"Yang Chen, did you prepare the money we asked for yesterday? We're waiting to go for breakfast and drinks," Chen Feng jingled a silver chain in his hand and approached with a sneer.
Old Li became anxious and stood in front of Yang Chen, shouting, "Chen Feng, don't push us too far! Even though your dad is one of the top gangsters in the west district, what right do you have to collect protection fees? Chen Lao Da said that those who don't have shops don't need to pay protection fees. Do you think we don't know?"
Chen Feng's father, Chen Dehai, was one of the top gang leaders in the west district. If not for his father's position, Chen Feng wouldn't have dared to collect protection fees so brazenly. Hearing Old Li trying to use his father to pressure him, a cold light flashed in Chen Feng's eyes. "Old man, who do you think you are...? Do you think mentioning my father makes me afraid of you? That's my father, not your grandson! I'm collecting protection fees because I'm doing you a favor. Don't refuse to eat and then complain about being hungry later!"
"You..." Old Li realized he almost offended Chen Lao Da, Chen Feng's father. After all, they were father and son. What was he? But he couldn't swallow this insult. Just as he was about to say something else for Yang Chen, he was pulled back from behind by Yang Chen.
Yang Chen frowned, rubbed his forehead and then pulled Old Li behind him. He said calmly to Chen Feng, "Your name is... Chen Feng, right? I'll call you Brother Feng. Don't make trouble for no reason. I'm a person who dislikes trouble. I don't have the money with me today. I'll give it to you in a few days. You can go back for now."
"Hey!" One of Chen Feng's henchmen laughed, "Brother Feng, this kid thinks he's the boss! He tells us to go back, and we go back?"
The other hooligans also laughed wildly, even shouting, "Let's teach this kid a lesson!"
Chen Feng seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world, but he was actually furious at Yang Chen's words. He sneered and said, "Yang Chen...say that again, and I'll cut your tongue off..." His words were filled with a hint of brutality.
Yang Chen's impatient expression suddenly turned cold, and he looked at Chen Feng with complex eyes and said, "Do you know what I hate the most?"
"Wha..." Before Chen Feng could finish his question, he suddenly felt his body lifted up into the air! Immediately, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen, and his body slammed into the pile of garbage by the side of the road with a loud "bang"! The debris of vegetable leaves and fish scraps corroded his entire body, and his clothes were soaked in rotten water!
"I hate being threatened the most..." Yang Chen said as if he had just casually pushed Chen Feng. He stood where Chen Feng had been standing and retracted his outstretched palm.
Chen Feng was thrown into disarray by this push and hit. The smell of blood from his mouth and nose mixed with the stench of the garbage pile, causing him to gag instantly!
"Dare to hit our boss Feng, you're asking for death!"
"Beat him to death!"
Several gangsters who hadn't yet understood the situation saw their boss being beaten up and, relying on their numbers, rushed forward with punches and kicks!
Yang Chen didn't bother to look at them. No matter how they punched and kicked, he caught their limbs with his palm and dragged them to the side of the road. The gangsters felt a tremendous force grip their hands or feet, and their bodies were thrown into the air uncontrollably. They all hit the hard concrete ground, screaming in pain.
The crowd realized they couldn't win as they saw not a single hair on Yang Chen's head was harmed. Even Chen Feng, who had just climbed out of the dumpster, was sweating profusely! He had witnessed the skills of some retired special forces soldiers from his father's hand, and every one of them was a top ace under his father's command, effortlessly taking on ten men. But even those men didn't possess such strength and speed, easily tossing five or six people away as if they were throwing out stray cockroaches and ants. It should be noted that although these small hooligans had not practiced martial arts, they had been fighting all their lives, and how could an ordinary person beat them?
"Let's go!" Although Chen Feng was angry, he couldn't care less about his face. At the moment he saw Yang Chen's calm face, he was as frightened as if he had seen a ghost, hastily beckoning a few of his henchmen and running away.
Old Li and some onlookers cheered as they saw Yang Chen's skills. These small hooligans were accustomed to bullying and vendors were afraid of them, but Yang Chen's actions today naturally gave them a release of anger. However, these people also dared not get too close to Yang Chen. After all, Chen Feng wasn't scary, but if his father Chen Dehai came to deal with Yang Chen, they were all worried they'd be implicated.
Old Li was extremely excited, "I didn't expect you, Yang, to be so skilled. Did you learn martial arts before?"
"Well...I learned a little," Yang Chen didn't want to say much. In fact, if Chen Feng hadn't pushed him too far, offending his bottom line, he wouldn't have been willing to fight in the bustling market. However, as he told Chen Feng, he had his principles--he hated being threatened! Perhaps, such a quirk, even if he wanted to live a low-key life, couldn't be erased because he had the dignity of a strong person!
Mr. Li saw that Yang Chen didn't want to say much, so he stopped asking and started to worry. "Xiao Yang, you may have beaten Chen Feng, but what if he brings his father Chen Dehai? You know, Chen Dehai is one of the two big gangs in our western district, an important figure in the Western Alliance. No one dares to mess with him around here!"
"The Western Alliance?" Yang Chen chuckled unconcernedly. Suddenly, he turned to Mr. Li and asked, "Got a cigarette?"
Seeing Yang Chen's indifferent attitude, Mr. Li could only sigh and say, "Didn't you say you were going to quit smoking?"
"Forget it, I'll keep smoking. I feel uncomfortable without a cigarette after fighting," Yang Chen sighed silently. He had never intended to get involved with these people from the Western Alliance. That's why he had been avoiding contact with Rose. But he didn't expect to find himself on the front line of the conflict with them.
Mr. Li took out a pack of cheap cigarettes from his pocket and lit one for Yang Chen. "When you're poor, you have to choose the cheapest cigarettes. This one is strong, but just make do with it."
"Hiss..." Yang Chen took a deep drag and smiled, "Not bad, I like it strong."
"Young man, you should smoke less, it's not good for your health," Mr. Li kindly advised.
Yang Chen smiled slightly, thinking to himself, "If smoking could harm my body, I would have wasted years of practice."
After a short break, they both went back to work. Yang Chen started to heat up the lamb skewers, and started to grill the raw ones over the charcoal. He even took a skewer for himself, treating it as breakfast. Although the work was dirty, it was done with gusto, and he occasionally grinned at the surrounding vendors.
But soon, a police car came from a distance, and two policemen and a police officer in a white shirt got out of the car and walked towards Yang Chen with a serious expression.
The leading police officer asked coldly, "Are you Yang Chen?"