Under a relatively hidden bridge pier by the river in Da Nan City.
Several green-haired youths huddled around a bonfire, staring with eager eyes at the small fish grilled to a golden brown, swallowing their drool.
They were none other than the members of the Sky Eye Gang, who had been hunted for days and nights by Master Jiu's men.
The once-boastful green-haired youths, who had talked big about growing stronger, were now a sorry sight, covered in dust and grime. Their hair, unwashed for days, was matted into greasy strands. Combined with their dyed green hair, they looked like several wilted leeks that had been rolled in mud.
Gang leader Sky Eye Brother Liu Hao flipped the charring fish while cursing angrily: "Damn it, that old bastard Master Jiu is going too far! He chased us all the way from the East District to the West District, driving us from the arcade to this godforsaken place! Back in the day, when I fought that she-devil from the Ten Thousand Dragons Society, I wasn't this pathetic! Ah, who knows when we'll be able to make a comeback."
"Boss, circumstances are stronger than men!"
"Including you, boss, our gang only has five members left standing. The others all scattered and ran. Should we just surrender..." one of the underlings said.
"Shut up! Surrender? Surrender to what? They've made me suffer so much, I'll never surrender!"
"Don't lose heart either. Victory and defeat are common in war. A real man knows when to bend and when to squat! What our Sky Eye Gang stands for is not backing down! We fight to the bitter end!"
As soon as Liu Hao finished speaking, his stomach betrayed him with a loud, ungrateful gurgle.
His stomach's protest triggered a chain reaction, and the others' stomachs started rumbling too.
The youngest underling beside him burst into tears with a wail.
"Boss, I... I want to go home to my mom... Her braised pork is so delicious... Waaah..."
"Crybaby! No backbone!"
Liu Hao slapped the back of the underling's head, nearly knocking him into the fire.
"Remember, we are the Sky Eye Gang! Even if we die, we die gloriously! Crying and sniveling like a bunch of women, aren't you ashamed?!"
"But... women nowadays are really tough!"
"Yeah, I think being a woman is pretty good too. That she-devil you always mention, boss, she's a woman, right? She's super powerful, rides in luxury cars every day, has countless underlings, a huge entourage... Look at us..."
Thrown off by their digression, Liu Hao suddenly remembered Liu Yutong's impressive display of power. It was definitely the most imposing, the coolest scene he had ever witnessed.
If he could be as powerful as her, maybe even dying would be worth it...
"Pah! Pah! Pah! What the hell are you guys talking about? Real men can rise to the top too!"
"Now, let's eat!"
Liu Hao carefully took down the skewer of grilled fish, blew on it, and after feeling it had cooled a bit, began distributing their first proper meal in three days.
"Come on, brothers, I'll share the fish. After we eat our fill, we'll discuss how to get back at those bastards!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the four remaining green-haired heads immediately crowded around. Their eyes were glued to the small fish weighing less than half a pound—the very fish they had snatched from an angler by the river who had been fishing for three days straight with only this one catch.
"I'm a man who's always fair."
Liu Hao placed the fish on a plastic bag spread on the ground and began the allocation: "Watch closely. Me, your boss, the core, the center of our Sky Eye Gang, I must eat the fish body."
After saying this, he tore off the fish body and placed it in front of himself before continuing to assign portions to the others.
"Xiao Ge, you're always full of sneaky ideas. Perfect, you eat the fish head to nourish your brain."
"Ah Ju, you're the one who snatched the fish from that unlucky angler. You performed a great service, so you get the fish tail.
"Mushroom Head... you just get this wooden skewer. Suck on it for the flavor."
"As for Little Green... you're the last to join the Sky Eye Gang, the youngest, still growing. Just smell the aroma, that'll be good for you."
Ah Ju: "..."
Little Green: (ಥ﹏ಥ)!
Boss, the smell really doesn't fill you up!
With the distribution complete, Liu Hao, with a tragic sense of resolve, began eating the most sumptuous meal he'd had in three days. As he ate the fish meat, he looked toward the distant riverbank at the rows of neatly seated, well-equipped anglers lined up like an army and made a concluding remark.
"Who would have thought the fish resources in the river are so poor now? Dozens of people squatting here like they're clocking in for work, fishing for three days, and not a single scale to show for it! Looks like they need to ban fishing for eight or ten years!"
Just as Liu Hao finished his complaint, a dense patter of footsteps suddenly sounded from the slope above.
"There! Under the bridge pier! Those green-haired guys are right down there!"
Liu Hao and his crew looked up to see the unlucky angler they had robbed of his fish that evening, leading down over twenty thugs armed with steel pipes and clubs.
Moreover, the other side had split into two groups, flanking them left and right, perfectly blocking Liu Hao and his men in.
Liu Hao's face instantly changed color. He swallowed the remaining fish meat in one gulp, pointed at the other side, and cursed: "You sons of bitches! It was just one fish! You actually dared to rat us out! It's not like I wasn't gonna pay you back later!"
