The three gangsters continued beating Fatty Chen for a while. In such a hot summer night, such vigorous activity immediately caused the gangsters to sweat profusely. Combined with the fact that they were a little tired too, they stopped beating Fatty Chen up after a while more. At this time, Fatty Chen was already beaten black and blue. His face that was already very fat was now so swollen that you couldn't even see his facial features properly.
"Boss Chen, after getting beat up, you should know what to do already, right? Don't have money on you now? Simple. Just call your wife to send the money here now. $10,000. If the amount is less by even a single cent, then don't think about going home today…"
However, Strong Rat obviously would not let Fatty Chen go off without getting his money. His head was even now, throbbing with pain. After getting hit so hard by Qin Fang, with his personality, he would never let it go without getting something in return.
As for Qin Fang, Strong Rat temporarily still did not dare to provoke him. Mainly because Qin Fang was young, impulsive, and merciless. Once Qin Fang was provoked, his retaliation was not light at all. If not, he wouldn't be able to scare away his two former lackeys and had to change to new ones. If you asked Strong Rat to go settle things with Qin Fang now, he wouldn't due to his fear of Qin Fang.
If he didn't dare to do anything about Qin Fang, Strong Rat who liked bullying the weak would naturally ask for compensation from Fatty Chen who was the start of everything. After suffering such a loss in the hands of Qin Fang, Fatty Chen had to at least shed blood. How else can he justify him getting beaten up so badly?
"I really…really don't have money….Ouch!"
Fatty Chen still wanted to stubbornly resist to the bitter end, but before he could finish saying his piece, he was kicked viciously by Strong Rat. At the same time, Strong Rat drew a dagger that had a cold sheen from his waist.
"Fatty Chen, stop ****ing with me. I tried to settle it courteously, but you refused. I have already said how much money I want, and I want it. Or else…your fingers would be saying their farewells to you…"
As Strong Rat was saying so cruelly, he also called his two lackeys to hold Fatty Chen down, while him himself was holding down Fatty Chen's hand. He then held the cold and sharp dagger towards Fatty Chen's fingers, and even brushed the edge lightly along Fatty Chen's fingers.
Fatty Chen immediately panicked. He could clearly feel the coldness of the edge of the dagger, and could slightly perceive the sensation of getting cut. However, he was too fat, and was also unable to move an inch due to being held down. Or else he would definitely have seen blood flowing from his fingers… (T/N: OMG how fat is he that even knife can't draw blood easily)
"I think this is going overboard already…"
Qin Fang was watching the show from the opposite road, but did not expect the show to slowly become more and more exaggerated. He thought that he would only see Fatty Chen getting beat up and lose some money from the extortion, but did not think that Strong Rat would be so cruel, and from the looks of things, really wanted to chop off Fatty Chen's fingers.
"Should I go and help Fatty Chen a bit?"
Qin Fang immediately started hesitating. Qin Fang was still a kind person. After seeing such an extreme situation, his feelings of compassion started showing.
"But, can I do it?"
Looking at the three gangsters at the opposite alley, other than the enemy's numerical advantage, Strong Rat also had a dagger, whilst Qin Fang himself was bare-handed. At most, he could only produce the [Hooligan's Brick] from his [Item Box]. However, if he rushed in from such a long distance, then before he could even bash somebody's head with his brick, he himself would already have been stabbed by the dagger.
"After getting hit by a chair, I lost 4 HP. However, how much HP would I lose if I get stabbed by a dagger?"
Such a question aroused in Qin Fang's heart.
He also glanced at the dumplings on his hands that had already gone cold. With two baskets of 6 dumplings each, he had a total of 12 dumplings, which meant he could recover 12 HP. If you add the 10 HP he had now into the mix, it would mean that he had 22 HP to use only.
Getting hit by a bench reduced HP by 4, but if one were to compare it with getting stabbed by a dagger, it was obvious which was more harmful.
