The Man Who Is Always First

The addendum bound Lu to serve as Han's exclusive partner and surrender seventy percent of his winnings. Lu tore it in half. “You'll regret this,” Luo hissed. “My greatest regret was waiting for you for three years.” The bracket lit up. Lu's first opponent was Zhao Xuan, the youth team's third-ranked fighter—a man who had once forced Lu to kneel and wipe blood from the canvas. Zhao made a throat-cutting gesture. “I hear you stole Han's punch. Too bad. Tomorrow I train at two. You won't beat me there.” Su raised tomorrow's plan. Its first line read: SLEEP 9:00 P.M. RECOVERY TEST 1:00 A.M. “Who said I needed to steal yours?” Lu pocketed his weigh-in card. “Yesterday's 1.7 percent is enough.” At 8:59 that evening, he turned off the light.