Rain continued falling long after the black car arrived in the alley.
The narrow street smelled of garbage, wet concrete, and cheap alcohol drifting from nearby nightclubs. Neon lights flickered above the entrance of the alley, casting red and blue reflections across the puddles on the ground.
Li Wei slowly pushed himself up from the wet pavement.
His ribs ached. Blood still lingered on his lower lip. The beating from the three street thugs had left his body sore, but his eyes were no longer weak.
Instead, something colder had settled there.
In front of him stood the man who had spoken earlier.
Chen Guoqiang.
He looked to be in his late forties, dressed in a dark tailored coat that seemed far too expensive for the filthy alley. His hair was neatly combed back, and the umbrella he held kept the rain from touching him.
Behind him stood two silent bodyguards, their expressions hard and unreadable.
Chen studied Li Wei carefully.
"You're injured," Chen said calmly.
Li Wei wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"I've had worse."
Chen raised an eyebrow slightly.
"That's an interesting answer."
For a moment, neither of them spoke. Only the sound of rain filled the silence between them.
Finally, Chen gestured toward the car.
"Get in."
Li Wei hesitated.
"Why?"
Chen smiled faintly.
"Because if I leave you here, you'll either starve by morning… or someone else will finish beating you."
He leaned slightly closer.
"But I have a feeling you're not the type of man who came to this city just to die in an alley."
Li Wei stared at him.
Chen's words were true.
Li Wei had not left everything behind just to crawl back to the village defeated.
Slowly, he picked up his bag and walked toward the car.
The interior of the car smelled of leather and expensive tobacco.
Warm air wrapped around Li Wei's cold body as he sat down in the back seat.
The door shut.
The car began moving.
Outside, the chaotic city lights blurred past the window.
Chen Guoqiang sat beside him calmly, lighting a cigarette.
"So," Chen said, exhaling smoke slowly."Tell me about yourself."
Li Wei didn't answer immediately.
"There's not much to tell," he said eventually.
"I came from a village."
Chen nodded.
"And?"
"I came here to make money."
Chen chuckled softly.
"Everyone in this city says that."
He turned his head slightly.
"But most people don't have the look you had when those boys were kicking you."
Li Wei frowned.
"What look?"
Chen's eyes sharpened.
"Anger."
The word hung in the air.
"You were outnumbered," Chen continued. "You were already exhausted. Yet you still tried to fight back."
Li Wei looked out the window.
"I don't like being stepped on."
Chen smiled.
"Good."
The car stopped.
They had arrived outside a building glowing with bright red lights.
Above the entrance hung a large sign:
Golden Phoenix Nightclub
Music thumped loudly from inside.
Men in expensive suits walked through the doors laughing, while women in elegant dresses greeted them with charming smiles.
But Li Wei quickly noticed something else.
Two large men stood near the entrance watching everything carefully.
Security.
Chen stepped out of the car.
"Come," he said.
Inside, the club was alive with noise.
Colored lights swept across the dance floor. Cigarette smoke filled the air. Waitresses moved between tables carrying trays of expensive alcohol.
To Li Wei, it felt like another world.
Chen walked confidently through the crowd, nodding slightly at the staff who greeted him with respect.
Several men even lowered their heads slightly when he passed.
Li Wei noticed it.
"You own this place?" Li Wei asked.
Chen laughed.
"Partly."
They entered a private room on the second floor.
The noise of the club faded once the door closed.
Inside, the room was quiet and luxurious. A large table stood in the center, surrounded by leather chairs. A cabinet full of rare liquor lined one wall.
Chen poured himself a drink.
Then he looked at Li Wei again.
"You said you came to the city to make money."
Li Wei nodded.
Chen leaned back in his chair.
"Are you willing to do things… that ordinary people won't?"
Li Wei's eyes narrowed slightly.
"What kind of things?"
Chen took a slow sip of his drink.
"Collect debts."
"Protect businesses."
"Deal with people who refuse to cooperate."
Li Wei understood immediately.
This wasn't normal work.
This was the underworld.
Chen watched his reaction closely.
"So," Chen said calmly.
"Do you want to keep begging factories for work…?"
"Or do you want to learn how the city really works?"
Silence filled the room.
For a moment, Li Wei thought about the village.
He saw Mei Lin's face standing in the doorway as he left.
Come back safely.
Her voice echoed faintly in his mind.
If she could see him now, sitting in a nightclub owned by criminals…
What would she think?
Li Wei clenched his fists.
But another memory pushed that thought away.
The supervisor laughing at him.
The empty rice sack at home.
The men beating him in the alley.
The city had already made its answer clear.
This place had no mercy.
Chen noticed the change in Li Wei's eyes.
Good.
But Chen was not a man who trusted easily.
He placed his glass down slowly.
"Before I let you work for me," he said, "I need to see what kind of man you are."
He nodded toward one of the bodyguards.
The guard opened the door and dragged someone inside.
A thin man in his thirties stumbled into the room.
His face was pale with fear.
"Boss Chen, please!" the man begged. "I just need more time!"
Chen looked bored.
"This man owes me fifty thousand yuan," Chen said calmly to Li Wei.
"He has promised to repay it three times."
The man fell to his knees.
"I swear I'll pay! Just give me one more month!"
Chen ignored him.
Instead, he turned to Li Wei.
"Teach him why breaking promises is a bad idea."
The meaning was clear.
Li Wei stared at the trembling man on the floor.
His heart began beating faster.
He had never hit someone like this before.
The man looked up at him desperately.
"Brother, please… I have a family…"
Those words struck something deep inside Li Wei.
I have a family.
For a moment, Li Wei hesitated.
Chen watched quietly.
Testing him.
Waiting.
Then Li Wei slowly walked forward.
The kneeling man grabbed his leg.
"Please!"
Li Wei's fist suddenly struck his face.
The crack echoed through the room.
The man collapsed sideways with a cry of pain.
Li Wei's hand trembled slightly.
But he didn't stop.
Another punch.
And another.
The man curled on the floor protecting his head.
Finally Chen raised a hand.
"That's enough."
The room fell silent.
The debtor groaned softly on the ground.
Chen stood up and walked toward Li Wei.
He examined the blood on Li Wei's knuckles.
Then he smiled.
"Good."
Chen placed a hand on Li Wei's shoulder.
"Welcome to the real city."
Outside, music from the nightclub continued playing.
But inside that quiet room, something important had just happened.
Li Wei looked down at his trembling hands.
Rainwater from earlier still clung to his sleeves.
Now it mixed with blood.
A faint memory of Mei Lin's gentle voice appeared in his mind again.
But this time…
He pushed it away.
Because deep down, Li Wei already understood something.
The moment his fist struck that man...
The poor villager who once left Qingshan had taken his first step into darkness.
And the city had just claimed another soul.