Me! A high-ranking official!

He patted Liu Tao on the shoulder, looked him up and down, and said, "Come and take a look. Besides, aren't you here too?"

"I..." Liu Tao blushed, his eyes darting around, then forcefully pushed Zhao Jianguo away:

"What's so interesting about this place! Let's get out of here! Let me tell you, if I bring you into this place, I'll ruin your life!"

He looked at Liu Tao and said with a wry smile, "Taozi, I'm already here, so I won't go back empty-handed. I've really run into some urgent trouble and I'm desperately short of money. I need a large sum of money urgently."

"Even if I'm short of money, I can't come here!" Liu Tao wrung her hands anxiously.

"Jianguo, this place is a bottomless pit, a huge abyss! If I jump in, I'll never get out! You have two million right now, but believe it or not, if you go in with that two million, you'll come out tomorrow morning a millionaire drowning in high-interest loans!"

He looked at Liu Tao's bloodshot eyes, suddenly smiled, and asked softly, "And you? How much did you lose today?"

Liu Tao froze, all her previous earnestness vanished instantly, and she slumped her shoulders dejectedly, avoiding his gaze with shame, her voice barely audible: "My fifty thousand yuan... I only have five thousand left."

He shook his head helplessly, grabbed Liu Tao's arm, and strode toward the wooden door: "Alright, stop standing here, let's go in and take a look."

"Sigh! Jianguo!" Liu Tao, seeing he couldn't persuade him otherwise, could only sigh heavily and grit his teeth in compromise: "Fine, I'll take you in to see for yourself! But let's make it clear beforehand, you can just look, but absolutely no betting! If you dare to put any money in, I'll break off all ties with you!"

"Alright, alright, I got it. Now, lead the way."

Liu Tao walked to the security booth, took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket, stuffed it into the hand of the burly man with a fierce face, and said a few words in a low voice with a smile.

The burly man glanced at Zhao Jianguo and casually tossed him a tattered registration book: "Write down your name and phone number. Understand the rules? No photos, no videos. Don't cause trouble."

Zhao Jianguo registered and then went inside with Liu Tao.

Upon entering the gate, the scene before him made Zhao Jianguo pause for a moment.

Surprisingly, the place was remarkably well-organized, with the entire manor divided into three courtyards by high walls.

The first courtyard is a rest area, paved with blue bricks, and even has artificial hills and fountains. On both sides are a row of elegantly decorated Chinese-style private rooms, from which the sounds of clinking glasses can be faintly heard.

The second courtyard is an entertainment and relaxation area. Through the glass, you can see billiard tables, signs for bathing and massage parlors, and even several scantily clad, heavily made-up women smoking and laughing in the corridor.

"These places up ahead are just for the old men who have won money to relax," Liu Tao said in a low voice as he led the way. "The real bloodshed happens in the last section, but we don't play here every day. We only play big games on big days like the 5th and 10th of the month. Today happens to be the 15th."

He followed Liu Tao through an arched gate, and as soon as he stepped into the third courtyard, a strong, nauseating smell of blood and sweat, mixed with the odor of cheap cigarettes, immediately hit him.

The elegance of the previous courtyard was gone; in the center of the courtyard was a large expanse of hardened yellow earth.

Two huge pits, each more than ten meters in diameter and three meters deep, were dug out on the ground. The pits were covered with specially made wire mesh.

At that moment, hundreds of gamblers, as if possessed, crowded around the barbed wire fence of one of the deep pits. Their eyes were bloodshot, their hands clutched stacks of banknotes, and their veins bulged as they roared and cursed wildly at the bottom of the pit.

Liu Tao led Zhao Jianguo through the crowd with difficulty, and they reached the edge of the barbed wire fence.

Zhao Jianguo looked down into the pit and his pupils contracted sharply. The yellow soil at the bottom of the pit had been stained dark brown with blood. Two large, muscular fighting dogs, one a pure black pit bull and the other a yellow-haired Tosa Inu, were tearing at each other like two crazed wild beasts.

The air was filled with the chilling sounds of bones cracking and mournful wails.

The black dog had torn a large chunk of flesh from the big yellow dog's neck, revealing the stark white neck bone. Blood gushed out like a fountain with its panting breath, staining half of its body red.

Although the big yellow dog's eyes still exuded a chilling ferocity, and it held onto the black dog's front leg tightly, excessive blood loss had clearly slowed its movements, and its limbs began to tremble uncontrollably, indicating that it was at its last gasp.

