Chapter 16

In the early days, social delinquents, to be honest, mostly took pride in fighting and brawling. At most, they would eat and drink for free at restaurants, harass girls at skating rinks, and theft was relatively rare.

However, after the reform and opening up in the 1990s, the wealth gap began to gradually become more apparent, and people's values changed significantly. The individual entrepreneurs, who were once the most despised, became people with status and face.

The old delinquents of those days mostly used their early reputation to transition into businesses like restaurants or freight stations, gradually becoming wealthy.

But for someone like Li Tianyuan, a half-grown kid, he lacked both the economic acumen and the capital. Thus, he set his sights on students, and the school gates became the place where he extorted and bullied.

After Hong Kong and Taiwan gangster movies entered the mainland, they began to emulate the content of the films, dividing territories. Li Tianyuan led over a dozen young kids, taking over two schools and a billiard room.

Li Tianyuan didn't realize that their behavior had already begun to take on the雏形 of a criminal organization, and the process of accumulating wealth was accompanied by violence.

Soon, Li Tianyuan's small group had a conflict with another gang, a group of drop-out delinquents. The conflict originated from the billiard room.

Initially, one of Li Tianyuan's subordinates was beaten up in the billiard room by another group, and the language used was full of provocation towards Li Tianyuan.

This made Li Tianyuan feel he had lost face. He gathered over ten people, and when the other group came to the billiard room again, a gang fight broke out between the two groups.

Li Tianyuan's side was well-prepared, armed with chains, iron bars, and machetes. As soon as the two sides clashed, the other side suffered a significant loss.

These half-grown kids had almost no social experience and lacked a sense of fear for life and the law. They were ruthless in their attacks. When the fight ended, one person from the other side was killed on the spot.

Such street brawls had a significant negative impact on society, and with a death involved, the police reacted very quickly. Within 24 hours, all the people involved were arrested.

However, when the police brought them in, they were taken aback because all the participants in the fight were minors, the oldest being 16 and the youngest only 11.

But a light sentence would not appease public anger, especially with a death involved. In the end, one person from each gang was sentenced to one to three years of re-education through labor.

Actually, the person who killed was not Li Tianyuan. At the time, he had a chain, and the fatal wound was a cut to the neck that severed the carotid artery.

Li Tianyuan, though young, had been deeply influenced by novels and movies. As the leader, he took responsibility for all the crimes.

Coincidentally, Li Tianyuan and the person from the other side, Nie Yuanlong, were both in the same juvenile detention center, and the conflict continued inside.

Li Tianyuan had the advantage of being physically strong and willing to fight, gathering a group around him through his physical prowess. Nie Yuanlong, on the other hand, came from a wealthy family and had money, so he also had a group of kids around him.

The grudges from outside continued inside the detention center. Over the year and a half they had been there, they had already had several fights, and even the guards were helpless against them.

Feeling provoked, Li Tianyuan naturally became angry. Encouraged by his subordinates, he glared at the other side and shouted, "Xiao She, what's the matter? Not convinced? Want to fight again?"

The reason Li Tianyuan disliked the other side was that Nie Yuanlong's family had used money to get him a lighter sentence of one and a half years, while Li Tianyuan himself was sentenced to three years, which made him very unbalanced.

"Country bumpkin, if you have the guts, meet me on the playground later!"

Nie Yuanlong looked at Li Tianyuan with a dark expression. His sentence was almost over, and if he didn't teach Li Tianyuan a lesson now, he might not get another chance. So he had already set a trap to deal with Li Tianyuan.

"Fine, don't be a coward later." In the detention center, there were no weapons for fighting. Li Tianyuan had the upper hand in previous fights and wasn't afraid of the provocation.

There were over a hundred people in the TV room, and the two of them didn't fear being overheard by the guards. After making the agreement, they secretly prepared.

"Kid, come with us. If you perform well today, I'll take care of you here."

After informing his subordinates, Li Tianyuan's eyes fell on Qin Feng. He was afraid this kid would inform the guards, which would get him in trouble.

"Okay, I'll follow you..."

Qin Feng nodded. He didn't want to get involved, but if he offended Li Tianyuan, he would be constantly targeted, which wouldn't help his escape plan.

Thinking about what was to come, both groups were a bit distracted while watching the news. When the news ended and it was time to go to the playground, Li Tianyuan led the way.

