After finishing the job, Jason Luo drove Grace home, reminding her over and over not to wander around at night. The safety situation in the U.S. after dark wasn't very good.
The next morning, after training, Jason slipped away during lunch break and headed to the Miao family's pharmacy. He wanted to see if they had the synthetic steroids Mr. Brown had mentioned. But the moment he stepped inside, he saw three white youths harassing Susan Miao behind the counter.
"Hahaha, relax, beauty! We're just trying to buy something. You've got to explain it properly, right? What's the difference between these condoms? Which one works best, huh? Hahaha..."
Susan's face turned bright red with anger. "Show some respect! If you want to buy, then buy. If not, leave right now. I'm warning you—this store has surveillance cameras!"
"Oh, I'm so scared! Surveillance? Hmph! We're just asking for your recommendation—is that a crime? Come on, beauty, tell us honestly, which one do you like best?"
Susan shouted to another salesgirl. "Lily, call the police! Tell them there's sexual harassment happening here!"
When the three youths saw Lily actually picking up her phone, one of them rushed forward to grab it.
"Stop!" Jason shouted.
The three of them froze, startled. Susan turned and, seeing him, her face lit up with relief.
"Miss Miao, don't worry. With me here, they won't dare go any further. Hold off on calling the police—I'll handle this."
The young men eyed Jason's tall, muscular frame and didn't dare act rashly. "Kid, who the hell are you?"
He didn't answer directly. "This is a pharmacy. If you're here to shop, fine—you're welcome. But if you keep causing trouble, I'll have to throw you out."
The leader chuckled. "Throw us out? That's a big mouth you've got. Don't think you can act tough just because you're built big. Let me tell you—we're all Taekwondo black belts. Best mind your own business, unless you want to spend the next two weeks in bed!"
Jason was about to reply, but Susan jumped in first. "You idiots have no idea—Jason Luo is a boxing star! One punch from him could drop a cow. All three of you together wouldn't survive a single punch. Get lost while you can!"
She had meant to scare them off, but instead, their eyes lit up with interest.
"Oh! Didn't expect to run into a boxer. Interesting. Hey, kid, if you've really got the guts, how about we trade a few moves? If you win, we'll walk away. If you lose, no big deal—just admit boxing's no match for Taekwondo. Deal?"
Jason had already wanted to teach them a lesson. Since they were asking for it, even better. "Fine. Not here though. Let's take it outside."
"Let's go!"
The group walked out, with Susan following nervously behind.
In a nearby alley, they stopped. The leader pointed to the ground. "Here's fine. We won't gang up on you. One-on-one. Fair, right?"
Jason nodded. "Alright. Don't blame me for the consequences."
"Good. Sanchez, you go first. Teach this kid a lesson!"
The one called Sanchez stepped forward. He didn't speak, just showed off two flashy airborne kicks. To be fair, they looked pretty intimidating.
Jason didn't dare underestimate him—he'd never fought a Taekwondo fighter before. He raised his guard and waited.
Sanchez, however, felt uneasy. Jason was half a head taller, muscles bulging, clearly strong. Since Jason wasn't making the first move, Sanchez had no choice but to attack. He rushed forward and launched a high roundhouse kick.
The leg whipped through the air like a lash, but Jason didn't counter immediately. He wanted to see what Taekwondo was really about. He blocked the kick with his arm and took a small step back.
But Sanchez pressed forward, chaining together a flurry of kicks—side kicks, sweeping roundhouses, switching legs into straight kicks, finishing with a low roundhouse...
Jason parried and dodged for a while, but noticed something odd—not once did his opponent throw a punch. Strange. It was called Taekwondo, yet all he saw were kicks, no fists.
After a few exchanges, Jason figured it out. The legs were fast and agile, yes, but weak. Against normal people, maybe effective. Against him? No real threat. The only annoyance was the low kicks. Used to boxing rules, he disliked hopping to avoid them, so he had to step back or sidestep.
Luckily, Sanchez didn't rely much on low kicks—he favored high roundhouses. Jason shook his head. What kind of teacher taught him to fight like this? Those high kicks were like an uppercut in boxing—looked powerful, aimed straight at vital points, but the motion was too big, leaving huge openings. Block one, and you'd eat a counterpunch.
Time to end this.
Sanchez swung another high roundhouse. Jason caught it on his arms, shoved forward, and Sanchez's supporting leg wobbled. Jason drove a punch into his stomach.
"Wah!" Sanchez collapsed to the ground, unable to rise.
In Taekwondo training, fighters usually wear protective gear, so they rarely condition their bodies to take real strikes. Jason's bare fists hit far harder than a gloved punch. A shot to the midsection like that was brutal.
The two remaining men froze. Sanchez had been attacking smoothly just moments ago—how had he suddenly collapsed?
Seeing their friend's pained expression, they wavered. "Kuhn, Sanchez must've let his guard down. You go! Avenge him!"
Susan, thrilled by Jason's win, jumped around happily. Jason, however, stiffened.
Because at that moment, a system notification rang in his head:
"Ding! Congratulations on defeating your opponent in an off-ring battle. The Greedy Wolf Talent has extracted two points in Leg Technique from the opponent's superior attributes. Please check your stats."
Jason was stunned. What the hell? He could gain Attribute points from street fights too? And why Leg Technique? That wasn't even useful in the ring...
While he stood there dumbfounded, Kuhn—reckless as ever—didn't hesitate. He took a running start, leapt, and delivered a flying kick straight into Jason's chest.
Caught off guard, Jason staggered backward from the impact. Kuhn grinned and pressed the attack, unleashing a barrage of heavy kicks.
On the sidelines, Susan went pale. "Jason Luo, watch out! I'll call my dad—" But she realized she didn't have her phone. Panicking, she ran back into the shop for help.
Although Jason took the kick hard, he wasn't badly hurt. His chest wasn't a vital spot, and his toughness absorbed most of the blow, leaving just a dull ache.
But Kuhn was stronger than Sanchez. His kicks had real force, and because he didn't aim too high, his balance was solid.
Jason, unfamiliar with leg fighting, was pushed onto the defensive. Kuhn's relentless assault boosted his confidence, making him seem fiercer by the second.
Jason countered a few times, but Kuhn kept his distance. His jabs barely reached, and his crosses couldn't even get close.
He couldn't land a clean hit, and Kuhn rarely threw high kicks. Jason could have grabbed his legs—but that wasn't boxing. Unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't break the rules. Otherwise, they'd just use it as an excuse to cause more trouble.
After another round left his shirt marked with dirty shoe prints, Jason's temper flared. Damn it, did this guy really think he was helpless?
Kuhn launched another diagonal kick. Jason twisted his hips, dropped low, feinted left and right twice, then surged forward. The feints threw Kuhn off, and in the next instant, Jason was right in his face. Kuhn panicked, stumbling backward.
But Jason's fists were already flying. Kuhn tried to block, but against real boxing, his defense was laughable.
Up close, his knees were useless. He tried two desperate knee strikes, but Jason blocked them easily. After that, he had nothing left.
Jason, on the other hand, was in his element. His jabs landed again and again, swelling Kuhn's face with bruises. He held back his crosses, though. This wasn't the ring—if he seriously injured someone here, it'd be big trouble.
...