"This asshole wants to hit us head-on!" the bald boss yelled, lunging for the steering wheel. He yanked it hard, barely avoiding a collision as tires screeched against asphalt.
The three cars skidded to a halt, an eerie silence falling over the deserted road. Chu Ge turned to Liu Yanru, his voice calm despite the chaos. "Stay down and don't move."
As Chu Ge stepped out of the car, the bald man stumbled from his vehicle, face contorted with fear and rage. "You bastard! Is your pathetic salary worth dying for?"
Behind him, five burly men in black clothes fanned out, crackling electric batons held at the ready. Their leader sneered, "Boy, hand over the woman if you know what's good for you."
Chu Ge's eyes hardened, a predatory glint flashing across them. "Come and try," he growled, launching himself forward with the ferocity of a cornered tiger.
The fight was a blur of motion, Chu Ge moving with inhuman speed and precision. He dodged the first swing, snatching the baton and turning it on its owner. The man convulsed and dropped, twitching on the ground like a fish out of water.
Three more attackers converged on Chu Ge, but he was ready. Dropping low, he swept their legs out from under them in one fluid motion. Before they could recover, he'd relieved them of their weapons, leaving them stunned and defenseless.
The last man hesitated, fear evident in his eyes. Chu Ge seized the opportunity, disarming him with a lightning-fast strike to the wrist. As the man turned to flee, Chu Ge's baton found its mark, sending him crumpling to the ground.
The bald man watched in horror as his men fell in less than ten seconds. His confidence crumbled, replaced by cold dread. With trembling hands, he yanked open the car's trunk, revealing a shotgun.
Chu Ge's eyes widened. "Gun!" he yelled, diving behind a nearby car just as the first shots rang out. The car door erupted with bullet holes where he'd been standing moments before.
"The world's changed, boy," the bald man cackled, his fear giving way to manic glee. "No matter how tough you are, you can't beat a bullet!"
In the relative safety of Chu Ge's car, Liu Yanru huddled in fear, her hand clamped over her mouth to stifle any sound that might distract her protector.
"Aren't you worried about the consequences of using that gun?" Chu Ge called out, his mind racing for a solution.
The bald man laughed, a hollow, desperate sound. "After this job, I'll be long gone. You, on the other hand, will be fertilizing these flowers."
As the man inched closer, Chu Ge made his move. A single shot rang out, and the bald man collapsed with a scream, clutching his shattered kneecap.
Panicked, the injured man emptied his shotgun into the car, shattering windows and puncturing tires. When the gun clicked empty, terror flooded his face.
Chu Ge emerged from his cover, kicking away the fallen ammunition. He pressed his pistol to the man's forehead, his voice cold as ice. "Now, tell me who sent you. I'd hate for you to suffer unnecessarily."
The bald man, pain and fear etched on his face, spilled everything he knew between agonized gasps.
Later, as they drove back to the city, Liu Yanru broke the tense silence. "What... what did you do with them?" Her voice trembled slightly.
Chu Ge's face remained impassive, but a hint of something dark flickered in his eyes. "They were criminals with blood on their hands. What do you think I did?"
Liu Yanru's eyes widened in horror, her hand unconsciously moving to her throat.
Seeing her distress, Chu Ge's expression softened slightly. "Don't worry, boss. I didn't kill them myself." He tried to reassure her, but the ambiguity of his words hung heavy in the air.
Unknown to them, two figures emerged from the shadows at the scene of the fight.
"Boss, that woman is your stepmother," a burly man with a simple, honest face said to his companion. "You've got a heart of stone."
The younger man's fists clenched, his eyes burning with a hatred that seemed to consume him. "That bitch killed my father and kicked my sister out. I wish she were dead."
As they drove away, Chu Ge remained vigilant, his senses on high alert. He knew that this night's events were likely just the beginning of a much larger, more dangerous game. And as he glanced at Liu Yanru's troubled face, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was far more to his new boss than met the eye.