CHAPTER 74: CHAPTER 72 [IS IT THAT DIFFICULT?]

Chapter 72 [Is It Really That Hard?]

Inside the private room, a large screen was playing MTV.

"Find a most beloved, deeply loved, mutual love, dearest one, to bid farewell to single life..."

Cui Dapeng held the microphone high, roaring at the top of his lungs. As the song finished, the men and women in the room applauded vigorously.

Fueled by alcohol, Cui Dapeng tossed the microphone aside, grabbed a bottle of beer from the table, tilted his head back, and downed it in one go.

"Brother Dapeng can really hold his liquor!" a lackey shouted.

Cui Dapeng glared. "Then what are you all standing around for?! Drink! Everyone gets a bottle, down it!"

The men in the room burst into laughter and grabbed bottles.

"The girls too! Everyone drinks! Damn it!" Cui Dapeng looked discontentedly at the hostesses who had been sitting and watching the show.

The few girls in the room reluctantly picked up their beer bottles.

Truth be told, hostesses in these kinds of establishments didn’t enjoy drinking beer.

Firstly, beer was cheap and didn’t do much to inflate the bill. Secondly, it made them feel bloated. They much preferred it when customers ordered imported liquor.

Qu Xiaoling, sitting among them, went with the flow and picked up a beer bottle. She managed to force down about half of it before she couldn’t drink anymore.

She had already been pressured into drinking a lot while accompanying Cui Dapeng tonight and had vomited twice in the restroom.

This man was the type of customer Qu Xiaoling detested the most: lecherous, and he loved to force hostesses to drink.

And to top it all off, he was stingy.

"Drink! Are you raising fish in there?" Cui Dapeng noticed Qu Xiaoling hadn’t finished her beer and glared, his eyes bulging.

Qu Xiaoling smiled and sidled up to Cui Dapeng, gently pushing him and feigning a coquettish pout. "Big Brother, I really can’t drink anymore."

"Not giving me face?!" Cui Dapeng was clearly very drunk and in no mood to be chivalrous. He roughly shoved Qu Xiaoling aside, then pulled out his wallet and threw a hundred-yuan bill on the table.

"Drink! One hundred yuan a bottle! Is that enough?!"

Qu Xiaoling looked at the money on the table, then at the beer bottle. Gritting her teeth, she snatched the money first, then grabbed the bottle and tilted her head back...

Zhang Linsheng, wearing the leather jacket Chen Nuo had left behind, stood before the KTV lobby’s floor-to-ceiling window, admiring his reflection from various angles, feeling quite pleased with himself.

Qu Xiaoling will definitely be impressed when she sees me in this outfit, he thought.

Chen Nuo’s build was similar to his, so the leather jacket fit him quite well.

He picked up the helmet and struck a few poses with it.

Just then, he saw the door to a private room in the corridor swing open. A figure stumbled out and bolted towards the restrooms at the end of the hall.

In 2002, KTVs and nightclubs were still rather old-fashioned; private rooms with their own restrooms were rare.

It would be a few more years, after an industry-wide upgrade, before private rooms with attached toilets—referred to as "water rooms" in the south—became common.

Qu Xiaoling burst into the restroom and vomited violently into the toilet.

Afterward, she staggered out. She had barely reached the doorway when she saw Cui Dapeng and several others from the private room approaching.

Cui Dapeng’s shirt and pants were soaked.

Seeing Qu Xiaoling emerge, he lunged forward, grabbed her, and roared angrily, "Damn it, you puked all over me! How are you going to compensate me for this?! I just bought these damn clothes today!"

Qu Xiaoling’s mind was slow from the alcohol, and she swayed unsteadily. A fellow hostess, a good friend of hers, stepped forward to try and smooth things over, cooing, "Big Brother, don’t be angry. She drank too much tonight; it wasn’t intentional. Come on, let’s go back to the room. I’ll drink with you, okay?"

"Everyone back! Back to the room!"

Cui Dapeng dragged Qu Xiaoling back into the private room, the others following.

Once inside, he threw her onto the sofa. With a cold laugh, he began opening beer bottles, lining up ten of them on the table.

"This outfit of mine cost a thousand yuan! One hundred yuan a bottle. Drink up! Finish all ten, and I’ll let you off!"

In reality, he was bluffing. His entire outfit, from head to toe, was worth just over five hundred yuan.

Qu Xiaoling truly couldn’t drink anymore. Other hostesses tried to intervene, but Cui Dapeng glared at them. "Anyone else says a word, and you’ll drink for her!"

No one dared to speak.

Qu Xiaoling pleaded, "Big Brother, please, let me off... I really didn’t mean to, and I honestly can’t drink anymore."

At that moment, the door opened, and a woman who looked like a mamasan entered. Spotting Cui Dapeng, she forced a laugh. "Brother Dapeng, who upset you? Come, come, I’ll toast you. Give me some face, alright?"

Cui Dapeng looked at the mamasan and scratched his head. "I give you face, but who gives me face?"

Qu Xiaoling, slumped over the coffee table and gasping for breath, whispered, "Brother Dapeng, I really didn’t mean it... I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Brother Dapeng..."

