Chapter Eight: Robbery and Counter-Robbery

Page (1/3)

“Fuck! You dare hit me? Do you know who I am?”

Brother Xiong shook his head, finally recovering from his dizziness. He glared at Lin Chen, who had appeared out of nowhere, and roared.

Lin Chen put on an innocent expression. “Weren’t you asking someone to hit you?”

“Was I asking you to hit me? I was asking this beautiful young lady to hit me! You’re absolutely dead now!”

“Oh, so you weren’t asking me to hit you.” Lin Chen looked as though he had suddenly understood. Then he swung his hand around and slapped Brother Xiong again, sending his head lolling from side to side and leaving him barely able to stand.

Lin Chen sneered. “I just wanted to hit you. Is that not allowed?”

Brother Xiong coughed and spat out two bloodstained yellow teeth. He shouted, “Damn it! What are you idiots standing around for? Hit him! Beat this bastard to death!”

His four underlings immediately charged forward, but before they could throw a punch or kick, Lin Chen slapped each of them so hard they staggered around in a daze.

Lin Chen moved so quickly that they had no chance to dodge before his palm struck their faces.

As he viciously slapped them one after another, he snarled, “That’s for harassing people! That’s for acting tough! That’s for getting your kicks!”

Before long, all four men were bruised and swollen, their faces almost unrecognizable. When Brother Xiong saw Lin Chen turn his attention back to him, he panicked.

“Big… Big Brother, please don’t! I shouldn’t have run my mouth. I deserve to die. Please let me go!”

He had never imagined that this seemingly refined young man could be so ruthless. Every slap had been delivered with deadly force. This guy was even more vicious than he was!

Who was supposed to be the gangster here?

Was he really this unlucky? He had finally come across such a beautiful girl, only to run into a demon like this.

“Get lost!” Lin Chen barked.

Brother Xiong looked as though he had just been granted a pardon. “I’m leaving! I’m leaving right now!”

With that, he fled with his four underlings as though their lives depended on it.

“Thank you.” The girl stepped forward and thanked him, studying Lin Chen with a trace of curiosity.

He did not look particularly strong, so how could he be so formidable? Unlike the others, who had immediately walked away upon seeing the troublemakers, he had turned back to help her. Bai Lan knew that without him, she would have been in serious trouble that night.

Lin Chen thought for a moment before saying, “You’d better not come here to sing again. Otherwise, those men may come looking for trouble with you next time.”

The girl nodded obediently. “Mm. I understand. I won’t come here again.”

Lin Chen nodded and was about to leave when the girl asked timidly, “May I ask your name?”

Seeing her shy expression, Lin Chen smiled. “Lin Chen. And you?”

When Lin Chen asked her name, the girl brightened. “Brother Lin Chen, my name is Bai Lan. Bai as in blue skies and white clouds, and Lan as in blue.”

Lin Chen paused when he heard her name, then smiled. “It suits you perfectly.”

The girl gave a bashful smile. Like her name, her smile was pure and clear, as clean as a blue sky scattered with white clouds.

Page (1/3)

Page (2/3)

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going. Pack up your things and leave too, before those gangsters come back to cause you more trouble.”

After saying this, Lin Chen saw her nod and turned to leave.

Bai Lan watched his back disappear, then suddenly exclaimed, “Oh! I forgot to ask Brother Lin Chen for his contact information!”

She pouted, looking somewhat dissatisfied. “Am I not pretty enough? Otherwise, why didn’t he even ask for my phone number?”

Although she was poor, countless young men had surrounded her since childhood, flattering her about her beauty. This was the first time she had ever doubted her appearance—and the first time she had hoped that someone would take the initiative to ask for her contact information.

Lin Chen had no idea what Bai Lan was thinking. After walking only a short distance, he noticed several people following him.

When he reached a more secluded area, several men appeared and blocked his path.

There were six of them in total. Five were the same men who had harassed Bai Lan earlier. The sixth was a burly man over six feet tall, with a crew cut and a fierce gaze. He looked down at Lin Chen with an air of superiority.

Lin Chen glanced at Brother Xiong. “Weren’t you beaten enough just now?”

After sizing Lin Chen up, the burly man turned to Brother Xiong. “This is the kid who beat you? Xiong Zhigao, you’re even more useless than I thought. How did someone with those skinny arms and legs manage to catch you off guard?”

Brother Xiong gave an embarrassed smile. “Brother Hao, this kid looks completely ordinary, but he’s vicious. He knocked out several of my teeth.”

Then he glared fiercely at Lin Chen. “Kid, don’t get too smug! Don’t think you’re invincible just because you won a fight. Do you know who the man beside me is?”

Lin Chen said nothing. He merely looked at him as though he were an idiot.

