Facing Chen Liuhe's cold, indifferent gaze, the brute—who wouldn't have blinked at murder or arson—felt a wave of pure terror wash over him. Despite the excruciating pain drilling into his wrist, he held back and didn't dare take a single breath.
Chen Liuhe nodded in satisfaction, then turned around, walking over to the leader. With a casual smile on his face, he asked, "Do you have more accomplices?"
The middle-aged leader, the oldest of the three, looked at Tang Ren with sheer terror in his eyes. Compared to the young man before him, he realized that the three of them, who once thought themselves ruthless, were nothing. This youth was a true demon.
"Y-yes, we do, so you can't kill me," the man stammered, his voice trembling.
Chen Liuhe nodded again, and just when the man thought Chen Liuhe would show some hesitation, the smile on Chen Liuhe's face grew even brighter. "How unfortunate. I thrive on danger."
With that, Chen Liuhe grabbed the man's head and slammed it violently into the ground. A series of dull thuds echoed through the room, like the sound of death's bell ringing.
The man's head met the ground over and over, each impact solid and harsh. Within less than a minute, his head was a bloody mess, and blood pooled all around him. His initial screams and struggles faded to barely a whimper.
Silence. The room was dead silent. It was as if everyone had forgotten to breathe, suffocated by the thick air of terror. The sheer brutality of the scene was bone-chilling.
The sheer strength and ruthlessness Chen Liuhe displayed left everyone paralyzed with fear. No one dared feel even the slightest bit relieved, too terrified to risk provoking him, this violent, cold-hearted demon.
Sitting casually on the sofa, Chen Liuhe tossed a cigarette to Huang Baiwan. "Old Huang, here, calm your nerves." His smile returned to its lazy, casual look.
After lighting one for himself, Chen Liuhe glanced at the three men lying on the ground like dead dogs. He pulled out his phone and threw it in front of the bloodied leader, who was barely hanging on. "Call your buddy. Tell him to come over."
If he was going to make a move, it would be to eliminate them all in one go.
"There's no one else, just the three of us. We fled here to Hangzhou. I only said that earlier to save my skin," the leader wheezed out.
Chen Liuhe stared at him for a moment. He could easily tell whether someone was lying or not, and it was clear this man wasn't.
Nodding slightly, Chen Liuhe turned to a trembling security guard nearby. "Go get Qin Ruohan to come clean this up." The guard, as if receiving a royal pardon, bolted out the door, stumbling as he ran.
The others still squatted on the floor, too afraid to move. No one knew what this demon, more dangerous than a criminal on the run, was thinking.
"Manager Fu, was it fun?" Chen Liuhe asked, looking down at the crumpled Fu Jianfeng.
Fu Jianfeng, his face pale as a sheet, trembled all over. He didn't even dare look Chen Liuhe in the eye. He had no idea what kind of troublemaker Qin Ruohan had brought back, but whatever it was, he was stupid enough to try to cross this guy. Earlier, he had almost gotten everyone killed.
Now, all that filled his heart was pure fear. The fate of those three criminals was still fresh in his mind, and he feared he might be next.
"Fu Jianfeng, because of your recklessness today, you nearly got everyone here killed. Don't you think you deserve to die for that?" Chen Liuhe asked calmly.
"D-don't kill me! You can't kill me, please don't!" Fu Jianfeng was completely panicked, scooting backward as fast as he could. His pants were soaked through—Chen Liuhe had scared him so much he wet himself.
Everyone looked at Fu Jianfeng with disgust, and a trace of resentment flickered in their eyes. It was because of this guy that they had nearly lost their lives. If not for Chen Liuhe, they would probably all be dead by now.
Suddenly, they realized that Fu Jianfeng, the man they once viewed as powerful and capable, was absolutely pathetic compared to Chen Liuhe—utterly insignificant and despicable.
Chen Liuhe snorted with laughter. "Fu Jianfeng, trying to act tough without the skills to back it up? That's what we call an idiot, and that's exactly what you are."
Just as the words left his mouth, the door to the room swung open, and the overwhelming stench of blood made Qin Ruohan instinctively cover her nose, almost vomiting on the spot.
She looked around the room in shock. The blood and the severely injured bodies scattered across the floor made her heart race. The security guard had already given her a brief summary of what happened, but she hadn't expected it to be this bad.