"As long as the dagger does not stab into any vital parts, there shouldn't be any risk of losing my life, and thus would not consume my whole 10 HP at once. However, with 22 HP, I can at most take 3 stabs only…"
As Qin Fang thought about saving Fatty Chen, he also thought about how saving such a person was definitely not worth it. If he were to suffer an injury, then there would be lots of trouble. He still had a mother at home who was hoping for him to become successful. As he thought about all the cons, Qin Fang hesitated.
"Fatty Chen, I won't repeat myself anymore. I let you shed some blood so you will remember your predicament. If you still don't obey, then it wouldn't be as simple as letting your finger shed some blood anymore…"
As he said so, Strong Rat raised Fatty Chen's hand that was hurting, and all of the grisly hand's image was captured in the eyes of Fatty Chen.
This Strong Rat was truly cruel. His 'shedding some blood' was not targeted at only one finger, but all five of one of his hand. And from his actions, it seemed that even his unblemished hand would be shedding blood soon too.
"Don't! Don't! I will give the money…I will give it…"
Feeling the stabbing pain coming from his fingers, Fatty Chen was truly terrified. One of his hands had already become a red mess, and fresh blood was coming out as if it was free. If the blood continued flowing, then it wouldn't be surprising if Fatty Chen died from blood loss.
This was already a matter of life and death. Even the stubborn Fatty Chen who didn't want to surrender the money had no choice but to cry out panickedly and agree to Strong Rat's demands.
In this situation, if his wallet didn't bleed, then he would be the one to bleed…
"Quickly call, we don't have much patience anymore!"
Strong Rat threw Fatty Chen's phone at him, and the two lackeys also released Fatty Chen, though they didn't leave his side. Both of them sandwiched Fatty Chen, and didn't give him a chance to escape.
How could Fatty Chen even think about escaping? After shedding blood he was already terrified, and shakily received the phone, and called home.
"Little Xue, where's your aunt? What, not home? Where did she go? Play mahjong? Urgh, she will be the death of me…"
Fatty Chen called home, but the result greatly disappointed him. His wife went to play mahjong, and was not even home. Now the situation was grave. Without even remembering to end the call, he cautiously looked at Strong Rat, and said,
"Bro-Brother Strong, my wife is…is not home…"
"Who received the call just now?"
Strong Rat was also extremely vexed. He finally got Fatty Chen to agree after much difficulty, but didn't expect that his wife would not be home… He couldn't possibly go there himself, right? If he did, then Fatty Chen might violently retaliate.
"My niece who came from far away… she's staying in my house…" Fatty Chen said shakily.
"Then let her send the money."
"But…"
Unexpectedly, one could see a troubled expression on Fatty Chen's badly swollen face. Just as he was about to say something, his stomach got kicked by Strong Rat again.
"No buts. With money, then everything will be okay. No money…then your fingers would be leaving its host."
Now that he had already come this far, Strong Rat definitely would not leave without money. His tone was firm and did not leave room for negotiations. He instantly had Fatty Chen's back to the wall.
"Serves you right."
Though Qin Fang could not clearly hear what they said, he still could get the gist of it. If Fatty Chen was willing to pay the money, then he naturally would not lose his life. This let Qin Fang heart relax a little. However, towards the predicament Fatty Chen was in, he only gave those three words.
"Li-Little Xue, go to the kitchen…At blah blah blah there is an object that is wrapped up with tissue. Please bring that over for me. I'm at the alley beside Tranquil Sea University…En, yes yes, it's urgent…"
Under Strong Rat's coercion, Fatty Chen had no choice but to say so, and let his distant niece send the money to him.
"What do you know, this fatty knew how to hide his money from his wife…"
If the money was hidden in such a secretive way, it obviously was Fatty Chen's secret stash of money. The sum from one such stash was $10,000, and Qin Fang didn't think that Fatty Chen only had one stash…
Of course, whether he had more money stashed away or not had nothing to do with Strong Rat, and even more so with Qin Fang.
Only, Qin Fang noticed the subtle changes of the expressions on the three gangsters' face. He immediately thought of why he and Strong Rat fought in the first place, and was immediately worried about Fatty Chen's niece.