Enraged, Brother Xiong shouted, “Brother Hao is my boss. He used to fight underground bouts, and he’s taken lives with those hands! Today, I’ll teach you the price of meddling in other people’s business!”

Brother Hao sneered at Lin Chen. “You dared hit my men. If I don’t teach you a proper lesson, how am I supposed to make a living in Moonsea City? You’d better kneel right now, kowtow a few times, let my men give you a beating, and then hand over all your money as tribute!”

Lin Chen’s expression had been cold, but upon hearing Brother Hao’s words, it changed—not to fear, but to amusement.

“That’s right! Why didn’t I think of that? Robbery really is a good way to make money. Of course, robbing ordinary people wouldn’t do, but robbing gangsters like you should be perfectly acceptable, shouldn’t it?”

With that thought, Lin Chen smiled faintly at Brother Hao and the others. “I happen to be short of money. Why don’t you hand over everything you’re carrying as tribute to me?”

“W-what did you say?” Brother Xiong stared at him blankly, almost certain he had misheard. This guy was unbelievably arrogant!

Once he recovered, Brother Xiong roared, “Brother Hao, this kid is looking down on you! Kill him!”

“Fuck! You’re looking for death!”

Brother Hao was furious. He was the local boss, and he had always been the one threatening and robbing others. When had anyone ever dared threaten him?

He took several steps forward and kicked at Lin Chen’s stomach.

Lin Chen sneered and remained perfectly still. His right leg moved after Brother Hao’s, yet reached him first, striking the inside of his knee.

With a sharp crack, Brother Hao dropped to the ground in a full split and began screaming.

“Ahhh! My leg!”

“Does it hurt? I only dislocated your leg. Stop screaming as though you’re dying. Hand over the money!”

Brother Hao was on the verge of tears. He truly felt like he wanted to die. He had never imagined that one day he would be beaten to the ground and forced to beg someone to take his money.

Page (2/3)

Page (3/3)

He had always been the one stealing other people’s money. This was the first time anyone had demanded money from him.

“Go fuck your mother! When I was making my name, you were still nursing at your mother’s breast! Who the hell do you think you—”

Before Brother Hao could finish his vicious retort, Lin Chen kicked him hard in the body, sending him rolling five or six yards across the ground.

Lin Chen’s voice was as cold as a blade. “Are you handing it over or not?”

Brother Hao no longer dared to talk back. It felt as though Lin Chen’s kick had crushed all his internal organs. He gasped in pain.

“I’ll hand it over! I’ll hand it over! Please stop hitting me!”

Afterward, Brother Hao no longer dared meet Lin Chen’s eyes. Instead, he glared at Brother Xiong. This bastard had caused him to lose both his dignity and his money—and had dragged him into trouble with such a terrifying menace!

When Brother Xiong saw Lin Chen’s attention shift from Brother Hao to him, he shuddered in fear.

He had brought Brother Hao along to regain face and extort some money. He had never imagined that his opponent would be this terrifying, capable of reducing even Brother Hao to such a state.

On the verge of tears, he said, “I… I’ll hand over my money too. Please don’t hit me.”

When the remaining four underlings saw Lin Chen look their way, they hurriedly pulled out their wallets. They had no desire to have their limbs dislocated and be kicked several yards across the ground. Judging by the tears and snot streaming down Brother Hao’s face, they could easily imagine how painful it was.

If anyone witnessed this scene, their jaw would probably drop. Gangsters were being robbed, yet they were willingly handing over their money. It was simply unbelievable!

The men emptied their pockets and scraped together roughly thirty thousand yuan.

Lin Chen shouted angrily, “Do you take me for a beggar? Go withdraw more money!”

The men felt so aggrieved that they were nearly in tears. Why did it feel as though the real bandit was the man standing before them, while they were the innocent citizens being bullied?

At last, they understood how their victims felt whenever they robbed them. The difference was that even after being robbed, they could not complain—much less call the police.

If word got out that they had been robbed by an ordinary man, how could they ever continue to operate in their world? They had no choice but to swallow this humiliation, broken teeth and all.

As for revenge, they did not dare even consider it. They had no intention of provoking a menace like Lin Chen a second time.

In the end, Lin Chen left with the money they had withdrawn—slightly more than one hundred thousand yuan—while the men behind him looked like defeated roosters.

As he carried the money, Lin Chen began thinking about where to buy the medicinal ingredients he needed. The ingredients required for the Heavenly Treasure Pill were not especially rare, but an ordinary pharmacy might not carry all of them.

Just then, he received a call from an unfamiliar number.

“Hello. Who is this?”

A cool, distant voice came from the other end. “Lin Chen, it’s me, Leng Hanyan. Can you help me with something?”

When Lin Chen heard her voice, he recalled the mixed-race woman he had encountered at the hospital that morning.

Why was she calling him so late at night?

Page (3/3)