My hometown is far away in Moscow.

Chapter 237 The Third Battle with Andrei

Yabalov had already seen his routine before. He picked up his glass and took a few sips before realizing he was far too slow, so he quickly followed suit and poured the wine into his mouth.

However, he had never practiced this skill, and in his haste, he could hardly control the force in his hands, so much so that the liquid spilled all over his face, running down his chin and cheeks, and even into his nostrils.

He'd barely poured any when Yabalov choked, bending over and coughing. At the same time, the fat man, Andrei, slammed the cup down on the table: "It's over!"

"Fatty Andrei wins another game!" the onlookers shouted for the round-faced man. "Two-nil lead! Fatty two, Moscow zero!"

"You're useless too, you just wasted beer." The fat man wiped his mouth, stretched out his paw to rub his chest, and grinned at the tall guy, "Your turn."

"Don't worry, I'll be right there." Tall Bacha stepped forward and patted Yabalov on the back. "Are you alright?"

"It's alright! Cough cough!" Yabalov pulled him up by the arm, turning to Hu Yi with a face full of shame: "I'm sorry, I failed."

"It's okay, I'm in a worse situation, aren't I?" Hu Yi hadn't finished his half-full glass of beer. He put down the glass, put his arm around the tall man's shoulder, and whispered, "He's already drunk two glasses. The second one was noticeably slower than the first, so the third one definitely won't be too fast. Just drink it normally, and you should be able to beat him!"

"The normal way?" The taller man hesitated. "The difference seems too big, doesn't it?"

"Have confidence, don't rush!" Hu Yi frowned and smiled, "As long as you pay attention to controlling your breathing and rhythm, you definitely won't be slower than him!"

"Breathing...and rhythm?"

"That's right! You're the fastest horse among the three of us! The fat guy is the slowest horse on the other side right now, you're sure to win!"

"Horse? What horse?"

Hu Yi didn't have time to explain in detail. He laughed loudly, slapped him hard on the back, and turned back to the pool.

Tall Bacha sat down, bewildered, picked up his cup, and took a few deep breaths: "Let's begin!"

The fat man's third cup was indeed slower, but his extensive experience allowed him to maintain a different rhythm for each cup, yet he controlled them all very steadily. The tall man adopted Hu Yi's suggestion, steadied himself, and gulped down large, solid mouthfuls.

The two men were very close in the first half of their drinks, but unfortunately the fat man ultimately came out on top. When he swallowed the last sip, the tall man still had about one-tenth of his glass left.

"I won! I won them all!" The fat man slammed his cup on the table, patted his round belly, and shouted, "Three Muscovites, not a single one of them was any good!"

"Three to zero! Fatso three! Moscow zero! Big bagel!" The audience cheered loudly and raised their glasses to celebrate.

"I hereby declare that all challengers have been wiped out, and the challenge has failed!" The round-faced man walked up to the fat man with a serious expression. "Fatty! What are you going to do with these prisoners?"

"Let me think..." The fat man shook his head and got up, walking towards Hu Yi.

"What are you trying to do?" Yabalov instinctively stepped in front of Hu Yi: "You're not allowed to do anything excessive."

"How could that be? Don't worry, it's just a small punishment for the loser." Fat Andrei chuckled, then suddenly stretched out his left hand and lifted Yabalov up by the waist, tucking him under his arm.

"Hey! What are you doing..." Hu Yi exclaimed in surprise, before he could even react, he was suddenly caught in the fat man's right arm again.

"What are you doing?" The two were terrified and tried to break free, but they were held firmly by two giant, pincer-like arms and could not move at all.

Tall Bacha had just downed a large glass of beer in one go and was now resting at the table, too preoccupied to stop him. Then the fat man stepped into the fountain, bent slightly, and gently tossed Hu Yi and Yabalov, who were tucked under his arm, into the water with two soft "plop" sounds, soaking them both to the bone.

"Pfft!" "Pfft!" The two hurriedly sat up, wiping their faces and spitting out the water in their mouths in a disheveled state.

The onlookers burst into laughter, seemingly having witnessed the most hilarious event of the evening. After their laughter subsided, they all pointed to the tall man by the table: "There's still one more, time to throw him!"

"He can't escape!" The fat man smiled as he stepped out of the pool and reached out to grab the tall man.

"Wait!" The tall man leaped away, dodging the fat man's grab.

"What are you doing?" The fat man was slightly taken aback. "If you lose, you have to accept the punishment! Don't run away!"

"Don't run! Accept the punishment!" the audience shouted, filled with righteous indignation.

"I won't run, and I can't run away anyway." The tall man stopped and raised his hands. "But I'm not satisfied with my loss! I want to challenge him again! If I lose again this time, I'll accept the punishment!"

"This isn't the rule, you've already challenged him." The fat man spread his hands, turned around, and loudly asked those around him, "Besides, I've already drunk three cups, and now he wants to challenge me for my fourth. Everyone, tell me, is this fair?"

"It's not fair! It's absolutely not fair!"

"You cunning Muscovites! Die!"

The tall man glanced at his situation, smiled, and shrugged. "Alright, then I won't drink. I'll try something else, is that alright?"

"Other events?" The fat man nonchalantly put his hands on his hips. "Many of the daytime events have already ended. Now, the only challenges left are arm wrestling and wrestling. Which one do you choose?"

"Let's arm wrestle!" The tall guy rolled up his sleeves, looking at the fat guy provocatively. "Do you dare?"

A few scattered laughs came from the surrounding area. The fat man tilted his head with interest and said, "Alright, I accept the challenge."

This tall man was the same big, black-haired Bacha who had been eager to take on jobs when Hu Yi first met Yabalov in the parking lot on New Year's Eve. He was the leader of the Bachas in that area, the tallest and strongest among them. In terms of strength, he was no less than the Tatar strongman who had just passed out in the corner of the square, only he was more muscular.

The tall man, being a leader and a man who cared a great deal about his reputation, was very unwilling to suffer such a humiliating, soaking-to-the-point punishment in front of the other Bachas. His strong physique gave him the confidence to challenge the fat man to an arm-wrestling match, and the townspeople did not dare to underestimate his physique.

Hu Yi and Yabalov had already stepped out of the fountain and were shivering in the midnight air after the autumn rain. Long-faced Bacha and a few others helped them remove their soaked coats and shoes, while a kind person nearby brought several blankets to drape over them.

Hu Yi's lips were purple from the cold, and he was shivering all over, unable to utter a single coherent sentence. Yabalov, wrapped tightly in a blanket, trembled and called out to the tall man, "He...he's very strong, powerful...can you...can you do it?"

"Let's give it a try. We can't exactly let him throw us into the water in public." The tall guy stretched his arms and did a few warm-up exercises, then took off his jacket and draped it over the back of the chair, revealing his bulging muscles. He slammed his thick elbow heavily onto the table and waved repeatedly at the fat man, Andrei: "Come here, you fatso!"

(End of this chapter)