"Remember this well, son: to protect what you hold dear, you must be so lethal that no one would ever dare touch what's yours."
"You have to fight back against those who attack you. No matter how much blood you see, don't stop until you're sure your enemy won't stand again. If you know they'll never surrender, then make sure they never walk again."
"Yes, Father, I'll do just that," Max replied, pulling a black knife from his jacket. Had his father ever told him to show mercy? No, his father had always told him to be offensive, to be fiercely aggressive against anyone who tried to harm him.
It was true that this didn't stop his father from dying at the hands of thieves, but even to the end, he fought all of them, no matter the outcome.
"Let's satisfy my addiction a little."
With these words, Max made his way to the stairs leading to the exit. If he was right, some of them would get out of the car while others stayed back to wait.
"There shouldn't be more than three coming. In that case, I can handle them before my trainer arrives."
The only way to resolve this was to confront them and end it once and for all. If he didn't, those creeps would most likely come after Tory or wait for her outside her home. Max couldn't let that happen, so he knew he had to find the leader and make sure he didn't get away.
If they were smart, a few would be coming through the door or just getting out of the car. Max knew he had to be strategic, engaging them in a closed space to keep them from pulling a gun.
In a knife fight, the only way to win is to wrap part of your clothing around an arm. Done right, you can use one hand to block the blade while keeping the other free to eliminate threats.
While the best advice is always to run, when that's not an option, these little tricks can get a person out of trouble.
"I hope they're not armed." Max walked forward and stood at the base of the stairs, waiting patiently for those creeps to approach.
"Here they come."
Max pretended to pick something off the ground, leaning casually against the school entrance. The knife in his hand was hidden from view, while his other hand, tucked under his jacket, rested over his chest.
Clink!
A soda can was thrown to the ground.
Max watched as three figures approached. The two thugs, large and tattooed, walked out laughing and joking. However, their laughter turned to silence as they realized they weren't alone.
But Max, making strange sounds and hunching over in an odd posture, quickly diffused their suspicion.
"Got any change?" Max rasped, his voice hoarse and lethargic, acting like any other junkie needing money for another fix. The performance was convincing, and since the gang members were high, they paid him little mind.
"Get lost, you junkie!"
"That chick's so hot, bro; when I get my hands on her, she'll scream like the skank she is!"
"And how the hell are you going to find her if you don't even know where she lives?" The first guy hadn't been at the store earlier, but the one behind him was the same guy who had harassed Tory before Max showed up.
Max, with adrenaline pounding in his chest, waited for the perfect moment to strike. He knew those two men—the same ones who had threatened that girl—would soon reach him.
"I told your friend not to come looking for me." Max rose from his crouched position with unexpected speed. His right hand held a knife that glinted in the light and his senses were heightened, ready for a fight. His intense gaze met the surprise and fear in the eyes of the first man standing before them. Without another word, Max lunged at them.
"It's this son of a—!"
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The first thug, tall and muscular, tried to react, but Max was faster. With a precise twist of his wrist, his knuckles struck the man's jaw like a bullet, delivering five more crushing blows. A scream of agony shattered the silence as the thug dropped to the ground, completely unconscious.
"Son of a..."
Max didn't even flinch as hot blood spattered from the thug's nose and mouth; his instincts kicked in, and his eyes locked onto his next target.
The second man, smaller but agile, moved quickly, throwing a wild punch toward Max. He managed to hit him on the cheek, but Max barely staggered as he watched the man he had stabbed lying motionless on the ground.
"Hello again, gang dog..." Max was unrecognizable under the fury filling his body, quickly returning the blow he was receiving, and his left fist struck the gangster's nose, causing blood to spurt in a stream.
The first man, who had been lying on the ground, struggled to get up, wielding his own knife. Max, with his reflexes at full speed, crouched just in time to dodge the slash aimed at his face, then retaliated with a kick to the gangster's stomach, right where he had been stabbed twice. The man fell back to the ground, gasping and struggling to breathe.
The second gangster, with a broken nose and eyes full of rage, lunged at Max with a knife in hand. Max, with quick and precise movements, blocked the attack with his own knife, disarming him just as his hand struck the gangster's throat. With astonishing agility, Max spun around and plunged his knife into the man's leg in front of him, causing him to let out a groan of agony before collapsing to the ground.
