Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The grueling day finally ended. As soon as school was out, Zhang Yu shoved his books into his backpack, grabbed it, and bolted.

To facilitate his mission, the system had designated him a day student, exempting him from evening self-study.

Outside the school gates, Zhang Yu followed the system’s navigation, walking briskly toward the construction site.

He hadn't gone far when he heard footsteps behind him. A group of troublemakers, led by Sun Ran, caught up and passed him, one of them giving him a shove.

"Get out of the way, don’t block the road!"

Zhang Yu didn’t react in time, standing rooted to the spot, not budging an inch, as if the push hadn't affected him at all.

The delinquent seemed momentarily stunned, slowing his pace slightly. But seeing the others already far ahead, he didn’t stop. Instead, he turned back, flipped Zhang Yu the bird, and snarled, "Just you wait, next time I’ll kill you!"

Zhang Yu blinked, suddenly realizing he should have staggered a bit from the push.

He scratched his head, then lowered his hand.

Ah, whatever. Just a minor acting flaw—no big deal.

...

Twenty minutes later, Zhang Yu arrived at the abandoned construction site.

He Xu wasn't the only one there—a whole crowd had gathered.

The group was divided into two. One consisted of Sun Ran and his gang, along with some unfamiliar boys and girls, all standing behind He Xu. The other group was older, all tattooed and scowling, some even carrying steel pipes.

The two groups stood on opposite sides of the open site, the air thick with tension, as if poised for a confrontation.

"Are they about to fight?" Zhang Yu asked curiously.

9527: "Looks like it."

Zhang Yu quietly crept forward, hiding behind a stack of construction panels, his curly head peeking out as he watched excitedly.

He’d never seen humans fight before.

"He Xu!" The guy with a mohawk and two dragon tattoos on his arms shouted from the opposing side. "What’s the deal with messing with my people? You disrespecting Boss Xiao?"

"Messing with your people?" He Xu chuckled softly.

He sat atop a stack of culvert pipes, a cigarette between his fingers. He barely lifted his eyes, giving Boss Xiao’s group a dismissive glance. "Who exactly did I mess with?"

"You still denying it, huh?" The mohawk-wearing guy shot back. "Erhu, Liangzi, come here!"

Several punks with wild hairstyles stepped forward, their faces bruised. The mohawk-wearing guy pointed at them, glaring at He Xu. "These guys—was it you who beat them up?"

He Xu narrowed his eyes, glancing at the punks below. "Them?..."

He exhaled a puff of smoke. "Yeah, I did it."

The mohawk-wearing guy’s face twisted in anger. "Then why the hell did you say you didn’t?! What’s your problem?!"

He Xu smirked, tapped his cigarette. He tilted his chin toward the punks. "Why don’t you ask why I beat them up?"

"You think you’ve got a reason?" The mohawk-wearing guy sneered. "Fine, let’s settle this today so no one can say I’m bullying you students without cause! Erhu, speak up!"

One of the punks, a redhead, swallowed hard. "I just liked one of their girls. I was serious about her, spent a ton of money on her, but that bitch took my stuff and then turned on me! Slapped me a few times, called me a coward, even said Boss Xiao was trash! How could I take that? Insulting me is one thing, but insulting Boss Xiao? So I brought some guys to teach her how to talk properly..."

He grew more animated as he spoke, spit flying, his face full of righteous indignation. But when his eyes met He Xu’s amused gaze, he flinched, his voice shrinking. "And then... then he beat us up..."

The mohawk-wearing guy glared. "He Xu, anything else to say?!"

He shot the redhead a quick, subtle glare.

Before coming, he’d only known his guys got beaten up. Since He Xu had always been a pain in his ass, he’d brought his crew without thinking much. Now he realized it was over some girl—and from the sound of it, his guys had ganged up on her and still got beaten up by He Xu alone.

Fucking useless, embarrassing him like this!

"So that’s your side’s story?" He Xu raised an eyebrow lazily. "Yu Ling, your turn."

A girl with dark eyeliner stepped forward, her pretty face contorted with anger. "Boss, don’t listen to his bullshit! I never took his stuff or said any of that! This idiot tried to hit on me, I said no, so he tried to force me! I beat him up, and he got pissed, so he brought his goons to jump me!"

She turned to the redhead, her delicate brows furrowing as she spat, "Dumb fuck, piss in a puddle and look at yourself! Think you’re good enough for me? A toad wanting swan meat—Erhu? More like Er-pussy!"

Some kids laughed from behind He Xu. The redhead’s face, already flushed, turned purple with rage. He shot a death glare at the girl but caught sight of He Xu’s dark eyes and immediately shrank back, swallowing his words.

He Xu scoffed, looking at Boss Xiao’s dark expression. "Well, Boss Xiao? Heard enough?"

Boss Xiao glanced back at his guys, their cowering telling him everything. His face darkened.

Fucking worthless!

He suppressed the urge to beat them right then, his narrowed eyes fixed on He Xu, hesitation in his eyes.

He’d always disliked He Xu.

