Brother Hong rushed out of the corrugated iron hut in just a few long strides.
The scene that greeted him was one of utter chaos.
Of the two men who had been holding Zhao Yuan down, one was lying in a pool of blood, his condition unknown. The other was pinned to the ground by Zhao Yuan's foot. Despite roaring and struggling desperately, it was completely useless. It was as if the weight on his body wasn't Zhao Yuan's foot, but a mountain weighing a million tons!
As for Knife Boy, the sharp machete he had been holding had somehow ended up in Zhao Yuan's hand.
Brother Hong's gang of thugs had surrounded Zhao Yuan, murderous glints in their eyes, ready to pounce at any moment.
Seeing Brother Hong walk out of the hut, Zhao Yuan even had the leisure to grin at him. "You must be Brother Hong, right? I have to say, you really picked the wrong guy to kidnap and rob!"
Brother Hong's face was as ugly as it could get, his eyes practically shooting flames of rage. He strode over to Knife Boy and demanded, "What the hell happened? Didn't I tell you to cut off one of his fingers? Why did the knife end up in his hands? And how did Bie the Third get hurt? How did Old Dog end up pinned under his foot?"
Knife Boy didn't dare hesitate and quickly recounted what had just happened. "I had Bie the Third and Old Dog hold him down while I got ready to bring the knife down on his finger. But just as I swung, the kid suddenly moved. His strength was insane. Not only did Bie the Third and Old Dog fail to hold him, but he stomped one under his foot and used the other to block my knife. Then, before I could even react, he snatched the knife right out of my hand..."
After hearing Knife Boy's story, Brother Hong's gaze toward Zhao Yuan was filled with malice. He said coldly, "Well, look at you. A trained fighter, huh?" 'So he has skills!' he thought, now finally understanding why Zhao Yuan had been so calm the whole time.
Zhao Yuan just smiled. "You flatter me. I'm no trained fighter. I'm just a little strong, that's all."
"I don't care if you're a trained fighter or have Divine Power from birth, I refuse to believe you aren't afraid of a bullet!" Brother Hong threw down his beer bottle, swiftly drew a gun from his waistband, and aimed it at Zhao Yuan. He snarled, "Go on, make a move! Let's see what's stronger, your strength or my gun!"
At that moment, the thugs surrounding Zhao Yuan also began to close in on him.
In their eyes, no matter how tough Zhao Yuan was, he couldn't possibly be invulnerable to blades and bullets. If he dared to make a wrong move, Brother Hong would absolutely open fire! 'If we don't put in some effort now,' they thought, 'we won't get much of a cut when it's time to split the money.'
"Give me the gun!" Zhao Yuan suddenly roared, simultaneously activating an Enchanting Talisman.
The thugs surrounding him had no idea what he was capable of. They thought he'd been scared witless. Otherwise, why would he tell Brother Hong to give him the gun? That was clearly an impossible demand!
But what happened next left them all dumbfounded—Brother Hong actually listened to Zhao Yuan and tossed the gun to him. Now, in addition to the knife in his right hand, Zhao Yuan also held a gun in his left.
Zhao Yuan lifted his foot off Old Dog and strode toward Brother Hong.
Old Dog scrambled up from the ground. Seeing Zhao Yuan's back turned to him, he considered a sneak attack but hesitated, not daring to make a move.
Soon, Zhao Yuan was standing right in front of Brother Hong.
Just then, the effect of the Enchanting Talisman wore off, and Brother Hong regained his senses.
Seeing Zhao Yuan suddenly appear in front of him, Brother Hong jumped in fright. He yelled, "Back! Get back!" while raising his hand and making a motion to pull a trigger. But since his gun was already in Zhao Yuan's possession, the gesture just looked ridiculous.
"The gun? Where's my gun?" Brother Hong cried out in a panic.
His gang of thugs was completely bewildered by this series of bizarre actions. They all stood there with their mouths agape, at a loss for words.
Finally, it was Knife Boy who reminded him, "Brother Hong, the kid has your gun."
"What?" Brother Hong stared. Wasn't that his own gun in Zhao Yuan's left hand? He was completely stunned and said in disbelief, "Why... how did my gun get into his hands?"
"You threw it to him yourself," Knife Boy answered.
"I threw it to him? How is that possible! Why would I throw it to him?" Brother Hong simply couldn't accept this reality.
Knife Boy said, "You really did. He told you to give him the gun, and you just obediently gave it to him. None of us know why you did it..."
The other lackeys standing around all nodded, confirming Knife Boy's words.
"It's this kid! It has to be this kid's doing! Who the hell is he? This is so damn weird!" At this moment, Brother Hong truly regretted choosing Zhao Yuan as a target. He had thought this would be an easy "job," but he never expected it to be a Hell Level challenge disguised as "easy mode"!
But now, he had a tiger by the tail and couldn't let go.
Brother Hong roared, "What the hell are you all staring at? Move! Chop this kid to pieces, I don't care if you kill him! If he doesn't die today, we're all finished!"
Hearing this, the thugs surrounding Zhao Yuan no longer hesitated. Their savage natures were on full display.
"Brother Hong is right! Today, it's either him or us!"
"Brothers, get him! Kill him! He's just one guy. No matter how tough he is, he's no match for all of us!"
"Don't be afraid of the gun in his hand! If we all rush him at once, he won't get a chance to shoot!"
The thugs howled as they charged at Zhao Yuan. Steel pipes and machetes rained down on him like a storm.
'Good,' Zhao Yuan thought, unfazed despite being surrounded. He remained perfectly calm. 'I can use you guys to test my current abilities!'
Having entered the Late Stage of Muscle Strengthening, he hadn't yet tested his own speed, strength, and reflexes. This group of thugs would make the perfect training dummies.
So he tossed the gun aside, spun around, and activated the White Tiger Form of the Four Saints Technique. His entire aura changed in an instant. Like a ferocious tiger descending a mountain, he met the charging thugs head-on.
CRACK! THWACK! The sounds of brutal impacts, accompanied by pained grunts and horrified screams, rang out continuously. One after another, the thugs were knocked to the ground by Zhao Yuan. Though still breathing, they couldn't get back up to fight. Meanwhile, Zhao Yuan weaved through the encirclement they had formed, precisely dodging every one of their attacks without being hit even once.
In just a few short minutes, only Zhao Yuan and Brother Hong were left standing in the scrap yard. Everyone else was sprawled on the ground, groaning in agony.