By the end of the meal, Yuan Li and his two underlings were dizzy from drinking, but Li Hao stayed sober—even grew more alert with each drink.
Right then, he was weighing his choices: Should he muddle through life with Yuan Li and the others, or go find Su Xiaorou and take the job at Jintang Phase II?
Life is short.
Ever since Li Hao made a mistake, was forced to leave his organization, and return to this small city where he was born but could no longer find any relatives, he'd settled here haphazardly. For a year, Li Hao's life had been adrift. He'd learned to scrounge for scraps at construction sites like Yuan Li, trading them for cash, and somehow found contentment in it.
This past year, his life had been dull but not monotonous. Occasionally going out to eat, drink, and have fun with Yuan Li, leading a bunch of thugs to fight someone like Brother Bao—it almost felt like his skills weren't going to waste.
Still, such days were ultimately unremarkable.
"It's time to end this." Li Hao sighed softly, finished his last sip of beer, glanced at Yuan Li and the two underlings, who were already snoring with their heads on the table, shook his head, and called out, "Check, please!"
It was just after 3 p.m., and the food stall was nearly empty. The fat boss, who knew Li Hao well enough not to hover, was shirtless, dozing in a chair. Flies buzzed around him—probably drawn by the smell of his fatty flesh. Even so, the boss slept soundly, showing no sign of waking.
But at Li Hao's call, the boss jolted awake, scrambled over, and said, "Total's 233.4 yuan. I'll knock off the change—230 yuan."
Li Hao nodded, handed over the money, and patted Yuan Li.
"Is it dawn already?" Yuan Li rubbed his eyes, still groggy. Glancing around, he came to his senses, grinned at Li Hao, and asked, "Fourth Brother, finished drinking?"
"Go back and rest. We'll meet that Brother Bao tonight." With that, Li Hao left alone.
9 p.m.
In a slum in the East District, dim streetlights had loose wires hanging from them. Narrow alleyways between dense houses echoed with every step, and occasional dog barks and children's cries drifted through, making the place feel eerie.
In the dark, Yuan Li was followed by over a dozen underlings—mostly students from the power plant workers' children's school. They dragged their feet in class but perked up when hanging out with Yuan Li, scrounging food, fighting, or sneaking a couple of cables to trade for pocket money, which would keep them happy for days.
"Fourth Brother!" Yuan Li spotted Li Hao from afar, waving wildly as if afraid Li Hao might miss him.
"Got here early?" Li Hao made small talk, straightening his clothes, showing no arrogance.
This left the students, seeing Li Hao for the first time, stunned. They stared, hardly believing their boss was pinning his hopes on this guy.
"Bastards! Aren't you going to call him Fourth Brother?" Yuan Li snapped at the lot.
"Fourth Brother!"
The scattered voices reeked of distrust.
At this age, boys are in the prime of their youth, have dreams of being heroes, admire heroism, and desire to be as powerful as the protagonists in novels.
Yuan Li was tall. After failing to make it in sports after graduating from sports school, he'd become a security guard, only to get framed in a conflict and fired. He'd drifted, using his strength to become the leader of these students.
Yuan Li led by example—every time they clashed with Brother Bao's crew, he'd charge in first, taking on several men at once. Win or lose, the students looked up to him.
Suddenly having a "Fourth Brother" foisted on them, they resented it, but under Yuan Li's glare, they mumbled the title, a token of "respect" for Li Hao.
"Let's go." Li Hao paid them no mind, waving Yuan Li to lead the way.
Yuan Li knew Li Hao didn't care about such niceties, so he hurried to walk beside him, guiding the way.
Meanwhile, in a run-down factory nearby, the place was pitch-black. The few remaining streetlights had been smashed by local thugs—no one wanted a sudden light when sneaking out to "make a fortune"; it would scare the daylights out of anyone.
"Brother Bao, do you really think that Yuan Li kid will dare show up today?" Deep in the factory, Brother Bao had strung up a few wires, lighting a small area.
This dilapidated factory was the power plant community's last asset. Without it, the community would have gone bankrupt long ago. That Brother Bao had seized it as his den spoke to his status here.
"Hehe." Brother Bao grinned, his big front teeth glinting coldly in the dim light as he sneered, "If those bastards knew my background, they'd never dare."