Cui Dapeng didn’t know what had gotten into him today. Perhaps the alcohol had gone to his head, making him increasingly brazen.

"Sorry? How much is ’sorry’ worth! Let me make this clear right now! Nobody’s damn face matters today!"

The mamasan’s expression turned sour. "Brother Dapeng, this is Boss Luo’s establishment. It’s not appropriate for you to cause such a scene."

Cui Dapeng roared with laughter. "Boss Luo is a big shot! But I roll with Boss Xiao! Trying to scare me with Luo Dachan? You think I’ve never met him or something? Just the day before yesterday, my boss, Xiao Guohua, was drinking with Luo Dachan! I was there too! We drank at the same table!"

Still fueled by alcohol, Cui Dapeng continued to boast, "Even Boss Luo, when I toasted him that day, he drank it! You think you can use Boss Luo to scare me?!"

Cui Dapeng plopped down onto the sofa, yanked his collar open a bit wider, and sneered, "Go on! See who else you can call! Let’s see if anyone can make Cui Dapeng kneel and call me ’Grandpa’ today!"

Just then, Qu Xiaoling suddenly leaped up from the floor!

She had probably been catching her breath. Now, having recovered slightly, she seized the opportunity while Cui Dapeng was sprawled on the sofa, bragging. Qu Xiaoling sprang up, dashed to the door in two strides, pulled it open, and fled!

"..." Cui Dapeng was stunned for a second, then jumped up from the sofa. "Fuck! Trying to run?!"

Zhang Linsheng continued posing in front of the mirror. He even put on the helmet, spun around, and, making "VROOM VROOM VROOM" sounds like a motorcycle, imagined himself as Andy Lau...

Just then, the urgent CLICKING of high heels on the floor sounded from behind him.

Turning, he saw Qu Xiaoling frantically running towards the exit.

Zhang Linsheng took a couple of steps towards her. "Xiaoling?"

Qu Xiaoling stopped, startled. Looking at the figure before her, she eventually recognized his voice. "Zhang Linsheng?"

"It’s me." Zhang Linsheng raised a hand to take off his helmet, but before he could, Qu Xiaoling rushed forward and threw herself into his arms.

"What’s wrong?" Zhang Linsheng frowned, his hands awkwardly half-embracing, half-supporting her.

"Someone’s bullying me!" Qu Xiaoling cried, her voice a mix of pleading and complaint. "Let’s go, quickly."

Zhang Linsheng felt Qu Xiaoling’s body limp and heavy; she had clearly drunk too much. As he tried to help her stand, a shout suddenly erupted from behind them:

"Run!! Where do you think you’re running?!"

Cui Dapeng had chased them out, striding forward and spewing threats. "Motherfucker, still trying to run! I..."

At that, Cui Dapeng abruptly stopped speaking.

He froze as if his pressure points had been struck, staring intently at the woman in the lobby...

Or more precisely, at the figure holding her!

Black helmet!

Black leather jacket!

Black gloves!

Fuck!!

This was the very image that had haunted Cui Dapeng’s nightmares for months!

Countless times, he had woken up terrified from dreams of it!

He kept dreaming of that scene: this harbinger of doom bursting into his company, alone and unarmed, taking down all seven or eight of them, including himself.

And him saying things like, "Want it more intense? Not exciting enough otherwise?"

And then, stepping on him, breaking his fingers one by one!

After that incident, his boss, Xiao Guohua, had initially sworn to find the man and get revenge...

But what happened?

A night later, Boss Xiao had a sudden change of heart for some unknown reason and fled Jinling overnight with his men in a complete panic!

The entire company was taken by the boss to Thailand, where they spent a full week drinking coconut water on the beaches of Pattaya.

Some underlings had even asked Xiao Guohua if they were still going to seek revenge for that incident...

But Xiao Guohua had responded with a vicious slap across the questioner’s face and issued a strict order: From now on, no one was ever to mention that matter again!

It was clear to anyone with eyes that Boss Xiao was terrified!

And now, at this very moment, that harbinger of doom was standing right in front of him, in the flesh!

The crucial part was...

He was holding that woman!

PLOP! Cui Dapeng collapsed to the floor.

And he wasn’t the only one!

The three or four men who had been drinking with Cui Dapeng had the exact same reaction!

Every single one of them had been at the finance company that day and had been thrashed!

When Cui Dapeng was the first to fall, the other three or four who had been chasing close behind caught sight of Zhang Linsheng’s figure...

PLOP! PLOP! THUD!

All of them reacted identically, collapsing to the floor!

Zhang Linsheng looked at the men sitting on the floor in the distance, then frowned and asked Qu Xiaoling, "Was it him who bullied you?"

Qu Xiaoling shivered and tugged at Zhang Linsheng’s arm. "Let’s go, hurry..."

A surge of anger welled up in Zhang Linsheng’s chest. He let go of Qu Xiaoling and strode forward. As he passed a small cart in the hallway, he spotted some beer, casually grabbed a bottle, and gripped it tightly.

The young man didn’t actually know what he was going to do.

But a simple logic played out in his mind:

He liked this woman!

This woman had been bullied!

