When the women heard Lin Xinghai say that the security team had already left, their faces paled, and they all turned to look at him in unison.
After all, the whole reason they had let Lin Xinghai become their roommate was to have someone to protect them in moments just like this.
Lin Xinghai, however, was lost in thought. He wasn't actually afraid of this so-called Axe Gang.
No matter how tough these punks were, their strength was limited. If they had what it took to become one of the Optimized, who would willingly stay in the Lower City District and be a common thug?
Therefore, Lin Xinghai estimated that as long as there weren't too many of them, he was confident he could win the fight.
The problem was, he wasn't sure if he should even get involved.
After all, once the fight was over, he could just walk away scot-free. But Liu Miaomiao and the others would likely have to live here for a good while longer.
"How much is the protection fee they're demanding?" Lin Xinghai asked after a moment of thought.
"Three Points a month," Shen Yimei replied.
Hearing this, the women breathed a collective, quiet sigh of relief. Liu Miaomiao even shot the other girl a look. "Yimei, you should have just said that from the start."
"If it's only three Points a month, that's not entirely unacceptable. After all, it's better to avoid trouble," Liu Miaomiao said, carefully watching Lin Xinghai's expression as she spoke.
She was most afraid that Lin Xinghai would be stubborn, refuse to pay the fee, and clash with the Axe Gang. It didn't matter if he could win or not; even if he did, it would likely lead to endless trouble down the line.
Lin Xinghai didn't object. In fact, his expression remained perfectly calm.
This greatly surprised Liu Miaomiao. In her experience, he wasn't such an agreeable person.
Since Lin Xinghai didn't voice an opinion, the women quickly came to an agreement.
All that was left was an anxious wait. They could all hear the commotion growing louder and drawing nearer. The din was occasionally punctuated by the sounds of arguments, punches, and kicks. Clearly, people were still trying to resist.
But their resistance was doomed to be futile, because the commotion had already arrived right outside their door.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The door was being kicked. The old, worn-out door shuddered violently, and the bolt creaked, making them wonder if it would be kicked clean off its hinges at any second.
Seeing this, Lin Xinghai couldn't help but frown, but he still said nothing.
Shen Yimei, who was closest to the door, drew back the bolt, and it was immediately kicked open from the outside.
Five young men with garishly dyed hair and axe tattoos on their arms swaggered in, cursing. "Are you looking for death? What took you so long to open the door? Don't you know we—"
The leader's cursing trailed off as his eyes swept over Liu Miaomiao and the others one by one. His expression gradually grew heated and greedy.
It wasn't just him; the other thugs who followed him in had nearly identical looks in their eyes. Here in the Lower Level District, beautiful women were an absolute rarity.
This was especially true for Liu Miaomiao and Wang Yao. One was stunning in both looks and bearing, while the other had a fiery figure. Either of them was enough to make these thugs unable to tear their eyes away.
"Ahem!" The lead thug stared for a good long while before snapping out of it. He cleared his throat, feigning a cultured demeanor, and said, "Ladies, I'm here to collect the protection fee. It's five Points per person."
"What? Five Points per person? Wasn't it supposed to be three?" Liu Miaomiao exclaimed, her expression turning sour.
She had a bad feeling about this.
The lead thug just smiled. "For normal people, it's three Points. But you are all beautiful ladies. Protecting you isn't an easy job, so charging a bit more for the fee isn't unreasonable, is it?"
"Of course, if you're a bit tight on funds and can't come up with that many Points right now, there are... other ways to pay." As he spoke, his eyes roamed over certain sensitive areas of Liu Miaomiao's body, his meaning all too clear.
The other thugs also broke into lecherous grins.
Now, the expressions on Liu Miaomiao and the others truly changed. This situation was far beyond what they had anticipated.
With things having escalated this far, Lin Xinghai knew he had to step in. He moved forward, positioning himself in front of the women.
Before stepping out, he had already used his Investigation Technique on the leader of the thugs.
Name: Wang Damao
Physique: 15 points
Power: 19 points
Speed: 11 points
Genetic Optimization Level: 19%
Seeing his opponent's Attributes, Lin Xinghai felt completely at ease. He could definitely take on all five of them.
"Five Points per person, was it?" Lin Xinghai asked coolly, his gaze turning icy.
It was only then that the five thugs noticed there was another man in the room. In an instant, their eyes filled with jealousy.
Any man would be jealous of such a perk.
"Sorry, the price just went up. It's ten Points per person now," the leader said, a mocking smirk playing on his lips.
"All right! Ten Points per person. So hand it over," Lin Xinghai said, holding out his hand.
From the moment the thugs started leering at the women, he knew this matter could no longer be resolved peacefully.
Of course, if he were to take out his Mercenary Badge now, these thugs would almost certainly back down.
But that would be far too unsatisfying.
He had a stronger backing, he was more powerful, and they had already crossed the line. Just letting them retreat would be an insult to the special ability he possessed.
Besides, he needed money! He was quite envious of all the protection fees these thugs had surely collected.
'Ahem! I'm just upholding justice!' Lin Xinghai thought, giving himself a noble justification.
When Wang Damao and his men heard Lin Xinghai's words, they stared at him like he was an idiot.
Even Liu Miaomiao didn't think Lin Xinghai could win against these men.
This was partly because of Shen Yimei's description of how these thugs could knock out a 220-pound man with a single punch, but also because they had learned about the existence of the Optimized from the papers distributed by the Jiyuan Sect.
"Lin Xinghai!" Liu Miaomiao called out nervously.
"Don't worry, it's nothing!" Lin Xinghai replied with a slight, relaxed smile, as if he didn't consider these thugs a threat in the slightest.
"But you're getting in my way," Wang Damao snarled. A vicious glint flashed in his eyes as he threw a punch at Lin Xinghai's head.
There was no way he was going to tolerate some newcomer "White Pig" acting so tough in front of him.
'So slow!' With a simple sidestep, Lin Xinghai easily dodged Wang Damao's punch.
With his Speed Attribute at 26 points, there was no way his opponent's fist could ever touch him.
"What?!" As his punch met only air, Wang Damao's pupils constricted.
However, before he could react, Lin Xinghai's counterattack arrived. It was also a punch, but this one Wang Damao was completely unable to dodge. It landed solidly on his chest.
THUD!
A dull thud echoed through the room. Wang Damao felt as if his chest had been struck by a Giant Hammer. He stumbled backward, crashing into one of his companions before he could barely regain his footing.