Midtown Boxing Club, Sunday 11:42 AM
Ashan's shirt stuck to his back.
His arms ached. Legs like bricks. He just was sparring two rounds with the gym's newest Cuban leftie.
"Nice pace today, kid," Tony said with a nod.
Ashan just gave a breathless thumbs up and collapsed onto the bench near the exit, gym bag between his feet.
He wiped his face with a towel, took a long sip from his dented shaker bottle, and finally checked his phone.
---
1 New Message - Jerry Tyson
Ashan tapped it open.
It was a video file. 1 minute.
Caption:
"LOOK HOW POWERFUL I AM 😤💥🔥"
No context. No warning.
He hit play.
---
A ring. No ropes. Underground venue, crowd tight and roaring.
Jerry stood shirtless, gloves off, just wraps on.
Face calm. Focused.
His opponent, some towering sumo-looking monster with thick arms and a wide stance, easily could've been around 300 pounds (140-150 KG).
Referee initiates the fight
BAM.
Jerry charges like a missile, fakes a hook, drops under, and lifts the dude clean off the ground with a brutal liver shot.
Roars.
The man crashes down, not KO'd, just unable to stand.
"He paralyzed him with one body shot…" Ashan whispered.
The camera shakes as the crowd loses it. Someone yells, "TYSON! WILD TYSON!"
Then the clip cuts to Jerry selfie-filming, dripping with sweat, grinning like a lunatic.
"SEE? I'M LEGIT. NEXT LEVEL. I'M THE PRESIDENT OF POWER."
He points at the camera like he's scolding it.
"YOU BETTER KEEP TRAINING, KID. CUZ THIS IS WHAT'S COMIN'."
End video.
---
Ashan just sat there in stunned silence, towel half-slipped from his hand.
"That… wasn't a normal fight."
He rewound. Watched again.
No rules. No ref in the ring.
And Jerry's opponent looked like a boss fight, not a licensed fighter.
"Where the hell is he fighting…?"
"What is this?"
He opened a new message:
Ashan:
"Where tf are you fighting?? That wasn't a ring. That was a damn dungeon. 😭"
Three dots. Jerry's typing.
Then it stops.
Then starts again.
Then finally
Jerry:
"🤐🔒👊"
Ashan stared.
"Bro did you just send me the underground version of the emoji witness protection program."
A reply popped up
"Kid, YOU'RE NOT READY YET!"
---
Project Dragon, Day 230
"I don't know what fight that was. No ropes. No rules. And Jerry won like it was easy, even with like a 100 pound different."
"I still can't do 3 rounds without collapsing."
"But I saw it. That's real power. That's the level."
---