When he reached Cui Dapeng, the man looked up, his face a mask of utter shock.

"You bullied my Sister Xiaoling? Who the hell are you?"

Cui Dapeng trembled. "I... I... I am..."

Zhang Linsheng, his voice muffled by the helmet, said, "Speak up. I can’t hear you."

Cui Dapeng jolted as if shocked by electricity!

Oh, right!

He’d almost forgotten this guy’s temper! He hated it when people spoke softly!

If your voice wasn’t loud enough, he’d break your fingers on the spot!

Cui Dapeng instantly sat bolt upright on the floor and roared,

"CUI DAPENG!! TWENTY-NINE YEARS OLD!! CRIMINAL RECORD!! ASSAULTED PEOPLE AND SERVED TWO YEARS IN PRISON!!"

His voice thundered through the hall, and it even had a damn echo.

After shouting, Cui Dapeng lowered his voice and pleaded, "See? Is my voice loud enough now? Brother!! Please, just spare me this once, alright? I honestly didn’t know... I really didn’t know she was your woman..."

As he spoke, he noticed the beer bottle in Zhang Linsheng’s hand...

Cui Dapeng gritted his teeth, snatched the bottle, gripped it tightly, and yelled, "Brother! I was wrong!! This will settle it! Listen for the CRUNCH!!"

CRACK!!

The man was truly ruthless; he smashed the bottle directly onto his own head.

The beer bottle shattered, sending shards of glass flying everywhere!

Cui Dapeng, blood streaming down his head, looked up pleadingly. "Brother, how’s this? Is this enough?"

Uh...

Brother Haonan was dumbstruck.

What the hell...

Has the underworld really become like this?

Do people just proactively apologize and admit their mistakes now?

How many days has it been since I left the scene?

Has the world already changed this much??

Is it really this tough out here now??

In a daze, Zhang Linsheng subconsciously nodded. "Hmm, that’s fine."

Cui Dapeng let out a sigh of relief, scrambled to his feet, and hissed to his men, "Go, go! Everyone out, let’s go!"

They fled in a disheveled, panicked mob.

The mamasan and the group of hostesses who remained were all dumbstruck, staring at Zhang Linsheng.

As for Qu Xiaoling, she sat on the floor, her eyes fixed on the tall young man’s figure, a strange, brilliant light shining within them...

Boss Xiao Guohua was drinking. Seated across from him was none other than Li Qingshan.

Li Qingshan looked pale and unwell.

A table laden with exotic delicacies sat between them, occupied only by Xiao Guohua and Li Qingshan.

Li Qingshan held a liquor cup in one hand and a cigarette in the other, slowly recounting something to Xiao Guohua...

"...Back then, I thought, this guy is so terrifyingly skilled. When I fired that shot, I was scared to death!"

They had been drinking for over an hour, and by now, Xiao Guohua was completely stupefied.

Boss Xiao was stunned by what he was hearing!

Black helmet!

Black leather jacket!

Black gloves!

And unbelievably good at fighting!

GULP!

Xiao Guohua swallowed hard.

Looks like that team-building trip... was an absolutely brilliant idea!

A bitter taste filled his mouth. Xiao Guohua raised his cup, took a large gulp, and then said in a low voice, "Old Brother! Is he really that freaky? You’re saying... he can even catch bullets?! Is... is that even human?!"

Li Qingshan’s expression was complicated, a flicker of fear in his eyes. "You don’t understand, Old Brother. When I was young, I also ventured out into the world, met plenty of skilled fighters, and heard some unbelievable stories. But I never thought I’d actually encounter someone like that... So, now you understand why I’m in this state. Revenge? I don’t even dare to think about it! He can freaking catch bullets. How can anyone get revenge? How can anyone fight against that? I count myself lucky to have survived encountering someone so monstrous."

Just then, Xiao Guohua’s phone rang.

Boss Xiao picked it up. Seeing it was Cui Dapeng, he answered.

On the other end, Cui Dapeng’s voice was audibly panicked and terrified, yet tinged with a strange excitement!

"Boss! Boss! I ran into him! That guy! The one who robbed our company and took down several of our men! The one with the motorcycle helmet!! I know how to find him! Boss, do you want revenge?! Just say the word, and we’ll bring everyone in the company! We can definitely overwhelm him!"

"HISS!!!!"

Hearing this, Boss Xiao sharply inhaled—cold noodles? No, cold air!

His hand trembled, nearly dropping the phone.

Gripping it tightly, an enraged Boss Xiao yelled, "Overwhelm?! I’ll overwhelm your goddamn mother!!! If you want to die, don’t drag me down with you!! Wherever you are, get your ass back here right now!!!!!"

Chen Nuo sat at his computer, opened the Octopus Monster website, and lit a cigarette.

DING. A notification sound reached his ears.

"You have one new message."

Chen Nuo was a little surprised.

He clicked it open.

Sender [Dodo Feng]: I have nude photos of the Star Sky Empress, but ten thousand US dollars isn’t enough. If you’re interested, we can discuss the details.

Chen Nuo chuckled.

[BANG BANG BANG... Say, are you guys tired of this BANG BANG BANG? Should I change the thank-you phrase?]