Beside him, a phone was ringing and vibrating incessantly!
Wu Shan's heart leaped in shock.
Though it was only a fleeting glimpse, he instantly recognized the two as his underlings.
The two men who had just been messaging him were now lying on the ground. Even if he were a complete idiot, he would know something was wrong.
WHOOSH!
Just then, the sound of something cutting through the air came from his side.
"Hm?"
Wu Shan's gaze turned cold.
With no time to think, he raised the retractable baton in his right hand and swung it viciously.
THUMP!
A dull thud echoed in the air.
Wu Shan felt his baton connect, but the resulting sound was strange.
However, he had no time to dwell on it.
The next moment, a sharp pain shot through his abdomen as blue-and-white sparks of electricity flashed twice.
A wave of paralysis washed over Wu Shan. The baton slipped from his grasp, fell with a CLANG, and rolled into a corner.
His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground.
Surprisingly, Wu Shan didn't pass out immediately.
He struggled to lift his head and look up.
A figure in a black hooded sweatshirt and a face mask appeared before him.
All he could see was a pair of indifferent eyes staring coldly at him through the curtain of rain.
"You son of a bitch…"
He even tried to force himself back to his feet.
But Hu Qi wasn't about to give him that chance.
He took a step forward.
His fingers clenched into a fist.
He planted his foot, twisted his waist, and channeled his strength, smashing his fist straight into Wu Shan's face.
CRUNCH!
CRACK!
The immense force snapped Wu Shan's head back, and his body slammed onto the ground.
His nasal bone collapsed, and warm blood streamed down his chin.
Four bloody gashes appeared on his face, which was now almost numb, feeling as if it were being devoured by a thousand ants.
Overwhelmed by the excruciating pain, Wu Shan's eyes rolled back, and he passed out.
Hu Qi opened his palm, revealing the angular brass knuckles hidden between his fingers. He flicked the blood off them.
He then crouched down and began to search the three men.
To his slight surprise, the three were carrying a considerable amount of cash.
Aside from that, he took their phones.
Hu Qi looked at Wu Shan with a scrutinizing gaze.
'This guy must be the leader of the other two.'
'But the original owner's memories have no information about this person.'
'Perhaps someone else was pulling the strings.'
His suspicion was confirmed after he used Wu Shan's fingerprint to unlock his phone.
'So that's how it is!'
Hu Qi's eyes flickered as he scrolled through the chat history on the phone, quickly grasping the situation.
The original owner had seen his "goddess" get into another man's luxury car.
He went over to check and found the two of them kissing.
Unable to handle it, he confronted them and threw a few insults.
He ended up getting a brutal beating.
But even that wasn't enough to placate the other guy.
Afterward, he paid these three men 100,000 yuan to beat the original owner so badly he ended up in the hospital.
Today, when he happened to go out, these three guys spotted him and reported it.
Then that man added more money, telling them to beat him up again.
It was as simple as that.
"Lu Shi…"
Hu Qi frowned.
He glanced at the three motionless figures on the ground.
He briefly checked for their breath.
All three were still alive.
Seeing this, a cold glint appeared in the depths of Hu Qi's eyes.
"Huuuh…"
His expression flickered a couple of times.
But in the end, he let out a long sigh.
The coldness in his eyes gradually receded.
Hu Qi was someone who hated trouble.
In his view, the most effective way to solve a problem was to kill these three, find the source of the trouble, and eliminate it completely.
But doing so would bring an endless stream of subsequent trouble.
Getting caught for assault would just be a brawl.
But if a life was taken, that would be a completely different matter.
With his current strength, he stood no chance against the law enforcement agencies of this world.
So, reluctantly, Hu Qi had to abandon this tempting idea.
But letting these three off so easily would be letting them get off too lightly.
Thinking of this, he bent down and picked up the retractable baton Wu Shan had dropped.
…
「A dozen or so minutes later.」
In the Hanlin Garden District, Hu Qi tossed his black sweatshirt and mask into a trash can. He then calmly rode his repaired bike to his building, parked it, and took the elevator upstairs.
He turned the key in the lock, and the door opened.
Hu Qi shook the rainwater from his umbrella before stepping into the room.
His clothes and pants were already soaked through, clinging uncomfortably to his skin.
He took off his outer clothes, revealing a black stab-proof vest underneath.
Looking down, he saw a faint dent on the shoulder.
It was from where Wu Shan had struck him with the baton.
'That guy's reaction speed… he must have had some training. What I did was too risky!'
A wave of fear washed over Hu Qi in hindsight.
At that moment, he felt incredibly fortunate for his earlier decision to buy protective gear.
At the same time, he also became aware of his own shortcomings.
After all, in his previous life, he had just been an ordinary person.
Although his Mixed Martial Arts had reached Minor Achievement, and his Physique and strength had improved, his body was still made of flesh and blood.
He could still get injured, and he severely lacked real combat experience.
That was why he'd been hit. Perhaps it was because the man had training, but his own method of ambush also had its flaws.
'Next time something like this happens, I need to be more cautious.'
With that thought, Hu Qi walked into the bathroom to rinse off.
As for those three, they probably wouldn't die. But whether their legs would still work… only heaven knew.
And after being left out in the rain, even if they were lucky enough to be rescued, they would inevitably suffer from chronic health problems.
…
「Back in the dim alley.」
The rain poured down, and the murky puddle on the ground grew larger, flowing toward a storm drain on one side.
However, a transparent plastic bag, blown from who-knows-where, had clogged the drain.
This caused the water level to rise steadily.
It flowed toward Wu Shan, who was lying face-down on the ground with his head turned to the side.
"COUGH, COUGH… PTUI…"
Choking on the cold, dirty water, Wu Shan couldn't help but cough twice and spit out a mouthful of blood.
He managed to force his eyes open.
The next second, an intense pain from his face and legs made him grunt.
"Fuck, you damn bastard… HISS… Just you wait until I find out who you are!"
Wu Shan wiped the rain from his face, but his fingers accidentally brushed against a wound, causing him to suck in a sharp breath of cold air. He almost passed out again.
However, before he could even check his wounds,
TAP… TAP…
a series of heavy footsteps approached, growing closer.
Wu Shan looked up.
His vision was extremely poor, blurred by the rain and blood on his face.
He could only just make out a tall, thin figure walking toward him.
"You…"
He struggled to speak, wanting to call for help.
But in the next instant,
from within the clouds, a flash of lightning erupted.
For a moment, it illuminated the scene in the alley.
Then, darkness fell once more.
Wu Shan remained frozen, his mouth still open.
His face was utterly bloodless, a deathly white.