Damon stepped into the center of the ring with a terrifying stillness. He stripped off his outer coat, revealing a maze of war scars crisscrossing his heavily muscled torso. The entire casino suddenly plunged into silence.

His opponent was not Poisonous Snake, but Goliath—a behemoth standing over two meters tall and weighing nearly a hundred and fifty kilograms, known as the underworld's meat grinder for his brutal strikes.

Poisonous Snake sat arrogantly in the VIP stands, smirking triumphantly. He wanted to use Goliath to physically crush Damon before officially finishing him off with pre-positioned snipers.

The bell rang to signal the start of the match. Goliath charged forward like a runaway truck, throwing a massive punch aimed straight at Damon's head. The force of the strike was so immense it created a whistling sound in the air.

Damon did not block head-on. With the agility of an assassin, he ducked and slipped past the giant arm, simultaneously driving a crushing elbow strike into the giant's floating ribs.

The sound of cracking bone echoed, but Goliath seemed oblivious to pain. He spun around, grabbed Damon by the shoulders, and hoisted him into the air, preparing to deliver a fatal backbreaker.

The audience screamed maniacally, convinced the match was over. But Damon did not panic. His eyes retained a chillingly cold calmness, searching for the exact vital point to turn the tide.

👉 read part 27 to see damon's decisive counterattack.

Chapter 27 - the decisive blow

Lifted high into the air, Damon faced suffocating pressure. He knew that even a single second of hesitation would result in his spine being snapped. With all his remaining strength, he acted.

Damon wrapped both legs tightly around Goliath's neck, using the weight of his own body to violently spin backward. The triangle choke was executed with absolute perfection.

The immense twisting force caused Goliath to lose his balance and crash onto the canvas. Damon immediately tightened the chokehold, channeling all his strength to cut off the flow of oxygen to the bloodthirsty giant's brain.

Goliath struggled frantically, trying to punch Damon's back to break free. The agonizing punches rained down, but the former operative gritted his teeth and endured, not loosening the grip of death by even a millimeter.

Less than thirty seconds later, Goliath's movements began to slow. His bloodshot eyes glazed over, and his massive arms dropped limply to the mat. Black Dragon's meat grinder was completely unconscious.

The massive hall plunged into a dead silence. No one could believe their eyes. The much smaller maintenance worker had taken down an undefeated monster with nothing but an elite grappling technique.

Damon slowly stood up, his breathing slightly heavy but his eyes still burning with lethal intent. He looked straight up at the VIP stands, pointing his finger directly at Poisonous Snake. The challenge had been brilliantly fulfilled.

But Poisonous Snake did not keep his promise. Enraged, he shot to his feet, jerking his chin to signal the dozens of snipers hiding above to open fire and cowardly eliminate Damon on the spot.

👉 read part 28 to see the most spectacular turnaround.

Chapter 28 - justice served

The exact moment the assassins were about to pull the trigger, the entire electrical system in the warehouse suddenly blacked out. Darkness engulfed everything, leaving only the panicked screams of the criminals.

From above, smoke grenades were tossed straight down into the arena. It was none other than the old veteran Miller, who had secretly coordinated with a SWAT tactical police force to raid from the roof.

Damon had calculated everything in advance. He knew Poisonous Snake would play dirty, so he had provided all the evidence of Black Dragon's gambling and extortion rings to the authorities before entering the match.

Gunfire echoed sharply in the dark, but it was suppressive fire from the police. Glowing red lasers swept across the room, rapidly subduing all of Poisonous Snake's henchmen.

Panicking, Poisonous Snake took advantage of the chaos to flee through a back door. But before he could step out of the dark hallway, a looming shadow appeared, blocking his escape route. It was Damon.

"Game over," Damon said coldly, his eyes glowing in the dark like an avenging ghost. Poisonous Snake drew a dagger and lunged, but his pathetic attack was easily parried by Damon.

With a single, devastating punch, Damon knocked the crime boss down onto the cold floor. He lay there clutching his face and groaning, his arrogant ego completely crushed beneath the heavy boot of the former operative.

The police force rushed in, handcuffing Poisonous Snake and dragging the entire Black Dragon gang out into the light. The criminal network that once sowed terror was officially and completely erased from the city.

👉 read part 29 to witness the return of the hero.

Damon stepped out of the abandoned warehouse, taking a deep breath of the crisp early morning air. A few bruises on his body began to ache, but his heart was filled with a strange, profound peace.

Miller walked over, clapping him hard on the shoulder along with a radiant smile. "You made this world a little better again, warrior." The old veteran nodded with immense pride at his outstanding student.

Damon smiled faintly. He declined all interviews from the media and quietly stepped into a police cruiser to return to his familiar neighborhood. The only thing he cared about right now was his son's safety.

When the car pulled up in front of the dojo, the morning sun had already begun to shine down. Evan was still standing guard in front of the oak door, his eyes bloodshot from staying up all night, but his posture was still incredibly firm and resilient.