Before she could say anything, Fu Jianfeng, who had been terrified to death, rushed toward her like she was his savior. "President Qin, help me! Chen Liuhe wants to kill me! He's a demon, a maniac! Please, help me!"
Qin Ruohan wrinkled her nose in disgust at the foul-smelling Fu Jianfeng but said nothing, her eyes drifting instead to Chen Liuhe, who was sitting casually on the sofa, smoking.
Chen Liuhe chuckled and shook his head. "Boss Qin, you sure have a team of skilled warriors under your command."
With that, he stood up and stretched lazily. "Now that you're here, I'll leave this mess for you to handle." Pointing to the three men on the floor, he added, "These three are dangerous criminals who've fled to Hangzhou. Whether you hand them over to the authorities or let them go, that's up to you."
"I've been busy enough for one day. Heading home now isn't considered leaving early, right?" Chen Liuhe glanced at his phone—it was just 8:30 PM.
Without waiting for Qin Ruohan's response, he casually strolled out of the room, leaving behind a scene of chaos he had personally crafted, as if it had nothing to do with him.
At the door, Chen Liuhe paused, looking back and gesturing to Huang Baiwan. Huang Baiwan quickly followed behind him. "Brother Liu, anything you need?"
Chen Liuhe lit another cigarette and, while walking, said, "Keep an eye on things here. Make sure those three scumbags don't cause any trouble." After a brief pause, he added, "And watch Qin Ruohan. That woman's not as simple as she seems. Let me know tomorrow how she deals with these three."
With his instructions given, Chen Liuhe waved him off and walked down the hallway. Huang Baiwan turned around and went back into the room.
Inside, those who had just started to relax after their brush with death tensed up again when they saw Huang Baiwan return. They immediately straightened up and acted cautiously.
To them now, Chen Liuhe and Huang Baiwan were no longer seen as losers or weaklings. These two were genuine tough guys. Huang Baiwan, at least, had a certain ruthlessness and guts that far surpassed theirs by miles.
And as for Chen Liuhe, they couldn't even begin to express the shock he had left them with. He was someone who seemed unassuming, but had turned out to be a force beyond their wildest imaginations.
What's the true mark of a badass? It's when someone you think is a total idiot suddenly transforms into someone you could never hope to reach, no matter how hard you try.
Qin Ruohan slowly calmed herself down, her brows furrowing in thought as countless ideas flashed through her mind. After a few moments of silence, she spoke up. "Take the injured to the hospital and clean up the blood."
Glancing at everyone in the room, she added, "Once you walk out of this room, I expect all of you to forget everything that happened here. No one is to speak a word of this to anyone, and no one is to call the police."
Upon hearing this, Huang Baiwan frowned deeply and instinctively reminded her, "President Qin, Brother Liu's instructions were to hand them over to the authorities. These three are dangerous criminals. You should think twice."
If anyone else had questioned her like that, Qin Ruohan would have reprimanded them without hesitation. But Huang Baiwan was different—his close relationship with Chen Liuhe made her tread carefully.
Softening her tone, she said, "Old Huang, it's not that I don't want to, but you know how sensitive the entertainment industry is. If word of this gets out, our club could be shut down in an instant."
Hearing this, Huang Baiwan fell silent. She wasn't wrong, though he couldn't help but worry she had other motives.
He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, kept quiet.
"Old Huang, I'll personally explain everything to Chen Liuhe," Qin Ruohan reassured him.
Then, putting on a more authoritative face, she addressed the group again. "Remember what I said earlier. The club will compensate everyone for the shock you experienced tonight, but if anyone speaks out and causes trouble for the club, I will hold them accountable."
"Now, take the injured to the hospital," she said, turning to leave the room with Huang Baiwan supervising the aftermath.
"President Qin, President Qin!" Before she had
taken more than a few steps, Fu Jianfeng desperately rushed toward her, kneeling before her with a pitiful expression. "President Qin, I beg you, forgive me this once! Please don't fire me!"
Qin Ruohan looked at him coldly, the anger in her heart welling up. If it weren't for this cowardly fool, none of tonight's chaos would have happened.
"Fu Jianfeng, don't make me say it twice. Get out of this club right now! You're fired!"