American homeless people, surviving in the city

It was already 6 p.m. when we left the lakeside area.

There are still two hours until the underground boxing match at 8 p.m.

The interval seemed long, but Lynch had already checked the navigation software and it would take at least an hour to get from downtown Seattle to Maple Valley, which is located in the far suburbs.

Therefore, time is actually not plentiful.

Lin Qi first spent some time contacting Chen Kelei to confirm the whereabouts of the clues he had found today—after all, he couldn't possibly take such a carload of random stuff to a boxing match, nor could he trust to store these precious materials in his secondhand tent, which had no chains and was as thin as paper.

After speaking with Chen Kelei, Lin Qi obtained Chen Kelei's home address and drove there. As requested, he placed the clues and materials in a warehouse in Chen Kelei's courtyard.

After dealing with the clues and documents, Lin Qi hurriedly found a place to eat a few bites to fill his stomach, rested properly, filled up the gas tank in his old car, and then officially embarked on his journey to the underground boxing arena.

The engine roared with a low, hoarse sound as the beat-up car carried Lynch out of downtown Seattle.

Along the way, Lin Qi rolled down the car window, letting the cold night wind howl into the car and slap against his face to calm his thoughts and force himself to stay calm.

He had figured it out; the events of the past two days had been far too numerous and complicated for him to comprehend in a short time.

Instead, tonight's decisive battle is what he should really be focusing on. Moreover, although this boxing match will definitely not be easy and will be a test for Lin Qi, at this moment, he is actually looking forward to the upcoming match.

At the very least, it will be a simple battle that can be resolved with fists and knives.

The enemy is right in front of you; you only need to defeat the opponent. There's no need to outwit and outmaneuver an unseen enemy.

About fifty minutes later, Lynch turned off Highway 3, a major road in the Seattle suburbs, and onto the increasingly desolate Highway 5.

The vegetation along the roadside grew increasingly lush, and the surrounding buildings became more and more sparse. It was only after driving a long distance that one could see a house with lights on in the distance in the wilderness beside the road.

Soon, after passing a rusty iron sign standing by the street that read "Welcome to Maple Valley," a suburban town that wasn't exactly bustling but at least had some inhabitants came into Lynch's view.

Lynch didn't actually know where the so-called "abandoned factory in Maple Valley" was. In Rust Belt cities like Detroit and Chicago, abandoned factories could appear in clusters on the outskirts.

Fortunately, after circling around Maple Valley Town, Lin Qi only saw a factory site, which did indeed appear to be abandoned.

This might explain why Vesalio dared to give Lynch only such a vague address. He knew Lynch would have a hard time finding the place.

Lynch drove into the factory area, and soon the outline of an abandoned factory appeared faintly in the night.

The factory buildings appeared to be in very poor condition; several signs of collapse could be seen from a distance. Cracked concrete and broken steel bars stretched irregularly from the collapsed areas, casting menacing shadows like those of a monster in the moonlight.

As soon as Lynch drove his car to the front gate of the factory, two young black men with dreadlocks emerged from the nearby shadows and blocked Lynch's car.

Both of the young black men were quite muscular, and they were wearing short sleeves in such cold weather. One of them was carrying an iron rod and had a fierce look on his face, clearly not a nice guy. The other had a gloomy face and one hand in his pocket, obviously holding something in his pants pocket.

Due to the natural camouflage provided by their race, Lynch had not noticed the two people at all before.

Seeing someone stop his car, Lin Qi quickly rolled down the window, intending to explain his purpose.

Unexpectedly, before he could even speak, the young Black man holding the iron bar strode to the car window, bent down, glanced at Lin Qi, and then sneered:

"Where did this skinny Asian monkey come from?"

The young man behind him, with one hand in his pocket, also yelled, "Unrelated person? This isn't a place for you, get lost!"

These words completely ruined Lin Qi's mood for a proper explanation. He was so angry that he laughed coldly and snorted, "Aren't you going to ask me why I came here?"

"And you're asking what kind of trash you've come here for? I bet a skinny Asian monkey like you is here to steal scrap metal from this factory."

As the young Black man spoke, he tapped Lynch's car hood with a steel pipe, sending dust flying. "Someone like you driving a junk car can't be a decent person. We've already warned you, get the hell out of here, or I'll smash your car!"

...I'm not a respectable person because I drive a beat-up car, but do you two thugs think you're respectable people?!

Lin Qi could, in a sense, understand the other party's idea of ​​judging a person based on their car.

But he couldn't tolerate the other person's constant attacks on his appearance.

Lynch's expression darkened: "I'm here for the boxing match, representing the Razor Shields. Sanjar sent me. I'll remember your rudeness. Don't let me see you again."

Upon hearing the names Razor Gang and Sanjar, the two opponents were clearly flustered. Anyone who could utter these two names was very likely to be involved in tonight's underground boxing match!

But the young Black man wielding the steel pipe still managed to maintain his composure, a forced, unsightly smile twitching at the corner of his mouth.

"No, don't try to fool me! Who the hell are you? A skinny nobody like you, trying to represent the Razorfen Downs? And Sanjar? Lord Sanjar's name isn't something you can just casually utter!"

"Stop talking nonsense and get yours right now—"

"Shut up."

Before the young Black man could finish his shouting, a deep, powerful voice came from inside the factory's main gate.

The two quickly turned around.

The next second, the massive, imposing body of the "war elephant" Sanjar emerged from the shadows of the factory and stepped into the moonlight.

He wore a suit today, which was clearly the largest size and probably custom-made, so that it fit his strong, muscular body perfectly without tearing.

Of course, Lynch's attention wouldn't be drawn to the suit forever. After seeing Sanjar appear, he had only one thought in his mind: a huge weight lifted off his shoulders.

Finally, I don't have to deal with these thugs anymore.

Sanjar didn't even glance at the two young black men, but simply nodded to Lynch and said in a deep voice:

"Park the car and come in quickly."

After saying that, he turned around and walked back into the factory without looking back.

Of course, what he said is no longer important; the fact that the famous "war elephant" Sanjar would take the initiative to greet a young man says it all.

Lin Qi nodded, then found a place to park the car and strode into the factory.

The two young Black men were left staring in disbelief, shivering in the Seattle wind, unable to utter a single word.