As the newly crowned king of the underground Black Fist circuit, the Bloody Queen was enjoying top-tier accommodations—a luxurious presidential suite on this massive ship. The manager pushed open the door, only to find the platinum-haired woman and the Phantom Mask already waiting for him. After closing the door, Phantom Mask nodded at him and raised a piece of paper that read: "No cameras, but to prevent eavesdropping, let's communicate like this. What's the situation?"
The manager nodded in understanding, rambling about unrelated things while quickly scribbling on paper: "They don't care at all if we try to sneak stuff in—there wasn't even a proper inspection." That burly guy's whole goal was just to extort some cash. If they wanted to check luggage for real, why bother with old-school hand searches? One high-tech scan and everything would be exposed.
Phantom Mask nodded and wrote back: "Looks like they're pretty fearless. Let's stick to the plan as best we can—if things go south, we'll just have to improvise."
Just then, the 'Bloody Queen' suddenly raised a piece of paper: "Bosses, I'm so hot. Since there are no cameras, can I take off this cloak?"
The two exchanged a glance, and the manager nodded. The 'Bloody Queen' let out a long sigh, whipped off the cloak, and took off the mask—revealing herself as Sophie Chow. All the fighters in this tournament were specially invited; without the Bloody Queen, they couldn't compete, so they had to find someone to play the part. Sophie Chow's height, build, and looks were pretty different from Jill Young, but you really couldn't trust just anyone with this job. Plus, Glasses Girl felt super guilty about losing track of the Queen last time, so she swore to make it up—hence this whole charade.
With super-high platform shoes, a giant cloak, a wig, and a mask, this was about as good as it was going to get.
"How's my performance? Do I look the part?" For the past two days, Sophie Chow had done nothing but imitate every move of the Queen. Bobby dug up all sorts of video clips of Jill Young, and Sophie had been practicing nonstop.
The manager—aka Jack Young—and Jonathan Black exchanged a look, wearing expressions that said, "Meh, not exactly a master cosplayer." Jonathan Black held up a piece of paper: "About thirty percent. The Queen is fierce and proud, but she's never said 'Get lost, loser.'—when it comes to losers, she doesn't say anything at all."
Sophie Chow looked a little deflated.
Actually, it wasn't that her imitation was bad—from Jack Young's perspective, she was kinda on the right track. It's just that Jill Young is a powerhouse, and powerhouses have their own vibe. Like when Jack Young once frowned on Mount Emei and scared off a bunch of monkeys; when Jill Young's in a bad mood, she gives off a killer aura too. That kind of aura doesn't need any expression, pose, or words—the big guy just wouldn't dare block her way, so there's no need to say things like 'loser' at all.
"That's right!" the pilot replied. "The whole island belongs to the Zade Family!"
Jack Young shaded his eyes and squinted—he could see the island clearly now. It was pretty big, kind of like the one in Pirates of the Caribbean 2 where Jack Sparrow nearly got roasted by cannibals. But this island wasn't as rugged; its southeast side was all beach and grassland, then it rose up into jungle, waterfalls, rivers, and finally towering mountains to the northwest.
Perched on those mountains was a huge estate—or maybe fortress, since it sat like a crown atop the peak. In the sunlight, it gleamed as if made of polished marble.
Building a fortress like this on a remote island must have taken unimaginable manpower and money. Just this one estate shows you a glimpse of the Zade Family's vast power.
The helicopter landed on the helipad. After the trio got off, it immediately headed back to pick up more people. Jack Young looked at the helipad perched on the cliff—hundreds of meters below lay the island's northwest coast, with jagged rocks and crashing waves. Just one look could make your head spin and knees go weak.
"Please follow me." Led by someone, the three walked into the fortress, winding through long corridors until they reached a hall. It looked like an old-school auditorium, with seats arranged in a fan shape and a stage in the center. The trio found three seats in the front row—all together. No changing rooms, lounges, or VIP boxes for the bosses—nothing.
