"If you know what's good for you, leave everything you're holding and carrying on your backs, and I won't make things difficult for you. Get lost wherever you please," the leader said, brandishing a large machete. It was the longest blade among the group, looking like it had previously been used for cutting watermelons.
The others wielded sticks, shovels, and the like, forming a semi-circle around the three, their gazes predatory.
Brother Zhang swung his machete and spoke again, "If you don't know what's good for you and make Grandpa here go through the trouble of taking your things by force, then none of you three will be walking out of here upright today!"
As he spoke, he shot a look at the men beside him. Understanding his cue, several of them, weapons raised, slowly closed in on Gu Mian and his companions.
Seeing them approach, Fatty looked anxiously at Gu Mian.
Gu Mian, however, remained unhurried and calm. He neither spoke nor showed any reaction.
Seeing their apparent lack of cooperation, Brother Zhang frowned. Looks like these are tough nuts to crack…
But his words had barely left his lips when Gu Mian, standing in the middle, suddenly made a move that seemed to show a lack of backbone.
He shifted slightly, then took the large, guitar-shaped package off his back and placed it on the ground.
Brother Zhang watched his actions, his eyes narrowing slightly. Has he suddenly seen the light? Is he going to respectfully offer his things to me?
But he quickly realized things weren't that simple.
The doctor in the white coat squatted down and swiftly unzipped the large package that supposedly held a guitar. However, inside wasn't a guitar at all, but an enormous, menacing chainsaw. They watched, wide-eyed, as this doctor pulled it out.
"HOLY SHIT!" Seeing the massive weapon appear, Wang Xiaolong, who was closest to Gu Mian, felt his hand tremble, nearly dropping the hammer he was holding onto his foot.
Seemingly encountering such a huge, menacing chainsaw for the first time, even the leader, Brother Zhang, was momentarily stunned.
But he quickly reacted, taking a slight step back and warily eyeing the three in front of him. After a moment's hesitation, he commanded, "We're retreating!"
He didn't even need to give the order; the others, upon seeing such a terrifying weapon, had already been scared into backing away. They all faced Gu Mian as they retreated, seemingly terrified that this doctor would suddenly rush over and take a saw to their backs.
In TV shows, when ordinary people encounter robbers and successfully drive them off, they usually say four words—"Do not pursue a desperate foe." Weeds are never fully eradicated; they grow again when the spring breeze blows. If you can't eliminate them completely, chasing them might instead bring trouble upon yourself.
But life isn't a TV show, and Gu Mian isn't an ordinary person.
Holding the huge chainsaw, he stared at the dozen or so people slowly retreating. "You all seem to have misunderstood."
The retreating men paused, and Brother Zhang looked up at Gu Mian in surprise.
The chainsaw in the doctor's hand had already started, emitting a roar like a motorcycle, exceptionally jarring in the dark night.
He stood on the supermarket steps and smiled.
"I never intended to play the 'let's each take a step back and not trouble each other' game with you—
"If you know what's good for you, leave everything you have, valuable or not, and I'll spare your dog lives. If you don't know what's good for you and try to run, then run fast and don't let me catch you. Otherwise, I'll saw your heads clean off."
The night instantly fell into an eerie silence.
Brother Zhang widened his eyes, staring at the cheerfully smiling doctor above. "You ungrateful punk! I offer you a way out, and you threaten me instead? You really think you're invincible just because you have a saw? Piss off!"
He seemed to want to say more but was stopped by Wang Xiaolong beside him. "Big Bro, let it go, let it go. If we fight, neither side will come out well. Big Bro, don't forget, things are different now than they used to be."
In the past, if you got injured in a street fight, you'd just go to the hospital, recover, and walk away like nothing happened.
But it's different now. Hospitals are shut down, medicine is hard to find. Getting injured is difficult to recover from, and with the world in chaos, sometimes an injury is a death sentence.
Even doctors, usually hailed as angels in white, are now roaming the streets with chainsaws, ready to hack people.
As Wang Xiaolong thought this, he looked up at Gu Mian. "Doctor, friend, let's discuss this properly. We've already taken a step back; you can't just keep hounding us like this, can you?"
Gu Mian stroked his chin. "I don't believe I was the one who had you surrounded here in the middle of the night."
Wang Xiaolong was momentarily speechless.
After a few seconds, he found his voice again, his tone now carrying a hint of threat. "It seems you're the type who doesn't let go once you have the advantage, Doctor. Fine, let me be clear: our Big Bro retreated because he didn't want his men to get hurt, not because he thought he couldn't beat you."
As he spoke, he glanced at the two individuals beside Gu Mian.
"There are only three of you, and only you have a chainsaw. We have over a dozen men, and everyone is armed. If we really fight, it's uncertain who would win.
"Besides, that chainsaw looks heavy. At best, you might injure a few of us before you run out of stamina. Do you think we'd let you go then? In the end, we'd still take all your things. It's better for both sides to step back now. You take your things, and none of us get hurt. It's good for everyone."
After speaking, he stared intently at Gu Mian, waiting for the doctor to state his position.
Actually, Wang Xiaolong knew in his heart that with such a menacing chainsaw, if a fight broke out, it would definitely be more than just a few injuries.
Their group was just a newly formed band of scattered sand; when faced with real danger, absolutely no one would risk their life. If a real fight started, most of them would probably turn tail and run.
He was saying all this merely to intimidate the doctor and make him retreat out of fear of the difficulty.
Unexpectedly, this doctor was smarter than he imagined and didn't fall for it at all.
Gu Mian lifted the chainsaw in his hand slightly. "You don't need to worry about that…
"When I was seven, I was chased for eight blocks by three Tibetan Mastiffs. When I was twelve, my house caught fire, and I carried a large chest from the ninth floor all the way to the ground floor in one go. When I was sixteen, in the middle of the night, I carried my nearly dead math teacher and ran five kilometers on a mountain road.
"So, you don't need to worry about me not being able to wield this saw. I can wield it."
The group of people in front listened, breaking out in a cold sweat. The first two stories sounded somewhat normal, but that last one about carrying a math teacher and running away—was that real?
Fatty also gulped, looking with a strange expression at the unfazed Chu Changge beside him. "Dr. Gu… he had a math teacher who died?"
Chu Changge glanced at him, then nodded slightly. "Mm, I was in the same class as him back then."
Fatty fell silent.
Gu Mian stepped off the stairs and strode towards the people in front of him.
Getting closer and closer…
It's unknown who started it, but someone at the very back trembled slightly, then turned and bolted. His flight was like a match thrown into a pile of firecrackers; the others exploded into action, all turning and fleeing.
Wang Xiaolong, naturally, wasn't going to continue his war of words with Gu Mian here. He abruptly turned and ran back with all his might, desperate to get away from that terrifying chainsaw.
After running a long way, he cautiously looked back, only to find that his Big Bro had, at some point, fallen behind.
At this moment, his Big Bro was being dangled in the hand of the doctor with the chainsaw, like a little chick.