Chapter 15: The Godfather's "Little Test"!
1815 Words
("Echoes of the Abyss," the underground fighting arena, the deepest shadows of Fog City)
The air! Thick! Mixed with the stench of sweat! Blood! Cheap cigars! And... a faint... smell of sulfur!
Deafening roars! Screams! Curses! Like countless mad beasts! Colliding in the vast circular space! Echoing! Painful to the eardrums!
A glaring spotlight! Hitting the massive steel cage in the center, enclosed by thick chains! Inside! Not beasts! Two scarred, blood-soaked men, fighting like mad beasts!
All around! Tiered upon tiers! Like the Roman Colosseum's terraced stands! Filled with people! Wealthy tycoons in suits! Tattooed thugs! Scantily clad women! Everyone! All red-eyed! Waving fists! Cash! Screaming hysterically! Like a pack of hyenas driven mad by the smell of blood!
Leo Yang! Dressed in the expensive, yet uncomfortable, black suit Rosa had "carefully prepared" for him! Sitting in the front row! The VIP box! A cold leather sofa! In front of him was a crystal coffee table! Top-shelf whiskey!
But he felt like he was trapped in another cage! Being scrutinized by countless greedy eyes, scrutinized like merchandise! Observed intently!
Old Locke Robert! Leaning on the sofa next to him! His dark purple velvet robe made his withered face paler! He looked like a zombie fresh out of a coffin! He held a glass of amber wine in his hand! He hadn't drunk it! His cloudy eyes, through the huge one-way glass, watched the b****y fight in the cage with indifference! The corners of his mouth... A faint, cruel smile played upon his face!
Victor! Sitting on the other side! His face pale! His eyes flickered! He dared not look into the cage! Clearly unaccustomed to this situation!
Rosa! Like an ice sculpture! Standing behind Old Locke! Expressionless! Only those icy blue eyes occasionally glanced at Leo, a cold, assessing glint in their eyes!
The bodyguards! Like iron towers! Blocking all exits!
"Do you like it?" Old Locke's voice! Hoarse! Like sandpaper scraping against the floor! It broke the eerie silence in the box! He tilted his head slightly! His cloudy gaze fell on Leo's tense face! "This is... the real world... Mr. Yang..."
Leo gritted his teeth! He said nothing! His fists clenched at his sides! His nails dug into his palms! Inside the cage! The shorter fighter! His opponent's punch struck his temple! Blood gushed out! He flew out like a broken sack! He slammed heavily against the iron cage! There was a dull thud! He twitched twice, then stopped moving!
The audience erupted in even more frantic screams and cheers! It was like a celebration!
"Survival of the fittest... the law of the jungle..." Old Locke's voice was tinged with mockery! "Here... life... is worth... nothing... but... a chip..."
His withered fingers tapped a button on the coffee table!
Ding!
A soft click!
The box door slid open silently!
A man in a black vest, wearing a headset, and with a sharp gaze, strode in, bowing respectfully!
"Sir?"
"Next..." Old Locke's voice was cold and emotionless. "Let... 'Mad Dog' Kane... go..."
"Kane?!" Victor looked up suddenly, a flicker of fear in his eyes! "Father! He... he's too dangerous! He nearly tore his opponent apart last time! Even the referee..."
"Shut up!" Old Locke didn't even raise his eyelids! His voice was low, yet it carried an undeniable pressure! "It's him!"
"Yes!" The man in the vest immediately bowed and quickly retreated!
Victor's face paled, not daring to speak again!
Leo's heart sank! Mad Dog Kane?! He'd heard of that name! A legend in the underground fighting arena! Or rather... a nightmare! Known for his brutality, bloodthirstiness, and relentless fights! It was said... in every match he fought, his opponents were either killed or maimed! No one survived!
What was Old Locke trying to do?!
Quickly!
The cage was cleaned! The bloodstains washed away by the water, leaving behind a dark red mark!
Heavy footsteps echoed from the depths of the passage!
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Like a war drum beating in everyone's heart!
A figure! Appeared at the entrance!
Tall! As muscular as a standing brown bear! Bare-chested! Covered with wiry muscles and hideous scars! Bronze skin! Shining! Eyes! Empty! Numb! Like two bottomless wells! Only at the very bottom did a trace of...heart-wrenching...madness burn!
Mad Dog Kane!
Silently! Step by step! He entered the cage! Like a soulless killing machine!
His opponent! An equally tall black fighter! But with a look of unmistakable fear in his eyes! He also entered! Looking at Kane! His Adam's apple rolled! He swallowed! His body trembled slightly!
Ding-ling-ling!
A shrill bell pierced the air!
The match began!
The black fighter clearly intended to strike first! With a roar, he unleashed a fierce straight punch! It slammed straight into Kane's face!
Kane! Didn't dodge!
In fact, he didn't even move!
Like a statue!
BANG!!!
The fist slammed into his face! The sound of his nose shattering was audible! Blood gushed out instantly!
The audience erupted in exclamations!
But!
Kane! He merely tilted his head slightly! His eyes! Still empty! Numb! As if he wasn't the one being hit!
The black fighter was stunned! Then the fierce gleam in his eyes intensified! Another hook! It slammed into Kane's jaw!
Kane! Still didn't dodge!
BANG!
His jaw was struck! Teeth and blood splattered!
Kane's body swayed! But! He didn't fall!
He slowly raised his hand and wiped the blood from his face. Then, those hollow eyes finally focused!
