The road to the orphanage was a tiny, poorly maintained pothole-ridden pathway. Its surroundings were overgrown with underbrushes, unkempt, and infested with bugs. As cynical as it might have sounded, there was an artistic touch to a young and old man walking on a muddy path with puddles.
After walking a short distance, Qin Feng's body was alerted. He somehow had a sensation of imminent danger approaching. Just as he had expected, three young men were coming closer. Looking to be in their twenties, they were rather tall and muscular. Tattoos lined their backs, giving off an uncomfortable vibe.
Suddenly, Qin Feng and the director could hear footsteps approaching from their backs. At the same time, Lin Derong stopped in his tracks as well. His face started to cringe, and he too could sense that something was amiss.
"Hehe… old man. I'm in need of money. Give me everything you have right now!"
The young man who led the gang of three grinned, showing a set of disgusting, half-yellowed teeth. At the same time, he was flashing and flicking around his Swiss Army knife provocatively in his hand. Rage welled from within Qin Feng as he glared at them with cold eyes.
Liu Meng!
Before his rebirth into this world, this was the person who had killed Lin Derong. Now, he was an S-tier criminal. Having prior knowledge about what was about to take place, Qin Feng actually turned up to protect Lin Derong. Who would have known that Liu Meng would only come looking for Lin Derong after Qin Feng had the Asteroid Assimilation Technique with him. Fate, sometimes, was a funny thing.
"Young man, I'm just an old man. I don't have much with me!" Lin Derong said sternly in a determined manner.
Holding the director's position in an orphanage was enough to prove that Lin Derong was too old for combat. In terms of experience, Lin Derong had been through a lot more when compared to Liu Meng, which explained why he was not afraid of the youth's threats. He would never give in to the demands of robbers.
"You better play nice! You f*cking old bastard! You seriously think I didn't hear about a certain someone donating one million to the orphanage half a month ago? Give me the money now!" shouted Liu Meng, who was growing impatient.
This was actually true. Half a month ago, someone rich did indeed donate one million to Lin Derong. However, it was Lin Derong himself who had requested the funds. During that time, a large number of children were in dire need of vaccinations. Ever since the first space rift appeared in this world, waves of young children were killed by a mysterious disease.
To make matters worse, an antibiotic vaccine did not come cheap. It was upwards of 5,000 yuan for a single injection. One million could only pay for 200 children. Fortunately, the orphanage was under the government's care, and for the sake of welfare, Lin Derong was only required to pay half the regular price for each injection. In the end, 400 of his children managed to receive life-saving vaccinations.
All one-million of the donation money had been spent on these injections. Orphanages were institutions that required constant infusions of funds and donations to run well. Though it was under the government's care, a growing number of government officers wished that the orphanage did not exist.
"I have spent off all the one-million! Even if I have it, what makes you think that I have it with me right now?" asked Lin Derong with a smile while secretly getting himself ready for a fight.
The four three that followed behind Liu Meng were low-tier lackeys that terrorized the area, extorting money for their head, Liu Meng. Out of fear, most of their victims would eventually succumb to their will. Hence, they were surprised that Lin Derong, an elderly man, was bold enough to go against them. To them, Lin Derong and Qin Feng were just lame ducks, what looked like a quick and easy smash-and-grab job.
"Let's show them a good time since they refused our kindness!"
Liu Meng swung his hand, signifying his goons to trash Lin Derong.
"Beat him up real good! We need to teach him a lesson he won't forget! If he still fails to give me the money tomorrow, we will go to the orphanage and kill each of those children one by one!"
Lin Derong was filled with anger when he Liu Meng's ruthless banter. With clenched fists, his face had turned beet red, and he was trembling as well.
"You're nothing but a dumb director of an orphanage! How a low scum like you dare show such arrogance to us is beyond me!"
"Beat him up!"
A few days ago, the well-heeled financier who had donated to the orphanage made a piece of news out of it. Hoping to take every dishonorable advantage of the weak, they found themselves a 'business opportunity,' planning to take full control of the orphanage. They knew that it was run by mostly volunteers and commoners and had no problem stepping on their heads. Their ultimate goal was to siphon them off of all the donations they received.
It was too much of a coincidence that these thugs came to him after the money had been spent, laying suspicion that everyone was connected to a one person, their 'generous' benefector.
Before they could even do all of that, they had to first make sure to make that Lin Derong succumbed to them. Immediately, one of the thugs charged at Lin Derong, attempting to land him with a tight slap. Considering that the thug had an Ancient Warrior Disposition, a regular slap that was without inner force was already powerful enough to knock off a mouthful of teeth.
Immediately, Lin Derong lifted up his arms in defense. He had closed his eyes, waiting for the moment of impact, when a hand suddenly intervened, protecting him from his assailant.
Klak!
Qin Feng broke the thug's arm without any hesitation.
"Arghhhh!!!"
The thug let out a painful wail. He had never expected someone as powerful as Qin Feng would be here to protect Lin Derong. Qin Feng too had no intention of letting them live and swiftly punched the thug's stomach with the great force of his left hand. Seconds later, the thug could feel his inner force being forcefully sucked away from him. Now, he lay there shaking uncontrollably as if being electrocuted by a bolt of lightning. Since his inner force had been drained by Qin Feng, he was left powerless and was sent flying.
BAM!
He landed three meters away from where he was standing. Motionless, he seemed to be dead. The entire incident happened within a few seconds. Before they could even recover from the shock, Qin Feng carried on his attack, proceeding to another thug. He lifted his leg and landed a head-smashing kick on the thug. At the same time, he thrust his fist on Liu Meng without any mercy!
Hakk!
Liu Meng did not expect a seemingly impoverished young man like Qin Feng was actually an awakened Ancient Warrior, and his Neigong was way more powerful than his. Seeing that his followers were killed with only a single hit, he immediately tried to summon his inner force, trying to shield off Qin Feng's furious attack.
"Kill this son of the bitch!!!" shouted Liu Meng.
"I dare you!" retorted Lin Derong.
The two thugs behind Liu Meng charged at Qin Feng with the intention of killing him.
"This must be a joke! Let's who stays dead in the end! How dare you guys attack the director of an orphanage! Die!"
"Asteroid Assimilation!"
An enormous amount of inner force exuded from Qin Feng's body, steaming out with a greenish aura. With the skill now activated, his Neigong surrounded him like a raging vortex. The four persons that attempted to attack Qin Feng were unable to move with their hands halfway in the air! None of them could take another step forward. Some even started to move involuntarily.
Qin Feng's current strength was at G5-tier, and the thugs that attacked him were probably G1 or G2-tier. That would mean their inner force was significantly weaker than Qin Feng. Resistance was futile. It was simply impossible for them to defeat him. Seconds later, they realized their inner force slowly getting drained by Qin Feng.
"Get lost!"
When the draining process was completed, Qin Feng released his inner force sending all four of them flying with a mighty whoosh! As his assailants were being blown away, he saw a dagger flying in the sky. Immediately, he kicked it towards Liu Meng's throat. This time, Qin Feng was not about to suppress his murderous intention anymore.
Liu Meng had to die, no matter what!