"Whoa there! Scared the hell out of me!"
The blond-haired guy slammed his beer bottle on the table, his face full of contempt. "Can't afford to mess with you? Who the hell do you think you are? Bragging like that, does your daddy know?"
Shen Hao gritted his teeth, speaking each word deliberately. "Listen up, you bastard. My name is Shen Hao! The young master of the Shen Group! Get lost now if you want to live! They're also people you can't afford to mess with!"
He had thought revealing his identity would make them back down and leave, but to his surprise, it not only didn't work, but instead provoked even more frenzied laughter from the three.
"Young Master Shen? Hahaha... He says he's Young Master Shen!"
"The young master of the Shen Group eating at a dumpy roadside stall like this? And with the daughters of big shots and rich girls? You've read too many damn novels!"
"Yeah, if you're Young Master Shen, then I'm your daddy! If these two chicks are really rich heiresses, then that's perfect for us brothers to have some fun with. Let's get a taste of what high-society girls are like!"
"Hahaha..."
The leader, the blond guy, emboldened by alcohol, even slapped Shen Hao's face in an extremely insulting manner. "Kid, trying to show off in front of me? Dressed in a monkey suit and think you're really somebody? Today, I'll teach you what rules are!"
Shen Hao had never suffered such humiliation in his life. He violently swatted the blond guy's hand away and threw a punch. "Fuck your mother! You're asking for it!"
The conflict erupted instantly!
Caught off guard by Shen Hao's punch, the blond guy stumbled back several steps. He touched his face, which was starting to swell, and flew into a rage.
"Beat this bastard to death!"
Seeing that things had really turned physical, the other two thugs were stunned for a second, then reacted. Swinging their beer bottles, they charged at Shen Hao.
Zhu Silin and Bai Shisui tried to intervene but couldn't stop them, nearly getting hit in the head by a flying bottle instead.
"Call the police!"
They were definitely no match for these three thugs. They had never formally learned martial arts or fighting, and had never been in a fight since childhood.
Of course, they never really needed to learn that stuff. What normal person would dare lay a hand on them?
So in this situation, calling the police was their only option.
By now, the scene had descended into chaos.
A table was violently overturned, sending skewers, beer bottles, and soup splattering everywhere, leaving a complete mess.
Although Shen Hao had done some combat training, it was mainly for fitness, not practical application. In a real fight, he relied on instinct, using whatever was at hand.
Outnumbered, and facing thugs who were used to brawling, he was quickly beaten to the ground.
The thugs continued hitting him while hurling insults.
"Damn it! Show off now! Think money makes you hot shit? Now you're lying on the ground like a dog!"
"Making billions, my ass! I'll send you to hell to spend it!"
"After we're done with you, we'll grab those two little bitches and show you what real men are!"
"........"
But before they could make a move on Zhu Silin and Bai Shisui, they suddenly heard the sound of police sirens.
They had called the police.
Coupled with the fact that the cops on night patrol weren't far from this night market street, they soon appeared in sight.
The blond guy and his crew had to give up beating Shen Hao. They each spat viciously on him lying on the ground. "Pah! What a piece of trash! Next time you brag, pick your spot! Let's go, brothers!"
The three of them ran off, cursing and swearing.
A patrol car with flashing red and blue lights stopped by the roadside, and two cops got out.
They asked about the situation, checked Shen Hao and the others' injuries, took a report, and said they would review the nearby surveillance footage and try to apprehend the three thugs as soon as possible.
As Shen Hao's injuries weren't particularly severe and the perpetrators had fled, the cops finished their report, left contact information, and advised them to go get their injuries treated first. They promised to notify them immediately if there was any news.
After the cops left, the night market stall owner looked at the smashed tables and chairs, sighing heavily.
Zhu Silin took out a thick wad of cash from her wallet and stuffed it into the owner's hand, far exceeding the cost of the damages, as compensation.
The stall owner was stunned for a moment, then quickly thanked her.
Supported by Bai Shisui, Shen Hao limped towards their car, saying through gritted teeth, "Let's go back first. I'll call Gu Yebai and the others later. We can't just let this go!"
Just as he turned to get in the car, he suddenly noticed a black handbag under the table next to theirs—the one where the three thugs had been sitting.
