Chapter 188: Fly Away!
Zhao Dong could tell at a glance that these people were, in all likelihood, here for him.
At that moment, Shen Zhuxin and Zhao Qirou also saw the scene, and the color drained from their faces.
Zhao Qirou involuntarily grabbed Zhao Dong's clothes and said nervously, "Brother… these people look like they're here for us."
Shen Zhuxin's pretty face also turned pale. They were just students, after all; they had never witnessed anything like this. A crowd of thirty or forty men closed in, every one of them burly and menacing, with murderous looks on their faces.
Sweat broke out in Shen Zhuxin's palms. She bit her lip and suddenly said, "Zhao Dong, there's a small door behind the gym. Maybe we should get out of here?"
Zhao Dong shook his head. "Why leave? Are you scared of them?"
Shen Zhuxin was taken aback. "Aren't you scared? There are so many of them! This is no time to act tough. We need to go, now!"
Zhao Dong remained unmoved, as if he hadn't heard a thing.
Shen Zhuxin panicked, urging anxiously, "Zhao Dong! Did you hear me? If we don't leave now, it'll be too late!"
Zhao Dong said indifferently, "With me here, there's no need to run. It's just thirty or forty guys. A bunch of trash."
Shen Zhuxin's vision went dark, and she nearly collapsed to the ground in fright at his words. Dozens of people… and he's calling them trash?
In the next moment, the group closed in, surrounding them completely. Shen Zhuxin's face turned deathly pale. "It's over," she whispered. "There's no getting away now."
The crowd parted, and Guo Yu, the same man who'd been beaten earlier, walked through the opening with another young man. The swelling on Guo Yu's face had subsided, but the wounds were still visible, and a bandage was wrapped around his forehead.
Her heart sank when she saw it was Guo Yu. "It's really him," she muttered. "This is... this is really bad."
Zhao Dong, however, paid Guo Yu no mind, even nonchalantly putting a cigarette between his lips and lighting it. He looked at Guo Yu in the crowd not far away and said lightly, "Forgot the beating you just got? You're really asking for another."
Guo Yu flushed with shame and fury, pointing at Zhao Dong as he cursed, "Zhao Dong, you son of a bitch! Open your eyes and see how many men I brought! I'm going to beat you so badly your own mother won't recognize you! Fuck!"
Zhao Dong scoffed, glancing disdainfully at Guo Yu. "You think you're worthy, you piece of trash?"
"You're courting death!"
Guo Yu's face contorted with rage, his eyes practically shooting fire. He turned to the young man in black beside him and said, "Cousin! This is the bastard who beat me! You have to stand up for me today!"
This young man in black was none other than Guo Yu's cousin, Dong Bowen.
Dong Bowen specialized in underground boxing, where he had already made a name for himself. In fact, just this year, three masters of the underground fighting circuit had died by his fists. His boxing and combat skills were refined to perfection, making his name well-known throughout the East Sea underworld.
Dong Bowen took a step forward. A menacing light burned in his sharp, narrow eyes, and a five-centimeter scar on his chin added to his intimidating appearance. With just that single step, a chilling aura radiated from him.
He looked at Zhao Dong, his eyes filled with malice. "You dared to hit my cousin? Are you looking to die?"
Zhao Dong glanced over Dong Bowen, noting his thick neck, the bulging veins, and his calloused fists. He could immediately tell Dong Bowen was a boxer, and a top-tier one, at least among ordinary men.
Looking at Dong Bowen, Zhao Dong finally smiled. "Your cousin's an animal. He deserved the beating. I gave him a chance, but he insisted on provoking my sister. He was just asking for it."
Dong Bowen stared sinisterly at Zhao Dong. "Hitting my cousin is the same as disrespecting me. Today, I will cripple you. However... there is room for negotiation."
Zhao Dong's interest was piqued. "Oh? Is that so?" he said lightly. "Then tell me, what's negotiable?"
Dong Bowen's sinister gaze landed on Zhao Qirou, who was standing behind Zhao Dong. He licked his lips and sneered, "I like them pale and tender. Let that girl serve me well tonight, and I might let you go."
Zhao Qirou instantly gritted her teeth in fury. "You... you bastard! Shameless!"
In that instant, Zhao Dong's eyes became impossibly cold, piercing Dong Bowen like steel daggers.
Dong Bowen's heart skipped a beat, a chill shooting down his spine. That look in his eyes... why is it so terrifying?
Zhao Dong enunciated each word, "For that comment alone, I'm going to make sure you leave here a cripple."
Dong Bowen swallowed hard, but a glance at the large group he'd brought with him restored his confidence. "Then let's see who cripples who today!" he said coldly.
Beside him, Guo Yu added with a venomous expression, "Cousin, you have to cripple this son of a bitch! Oh, and that's the Shen Zhuxin I told you about! The one I've been chasing but could never get!"
Dong Bowen's gaze shifted to Shen Zhuxin. She felt as if she'd been targeted by a viper and stammered in fear, "What... what do you want?"
