I dreamt of Yan Di or Fang Nan. That's because I have some emotional entanglement with them... but Qiao Qiao...
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
How could I possibly have such thoughts about a lesbian... especially a "fierce" woman like Jojo!
I couldn't help but picture this scene in my mind: Qiao Qiao with a lewd smile, leering at other girls, then whistling like a typical pervert: "Hey beautiful, are you free tonight?"
...
…………
Hallucination! It must be a hallucination! Me and Jojo? What a terrifying thought!! That's absolutely impossible!!
I didn't allow myself to think too much. I quickly concluded that I was delirious from the fever! That must be it!
The mixed-race beauty ignored my expression and instead took a towel and went into the kitchen.
Just as I was feeling lost and disoriented, I suddenly heard a loud "bang bang bang bang" sound coming from outside, as if I was violently banging on the door!
My heart skipped a beat!
The mixed-race beauty in the kitchen also changed her expression and immediately ran out, giving me a nervous look. I took a deep breath, my mind racing... Were they looking for me? That seemed unlikely... precisely because I knew I hadn't left any clues...
Just then, shouts and curses came from outside, spoken in Vietnamese.
It was a man's voice. And not just one!
Hearing the shouts and curses outside, the mixed-race beauty's face turned deathly pale! She glanced at the door with some fear, seemingly too afraid to open it.
I sat up, realizing what was going on. It didn't seem to be directed at me; it was probably just trouble for this girl.
I struggled to my feet, walked to her side, and without a word, took the long, narrow kitchen knife from the kitchen and gripped it with a reverse grip. Then I put my hands behind my back. Leaning against the wall, I took a deep breath and said steadily, "Were you looking for me?"
As she watched my movements as I drew the knife, her face paled further, and her voice trembled with fear: "They...they...they're looking for me...they are..."
I patted her face and said slowly, "Open the door first."
The mixed-race beauty hesitated as she looked at my expression; her eyes showed struggle, but she still went over and opened the door.
The door had barely opened a crack when someone rushed in, knocking the mixed-race beauty who opened the door backward. I pulled her to stand beside me and then coldly sized up the intruder.
These were three men, all of whom looked very young, probably in their early twenties. They were all short, typical of Vietnamese men, and wore shirts with their collars open, their clothes wrinkled, and they had a lewd and malicious look on their faces.
And in their hands, they were carrying iron buckets filled with paint and brushes...
Some people were holding thick stacks of papers with large characters written on them...
Part One: A Man in the Martial World, Forced by His Own Will, Chapter 186: The Four Great Wolves Meet in Vietnam
The leader's face looked as if someone had punched him in the nose; his nose was broken, and his eyes were like those of a venomous snake.
The three men rushed in and were taken aback when they saw me standing next to the mixed-race beauty. They probably didn't expect there to be another man in the house.
Immediately, the one with the broken nose, who was in the lead, started chattering and yelling a few words, and the people behind him immediately joined in with lewd laughter.
Although I couldn't understand what they were saying, I knew without even thinking that they weren't saying anything nice.
The woman beside me was trembling slightly, I couldn't tell if it was from anger or fear. I reached out and patted her gently on the back, giving her a reassuring look.
The mixed-race beauty calmed down a bit, reprimanded the three men a few times, and then questioned them.
After hearing what the woman said, the three men were somewhat surprised and couldn't help but exchange glances.
I whispered in her ear, "What's wrong?"
"I..." she said with some guilt, "I owe them money... I don't know how they found this place, I never gave them my address... Maybe they found my workplace..."
I nodded. It seemed these three guys were probably some kind of loan shark or something.
I glanced at the paint buckets and brushes in their hands, as well as those flyers-like things, and sighed inwardly. It seems that loan sharks all over the world use similar methods.
How much do you owe them?
"Twenty million..."
I was startled! Luckily, the girl continued, "...20 million Vietnamese dong."
I breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out to be Vietnamese Dong, which is about 10,000 RMB.
The mixed-race beauty seemed hesitant to look me in the eye: "Yoyo's school fees are very high... her school is the best in all of Hanoi..."
I sighed and patted her gently: "Give them the money, use the money I gave you to pay, and get rid of them first."
The mixed-race beauty hesitated for a moment, but immediately obeyed my command, turning back into the living room to retrieve a purse and a stack of US dollars. I noticed that the three men at the door, staring at the money in the woman's hand, immediately showed surprise, but even more so, greed…
I knew something was wrong... The mixed-race beauty's actions were too reckless. Taking money so openly right under their noses, and it was obvious these people had seen there were even more dollars in the bag...