The unlucky angler wasn't listening at all, saying excitedly: "Is this just about one fish?! That was my dignity, fishing for three days and three nights before I finally caught it, and you bastards snatched it the moment it came up! Do you know how awful that felt? You have to give me an answer today!"
"Brothers, you gotta teach these heinous green-haired turtles a good lesson!"
"Got it, now scram!"
"Right away!"
The angler happily left.
The leader of the thugs, a man called Brother Jun, stepped in front of Liu Hao and the others: "Run? Why aren't you running now? That angler said some guys with hair like glow sticks stole his fish. We guessed it was you lot, and sure enough, it is!"
The five members of the Sky Eye Gang turned ashen.
In his heart, Liu Hao cursed the angler's ancestors for eighteen generations. How could there be such a petty person in this world, actually ratting someone out over a single fish.
Although he knew he was probably done for today, he absolutely could not show weakness with his words, and he couldn't lose his imposing manner either!
"Don't think you're hot stuff just because you have more people. Okay, you are hot stuff, but don't say I didn't warn you! If you know what's good for you, get lost now. Otherwise, when my backup army arrives, I'll have you wiped out to ashes!"
His only hope now was that the underling he had sent earlier to call for reinforcements might be of some use.
After all, he had helped that she-devil out of a tight spot once. Shouldn't she return the favor and help him out once?
But to be honest, he had zero confidence. In his view, that she-devil was also a particularly unscrupulous person.
Like back in Wushui County. As the saying goes, Jianghu matters are settled within the Jianghu. What kind of gangster fight involves calling the police?
But that she-devil just had to be dishonorable, teaming up with the cops to retaliate against him, even turning his own underlings against him. Utterly shameless!
What's more, they had some history of their own.
If he weren't truly at the end of his rope, he would never have asked that she-devil for help.
Of course, to increase the incentive for her to support him, he had also instructed his underling to convey that he might have something Master Jiu would be interested in.
Although he didn't even know what use that key he had swiped back then would be.
.........
Seeing his remaining lackeys all panicking, Liu Hao tried to pump them up once more.
"Brothers, don't be afraid! Backup is definitely coming!"
Hearing him say this, the lackeys all forced themselves to look composed and spoke to the thugs in front of them.
"Th-that's right! Our boss has a big shot backing him, y-you'd better watch out!"
"Yeah! Our boss knows countless brothers, he could easily call over hundreds of people!"
"Y-you better not come any closer, o-or I'll call my mom, you know. My mom's a real scold, she can curse for three hours straight without repeating herself."
"......"
The thugs on the other side, seeing these pathetic-looking guys still daring to threaten them, burst into laughter.
"Have these guys lost their minds?"
"Backup? Calling your mom? Mama's boys, huh? Hahahaha... that's hilarious!"
"Get 'em!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the group rushed forward all at once.
Seeing them charge, Liu Hao and the others completely lost their nerve.
"Y-you stay back! I'm warning you! When I lose it, I even hit myself!"
"You're forcing my hand! I'm really gonna call for help now!"
He then grabbed a piece of burning wood from the campfire and held it high.
"One signal flare shot into the sky, brings a thousand troops and ten thousand horses... Ow, ow, ow! It hurts! I'm dying! I'm dying!"
In the blink of an eye, Liu Hao and his last four lackeys were all taken down, subdued, and had their hands and feet tied up.
The leader, Brother Jun, took out his phone and made a call.
"Got them."
"Good. Once we have the item, I'll make sure they're permanently silenced!"
Hearing this, Liu Hao, pinned to the ground, felt his heart sink.
Could it be that his life was really about to end today?
Brother Jun hung up the phone and walked over to Liu Hao, who was squirming on the ground. He crouched down.
"Where's the thing? Hand it over!"
Liu Hao struggled to lift his head. "I can give you the thing, but can you let me make a call? Just to let someone know I'm safe?"
Brother Jun thought for a moment, then took out his phone. "Give me the number. Don't try anything funny."
Liu Hao nodded and recited a phone number. After the call connected, he took a deep breath. His tone suddenly became unusually serious, even carrying a depth of feeling he'd never had since entering this line of work.
"Hello, is that Ah Zhen? It's me, your Hao-ge."
"There's something I've wanted to tell you all these years. Actually... I really like you!"
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, followed by an extremely sullen voice.
"This isn't Ah Zhen. This is Qiangzi!!!"
"Ah? Sorry about that, Qiangzi. Could you please pass on what I just said to your wife? Thanks!"
"Your mother..."
Click... beep beep beep...
Liu Hao decisively hung up the phone. He looked up at Brother Jun again and said fiercely, "This old man's final wish is fulfilled. If you want the thing, I don't have it. If you want this worthless life, I've got one!"
