Chapter 138: Collecting a Debt

It was already late in the night.
In a detached villa on the outskirts of Binhai City, the third-floor bedroom was a scene of passionate intimacy, with two naked bodies writhing up and down like slippery eels.
After a while, the man finally collapsed, gave the woman's buttocks a gentle slap, and chuckled, "Baby, I performed quite well today, didn't I?"
Snuggling into the arms of the older man—who was old enough to be her father—the woman whimpered coquettishly, "Not just today. You're fierce every single time."
Beaming with satisfaction at the flattery, the man reached up to smooth the sparse hair on his head and replied, "With a mouth as sweet as yours, I'll buy you a diamond necklace later."
A moment later, the older man swallowed a blue pill, instantly regained his vigor, and pressed his body back down onto the woman.
Little did he know that not far away, perched on a tree branch, a young man was currently using a pair of binoculars to admire this rare and exquisite performance.
"Refusing to pay your debts and even trying to silence people? Scumbags like this truly deserve to die!"
Yang Jiekai muttered with a sigh, tossing the binoculars aside. He had been observing the scene for over ten minutes—not because of the alluring spectacle, but because he found the situation slightly trickier than he had anticipated.
Earlier, when he heard Han Ning say that the other party had been stalling on a large construction payment, Yang Jiekai had assumed the man genuinely lacked cash and had been driven to desperate measures against Han Ning.
Yet judging by the current situation, a man who owned a massive standalone villa surrounded by dozens of patrolling bodyguards could hardly be called short of money.
Originally, Yang Jiekai had treated this as a minor errand where he could just drop by and teach a small-time crook a lesson. But now, he had changed his mind, a cold, sharp arc slowly forming at the corner of his mouth.
If the fellow had truly been a small-time punk, he might have been left a way out—at most, confined to a hospital bed for the rest of his life.
Judging by appearances now, however, this man was clearly someone connected to the underworld, commanding significant influence. Leaving such roots uncut would inevitably lead to endless future troubles.
"What a nuisance!"
Yang Jiekai stretched his neck, dropped silently from the branch like a nimble little bird, and strolled leisurely toward the villa.
"Halt! Who goes there? What are you doing?"
Noticing Yang Jiekai sauntering toward the building, several bodyguards clicked on their flashlights and rushed over to surround him.
Unhurriedly pulling out a cigarette and lighting it, Yang Jiekai flashed a harmless smile at the guards. "The owner of this villa owes me some money. I'm here to collect a debt."
"Bullshit, get lost... Ah!"
One of the guards reached out to shove Yang Jiekai, but the moment his hand extended, his wrist felt as though it had been clamped by a pair of heavy iron pliers. A fierce twist was followed by a sharp crack as the bone shattered, and agonizing pain wrung a pig-like screech from his throat.
With lightning speed, Yang Jiekai delivered a palm-edge strike to the man's neck, instantly silencing him.
Before the remaining guards could react, Yang Jiekai leaped into the air, spinning like a bat in the dark night to unleash a 360-degree whirlwind kick.
Without even a groan, the guards took blows to their jaws, plunged into sudden darkness, and lost consciousness completely.
Finishing this off, Yang Jiekai arched his body and charged fiercely toward the villa.
"Halt! Who is it?"
Drawn by the screams, another group of bodyguards rushed over, only to catch a fleeting afterimage hurtling straight toward them.
Giving them no chance to react, Yang Jiekai wove through the crowd like a streak of black lightning, punctuated by the recurring sounds of snapping bones.
Deciding to dispense with pleasantries this time, Yang Jiekai unleashed his full strength. In mere seconds, over a dozen bodyguards lay sprawled across the ground.
Perhaps the master of the villa believed his outer perimeter defense was impenetrable, as no guards were stationed inside.
This saved Yang Jiekai the trouble, allowing him to ascend the stairs unhindered with a cigarette hanging from his lips.
Up in the third-floor bedroom, fueled by the drug, the older man was locked in frantic combat with the woman beneath him, entirely unaware that the bedroom door had been pushed open.
Yang Jiekai slipped into the house soundlessly, puffing on his cigarette while watching the live show with great interest.
*Huu—*
Drawing upon the residual effects of the pill, the older man finally reached the peak. With a low growl, he collapsed to the side, drenched in sweat.
*Sniff, sniff—*
The older man twitched his nose, turning to the equally limp woman beside him. "Are you smoking? Why is there a smell of tobacco?"
"No," the woman replied in confusion. "Though... I smell it too."
Yang Jiekai was left utterly speechless. The lights in the room were fully on, and he had been sitting right there for quite a while, yet the pair on the bed hadn't noticed him at all. Their brains must have been fried from excess indulgence.
"Hey, keep going. I haven't seen enough yet."
