Chapter 146: Match-fixing?

Montel Building.

This was a shabby-looking structure that clashed heavily with prosperous Manhattan.

Lin Feng had come here following Walker’s information. Although the two of them were strictly business partners, Lin Feng still felt uneasy about his situation and rushed over.

Walking into the building, a listless African-American female receptionist stood in the lobby.

"Hello, I'd like to go to the 22nd floor," Lin Feng said to the receptionist.

The receptionist glanced at Lin Feng, then pointed toward the elevator bank. "Take the elevator from over there. Go straight up."

"Thank you."

Lin Feng expressed his gratitude, walked straight into the elevator, and rode it up to the 22nd floor.

As the elevator doors opened, two black men dressed as security guards stood right at the entrance.

"Who are you?" one of the black men stared at Lin Feng and asked.

"I'm here to see my friend, Walker," Lin Feng replied.

"Oh? You're Lin Feng?" the other black man took over the conversation.

Lin Feng nodded. "Where is he?"

"Follow me." The black man waved at Lin Feng and then headed toward the exit of the elevator bay.

Lin Feng hesitated for a moment, but followed him nonetheless.

In the corridor, the lighting was dim, and Lin Feng could faintly hear strange noises coming from the rooms on both sides, sounding like men and women engaged in intimacy, or perhaps a party.

Lin Feng grew increasingly suspicious. What kind of place was this, really?!

Just as Lin Feng was having his doubts, the guiding black man stopped, and the two of them stood outside the door numbered 2203.

The black man knocked.

"Damn it, who is it?" an impatient voice came from inside.

"Lin Feng is here," the black man said.

Hearing his response, the door was immediately opened by a skinny white youth.

"Hey, Linsanity, it's really great you could make it."

When the white youth saw Lin Feng outside the door, a smile appeared on his face.

Lin Feng nodded at him and asked, "Where is Walker?"

"He's right inside. Follow me."

The white youth led Lin Feng into the room. It was a large suite. The living room was hazy with smoke, and four or five muscular black men were playing cards.

"My name is Dennis. Your game last night was just damn cool." The white youth paid no attention to the card-playing black men and led Lin Feng straight toward the inner room.

Lin Feng didn't respond; this kind of environment made him somewhat uneasy.

"Boss, Linsanity is here."

Dennis shouted and pushed the door open.

Lin Feng followed behind him, but the scene inside took him completely by surprise. The room held an entirely different world within. The reception room Dennis led him into was connected to a small casino, separated by a soundproof glass wall. Lin Feng could see everything happening inside the casino, yet couldn't hear a sound.

At this moment, Lin Feng's agent, Walker, was sitting on the sofa in the reception room with a terrible expression on his face, flanked by two muscular black men showing off their brawn.

Opposite Walker, a white man in a tailored suit was biting on a cigar while toying with a deck of cards.

"Hey, brother, welcome here."

As Lin Feng walked into the reception room, the white man stood up from the sofa with a full smile.

Lin Feng merely nodded at him, then looked at Walker. "Looks like you've run into trouble?"

Walker said with a crying face, "Sorry, Lin. If you hadn't come, they wouldn't have let me go."

"Tell me, what is going on here?" Lin Feng asked with a dark expression.

"Brother, it's not as serious as you think. I just wanted to find you for a partnership, but unfortunately, your agent didn't agree." The white man took over the conversation, then pulled a leather suitcase out from under the coffee table. Opening it up, he tossed it onto the table, revealing stack after stack of US dollars.

"As long as you agree to cooperate with me, all of this is yours." The white man blew a smoke ring and said, "By the way, my name is Shark. If you ask your friends in Manhattan, they will definitely know me."

By this point, Lin Feng already understood some things in his mind. Obviously, this man named Shark ran underground dealings, and his so-called partnership was definitely nothing good.

"How do you want to cooperate?" Since he was already here, Lin Feng could only play along with him for now and wait for an opportunity to act.