Ever since that punk Li Hao showed up a year ago, Brother Bao's luck in the power plant community had gone downhill. Even a crew of students like Qingshui Hall was splitting territory with him!
It infuriated him.
He was "Brother Bao"—a big shot in H City! If this kept up, where would he puthis face?
But now?
All that frustration was about to end!
"Brother Bao's right!" Daozi, one of Brother Bao's underlings, was a master of flattery. He preened, "If Yuan Li dares come, no need for you to lift a finger, Brother Bao—I'll teach him a lesson first!"
"Bullshit! Teach him a lesson? With that sorry state of his, you call that a lesson?" Brother Bao glared at Daozi, then gestured at the dozens of rowdy underlings behind him. "You lot think you can teach him a lesson today?"
"No! Definitely not!" The crew roared with laughter.
But for all his banter, Brother Bao knew his real worry—and hatred—wasn't Yuan Li, but Li Hao!
Before Li Hao arrived, this whole area was his. After Li Hao showed up, his days had gone from bad to worse.
He was going to settle that score with Li Hao!
"Brother Bao! They… they're here!" Just then, a blond thug dashed in from the door, shouting.
They'd clashed with Yuan Li and Li Hao enough times to recognize them from afar.
"Quit your whimpering! What're you nervous about? We've been waiting for them!" Brother Bao snapped. "Grab your weapons! Tonight, they walk in—they crawl out!"
At his order, the dozens of men grabbed their "weapons"—mostly wrenches, hammers, screwdrivers, pipes, and other construction scraps. Brother Bao shook his head.
He had to invest in some good equipment. If he brought this crappy thing with him to fight against the real thugs, he would lose half the momentum.
With Li Hao backing him, Yuan Li had grown bold. He strode in with his dozen students, showing no fear at the sight of the dozens of men, even grinning.
"Brother Bao really honors Qingshui Hall—bringing so many men to greet us. How polite." As he spoke, Yuan Li pulled out a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes, lighting one for Brother Bao. It was a gesture fitting the gangster code, keeping up appearances.
Brother Bao accepted it, about to take a drag, when he saw Yuan Li pull out a pack of Furongwang and offer one to Li Hao.
It was awkward.
No words needed—Daqianmen versus Furongwang made clear where he and Li Hao stood in Yuan Li's eyes!
Brother Bao's face flickered with anger, but he knew a leader must stay calm—even if panicking, pretend to be steady. That's how you command respect.
Seething inside, he tossed the Daqianmen aside, sneering, "Yuan Li, let's cut the crap. I'll be blunt: I'm backing out of the territory deal we made last time. What are you gonna do about it?"
"Well, you'll have to ask our Qingshui Hall's… Chief Architect." Yuan Li had almost said "Boss," but found it too tacky. He'd remembered how a certain national leader was called the "Chief Architect of Reform and Opening Up" after drawing circles in the south, so he borrowed the title for Li Hao.
"Pfft!" Li Hao nearly choked on his saliva, shooting Yuan Li a sideways glance. Yuan Li quickly squirmed, pretending not to notice.
Brother Bao paid little mind to the title.
After all this time, he knew Li Hao's status. He turned to Li Hao, clearing his throat, "Fourth Brother, do you still plan to meddle in Qingshui Hall's business with my Baozi Gang? If you stay out, I won't count you as one of them. We can still call you 'Fourth Brother' when we meet. How's that?"
Brother Bao was giving Li Hao plenty of face—but Li Hao didn't buy it.
"I have to meddle. I was the middleman for the last territory split. You backtracking, Brother Bao—that's slapping me, Li Hao, in the face." He spoke as if wronged.
Of course, "middleman" had been a formality—Li Hao had openly sided with Yuan Li last time.
Brother Bao saw through it. Taking a cigarette lit by an underling, he took a deep drag, patting his shiny bald head as if harmless, "Calling you 'Fourth Brother' is respect. Since you don't know enough to take it, don't blame me for being rude!"
"Same as before," Li Hao said, unflinching. "Beat me with one hand, and I'll back off—never interfere again. What do you say?"
He smiled faintly, twirling the half-smoked Furongwang casually.
"Fourth brother, I know you are powerful, but no matter how big the ship is, it will sink in shallow water!" Brother Bao sneered and waved his hand. Behind him, two burly young men came up, their bodies covered with tattoos, holding iron rods in their hands, and their faces gloomy.
