Reservoir Dogs chapter 49
Fighting
When Xiao Zhou stepped onto the stage, a deafening wave of whistles and cheers erupted from the stands, piercing his eardrums like thunder. Everything in front of him was a chaotic blur.
Countless heads, bright and glaring electronic screens, the black iron wire encircling the entire field—this wasn’t the octagon of a regular MMA match but a rectangular space surrounded by iron columns and wire, resembling a cage for beasts, filled with bright, eye-catching colors exploding like gunpowder in his retina.
He closed his eyes briefly, took a deep breath. What rushed into his nostrils was the lingering stench of blood on the fighting arena, the sour rot of food, and the strong alpha pheromones mixed in sweat. This assault on his senses was more deadly than the visual stimulus. Just as he stepped onto the stage, his feet softened, and he stumbled uncontrollably.
The screen of the broadcast enlarged the scene, immediately causing laughter from the audience. Everyone was mocking him, telling him to go home and have babies and breastfeed. Someone even smashed their drink bottle against the wire mesh.
The previous defeated contestant had just been dragged away unconscious, leaving a black and red drag mark on the ground.
The winner ran around the ring, waving his arms and basking in the cheers and shouts from the audience. Only when Xiao Zhou approached him did he disdainfully look at this tall slender omega.
Xiao Zhou wore a tight black tank top and boxing shorts, his legs long and slender. Though not weak for an omega, compared to the robust muscles of alphas, he seemed as thin as paper. One of his opponent’s arms was almost as thick as his thigh.
The contrast in strength was stark, the outcome almost predetermined.
The person who had just defeated the previous champion looked down on him with relief. This match wouldn’t require much effort from him, and he could conserve his strength for the next opponent. Winning the last match had been tough; he had taken a blow to the head and nearly lost consciousness, ears still ringing. When he stood up, he had also sprained his right foot. If the other guy hadn’t been too weak to fight back, he would likely be the one carried off.
A whistle blew.
He immediately assumed his stance, ready to end it quickly with a decisive blow. Perhaps this omega didn’t even know the most basic evasive maneuvers.
He was a power-type fighter known for his explosive strength and aggressive style, confident that no one could withstand his full force.
But this omega was more agile than he had imagined.
Dodging a hook, evading several attacks, Xiao Zhou calmly observed his opponent’s moves. His right foot was slower, noticeably lagging behind his upper body movements, his stance not stable enough—perhaps his right foot had been injured earlier.
Making this assessment, Xiao Zhou seized the opportunity, grabbing the elbow to strike the arm, then kicking straight at the knee.
This fighting style was not very honorable, but it was suitable for dealing with opponents relying solely on brute strength.
When the opponent stumbled and fell to his knees, Xiao Zhou grabbed his arm, locked the shoulder joint with one hand, stepped back with his foot, and twisted his arm behind his back. With a snap, the arm dislocated.
The man let out a scream akin to a slaughtered pig. Xiao Zhou maintained the twist, kneeling down and applying pressure with his knee on the injured area. “Admit defeat.”
The opponent went mad. “Bullshit! You bitch!”
Xiao Zhou said nothing, increasing the pressure with his knee, nearly disabling the man’s arm completely. The man continued to struggle and curse, unable to move, until finally, unable to bear the pain, he reluctantly surrendered.
The arena fell silent for a moment, then erupted into cheers louder than before. In this place where only the winner mattered, they enjoyed seeing omegas beaten to submission and alphas overwhelmed without resistance.
After the referee declared the surrender valid, Xiao Zhou did not immediately get up. Instead, he pressed down on his opponent’s arm again.
The crowd instantly erupted into a commotion, no one objecting to this post-match act of brutality as an outlet for his pent-up frustration.
The man’s face was pressed against the ground, his voice trembling with fear. “What are you doing? You’ve already won!”
“Just endure it,” Xiao Zhou said, followed by a crisp sound of bones realigning.
The cheers abruptly stopped, the audience’s faces frozen in the cruel laughter at the pain of others.
“What did he just do?” Liu Neng stared in shock at the scene. “Is he crazy? Am I seeing things, or is his brain wired differently from normal people?”
Jiang Chengyuan sat with his legs crossed, leaning against the sofa, calmly responding to Liu Neng’s question. “He put that guy’s dislocated arm back in place.”
“Damn.” Liu Neng couldn’t help but laugh. He flopped back into his chair. “He’s like a Bodhisattva. His brilliance is blinding me. I pray he meets someone in the next match who can dislocate an arm and then fix it.”
Jiang Chengyuan lit a cigarette. “At least he helped you earn 200,000.”
“Yeah, but now everyone knows he’s a coward without guts. No one will fear him next time. That’s fatal.” Liu Neng poured himself a drink, moistening his dry throat from shouting too loudly earlier. When Xiao Zhou stepped onto the stage, he had hoped he would make it to the end.
Lin Jian’an was still puffing on his cigar. “Let’s hope he wins a few more matches. That way, your bets won’t look so bad.”
Xiao Zhou let go of the hand and took a step back. He looked around, his expression cold and indifferent to the invasion of words and looks.
