Queen of Wild Cards novel Chapter 51

Sylvie Jennings gave Stella a grand tour of the fifth floor. To Stella, it all felt like child's play. Nothing caught her eye, which explained why it was relegated to the lower levels.

Still, the place was packed, mostly with young people.

Were people really under this much stress nowadays?

"Come on, let's go check out the eleventh floor."

Stella was actually much more interested in the visceral thrill of hand-to-hand combat.

Just the name suggested a place where people beat each other up to blow off steam. She wanted to see how it worked.

"I knew you'd like this. Come on, I'll take you."

Sylvie was essentially the princess of the Recess Club. Armed with a top-tier VIP card, she had all-access clearance.

She swiped her card, and they took the elevator up to the eleventh floor.

From the outside, it was dead silent, but the moment the doors opened, a deafening roar of cheers hit them.

"Come on!"

"Get up!"

"Hit him!"

Sylvie leaned in to explain. "Basically, it's like a boxing gym, but the rules are way more flexible.

Anyone can step up and challenge. It's not just boxing, either. As long as you've got real skills, there are no style restrictions. Taekwondo versus judo? Sure. Kickboxing versus regular boxing? No problem.

You pay a thousand bucks to step into the ring. It's a one-on-one duel. The winner gets their money back, and the loser's cash goes straight to the club."

Stella looked puzzled. "Isn't that just paying to get your ass kicked? What if someone gets crippled? Doesn't the club have to pay out for damages?"

Wasn't it just screaming and hollering a second ago? Why the sudden hush?

Confused, she looked up at the ring. A veritable giant had stepped onto the mat.

Calling him a giant wasn't an exaggeration. The blond brute was built like a brick wall, his massive limbs bulging with sheer power. Even standing still, his bare, heavily muscled chest seemed to flex with every breath.

He looked like trouble with a capital T.

He stood in the center of the ring, and not a single person dared to step up.

Stella caught the hushed whispers of the people sitting nearby.

"That blond guy has shown up here at the exact same time every day for a week. Nobody can beat him. What the hell does he want?"

"Shh, keep it down. I heard he's doing this on purpose, like he's trying to use the fights to track someone down."