"Get lost!"
With a loud shout from Zhang Tao, Zhao Ming and the thugs he had hired scrambled to their feet, limping away in a pathetic retreat.
Zhang Tao then walked up to Zhang Dalong and gave him a thumbs up. "Bro, you are truly amazing! That Chaotic Cloak Staff Technique of yours was absolutely brilliant!"
Praised like this, and combined with the effects of the alcohol he had consumed tonight, Zhang Dalong instantly felt as if he were floating on air.
In his thirty-something years of life, this was the first time he had ever felt so incredibly awesome!
"Ah, it was nothing special. It's mostly just that these little brats couldn't take a beating."
Zhang Tao said, "Bro, I truly admire your skills. I feel like we're old friends at first sight, and I only regret we didn't meet sooner. Why don't we become sworn brothers right here and now? From now on, we'll share our blessings and face our hardships together!"
Still immersed in the illusion that he was a martial arts master, Zhang Dalong's blood boiled with excitement, and he agreed with heroic flair. "Let's do it! We definitely have to! I, Zhang Dalong, acknowledge you as my little brother!"
Terrified that he might go back on his word, Zhang Tao immediately grabbed two skewers of grilled meat, handed one to Zhang Dalong, and kept one for himself. "With the heavens above..."
Before he could finish, Zhang Dalong interrupted him.
"Hold on!"
"Bro, what's wrong?"
Zhang Dalong grabbed another skewer and handed it to Chu Yang, who was watching the show from the sidelines. "Brother, your skills are pretty good too. Let's all three of us become sworn brothers."
Chu Yang was speechless.
How childish is this!
But he didn't refuse, because he knew that The Young Lady valued this man highly, and he also knew exactly what Zhang Tao was trying to do.
In the end, he silently accepted the skewer.
And so, the three of them stood in front of the barbecue stall, facing the moon in the sky, and began their sworn brotherhood ceremony.
"With the heavens above and the earth below, I, Zhang Tao."
"Chu Yang!"
"Zhang Dalong!"
The three of them chanted in unison, "Hereby become sworn brothers! From this day forth, we share life and death, fortune and misfortune! If we break this oath, may lightning strike us down!"
Having said that, the three of them immediately shoved the skewers into their mouths and stripped the meat off in one bite.
The sense of ceremony was there, though the meat had been sitting out for a while and had gotten a bit cold, making it less appetizing.
"Good brother!"
"Good brother!"
"Good brother!"
The three of them hugged each other, and the ceremony concluded.
As if suddenly remembering something, Zhang Tao said to Zhang Dalong, "Oh, right, bro. Since we're sworn brothers now, we're basically family. No problem with that, right?"
Zhang Dalong replied, "No problem."
Zhang Tao continued, "Then my other thousand or so brothers and sisters are also your brothers and sisters. No problem with that either, right?"
Zhang Dalong replied, "No problem."
Right after he said that, he felt something was off. Could it be that he had drunk too much and was hearing things?
Over a thousand brothers and sisters? That sounded absurd.
It had to be an auditory hallucination. Yes, absolutely.
Zhang Tao went on, "Bro, it's like this. I just remembered something very important I need to tell you, regarding the rules among our brothers and sisters."
"What rules? Tell me, brother!" Zhang Dalong still didn't take it seriously.
Zhang Tao's eyes suddenly narrowed as he smiled and said, "It's nothing much, really. Just one sentence that everyone has to abide by."
"Anyone who betrays The Young Lady or betrays the Ten Thousand Dragons Gang shall suffer three knives and six holes."
The smile on Zhang Dalong's face instantly froze.
"What... what the heck did you just say?"
Zhang Tao explained, "It means exactly what it sounds like. If anyone betrays The Young Lady and our brothers and sisters, they have to be stabbed straight through three times, creating six holes. It's a rule passed down from our ancestors, mainly to remind the brothers at all times that the loyalty to The Young Lady and the camaraderie among our brothers and sisters are weightier than Mount Tai!"
"Don't worry, bro. The brothers and sisters of the Ten Thousand Dragons Gang are exceptionally united. Since our founding, we've never actually executed this gang rule. It's just a formality to remind everyone to value loyalty. Since you're our brother now, naturally you have to follow it too, right?"
Zhang Dalong: "!!!"
Wait a minute! He was an outstanding programmer who obeyed the law, paid his taxes on time, and didn't even dare to copy company code. How did he inexplicably end up boarding a pirate ship like this?
This was a freaking mafia, wasn't it?!