His gaze paused briefly somewhere, then quickly moved away. His face wore a mask of indifference, ignoring all verbal assaults and gazes.
The opponent he had defeated staggered to his feet, holding his arm, his expression unreadable, and was quickly led away.
The host jumped onto the stage from below, announcing the continuation of the match.
The next opponent didn’t look as intimidating, lacking the oppressive presence of a tank-like professional. After exchanging a few blows, Xiao Zhou knocked him down.
Next was the third, the fourth…
The fifth person had the massive physique of a sumo wrestler. Xiao Zhou was momentarily careless and was grabbed, thrown to the ground. His internal organs were jolted out of place, lying on the ground unable to recover for quite some time.
Fortunately, he quickly adjusted his strategy, circling cautiously around his opponent, keeping his distance. He waited until the man grew impatient and exhausted, then seized the opportunity to grab his ankle from behind, tripping him and slamming him face-down on the ground, knocking him out with three punches.
Amidst countless incredulous mockery, Xiao Zhou stood victorious through the last few rounds.
The enraged spectators who had lost money continued to curse, hurling objects onto the stage, stopped only by the iron cage. They spewed the vilest language because Xiao Zhou was the cause of their financial losses.
By the eighth person, a small, thin man had hidden a blade in his waistband. During their struggle on the ground, he used the blade between his fingers to cut Xiao Zhou’s neck artery. Luckily, Xiao Zhou’s alertness allowed him to loosen the entangled limbs in time and roll away.
As he stood up from the ground, he touched his neck wound. The blade had only made a shallow cut, reopening a scar on his gland that had already scabbed over, releasing a faint pheromone from the wound.
The man sniffed the air’s scent with pheromones from a corner of the arena, his expression turning somewhat intoxicated and excited. “You slut, why do you smell so good?”
Xiao Zhou wiped the blood from his hands onto his body, furrowing his brow. His eyes flickered slightly, but he remained composed.
Before this incident, the man had been cautious, evidently wary due to Xiao Zhou’s performance in the previous rounds. However, when he charged again, he seemed disorganized.
This allowed Xiao Zhou to easily control him, swiftly dislocating his arm joint to prevent him from using the blade again. The man attempted to bite him, forcing Xiao Zhou to strike his temple with his fist, hitting hard enough to knock his head sideways, collapsing to the ground.
As Xiao Zhou stood over him, the man suddenly surged up and bit his neck from behind.
“Damn it,” Xiao Zhou cursed, striking back with his elbow, but the man held onto his neck tightly. Xiao Zhou turned his head to the side, reaching behind to grab the man’s pants and flipping him forcefully onto the ground.
The man lay sprawled on the ground, lacking the strength to get up, blood from the bite still on his lips. When the referee declared him defeated, he looked at Xiao Zhou with a bizarre smirk.
Xiao Zhou covered his neck, bending over, feeling weak in the knees. He sensed something injected into his gland, raising his body temperature as it flowed through his veins.
In the final round, a tall, muscular man with dark skin stepped onto the stage. He was a professional boxer from Southeast Asia, the most anticipated winner of the competition. He had the luck to draw the last, and the most difficult opponent, while Xiao Zhou had already endured battles with eight others, pushing his stamina and endurance to their limits.
Xiao Zhou straightened his body. His current condition was not favorable — bleeding from his face, bruised and swollen, with a dull pain in his chest, possibly from fractured ribs.
Blood blurred his vision; Xiao Zhou wiped it away, but before he could fully recover, the man kicked him squarely in the chest, sending him crashing into the wire mesh. Xiao Zhou quickly reacted, grabbing onto the wire’s gaps to support himself, not falling. When the man’s next punch came, he leaned back, using the wire’s elasticity to counterattack. Dodging the punch, he landed a heavy blow to the man’s abdomen. The man, seemingly immune to pain, hesitated for a moment but remained unprotected. Xiao Zhou was surprised but seized the opportunity to escape from a disadvantageous position.
The two resumed their standoff.
Xiao Zhou took a deep breath. When the man launched his attack in the next round, Xiao Zhou could have avoided it, but he caught a strong scent and his knees weakened, taking a punch to the face.
His ears rang momentarily, nose swelling, blood flowing. The man pinned Xiao Zhou down, using his weight to suppress his resistance.
Raising his fist, he repeatedly struck Xiao Zhou’s head. Xiao Zhou raised his hand to block, but the punches landed indiscriminately on his face.
A tooth broke off, mixed with blood and saliva.
With a knee pressing on his broken rib, Xiao Zhou gasped, his entire body curled in pain. What he found unbearable was the approaching alpha pheromones; the man seemed to be intentionally emitting a strong scent, penetrating every cell.
Enduring to the extreme, Xiao Zhou’s body uncontrollably trembling, he blinked away a drop of sweat that trickled into his eye and finally hoarsely said, “I give up.”
“What?” The man laughed viciously as if he hadn’t heard clearly, gripping Xiao Zhou’s lower jaw, forcing him to look up. “What did you say? You can’t give up, you little bitch. You defeated so many alphas earlier. Do you think you can leave the stage intact?”
