"What are you... Let me go... let go of me..."
From behind Zhang Ziwen, a faint girl's voice could be heard amidst the deafening music. If he hadn't been paying attention, he wouldn't have been able to hear it at all, yet, for some reason, he caught it.
Zhang Ziwen turned to see that against the wall were several bizarre-looking, hooligan-like youngsters, roughly grabbing at two girls. Surrounded by men and women rocking and twisting to their own rhythm, no one seemed surprised with the scene in front of them.
"Let go... What are you doing... Don't touch me... You stinking hooligan." One of the girls, struggling forcefully, yelled and cursed.
"Heh heh... We brothers have taken a fancy to you, so be good and come have some fun with us," one of the hoodlums sneered, refusing to let go of her arm.
"No... Let go… We're not going anywhere... Please let us go…"
"Shit, make a scene and see how I'll deal with you later!"
The two girls, powerless against a few healthy and robust gangsters, were dragged towards Zhang Ziwen's table, which was on their way to the door.
Soon, the two girls who were being manhandled were dragged up to Zhang Ziwen. They looked young, their faces innocent and quaint. Judging by their attire, they were probably still in school. No wonder these hooligans were after them. Why on earth did these two students come to such a place to let off some steam?
One of the girls, upon seeing how Zhang Ziwen was looking at them, struggled mightily and desperately clung to the high chair that Zhang Ziwen was sitting on. In her beautiful eyes, there was an unspoken plea. It was incredibly pitiful.
Zhang Ziwen sighed privately, realizing he would have to involve himself in this situation.
"Hey, fellas, where are you taking my sisters?" he joked as he stood up and greeted the hooligans.
The gangsters paused, thrown off by Zhang Ziwen's greeting. The two hooligans holding the girls unconsciously loosened their grips slightly, giving an opportunity for both girls to break free and hide behind Zhang Ziwen. They clutched his clothes tightly, like a lifeline, refusing to let go.
"Are these your sisters?" A hooligan with a monkey-like face glared at Zhang Ziwen, his gaze threatening.
"Yes, indeed they are my sisters," Zhang Ziwen answered seriously.
"Shit, man, are you trying to fool us?" asked another hooligan, this one looking more like a pig, his eyes filled with menace.
The two hooligans made a strange pair: one skinny as a monkey, the other fat as a pig. The rest of the gang looked more normal but their attire and hairstyles left a lot to be desired. The entire group, standing off to one side, presented an intimidating image of a bunch of hooligans and thugs.
Joining in the pig-faced hooligan, the monkey-faced thug said, "Buddy, you can't fool us. Hand over the girls." Pointing his eerie grin towards the girls hiding behind Zhang Ziwen.
"What? What did you say? I can't hear you clearly." In the blaring music, Zhang Ziwen shouted back, pretending not to have heard him.
"Shit! My brother said to hand over the girls," pig-face yelled at Zhang Ziwen.
"Oh... hand over? Whom should I hand over?"
"Shit! Are you pretending not to know?"
"Who should I screw? Your mom? Nah, she's too old. Not interested," Zhang Ziwen, while sounding cheerful, had counted seven hooligans in total.
Furious, pig-face shouted, "You're seeking your own death!" Rushing forward to grab Zhang Ziwen's clothes, he prepared to strike.
Zhang Ziwen moved swiftly. With a slight twist to pig-face's wrist, a cracking sound signaled the dislocation of the wrist joint. The severe pain contorted pig-face's face, and as Zhang Ziwen released his grip, pig-face was brought to his knees in agony.
Zhang Ziwen's counter-attack was lightning-fast; monkey-face and his gang hadn't realized what had happened. Pig-face was now on his knees, moaning in pain as his fellow gangsters began to circle around Zhang Ziwen.
Zhang Ziwen shrugged off the grasp of the two girls and steeled himself, strategizing on how to quickly deal with this gang of hooligans.
"Monkey... this guy's tough... be... careful." Pig-face, still squatting, groaned a warning to monkey-face.
So, this guy was nicknamed Monkey. It was a fitting nickname.
"Hey guys, bring it on!" Monkey hollered, yanking out his belt and lunging at Zhang Ziwen followed by a few others with broken beer bottles charging at him, all aiming for his head, clearly out for blood.