Probably something they left behind.
Shen Hao immediately told Zhu Silin to take the bag. It might contain identification for the three men.
Even if it only had one person's info, it would make catching them easy.
No sooner had they left than the three thugs sneaked back to the scene, anxiously searching for something.
"Damn it! Where's my bag!"
Upon learning the bag had been taken by the two guys and the girl from earlier, the three thugs breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the cops didn't have it, there was still wiggle room.
Because the bag contained something very important they had just picked up, something they were supposed to deliver to their boss, Brother Pao, tomorrow.
Fortunately, they had also found out the color and model of the car the others were driving—a Land Rover.
The blond guy didn't dare delay. He immediately called his boss.
"Yeah, yeah, Brother Pao, it was a Land Rover."
"There were too many of them, like a dozen people. The three of us were no match at all. We got beaten up pretty bad."
"Don't know their background. Sounded like they were from out of town. Yeah, really arrogant! Even said they'd make you eat shit, Brother Pao!"
"......."
Hanging up the phone, the blond guy had cold sweat on his forehead. He had just told a lie.
He claimed that while eating, they had encountered an extremely arrogant group who beat them up and stole their bag.
They said this naturally to shift the blame. If Brother Pao found out they lost it themselves, he'd skin them alive.
Although they might still face punishment later for this, it would likely be less severe.
After all, they genuinely 'couldn't beat' the other side.
To make their story more convincing, the three of them even gave each other black eyes and smeared some ketchup on their foreheads.
Not long after.
At an intersection, they saw about six or seven vans and over twenty motorcycles appear before them.
Altogether, nearly a hundred people.
Then, a bald man got out of the first van. It was Brother Pao.
"Where are they?!"
The blond guy, holding his freshly 'injured' forehead, said somewhat guiltily, "They... they got away!"
Then he fell to his knees with a thud, crying dramatically.
"Brother Pao, there were so many of them, and their car was fancy. We... we really couldn't stop them!"
The other two immediately knelt down as well.
"That's right! Brother Pao! We fought desperately, but we just couldn't beat them!"
"........"
Brother Pao's face gradually darkened. He really wanted to teach these three guys a lesson, but the top priority right now was to get the bag back.
If the stuff fell into the hands of the cops, they'd be in real trouble.
Brother Pao kicked the blond-haired guy, cursing, "Useless! Can't even keep hold of a bag! Did you see which way they went?!"
"I... I saw! They headed towards the southern suburbs! Oh, and they might go to the hospital, some of them were injured too." The blond guy grimaced as he scrambled to his feet and pointed the way.
"Get in the cars!"
Brother Pao waved his hand, his expression grim. "Everyone, go find it! Even if we have to turn the southern suburbs upside down, find that Range Rover and that bag for me! Otherwise, you three are dead!"
Instantly, over a hundred men swarmed back into the vans and onto their motorcycles. Engines roared to life as they sped off in the direction Shen Hao and the others had fled.
Meanwhile, Shen Hao's Range Rover had just pulled into the underground parking lot of the club.
Their club had a medical room, which is why he hadn't chosen to go to a hospital, planning instead to get a simple bandage there.
Right after parking, Shen Hao called Gu Yebai back.
After all, the greater Nan City area was Gu Yebai's turf; him handling it would be simpler and more direct.
On the other end of the line, Gu Yebai was first furious, then calmed down. He glanced at the long convoy of cars behind him and suddenly had an idea.
"Do you want me to have them sent to jail the normal way, or do you want to personally teach those thugs a lesson yourself?"
When he handled things, it usually ended one way: arrest, jail, and then have someone inside 'look after' them.
But that way, they wouldn't get to see it. Not satisfying enough, not cathartic enough.
Hearing this, Shen Hao replied without hesitation, "I want to deal with them myself!"
"OK, Brother Chen and I will be there in about twenty minutes," Gu Yebai said.
Just after they hung up, a cell phone ringtone suddenly came from the black handbag they'd picked up.
Shen Hao directly unzipped it, pulled out the flip phone inside, and answered the call.
When he heard the familiar voice on the other end, he smiled.
Well, that saved them the trouble of having to go look for them.
