HLM -Chapter 1355 The First Match

Apart from expressing his gratitude to Wang Bo, Otutu also brought a gift—a Māori jade box, intricately engraved with runes and complex patterns, giving off a slightly mysterious aura.

“I present to you a sealed treasure box. It will help you store precious items without losing them,” Otutu said, kissing the jade box before handing it over.

Wang Bo had seen boxes like this before; every Māori family had them, and they were often carved for sale.

The purpose of such a sealed treasure box was to hold valuable gifts or contracts. The Māori believed that the magic of the jade could firmly seal these treasures, so many of the boxes were exquisitely carved and considered works of art in their own right.

Even today, the documents for the Treaty of Waitangi were stored in a precious sealed jade box.

Wang Bo thanked Otutu for the gift and then stored some keys inside the box. Seeing this, Otutu’s face lit up with a pleased smile. Waving his hand, Atulu lifted her and left.

After discovering the jade vein, the next step was mining.

No machinery was needed for this work. The Māori would carry packs and baskets and use hammers to strike the stone, extracting jade to take away.

This was their traditional method of jade collection. Wang Bo didn’t like it; he worried that without oversight, they might overmine and damage the mountain’s ecosystem.

So he had Kidd contact a geological and mineral exploration team to survey the specific locations of the jade deposits, compile a report, and create a mining plan to ensure the Māori mined in an orderly fashion.

By mid-January, news from the International Boxing Federation arrived. After a final meeting and vote, Sunset Town was selected as the host for the upcoming boxing event.

Upon hearing this, Wang Bo pumped his fist—this was great news!

Sunset Town had never hosted a major sporting event. Both New Zealand and Australia were sports-loving nations, and hosting a boxing event would surely boost the town’s reputation.

Rog Allison would personally organize the event. He gave Wang Bo a friendly reminder: “No problem with the golden belts, right? You do know, don’t you? We’re not just determining a heavyweight champion; there are other divisions too. A total of five golden belts will be needed.”

Wang Bo replied, “I know, but it’s impossible for all the golden belts to be made to the standard 15 kilograms. Using gold proportionally for each weight class—is that okay?”

Rog Allison smiled, “Of course. As long as you follow the international boxing federation’s standards for gold belts, it’s fine.”

Although the belts looked similar, each division’s belt was slightly different, mainly in the buckle design and patterns. Wang Bo only needed to provide the gold; Rog would arrange for the belt production studio to handle the crafting.

After agreeing on this, Oakley also received the news and came to Wang Bo: “Don’t tell me this is real. You’re going to make real golden belts? Have you lost your mind? Or did I get false information?”

Wang Bo nodded, “I’m not crazy. The information you got is correct. All five golden belt buckles will be cast in pure gold.”

“My goodness! Did the gold mine really produce that much gold?”

Wang Bo shrugged, “Yes. You know, I sometimes go to mine when I’m bored, so I’ve accumulated some good stuff.”

He said it casually. The ore from the gold mine needed smelting and refining; the gold he planned to use came from the gold bars he obtained from the secret chamber when he first arrived in Sunset Town.

He had found a whole chest of gold bars, weighing a total of 450 kilograms.

This was a fortune, but Wang Bo hadn’t used it before because he never really lacked money. Gold was hard currency; wealthy New Zealanders typically stored it, so he kept his stash in the secret chamber.

There was no harm in storing the gold, and now, with an opportunity to use it, he decided to contribute some.

To him, money was just numbers, while gold was just a pile of inert metal. If it could be used to achieve a milestone in Sunset Town’s development, he was more than happy to do so.

Oakley frowned, “Do you realize how much gold you’re giving? Not just for one belt. Do you know how much this will cost?”

Wang Bo laughed, patting him on the shoulder. “I know. The heavyweight champion’s belt buckle starts at 15 kilograms, but the lower divisions won’t be that heavy. Altogether, it’s just 60 kilograms.”

Oakley was stunned. “Sh*t, 60 kilograms of gold!”

“Only about forty-some kilograms are actually spent; fifteen kilograms remain ours. You’ll definitely be the heavyweight champion, right?” Wang Bo said.

Oakley nodded confidently, “That’s true.”

“There’s an old Chinese saying: ‘Don’t let fertile water flow to outsiders,’” Wang Bo smiled. “Look, the best water is flowing back to Sunset Town. With that in mind, how could I refuse?”

Seeing Wang Bo’s firm tone, Oakley understood his meaning and stopped arguing.

Soon after, Rog Allison began arranging the promotion of the boxing event.

Sunset Town’s name spread across the boxing world. The championship, the pure gold belts—all these details excited boxing fans.

Rog also designed a clever promotional topic: he listed Oakley’s undefeated record since entering the professional boxing scene, then asked: Who can stop the number one warrior on the planet from claiming the boxing throne?

Supporting this theme, Sunset Town launched its own campaign. Wang Bo declared Sunset Town Oakley’s territory, called him the Big Boss, and invited boxing warriors worldwide to “challenge the boss.”

By mid-January, Allison arrived in Sunset Town. Wang Bo went to pick him up, meeting this small, energetic old man with graying temples and a ruddy face.

The boxing venue would be in the rugby stadium. He brought the standardized regulations of the world boxing scene because it was the first time the South Island hosted such an event, and his experience was needed.

After getting off the plane, Allison looked around in admiration. “What a beautiful place! No wonder that volcanic guy insists on coming back every time he rests!”

Wang Bo thought privately: Oakley didn’t come back just for the scenery—my hospital’s rehabilitation center, now upgraded to Level 3, is excellent for recovery from this kind of injury.

After tasting Chef Kobe’s cooking, the old man was even happier. “I swear I’ve fallen in love with this place. Choosing Sunset Town as the venue was the right decision!”

In reality, boxing probably required the least of all sports in terms of venue demands. Many sports rely on ticket sales for profit, but boxing makes money from TV broadcast rights and betting.