Chapter 120: The Wrath of Thunder

Duan Hu appeared in the private room covered in blood. He collapsed the moment he entered, blood streaming from his forehead and coating his face, a truly ghastly sight.

Everyone was shocked. Liu Jingye quickly pulled him up, provided basic first aid to stop the bleeding, and wrapped an ice pack in a shirt to press against his head.

After a long while, Duan Hu finally regained his senses. Lin Shengnan asked anxiously, "What happened, Brother Hu? Did you clash with them? How many of them were there?"

Duan Hu grimaced in pain, his expression more wretched than a crying face as he replied, "There were only four of them."

"But there were over twenty of you!" Lin Shengnan exclaimed in disbelief.

"To them, twenty people were nothing more than punching bags," Duan Hu said with a bitter smile. "They are far too strong; they aren't ordinary thugs at all. I’m afraid Boss Meng’s sand business won't be saved."

Silence fell over the room. Four people had easily decimated their group of twenty, and even a veteran like Duan Hu had been beaten to such a state—the strength of their opponents was clear.

Lin Shengnan had Duan Hu sent to a nearby clinic and looked at Liu Jingye with nervous anticipation. They believed that only someone as powerful as Liu Jingye could handle such a threat.

But Liu Jingye had little interest. He looked at Lin Shengnan and said, "Don't count on me. I'm not interested, and besides, you lot shouldn't get involved either. You truly are no match for them."

Lin Shengnan sighed and said nothing more. She didn't want to force Liu Jingye to do anything, and this life of violence was not what she wanted for herself.

Before long, Boss Meng arrived to visit Duan Hu, tossing down twenty thousand yuan as initial expense money. He then made several phone calls, hoping to find the boss behind these experts. He intended to negotiate first to understand their intentions; if they were truly bent on destroying him, he would then consider extreme measures.

Liu Jingye didn't want to be overly involved, so he left after a short while. Boss Meng had been looking at him strangely, likely plotting something; having seen him fight during their turf war, Boss Meng had already categorized him as a master and his ultimate trump card.

"You've had quite a bit to drink, and it's raining so heavily. Please be careful driving."

At the entrance, Lin Shengnan stood under the eaves, fussing over Liu Jingye as he sat in his beat-up Santana, ready to leave with bleary, drunken eyes.

Liu Jingye watched her. In the wind and rain, her slender frame and reluctant demeanor made him want to pull her into the car and take her back to his inn. But he couldn't. Behind her stood Hu Ming and a whole group of brothers; she had the mission and responsibility of a gang leader. Unless she settled them, she wouldn't even dare to admit to a relationship, let alone run off with him.

Liu Jingye took a deep breath, cast aside his romantic attachments, and started the car, speeding away in first gear. The engine wailed like a ghost, but he dared not shift; if he did, the engine would stall.

By the time he returned to the inn, the car was on the verge of breakdown. As soon as he walked through the door, the phone rang. Stone’s voice was choked with tears as he said, "Big Brother, you have to come quickly! Big Sister has been beaten!"

"What?" Liu Jingye was shocked, his scalp tingling. He didn't ask for details, hung up, jumped back into his car, and sped off into the rainy night.

"Big Brother, don't be reckless, Big Sister is fine."

Waiting at the door, Stone froze the moment Liu Jingye stepped out of the car. He saw him soaking wet, his eyes cold, radiating a terrifying killing intent—and most importantly, he was brandishing a massive handgun.

Stone tried to soothe him, but Liu Jingye ignored him completely. The woman he had just been sharing intimate moments with, the woman he considered a virtuous wife and mother, the one who suppressed her own feelings to provide for her brothers—someone had dared to beat her the moment his back was turned. It felt as if a knife were carving into his own flesh.

"Boom!" The door was kicked open. A group of brothers was gathered inside, along with Boss Meng.

As soon as Liu Jingye entered, the temperature in the room plummeted as if it were an ice cellar. Everyone felt a shiver run down their spines.

"Oh, god..." Boss Meng saw the massive gun in his hand and shrieked in terror, quickly trying to appease him. "Brother Liu, please, don't be rash! This isn't my fault!"

*Hmph...* Liu Jingye snorted coldly. He knew full well that Boss Meng was likely implicated, but he ignored him and walked straight toward Lin Shengnan, who was lying on the sofa.

One look was all it took for his rage to boil over, feeling his entire body ignite.

Lin Shengnan was looking at him pitifully. One side of her face was swollen, her eye narrowed to a slit. There was dried blood at the corner of her mouth, and the distinct, bruising fingerprints on her cheek were already turning dark.

It was clearly the result of a heavy slap—the very same cheek he had kissed while teasing her last time.