Leaning closer to his ear, the man said, “Do you know what those people waited all night to see? Do you think they wanted to see you flaunting your strength on this stage? No, they were waiting for an alpha to flip you over on this platform, waiting to see you embarrassed like a bitch, lifting your ass.”
Xiao Zhou gritted his teeth. The man released one hand and slid it down his waist, saying, “I could smell your omega pheromones from the audience, I was worried I wouldn’t get a turn, but luckily you’re stronger than I imagined.”
Xiao Zhou felt nauseous to the extreme, his eyelashes trembling, overwhelmed by the strong, pungent smell. He was on the verge of vomiting.
Jiang Chengyuan stood up.
“What are you doing?” Lin Jian’an asked him.
Jiang Chengyuan averted his gaze from the intertwined bodies in the iron cage and turned back. “I’m leaving.”
Liu Neng unwillingly shouted, “Stay a little longer, Lawyer Jiang, the most exciting part is yet to come.”
He wasn’t wrong; the atmosphere finally reached its peak. The audience on the first two levels crowded around the outside of the iron cage, hands and faces squeezing through the gaps. The faint but distinct scent of omega in heat drove almost all the alphas in the audience to near madness.
Jiang Chengyuan spoke coldly, “You sabotaged that kid before the match.”
Liu Neng chuckled, “It would be too boring if we actually let this omega win. Everyone paid so much to see this live; we need something truly exciting.”
“Don’t push people too far; it’ll cause a lot of trouble.” Jiang Chengyuan turned and left the stands.
Lin Jian’an gestured, and Liu Neng hurriedly followed, guiding Jiang Chengyuan out through the back door to avoid the commotion below.
The heavy iron door closed behind them, shutting out the thick air, the noise, and the swirling pheromonal scent.
As they approached the elevator, the noise suddenly quieted down. The elevator ascended slowly from underground to the ground floor.
Jiang Chengyuan exhaled deeply, rubbing his forehead with his hand. The uproar from earlier still echoed faintly, not yet completely fading away, his blood still flowing fast. He took out a cigarette from his pocket, clenching it between his fingers, waiting for the elevator to arrive.
He recalled how the skinny man, like a monkey, had cut Xiao Zhou’s neck with a blade hidden between his fingers, shamelessly licking the blood oozing from the wound.
He suddenly felt nauseous, crumpling the cigarette in his palm and tossing it into the trash when stepping out of the elevator.
The car was waiting for him at the entrance, driven by the firm’s old chauffeur. After getting in, he was asked where to go. “Towards North River,” Jiang Chengyuan owned several properties in the city; the one with Xiao Zhou’s was just one of them, not even his primary residence.
The driver nodded and drove off.
Halfway there, Jiang Chengyuan changed his mind again, directing the car towards Jialin Jingyuan.
As he gazed at the rapidly passing street scenes, Jiang Chengyuan’s expression remained somber, his thoughts drifting far away.
He thought, this would likely be his last visit to that place; it would be sold off soon. He never needed an omega in the first place; it only added unnecessary complications. His visit to the Clemency Court was a shameful attempt to escape. He wanted to find a comfort zone, but such a zone did not exist. His experiment had failed; no one was particularly special.
Jiang Chengyuan slowly relaxed, trying to divert his attention from the bloody match.
Since he and Xiao Zhou couldn’t come to an agreement, he’d return to where he started. He didn’t need someone disobedient; if Xiao Zhou preferred standing in the fighting arena over being by his side, so be it. Ultimately, it was an inconsequential episode. He had given Xiao Zhou ample time to adapt, plenty of freedom, and patience. If all that still seemed shameful to Xiao Zhou, Jiang Chengyuan found it hard to accept; the best solution might be to put an end to it all. He was a democratic person, respecting people’s free will.
The vehicle stopped, and Jiang Chengyuan went upstairs.
He turned on the lights in the room with a loud click.
He saw the tube of blood on the table.
Walking over, the dark red blood inside the glass tube shimmered like a ruby. Combined AO, if separated, retained the partner pheromones that helped alleviate discomfort caused by separation, with blood having the highest pheromone content and the best effect.
Jiang Chengyuan stared at the tube, his expression inscrutable. Soon, his phone rang.
He answered, surprised voice on the other end, “Lawyer Jiang, congratulations! You’ve won 20 times! That omega won!”
Jiang Chengyuan asked, “He won?”
Liu Neng exclaimed, “Yes! He bit off that alpha’s gland, literally tore a piece of meat from him! The guy passed out from the pain.”
Jiang Chengyuan picked up the glass tube, slowly rubbing the cold surface with his fingers. “What happens now?”
“That omega is in heat now; he locked himself on stage. The audience below is going crazy smelling that scent. The cage will be torn down sooner or later; it’s just a matter of time.”
“Your place is in chaos now, and you’re still so happy?”
Liu Neng’s tone remained upbeat. “I’ve already sent people over. Omegas like him are rare. The gamblers won’t stop. If he accumulates more debt, I have an even better idea.”
Jiang Chengyuan put down what he was holding, his eyes half-lidded, his long, dark lashes shading eyes that gleamed coldly. “I’m coming over now. Don’t let anyone touch him.”