For a Black Fist arena, this place was shockingly bare-bones.
No one said anything—the three waited patiently as the other fighters and bosses trickled in. Clearly, none of them got special treatment like the Bloody Queen; the helicopters were packed as full as possible, ferrying people over in waves. The rough handling had the bosses fuming, and seeing the bare-bones arena only made them angrier.
Everyone had arrived, but the organizers were still nowhere to be seen—no reception, no snacks, no hostesses. Only a few grim-faced tough guys stood by the walls, looking like they were keeping watch.
As time passed, tempers flared, and finally one boss exploded: "Where are the Zade Family people? What kind of setup is this?" The huge boss yelled at the guy by the door: "Listen, whatever you're planning, I'm Liu Zihao—a big name! The Zade Family may be powerful, but they can't treat me like this! Leaving us here without a word, not even a greeting—no matter how big the Zade Family is, they can't humiliate us like this!"
No sooner had the boss finished than—whoosh!—the hall lit up. A giant screen, as big as a movie theater, suddenly came on. Everyone had thought it was just a wall, but it lit up all at once.
On the screen was a handsome blond man in a white suit, standing on a fancy stage. Compared to the mud-caked platform in the hall, that stage was pure diamond.
He twirled his cane and smiled at someone off-screen: "Ah, everyone, everyone, my bad. I didn't notice our little friends had arrived. Did he say something just now?" He looked at the furious boss: "You said something about being 'humiliated,' right?"
The angry boss was stunned, and the others grew uneasy. There was clearly a ring in the hall, so why was this flashy guy on a different stage, chatting away? Looking around, there were tons of cameras in the corners—like countless eyes watching. It was kind of creepy. (Haha, we made the featured list on Sanjiang! Our Twin crowd's fighting power is impressive—even with our niche genre and no shady tactics, we've hit #5 on the new book contract rankings! And the Sanjiang votes really surprised me—thanks, everyone in the Twin crowd!)
Sophie Chow may work in the underground world, but at heart she's just an ordinary girl—she doesn't have that kind of presence.
Jack Young wrote: "Sophie, don't overthink it. You're doing great. Just say less, ignore people, and leave the rest to us. You don't have to worry about a thing."
Sophie smiled at Jack Young and nodded, gently rubbing her sore feet. Luckily, Jill Young doesn't usually wear heels—otherwise, Sophie would have to walk on stilts.
The ship sailed all night. With his sharp senses, Jack Young knew the vessel changed direction and speed several times; clearly, more than just the "Queen" was being picked up. Manager Jack strolled around with a smile, roughly sizing up the giant ship. It was a massive passenger-cargo vessel. Just Donald Zade's armed crew numbered over five hundred—add everyone else, and there were probably more than seven hundred aboard.
The people picked up along the way were all underground fighters—over thirty of them. With managers and bosses, there were more than a hundred. Jack recognized some from the ring. They weren't Jill Young's match, but among regular folks, they were top-notch. For the underground circuit, this ship had pretty much scooped up all the famous fighters.
Wait—is the tournament going to be held right here on the ship?
Jack Young shared his theory with Jonathan Black, who agreed it made sense. For secrecy and mobility, using a giant ship as the venue was a smart move. After all, a Black Fist tournament doesn't need much space.
But things didn't go as Jack predicted. The next morning at nine, a burly man knocked on the Queen's door.
"Please come with me, we're heading to the venue." The big guy led Jack Young and the others to the deck, and soon a helicopter appeared in the eastern sky. Its blades whipped the air as it carried the three off into the endless blue. Jack sat on the edge, scanning around. His skin told him they were somewhere tropical—Sophie was already uncomfortable from the heat.
Judging by the location, they were deep in the Pacific, far from any country. After a short flight, Jack Young spotted a tiny dot on the horizon—an island. As they flew closer, Jonathan Black noticed it too and asked, "Is that the venue?"