Evening.
At the eastern outskirts of Lijin District, in a newly built park.
The park had only recently been completed. Aside from a few scattered farmlands nearby, there were almost no buildings in sight. Further east lay a newly planned development zone, where factories would soon rise in the future.
The freshmen and upperclassmen of the vocational college had chosen this remote location for their internal clash precisely because of its seclusion—less chance of attracting unwanted attention from the authorities.
By now, most of the vocational college freshmen had gathered—twenty-five in total, loosely clustered on the dirt slope at the park’s edge.
Originally, there had been more, but a few had chickened out and didn’t show up.
The rest had only mustered the courage to come because their leader, Ma Feifan, had promised backup.
Otherwise, even more might have slipped away.
Before long, the sound of chaotic footsteps echoed from a distance.
The upperclassmen had arrived.
Led by Xie Dong, over fifty of them advanced in a formidable wave, each armed with weapons—steel pipes, wooden bats, extendable batons, and even a few gleaming machetes.
The freshmen swallowed hard in unison.
"Brother Fan… you… you really sure backup’s coming?"
"They’re not gonna bail on us, right?"
"Yeah, we haven’t even seen a shadow of them yet…"
"There’s way too many of them. We don’t stand a chance with just us…"
The freshmen grew increasingly nervous as they spoke, a few even inching backward, ready to bolt at any moment.
Ma Feifan’s heart was pounding too, but he forced himself to stay composed. "Relax, brothers!" he barked. "Qiao Yong, the boss from Grain Economics, gave me his word—he’s bringing people!"
"Boss Qiao even said he’d back me as the new leader of the vocational college! If we win today, this place is ours!"
Word of the clash between the freshmen and upperclassmen had spread fast, reaching other schools too.
Qiao Yong from Grain Economics had even sent someone to seek out Ma Feifan, offering to lend a hand and back him up.
At first, Ma Feifan had been surprised—he barely knew Qiao Yong, if at all. That the guy would offer help was unexpected.
Still, Ma Feifan wasn’t naive. He knew Qiao Yong had his own reasons.
But right now, none of that mattered. The priority was taking down Xie Dong!
Hearing about the reinforcements, the freshmen relaxed slightly—though some felt uneasy knowing the backup was from Grain Economics.
Bringing in outsiders to settle internal school business…
How embarrassing would that sound?
The three schools in the university district—Vocational College, Grain Economics, and Tech Institute—were basically rivals, always at each other’s throats.
It was practically unheard of to involve another school’s troublemakers in your own mess.
Handling your own problems was the rule.
Anyone who dragged in outsiders would be looked down on by everyone.
Of course, if you had connections with actual gangsters from the streets, that was different—people would respect you for it. Weird, but that’s how it was.
Ma Feifan asking Grain Economics for help? That was pushing it.
With the enemy right in front of them, no one voiced their doubts, but some freshmen were already considering bailing.
It’s not like they’d sworn loyalty or anything. Leaving wouldn’t be shameful…
Clatter—
Xie Dong led his fifty-strong crew forward, wielding baseball bats and steel pipes, their momentum overwhelming.
He glanced at the sparse group of twenty-something freshmen and scoffed.
"This is it? Ma Feifan, you here to feed us free kills or what?"
"Who the hell gave you the guts to show up?"
One of his lackeys suddenly chimed in, "Brother Dong! I know! It must’ve been Liang Jingru who gave him the courage!"
Then, with a grating voice, the guy started singing, "Love really needs courage~~~ To face the gossip and the slander~~~"
Xie Dong backhanded him across the face. "The hell? Who told you to sing? You sound like a dying cat! Do it again and I’ll break all three of your legs!"
The lackey clutched his cheek, whining, "But… I sing with my mouth. What’s that got to do with my legs…?"
Ignoring him, Xie Dong turned back to Ma Feifan’s group. "Ma Feifan, let me be generous. Kneel, kowtow three times, and stay out of our way from now on. Maybe I’ll go easy on you."
Ma Feifan gritted his teeth and roared, "Xie Dong! Cut the crap! We came ready to fight!"
Xie Dong narrowed his eyes, hefting his baseball bat. "Fine. Got spine."
"One-on-one or all-out brawl? Your pick."
Though the university district had its share of troublemakers, unless it was a blood feud, fights rarely went too far.
Most clashes were for show, rarely escalating into full-on brawls. There were still some unspoken rules.
Ma Feifan wasn’t stupid enough to pick a one-on-one with Xie Dong—unless he’d been kicked in the head by a donkey.
Because standing behind Xie Dong’s crew was a literal giant—Ji Yu, towering over two meters tall, built like a human tank.
Who the hell could take him on one-on-one? Just scratching him would be an achievement.
And now they understood why Ma Da and Ji Yu had refused to join them—they’d already latched onto Xie Dong.
One of the freshmen couldn’t hold back, pointing at Ma Da and cursing.
"Ma Da! You traitor! How can you side with the upperclassmen against your own?"
"Disgrace! You’ve got no shame!"
"Freshman helping upperclassmen beat up freshmen—what kind of scum are you?!"
"........."
Hearing this, Ma Da walked over with Ji Yu in tow, casually sipping an iced cola. "We’re just here to watch," he said innocently. "Don’t drag us into this. We’ll stay over there, alright?"
With that, he and the silent Ji Yu retreated to a tree, settling in as spectators.
Xie Dong didn’t stop them. Once he crushed these freshmen, he was sure Ma Da and Ji Yu would fall in line.
Honestly, he’d been struck the moment he first saw Ji Yu.
Graduation was coming up, and he’d already started his own operation outside. To expand, he needed someone like Ji Yu—a beast to keep things in line.
Seeing Ma Da and Ji Yu stay out of it, Ma Feifan exhaled in relief.
Ji Yu’s sheer presence was terrifying. If he’d joined the upperclassmen, they’d have lost the nerve to fight before even starting.
Just then, Ma Feifan’s phone buzzed. He pulled it out, read the message, and his eyes hardened.
"Brothers, let’s take ‘em down!"
Xie Dong grinned savagely, swinging his steel pipe. "Beat ‘em to the ground!"
The two groups collided, weapons swinging, curses flying.
As the chaos erupted, six or seven battered vans rolled in, packed with seventy-something troublemakers from Grain Economics.
On the way, they’d crossed paths with a strange black convoy.
A convoy of over a dozen identical black sedans, all tinted with privacy film, flanked a gleaming million-dollar Mercedes-Benz as they crawled leisurely along a desolate suburban road.
The rowdy bunch crammed into a rundown minivan gaped at the sleek, all-black procession.
"Damn! What’s with this fleet? Even a luxury Benz—talk about intimidating!"
"Wedding party?"
"Wedding my ass! Wedding cars would have decorations, and who the hell holds a wedding procession out in the middle of nowhere?"
"So?"
"My guess? A funeral cortege—off to bury someone."
