The last rays of the setting sun, which had been casting a slant across the top of the gap between the buildings, faded away.
As dusk fell, the entire alley was plunged into complete darkness, with only the entrances on both sides allowing a faint glimmer of light to penetrate.
Several burly men surrounded the young man, closing in step by step, but they failed to see the restless glint and excited redness in the young man's eyes.
“I can triple the money your employer gives you, as long as you tell me his name.”
Xiao He stood still, his face expressionless beneath the mask.
However, this group of thugs didn't seem to have any intention of chatting with Xiao He. One of them was even carrying a baseball bat, looking particularly intimidating, as if they were serious about teaching Xiao He a lesson.
The skinny man at the very back raised a somewhat worn-out DSLR camera, aimed it at Xiao He, and prepared to film the whole process to report to his employer.
Xiao He stared intently at the camera, his eyes turning completely cold.
That's a real shame.
After saying that, the burly man stopped listening to Xiao He's "pleas for mercy" and instead swung his baseball bat directly at Xiao He's stomach.
With a sharp whistling sound, Xiao He took a step back and firmly grasped the baseball bat.
The stick struck his palm squarely, the pain lasting only a moment, but Xiao He remained unfazed. As the person behind him prepared to pounce and grab him, he suddenly kicked backward, sending the person flying.
He then grabbed the thug's wrist from the baseball bat, crouched down to the side, and swung his elbow, breaking the man's arm with a "crack".
"ah--"
The thug holding the baseball bat let out a scream, and then Xiao He snatched the bat from his hand.
Xiao He deftly reversed the baseball bat in his hand and stabbed it behind him, piercing the stomach of another thug who rushed up behind him. The man gagged and clutched his stomach in pain.
"So you're the only one who likes to bang on things?"
Xiao He asked jokingly, then smacked the two thugs on the head, sending them scurrying away with their heads in their hands.
"Ah, stop, stop—"
Despite their fierce demeanor and imposing aura, after Xiao He tapped them on the forehead, their eyes cleared, and they grimaced in pain, frantically rubbing their foreheads, completely losing their initial ferocity.
The skinny man who was recording the incident hadn't expected things to turn out this way. He pulled out a knife from his waist and threatened, "Stop it!"
Xiao He glanced at him sideways, a sinister smile appearing beneath his mask.
"I only knocked on them, not on you, right!"
Then, ignoring the knife in the skinny man's «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» hand, he went on to make several more "bang bang bang" sounds.
The skinny man immediately crouched down in pain, clutching his forehead and screaming, "Ah, I was wrong, I was wrong—"
"Damn it, you dare to pull out a knife in front of me? You really make yourself look good!"
"I was wrong, brother. This is a fake knife, it's not sharpened, it's really not sharpened, stop hitting me—"
Xiao He remained silent, but struck the door again.
In the blink of an eye, only the sound of sticks hitting bones remained in the alley. The once arrogant group of five was reduced to a pathetic mess of running away with their heads in their hands and howling for mercy.
After a series of blows, Xiao He felt refreshed and finally stopped amidst the cries of the five people.
"Speak."
Xiao He picked up the camera from the ground and pointed it at the five people in front of him who were huddled together, trembling and covering their heads: "Who sent you? What did your employer tell you to do? Tell me everything clearly."
"Yes, Brother Nan sent us."
The skinny man said with a mournful face.
"Who is Brother Nan?"
"He's the big boss of our US XX gang's district, he's involved in organized crime with the higher-ups."
Where are the others?
He is not in the United States right now.
"Who contacted him?"
"We...we don't know either—"
Xiao He asked several questions in a row, observed the state of these people, and after confirming that they were not lying, he gradually made up his mind.
This group looks fierce, but they're not even a real gang. They're just thugs and hooligans. They're easily scared and won't amount to anything.
However, Xiao He still had some questions.
"Just the five of you?"
If he remembers correctly, there should be six people.
Xiao He had initially thought that the Nan-ge they were talking about was also here, but it seemed that he wasn't.
The five men held their heads and looked at each other in bewilderment: "We...we've always been five people—"
"All along?" Xiao He frowned. "Were the only five of you watching me in the square?"
"Yes, yes, just us."
"Is there no one else?"
"That's all—"
Xiao He suddenly stood up straight, his expression somewhat solemn.
"Something's not right..."
Xiao He murmured softly.
He clearly remembered that when he was there, he noticed six menacing gazes.
But why have only five been caught so far?
Or is there another group of people also targeting him?
Suddenly, other guesses flashed through Xiao He's mind—the first gaze he noticed seemed to have been there when he arrived at the square, while these five idiots appeared after he started skateboarding.
In other words, it's very likely that the first gaze he noticed wasn't directed at him!
Who could it be?
Xiao He thought of the boy who had lent him the skateboard earlier.
It was only when he was standing with that boy that he noticed that gaze.
But that gaze flashed by too quickly; before Xiao He could catch it, it had vanished again, and he almost thought it was just his imagination.
As it turns out now—
Xiao He's expression turned serious.
He crouched down, his gaze cold and menacing as he looked at the five people in front of him. He snapped his fingers and said, "You're coming with me now. Do me a favor, and then remember to turn yourselves in later. Otherwise, I'll beat you to death right here and throw you in the trash to feed the dogs."
The five men met Xiao He's murderous gaze and shivered in unison, nodding tremblingly, "Okay, okay, we understand, please, brother, don't do it!"
Xiao He nodded slightly, then stood up, turned around, and ran out of the alley.
The five people followed cautiously, cowering, with no intention of escaping, only fear and dread.
But I must say, Xiao He was quite skilled at hitting with a baseball bat. These guys had bumps all over their heads, but not a drop of blood was drawn. Most of the bruises were even covered by their hair. The way they followed Xiao He out really made them look like his little followers.
Xiao He hurried back to the square, only to find that Ban Zheyu was no longer there.
He immediately grabbed the boy who had been skateboarding with him and asked anxiously, "Where did the Chinese boy who was playing with you go?"
The skateboarder paused for a moment, then pointed in a direction: "He said he was leaving first to go back and send his sister the videos the crew filmed on set."
Xiao He immediately chased after them in that direction.
He hadn't been gone long, at most five minutes, so Ban Zheyu shouldn't have gone very far.
But soon, Xiao He saw the familiar skateboard next to the roadside trash can.
—This is the skateboard that Xiao He just borrowed!
When Xiao He saw the familiar skateboard, his heart skipped a beat.
Damn it, that guy really went after that kid!
Danger!