"It's very simple. Just 'underperform' in your next game," Shark said with a smile.

"You want me to throw a game?!" Lin Feng frowned. He had only ever heard of foreign gangs interfering with the outcomes of certain sports events for profit before, and he never expected such a thing to fall upon himself.

Shark shook his head, took a puff of his cigar, and said, "This isn't throwing a game, it's just that your performance isn't quite up to par. Players, after all, always have times when they underperform, don't they?"

Lin Feng looked at Shark. Not knowing this fellow's background, he didn't dare to act rashly.

"And what if I don't cooperate with you?" Lin Feng paused for a moment and countered.

"Oh, well that's naturally not a problem." Shark shrugged. "Partnerships have always been voluntary. It's just that if you refuse to cooperate, your agent here might run into some trouble. His father owes us six hundred thousand dollars in gambling debts, and now his father is unable to repay it, so we can only collect from him. If he can't pay either, he'll just have to follow in his old man's footsteps..."

As Shark spoke, he gave Dennis a look. The latter nodded, picked up a wooden box from somewhere, opened it, and tossed it straight onto the floor.

A severed hand rolled out from the box...

Dark red blood scabbed over the severed hand. Lin Feng glanced at it and couldn't help frowning; he truly had never witnessed such a scene before.

"This is a left hand. If you don't cooperate with us, your agent will soon be missing a right hand." Shark spoke as if he were discussing something utterly mundane, a smile still lingering on his face.

"I think you've missed the core of the issue. The one who owes the debt is Walker's father, and the one implicated is Walker, while Walker and I are merely business partners. Do you think I have any reason to stick my neck out for him?!" Lin Feng said coldly.

Hearing Lin Feng say this, Walker looked somewhat dazed. In truth, he was well aware that he and Lin Feng were only business partners with no deep friendship to speak of. Therefore, he hadn't pinned much hope on Lin Feng coming to rescue him. However, when Lin Feng arrived, a shred of hope ignited, only for it to be completely crushed when Lin Feng spoke those words.

"You're right, you indeed have no obligation to stick your neck out for him." Shark smiled, as if Lin Feng's words were entirely within his expectations. "Then how about this: we'll discuss our cooperation, completely independent of Walker, and I'll double the money."

"Sorry, this isn't about money!" Lin Feng decisively shook his head, then said, "As for those six hundred thousand dollars, we will find a way to pay it back to you, but Walker, I am taking him with me."

"Hehe, looks like you aren't as heartless as you claim," Shark laughed.

Upon hearing that Lin Feng intended to take him away, a look of profound gratitude welled up in Walker's eyes.

"You want to take him away? Hmm, let me think. Let me think very carefully..."

Shark puffed on his cigar, pacing back and forth across the room. Suddenly, he smiled bizarrely and said to Lin Feng, "You can take Walker with you, but you have to fight him!"

Shark pointed at one of the two black men who were holding Walker down.

"Fight him?" Lin Feng asked, his face full of confusion.

"Yes, very simple. You step into the ring for a boxing match with him," Shark laughed heartily. "I really want to see how the omnipotent Linsanity on the basketball court performs in a boxing ring. As long as you're willing to fight him, win or lose, you can take Walker away, and his father's debt will be wiped clean."

"Lin! Don't agree to him! Once you step into the ring, win or lose, you'll get hurt. If that happens, you won't be able to play in the upcoming games!" Walker shouted, instantly seeing through Shark's intentions.

"Damn it, shut up!" The black man holding Walker gave him a fierce slap across the face.

"What do you think? This is a guaranteed win-win deal." Shark narrowed his eyes, staring fixedly at Lin Feng.

"I agree." After a brief silence, Lin Feng said, "However, my appearance fee isn't that cheap. If I win, not only do I take Walker with me, but all of this cash belongs to me as well!"

Lin Feng pointed at the suitcase of US dollars on the coffee table.

"No problem! I love your greed!!" Shark laughed loudly and readily agreed.