The playground of the juvenile detention center was surrounded by dormitories and was quite large. Besides a basketball court, there were also equipment like parallel bars and horizontal bars, all designed for the physical development of the youth.

On the east side of the playground, a wire fence separated a vegetable garden where an old farmer was watering and fertilizing. If not for the guards standing around, it wouldn't look much different from a school.

Qin Feng followed behind Li Tianyuan and the others, seemingly hanging his head, but he was aware of his surroundings. The two high guard towers at the corners of the playground made him abandon the idea of escaping from there.

"Stinky snake, do you want a one-on-one or a group fight? You choose!"

While Qin Feng was observing the surroundings, the two groups had already faced off on the playground. Li Tianyuan didn't take Nie Yuanlong seriously, looking at the dozen or so people on the other side with a cocked head.

"You country bumpkin, I'm about to be released. Do you think I'll fight you myself?"

Hearing Li Tianyuan's words, Nie Yuanlong smiled sinisterly and waved his hand, saying, "Lads, if you can put Li in bed for three months, each of you gets a pack of Ashima cigarettes!"

"Damn, this kid is playing dirty..."

As Nie Yuanlong's face showed a wicked smile, Qin Feng already sensed something was wrong. Being a martial artist, he was sensitive to the energy around him. He immediately noticed the hostile gazes from the surrounding people.

Sure enough, as soon as Nie Yuanlong finished speaking, about thirty to forty people surrounded them. These young delinquents came from poor families, and a pack of Ashima cigarettes was enough to buy their loyalty.

"Damn, you're playing dirty?" Li Tianyuan also noticed the hostile gazes but was already surrounded in the center of the playground, with no time to run.

"Hey, kid, why did you take my ball?"

The fight broke out as soon as a basketball was thrown at Li Tianyuan. Using a random excuse, four or five young delinquents from the dormitories rushed towards Li Tianyuan and his group, unleashing their pent-up energy.

"Beep... beep beep..."

The guards' whistles sounded as soon as the fight started, but the young delinquents were already red-eyed and didn't care. With the principle of "no punishment for the many," only a few leaders were usually put in solitary confinement, so they didn't mind.

"Damn, why did I have to encounter this?"

Qin Feng was extremely frustrated. Although he was younger than the others, he was very mature. To him, this kind of conflict was the most foolish.

However, he was now considered part of Li Tianyuan's group. Seeing four or five people running towards him, Qin Feng took a deep breath, crouched down, and used his hands and elbows to protect his head and vital areas.

For a moment, Qin Feng didn't know how many punches landed on him. The "thud" sounds were continuous, but his thin body curled up, never exposing his vital areas.

"A bunch of idiots, none of them know how to fight."

As the fight raged on the playground, the old man planting vegetables in the northeast corner straightened up. Unlike the tense guards, he was watching the commotion with amusement.

"Hey, why don't you go for the groin? That's called a groin grab."

"Idiot, blind him. One punch and he can't see."

The old man seemed to enjoy the chaos. The shouts on the playground were so loud that the young delinquents looked over in annoyance. If not for the wire fence, they might have even gone after the old man.

"Huh? There's someone who knows martial arts?"

The old man's eyes suddenly focused on a corner of the playground. There were only a few people there, with one lying on the ground and four or five half-grown kids beating him up.

To an outsider, the boy on the ground seemed helpless, but the old man's smile faded, and he stopped talking, deep in thought.

The person on the ground was Qin Feng. He had been beaten in the center of the playground but managed to roll to the edge. Now, only a few opportunistic kids were around him, and their punches were not very powerful.

"Damn, I'll fight you to the death!"

Just as Qin Feng was calculating that the guards would arrive soon, he heard a roar. The four or five people around him suddenly scattered.

"You... how did you end up like this?"

Qin Feng, covering his face, looked up and saw the person in front of him. His face, hidden under his hand, showed a strange smile. The guy in front of him was beaten so badly that he was almost unrecognizable.

If not for hearing Li Tianyuan's voice, Qin Feng wouldn't have recognized him. Li Tianyuan's eyes were swollen to slits, his cheeks were puffed up, and his mouth had a gash, making him look extremely pitiful.

PS: Second update. Actually, six thousand words a day during the new book period is not a small amount. Friends, please give more recommendation votes to support!