Breathing heavily, Max surveyed the disaster in the bleachers and quickly took out his phone, calling his uncle: "I have three; one should've stayed in the car parked outside."
"Don't get involved, I'll take care of it." His trainer, with a calm voice, quickly parked his vehicle.
"I should've called the police..." Jean rushed up the stairs while pulling out his gun and attaching a silencer.
Crack!
Upon reaching the residential area, Max, who had looted the two unconscious men, saw out of the corner of his eye a figure dressed similarly and poised to attack.
"Cesar?" shouted the man from a distance, and when he saw all that blood, he immediately pulled out his gun. But at that moment, a silent blow struck his neck, knocking him unconscious!
"Never finish something when you know damn well you have another enemy still in the area, stupid kid." Jean stepped out from the corner of a hallway and, after seeing the corpses, showed a look of disgust. "This is a fucking disaster; good thing I came prepared."
"Nice to see you, coach. How's the family?"
"Haha, haha, now you ask about something you don't care about? I guess Japan really messed up your brain. How can you do this in broad daylight?" Jean asked while dragging the bodies and piling them up in a corner.
"What do we do about the blood?" Max asked, still a little stunned thinking about the consequences.
"It's just ketchup..." Jean pulled out a large bottle of ketchup and began spreading it across all the bleachers. After emptying the bottle, he tossed it aside and walked to the street so the people coming with him could take the unconscious men.
"You're always so clever, coach; I should've taken some of your extra classes." Max grinned sinisterly as he leaned over the other gangster and whispered in a cold voice, "You'll never look for a girl again, you damn dog."
Jean, who lit a cigarette, looked at Max and, shaking his head, said, "You sure are scary when you act like that. You know what I'm going to call your uncle about this?"
"He won't answer. I lost contact with him days ago, so he should be back in one of his crazy overseas deals. Max, who secretly knew about his uncle's job, smiled a little and pointed out, "But I'm sure that crazy old man wouldn't care."
Jean ruffled Max's hair and said, "That's true. I once tried to hit him, and he bent my nose backwards with a single punch. I woke up three days later on a farm, sleeping with pigs. I thought I was dead, but it turns out my nose was treated, and I was just so drunk that I think I even saw a pig orgy."
"I only remember now that you like telling these bizarre stories." Max talked a little more with his trainer.
"You better clean the blood off your face; you look horrible, and that punch on your cheek is definitely going to leave a mark." Jean sighed and, after seeing how the gangsters were quickly loaded into the van, turned around.
Max was surprised at how all the blood was cleaned off the elevator. These people were definitely professionals at what they did, so he left with calm thoughts.
"Want me to take you home?" Jean asked while looking at the gangsters' car in the distance.
Max shook his head and said, "My car's here. I'll see you later, and I'll thank you properly for this help."
"No need; stop getting into trouble and study a lot so you don't end up like me." Jean waved his hand and turned back to his car.
After the driver saw Max and noticed his reddened cheek, he shook his head. "From just the look, I can tell your girlfriend's dad caught you having sex. I don't have anything nice to say, but if it's any comfort, something similar happened to me, except my grandmother caught me pleasuring myself with photos of her favorite singer. That woman was beautiful."
Max was left a little speechless by the story and murmured, "I guess after that you got scolded."
"Not at all. The subject was never mentioned."
"They say our parents always know, though they'll never tell you." Max smiled while replying to a series of insults on his phone; his friends from China always left messages in the groups.
As for his friends in China, who became the only friends he had after those tournaments, Max wasn't stupid. He knew all of this was thanks to martial arts.
"Is your girlfriend calling you?" After hanging up the phone, the taxi driver asked with a smile.
"Haha, I don't have a girlfriend... though it wouldn't be a bad idea." Max, who heard these words, felt a slight stir.
The taxi stopped at a traffic light. At that moment, two women were fighting in the road, and everyone was startled.
Max also noticed that the two women had probably had a big run-in with the man who claimed to be single.
The driver suddenly asked, "Young man, are you in a hurry?"
"No, what's up?" Max responded lightly when he heard those words.
As soon as Max's response was heard, the driver immediately parked to the side.
"Was that it?" Max was puzzled, not understanding why the driver wanted to watch a women's fight.
The driver pulled out a few bills and said in a serious tone, "Since we're not in a rush, let's watch this beautiful battle. Want to place a bet?"
Max smiled confidently and asked, "How much do you want to lose?"