Chapter 11

Before Xiao Se could speak, the people behind him had already charged into the crowd, throwing punches. The two groups entangled, clashing like dual waves in the sea, with the weaker force inevitably being overwhelmed. Clearly, Ye Chen’s side seemed to be at a disadvantage.

“Everyone, back off!” Xiao Se shouted, his commanding presence seemingly innate. At this fierce roar, everyone stopped fighting.

“Who’s your boss?” Xiao Se asked, lighting a cigarette with an air of calm that was hard to match.

“Uh… Uh…” Fu Lei was dragged behind Xiao Se by two men, while others who could still move gathered behind him too. Those who couldn’t move just groaned.

“It’s me!” Ye Chen stepped forward and declared.

As soon as Ye Chen spoke, Xiao Se kicked him back into the crowd. Ye Chen didn’t cry out in pain. Instead, he got up to retaliate, but Xiao Se stood firm, kicking with the agility of his legs, his foot finally slapping Ye Chen’s face. Ye Chen fell to the ground, powerless to fight back.

“Damn, we’re up against a trained fighter! Charge!” someone in the crowd shouted, and the brawl between the two groups resumed. Students from Shengze College quickly joined in, soon compensating for Ye Chen’s side’s lack of manpower!

The tide turned towards Xiao Se’s side.

A year ago, the “Black Spirit Incident” at Shengze College made headlines on Xiahua Country’s Central Television. The leaders of the Hailing Municipal Government personally oversaw the police investigation of the incident, which involved Ye Chen, Cai Erman, and Mingzi as leaders. The “Black Spirit Incident” was also a fight between local gang members and students, with the police and government strongly protecting Shengze College due to the students’ vulnerability. In an unfortunate turn of events, a Shengze student was beaten to death, leading to six members of the Black Spirit Gang being sentenced to death. Who says mass brawl incidents can’t lead to individual criminal responsibility? The “Black Spirit Incident” proved that hoping to be lucky in such cases is a fool’s errand. Murder must be atoned for by death; such is the natural order and the law itself!

Xiao Se is a subordinate of Fu Zhinan, and legend has it that his grandfather once mingled with Xu Wenqiang¹ on the Shanghai Bund. This claim is quite believable based on his demeanor, but it’s a shame that, as a successor of the “Shanghai Bund,” he is losing face by clashing with a bunch of school kids.

In Dingjia District, Hailing, where the Hailing Public Security Bureau and the Armed Police Force are located, over a hundred police cars and trucks carrying armed police drove on National Highway 105 towards Puhua District in Hailing. Sirens blared urgently as the first twenty special police vehicles cleared the way. Every traffic light intersection was blocked to other vehicles-a show of force greater than ever before! It seems that the Hailing Municipal Government intends to resolve this gang fight involving students in the shortest time possible. If this incident is exposed by the media, the leaders of the Hailing Municipal Committee and the Hailing Public Security Bureau could face dismissal or demotion!

Outside the gates of Shengze College, chaos reigned. If this scene were to be witnessed by foreign guests, it might discourage them and their descendants from visiting Xiahua Country ever again. As the saying goes, “When the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer too.” It’s better to watch the blaze from across the river, where the blood won’t splash on you.

Since experiencing the “Black Spirit Incident” a year ago, Ye Chen, Cai Erman, and Mingzi have kept a low profile at school. However, the more unassuming they are, the more wildly their reputations grow, elevating them to mythical status at Shengze College! The local toughs have a saying: “You don’t know Ye Chen, Cai Erman, or Wei Ziming? How did you even find out about the ‘Shengze Mainstream Language and Literature College’ when you applied?” This phrase alone shows how these three have become the faces of Shengze College.

“Uncle Xiao, if we keep fighting like this, something big is going to happen,” Fu Cheng whispered, hiding behind Xiao Se.

Hearing Fu Cheng’s words, Xiao Se stomped his feet hard, leaping over two meters high. After stepping over several people, he suddenly turned and landed behind Ye Chen, his right hand shaped like an eagle’s claw, clutching Ye Chen’s neck as he shouted, “Everyone stop!” The others, as if rehearsed, stopped in succession from the inside out.

“Damn it!”

“Slap!” Fu Lei cursed angrily and slapped Ye Chen across the face, following it up by spitting on him.

“Bang!” Suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, a gunshot rang out, and Fu Lei grabbed his face, falling to the ground and rolling in pain! Who was that? Where did the gun come from?

“Boss! I’m here to save you!” Atop the towering two-meter-high wall of Shengze College, stood a little guy, barely 1.6 meters tall, brandishing a shotgun and shouting confidently with an air of dominance. Just as he was about to jump down, his foot slipped and he landed with a “plop” in a stinking ditch.

Ye Chen turned to look, his eyes filled with joy upon seeing him, but then sighed softly as he saw him plummet from the wall, turning his head away with a twisted expression.

“That’s so lame!” A high-pitched scream came from behind the crowd, followed by this bizarre exclamation. The little guy, like Schwarzenegger, strode into the crowd holding the gun-not an AK47 like Schwarzenegger’s, but his grandfather’s old shotgun used for rabbit hunting!

“Let my brother go!” the little guy demanded as he approached Xiao Se.

“As you say.”

“Ah! Ouch!”

