Chapter 21

Night, at the edge of America.

In this icy and snowy landscape, there was a scene. First, there was a deep trail, looking as if a body had been dragged. The starting point of the trail was two figures, pulling a rope, but not walking a dog; they were dragging a large lump of steel.

Creak, creak. Three towering figures approached, stepping on the snow.

At this sight, Zheng Xiaotian immediately understood. If this were in China, it would be a robbery.

"Get ready, and use your kung fu at any time," Tony whispered to Zheng Xiaotian.

"Alright!" Zheng Xiaotian knew that revealing his kung fu was a wrong decision. Look, they were using it without hesitation when it was convenient.

"Hey!" The three black men came up to Zheng Xiaotian and Tony.

"Sure, what can I do for you?" Tony said politely.

"It's a cold night, and we three are having a hard time. We're so cold we want a cup of coffee, but we have no money. I wonder if you two can lend us some," the middle black man said.

Borrowing money? Are they really borrowing money? If we don't lend, will we get beaten up? Zheng Xiaotian thought, if it's a robbery, just say it. Why make it sound so nice, calling it a loan? It's not really a loan at all.

"Zheng Xiaotian, give them the money you have," Tony turned to look at Zheng Xiaotian.

"Ah?" Zheng Xiaotian's mouth dropped open. He did have money, but only one dollar. In America, a place with high consumption, a dollar that could buy a hot coffee in China was almost useless.

"Brother, it's obvious you have money but don't want to lend it, right?" The black man turned his gaze to Zheng Xiaotian.

Swallowing hard, Zheng Xiaotian thought if the other person asked him directly, he would say he had no money. Giving them a dollar would feel like insulting them. Saying he had no money could be seen as telling the truth. Even if money was found on him, a dollar wasn't much.

"Alright, you win. I'll give you all my savings. I want to emphasize again, this is all my savings," Zheng Xiaotian then reached into his pocket and took out his life savings.

The three black men had been eagerly watching. The moment Zheng Xiaotian took out the dollar, their faces changed. They thought he was mocking them.

"Brother, if you don't want to give, just say so. Don't mock us with a dollar, okay?" the black man said.

"I'm not mocking you. This is all my savings!" Zheng Xiaotian said.

"Believe us, this is all the money we have," Tony added.

"It's not a problem if you have no money," the black man extended his right hand and pointed to the steel behind Tony: "This, if sold as scrap metal, could fetch a hundred or eighty dollars. We want this."

Tony thought, if I hadn't run out of energy, I would have beaten you in my armor. This thing, if sold, would fetch at least a few million. You want to sell it for a hundred or eighty? You're a real wastrel. A god-level wastrel.

"Zheng Xiaotian!" Tony turned, his eyes dark.

"Got it, I understand what you want me to do with that look," Zheng Xiaotian extended his right foot, creak, stepped into the snow, and then, with a sliding step, shot toward them.

The black men had been watching these two closely. When Zheng Xiaotian rushed at them, they all clenched their right fists and swung them at him. It looked like the three black men were ready, while only Zheng Xiaotian was prepared. This was a three-on-one situation. After dealing with Zheng Xiaotian, they planned to take care of Tony. Finally, they would smoothly take the steel as scrap metal, of course, that was their plan.

Zheng Xiaotian faced the bald black man first. He grabbed the man's wrist with his left hand, turned, and threw him over his back. Was he going to throw him to the ground? No, not really.

Zheng Xiaotian spun, and the black man was flung into the air. His flying legs struck his companions.

Thud, thud. Two black men were knocked to the ground.

Thud. The black man Zheng Xiaotian was carrying was thrown to the ground.

Then, Zheng Xiaotian crouched down and delivered a series of punches to the black man.

Thud, thud, thud!

"Let this teach you to be blind, to rob me, to think a dollar is nothing, to be so dark, to have a face that can't find a girlfriend," Zheng Xiaotian said as he hit him.

Tony thought, this is kung fu. This kid must have been to China, or his master is Bruce Lee. Impressive, Chinese kung fu is amazing. If I could learn a few moves, I could... hmm, in such a cool situation, picking up girls would be a breeze.

"Let this teach you that Barbie's your mother, but she didn't teach you!" Zheng Xiaotian delivered the final punch.

Thud. The punch knocked the man unconscious.

While Zheng Xiaotian was beating the black man, the other two had already gotten up and run away. It was a Sunday. For them, it was a dark Sunday. From then on, they would never go out on Sunday nights, and even on regular days, they would avoid this path. Zheng Xiaotian had left a shadow in their hearts.

"Done!" Zheng Xiaotian stood up and clapped his hands.

"Good job!" Tony kicked the man and said, "This is what happens when you think about my armor. Whoever thinks about my armor is my enemy. Do you think my armor would be useful to you? Without my energy core or my improved energy storage, you'd just be selling it as scrap metal."

Zheng Xiaotian only now understood this information. So, if you can't use the armor, what's the point? This probably doesn't count as completing the mission. Does that mean even if I steal the armor from another base, it would be useless? It would have to be Tony genuinely giving it to me?

Zheng Xiaotian wasn't sure, but he was starting to understand.