After Ba Yi left happily with a large pile of snacks, he went to work at the studio.
I locked the door, took a comfortable hot shower, changed into casual clothes, and then lay down on the clean wooden bed, staring at the white ceiling in a daze.
My injuries were mostly healed, with only some bruises not fully faded yet.
Thanks to good food, timely treatment, and sufficient nutrition, I had recovered quite well overall.
My energy and spirit were much better than before.
With another half a month of rest, my internal and external injuries would be nearly healed.
The only fortunate thing was that I could take a beating without suffering fatal injuries, and I always managed to recover after some rest.
But even so, repeatedly being beaten half to death, hospitalized, and then beaten again...
Even a robot would wear out and stop working eventually.
Therefore, the life-and-death gladiator match on Mid-Autumn Festival would be the turning point to change my fate.
I had to win!
Ace arranged for me to stay in a high-class dormitory for a clear reason: he wanted me to believe he was trustworthy so that I would work loyally for him to make money.
To be fair, as long as he kept his promises, I was willing to go along with him. This way, I could get in touch with more people and events.
Learning more about the dark secrets and information would be beneficial for my escape.
But Ace could never imagine that his success would also be his downfall because of me...
I didn't know how long I had been lost in thought when I fell asleep.
I was awakened by a knock on the door.
Without a clock or phone, I could only determine the time by the TV show that was playing.
It was 6 p.m., the time when everyone was having dinner.
The working hours in the KK compound were very long. At 6 a.m., a whistle would blow, signaling everyone to get up and exercise.
In reality, it was physical punishment, euphemistically called exercise.
We worked until 8 a.m., then had lunch break from 12 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., and resumed work until 6 p.m.
The evenings were for rest.
However, this didn't mean that some male and female workers wouldn't "work overtime" to serve the lackeys...
For those of us involved in overseas romance scams, our working hours were aligned with foreign countries, often with reversed day and night schedules, making it relatively flexible.
In short, if you could make a lot of money, you were treated like a king.
The millions of yuan I helped Ace earn during my hospital stay all went into his pocket.
He was especially happy and rewarded me with a lot of cash.
This was our secret.
Ace let me live in a high-class dormitory, officially stating that I was to fight in underground boxing matches.
Just this reason alone was enough to convince everyone.
A thrilling underground boxing match brought immense value.
Moreover, my opponent this time was the Southeast Asian "underground boxing king" with a ten-win streak.
The attraction and betting stakes were limitless.
"Knock, knock, knock."
The knocking continued.
I reluctantly got up from the bed and ran to the door barefoot.
"You really came back. I thought Ba Yi was lying to me."
Spanner, with red-rimmed eyes, stood at the dormitory door, looking me up and down, visibly emotional.
"Bro!"
I opened my arms and hugged him tightly, equally emotional and at a loss for words.
Without Spanner, I wouldn't be here.
He risked his life to drive to the city to find Ace, proving his deep loyalty!
He's a true man!
A brother I could trust with my life and would do anything for!
That day, he found an excuse to drive out and searched everywhere for Ace. Finally, a local told him that Ace was attending a party at a local warlord's place.
So, he waited at the gate for a day and a night without closing his eyes or eating, until he finally saw Ace come out...
Ace being able to rescue me was thanks to Spanner.
No one else would have had Spanner's efficiency in immediately driving to the location.
I pulled him into the dormitory, locked the door, and mysteriously moved the cardboard boxes under the bed.
Pointing to the black travel bag, I whispered, "Guess what's in here?"
"Uh? A head!" Spanner blurted out, not afraid to scare people.
There's a saying: "Young people who wander into the Mekong River, their bodies end up wrapped in luggage."
It's not just an empty rumor, but literal truth.
In reality, there would be no remains.
There aren't that many travel bags to pack bodies into.
Wouldn't that be a dream come true!
I placed the travel bag on the table and unzipped it, "Wrong, it's Remy Martin!"
Spanner stared at the neatly stacked hundred-yuan bills under the bag, dumbfounded.
He looked at me and then at the stacks of cash, questioning reality.
"Are you on vacation or dating a rich woman?"
"I can't say. Anyway, it's cash Ace rewarded me with. A full 200,000 yuan, enough for us to win people over."
"Keep it well-hidden. Don't let anyone covet it."
Seeing my mysterious expression, Spanner gave a cautious reminder.
"Do you have a bank card? I'll deposit it."
"Hey, we don't have bank cards. We just spend directly in the compound. To get a personal bank card to send money back home, you need to reach the position of a supervisor."
"How about a phone?"
"I have one. Do you want to call home? Our phones have special software for tracking and monitoring 24/7. Calls and messages can't contain sensitive words, or you'll be in big trouble."
Spanner handed me his Huawei phone with some reluctance.
"I'm not calling home, just looking up information about Southeast Asian underground boxing."
I took the phone and started searching...
Upon learning of Ace's requirements, Spanner was very worried. He said he knew about the "boxing king" and that he was indeed formidable, and I might not stand a chance.
He added that the man was a Muay Thai expert, lethal with every punch.
Everyone who fought him ended up being thrown into the river to feed the fish.
Ace must have some hidden agenda, wanting to use me to kill him.
After chatting for over an hour, we headed downstairs.
We planned to exercise at the playground and for Spanner to teach me some boxing and kicking techniques.
With 20 days until the Mid-Autumn Festival, I needed intense training.
Especially with my master's unique skills, I had to figure out how to counter and apply them.
Passing by the temporary housing, we saw about a hundred new workers being scolded by the lackeys.
I couldn't help but take a closer look and spotted a familiar figure...
"What's wrong? Is someone you know in there?"
Seeing me staring at the group, Spanner walked over and asked.
"Yeah, an 'old acquaintance' I want to thank very much!"
I couldn't suppress the anger in my chest any longer. Grabbing the AK from Spanner, I ran towards that person...