Xiao Se, a seasoned martial artist with decades of experience in the underworld, had seen it all. He released Ye Chen, flashed a quick smile at the little guy, and in one swift move, snatched the shotgun from him. He then struck the little guy’s Baolao point (just below the first thoracic vertebra) with his elbow. The little guy screamed in pain and fell to the ground clutching his chest, while the shotgun was now aimed right at Ye Chen’s forehead!

“Ah… Ah… Kill him! Beat him to death! Ah…” Fu Lei, covering his left eye, shouted hatefully.

Xiao Se, of course, had no intention of firing. He relaxed his grip, letting the gun tip toward the ground, and prodded Ye Chen’s Qihai point with the tip of his right foot. Ye Chen knelt on the ground, his eyes bulging as if filled with water, his mouth wide open. After a few seconds, he started coughing, clutching his abdomen in pain as if it were on fire. Xiao Se watched him indifferently, then stepped forward to help Fu Lei up from the ground and said, “Young Master, let’s go back.”

“Ah!…”

Just as Xiao Se was crouched down helping Fu Lei, the little guy leaped up, intending to stomp on Xiao Se’s head. Xiao Se spun sharply to the right while crouching and swung his right foot, hitting the little guy’s face. The little guy fell in front of Ye Chen with another cry of pain. Surprisingly, he seemed resilient, as he turned to Ye Chen from the ground and said, “Boss, are you okay?” Ye Chen couldn’t even lift his head; he was kneeling, clutching his stomach and trembling all over.

“Ye Chen? Damn it!” Cai Erman tried to help Ye Chen up, but there was no response. Furious, Cai Erman glared at Xiao Se and rushed to kick him. Xiao Se grabbed Cai Erman’s raised right foot with one hand and lifted it upward, causing Cai Erman to flip through the air and slam his face hard onto the ground.

“Brothers, take them down!” Mingzi shouted, and the two groups clashed again, though Mingzi himself was nowhere to be seen in the crowd.

“Hey! Watch where you’re kicking!”

“You idiot, you want to die… Bro? Why are you lying on the ground?”

“Hurry and help me up, I’ve got a cramp in my calf.”

Getting a cramp really wasn’t ideal at that moment.

Xiao Se helped Fu Lei into a car and then instructed Fu Cheng to take him to the hospital. Xiao Se took out his phone and made a call.

On Municipal Road 670 in Hailing City, police cars and trucks from the Armed Police Force were racing towards Shengze College at 160 km/h. They were 38 kilometers away from the school gate. Assuming no surprises, they would arrive in about eight minutes. However, unexpectedly, less than ten kilometers ahead of the police cars, five Volkswagen Santana vehicles collided with each other. Accidents were rare in Hailing City, and this time it was a five-car crash right on cue!

In a large office, a rectangular table held a plastic stand with the national and party flags of Xiahua Country. A middle-aged man in a white shirt held a pen, quietly observing the eight boys standing on the other side of his desk.

The boys stood with their heads down, not moving at all, controlling even their breathing rhythm. It was clear that they all feared the middle-aged man on the other side of the table.

The middle-aged man looked at them and slowly said, “You really know how to create trouble. What’s your plan, to grow up and become pirates or join a terrorist organization?” As he scrutinized each of their reactions, all of them pursed their lips and took a sharp breath through their noses.

“You-yes, you-don’t think you can act like the boss just because your father has money! What do you think money is? I’ll tell you, on the day you die, you’ll realize that money is worthless!” The middle-aged man glared at a boy with dyed blonde hair and shouted angrily, as if wishing he could slap him.

This blonde-haired boy was the one who called the Black Spirit Gang to the school. His last name was Jin, and he was the young master of Jin’s Enterprises. Because of him, the issue got blown out of proportion!

“If you’re held accountable for this, all eight of you could end up in jail for life!” the man said harshly, suddenly clamping his mouth shut as if swallowing something. Judging by his expression, another word and he’d break into a coughing fit-he was clearly a heavy smoker.

“You! Your little sister is your only family. What will happen to her if something happens to you? Have you thought about that?” his tone softened when his gaze landed on a handsome boy.

“Wei Ziming! Look up!” the middle-aged man suddenly raised his voice.

“I… I…” Wei Ziming lifted his head, tears trembling in his eyes, and stumbled over his words while looking at the man.

“Cai Erman, your family lives in the mountains, right? Is it easy to go to college? Think about what your parents are doing now! They’re carrying hoes to weed! They’re pushing carts at construction sites!” It seemed the middle-aged man had thoroughly investigated the backgrounds of all eight boys.

“When you go back, I want you all to be good people. If I catch you causing trouble again, I’ll make sure you spend a lifetime in prison! Think about Shi Qiang! Sigh…”

Shi Qiang was the student who was killed by an outside gang in the “Black Spirit Incident” a year ago. He was the top boss of Shengze College back then, while Ye Chen, Cai Erman, and Mingzi were only third, fourth, and fifth in line. It wasn’t until the second-ranking Chu Yuexiong left the school last year that they became the only remaining leaders from the incident. Since then, they hadn’t caused any more trouble until today, still remembering the middle-aged man’s words. That’s why, when Mingzi fought Fu Lei, he had to think about what the man said. When Cai Erman faced mockery from Fu Cheng, he felt powerless and frustrated. Nevertheless, they remained the acknowledged top three at Shengze College!

Footnote:

1. Xu Wenqiang(许文强):Xu Wenqiang is a fictional character from the Hong Kong television drama series “Shanghai Bund”, portrayed by Chow Yun-fat. The character is known for his intelligence and bravery and is a classic figure in Chinese popular culture.