Xiaofan effortlessly spun a lie. The two colleagues before him had been talking about soone nad Zhang Hu, so Xiaofan fabricated a story. If Zhang Hu really was dead, there'd be no one left to verify; who could say whether or not Zhang Hu had a friend nad Shen Zhifan?
However, when the two heard Xiaofan ntion the na Li Hu, they were taken aback.
"Sigh..." The man who was drinking enthusiastically just monts ago sighed.
"What's wrong?" Xiaofan feigned ignorance and asked.
"To be honest, this Zhang Hu used to live with us here."
"What? Really? Then where is he now?" Xiaofan asked, pretending to be anxious.
"He... he's dead. His body has already been cremated."
"What?" Xiaofan's acting was indeed impressive. Upon hearing the news, he imdiately stood up in shock, his face full of disbelief: "How did this happen?"
"Well, it's a long story, but his family doesn't know yet, so don't go telling them," Liu Peng said nonchalantly.
"I don't know his family. We only t because of drinking. What on earth happened? How could soone just die like that?"
"Zhang Hu was originally the highest earner among us, plus he was genuine, and he loved his wife and kids very much. There was a wealthy woman who wanted to keep him, offered him ten million Hong Kong Dollars a year, just to divorce his wife, but he refused. Now that he's dead, the company sends his family fifty thousand a month for two years. We plan to tell his wife later that Zhang Hu ran off with the wealthy woman and to let her remarry."
"Did he lose his life because of work?" Xiaofan asked further.
"Almost. Let tell you, the big boss at our company is quite a character. There's a place for Underground Black Boxing, and he seems sohow connected with that place, though we don't know the specifics. But boxing there is very profitable, usually earning hundreds of thousands or even over a million per match. Of course, that's the money the boss makes. How much the brought-in fighters earn is unknown."
"Where is that place? How did you know, and is it easy to get in?"
"Zhang Hu took there once. For the first match, his appearance fee was one hundred and fifty thousand, but he had three ribs broken. Just two days after they were set, he went again, took that ti. Maybe he knew he could die and wanted soone to collect his body or sothing, but he couldn't afford to pay the fifty thousand penalty for not completing three matches in a week per the contract. In the end, he got his neck broken and died there."
"Can regular people go there to watch?" Xiaofan asked again.
"Yes, it's a place for Underground Black Boxing, and there are many spectators. The stakes on side bets are high as well, with daily turnover exceeding tens of millions. But even if you win, taxes are deducted because such a big place needs money to grease palms."
"Where is it? Can you take to have a look now?"
"Now? It's still early; the matches start at midnight sharp every night. More people co when there are newcors. But why are you so enthusiastic about this kind of thing?" The person suddenly realized and asked.
"Oh, I grew up in a village, haven't seen much of the world. Now that I'm in XG, I want to take the opportunity to have a look around."
"That's true, but..."
"Brother, just take for a look. I'll cover the fare and even late-night snacks..."
"Alright, let's go. No harm in it."
With the other party's permission, Xiaofan was secretly pleased.
The drinking was naturally cut short. Just as they were about to leave, Li San ca back holding newly bought snacks and beer. Upon hearing there was sothing to see, he followed suit, leaving the drinks behind.
At eleven o'clock sharp in the evening, Liu Peng and the others took Xiaofan and Li San to a secret entertainnt club in Wan Chai. It was packed with a dense crowd, so much so that Xiaofan and the others couldn't even get through the door.
After waiting outside for over half an hour, the crowd slowly began squeezing inside. Once Xiaofan got into the club, he realized there was a secret underground passage.
The basent was astonishingly large, and upon reaching there, Xiaofan marveled at the brightly lit surroundings. This was not a place money could easily put together.
"Ladies and gentlen, tonight we have three matches. The first match, Dragon Warrior versus Demon God. Demon God has a winning streak of four matches, while Dragon Warrior has a slightly weaker record of one loss to three wins. Thus, tonight's odds are split six-to-four between the two. Please place your bets before midnight; don't miss your chance."
While the announcer explained on the massive stage, Xiaofan took a thorough look around. It was indeed very grand.
"Last ti I ca, I entered through the backstage. There's another passage. Did you see the pavilion above? That's where the bosses behind the fighters watch the matches. The day Zhang Hu died, I was up there." Liu Peng said slowly.
"Is there a place here where you can place bets?" Xiaofan asked slowly.
"Huh? What? You want to play a few gas?"
"Why not? Since I'm here, I have to play a little to add so excitent." Xiaofan smiled slightly.
"Look, over there. There are ten people taking bets. You hand over your money and choose the person you want to bet on."
"Yunlong, that Dragon Knight, bet... bet... five hundred." Xiaofan imdiately instructed.
"Okay."
"Hey, no, here the minimum bet is over a thousand." Liu Peng imdiately explained.
"Oh, then make it three thousand. If we win, tonight's karaoke, late-night snacks, and massages in Kowloon Tong are all on ."
"Alrighty..."
The pavilion above was dark and crowded, impossible to see clearly who was sitting inside. This place needed a proper investigation by Li Kuo. If the security company wasn't directly connected to Red Butterfly, then this scale seed to resemble it.
But Red Butterfly was so discreet, how could they possibly run Underground Black Boxing in such a manner? Another perplexing thought.
'Ding ding ding.'
"The match will begin in five minutes. Please find your seats." The host tapped the gong on the stage, indicating that the match was about to start.
Xiaofan quietly found a seat with Liu Peng and the others and discreetly sent a ssage to Li Kuo. This place needed a thorough investigation.
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