Holding a half-burnt cigarette between his fingers, Yang Jiekai addressed the two on the bed with a half-smile.
"Who are you?!"
Only then did the older man realize a stranger had materialized in the room. He bolted upright, glaring vigilantly and angrily at the intruder.
Rubbing his forehead with a depressed expression, Yang Jiekai muttered, "This is the third time I've heard that question. Do people around here all have a fetish for asking who others are?"
"What do you want?"
As someone who had seen his share of stormy seas, the older man managed to suppress his panic.
Exhaling a few rings of smoke, Yang Jiekai rose slowly from the sofa, took a few steps forward, and said, "Nothing much. Your friend owes my friend some money, and I'm just here to collect."
He added as an afterthought, "Oh, right, the person in charge of Ziyu Company is my friend. I heard you owe her for a construction project."
"Do you know that breaking into someone's room like this is extremely impolite?"
The older man barked angrily at Yang Jiekai, hoping to intimidate him.
"I know."
Watching him with amusement, Yang Jiekai replied, "If I've done anything discourteous, please don't take it to heart, because... I did it on purpose. Haha, you idiot, what era do you think this is, and you're still trying to put on an act with me!"
Enraged by the taunts, the older man bellowed, "Someone come!"
Utterly speechless, Yang Jiekai retorted, "Are you brain-dead? Since I can stand right here, do you think anyone outside is still breathing?"
The color drained instantly from the older man's face, and beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. Having just come down from his high, he hadn't considered the broader picture.
Hearing this, he remembered that the perimeter of his villa was heavily fortified; if this person had appeared silently in his bedroom, the bodyguards outside must have already been dealt with.
A profound, unspeakable terror gripped his heart. To single-handedly take down so many guards—what kind of monstrous power did this person possess?
"Fine! I'll pay!"
Experienced and hardened by years in the underworld, the older man managed to steady his nerves.
Reaching toward the bedside table for a suit jacket, he pulled out a checkbook and hurriedly scribbled a few lines. "This covers the entire construction fee."
Yang Jiekai casually took the check, glanced at it briefly, and tucked it into his trouser pocket.
"Little brother, your skills are impressive. I hope we can become friends."
True to his underworld roots, the older man's mind raced, searching for a solution. If he could recruit this formidable fighter under his banner, one man would be worth dozens.
"Friends?"
Guessing the man's thoughts instantly, Yang Jiekai chuckled in amusement and teased, "And how would we go about that?"
Confident now that the other party had taken the bait, the older man offered, "Follow me from now on, and I guarantee you wealth and luxury!"
Looking around the room, Yang Jiekai sighed, "Your offer is indeed tempting, but I have no interest in making friends with a pig."
Losing his temper, the older man snapped, "Young man, don't be so arrogant! Do you really think I'm afraid of you? I offered you a chance because I appreciate your skills. Let me leave you with a warning: those who don't seek death won't find it!"
With a swift motion, the older man whipped a pitch-black pistol from his suit jacket, pointing the dark muzzle straight at Yang Jiekai. "I gave you a chance, but you threw it away. Don't blame me!"
Yang Jiekai shook his head, sighed, and muttered, "Those who don't seek death won't find it? Hmm, that's a very wise saying, though I think it suits you much better."
Giving the older man a quizzical look, he added, "Idiot, if you don't know how to use a gun, don't play with one. You haven't even taken off the safety!"
Startled, the older man glanced down hastily at the safety catch.
In that exact split second, Yang Jiekai moved!
He instantly blurred into a ghost-like afterimage, flashing directly toward the older man. With a swift lift of his wrist and a sharp twist, the gun was in his own hands.
"Old man, time to hit the road."
Aiming the barrel right at him, the color drained completely from the older man's face, leaving giant beads of sweat dripping down his brow.
"No, don't shoot! I'll give you however much money you want!"
With the gun in his hand earlier, the older man had felt invincible, but facing the barrel himself, he panicked instantly.
"Oh? Really? How much can you give?" Yang Jiekai watched him with detached amusement.
Seeing a glimmer of hope, the man blurted out, "Anything! Just spare my life, and I'll pay whatever you name!"
Yang Jiekai shook his head and sighed softly, "Old man, listen carefully. If you had simply chosen to default on the debt, I might have spared your life. Your fatal mistake was hiring people to harm my friend. Now, you must pay the price for your actions."
*Bang!*
The gunshot rang out. Before he could utter another word, a bloody hole bloomed right between the older man's brows, thick crimson blood trickling down. His eyes remained wide open, filled with endless reluctance and despair.
"Big brother, please spare me! As long as you let me live, I'll do anything—"
*Bang!*
The gun fired once more, and another bloody hole appeared at the center of the woman's brow...