Chapter 10

“I heard they say they are students from Shengze College.”

“Shengze? Students from Shengze College? Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am… They said so themselves.”

“You must know their names, right?”

“Oh, yes, let me check for you… One is called Wei Ziming, one is Cai Erman, and one is Ye…” Mr. Sun was still reading when Fu Lei snatched the list from him.

“These three, right?” Fu Lei pointed to the names crossed out with a red line and asked.

“Yes, yes! Yes!”

“Let’s go!” Fu Lei shouted, and Fu Cheng followed him, striding out of the Human Resources Department.

“Brother, Shengze College isn’t a place you can just enter and leave as you please,” Fu Cheng said, stepping forward to speak to Fu Lei.

Fu Lei looked at Fu Cheng and took out his phone to dial a number.

“Hello, uncle Xiao? Bring some guys to the gate of Shengze College,” Fu Lei said.

“Oh… Okay,” the voice on the phone paused slightly.

At the gate of Shengze College, a young man handed each security guard a cigar worth 1000 yuan and gave them a red envelope. After a brief consultation, the six guards allowed him in but warned him not to cause trouble inside. Once inside, the young man headed towards the Administration Office. An elder with slightly graying hair sat there, tranquilly smoking. Wisps of blue smoke rose from his mouth, spiraling up until they faded away in solitude. He was gazing out the window with a deep look in his eyes when suddenly, without a knock, a door was pushed open-only the sound of it closing followed.

“Hello,” the elder turned his head and greeted amiably.

“Here, help me check if these three are at your school,” the young man said, placing a piece of paper on the desk first, then tossing a thick stack of money in front of the elder.

The elder merely glanced at the money, his eyes showing no sign of temptation, then picked up the piece of paper from the table, which listed-Ye Chen, Cai Erman, Wei Ziming.

“Wei Ziming?” When the elder saw the last name, a flicker of curiosity and surprise crossed his eyes.

The elder looked up and noticed the young man standing next to him, dressed in a gray pinstripe suit-clearly not a college student. He thought to himself, anyone dressed like that must be handling tens of thousands; but who could he be working for?

“Just a moment, I’ll check for you.” The elder stood up and walked towards the bookshelf, searching through the files.

“Knock, knock!”

“…Come in.” Upon hearing the knock, the young man quickly covered the money with a folder.

“Director, these are the admission documents for this year’s first batch of freshmen… What are you looking for?” A woman in her mid-twenties, holding three folders, approached the elder’s desk and turned to him with curiosity.

This woman was Xiao Yang, the elder’s assistant.

The elder did not respond to her; instead, Xiao Yang placed the documents on his desk and noticed a paper with three names.

“Ye Chen, Cai Erman…”

“What? Miss, do you know them?” The young man saw Xiao Yang’s eyes widen at the names and asked.

“These three, every student at this college knows them, the trio from Dorm 1301…”

“Which dorm did you say?”

“Dorm 1301!”

The young man seemed to have gotten the information he wanted and left the Administration Office. Xiao Yang stared after him, puzzled. “He’s so strange, Director, who is he?”

“He’s no good,” the elder said slowly, watching the door.

“Xiao Yang, which dorm did you say they were in?” The elder suddenly turned to ask her.

“Dorm 1301… in Zone N dormitory building,” Xiao Yang replied.

“Zone N?” The elder seemed unsure of where the Zone N dormitory building was located.

“Do you want to go? I can take you there,” Xiao Yang offered.

“Oh… no, no…” The elder sat back down restlessly in his chair, lit a cigarette, and began to smoke, occasionally running his hand through his hair while holding the cigarette-an action that seemed to be a habit when he was deep in thought.

The young man only got half the answer before he headed out. He knew that Ye Chen and his friends lived in dormitory 1301 but didn’t know which zone it was in. It seems that hasty people always end up doing things the hard way!

Eventually, the young man found the Zone N dormitory building and room 1301.

“Knock, knock!”

“Creak!”

“Is there a Ye Chen here?”

“That’s me.”

“Hello, I’m from the Human Resources Department at Yutian Business KTV. Right now, Qingong Industrial and we are settling accounts, and there’s a form that needs your signature. Could you please come back with me?”

“Go cool off somewhere else!” Ye Chen barked, about to close the door, but Cai Erman held it open, saying, “After all, we’ve earned their money. If they need us, we should go.”

The man at the door stared at Ye Chen, his lips trembling slightly. Seeing Ye Chen turn away, his expression quickly softened, and he smiled, “Yes, yes, brother, please do us a favor!”

“Alright, let’s go.” Ye Chen hesitated, glanced at Cai Erman, and said resignedly.

“Let’s go,” Cai Erman responded.

“You guys go ahead, we’re fine,” Yixuan hurriedly said to them as Ye Chen and Cai Erman turned to speak.

Ye Chen and Cai Erman walked out, gently closing the door behind them, and followed the young man towards the north gate of the school.

At the north gate of Shengze College, six Buick cars were parked, three on each side. Directly opposite the gate, a black Audi sports car was parked. In front of the car stood a burly man smoking a cigarette, and another man stood beside him, wearing a gold chain around his neck.

These people seemed to forget that the name of the school was “Shengze Mainstream Language and Literature College”!

Ye Chen and Cai Erman followed the young man out, beginning to wonder how he could possibly enter the school. Even the parents of students had to show their household registration and ID for verification before entering. Shengze College’s protection of its faculty and students was on par with national defense; they might tolerate a little trouble at home, but they would never allow outsiders to cause disturbances!

