Strong Rat waited for Fatty Chen to catch his breath, before squatting in front of him and stretching his hand to lightly slap Fatty Chen's oily, fat face. He then said with a smile,
"Boss Chen, what you are doing is not ethical at all… What you requested for, I have already done it already. Do you see? There is even a big bruise on my head due to getting hit. Don't you think you should reimburse us our medical fees or something?"
As Strong Rat was talking, his cronies that were behind him were affectedly giving a cold smile, and even exercised their wrists, as if they were planning to use Fatty Chen as a training bag.
These gangsters had no talent other than bullying the weak and be subservient to the strong. They were especially skilled in bullying people by outnumbering them. With an untrained physique like Fatty Chen's, it was naturally difficult to go through the beating of three gangsters.
"Bro-Brother Strong, the money… didn't I give it to you a long time ago?"
Fatty Chen's face tightened, and he unconsciously grabbed his own pocket. Inside was the total profits he got from doing business today. Though it was not a great sum, it was not a small sum either.
"Hmm? Boss Chen, did you not understand the meaning behind my words?"
Strong Rat was immediately displeased with Fatty Chen's reply, and his smile faded. He then said with a dark face,
"We took your money, and we did what you asked us to… but now that I am injured, the medical fees should naturally be paid by you, right?"
"Brother Strong…"
The moment Fatty Chen heard Strong Rat say 'the meaning behind my words', how could he not realise what Strong Rat wanted? His face which already had a scared expression immediately collapsed, and he was on the verge of tears.
"Enough of your nonsense, quickly give me the money!"
Who was Strong Rat? He was a hooligan! He was already infuriated by the fact that he got beaten up by Qin Fang because of carrying out Fatty Chen's request. When he saw that Fatty Chen was not being appreciative of his 'efforts' at beating up Qin Fang, he couldn't bother to dilly-dally with Fatty Chen anymore. He immediately stood up and gave Fatty Chen a kick, and the lackeys behind him also sprung into action. One held Fatty Chen down, while the other searched Fatty Chen's pockets.
"What? They are resorting to violence now? Poor Fatty Chen~…"
Qin Fang who was sitting at a dark place on the opposite road clearly saw what happened to Fatty Chen. This was quite a remote area, and thus there weren't anybody else who saw this scene. Qin Fang was not the type of person who showed mercy to his enemies. Or else, he won't have planned to secretly take care of Fatty Chen before the gangsters showed up. Thus, his exclamation was dripping with sarcasm.
"Don't! Brother Strong, these are my hard-earned money!"
Fatty Chen was truly scared this time. Even if his obese body was held down by a gangster, with his large build, if he started squirming around, then the two gangsters would not be able to do anything about him. At the same time, he was emitting excessively loud sounds that sounded like a pig being slaughtered. Qin Fang deduced that Fatty Chen was trying to use his voice to attract the attention of passersby so that they would hopefully help him.
A pity it was, that there was indeed a passerby, but it was Qin Fang who had a hostile stance towards Fatty Chen. It was already a blessing that Qin Fang didn't run up and join Strong Rat in kicking him, and Qin Fang will only save Fatty Chen when pigs fly.
"You bastard, are you courting death?!"
Strong Rat was not a merciful person either. Seeing that Fatty Chen was being 'disobedient', 'he didn't hold back anymore and aimed at Fatty Chen's squirming body before giving him a merciless kick. The power in the kick was not small, and Fatty Chen immediately stopped screaming. His body curled up into a huge shrimp, his throat was making hoarse sounds, and he couldn't say anything coherent at all.
On the other hand, the two lackeys immediately took advantage of Fatty Chen's 'shrimp mode' to attack the pocket that Fatty Chen was guarding so fervently just now. They only took the wallet that had the notes, and didn't even touch the waist pouch that stored the small change.
"Damn it, only $1000…"
When Strong Rat took out the money inside the wallet and counted it, he found out that there was only $1000 and a little more. Instantly, his skinny rat-like face warped, and the gaze in his eyes became ferocious."
"Damned fatty, don't play dead on me. Did you hide the money?!"
Strong Rat kicked Fatty Chen who was curled up into a ball and holding his stomach. His face was extremely dark.
"Brother Strong, there is really only that much. My business now is so bad, or else why would I ask for your help…"
Fatty Chen held his stomach, and his plump face was as pale as a sheet of paper now. Coupled with the fact that it was hot now, sweats that were as large as beans were constantly rolling down his face. He was also on the verge of hugging Strong Rat's leg and begging for mercy.
"Don't bullshit me! If you don't give me $10,000 today, then this matter, will not be settled with just light wounds…"
Reason with Strong Rat?
Fatty Chen's head must have gone haywire.
Strong Rat was notorious for being cruel, and was capable of doing any sorts of evil deeds. Back when his father criticised him as a failure, Strong Rat beat his father up, which almost caused his father to lose his life.
If Strong Rat dared to seriously injure even his own father, then what was injuring a mere outsider like Fatty Chen to him? Even the few kicks he gave to Fatty Chen just now was with his full strength, and there was no holding back at all.
"I really don't have that much…"
Fatty Chen's face was tightened up. He was on the verge of crying, showing that he really didn't have any more money.
Qin Fang also judged that the $1000+ was really all Fatty Chen had. At least, when he was stalking Fatty Chen, he didn't see him withdrawing money from an ATM machine, and instead headed straight back home, before he got blocked by Strong Rat and his cronies.
"Don't have, is it? Beat him!"
Strong Rat gave a cold laugh, and didn't bother with talking anymore and started beating up Fatty Chen. The two lackeys naturally didn't want to be left behind and incessantly hit Fatty Chen.
"You reap what you sow."
Qin Fang coldly looked at the scene. Fatty Chen wanted to bring about Qin Fang's fall, but didn't expect to fail, and even get extorted by Strong Rat who he had hired to extort Qin Fang. Seeing Fatty Chen fail at his sabotage and even get instant karma-ed, Qin Fang's rage cooled down substantially, and his mood lifted considerably too.
"Ouch, ouch!"
Howls of pain rose incessantly, and in a quiet night such as this, traveled a long distance. Unfortunately, nobody was willing to come over to help, and Fatty Chen could only silently take the beating.
As for the possibility of retaliating…
Obviously, Fatty Chen firstly did not have the courage. Secondly, he really did not have the courage to do it. Thirdly, he simply did not have the abilities. To defeat three gangsters alone was not a feat that could be accomplished by just anyone, and Fatty Chen at least understood his capabilities to that extent.
As Fatty Chen was getting beaten up, he also did not forget to beg Strong Rat, to beg him to let him off the hook this time. If you say he was strong-minded, then sorry, he's not.
Though Fatty Chen's body was aching with pain, he was not an idiot. He understood clearly that if he got past the beating tonight, then he would be able to get home alive. After that, the problem was easy to solve, and he didn't need to constantly get extorted by Strong Rat anymore.
He thought about the solution to the extent that he had a plan already. When he gets home after the beating, he will immediately book a plane ticket, and leave Tranquil Sea City tomorrow. This way, even if Strong Rat wanted to continue extorting him, it would be difficult.
He was just a small food stall owner. Though Tranquil Sea City was prosperous, there were other equally prosperous cities as well. He didn't need to be hung up over a city. Especially if the city was a dangerous one for him.
Qin Fang was sitting on the opposite road and observed the situation all the while. Though he did want to take care of Fatty Chen, he did not think about how he would go about it. At most, he would hit his head and give him several big bruises. However, the situation was escalating beyond Qin Fang's expectations. Especially the following happenings, which made even Qin Fang feel disturbed for a few days.