Lin Zhiquin drove through more than half the city. They hit the beginning of the evening rush hour, which caused a slight delay. After more than half an hour, he stopped on a wide street.
"Bachelor Avenue, 675."
He immediately spotted a huge sign hanging on a nearby building. The address matched exactly what he had found on the competition’s website poster the previous night.
This area, near the industrial park south of the city, had sparse buildings and light foot and vehicle traffic. The streets and roads felt quite open.
Lin Zhiquin parked in a spot along the road and gestured for Lu Yuan to get out.
"Come on. Before tonight’s matches begin, I’ll show you around."
Lu Yuan nodded and followed Lin Zhiquin after getting out of the car.
As they walked under the huge sign and were about to enter, Lu Yuan noticed several other plaques by the entrance:
"Mosa Fighting Fans Association"
"Mosa Fighter’s Mutual Aid Society"
"Mosa Religion Ancient Culture Research Center"
Hmm? Lu Yuan was slightly taken aback by the third plaque. "So, Mosa is the name of a religion?"
Hearing this, Lin Zhiquin paused, glanced at the plaque Lu Yuan was looking at, and replied, "The club’s owner is a follower of the Mosa Religion. He also sponsors the annual competitions held by the association."
Lu Yuan nodded and asked as he followed Lin Zhiquin inside, "What kind of religion is the Mosa Religion?"
"It seems to be a small sect passed down from the White Mountain Era. Initially, it probably revered things like hunting and martial combat. In modern times, it slowly evolved into a love and admiration for fighting... I’m not entirely sure about the specifics," Lin Zhiquin answered casually.
"The White Mountain Era?!"
Hearing this term, certain information stirred in Lu Yuan’s mind.
He remembered his sister, Lu Jing, mentioning that her archaeological team was currently excavating an ancient temple from the White Mountain Era.
Upon entering the club’s main hall, the first thing that caught his eye was a large, red-eyed billy goat emblem.
He had seen this emblem on the competition’s online poster yesterday and guessed it might be the insignia of the Mosa Religion.
"The research center and association offices are upstairs. The competition venue is downstairs. Let’s go."
Lin Zhiquin beckoned Lu Yuan, and the two took the elevator.
Lin Zhiquin pressed the button for the second basement level.
Lu Yuan glanced around and was surprised to see there were four or five more levels below ground.
Digging down this many floors... aren’t they afraid the building will collapse? he grumbled internally.
The elevator descended, reaching the second basement level in a few seconds.
As the elevator doors opened, Lu Yuan found himself facing a long corridor.
Long tube lights, installed in crevices along both sides of the corridor’s ceiling, bathed the entire passage in a cold, white light.
Lu Yuan followed Lin Zhiquin. His own sneakers and Lin Zhiquin’s leather shoes made different scraping sounds on the metal floor.
After about one to two minutes, they finally exited the corridor.
His field of vision widened somewhat.
It was completely different from what Lu Yuan had anticipated.
While walking through the corridor, Lu Yuan had imagined rusty iron cages, terrifying fighters with exaggerated, fierce features, and an air thick with the smell of sweat, blood, and gunpowder...
However, what he actually saw was a brightly lit, spacious hall with strong, cool air conditioning.
The uniformed staff members were all friendly and smiling.
Rooms labeled "Registration," "Check-in," "Lounge," and "Changing Rooms" were clearly marked.
The contestants didn’t look ferocious at all; instead, most appeared polite and courteous.
Lu Yuan even spotted a female contestant in a fighting vest and shorts. She had an incredibly voluptuous figure, yet her voice was as sweet and coy as a kitten’s. It made him feel as if he were backstage at an anime convention rather than at a fighting competition.
Everything seemed extremely well-organized and orderly.
"Surprising, isn’t it?" Lin Zhiquin glanced at him and chuckled. "I was surprised too, the first time I came.
"Actually, the events organized by Mosa are far more professional than most other major fighting competitions."
"They must be much more experienced..." Lu Yuan couldn’t help but remark.
He recalled the information he’d found yesterday: the Mosa Fighting Fans Association held competitions almost year-round.
Year after year of this, the people here must be incredibly familiar with the entire process.
"Ha, you could say that."
Lin Zhiquin took Lu Yuan on a brief tour.
Many people here seemed quite familiar with Lin Zhiquin, greeting him with smiles and, incidentally, casting curious glances at Lu Yuan.