Liu Jingye’s fury burned. In this situation, there was no need to ask for reasons; seeking revenge directly was the only path.

He asked coldly, "Where are they?"

The crowd was deathly silent, paralyzed by the overwhelming killing intent that seemed to manifest as a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

"Where are the people who hit her?" Liu Jingye roared.

Lin Shengnan sat up, trying to reach out for him, but perhaps due to a concussion, she swayed and failed to rise.

This only fueled Liu Jingye’s rage further. He spun around and glared at Boss Meng.

Terrified, Boss Meng pointed toward the window. "They just left! In a black Audi, no license plates, heading toward the intersection!"

Before Boss Meng could finish, Liu Jingye had already dashed out like a gale. Lin Shengnan mustered all her strength to call him back, but the moment she opened her mouth, the movement pulled at her injured lip. With a sharp pang of pain, she urged the brothers nearby, "Go! Hurry, go after him! Don't let him kill anyone!"

The stunned group finally came to their senses, but by the time they rushed downstairs, Liu Jingye’s car had already vanished into the rainy night.

He drove with reckless speed, still stuck in first gear, the engine screaming in a high-pitched, agonizing wail.

He tore through the streets until he reached the junction, catching sight of a black Audi just turning onto the main road. He pursued immediately. The downpour was torrential and the streetlights dim. The high-end car accelerated the moment it hit the main road, reaching over a hundred kilometers per hour in seconds.

Liu Jingye’s beat-up Santana, trapped in first gear, struggled to even hit sixty. As the target began to disappear into the veil of rain, Liu Jingye snorted, rolled down the window, and stuck his left hand out, gun in hand.

His gaze was sharp as a blade, piercing through the driving rain, locking onto his target like the Grim Reaper.

"Bang!" A deafening gunshot rang out in the rainy night. A loud crash followed as the Audi’s rear windshield shattered. The massive bullet tore through, punched a hole in the front windshield, and grazed the shoulder of the passenger.

The sudden gunfire startled the occupants of the Audi, and the car swerved out of control. Liu Jingye fired again, the bullet striking the rear-left tire with precision. The Audi fishtailed, slammed into the median, and spun, nearly flipping over on the wet road.

The Audi finally came to a halt. Two men stumbled out, shaken by the impact but not seriously injured.

Liu Jingye slammed on the gas, his eyes bloodshot, intending to run them down. The two men reacted with incredible speed, leaping to either side just in time. Liu Jingye immediately shifted into reverse, intending to back up and crush them, but the engine stalled!

Cursing, Liu Jingye jumped out of the car. The two men stood up. In the heavy rain, they could barely see each other's faces, but they were livid. "Who the hell are you? Are you looking to die?"

Before the words were out, one of them lunged forward, delivering a fast, vicious punch toward Liu Jingye's chin. It was clear he was a trained fighter, aiming to knock him out with a single blow.

Liu Jingye didn't dodge. As the man closed in and his fist swung out, Liu Jingye thrust out a powerful kick.

The man's fist stopped inches from Liu Jingye’s face. An arm could never be longer than a leg. Liu Jingye struck first despite moving second, his foot slamming into the man's abdomen. The force caused the man to double over and sent him flying over three meters, crashing into a puddle.

This was what Liu Jingye had told Stone: never be afraid in a fight, never close your eyes, and never think of just dodging or defending. Watch the opponent’s rhythm and execute the simplest, most effective counter.

Of course, it sounded simple, but it required countless battles to forge. This was the essence of real combat experience.

After sending the man flying, Liu Jingye had no intention of letting him go. He charged forward, aiming a kick at the man's neck. In a split second, the man reacted, crossing his arms to block.

A crisp *crack* of breaking bone echoed. The man lay on his side, arms shielding his head, as Liu Jingye’s kick struck his forearms, sending him sliding five meters across the wet ground.

At that moment, the second man rushed up, wielding a switchblade, and lunged for Liu Jingye’s lower back.

Liu Jingye suddenly arched his body backward, like a gymnast, his head snapping back and his torso bowing. He dodged the blade, and his head slammed into the man's face.

Then, using his core strength, he twisted his body with explosive power. A hand-blade strike disarmed the man, and he immediately grabbed the man's wrist. With a swift, spinning motion, he twisted the man's arm until it snapped like a pretzel.

"Ahhh!" A pig-like shriek tore through the air. Liu Jingye ignored the scream, released the mangled arm, and delivered two heavy blows to the man's ribs. With a sickening crunch, at least three ribs shattered, and the man collapsed, writhing in agony.

The other man, enduring the pain of his broken arms, tried to charge again, but he was greeted by the sight of a cold, lethal handgun pointed directly at him.