When the security guards saw that the young men being led out were Ye Chen and Cai Erman, their eyes widened like bird eggs! One of them exclaimed in shock, “We’re done for this time,” as the cigarette dangling from his mouth fell to the ground, uncaught.

“License plate H99999?” Cai Erman read aloud the number as the two of them were quickly surrounded by twelve people.

“Motherfucker, remember me, kid?” Fu Lei pushed through the crowd, stepping up to Ye Chen and Cai Erman and shouted.

“Piece of trash! Motherfucker!” Ye Chen cursed back just as fiercely and lifted his leg to kick him. Unexpectedly, Fu Lei punched him in the head, and Ye Chen’s kick bounced right back off Fu Lei.

“Beat them up!” Fu Lei yelled, and a dozen people began punching and kicking at Ye Chen and Cai Erman.

“Damn! Brawling at our school gate? Are you kidding me?”

The person who spoke quieted down immediately when he saw someone wearing a blue jacket and drinking beer beside him. The beer-drinker turned his head to look outside the gate.

“Fuck! Damn it! Follow me, guys!” he yelled back, and upon hearing him, more than a dozen people followed him out the gate.

Just then, Cai Erman was kicked out of the crowd right into the view of the man drinking beer.

“What the hell are they trying to do?” Fu Lei, smoking a cigarette, exclaimed in surprise as he saw a group suddenly surge out from the school, dropping the cigarette from his hand in shock.

“Quick! Close the gate! Sound the alarm!” the security guard shouted, activating the two-meter-tall school gate. After closing it, they activated the isolation gate-a measure Shengze College uses to lock down the school during major incidents. The sounding of the alarm meant that all the gates of Shengze College were to be closed, barring anyone from leaving. What on earth was happening?

Shengze College was thrown into chaos; people crowded at every window of the teaching buildings and dormitory buildings.

“Motherfucker! Looking for death!” the young man drinking yelled as he smashed a beer bottle over someone’s head.

It was still a holiday at Shengze College, and there were many outsiders around, with quite a few joining in the fray.

“Mingzi? Motherfucker, the one with the chain, come here!” Cai Erman called out as he spotted Mingzi shouting, then turned to curse at Fu Cheng standing in front of an Audi sports car.

Just moments ago, Fu Lei’s men were holding their ground, but now, with Ye Chen’s side surging to over fifty people, Fu Lei’s men were frightened and retreated to his side.

“Damn trash!” Cai Erman cursed as he sprinted out of the crowd. True to his reputation as a sprinter, he moved like an arrow released from its bow. With a mighty leap, rising over half a yard into the air, Cai Erman landed not on the pavement, but squarely on Fu Cheng’s chest.

“Charge!” Ye Chen shouted as Cai Erman breached into Fu Lei’s group.

Dozens of men rushed over, and both Ye Chen and Mingzi managed to grab Fu Lei-brothers indeed think alike!

“You dare cause trouble here, you bastard!” Mingzi yelled as he punched Fu Lei in the face.

Ye Chen fiercely grabbed Fu Lei by the shoulders, then swiftly pulled down, driving his knee hard into Fu Lei’s stomach. Fu Lei’s mouth gaped open, his eyes bloodshot as he roared, “Damn it, you asshole!” Fu Lei clawed at Ye Chen’s hair, headbutting Ye Chen’s face like a wild beast. The impact caused Ye Chen’s nose to bleed profusely.

“Damn it!” Mingzi cursed loudly, grabbing Fu Lei’s neck with his right arm and yanking him backward. Ye Chen, fueled by rage, elbowed Fu Lei hard on the right cheek. Three teeth fell from Fu Lei’s mouth, clattering onto the ground. Enraged, Fu Lei’s veins bulged as he threw his head back, striking Mingzi right between the eyes. Mingzi felt dizzy, and as Fu Lei turned around and swung his right arm without blinking, he struck Mingzi on the neck. Mingzi was flung back more than a yard and collapsed on the ground.

“Ah!” Cai Erman screamed, running up and kicking Fu Lei in the neck. Fu Lei fell, toppling several others with him.

Looking over at Fu Cheng, already bloodied by Cai Erman’s blows and collapsed on the ground surrounded by attackers.

Ye Chen helped Mingzi up, as Fu Lei was encircled, clearly asking for a beating. Cai Erman ordered his brothers to pause, and the crowd parted, allowing him to step forward. He grabbed Fu Cheng by the collar with his left hand and bellowed, “Dare to spit on me!”

Following this were several slaps to Fu Cheng’s face and a kick that sent him sprawling.

Still not satisfied, Cai Erman stepped forward, ready to stomp on the fallen Fu Cheng.

“Oof! Ah!” Cai Erman was suddenly swept off his feet by a kick, flying several meters away. A man in a black trench coat turned to help the fallen Fu Cheng.

“Xiao… Uncle Xiao! Take them down!” Fu Cheng stammered, trembling and barely able to stand, leaning on Xiao Se and trying to retreat, utterly disheveled.

At that moment, from behind Xiao Se, dozens of cars discharged hundreds of men, rushing towards Ye Chen’s side, all armed with menacing weapons.

“If the police don’t show up soon, someone’s going to get killed,” the security guard said anxiously, watching the chaos unfold. If anything happened, they would also be held responsible.

Students at Shengze College were already scaling the walls to escape, and from the dormitory building closest to the north gate, they were throwing down sticks, cleavers, nun chucks…