Chapter 138 Talent

"Alright, now that we're here, I'm gonna hire a top-notch fighter to battle for me. You know the drill, so when we pick someone, I need your help to choose the right one," Eric said.

He was out of options at this point.

"No worries, leave it to me. I can definitely spot the strongest one," Wolfman said confidently.

The underground fight club had a bunch of fighters on standby, ready to be hired for a price.

On the left side of the arena, over twenty fighters stood like products on display, waiting for the bosses to pick them.

Several bosses were browsing and making their choices.

"Sir, pick me! I'm super strong and only $700,000 per fight!"

"Sir, I'm strong too, and I only charge $500,000 per fight!"

Some fighters were actively promoting themselves to get hired.

Eric and Wolfman walked over to this area.

These fighters were all introducing themselves, bragging about their skills, and naming their prices. Honestly, it was tough to pick the best one.

Tina's dad, George, was there too, picking a fighter and about to leave.

"Mr. Phillips, you're here too," he said, smiling as he walked up to Eric.

"Mr. Gory, I'm really at a loss about Tina," Eric said helplessly.

"I'm troubled by it too," George replied.

"Forget it, let's talk about it later." Eric shook his head.

After a pause, he continued, "Mr. Gory, how's the fighter you picked? How much did he cost?"

As Eric spoke, he glanced at the fighter next to George.

The fighter had dark skin and a burly build, looking pretty strong.

"$1.5 million per fight. He's the priciest one here, so I figure he must be good!" George said with a smile.

"That's right, I'm way stronger than those guys! I'm the best here!" the fighter said proudly.

"Mr. Phillips, are you here to pick a fighter too?" George asked.

Eric nodded.

"Alright, I'll wait here for you, Mr. Phillips. After you pick your fighter, we can go take our seats together. Sound good?" George asked with a fawning smile.

"Okay." Eric nodded.

Even though George's act of drugging was despicable, he was Tina's dad. If Eric was gonna take responsibility for Tina, George might become his father-in-law in the future.

Eric and Wolfman then walked forward.

After a short distance, Wolfman spoke up, "Eric, to be honest, the fighter George hired may claim to be the best, but he's all show and not worth that much money."

"Could you tell?" Eric looked at Wolfman in surprise.

Wolfman smiled. "I've been through countless matches and fought too many opponents. If I couldn't even tell that, all my years of fighting would be for nothing."

"Great! With you helping me pick, I feel much more at ease," Eric said with a smile.

Since he didn't know much about this field, having Wolfman around made him feel more confident.

As they spoke, they arrived in front of the fighters waiting to be chosen.

"Sir, are you looking for a fighter? Pick me. I only charge $800,000 per fight!" a muscular man stepped forward to promote himself.

Eric looked at Wolfman, clearly seeking his opinion.

Wolfman shook his head.

Then, they continued forward.

Along the way, fighters kept stepping forward to recommend themselves, each boasting about their strength. For someone who didn't know the field, distinguishing who was truly strong would be very difficult.

However, Wolfman shook his head at all of them.

"Wolfman, haven't you seen a suitable one yet? We've almost seen them all!" Eric asked.

"Eric, that one up ahead!" Wolfman pointed to Sharkman, who was standing not far away.

Sharkman didn't have particularly developed muscles and looked quite unremarkable among the other muscular fighters.

"Him? Are you sure?" Eric was somewhat skeptical. "Eric, trust me, this guy's the real deal. You can't judge by looks alone. Check out his knuckles," Wolfman said.

Eric took a closer look and noticed Sharkman's knuckles were dark, thick, and swollen.

"And his eyes, along with other subtle signs, all help me make my judgment," Wolfman added.

"So, you're saying he's a top fighter?" Eric asked.

Wolfman nodded. "Out of these twenty or so fighters, he's the best, even better than Puma, who I fought before."

"Better than Puma? That's a real find!" Eric said excitedly.

Even though Puma was easily defeated by Wolfman, that was because Wolfman was exceptionally strong. Puma was already a formidable fighter at the city level. In the past few years of underground fights, Donald had sent Puma to compete and achieved impressive results.

"Eric, this is just a city-level underground fight. If we can hire him, he should be more than enough to dominate today's match!" Wolfman said.

"Alright, let's go!" Eric and Wolfman walked up to Sharkman.

Sharkman had been standing alone, unlike the other fighters who were busy promoting themselves to the bosses. So he was completely ignored.

"You're quite interesting. While others are busy promoting themselves, you remain indifferent," Eric said with a smile.

Sharkman glanced at Eric and then said softly, "I actually hope no one picks me."

"Oh? Why? Don't you want to make money?" Eric asked, surprised.

"Because I'm tired of fighting," Sharkman shook his head.

"If that's the case, why are you still here? You could quit," Eric said.

Sharkman gave Eric a sidelong glance and then closed his eyes, saying, "In our line of work, you can't just come and go as you please."

Wolfman chimed in, "Eric, according to the rules, if he wants to leave the underground fight scene, he either has to be killed or have someone rich buy his freedom. The more skilled the fighter, the higher the buyout fee."

Eric nodded in understanding.

Hearing Wolfman's words, Sharkman opened his eyes and looked at Wolfman in surprise. "You seem to know a lot about our line of work."

Wolfman smiled and said, "Because I used to be in this too. I was also tired of it, but I met a rich guy who bought my freedom."

He felt a pang of nostalgia hearing Sharkman's words, as it reminded him of his own past. He too had grown weary of fighting and wanted to leave the underground fight scene but couldn't.

"You're really lucky to have someone willing to buy your freedom," Sharkman said, looking somewhat envious.

At this point, Eric asked, "If I were to buy your freedom, how much would it cost?"

"One hundred million dollars," Sharkman said.

Then, he shook his head with a bitter smile. "Nobody would spend a hundred million dollars to buy a bodyguard."

Indeed, hiring a skilled bodyguard on the market wouldn't cost nearly that much.

Eric nodded.

"By the way, how much do you charge per fight?" he asked.

"Two million dollars per fight," Sharkman said coldly. 

It was clear he didn't want to be hired, but due to the rules of the underground fight club, he couldn't refuse and had to quote a price.

"Alright, I'll hire you. Fight for me today, and I'll buy your freedom. After that, you can be my bodyguard," Eric said.

"Would you? May I know who you are?" Sharkman asked, both surprised and delighted. This was his dream come true.

"I'm the chairman of the Silverbrook Branch of the Power Group," Eric said.

"The chairman of the Power Group?" Sharkman had certainly heard that.

"So, what do you say? Will you come with me?" Eric asked with a smile.

"Yes! Of course, I will!" Sharkman nodded repeatedly.

"Then come with me," Eric said with a smile.

In addition to the fighter's fee, hiring a fighter also required a $200,000 commission to the underground fight club. 

After Eric paid this fee, he successfully hired Sharkman.