Meanwhile, the gamblers above the pit continued to scream hysterically, as if they wanted to bury their souls in the two beasts.

"Great Dragon King! Stand up! Bite it to death!"

Looking at the large yellow dog at the bottom of the pit, barely breathing, Liu Tao's legs went weak. He clutched his hair in anguish and let out a desperate wail: "It's all over... all over! My last five thousand yuan!"

He turned to look at Liu Tao: "What? Is the yellow one going to lose?"

Liu Tao closed his eyes in anguish, his face filled with the dejection and ashen look of someone who had lost everything. His voice trembled with despair as he cried out, "I bet on that yellow one... it's called the Big Dragon King. Look at it, its neck is almost broken, it's about to be bitten to death by lightning! My five thousand yuan is all gone!"

Sure enough, the miracle did not happen.

In less than half a minute, the big yellow dog, which had already lost too much blood, stumbled and revealed a fatal flaw. The big black dog pounced on it like a black lightning bolt and bit its neck tightly.

With a chilling "crack" sound, the big yellow dog's neck was snapped in two, its massive body twitched a few times, and then it went completely still.

"It's over...it's all over..."

Liu Tao felt as if her bones had been removed; her legs went weak, and she collapsed painfully onto the muddy ground covered in cigarette ash and phlegm.

He clutched his hair tightly, tears and snot streaming down his face, muttering desperately, "I've lost all 50,000 yuan... If my wife finds out, she'll chop me up with a knife..."

He looked down at Liu Tao, and scolded him with exasperation, "Now you're scared? Where were you when you were jumping into the pit?"

Liu Tao buried her head in her knees in despair, trembling all over, unable to utter a word.

He sighed and reached out to pull Liu Tao up: "Alright, stop making a fool of yourself here. Get up. I'll lend you some capital later so you can make up for it."

Upon hearing the word "flip," Liu Tao abruptly raised his head, a morbid longing flashing in his bloodshot eyes. He stared at Zhao Jianguo for two seconds, then suddenly rubbed his face hard with his dirty hands, gritted his teeth, stood up, grabbed Zhao Jianguo's arm tightly, and dragged him desperately toward the door.

"No need! I brought this on myself, I'll take the blame! I've figured it out, this is a bottomless pit of hell!"

While dragging Zhao Jianguo along, Liu Tao stammered, "Jianguo, this place is too eerie! You've seen it for yourself, come with me now! I can't drag you down with me just to make a quick buck!"

Seeing Liu Tao's appearance—a gambling addict but still possessing some conscience—Zhao Jianguo felt somewhat gratified. He suddenly flipped his wrist, shaking off Liu Tao's hand.

"Since I'm already here, why are you in such a hurry to leave before I even understand how things work out?"

Zhao Jianguo laughed and said, "Taozi, I'm not joking with you. I came here today because I really need money. Let's see what happens!"

Liu Tao was completely stunned. He looked at Zhao Jianguo, who had a calm expression, and stamped his feet anxiously. However, the burning resentment of losing everything was also lurking in his heart, leaving him frozen in place, unsure whether to leave or stay.

Just then, Zhao Jianguo noticed that the frenzied gamblers around him were rushing madly into a large shed on the east side of the courtyard, like sharks smelling blood.

"What are they doing over there?"

"That's where you place bets and check the odds..." Liu Tao swallowed hard. "The next... the grand finale is going to be a dogfight, not a dogfight, but a man vs. dog battle."

He raised an eyebrow and strode over, leaving Liu Tao no choice but to follow.

Squeezing into the tent, Zhao Jianguo saw a huge electronic screen hanging directly in front of him, displaying today's schedule.

Match 6: Hu Xiao vs. Jin Gang.

On the left side of the screen is a photo of a young man in his early twenties with a fairly well-defined physique, while on the right is a purebred pit bull with a physique as robust as a small calf!

He glanced at the betting table and found that ninety percent of the bets were pouring into the pit bull named King Kong, with very few betting on humans to win.

"What's going on? This guy looks pretty strong, yet he can't even beat a dog?"

Liu Tao explained with a wry smile, "Jianguo, people are naturally afraid of these kinds of beasts. Those who come here to fight the dogs are either desperately poor and in dire need of money, or they are gamblers who owe high-interest loans to bookmakers and are forced to come down here to pay off their debts. Although there are some tough guys who can win, they are very few. These fighting dogs eat raw meat every day and practice biting; they can bite through bones in one bite!"