In the instant Monkey made his move, Zhang Ziwen launched a powerful kick towards him, hitting him straight in the chest. A subtle sound of bone cracking echoed through the room as Monkey was sent flying. At the same time, Zhang Ziwen's fists quickly connected with the flying beer bottles. The sound of glass shattering filled the room as the pieces of broken glass flew in every direction.
As the two thugs stood stupefied, gripping their shattered bottles, Zhang Ziwen sprang into action. With an iron grip, he grabbed their wrists and snapped their shoulders. The sounds of crunching bones echoed through the air as the two thugs crumpled to the ground.
Three were left. One responded quickly, dropping his bottle and fleeing as Zhang Ziwen charged. The last two thugs were powerless as he struck like lightning, a flurry of intimate punches and kicks. As one fell, the other was sent flying, unable to get back up.
Zhang Ziwen estimated it took about thirty seconds. Damn, he was rusty from not fighting in a while.
Against these ordinary thugs, Zhang Ziwen a year ago could have taken out seven in fifteen seconds, averaging two seconds to send one stumbling. He was a little dissatisfied with his current speed.
The pulsating club music stopped when Zhang Ziwen sent the last thug flying. The lights brightened, alerting the club's management. A couple of bouncers moved to encircle him, knowing that a death on their hands would mean the end of their club.
The dancing men and women paused their wild gyrations to watch the spectacle. Some, high from drugs, stared dazedly, heads swaying, seeing double. The violent scene must have looked pretty grand to them.
The well-dressed bouncers with earpieces didn't dare to stop Zhang Ziwen. Who would dare approach, given the injured thugs groaning on the floor? Besides, Zhang Ziwen was careful not to damage public property.
Leading the way, Zhang Ziwen exited the club with the two girls closely following. The night air felt so much better. Lighting a cigarette, he took a deep draw. His annoyance from the day had evaporated. While not a violent man, he did see the benefits of a bit of exercise.
Zhang Ziwen could feel the girls' admiring gaze. He casually exhaled a smoke ring and flashed them a charming smile. He noticed the girls' eyes brighten, particularly the stunning beauty whose gaze seemed to hold a hint of affection. The charm of a beautiful girl was indeed lethal.
"Thank you," the beautiful girl said shyly, "We don't know what would have happened without you."
Zhang Ziwen nodded, "You should avoid places like this in the future. Not everyone's that lucky." He couldn't help but warn them.
"We won't come back. Tonight was terrifying. Still feels like a nightmare," the beautiful girl said with her delicate tongue, looking irresistibly adorable.
"Good. Now, go home," Zhang Ziwen said, taking another drag of his cigarette, ready to leave.
"Wait…" the beautiful girl tugged at his clothes, "Could you walk us home? We're still scared."
"Yes, our school is not far from here. Please accompany us," the other girl pleaded.
Zhang Ziwen couldn't refuse when two lovely girls begged, could he?
"Alright, I'll walk you home," he quickly agreed. Helping the vulnerable and playing the hero were rare opportunities, dependent on luck. It seemed that his luck was pretty good.
Upon hearing Zhang Ziwen's agreement, the girls cheered. They linked arms with him, guiding him cheerfully.
"What's your name?" the lively beautiful girl turned to ask him.
"Oh... Why not just let me do a good deed without leaving a name?" Zhang Ziwen teased.
"No…" Both girls said in unison, the beautiful one coaxing him, "Tell us, please…"
Zhang Ziwen felt his arm against the girl's chest; full, soft, and a touch firm. These young girls didn't have any restraint and he was indeed a man in his prime.
Suppressing the desire within, he coughed, "You should tell me your names first."
"Alright, I am Tang Shu." "And I am Chen Ya." They introduced themselves.
The beautiful girl was Tang Shu and the elegant one was Chen Ya. The girls' character matched their names.
"We've told you our names. It's your turn," Tang Shu wheedled, rubbing her chest against his arm again until Zhang Ziwen couldn't take it anymore.
"Alright... I will tell you then, you two little flirts. My name is Zhang Ziwen. You can call me Brother Zhang, ha ha."
"Zhang Ziwen…" Both girls murmured his name.
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All men want to be a hero, though in reality, most would avoid this kind of situation and only watch from afar. However, one must believe in the sense of justice within.