184: Chapter 184 Business Thugs Come to the Door

Just as Lin Shuo nodded, the sound of messy footsteps came from the entrance of the alley.

Lin Shuo looked toward the sound, his face darkening.

Jiang Feng saw Lin Shuo's reaction and already had a general idea of the situation.

He dialed a number, his gaze piercing through the night market alleyway toward the source of the noise.

Six people.

All of them had shaved heads and tattooed arms; even the shortest one was 1.8 meters tall.

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The burly man in the lead carried a baseball bat in his right hand and swung a iron chain in his left; his gait had the word 'thug' written all over it.

As they passed a grilled gluten stall, the burly man didn't even turn his head, simply delivering a kick as he walked by.

The menu leaning against the cart was kicked upside down.

The old man grilling the gluten trembled in fear, pushing his cart over ten meters to the other end of the alley before turning back to shout.

"Damn you! I'm sixty this year! If you've got the guts, fight me one-on-one!"

The old man's cursing drifted from afar, full of vigor.

Cursing aside, his legs never stopped moving.

The six bald men didn't react at all, walking straight toward Lin Shuo's cart.

"It's been half a month; the day has come again."

The lead burly man grinned, revealing a row of yellow teeth.

"Boss Lin, how's business?"

Lin Shuo recognized this group.

They were a debt collection gang outsourced by Dingsheng Group, coming to sweep through every half month.

Nominally, it was a "routine collection of management fees," but in reality, it was to ensure Lin Shuo could never save enough capital to make a comeback.

For the past three years, this group had reported punctually at the middle and end of every month.

They always did the same three things: search the cart, flip the cash box, and take a sixty percent cut.

The remaining forty percent was just enough for Lin Shuo to buy rice and oil, barely covering daily expenses.

It was precisely controlled at the threshold where he wouldn't starve but could never turn his life around.

It was more cruel than killing him.

The burly man circled to the front of the cart, dragging the end of his baseball bat across the countertop.

"The management fee owed from last time, plus interest, is six thousand eight hundred. Let's settle it all today."

The burly man pulled the bat back from the counter, propped it on the ground, and stared down at Lin Shuo condescendingly.

"Or else?"

He deliberately paused for two seconds.

"Should we brothers help you clean up? That pot from last time just got a new handle; if it gets smashed again, it won't even be weldable, right?"

Lin Shuo's hands were clenched into fists, his entire body trembling.

Just moments ago, he had been filled with beautiful expectations for a possible future turning point, only to be filled with anxiety the next second.

Endure for a moment... but this is unbearable!

Lin Shuo's right foot had already moved half a step forward, his center of gravity leaning ahead.

That was a preparatory stance for a fight.

"Boss, I'll have an egg fried rice, hold the rice."

Lin Shuo's foot hung in mid-air before he pulled it back.

Only then did the lead burly man notice someone else sitting nearby.

He tilted his head and scanned Jiang Feng from top to bottom.

"What are you doing?"

"Having a late-night snack."

Jiang Feng switched which leg he had crossed.

"Heroes of all paths, I just want to eat a snack. I haven't eaten for three days!"

The burly man huffed, not bothering to pay attention.

His attention was drawn to the stack of brand-new hundred-yuan bills on the counter in front of Jiang Feng.

Ten thousand yuan!

"Oh!"

The burly man laughed, shouldered his baseball bat, and reached out his left hand to grab the stack of money.

"Ten thousand yuan for a bowl of fried rice? Boss Lin really knows how to do business. Perfect, pay the management fee for the second half of the month as well!"

His fingers had just touched the edge of the banknotes.

Snap.

Old Chen's five fingers clamped down, pinning the burly man's hand and wrist firmly to the counter.

The burly man's mouth twitched, but he didn't cry out.

However, the veins on his neck bulged, and even his breathing made a hissing sound like a leak.

"I said, I want to eat a snack."

Jiang Feng's tone hadn't changed, even remaining a bit casual.

"I didn't say you could touch the things on the table."

The five tattooed men behind the leader exchanged glances.

Two of them had already wrapped iron chains around their hands, spreading out to the sides in a flanking maneuver.

Old Chen remained motionless.

Pressing the burly man down with his right hand, his left hand hung naturally at his side, shoulders relaxed, and his center of gravity extremely low.

This stance had only one meaning in a scout's combat system.

He had already locked onto the positions of all potential targets and could strike at any moment.

But he didn't move.

Because Jiang Feng hadn't given the word.

The alley was so quiet that only the sound of rain dripping from the tarp could be heard.

Jiang Feng stood up from the plastic chair, patted the water stains off his pants, and took out his phone.

He dialed a number, and it was picked up after a single ring.

"Is everything I ordered done? I'm starving."

Something was said on the other end, and he nodded.

"Bring more people; the fried rice here is delicious."

"Hurry up, I have six guests waiting here too."

The call ended, and the atmosphere suddenly fell silent.

The burly man was held immobile by Old Chen's large hand, his expression flickering between ferocity and hesitation.

The five subordinates behind him didn't dare to act rashly either.

Since they worked in this business, they had at least basic judgment.

Against someone who could pin their boss down like this with one hand, the five of them together might barely stand a chance.

But this young man before them was hard to read; he had just called for backup right in front of them.

The five looked at each other, unsure of what to do for a moment.

Jiang Feng put his phone back in his pocket and sat back down on the plastic chair.

"Don't be in a hurry, wait for the people."

Then he gave Old Chen a look, and Old Chen understandingly let go.

"Damn it, you bunch of useless trash!"

As soon as the burly man broke free, he gave each of the other five a flick on the head.

"This brat is just bluffing, can't you tell?"

"Get him together!"

The group immediately felt reassured and were about to step forward.

The roar of engines came from the alley entrance.

Three sets of headlights lit up simultaneously from the east, west, and south entrances of the alley.

Three all-black, explosion-proof modified Mercedes G-Wagons.

Facing inward, their high beams were fully on.

Six beams of light illuminated the entire alley brilliantly, leaving even the cracks in the ground with nowhere to hide.

The six bald thugs were caught right in the middle of the light beams.

Their heads shone brightly.

Front, back, left, and right—all escape routes were sealed off within three seconds.

Lin Shuo stood stunned behind the cart, his mouth opening and closing, unable to say a word.

He had been selling fried rice in the Linjiang Night Market for three years.

In those three years, every half month his cart was searched, his cash box flipped, and sixty percent of his hard-earned money taken away.

No one had ever helped him.

Even the neighboring stall owners had learned to close up early on the days the debt collectors came, pretending not to see.

Only that new old man at the grilled gluten stall was unaware.

And now, this Master Jiang had blocked the entire alley with three explosion-proof G-Wagons with just one phone call.

Just to help him vent his anger...

Jiang Feng unscrewed the lid of his thermos and blew on the tea leaves floating on the water's surface.

"Who was it that said they were going to help someone clean up their stall?"