City Seven, Southern Suburbs.
A sluggish river wound around a vast stretch of wasteland. Only a few old trees dotted the ground, and a tall factory stood ahead, rumbling from within.
Guo Yang, who had only one arm left, led Yue Wen and the others outside the factory and pointed ahead. "This is it. I used to work here every day."
"It's so late, and they're still working. That's downright inhumane." Zhao Xing'er watched the brightly lit factory and spoke softly.
Yue Wen stole a glance at her expression, unsure whether she included herself among those forced to work overtime.
For some reason, ever since he'd become a boss, he'd suddenly grown suspicious of everything.
And just like that, he could empathize with Boss Cao.
Maybe paranoia was an occupational hazard for bosses.
"He's not even human!" Guo Yang cursed again, then continued, "Once we go inside, besides protecting me, please hold me back, too. I'm afraid he'll deliberately provoke me, and I won't be able to stop myself from attacking him, with consequences we can't undo! The most important thing today is getting my son back. I can put up with everything else."
"No problem," Yue Wen agreed.
"Don't worry, sir." Zhao Xing'er nodded, too. "We'll make sure to keep things under control."
"You have to hold me back. Otherwise, you really don't know what a desperate father might do..." Guo Yang took a deep breath, fixed his eyes ahead, and puffed out his chest.
He knew his way around the place. He led the two of them to a side entrance, then went straight up to the office on the second floor. When he knocked and the door opened, they saw a bald, fat old man wearing glasses, seated in a leather boss's chair.
A classic image of a heartless boss.
Two men in black suits and sunglasses stood behind his desk, arms folded across their chests. Both were tall and burly, with menacing faces. Their energy was restrained, but their blood and qi were abundant. They were undoubtedly cultivators.
Yue Wen and Zhao Xing'er folded their arms and faced them down, too.
Guo Yang, who'd just barely worked up some courage, immediately hunched over again. Compared with the ferocious gangsters opposite them, the two young people on his side looked more like well-behaved college students.
"Manager Chen," he called out timidly.
"Well, look who it is. Old Guo." The fat boss shot him a sidelong glance and lifted his chin. "Where'd you find these two youngsters? Relatives of yours?"
"I asked them to come help, Manager Chen..."
Guo Yang didn't explain further. He was afraid that saying he'd hired cultivators to help him deal with the boss would only make Manager Chen unhappy.
"Hold on. Listen to me first." Manager Chen frowned and cut Guo Yang off. Then he slowly leaned back in his chair. "Between us, it's just a matter of a little money. There's no need to make things ugly, right?"
"Yes, Manager Chen." Guo Yang spoke humbly. "I started working for you in the second year after you built the factory here. It's been almost ten years, and I've always worked diligently. When we were promoting the factory, I took everyone out to hand out flyers in the freezing cold, all for free. I never complained. I may not have made great contributions to the company, but I've certainly worked hard for it."
"I know." Manager Chen waved his hand. "I've seen how hard you've worked, and you've certainly given a lot to this factory. That's why I'm saying you should put yourself in my shoes and be more understanding of my difficulties. How can you keep coming here to make a scene?"
"Manager Chen, I'm not making a scene. I lost my arm, and I'm waiting for compensation to pay for surgery. That's why..." Guo Yang explained.
"If one person has an accident and comes asking me for money, I can pay up. But if everyone comes asking me for money, am I supposed to pay them all? People who've had accidents at this factory over the years have all come to me for money. Can I afford to pay every one of them? You can't be so selfish!" Manager Chen's expression darkened, and he shouted, "You only lost an arm. I lost my entire business!"
"You!" Guo Yang clenched his teeth, his chest heaving violently.
Watching him bully an honest man like this made Yue Wen feel angry, too.
He glanced over at Zhao Xing'er. Her face was expressionless, and he thought to himself that she really had a good temper.
But remembering what Guo Yang had asked for before they came, Yue Wen silently resisted the urge to punch the man and decided to wait and see.
"Ahem." One of the burly men in sunglasses cleared his throat and spoke up. "Manager Chen is a friend of the Tiger Head Gang. Anyone who gives him trouble is giving us trouble..."
His voice dragged on, the threat unmistakable.
"Heh heh." Manager Chen gave a sinister laugh. "Old Guo, I know your family situation very well. Even if you won't think about yourself, you should at least think about your son, right?"
"So you really did it!" Guo Yang shot to his feet, glaring at the fat man with bloodshot eyes. "Where did you take my son?!"
"What are you talking about? I'm a law-abiding businessman..." Manager Chen denied it outright.