Dong Bowen gave a cold smirk. "Don't worry, I won't touch you. Guo Yu already told me. We're saving you to keep him company tonight."
The color drained from Shen Zhuxin's face, leaving it deathly pale. "Guo Yu, you animal! You're inhuman!"
Guo Yu shrugged. "So what? Shen Zhuxin, you damn bitch, I tried to be nice, and you threw it back in my face. You rejected me again and again. Did you really think I had no temper? Just you wait. First, I'll deal with this guy named Zhao, then I'm coming for you!"
Turning to Dong Bowen, Guo Yu said, "Cousin, tell your men to do it! Beat that guy named Zhao half to death!"
Dong Bowen nodded and addressed the group he'd brought. "Get him! Break his arms and legs!"
The men were all thugs Dong Bowen knew from the underground fighting circuit. The moment he gave the order, they charged forward.
Zhao Dong's expression remained unchanged as he stepped forward, shielding Zhao Qirou and Shen Zhuxin behind him.
Shen Zhuxin was startled and said urgently, "Zhao Dong, don't try to be a hero! We can look for a chance to escape through the small door."
Zhao Dong shook his head. "I told you, there's no need to run. You and Qirou, stand back."
With that, Zhao Dong cracked his neck. He stomped his right foot, and a web of spider-thin cracks spread across the floor beneath him. In the next second, he shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Shen Zhuxin was stunned. Is he… is he really going to fight all of them by himself?
Dong Bowen smirked coldly, his eyes filled with mockery. "He's courting death. He can't possibly think he can take on thirty people alone, can he?"
The words had barely left his mouth when Zhao Dong shot into the crowd like a cannonball. It was as if a meteor had slammed into them; men were instantly sent flying backward. They crashed to the ground with broken limbs, spitting blood and screaming in agony.
Dong Bowen's expression changed instantly, but he quickly scoffed, "He just has some brute strength, that's all. I refuse to believe he can take on dozens of men alone!"
But before he could finish, Zhao Dong was already in motion. He carved through the crowd like a mythical dragon; anyone he touched was sent flying seven or eight meters. He moved like a storm in their midst, every part of his body a weapon. With an icy gaze, he unleashed dozens of fierce punches in an instant. A chorus of screams erupted as his fists landed with devastating force, accompanied by the ceaseless, sickening crunch of breaking bones.
One man, refusing to believe it, foolishly swung a punch to meet Zhao Dong's head-on.
BOOM! The man was thrown back like a kite with its string cut, his entire arm and hand rendered useless.
The rest of the men went berserk, their eyes bloodshot. The air filled with the glint of blades and the whistling screech of iron pipes and rebar cutting through the air. Yet Zhao Dong's body moved as if it were greased. The weapons couldn't even touch him. His footwork was uncannily swift, making his attackers look clumsy and slow in comparison. His movements were like a master calligrapher's brushstroke—fluid and powerful, impossibly smooth.
As a fierce fist flew toward him, Zhao Dong gave a cold smile. He suddenly shot his hand out, grabbed the man's wrist, and twisted.
CRACK!
With a blood-curdling scream, the man's entire arm shattered.
Gripping the man's wrist, Zhao Dong used him as a human flail, swinging him into the oncoming thugs. Figures were sent flying again as he spun the man around until he lost consciousness.
In an instant, Zhao Dong had taken down more than a dozen of the thirty-plus attackers. The remaining dozen or so stared in shock. Are his skills… really this insane?
Zhao Dong tossed the unconscious man aside. Squinting at the remaining men, he beckoned with his finger and said lightly, "Come on. All of you."
The remaining men exchanged glances, their shock turning into humiliated rage. They had never been looked down upon so completely. They lunged at him as one. Zhao Dong sighed. His figure blurred, and in the blink of an eye, he was in front of them, his leg already lashing out.
The vicious kick left afterimages, seeming to rip through the air itself.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
A rapid series of sickening impacts echoed. They only saw a blur flash before their eyes before they were struck squarely by his kick. It felt like being hit by a cannonball. The dozen or so men were sent flying, crashing to the ground in a cloud of dust.
All thirty-seven of them, without exception, were down.
Dead silence fell. A breeze drifted past Guo Yu and Dong Bowen, who stood petrified, staring dumbfounded at the scene.
Shen Zhuxin's jaw hung slightly open as she looked at Zhao Dong, an indescribable emotion in her eyes. She was utterly stunned. What he just did… it was smoother and more impressive than any martial arts star on TV! A strange light gleamed in my eyes. Women are always drawn to strength, after all. Zhao Dong was already handsome and tall, with an indefinable charisma. On top of that, he was well-connected enough to know someone like Song Qingwan, and now, his fighting skills were this incredible… In that instant, an indescribable feeling for Zhao Dong blossomed within me.
Zhao Dong stood amid the sea of groaning men, lit a cigarette, and looked coldly at Guo Yu and Dong Bowen. After blowing out a ring of smoke, he spoke slowly, "So, what do you two plan to do now?"