chapter 4 : Part-time gangster

Nose-ringed man looked at Mr. Ge and dared not speak. He then said, "Mr. Ge, rest assured, we're not here for collection of protection fee today."
"Then, what are you..."
"We're here to collect debts, haha..."
Nose-ringed man laughed heartily, and the others followed suit. Their laughter was so arrogant that it made many people who were eating feel afraid of them, wondering if they should leave first.
Mr. Ge's face turned grim. He said, "Zhang... Brother Flynn, I really can't afford to pay the money right now!"
"If you can't pay the principal, you can at least pay some interest. We're short on money for meals lately. The interest for this month is five thousand. Hand it over!" Nose-ringed man, Flynn Zhang extended his hand for money.
Mr. Ge's face changed drastically. "What? Five thousand in interest for one month? How is this any different from robbery?"
Nose-ringed man snapped his fingers and laughed, "Mr. Ge, you're right. What do we do? We're a financial company, after all. This financial company isn't much different from robbers, huh? You can choose not to pay, but the interest will keep accumulating. The thirty thousand you borrowed from our company has now become fifty thousand. If you still don't pay, it will be even more. And if you keep refusing to pay..."
"Black Hound, what happened to that guy who didn't pay last time?" One man pretended to be clueless. "Brother Flynn, I really don't know what happened. Their family got into trouble on their own. It has nothing to do with us."
"That's right, it has nothing to do with us, haha!"
Seeing this group of people laughing wildly, Mr. Ge's face turned from purple to blue. He couldn't find the words to say. Borrowing money from a financial company had led to this outcome.
"You can take your time thinking about the money. Our boss already said that the deadline for repayment is on the fifteenth of next month." Flynn Zhang patted Mr. Ge's shoulder and then said, "Until you pay, we won't have any food to eat. We'll have to come here to mooch off you every day." With that, he sat down, picked up the menu, and started ordering. Mr. Ge opened his mouth, but he couldn't utter a word.
"Kid, you can scram." After Flynn Zhang sat down, he noticed Eiland still sitting at the edge of the round table.
But Eiland seemed to completely ignore Flynn Zhang's words. Holding the menu, he said to Mr. Ge, "Boss, let's start with sautéed pork kidneys. Make it extra spicy, the spicier the better."
Mr. Ge was stunned. Could this guy not sense anything unusual?
"Oh, looks like we've got ourselves a fearless one," Flynn Zhang remarked. He took this as a provocation. After all, anyone who was collecting protection money around here was not a good person. Flynn Zhang was now getting aggressive. He grabbed a water kettle from the table and swung it towards Eiland's head. The force seemed like it was meant to incapacitate him.
"Bang!" It was the sound of the kettle colliding with a head.
The kettle remained a kettle, but the head turned out to be Flynn Zhang's. Those accompanying Flynn Zhang were dumbfounded. They hadn't seen what happened clearly. Flynn Zhang had intended to strike Eiland's head, but somehow, it ended up hitting his own.
"You bastard, I'll kill you!" Flynn Zhang shouted. Even though he didn't see exactly how Eiland retaliated, he was sure that this was Eiland's doing. At this point, Flynn Zhang was consumed by anger. He grabbed a handful of disposable chopsticks and fiercely jabbed them toward Eiland's face.
"Ah!"
Just as it seemed Eiland would take a hit, there was another shocking turn of events. The seemingly fragile disposable chopsticks ended up piercing Flynn Zhang's hand and firmly sticking to the table. Flynn Zhang let out a wretched scream akin to a slaughtered pig.
The onlookers gasped in astonishment. They were dealing with a skilled fighter, and not just any fighter. Eiland sat there the whole time, seemingly unperturbed. He hadn't even moved from his seat. But Flynn Zhang had suffered a great deal. This kid seemed anything but ordinary!
By now, Flynn Zhang was thoroughly furious. He roared, "You good-for-nothings, what are you standing there for? Get weapons, attack! Beat this bastard to death!"
"Bang!" In an instant, many patrons in the open-air eatery began to flee. Some, however, stayed behind out of curiosity. Flynn Zhang's cronies grabbed weapons—beer bottles and stools. This was a real street brawl. But Eiland could tell that these men seemed to have some skills.
A group of them rushed forward, and finally, Eiland stood up.
"Bang!" The first guy who approached Eiland raised a beer bottle to strike, but just like with Flynn Zhang, the bottle miraculously rebounded onto his own head. Eiland immediately reached out, grabbed the man, and with a thunderous punch, sent him crashing to the ground.
"Hiss!"
The remaining men, seeing two of their comrades fall in the blink of an eye, realized they had indeed provoked a formidable opponent. However, they didn't have the time to think about this now. They continued their assault on Eiland.
"Boom~~"
"Ah~~"
The eatery echoed with cries of agony and the sound of bodies hitting the ground. This whole ordeal lasted less than two minutes. Seven or eight of Flynn Zhang's henchmen, who had followed him, lay sprawled on the ground.
Eiland returned to Flynn Zhang's side. By now, Flynn Zhang looked at Eiland with pure terror.
"Bi... Big brother, we were wrong. We were blind to offend you, a person of such high status. Please spare us." Flynn Zhang was on the verge of tears. How did he manage to provoke such a fierce individual?
Eiland sneered, "Your name is Flynn Zhang, right?"
"Yes, yes, I'm called Flynn Zhang." Flynn Zhang nodded vigorously, like a Flynn pecking at grain.
"It's quite a coincidence. I'm called Eiland, but I'm the late kind of 'Flynn.' I'm an instructor at MuLan Middle’s senior division. If you ever want revenge, feel free to look me up." Eiland said, pulling the chopsticks out of Flynn Zhang's hand. Flynn Zhang let out another pig-like scream, gripping his wrist and quivering, "I dare not, we won't seek revenge."
"Alright, then get lost!" Eiland waved his hand, and Flynn Zhang hurriedly fled with his lackeys. Applause erupted around them. Flynn Zhang and his gang had been causing trouble in the area for quite some time, and now someone had finally stepped up to put an end to it. Naturally, everyone was elated.
However, for Cole Ge, the owner of the open-air eatery, this turn of events was nothing short of a headache.
"Instructor Ling, do you realize what you've done?" At this moment, a middle-aged man stepped forward, pointing at Eiland and berating him.
"Director Huang?" Eiland looked at the middle-aged man in surprise. Thick glasses, white shirt, a typical authoritative figure. When Eiland reported in the morning, he had sought out Director Jasper Huang. Eiland thought he had just done something that everyone would cheer for, so what did it mean for Director Huang to come out and scold him like this?
Director Jasper Huang snorted, "Instructor Ling, do you even realize who you just fought against? They're students from XiYang Martial Arts School. On your very first day here, you're getting into fights with students from other schools. Do you still want to continue working here?"
"They're students?" Eiland forced a smile. "Director Huang, they clearly looked like troublemakers."
Director Jasper Huang gritted his teeth and said, "They're also part-timers. Is that acceptable?"
..