Scarface, whose real name was Zhou Hu, was a ruthless man. In his youth, he followed a gang leader, always dreaming of rising through the ranks. During a violent clash, he took a knife for his boss, expecting recognition and promotion. Instead, that very night, after securing the new territory, his boss died of alcohol poisoning on the way to the hospital.
Meanwhile, Zhou Hu was still lying in a hospital bed.
His facial and bodily injuries kept him hospitalized for two days.
He had assumed his boss would cover the medical expenses and visit him.
Instead, due to his boss's untimely demise, Zhou Hu had to pay for everything himself. He even attended the funeral and gave 500 yuan as a condolence gift.
What a loss! What a huge loss!
From that day forward, he knew there was no future in following someone else. He had to go it alone to make something of himself.
"Brother Hu, what do we do?" his underling asked nervously.
Zhou Hu would not tolerate anyone jeopardizing his plans. He couldn't let this guy go; if he called the police, all their efforts would be wasted.
He narrowed his eyes, focusing on Lin Fan. In a flash, he pulled out his gun and aimed it at Lin Fan.
Bang!
He fired without hesitation.
He wasn't a wanton killer, but in this situation, shooting was the most sensible course of action.
The gunshot was masked by the ship's horn and the lapping waves.
Smoke curled from the gun's muzzle.
He'd given the guy a lead pill. Logically, a vibrant blood flower should be blooming on the guy's chest, followed by a confused and unwilling collapse to the ground.
Lin Fan looked down, noticing a hole in his shirt. He frowned. "Why did you ruin my clothes?"
Zhou Hu stared in disbelief. Impossible. How could this be?
He looked at his gun.
A thought crossed his mind: Could that scoundrel have sold him a faulty weapon?
He fired at Lin Fan repeatedly. Bang! Bang! Bang! The sounds echoed, but Lin Fan remained standing there, completely unharmed.
"You're so rude," Lin Fan said.
The underling tugged at Zhou Hu's arm, fear in his voice. "Boss, he… he's not human, is he? I saw on the news that there are evil creatures in Yanhai City. No one should be here, and he…"
Zhou Hu's face paled. A thought flashed through his mind like lightning. Despite his hardened exterior, earned from years of living on the edge, he felt a surge of panic.
"Let's go! We're leaving!"
In the blink of an eye, the two scrambled into the van, started the engine, and sped off with a screech of tires, disappearing around a corner.
Lin Fan walked over to the tycoon's son and crouched down, looking at him curiously, a smile on his face. Calmly, he asked,
"Do you need help?"
The boy struggled, his eyes darting around, as if saying, "Can't you see I can't talk? And my hands and feet are tied! Untie me, please!"
"Lin Fan, why is it so noisy?"
Old Zhang opened his eyes blearily, confused. The commotion had woken him from his sleep.
"He needs help," Lin Fan replied.
The two squatted in front of the boy.
Lin Fan untied the ropes and ripped off the tape covering his mouth.
"Ouch!" The tycoon's son rubbed his sore lips.
He was just a child, around seven years old, wearing a black school uniform, his hair slicked back in a neat style.
He looked every bit the rich kid.
"Thank you for saving me. My name is Qian Xiaobao. I'm very rich, and very loyal. I'll repay you."
Qian Xiaobao found the kidnapping rather exciting, not frightening at all.
It was actually quite nice not having bodyguards around.
Usually, he was surrounded by them, even the school entrance was swarming with his security detail.
He wasn't planning on contacting his family just yet. He wanted to have some fun outside.
"I'll take you somewhere fun, want to go?" Qian Xiaobao asked.
Lin Fan wasn't particularly keen. He remembered the way home, which was just across the bridge.
He missed home.
"Sure, sure!" Old Zhang was curious about new and exciting places.
He really wanted to go.
"Lin Fan, let's go have some fun."
He tugged at Lin Fan's arm, pleading. Even without Lin Fan saying anything, he knew what he was thinking.
"Hmm… alright."
Lin Fan thought for a moment. Since Old Zhang wanted to go, he couldn't refuse, even though he really wanted to go home.
Inside the city, at an arcade…
Old Zhang and Qian Xiaobao sat flushed, facing a '97 King of Fighters' arcade machine. The buttons clicked and clacked as the on-screen characters traded blows.
However, for Old Zhang, who was new to video games, he was no match for Qian Xiaobao.
'K.O.!'
Qian Xiaobao gloated, "See? I'm a pro! I beat you without even losing any health."
Old Zhang looked dejectedly at Lin Fan. "Avenge me."
"Okay," Lin Fan said.
Their boisterous playing had attracted the arcade owner's attention. He grumbled, "Can you three, two adults and a kid, be quieter? These machines are expensive. Will you pay if you break them?"
He'd noticed them earlier.
The kid was dressed smartly.
As for the two adults, well, their clothes were… questionable, and they had tags hanging around their necks.
Qingshan Mental Hospital?
Cosplaying, huh?
They were clearly crazy.
Qian Xiaobao pulled out a bank card from his pocket and tossed it onto a nearby machine. "The PIN is six eights. Swipe 100,000 yuan. And don't bother me."
At such a young age, he had already reached the realm of treating money like dirt.
Remarkable.
The owner frowned at the bank card but didn't say anything more. He took the card and walked away.
Lin Fan and Qian Xiaobao sat side-by-side, choosing their characters.
"My character is super strong. I'll K.O. you with a combo. Just watch," Qian Xiaobao boasted.
Arcade games were a foreign concept to Lin Fan. He'd never played one before. But Old Zhang wanted revenge, and he had to deliver, so he had to win.
The game started.
Lin Fan pressed the buttons tentatively. He was no match for Qian Xiaobao and was quickly K.O.'d.
One round…
Two rounds…
…
By the time the owner returned with carefully prepared colas, a subservient smile plastered on his face,
"Here are your drinks, sirs."
"And your card."
Even his form of address had changed. How realistic.
He was utterly shocked. Just whose child was this? He was incredibly extravagant. 100,000 yuan! How many game tokens would he have to sell to earn that much?
A veritable god of wealth.
He absolutely had to keep them happy.
"Put it down and leave us alone. Go away," Qian Xiaobao said impatiently. He was having too much fun dominating his opponent.
The owner bowed and scraped, nodding repeatedly, then returned to the counter, beaming at the balance on his phone.
Tenth round!
K.O.!
Qian Xiaobao opened his mouth to laugh, but the sight before him made him swallow his amusement. He didn't dare utter a word.
Bang!
Lin Fan stood up and punched a hole straight through the arcade machine's screen, exposing the wires inside.
He'd lost too badly.
He wasn't angry, he just wanted to ask the character in the game why he kept losing.
"Sorry, got a little carried away," Lin Fan said, retracting his hand apologetically.
Qian Xiaobao stared at the shattered screen, then slowly turned to Lin Fan.
Are you a sore loser?