American homeless people, surviving in the city

"...I understand now."

Lynch spoke so softly that no one except Jenkins on stage heard him.

Despite Lynch being beaten so badly by Jenkins, the cheers outside the ring remained loud and boisterous.

"Keep going! Beat them hard!"

"Jenkins, why did you stop! Get this kid off the stage!"

But when Jenkins saw the smile gradually appear on Lynch's face and heard Lynch's words, his smile suddenly disappeared.

He tried hard to control his expression, attempting not to let Lynch see his panic, but the slight twitching of his cheeks betrayed it:

"What...what did you say? What did you see?"

"Kid, don't try to fool me. If you don't surrender, I can't guarantee I won't hurt you!"

However, Lynch simply laughed it off in the face of Jenkins' threat:

"...Yes, what exactly did you see?"

He winked and chuckled, "To quote a friend in the audience just now... Jenkins, why did you stop?"

"Of course, it's to uphold our agreement!" Jenkins completely lost control of his expression, his face darkening as he coldly snorted, "I'm the boss of the Mafia, naturally I'll abide by some streetwise honors!"

"Perhaps. If that's the case, I respect you, Boss Jenkins."

Lin Qi loosened his wrists, then slowly gripped the hunting knife and twirled it:

"But I don't need your 'chance.' Now, give it your all, and let's finish this match properly!"

"this--"

Jenkins was taken aback, then his face suddenly showed a hint of panic, and for some reason, his breathing became heavier.

The spectators outside the ring also heard the conversation between the two, which fueled their excitement even further.

"That kid said so, what are you waiting for! Jenkins, get him!"

But Jenkins just stood there silently, motionless.

"...In that case, I'm sorry, I'll make the first move!"

Lynch took a deep breath, raised his hunting knife horizontally, and charged towards Jenkins!

This time, it was Jenkins' turn to hastily defend. His movements were still agile, but each time he caught or dodged Lynch's knife, his reaction visibly slowed down a fraction.

While maintaining his offensive rhythm, Lin Qi spoke slowly and deliberately:

"Just as I thought."

What I see, of course, is your weakness.

Now that things had come to this, Jenkins stopped pretending. He gave a wry smile and, while fending off Lynch's attacks, calmly replied:

"What are my weaknesses?"

"It's physical strength."

Lynch swung his knife again:

"Your explosive power is indeed very strong. The power and speed of each punch amaze me. I almost used all my strength to deal with your initial attack."

"I once thought that this was your strength. But my stamina is being rapidly depleted, and it may not be long before I quickly succumb to exhaustion."

"But when you first stopped, I vaguely realized something was wrong."

"You realized...what?" Jenkins' breathing became more and more rapid, and his words became somewhat intermittent.

"I realized the moment you stopped that you must be unable to continue suppressing me with such a fierce offensive for some reason."

"Never believed me? I'm a little hurt." Jenkins' lips curled up slightly.

"I'm sorry, I truly didn't believe you. Or rather, I thought your words were part of your tactics." Lynch nodded calmly, swinging his blade again. "Speaking of which—if you hadn't attacked second time, I might not have discovered your problem."

"As I dealt with your second round of attacks, I suddenly realized that although my stamina was being depleted very quickly, I still seemed to be able to handle your punches."

"I can even vaguely sense that your punching speed is getting slower and slower."

"Heh..." Jenkins could only manage a wry smile.

"Finally, after you stopped for the second time, I was completely convinced that my thinking was correct."

"From the beginning, you tried to put pressure on me with words, trying to get me to surrender. Then you attacked with all your might at the start of the match, and then repeatedly stopped—"

"The reason for all this is that your stamina is no longer sufficient to support you through the entire match!"

"That's why you went all out from the start of the match, because you were trying to defeat me as quickly as possible while you were still at your peak energy, and end the match as soon as possible!"

"Then, after realizing that my strength is not something you can easily defeat, you will take the opportunity to stop, while trying to recover your strength and persuade me to surrender."

"All of this must have been arranged when you approached me before the match, right?"

Faced with Lynch's questioning, Jenkins simply threw a powerful punch forward, forcing Lynch back.

He then quickly took two steps back, slowly came to a stop, sighed, and nodded without much hesitation, admitting it:

"Sigh, when you get old, there's nothing you can do. You have to give in."

He raised his head, the light in his eyes had dimmed, replaced by a hint of loneliness.

"But I didn't expect that you, a greenhorn making your debut, could see through my tactics so quickly. You weren't defeated by me, nor were you tricked into surrendering... What a fine young man."

"You flatter me. I just feel that it's not time for me to surrender yet," Lin Qi replied calmly. "Now that I'm standing in the ring, I have to take responsibility for the outcome of this match."

After saying this, Lynch raised his knife again. In his mind, as long as he continued to fight Jenkins, he would eventually win the match as the middle-aged man's stamina rapidly depleted.

Unexpectedly, when Lynch got back into position, Jenkins seemed to have no intention of continuing the game.

He simply waved his hand, and then surprisingly took his brass knuckles off his hands.

"Alright, since you've figured out my tactics, there's no point in me staying in this ring any longer."

He sighed again, then shouted in the direction of Lady Tatiana:

"Madam, I surrender!"

The crowd outside the ring erupted in uproar upon hearing Jenkins's swift and decisive surrender.

Mrs. Tatiana's face showed a hint of surprise, but since it was Jenkins' decision, she didn't say anything more, simply swaggering onto the ring and taking Lynch's hand:

"The winner of the fourth match—Razor Gang, Lynch!"

A chorus of curses erupted from the crowd below the ring. Clearly, most people hadn't expected that Jenkins, the leader of the Black Hand Gang and a veteran with many years of ring experience, would surrender so easily to Lynch, a young man making his debut in the ring.

Whether they won or not was unimportant to them, but the bet was lost!

Amidst the jeers, Jenkins nonchalantly waved to Lynch and then walked off the ring.

"etc!"

Lynch suddenly called out to Jenkins from behind.

His face was full of confusion: "I know I have a high probability of winning if I keep fighting. But... even if you lose this round, I still have to fight your gang's strongest fighter, Choi Seung-ho, next time, right?"

"Why surrender so easily? Wouldn't it be more sensible of you to exhaust my stamina and create an advantage for the next match?"

Jenkins simply waved his hand calmly:

"I already said, I'm the boss of the Mafia, so I still have to follow some street code."

"I'm too lazy to resort to those underhanded tactics. Now, let me enjoy the exciting showdown between you and Choi Seung-ho!"