Such an action is no different from a beautiful woman running naked into a den of perverts.
Sure enough, my fears came true. As the mixed-race beauty approached, the man with the broken nose snatched the money from her hand, casually counted the amount, and quickly handed it to the person behind him. He was very fast, and since the mixed-race beauty was standing in front of me, I didn't have time to stop him...
Then I heard him ramble on and on. The mixed-race beauty angrily replied with two sentences, and I saw her hands trembling with rage.
"What's wrong now?" I sighed.
"They...they went back on their word. They said it's because I owed them for too long and they want to add interest..."
I shrugged and smiled. Just as I thought, a bunch of vampire bats…
Are all loan sharks in Vietnam so unethical? You see, elsewhere, while these underground banks may be ruthless, they generally maintain a degree of trustworthiness and rarely engage in such blatant robbery. After all, even those in the underground banking industry understand the importance of reputation. If you're always robbing people, who will dare borrow money from you in the future?
"They actually want to increase it by ten million dong..."
I curled my lip. This is just breaking the rules. Even in the underworld, there are rules... This kind of exorbitant demand for money is beyond the reach of even the most notorious "donkey roll" or "nine out, thirteen back" gangs.
“You shouldn’t have shown them the money just now.” I smiled and gently pulled her back. I whispered in her ear, “Tell them to hand over the IOU now and leave immediately. You won’t give them a single penny.” Then I patted her on the back, “Don’t worry, I’m here.”
The mixed-race beauty mustered her courage and said a few words to them, then quickly slipped behind me.
The guy with the broken nose, as expected, changed his expression. He yelled a few arrogant words, then looked at me sullenly. He had a really irritating look on his face, gave a shout, and then took a half-step back. His two henchmen, in perfect unison, stepped forward and raised their fists…
The mixed-race beauty screamed in fright and covered her face...
I didn't move. I watched as one of the guys threw a punch, easily grabbing his wrist and dislocating his joint with a pull and a push. At the same time, I kicked out, hooking the other guy down, my knife flashing. I lunged forward, appearing behind the guy with the broken nose. He jumped in surprise, opening his mouth to scream. I punched him in the stomach, and he immediately doubled over like a shrimp. Then, I held my knife to his neck, forcefully shoving him against the corridor wall, pinning him down, staring coldly at him without turning around, and shouted, "Tell him to make his men leave, or else..." I tightened my grip on the knife.
The guy immediately went limp, and this time, before the mixed-race beauty behind me could even translate, he stammered out his own words. He was actually speaking Chinese! And it sounded quite fluent!
"Boss, let's talk this out, why resort to violence..."
This surprised me quite a bit, but I've heard that many people in northern Vietnam understand Chinese, and many Vietnamese can speak a few words of Chinese, especially Cantonese. This is partly because many people in northern Vietnam have intermarried with Chinese, and partly because there are so many Chinese people doing business or traveling in Vietnam.
Without my permission, he shouted a few words, causing his men to stumble and fall to their feet.
“An IOU!” I said coldly.
"I...I didn't bring it with me..." He looked at me with a worried expression.
I retorted angrily, "Nonsense! You came to collect a debt without bringing an IOU? Did you intend to extort money from the start?"
"Absolutely not!" With a knife held to his neck, he was covered in sweat, his small, triangular eyes darting around. "I didn't expect her to be home. I only came to splash paint and put up labels today... I didn't expect anyone to be home... and I didn't expect her to have money to pay me back..."
I immediately searched his pockets, took all his money, and tossed it to the mixed-race beauty: "Keep it!"
I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face, saying fiercely, "Kid, even when you're out here doing loan sharking, there are rules, you know that?! Don't you know what happens if you break the rules in this business?"
He immediately broke out in a sweat.
The reason the underworld has the word "way" is because even those who make a living through shady dealings still have to abide by a set of fixed rules! You can't get by in this world without rules!
At least I know that although loan sharks, often called "vampires," are certainly not good people, there are still rules that cannot be easily broken! For example, although loan shark interest rates are terrifyingly high, generally speaking, if you dare to borrow this kind of money, you'll naturally have to bleed a lot when it comes time to repay. But under normal circumstances, the lenders won't touch you unless you can't repay, in which case they'll resort to violence.