As the neighborhood gang leader, he’d made his living collecting protection fees. Linjiang High used to be his turf—those students were easy targets, easy to squeeze. He knew the area well, so even if they called the cops, he’d be gone before they arrived.

But ever since He Xu enrolled at Linzhong, that income had dried up.

That bastard He Xu came from a wealthy family yet still cut into his business. Worst of all, despite being just a teenager, he was built like a brick shithouse, stronger and more skilled than most grown men.

After He Xu declared Linzhong under his protection, Boss Xiao had tried to take care of him multiple times, but each attempt ended in failure—at best, a stalemate, and that was with multiple guys jumping him.

But today was different.

Boss Xiao subtly checked out the other side, counting them.

...Fifteen, sixteen.

Including the girls, only sixteen. But he’d brought over thirty, and...

He slipped a hand into his pocket, his hand on something hard. His expression eased slightly as he smirked at He Xu. "So what if I heard? How do I know this little bitch isn’t lying? I don’t trust a word from your people!"

He Xu chuckled, putting out his cigarette. He stood, jumping down from the pipes, hands in his pockets. A full head taller than Boss Xiao, his voice was low and rough. "So, Boss Xiao, you’re here for a fight?"

The boys and girls behind him stepped forward, eyeing the opposing side warily.

Boss Xiao’s thugs closed in, encircling them. Boss Xiao grinned. "No need for hostility. We’re old acquaintances—I can give you some face. Hand over half of Linzhong, and we’ll call it even today. Think it over, He Xu. Otherwise, my boys here don’t mess around."

He Xu’s gaze swept over the surrounding thugs. The ones with steel pipes tapped them menacingly against their palms, leering—especially at the girls.

He Xu’s eyes narrowed dangerously, his voice dropping to a growl. "Keep staring, and I’ll rip your fucking eyes out."

Several tough teens also stepped aside, forming a protective circle around the girls as they glared at the leering thugs. "What the hell are you staring at? You wanna get hurt?!"

Boss Xiao's face flushed with humiliation, but remembering He Xu's fighting prowess, he suppressed his anger and asked again, "He Xu, have you made up your mind? It's just half of Linzhong. Don't push your luck. Look at the numbers—we’ve got way more people than you. If this turns into a fight, you’ll regret it."

He Xu lowered his head, as if seriously considering it. "Half of Linzhong, huh? What a tempting offer."

This might work! Boss Xiao’s narrow eyes gleamed with eagerness as he took a few steps forward. "Exactly! A smart man knows when to fold. You’re no fool, He Xu—"

He reached out to pat He Xu’s shoulder, but at that moment, He Xu looked up, his dark eyes filled with menace. "Too bad, I'm not interested."

Before the words even finished, a vicious punch had already slammed into the gang leader’s face, knocking him to the ground.

He Xu stepped on his chest, looking down at him coldly. "Also, it's 'a smart man knows when to fold.'"

The others hadn’t expected him to strike so suddenly and froze for a second. But once they regained their senses, the thugs immediately started shouting and charging forward.

The young toughs weren’t about to back down either, rushing in to support their leader.

The two sides clashed in a chaotic brawl. The thugs had the advantage of numbers and steel pipes, dominating early on. But the rebel crew, nimble and resourceful, grabbed whatever construction materials were lying around and flung them at the attackers, managing to hold their own.

Not far away, Zhang Yu’s jaw dropped.

Wow, so this is human fighting? Looks intense.

He hadn’t heard the conversation clearly from his spot, only seeing the two groups exchange a few words before He Xu jumped down, said something, and then suddenly—the fight erupted.

Unable to resist, he leaned forward, resting his arms on the construction materials, watching the melee with excitement. His eyes darted around, barely able to keep up. He even wished he could unleash his other four eyes to take it all in.

He glanced here and there, cheering inwardly. Nice hit! Punch him! Kick his stomach! Stomp his face!

One girl in particular stood out—the one with smoky eye makeup. Zhang Yu faintly heard someone call her "Yu Ling."

Somehow, she had wrestled a steel pipe from a thug and was now whirling it dangerously, aiming straight for weak spots. Any thug who tried to grab her ended up howling in pain, clutching their crotch as they collapsed.

The advancing thugs hesitated, eyes wide as they backed away. Even the delinquents on her own side gasped and subtly distanced themselves from her.

But the standout fighter in the crowd was undoubtedly He Xu.

He had left his jacket on the culvert before the fight. Now, clad in a black sleeveless tank top, the contours of his chest and abs were clearly defined. His bare arms flexed with every punch, sending thugs flying one after another.

While the girl with the pipe dominated with sheer skill, He Xu relied on pure, raw strength—every punch landing with brutal precision.

Zhang Yu found himself unable to look away.

His gaze lingered on the human in black, watching sweat trickle down his temples and disappear into his high collar. His breathing was slightly labored from the intense fight, his previously furrowed brows relaxing slightly, as if the pent-up aggression had been vented through the brawl.

Zhang Yu’s eyes traced the exposed skin, the tanned skin glistening with sweat.

His fangs tingled again.

His throat moved unconsciously as his eyes fixated on that patch of skin, a primal hunger stirring inside him.

God, I want to sink my teeth in...