But before he could finish, a streak of white flashed toward him.
"Hah!"
A red-glowing fist slammed into his fat cheek. His face caved in at once, and the force snapped his head back before lifting his whole body off the ground.
Boom—
Manager Chen's head was embedded in the wall several meters behind him, his limbs still twitching in midair. When the person who'd struck him pulled her fist from his face, there was even a wet pop.
The figure standing by the wall wore a blouse and a long skirt, a delicate outfit that should have made her look graceful. But now she was shrouded in red light, like a Demonic Flame. Her skirt and long hair whipped in the air as she radiated a ferocious aura.
It was none other than Zhao Xing'er!
The delicate-looking woman who seemed the weakest had struck first, punching Manager Chen straight into the wall.
Yue Wen hadn't even reacted in time, let alone the two men from the Tiger Head Gang.
After a few seconds of stunned silence, the two men shouted in unison, "You dare attack him?!"
Yue Wen didn't give them a chance to rush toward Zhao Xing'er. He sprang forward, becoming a blur as he unleashed Dragon Wandering Loose Hand.
The gangsters had practiced rigid martial arts. The man on the left shouted as energy swirled around his raised arms. Yue Wen went straight for a flying kick to the chest, sending him hurtling away.
A tiger's shadow rose behind the man on the right, roaring as it lunged with its claws. Yue Wen blocked with his wrist, catching the man's grip on his Flying Sword bracelet. The force shattered his energy, spraying blood everywhere. He let out a scream. "Aah..."
Before the sound could finish, Yue Wen brought down a classic knife-hand strike and knocked him unconscious on the spot.
The two men looked intimidating, but they were only at the First Realm and had learned a few clumsy martial arts techniques. They could bully ordinary people, but if they ran into a real cultivator, to put it nicely, they'd be as easy to kick to death as a stinking stray dog by the roadside—and too pathetic to get out a proper cry.
To put it bluntly, they were completely helpless.
After dealing with the two men, Yue Wen hurried over to stop Zhao Xing'er.
The girl was now engulfed in red light, as if she'd activated some kind of berserk mode. Punching Manager Chen into the wall hadn't been enough; she pulled him out and punched him in the head again.
"You heartless bastard! You won't compensate an injured worker! Hah!" she cursed, throwing another punch.
Boom!
Guo Yang stared in shock. When he'd been handing out flyers, how could he have known this young woman was so powerful?
"You've got money to pay off the gang, but none to compensate me? Hah!" Zhao Xing'er cursed again. Her features twisted into a grimace as she threw another punch.
Another punch—boom!
The wall had been smashed right through, and Manager Chen's dangling limbs had stopped twitching.
Guo Yang was getting scared. He hurried forward to plead with her. "Miss Zhao, stop hitting him! My son's still in his hands!"
"Right, he kidnapped someone's son, too! Hah!" Zhao Xing'er's eyes blazed red. She cursed again, then punched him once more. The whole building shook.
Boom!
"I wasn't telling you to hit him one more time!" Guo Yang tried to pull her back, but didn't dare get too close.
"And he made the employees hand out flyers for free! Hah!" Zhao Xing'er cursed again. Red flames burst around her as her arm swung in a great circle.
Boom!
"I didn't mind that part! I really don't care about it!" Guo Yang shouted.
Yue Wen, who'd come over to break up the fight, blushed and gave an awkward laugh, scratching his forehead.
Guo Yang grabbed him with his one hand and cried, "Stop laughing, Boss Yue! Hurry up and talk her down!"
Yue Wen had come here to do exactly that, so he hurriedly shouted, "Xiao Zhao, stop! You'll have to pay for the damage!"
"Is this really the time to worry about property damage?" Guo Yang turned to him in shock.
What was wrong with the people at this agency?
"Property damage... Take it out of my base pay! Xibalai!" Zhao Xing'er's features contorted as she roared and swung another punch.
Boom!
Through the crack in the wall, they could see that Manager Chen's pig head had been flattened.
Yue Wen said urgently, "But don't forget, your base pay is only three thousand! How could that possibly cover the cost?!"
"Is this really about money, you two?" Guo Yang clutched his head in despair. "Isn't it common knowledge that killing people is against the law?"
He stared helplessly at the flattened pig head, wondering who would save him... No, who would save me? Would I be charged with hiring a hitman? I did hire them, sure, but I only paid five hundred.
He wasn't worth that much, was he?!
"Haoyougen!"
Wait, how were you still hitting him while you were talking?!
By now, he was nothing but a desperate father.
Dear God.
Could someone please hold her back!!!
Before you continue