He desperately wanted to ask if he could back out and cancel the sworn brotherhood.
But looking at Zhang Tao's somewhat hypocritical smile, and Chu Yang's seemingly calm but actually murderous gaze, he forcefully swallowed his words.
These two, along with him, had managed to take down that group of thugs, so they were definitely very strong. He was afraid he wouldn't be able to beat them on his own.
Just as Zhang Dalong was internally debating whether to call the police and report that he had been coerced into joining a gang...
Suddenly!
A taxi pulled up, and an alternative-looking girl with dyed blonde hair stepped out.
It was the girl Zhang Dalong had met at the bar earlier, Xiaoya.
"Xiaoya, why are you here?"
"Uncle, Uncle, run quickly! Zhao Ming is bringing people to beat you up," Xiaoya said, panting heavily.
Hearing this, Zhang Dalong didn't take it seriously at all. "I thought it was something serious. Don't be afraid, Xiaoya. That kid already came by just now. He brought over twenty guys, and we still chased them off."
Xiaoya replied, "No, Uncle, this time is different! He called his older cousin over. His cousin goes to the sports academy in the north of the city, and he brought a huge gang of his classmates. There are at least forty or fifty of them."
Mingzhu City did indeed have a sports academy. Although its reputation was somewhat inflated and it wasn't located in the university town, but rather in the north of the city near some vocational schools.
However, even if their reputation was inflated, the physical fitness of those sports academy students was definitely not something ordinary thugs could compare to.
"Forty or fifty people? And they're from the sports academy?"
Zhang Dalong's face instantly turned pale, and he turned to glance at Zhang Tao and Chu Yang.
He saw Zhang Tao frowning slightly, seemingly assessing the situation, while Chu Yang's expression remained exactly the same as before, without any change.
Looking at their postures, he guessed that these two newly sworn brothers of his were planning to face them head-on.
The three of them could handle the twenty-plus thugs from before, but now the number had doubled, and they were all from the sports academy. Who could possibly beat that?
Zhang Dalong was just about to tell them to make a run for it.
When several minivans appeared in their line of sight, braking sharply and stopping by the side of the road.
Immediately after, a massive, dark crowd of people piled out of the vehicles. Leading them was Zhao Ming, whose face was still bruised and swollen from the earlier beating. Standing next to him was a muscular young man wearing a sports tank top, who was presumably his cousin from the sports academy.
Their escape route was completely blocked off by this group.
Supported by another person, Zhao Ming stood at the very front of the crowd with a sinister grin. "Damn it! You think you're so great just because you can fight? Today, I'm going to drown you in sheer numbers! Let's see how many of us you can take on!"
Zhang Dalong hadn't expected this guy to be so vindictive, returning so quickly after just being beaten down once.
Looking at these young men with their much sturdier builds, he could already envision the miserable scene of himself surrounded and brutalized by dozens of burly sports students.
No, this wouldn't do! He was definitely going to croak!
At this thought, Zhang Dalong suddenly spun around, rushed over to Zhang Tao and Chu Yang, and tightly grabbed their hands.
"My two brothers! The oath we just swore to the moon with the meat skewers, does it still count?"
Zhang Tao was a bit bewildered by his sudden burst of passion and nodded instinctively. "Of course it counts!"
"Good!"
Zhang Dalong shook Zhang Tao's hand vigorously: "Since that counts, you guys definitely won't leave me behind, right? We share our hardships, that's what you just said!"
Seeing his panicked expression, Zhang Tao chuckled: "Brother, put your mind at ease. For us in the Wanlong Society, every word we say is set in stone. We agreed to live and die together, so we will absolutely never abandon a single brother. Let alone forty or fifty of them, even if a hundred show up, we brothers will face them together!"
Chu Yang nodded: "Yeah, as long as he stands, you stand."
Zhang Dalong: "..."
Why didn't those words offer a single shred of reassurance?
But at this point, he had no other choice. He could only pin his hopes on the three of them working together to fight off this mob.
He was just a manager who wrote code, yet now he had to throw down with dozens of muscleheads from a sports academy. This script was all wrong!
Boarding this pirate ship of the Wanlong Society was way too intense!
"Blond old geezer, and you two fools with a death wish! Let's see where you run this time! Cousin, it's them. Beat them to a pulp! I'll withdraw the fifty grand for you later!"
"OK!"
That sports academy cousin cracked his knuckles, his fierce gaze locking onto Zhang Dalong's trio.
An all-out brawl was on the verge of breaking out.
