Chapter 5

o5 "Yang Chen, have you prepared the money I asked you to get ready yesterday? A few of us are waiting to take the money to have breakfast and drink." Chen Feng twirled a silver chain in his hand and approached with a sly grin.

Old Li panicked, blocking in front of Yang Chen and shouted, "Chen Feng, don't push us too far! Even if your father, Chen Lao Da, is the boss around here, what right do you have to collect protection money? Chen Lao Da has already said that those who don't run a store don't need to pay protection money. Do you think we don't know that!?"

Chen Feng's father, Chen Dehai, was one of the top figures in the underworld in the West District. Otherwise, Chen Feng wouldn't be so brazenly collecting protection money everywhere. Hearing Old Li mention his father, Chen Feng's eyes suddenly turned cold, "Old man, who do you think you are... Do you think I'll be scared just because you mention my father? He's my father, not your grandson! I'm collecting protection money because I respect you! Don't push your luck!"

"You..." Old Li realized he had almost offended Chen Lao Da, after all, they were father and son, and he was just a nobody. But he couldn't swallow his pride. Just as he was about to speak up for Yang Chen again, Yang Chen pulled him back.

Yang Chen frowned, rubbing his forehead with a headache, and pulled Old Li behind him. He said to Chen Feng coolly, "You're called... Chen Feng, right? I'll call you Brother Feng, so don't cause trouble for no reason. I hate being bothered. But I don't have money on me today. I'll give it to you in a few days. You can go back now."

"Hey!" One of the lackeys laughed loudly, "Brother Feng, this kid thinks he's the boss? Should we just leave because he tells us to?"

The other lackeys also laughed wildly, even shouting, "Let's beat this kid up!"

Chen Feng seemed to find the funniest joke in the world, but he was really angry at Yang Chen's words. He sneered, "Yang Chen... say that again if you dare, and I'll cut out your tongue..." His voice grew increasingly fierce by the end.

Yang Chen's impatient expression suddenly turned cold. He looked at Chen Feng with a complex gaze and said, "Do you know what I hate the most?"

"Wha—"

Before Chen Feng could finish his question, he suddenly felt his body flying through the air! Then, a sharp pain in his abdomen, and his body "thud" into a pile of garbage! Vegetable leaves and fish meat scraps covered his body, and his clothes were soaked in foul water!

"I hate being threatened the most..."

It seemed like a casual push, but Yang Chen stood where Chen Feng had been, retracting his outstretched palm.

Chen Feng was dazed by the push and the collision. The taste of blood filled his mouth and nose, and the stench of the garbage pile made him gag instantly!

"Brat, you dare to hit our Brother Feng, you're asking for death!!"

"Beat him to death!"

The lackeys, who hadn't understood the situation, saw their leader being hit and, relying on their numbers, didn't think about how Yang Chen had done it. They rushed over in a frenzy!

Yang Chen didn't bother to look at them. No matter how they punched and kicked, he caught them with his palm and dragged them to the side.

The lackeys felt their hands or feet being clamped by a massive force, and their bodies were involuntarily thrown into the air, crashing onto the hard concrete ground, screaming in pain.

Seeing that they couldn't even touch Yang Chen, they finally realized they couldn't win. Even Chen Feng, who had just climbed out of the garbage pile, was drenched in cold sweat! He had seen some retired special forces under his father's command, all of whom were his father's aces, easily taking on ten people at once. But even they didn't have such immense strength and speed, throwing five or six people around like rag dolls. These lackeys, though untrained, had grown up fighting. How could ordinary people beat them?

"Let's go!" Chen Feng, though seething with anger, didn't want to lose face. Seeing Yang Chen's calm expression, he felt as if he had seen a ghost, and hurriedly called his lackeys to run away.

Old Li and the onlookers were thrilled by Yang Chen's skills. These lackeys were usually arrogant, and the street vendors feared them. Today, Yang Chen's actions had given them a sense of satisfaction. However, they didn't dare to get too close to Yang Chen. After all, Chen Feng wasn't scary, but if his father, Chen Dehai, came to settle the score, they were worried about being implicated.

Old Li was extremely excited, "Yang Chen, I didn't expect you to be so skilled. Did you learn martial arts before?"

"Um... a bit." Yang Chen didn't want to say more. In fact, if not for Chen Feng's excessive behavior, which touched his sore spot, he would never have fought in a public place. However, as he told Chen Feng, he had his principles—hating to be threatened! Perhaps, this quirk meant that no matter how much he wanted to live a low-profile life, he couldn't erase it, because he had the dignity of a strong person!

Seeing that Yang Chen didn't want to say more, Old Li didn't press further. He began to worry, "Yang Chen, you've beaten Chen Feng, but what if he brings his father, Chen Dehai, to deal with you? You know, Chen Dehai is one of the two major gangs in the West District, an important figure in the West Alliance. No one dares to provoke him here!"

The West Alliance... Yang Chen smiled indifferently and suddenly asked Old Li, "Do you have a cigarette?"

Old Li, seeing Yang Chen's indifferent attitude, could only be anxious. Hearing Yang Chen ask for a cigarette, he couldn't help but laugh bitterly, "Didn't you say you were going to quit smoking?"

"Forget it, I won't quit. It's not right to not have a cigarette after a fight." Yang Chen sighed inwardly, not expecting Chen Dehai to be part of the West Alliance. He originally didn't want to get involved with these people, which was why he had been reluctant to interact with Qiangwei. But he had ended up on the front lines.

Old Li took out a pack of cheap cigarettes from his pocket and lit one for Yang Chen, "I'm poor, so I choose the cheapest cigarettes. They're strong, but they'll do."

"Hisss..." Yang Chen enjoyed the cigarette immensely, grinning, "Not bad, I like them strong."

"Young people should smoke less; it's bad for your health," Old Li advised with a smile.

Yang Chen smiled slightly, thinking to himself: If smoking could harm my body, all these years of training would have been in vain.

After a short rest, they both started their business. Yang Chen began to heat up the cooked lamb skewers and start grilling the raw ones, even holding one in his mouth as if it were his breakfast. Although the work was dirty, he did it with great enthusiasm, occasionally grinning at the surrounding vendors.

But not long after, a police car drove up, and two police officers and a police officer in a white shirt got out, walking solemnly to Yang Chen.

The lead officer, with a cold expression, asked, "Are you Yang Chen?"

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