"But don't worry..." Liu Tao seemed afraid of scaring Zhao Jianguo, so he quickly added, "After all, we can't really kill anyone here. If someone is about to be bitten to death, there are security guards upstairs with high-pressure water guns and iron bars who will forcibly pull the dogs away. At most, the person will just be crippled."

He nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on the young man's photo on the screen, feeling nothing but utter absurdity and cruelty.

It's the 21st century, and in this hidden corner enclosed by high walls, a scene reminiscent of the ancient Roman Colosseum is still unfolding. These living people, like ancient slaves, are stripped of their dignity, thrown into cages to fight wild beasts, all to win a smile from the wealthy above and earn a pitiful scrap.

He scrolled down the screen and saw that there were still seven matches to go, the last one being a man vs. dog battle.

"Besides the betting area in front, what's that big courtyard on the west side for?" He heard the faint barking of dogs and pointed to the segregated area.

"That's the 'big spender' area. Many wealthy bosses not only gamble, but also keep their own dogs. They spend a lot of money to bring in top-quality fierce dogs from abroad and board them here. As long as those bosses' dogs are involved, the betting odds for that game will start at least in the millions."

Zhao Jianguo's heart skipped a beat: "Come on, take me there to have a look."

Passing through an iron gate and entering the west courtyard, the view suddenly opens up. In this area of ​​more than three acres, nearly a hundred large dog cages made of pure steel are neatly arranged.

Inside were all ferocious beasts that would terrify anyone who looked at them: Dogo Argentinos, Caucasian Shepherds, Tibetan Mastiffs, Neapolitan Mastiffs... When these animals saw strangers approaching, instead of barking, they emitted a low, rumbling growl, the kind of growl that comes from when they are preparing to hunt, and their scarlet eyes were fixed on the newcomers.

The two walked around for a while and stopped in front of the iron bars in the most remote spot, where the cage was also the largest.

A young man dressed in cheap camouflage was squatting in front of the cage.

He followed the young man's gaze into the cage, where a Caucasian Shepherd was so enormous it was almost despairing! It lay there like a mountain of flesh, and when it stood up, it was definitely taller than an adult man.

He recognized at a glance that the young man squatting on the ground was Li Gan, the contestant in the final man-dog battle shown on the screen.

Seemingly sensing the hostility emanating from Li Gan, the Caucasian Shepherd in the cage slowly stood up. It didn't bark, but simply lowered its huge head slightly, opened its mouth full of foul-smelling fangs, and locked its deathly red eyes down on Li Gan, as if looking at a piece of fat meat that was already in its mouth.

Liu Tao lowered his voice, a hint of fear in his tone: "Jianguo, don't get too close. This dog is called Archangel. It was brought back from the Russian black market by a coal tycoon in the provincial capital who is worth billions. It's been here for half a year and is invincible."

Liu Tao swallowed hard, his voice even lower: "I heard... this dog actually ate the flesh of death row inmates overseas! Once an animal has tasted human blood, it loses interest in other meats; even the way it stares at people changes!"

Hearing Liu Tao say this, his heart sank. A beast that has eaten humans does not feel fear when facing humans; on the contrary, it feels an extremely terrifying sense of predatory oppression.

He glanced at Li Gan, a young man who was only a little over 1.6 meters tall and weighed about 140 kilograms. Although he looked quite sturdy, he looked like a child in front of the archangel who resembled a prehistoric behemoth.

Who would believe he could win? This is practically suicide!

Li Gan seemed to sense the gaze behind him, turned around and gave Zhao Jianguo a cold glance, then stood up without a word and silently walked towards the rest area in the distance.

"You're Li Gan?" He couldn't help but hurry up and block his way.

Li Gan stopped and nodded blankly.

"Why are you participating in this?" he asked, frowning.

Li Gan's face was blank; he completely ignored him and simply walked around to the side.

"Don't ask anymore." Liu Tao walked up and sighed, "This kid signed the death waiver voluntarily. He's a complete pauper. His sister was diagnosed with acute leukemia. A bone marrow transplant plus the subsequent rejection will cost eight or nine hundred thousand. If he hadn't come here and risked his life, his sister would have had to wait to die in the hospital. These days, poverty is a disease that can't be cured."

He stood there, looking at Li Gan's thin back, a complex sympathy flashing in his eyes.

He understood that kind of despair all too well. When you're pushed to the edge of a cliff, what does dignity matter? What does life matter?

However, Li Gan has a sister to save, and Zhao Jianguo still has a debt of 20 million yuan to repay to the King of Hell!