Li Hao glanced up at them, sneering, "Brother Bao, how much did you pay these new thugs?"
Brother Bao, caught off guard, blurted, "Over a thousand."
He wanted to take it back, but it was too late.
Li Hao grinned, "Well, better get two thousand ready—hospital bills add up."
As the words left his mouth, Li Hao surged forward, turning his palm into a blade. His right hand flashed like lightning, striking each of the two burly men's arms once!
Crack!
"Ah!"
Screams mingled with the sound of breaking bones. The men's faces turned ashen.
Even though they'd only taken one hit, at that moment, they found that their entire arms were completely unable to lift. On their joints, there was a swollen, blue-and-red lump, which looked extremely hideous.
"Go to the hospital quickly, or you'll lose your arms," Li Hao said coldly. The two burly men glanced at each other, and anger flickered in both their eyes.
Clearly, how could they swallow this insult?
This guy was indeed strong, but if they landed a hit on him, he surely wouldn't get off scot-free!
With that thought, the two swung the iron rods in their other hands at Li Hao's head!
The rods came down at lightning speed—obviously, these two were trained fighters, with great strength and seamless coordination.
Li Hao hunched over, let out a cold laugh, and quietly took half a step back to dodge the rods. He bent his body, suddenly flipped backward, and at the same time, kicked forward with both feet. His two large feet slammed right into the two men's jaws!
"Ah!"
They cried out in pain again, the iron rods clattering to the ground from their hands. They were sent off balance by Li Hao's kick, crashing heavily to the floor!
"Sorry, Brother Bao, but this time, the medical bills might hit four thousand. Don't blame me, though—they asked for it," Li Hao clapped his hands and said with a smile.
At this sight, the calm on Brother Bao's face vanished entirely!
This time, he'd dared to fight Li Hao only because of these two men!
After all, these two were martial arts school instructors—men who, by reputation, could take on ten men at once!
Yet, in the end, they'd had their arms broken and jaws shattered by Li Hao in the blink of an eye!
With these two down, what right did Brother Bao have to negotiate with Li Hao?
At the thought, the cigarette in Brother Bao's hand trembled, nearly burning his own mouth.
Meanwhile, Yuan Li was trembling with excitement!
His Fourth Brother was incredible! That move just now was absolutely awesome!
Not just Yuan Li—the students from Qingshui Hall who'd followed Yuan Li were all dumbfounded, unable to speak a word.
In just two moves, Li Hao's image had grown infinitely tall in their hearts!
Strength decides everything! Fists are the ultimate truth!
Looking at Li Hao now, anger burned in Brother Bao's heart.
He was convinced by Li Hao—that was the respect earned with fists!
But he was not convinced by Yuan Li!
He was not convinced by Qingshuitang!
"Fourth Brother!" Brother Bao gritted his teeth, his voice fierce, "Look at my Baozi Gang! We have more men, but less territory! What about Qingshui Hall? Just a bunch of students! Why do they get such a big territory? They should be studying hard instead of fooling around, snatching territory from us—what can they ever amount to?"
At this, Yuan Li instantly grew displeased. With Li Hao backing him, he wasn't afraid of Brother Bao. He slammed his hand on the table, "Brother Bao, that's not right. So what if we're students? Students are the future of the country!"
"No way! Today, either you kill me, or I'll never let Qingshui Hall have this factory!" Brother Bao said coldly, looking ready to fight to the death.
"You!" Yuan Li was at a loss.
Even though Li Hao had won, if Brother Bao resorted to such shamelessness, there was nothing he could do.
Li Hao watched the two arguing, his gaze sweeping around the room, and soon fixed on a map hanging on the wall.
Staring at the map, a strange glint suddenly flashed in Li Hao's eyes. He flicked the cigarette butt in his hand, and it landed precisely on the area marked "factory" on the map, burning a black hole.
This made both Brother Bao and Yuan Li turn their heads.
Looking at them, Li Hao spoke slowly.
"From now on, no one is allowed to touch this factory area."
"Why?" Both Brother Bao and Yuan Li froze.
This factory was the last bit of prestige left in the power plant community. Even the scrap metal from the discarded machinery could be sold for a good price—it was a must-fight territory for both sides, and Yuan Li had coveted it for a long time.
Yet Li Hao had suddenly said this.
Li Hao glanced at them coldly, "This place belongs to the country."