him before?"
"No, I haven't but I'm going to bet on him! Gotta trust the underdogs."
"Hah, you're stupid I'm gonna bet on Sun Bin. He's definitely winning. Viper is good as dead."
Ignoring the rest of their conversation Ying Yue leaned back and took in the new information. She had never heard of Sun Bin but based on what she heard he was a violent man. She bet the stumpy man had set this up thinking that she would be destroyed by him. Her blood hummed as the familiar rush of energy filled her, if he was good as they said she was excited to fight him.
"Sun Bin...Sun Bin...where are you."