Not long before Abel set out, Luo had been caught stealing bread by the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper had beaten him badly, while Luo's face was covered with a coarse cloth to hide the white patches.
Fortunately, Luo had protected his face the whole time, so no one had discovered who he was.
Otherwise, it would have caused a huge commotion, and he might even have lost his life.
After the beating, hunger left Luo with no choice but to sit in a street corner, staring blankly. It wasn't that he didn't want to go back—he truly didn't have the strength.
"What a poor child. Here, take these coins and buy yourself something to eat."
A while later, a pretty young woman passing by noticed Luo sitting on the roadside. Feeling sorry for him, she held out the two coins in her hand and told him to buy something to eat.
They were worth two hundred Beli. It wasn't much, but it was enough to buy some black bread and fill his stomach. After all, a newspaper cost only a hundred Beli.
Luo fell silent for a moment. Then he suddenly snatched the two coins from the woman's hand, lowered his head, and ran off, leaving her standing there in shock.
He didn't need anyone's pity or sympathy, so he'd rather "steal" her money that way!
That way, he was simply a bad person, not some pitiful wretch who needed others to feel sorry for him.
What Luo didn't know was that several homeless men on the roadside had seen everything he'd done.
They exchanged glances, then quietly followed him.
"Pant... pant..."
Perhaps it was his pride driving him, but Luo ran a long way without stopping. Only after the woman was nowhere in sight did he finally pause and gasp for breath.
He clutched the two coins tightly in his hand.
With two hundred Beli, at least he and Abel would have something to eat for their next meal.
Thinking that, Luo gradually calmed down.
But when he turned to go spend the two hundred Beli, he found the mouth of the alley he'd run into blocked by two grinning homeless men.
Luo immediately thought, This is bad!
He turned without hesitation and tried to run farther into the alley.
But somehow, the other exit had been blocked too.
With both ways in and out cut off, Luo was trapped like a turtle in a jar, with nowhere to run.
Then the leader, a long-haired homeless man, bared his disgusting yellow teeth and said maliciously:
"Kid, you've got some nerve! You dare beg on my turf without asking permission? Don't you know the rules?"
Luo hadn't wanted to get into a fight with these guys. They had him beat in numbers, age, and build. He had no chance of winning.
But the word "beg" struck a deep wound in his pride, rousing his rebellious streak.
So without a second thought, he shouted, "Bullshit! I stole these from that stupid woman!"
"Heh. Stole them, did you? Then it's only right if we steal them from you, isn't it? Hahaha!"
The homeless men burst into mocking laughter, their malicious intentions now plain to see.
Luo knew there was no way he could hold on to the money. The best thing to do now would be to back down and beg for mercy.
But the rage he'd been bottling up for so long wouldn't let him do that. Instead, he stared at them fiercely.
"Then come and try!"
That look infuriated the homeless men.
They were used to being sneered at and despised. Now they'd finally found a kid who seemed easy to bully, and they'd hoped to have some fun. But he turned out to be stubborn and refused to follow the "script."
That was the last straw!
"You arrogant little brat. Let's see if you're still so tough after I break all four of your limbs!"
After the long-haired homeless man said this coldly, he rushed forward and kicked Luo down. The other three swarmed him, surrounding Luo as he curled up against the wall and kicking him mercilessly.
Luo had none of the bearing of a Supernova now. He could only shield his head as best he could with his arms, clench his teeth, and keep himself from crying out.
After yet another vicious beating, Luo was nearly unconscious.
These homeless men lived at the bottom of society and knew nothing about holding back. They kicked him however they pleased, as if they were venting all the humiliation they'd suffered in their own lives onto him.
As for the two coins that had started it all, they'd long since fallen nearby, but no one even cared.
Clearly, what was happening now had nothing to do with those two hundred Beli anymore.
But even with Luo in such a terrible state, they still weren't ready to let him go.
The long-haired homeless man gave a cruel grin and said, "Hey, hold him down. I meant what I said. If I said I'd break all four of his limbs, then I'm breaking all four!"
The others immediately grew excited. They didn't care that Luo was just a child. With swift, practiced movements, they stretched him out like a starfish and held him down.
The long-haired homeless man bared his yellow teeth again and sneered at Luo. Then he raised his right foot high, apparently planning to crush Luo's hands and feet one by one.
Even so, Luo glared at him with fierce, unyielding eyes.
For some reason, that look suddenly made the long-haired homeless man feel a chill. But then embarrassment turned to fury!
"After I break your limbs, I'll dig your eyes out! Let's see how long you can keep glaring then!"
Just as the long-haired homeless man was about to bring his right foot crashing down, a sharp whistling sound tore through the air behind him.
Thud!
A fist-sized rock slammed into his back. He let out a scream and toppled to the ground.
The sudden turn of events stunned the other three homeless men.
But Abel, who had arrived just in time, didn't let the opportunity slip by.
He set another rock of roughly the same size at his feet, then kicked it with all his strength!
Abel had never been a soccer player, but he'd often played in college in his previous life. And with only a few dozen feet between them, he still had a decent chance of hitting his target, even if he wasn't perfectly accurate.
Another homeless man was unlucky enough to get struck in the face by the rock, and he passed out on the spot.
That finally made the last two men notice Abel.
Unfortunately, Abel's third kick went wide. The rock hit the wall beside one of them and shattered into pieces.
"Tch!"
Abel frowned, but didn't try another kick.
It wasn't that he'd run out of stones. The Leg Strength Enhancement Shoes on his right foot had run out of power, and he couldn't kick with his left foot. So he simply gave up.
Before you continue