Focused on the terrified face of the black fighter!
A hint of... an extremely cruel! an extremely violent... smile slowly spread from the corner of his mouth!
"Roar!!!!"
A roar, inhuman! Like a beast! It exploded from Kane's throat, shaking the entire cage!
He moved!
Not with technique! Not with fighting!
But with pure, brutal, devastating force!
Like an out-of-control truck, he slammed into the black fighter!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Fists! Like pile drivers! They crashed down like crazy! So fast they left afterimages!
The sound of bones cracking! Like popcorn!
The black fighter couldn't even scream! He was being pounded like a punching bag! Blood! Flesh! Splattered against the cage! It was a horrific sight!
The audience! Silence fell for a second! Then! An even more frantic roar erupted! Hysterical screams and cheers! "Kill him! Tear him apart! Mad dog!!"
Victor covered his mouth fiercely, nearly vomiting! His face was as pale as paper!
Leo's stomach was churning, but he forced himself to watch! Watching the b****y c*****e! Watching old Rock's impassive profile! A chill rose from the depths of his heart!
The black boxer! A puddle of mud! Collapsing in the corner of the cage! Only the slight rise and fall of his chest proved he was still alive!
But!
Kane! He didn't stop!
In his eyes! Only s*******r! Only destruction! Like a madman! He raised his foot! Stomped hard into his opponent's chest! Again and again! The sound of bones shattering! It was a jaw-dropping experience!
"Enough! Kane! Stop!" The referee rushed forward, trying to stop him!
"Get out of here!" Kane turned around abruptly! His eyes bloodshot! Like a demon! He punched the referee in the face!
Puff!
The referee flew out like a broken doll! He hit the cage and passed out!
Out of control! Completely out of control!
The cheers from the audience turned into even more morbid screams! They longed for more blood and more primal destruction!
Just then!
Buzz!!!!
A faint, yet strangely familiar humming sound suddenly flashed through Leo's mind!
Cold! Sticky! Filled with bloodthirsty madness! It emanated from the cage!
Leo's pupils shrank sharply!
He stared at Kane intently!
He saw Kane's stomping movements suddenly stop!
His muscles! Uncontrollably! Twitching violently! Like high voltage electricity!
Beneath his skin! Strange, living, dark purple blood vessels! Bursting wildly! Pulsating! Spreading! Instantly covering his neck, cheeks, and arms!
His eyes! Instantly, a murky, oil-like blackness! Completely obscured! No whites! No pupils! Only endless madness and destruction!
"Ugh... ugh... ugh..." A beast-like growl erupted from his throat! Saliva mixed with blood dripped from the corners of his mouth!
An even stronger stench! Smelling of sulfur and blood! Bursting from him!
A buzzing sound! In Leo's mind! Instantly rising! A scream! Deafening!
A shadow demon?! No! Not really! It's... another... more violent! more chaotic... dark energy! Consuming him! Control him! Turn him into a true... monster!!!
"Roar!!"
A completely transformed Kane! He let out a deafening roar! He spun around! He no longer paid attention to the pile of rotten flesh on the ground! Instead, with his dark, unfocused eyes, he stared intently at... the box!
Or more accurately, at... Leo!
A cold, violent, destructive murderous intent! Like a physical substance, it penetrated the one-way glass and pierced Leo's body!
"Ugh!" Leo groaned! It felt like he'd been hit by a sledgehammer! His chest ached! The buzzing in his head intensified! It was that thing! It sensed his presence! It sensed the life energy within him! It wanted to... devour him!!!
"Oh?" Old Locke's cloudy eyes, for the first time, lit up with a glimmer of... interest! He looked at the completely crazed Kane in the cage! Then at his pale face! Leo's body tensed! That cruel smile on his lips deepened!
His withered fingers tapped the armrest lightly!
"Mr. Yang..." a hoarse voice! It carried an... unquestionable... command! And... a cold... tease!
"Heal him..."
"Now!"
"Right... right here!"
"Let everyone... see..."
"The Locke family's... 'Sacred Hand'..."
"How... to tame... a beast!"
In the box! Deathly silence!
Victor looked at his father in horror! Then at Leo! His lips trembled!
A glimmer of light flashed in Rosa's icy blue eyes!
Bodyguards! Gripped their guns!
Inside the cage! A completely alienated Kane! Like a demon crawling out of hell! He began to pound frantically against the cage and the thick alloy bars! Under his terrifying power, he let out a groan that made his teeth ache! He was deforming! He was twisting! He was about to burst forth! He was about to tear everything apart! Especially... that alluring target! !!!
The audience was completely mad! They were screaming! They were roaring! Like a tsunami! They saw something even more thrilling! A more primal violence! They saw a beast bursting free from its cage! They wanted to see blood! More blood!!!
Leo! He looked up at Old Locke!
Those deep, swirling eyes! They were icy cold! With scrutiny! With a testing intensity! With a kind of... controlling cruelty!
Heal him?!
Here?! Facing this monster, completely consumed by dark energy, that wanted nothing more than to tear him apart?!
This wasn't a f*****g test!
This was murder!!! A surge of rage and humiliation instantly surged through his head! Burning his eyes red!
But!
Looking at Kane pounding furiously against the cage! Emitting an inhuman roar! Seeing the pure, twisted pain and madness in his eyes!
Leo's fists! He clenched them tightly! Nails pierced his palms! Blood oozed!
Fuck!
Fight!!!
- Writer