They are indeed ruthless when it comes to money, with shockingly high interest rates, compound interest, endless interest, and so on... There are many tricks. Basically, if you borrow this kind of money and are slow to repay, you will be severely punished, if not ruined.
However, if you dare to extort money from someone who owes you, you will be considered to have broken the rules of the trade.
I remember back in China, I helped Qiaoqiao scare off her first blind date by pretending to be a loan shark from the underworld. I know a thing or two about this industry because I used to work in nightclubs and dealt with all sorts of people. There's a set set of rules in it; they can be ruthless with money, but they won't go beyond the bounds.
They won't let you pay back a single penny of your debts; the interest will be calculated exactly as it should be, down to the last cent. But taking more money than you owe is also not allowed.
I remember one of my customers who often brought people to the nightclub; he was an employee in this industry. He would often say to me, reeking of alcohol, "I'm a moneylender, all in black and white, I pay whatever amount you owe! But I'm not a robber, I'm not like those guys who rob people with knives! That's too low-tech..."
That's the rule.
I've also heard that within the industry, if a loan shark robs one of their clients, they've broken the rules! In reality, loan shark gangs all operate under the guise of an underground money exchange; their activities are organized. The whole group relies on this for their livelihood. If you break the rules and damage the organization's reputation within the circle, even if you rob someone and profit in the short term, will anyone still come to borrow money from your loan exchange? How will the other members make a living then?
Therefore, those who break the rules will be punished, ranging from having their fingers cut off to having their hands chopped off.
Upon hearing this, the man with the broken nose immediately looked terrified and begging for mercy, cowering in fear. I coldly asked, "Left hand or right hand?"
His face contorted in a painful struggle, his eyes darting back and forth between his two paws, clearly weighing his options. Seeing his pained expression, I softened my tone slightly, then slammed the knife against his neck, sneering, "Pretty arrogant, but a bit too cowardly... Didn't you see this is the back of the blade?"
I released him, then kicked him far away, shouting, "I'll let you off the hook today, now get lost! I'll pay you back, every penny! Remember to bring an IOU next time you come to collect! If you dare break the rules again, I won't even have to touch you, I'll just tell your money exchange, and you know what will happen to you!"
The three guys ran away in a panic, but when they got to the stairs, they suddenly turned around and cursed a few times, probably just to leave some polite words. I pretended to raise my knife, and they were so scared that they tumbled down the stairs.
"Come in." I turned to look at the mixed-race beauty, pulled her into the room, and as soon as I closed the door, I leaned against the wall, let out a long sigh, and showed a tired expression on my face.
"Are you... alright?" she asked, looking at me.
I chuckled: "Thank goodness, they were just a few insignificant nobodys. If we had run into a tough opponent, we would have been in deep trouble."
I know my own condition. To be honest, I'm in terrible shape right now. The wound infection and high fever have left me weak and limp, with absolutely no strength left. I acted hastily just now, quickly subduing those three guys, but actually, my own strength couldn't keep up.
I feel like I'm drunk; my limbs are weak and I'm even staggering. If those three guys were to fight me head-on, I'm afraid I'd be in real trouble.
Will they... come back?
I shook my head and smiled, saying, "Probably not. They broke the rules themselves and had bad intentions. I chased them away, and they wouldn't dare tell anyone when they got back. If they did, they'd be in trouble themselves."
I only dared to step forward because I was certain of this; otherwise, given my current state, it would be best to avoid trouble.
Besides, in that situation just now, even if I didn't want to cause trouble, I had no choice but to step forward. Those guys got greedy and provoked us; I couldn't avoid it.
"Be careful these next couple of days." I thought for a moment, "Don't open the door easily when someone knocks... Also, be careful when you go in and out. I'll take care of this problem for you when I leave in a couple of days."
I had a good sleep during the day. The mixed-race beauty was unusually gentle with me, probably out of gratitude for what happened that morning. She made me a bowl of very spicy noodle soup, which I gulped down in one go, working up a sweat. Then I took a hot shower and felt much better.
After all, he has excellent physical fitness and a solid foundation.
Although I spoke confidently to the mixed-race beauty, I was still somewhat worried. When you're in a dangerous situation, you have to consider more things.
In the afternoon, the mixed-race beauty's phone finally got international calling service. I had to admit I was frustrated with the efficiency of the Vietnamese phone company. I immediately dialed Si Luo's number, but after several attempts, it was still switched off…