Just then, the door of the restaurant was suddenly kicked open, and a figure rushed in.

Seeing someone charge in, the gangsters were taken aback at first but relaxed when they saw it was just a little boy.

"Lin Chen." Seeing the figure that appeared, Zhao Xiaowen's heart leaped with joy.

Lin Chen stood at the doorway, his gaze carrying a bit of a cold edge.

"Damn it, where did this little brat come from, get lost," Da Fei said viciously.

The rage in Lin Chen's eyes surged as he stepped toward the gangsters.

"Take your filthy hands off Xiaowen," Lin Chen said coldly as he walked.

"Come on, what are you trying to pull, kid, think you're some kind of martial arts master?"

"Haha, trying to play the hero to save the beauty, you should take a good look at yourself in the mirror."

"Old three, don't you love smashing people's rears? I think this young lad isn't bad."

The gangsters laughed and jeered, not taking Lin Chen seriously at all.

But before their laughter ended, Lin Chen suddenly moved; he charged like lightning towards the gangsters, reaching out to grab the wrist of one who was grabbing Xiaowen.

"Crack!"

Accompanied by a crisp sound, he actually broke the gangster's wrist bone directly.

"Aah!" The gangster let out a scream of agony.

At the same time, Lin Chen kicked out, striking another gangster who was grabbing Xiaowen in the stomach.

"Thud!"

That gangster's body flew backwards and fell face-first to the ground.

Lin Chen pulled Xiaowen into his arms, apologetically saying, "I'm sorry, I'm late."

With tears in her eyes, Zhao Xiaowen said, "Lin Chen, I thought..."

"Silly girl, I'm here, aren't I? I promised I'd protect you," Lin Chen said as he tenderly stroked Zhao Xiaowen's hair.

By now, Da Fei had regained his composure, furious to see his two guys taken down by Lin Chen.

"You bunch of assholes, gang up on him, and waste this kid," Da Fei snarled.

The remaining five hoodlums pulled out iron rods and rushed towards Lin Chen.

"Xiaowen, wait for me, I'll be done in a moment," Lin Chen reassured Zhao Xiaowen with a couple of words, his eyes flashing with a cold glint as he charged at the hoodlums.

"Bang, bang, bang...!"

Accompanied by a series of striking sounds, in just one encounter, the five hoodlums were knocked down by Lin Chen, each writhing in pain as they clutched their injured parts.

Dumbfounded, Da Fei could hardly believe it. His brothers were all good fighters, but they stood no chance against Lin Chen.

Then Lin Chen bent down, picked up an iron rod from the ground, and slowly walked toward Da Fei.

Feeling the icy aura radiating from Lin Chen, Da Fei felt a chill in his heart and hastily pleaded with Lin Chen.

"Young man, spare me, it was all a misunderstanding."

Lin Chen weighed the iron rod in his hand and coldly asked, "It was your dirty hand that touched Xiaowen just now, wasn't it?"

"What, what are you going to do, I'm one of Wu Ye's guys..." Da Fei said, his voice trembling with a threat.

Lin Chen chuckled coldly, grabbed Da Fei's hand and pressed it onto the table: "I don't care if you're Wu Ye's man or Liu Ye's man, if you dare make trouble on my turf, then you need to leave a mark, to serve as a reminder."

With that, Lin Chen brought the iron rod down.

"Bang!"

"Ah!" With a muffled sound, Lin Chen's iron rod smashed heavily onto Da Fei's right hand.

Da Fei clutched his mangled hand, howling in pain.

Lin Chen tossed the iron rod aside and said coldly, "All of you, get out. If you dare step foot into our restaurant again, I'll break your legs."

Lin Chen's words struck the gangsters like thunder, sending shivers down their spines.

The ruthlessness Lin Chen had just displayed made their hearts beat wildly; he seemed nothing like a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old boy, his blows were even more merciless than those of the gangsters themselves.

Xiaowen was the girl Lin Chen cherished, and one might say she was his Achilles' heel.

Lin Chen had once promised to protect her from harm, but today she had almost been defiled by these men. How could Lin Chen not be furious?

"Fine, we'll leave, we'll leave!"

Da Fei, looking at Lin Chen, who had a thick murderous intent on his face, quickly fled in panic with the help of two gangsters, clutching his hand that was bleeding profusely, along with a few others.

But as soon as they got into the van at the entrance, Da Fei rolled down the window and, jumping with rage, cursed, "You little bastard, just you wait. If I don't smash your shop to pieces, my name isn't Da Fei."

"Bang!"

A flying stick came hurtling through, embedding itself in the car window.

"Momma!"

Da Fei, scared, curled his neck and cursed, "Damn it, drive, drive!"

Standing at the entrance, watching the van hurry away, a cold smirk crossed Lin Chen's lips.

As he returned inside, Lin Chen quickly checked Zhao Gang's injuries. Thankfully, they were just superficial wounds. Applying some homemade antiseptic medicine should be no problem.

"Uncle Zhao, I'm sorry you got dragged into this," Lin Chen said with a twinge of self-reproach.

"What are you talking about, Lin Chen? It's just that these thugs are too bold. It's strange though; I pay them protection money every month and we've always had a good relationship. I have no idea why they're targeting us now," Zhao Gang said, perplexed.

Lin Chen sneered, "This must be thanks to our neighbors across the street."

Earlier, Lin Chen had used seeing a friend as an excuse to send Xue Ying away; after all, such violent matters weren't suitable for a girl to witness.

Just as he reached the entrance of the restaurant, Lin Chen saw Li Dafu peeking through the crack in the door, looking sneaky and scattering away in panic when he noticed Lin Chen.

Since the restaurant was being renovated, the doors were closed, but this guy knew something had happened inside, so Lin Chen concluded that he must be involved.

"That son of a turtle, Lin Chen, you've offended Da Fei. We can't run this restaurant anymore. They'll probably send people again soon. I think it's better if we lay low for a while," Zhao Gang said.

Zhao Gang had been doing business in this area for a long time and knew that Da Fei was just a small gang leader with someone named Wu Ye as the truly fearsome figure behind him.

Lin Chen smiled and said, "Uncle Zhao, don't worry. Leave the rest to me. I want them to come. And as for that scoundrel Li Dafu, if we don't teach him a lesson, he won't learn his place."

"But..." Zhao Gang still felt uneasy and wanted to continue persuading Lin Chen.

"Dad, just listen to Lin Chen, okay? Don't worry! As long as he's here, we don't need to fear any thugs," said Zhao Xiaowen. In her heart, Lin Chen had become the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, capable of anything. Just having him there filled Zhao Xiaowen with an inexplicable sense of security, and her faith in Lin Chen was boundless.

"Uncle Zhao, I didn't expect you to be this efficient. You've almost finished the restaurant's renovation," Lin Chen remarked, looking around and nodding in approval.

Zhao Gang replied, "The restaurant was just refurbished last year, so there wasn't much to do. We replaced the kitchen equipment, tables, and chairs, and just repainted the walls."

"Hmm! As long as it's clean, tidy, and hygienic, that's all we need. We attract customers with our cooking skills," Lin Chen said with a confident smile on his face.

Suddenly remembering something, Zhao Xiaowen hurriedly brought out a plaque.

"Right, our restaurant just needs you to write the inscription and then we can open for business," Zhao Xiaowen said with a smile, presenting the brush and ink.

"Me, write the inscription? Xiaowen, you've seen my handwriting before, it's quite ugly," Lin Chen said, scratching his head in embarrassment.

Zhao Xiaowen pouted her lips, "This is our first store together; you have to write it."

Lin Chen helplessly took the brush and gave a nod of agreement, "Alright, if I must."