And ticket sales were not even the most profitable part of it — nothing was more lucrative than betting on the fights! Win or lose, the house always won!

Watching the crowd cheer with wild enthusiasm, An Jianwen, the hidden owner lurking in the shadows of the arena, could not help but cackle. He turned to the henchman beside him and asked, "Little Mule, not counting today, how much have we made since we opened?"

"Hmm... Young Master Wen, we've made sixteen million seven hundred thousand already — and that's after eating a loss of over four million the day before yesterday and yesterday, otherwise it would be even more!" The man called Little Mule, shifty-eyed and rat-faced, held a notebook and answered An Jianwen deferentially.

"Mm. Dr. Yin, are you certain this Black Bear can finish off Purple Wolf today? He doesn't look like much to me — he's about to be beaten into a bloody gourd." An Jianwen nodded, but he looked with some worry at the middle-aged man of about forty beside him.

That middle-aged man was Dr. Yin, sent by the Fire Wolf Gang to assist An Jianwen. He was an expert in biochemical research, specializing in the modification of the human body and the awakening of its latent potential. He had invented a drug that made a person temporarily forget pain and, in an instant, unleashed every ounce of the body's potential, so that the user knew no pain and only attacked, attacking until the very last shred of strength was spent.

And this Black Bear was its first user! In the earlier matches, hired fighters had fought genuine bouts — wins and losses, deaths and injuries — and so An Jianwen, sitting as bookmaker, had raked in a great deal of money.

But since the day before yesterday, once Purple Wolf entered the ring, An Jianwen had begun secretly plotting this money-skimming scheme of his.

Purple Wolf was formidable, a fighter An Jianwen had hired away from an underground fighting pit in the south. Two days running he had smoothly defeated his opponents and carried his matches, so when Purple Wolf stepped into the ring today, most of the crowd had put their money on Purple Wolf to win.

Some rich men did not care about money; they gambled only for diversion. But they still hoped to win — who bets on a fight without hoping to win?

And today, this Black Bear — though named Black Bear — was scrawny and frail, not the slightest bit like a bear. Such a physique was a disadvantage to begin with, and he wanted to contend with the ever-victorious Purple Wolf? Pure wishful thinking.

So, seeing Black Bear's build, they had decisively bet on Purple Wolf to win; and those spectators who had witnessed Purple Wolf's ferocity before, seeing how weak today's opponent was, all grew eager to try their luck.

Today the small bettors staked a great deal of money. Though each individual wager was not large — some ten thousand, some a hundred thousand — the total sum was far from small.

So An Jianwen was delighted. If Black Bear truly won, tonight alone would bring in more than twenty million.

"Rest assured, Young Master Wen. Have you not seen Black Bear get up again and again? Rising endlessly like that, sooner or later he'll wear Purple Wolf to death." Dr. Yin spoke calmly. "Look, Black Bear is up again!"

Dr. Yin had not thought much of An Jianwen at first, but after working alongside him a few days he discovered that this An Jianwen was not only ruthless and vicious, but also exceedingly decisive, and a deft hand at raking in money. Not only could he supply ample human subjects for experimentation, he also brought the Fire Wolf Gang extremely rich returns; even the gang's chief had praised An Jianwen's ability, calling him a man with a gift for coin. This left Dr. Yin unable to look down on An Jianwen any longer.

And so Dr. Yin's attitude toward An Jianwen turned considerably more respectful as well.

Sure enough, after being knocked down, the Black Bear rose again from the ground and walked, step by step, toward Purple Wolf.

In truth, though Purple Wolf could send Black Bear flying with a single punch, he had not gone untouched by Black Bear's attacks. Black Bear's blows were not enough to send him flying, but they landed with considerable force, and Purple Wolf even began to wonder how such a frail frame could deliver punches of such weight.

He said nothing, but he had already suffered severe internal injuries.

Seeing Black Bear rise from the ground once more, eyes red, Purple Wolf grew irritated.

How was this Black Bear like an unkillable cockroach? Again and again he blasted him away with heavy punches, and again and again the man climbed back up. Purple Wolf was certain he had broken the man's ribs — how could he still stand, in that condition? Did he feel no pain?

Watching Black Bear charge at him, Purple Wolf could only grit his teeth and fight on. In an underground fight pit there were no rules and no yielding; only one outcome existed — one lives, the other dies. Only when one fighter had beaten the other until he could not move was victory counted.

"Bang!" Black Bear rushed in without fear of death and smashed a fist into Purple Wolf's skull, sending stars bursting before his eyes and his head ringing. He had been concussed — yes, concussed several times now. This Black Bear paid no heed to Purple Wolf's heavy punches, meeting him head-on with brute force alone, trading blow for blow.

At the same moment his fist struck Purple Wolf's head, Black Bear was sent flying by a punch from Purple Wolf, and crashed heavily to the ground once more.

Purple Wolf felt as if his head would burst; the pressure inside doubled in an instant. He knew that if he did not get to a hospital in time, he was likely finished. He was frantic, wanting to end the fight quickly and go for treatment.

But Black Bear, as if by a miracle, rose from the ground once more and launched another charge.

"Roar—" Black Bear came at him, fearless of death, and again swung a fist at Purple Wolf's head.

With a great "bang," dark purple blood spurted from Purple Wolf's ears, nostrils and mouth, and his whole body crashed heavily to the ground.

And in the instant Purple Wolf fell, he struck too; Black Bear's body was sent flying again and landed on the ground.

The whole arena erupted in uproar! The invincible, ever-victorious Purple Wolf had fallen — and blood was streaming from all seven openings of his head.

"Get up, Purple Wolf, get up!"

"Kill Black Bear!"

"Up! Get up!"

"Damn it, my five hundred thousand — I put it all on you! Get up, you bastard, stop playing dead!"

But what happened the next moment disappointed them all: the one who stood up was not Purple Wolf, but Black Bear.

Black Bear stood, both hands raised high, his eyes still bloodshot. Though he looked like nothing but a gourd of blood, he had won! He was the last man standing.

"Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven... three! Two! One! Black Bear wins!" The loudspeaker in the arena began the countdown, and still Purple Wolf did not rise.

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