These looks made Lu Yuan a little uncomfortable.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that when they looked at him, the corners of their eyes drooped slightly, as if holding back a knowing, meaningful smile.
What are they smiling at? Is it that amusing? Or is it because I look like a high school student?
Lu Yuan’s mood inexplicably soured, and his initial good impression of the place began to fade.
Only then did he start to really notice the red-eyed billy goat emblems plastered everywhere on the hall’s walls and ceiling, along with various other unidentifiable patterns.
"That’s the betting counter," Lin Zhiquin suddenly said, pointing to a small window and interrupting the irritation spreading through Lu Yuan’s mind.
"If you’re interested, you can go buy a few tickets and try your luck.
"Don’t worry, it’s entirely legal and regulated.
"Besides, no one knows any information about the contestants in each match; it’s purely based on luck.
"The maximum bet isn’t high either. It’s just a small form of entertainment."
Lu Yuan glanced at it. "Coach, school rules prohibit high school students from gambling."
"HEH HEH." Lin Zhiquin chuckled but didn’t comment. He checked the time and said to Lu Yuan, "It’s about time. Let’s go in."
They walked through a small passage for about ten meters.
Pushing open a large door before them, an impressively large venue unfolded before Lu Yuan.
The first thing he saw was a massive red-eyed Goat Head Statue, the kind that seemed to be everywhere in this place, representing the Mosa Religion. This one was exceptionally large, suspended high at the apex of the venue, appearing to gaze down from an overlooking angle.
Below it was the fighting arena, equally immense.
It was a far cry from the boxing rings Lu Yuan was used to, which were typically no more than five meters square.
You could probably hold a 50-meter sprint on it with room to spare, let alone a fight. If fighters compete up there and one can’t win... will they just start running? Lu Yuan wondered.
The arena’s design was also unusual. It was elevated at least ten meters above the ground, with staircases specially built on both sides for access.
It was entirely black. The railings on all four sides, seemingly made of solid wood, were also adorned with rows of Goat Head Statues.
It had a bizarre, almost fantastical and grotesque style. Thɪs chapter is updated by novel fire.net
Compared to the fighting arena, the spectator seating around it looked surprisingly shabby.
There weren’t many seats in total, nor were there many spectators occupying them.
Lu Yuan did a quick count and estimated there were fewer than thirty people.
Lin Zhiquin led him to a spot almost against the wall, slightly higher than the arena, from where they could just about see the entire stage.
Lu Yuan felt awkward in his seat. Perhaps the organizers never really intended to provide much space for spectators...
The seats felt like a haphazard afterthought, clashing with the venue’s overall design. The materials also seemed quite perfunctory, not as meticulously crafted as other aspects of the place.
But could an event without spectators still be called a competition?
"These are the preliminary rounds, ten matches a day. They’ll start in ten minutes," Lin Zhiquin said, glancing at his phone for the time.
He noticed Lin Zhiquin’s phone screensaver was a picture of a young, beautiful woman—his wife, perhaps.
Ten minutes passed in a flash.
Punctually, the event began.
The walls on all four sides of the venue suddenly lit up.
Only then did Lu Yuan realize that massive display screens were installed on all four walls.
When the screens were off, their surfaces were covered with graphic patterns that camouflaged them, so Lu Yuan hadn’t noticed them before.
The Mosa Religion’s billy goat head emblem flashed onto all four screens.
The eyes of these four billy goat heads pulsed with flashing red light, accompanied by music played on some unidentifiable instruments.
Two groups of naked women, their bodies adorned with paint, walked out from both sides of the arena. They began to dance wildly in the center, their bodies contorting frenetically.
Red light strips also seemed to illuminate the area beneath the arena.
From Lu Yuan’s vantage point, the scene unfolding before him looked like some kind of bizarre ritual.
"It’s a Mosa Religion tradition. They do this before every match.
"I’ve even seen them bring live animals onto the stage to be slaughtered on important days.
"You’ll get used to it," Lin Zhiquin explained quietly to Lu Yuan.
He then pointed to the women dancing in the center of the arena and remarked with a sigh,
"Don’t underestimate them; they only writhe around for a bit each day, but their monthly salaries are terrifyingly high.
"But then again, those moves really are difficult. Most people couldn’t... COUGH COUGH... learn them..."