Bathhouse Incident

A Ji had yet to say anything when Fat Dog and several Zhong Yi Xin underlings started driving people away.

"Move, move! Damn it, show some sense, will you?"

"This has nothing to do with you. Get lost!"

"Zhong Yi Xin is handling business. Keep your eyes open and clear out!"

Yau Kong Ngau and Fierce Ghost, who had been sitting across from Song Ren, were shoved around as well.

Yau Kong Ngau suddenly rose to his feet, staring coldly at A Ji, who said nothing and merely wore a faint smile.

Fierce Ghost hurriedly stood and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

A Ji looked at Yau Kong Ngau. "What, not convinced? Still want to fight?"

Yau Kong Ngau's face instantly turned livid. During his three years in Stanley, he got into fights every few days—though more often than not, he had been forced into them after being ambushed.

The injuries on his body had never truly healed, recurring again and again. But the encounter that had left the deepest impression on him was with A Ji of Zhong Yi Xin, the man standing before him.

That time had been different from his usual ambushes. He had been pinned to the ground and openly humiliated.

The other man's moves had been extremely sharp, and he seemed to be just as skilled with short blades as Yau Kong Ngau was.

He had been suppressed throughout the entire fight. It was the first time he had lost to someone in terms of combat skill.

Fierce Ghost kept an arm around Yau Kong Ngau's shoulders, lowered his head, and smiled apologetically. "Brother Ji, A Ngau's got a screw loose. Don't hold it against him."

With that, he forcibly dragged Yau Kong Ngau away.

Before leaving, however, he silently mouthed a reminder to Song Ren: Be careful.

A Ji did not pay much attention to Yau Kong Ngau. Instead, he sat down across from Song Ren.

More than a dozen Zhong Yi Xin underlings behind him also filled the rows of dining tables, silently boxing Song Ren in.

Song Ren glanced at the prisoners around him, all wearing hostile expressions, then smiled at A Ji across from him. "What, trying to scare me?"

A Ji looked him over from head to toe and raised a brow. "New guy, I heard from Dog that you can fight."

Song Ren said, "Yeah. That's what I think too."

A Ji was briefly stunned by the blunt reply. Then he propped his chin on both hands and smiled. "Interesting. We should trade moves sometime."

After saying that, he got up and left.

Fat Dog, sitting nearby, froze. They were not fighting?

He hurried after A Ji and asked, "Brother Ji, why are we leaving? Aren't we dealing with him?"

A Ji smacked him on the head. "Are you brain-dead? Fight in the cafeteria? You think the guards are made of clay?"

Fat Dog gave a foolish chuckle. "Got it, got it."

A Ji waved a hand. "Go find an opportunity yourself first. If you can't handle it, come find me. I'll be out soon, so stop bothering me lately and use your damn brain."

Fat Dog let out an "Ah?" "Brother Ji, you're not doing it yourself?"

A Ji said, "Your ears clogged with wax? I'm getting out in a month. You want me to get more time and stay here playing house with you?"

Fat Dog immediately shrank his neck.

A Ji added casually, "Oh, and that newcomer looks pretty confident. He should be good. Be smart about it—don't stupidly charge straight at him."

"If it really comes to it—"

A Ji paused slightly, then said calmly, "If it really comes to it, wait until he gets out. I'll find a chance to kill him."

Fat Dog swallowed hard. He turned and secretly looked at Song Ren, who was eating his food, and actually felt a little sorry for him.

Kid, Brother Ji has his eye on you. You're screwed.

After the Zhong Yi Xin prisoners left, Fierce Ghost and Yau Kong Ngau returned to their seats.

Fierce Ghost asked with concern, "A Ren, are you okay?"

Song Ren smiled. "What could happen to me? Those guys were all from Zhong Yi Xin?"

Fierce Ghost nodded.

Yau Kong Ngau warned him, "Be careful around that guy called A Ji. He's very good."

Song Ren said, "It's fine. The leader was A Ji, right? He seemed pretty decent. He complimented me, then left."

Fierce Ghost opened his mouth blankly.

The Zhong Yi Xin killer A Ji was decent?

Who on the streets did not know A Ji, Wong Po's right-hand man? The man had at least a dozen lives on his hands. A monster like that complimented people?

Yau Kong Ngau asked curiously, "What did he say?"

Song Ren said, "He said I was pretty good, and I said I thought so too. Then he said we should interact more in the future."

Yau Kong Ngau said, "..."

Fierce Ghost wanted to say something, but in the end he only patted Song Ren on the shoulder, unable to get any words out.

Most people who had interacted with the killer A Ji ended up lying in the morgue.

Song Ren did not care much. Honestly, compared to the killer A Ji, he was more wary of Yau Kong Ngau after he had completely gone dark.

A Ji in Sha Po Lang was exceptionally skilled with knives and extremely confident in his blade work. He rarely used guns when he fought and preferred one-on-one fights.

Song Ren greatly appreciated that style. The guy was practically hard-countered by him.

Yau Kong Ngau in Raging Fire Case, on the other hand, was the exact opposite.

Though he was also extremely skilled with butterfly knives.

Yau Kong Ngau had once been a cop, so his proficiency with firearms and ammunition was remarkably high.

And after completely going dark, Yau Kong Ngau and his crew readily used heavy weapons like grenades and timed bombs.

At his current stage, Song Ren really could not withstand that kind of firepower.

It was shower time at the communal bathhouse, and everyone was lining up.

Song Ren stood somewhere in the middle of the line. Just as his turn was approaching, someone grabbed his shoulder hard.

Six or seven prisoners, clad only in towels, pushed their way out of the crowd.

Flower Arm, Yaksha, Inverted Cross, Green-faced Fanged.

Various tattoos crawled over their arms, backs, and chests.

Their builds were solid, with low body fat. Each of them bore scars of varying sizes, clearly habitual fighters.

"Move aside!"

"This has nothing to do with you. Open your damn eyes and watch yourselves."

The group quickly shoved their way to the front, swearing as they went.

The prisoners further back in line were unhappy. But they clearly knew these men and did not immediately explode, merely cursing instead.

"Hua Gu, what the hell are you guys doing?"

"In such a hurry, Hua Gu? You rushing off to reincarnate?"

The prisoners behind them loudly voiced their displeasure, and Song Ren casually added his own complaint.

"Yeah. Cutting in line just to take a shower? Got no manners?"

But as soon as he finished speaking, someone shoved his shoulder hard.

Song Ren staggered back two steps. Frowning, he stared at Flower Arm Man before him.

"Why didn't you shove them?"

Flower Arm Man grinned and cursed, "Fuck you. I shove whoever I feel like shoving. What the hell's it got to do with you?"

In truth, Flower Arm Man had heard the rumors Fat Dog had spread.

The newcomer could fight, but no one had his back. Zhong Yi Xin was preparing to deal with him.

So naturally, he did not take Song Ren seriously.

Just as he was about to say more, Hua Gu, who had an Inverted Cross tattooed on him, spoke from the side.

"Hey, A Lang, don't start trouble here."

Flower Arm Man raised his brows, shot Song Ren a glare, and said, "You got lucky."

Hua Gu addressed the prisoners behind them. "My brothers and I are in a bad mood today. We're going to vent a little on that Officer Qiu inside. We'll only hold you up for a few minutes. No objections, right?"