Fish Head Xu

"Hack him to death!"

Amid the shouts in the distance, Yang Chu suddenly saw a dark figure sprinting into the alley from outside its entrance.

The figure ran rather awkwardly but moved nimbly. When he charged toward a pedicab at the mouth of the alley, he did not slow down or detour. Instead, he braced both hands on the pedicab's seat and lightly vaulted over the obstacle.

He had sprinted all the way in from outside the alley. As he passed Yang Chu, he suddenly halted, then ran several steps to a corner of the wall near Yang Chu.

A scattered pile of cardboard lay on the ground in the corner. It looked like it had been sorted and temporarily left there by some scavenger collecting rubbish.

The dark figure grabbed a sheet of cardboard and skillfully flattened several pieces into cardboard sheets again, placing them outside the corner. Then he found a somewhat larger piece and folded it back into a cardboard box half a man's height tall.

Finally, he walked into the corner, opened up the box, and slipped it over himself from head to toe, preparing to hide inside.

At that moment, he seemed to notice Yang Chu standing nearby, having witnessed everything he had done. He first pressed his palms together in a pleading gesture, then put a finger to his lips to signal for silence.

"Hmm? Ha—"

Yang Chu had not paid much attention to the figure, who seemed to be hiding from pursuers. But when the man turned to look at him, Yang Chu could not help but chuckle.

The man was probably in his thirties or forties. His hair looked somewhat sparse, yet he insisted on wearing it long and parted down the middle. What Yang Chu found most amusing was that the man was cross-eyed. With his finger pressed to his lips and that silent gesture directed at him, he was indescribably comical.

"Where did that bastard run off to?"

Chaotic footsteps sounded from outside the alley as seven or eight gangsters carrying iron rods and machetes ran in.

Before the footsteps had even sounded, the cross-eyed man had already quietly covered himself with a cardboard box beside a rubbish bin in the corner.

"Hey, did anyone run past here just now?"

A gangster with a ponytail and a gold chain, looking no older than seventeen or eighteen, pointed a machete at Yang Chu.

The rest of the group also seemed quite young, each of them sizing Yang Chu up with arrogant expressions.

Yang Chu calmly shook his head.

"Lucky bastard ran fast. He dared hit on my boss's girl? Hmph. Next time I see him, I'll hack him to death."

The ponytailed gangster cursed unhappily, then called to the others beside him. "Let's go. Find somewhere to eat. I'm starving."

Only after the teenage gangsters had left the alley did the cross-eyed man hiding in the cardboard box cautiously poke his head out. Once he confirmed they were gone, he let out a long breath.

He crawled out of the box, then carefully flattened the cardboard boxes he had assembled and dismantled, stacking them one by one back into cardboard sheets before putting them away.

Yang Chu was mildly surprised by the man's actions, but he did not pay much attention and turned to leave.

"Bro... brother, wait..."

Seeing Yang Chu about to leave, the cross-eyed man hurriedly finished stacking the cardboard and jogged over to him. "Thanks for earlier. Have you had a late-night meal? My treat."

He spoke very slowly, as though his speech was somewhat unclear. Combined with his cross-eyed look, he gave off the impression of someone not quite all there. Still, his tone was quite sincere.

"You're treating me to late-night food?"

Yang Chu was somewhat surprised. He had not expected the other man to want to treat him to supper over such a small favor.

"Of course. My boss taught me that gratitude has to be practical." The cross-eyed man nodded seriously.

"Sure."

Yang Chu did not stand on ceremony. He had eaten Xu Xi's boxed meal last night. Though he was not hungry now, replenishing some energy would be just right.

"Come on, I'll take you there. I know a night stall with really good food."

Seeing Yang Chu agree, the cross-eyed man seemed quite delighted. He patted his chest and put on a deliberately hearty expression.

Yet his hairstyle, cross-eyed gaze, and face still made him seem rather comical.

The two left the alley from the other end and crossed several streets.

There were countless streets and alleys like these around Nathan Road. Some had closed early and looked dark and gloomy, while others were bustling and deafening.

At this hour, some roadside snack shops and cha chaan tengs moved their tables and chairs out onto the street to attract more customers.

Outside a late-night stall with more than a dozen low tables, the cross-eyed man swaggered over with Yang Chu and found them seats by the entrance.

"Fish Head Xu, what'll you have?"

The greasy middle-aged owner, busy at the stall, saw the cross-eyed man sit down and came out from the doorway with a brilliant smile to greet him.

"A garoupa, three catties. Then beef offal, fish balls, chicken feet, siu mai, cheung fun... one serving of each."

The cross-eyed man spoke casually, clearly a regular here. After ordering, he looked at Yang Chu. "Bro... brother, what else do you want? Don't be polite with me."

"New here? Which crew are you with?"

The greasy middle-aged owner casually wrote down Fish Head Xu's order, then looked at Yang Chu and asked out of the blue.

"We just met."

Yang Chu did not quite understand what the stall owner meant. He merely pointed at the cross-eyed man and said, "Bring me two more of everything he ordered."

"So much food? There are only two of you. Can you finish it?" The stall owner frowned slightly.

"Brother Cheng, just bring it all. And two bottles of beer."

Fish Head Xu did not wait for the stall owner to say more and took charge. "I'm the host. I'm treating."

"Do as you like. The little bit of blood money you earn will be squandered sooner or later."

The stall owner shook his head, no longer trying to persuade him, and turned into the shop beside them.

Before long, their small table was piled with food, drawing sidelong glances from some of the other late-night diners nearby.

"Brother, my name's Liu Xu. Everyone calls me Fish Head Xu. Thanks for tonight."

Fish Head Xu poured himself a glass of beer. Speaking somewhat slowly, he raised his glass to Yang Chu.

"I don't drink."

Yang Chu poured himself a cup of tea and raised it in acknowledgment. "Yang Chu."

"Then you're Chu-zai."

Fish Head Xu did not seem bothered that Yang Chu would not drink. He remained cheerful and drained his glass in one gulp.

Yang Chu took a sip of tea and said nothing more, focusing on the food before him.

He did not dare drink alcohol, not even beer.

He had no idea how well this body could hold its liquor. If it were the type to get drunk after one drink, or if it had an alcohol allergy, then once his consciousness became blurred and he could no longer control the body, the consequences might be even worse than being unable to sleep.

"Chu-zai, let me tell you, if my brothers had been around tonight, I wouldn't have embarrassed myself like that. Heh, with a face as ugly as mine, what pretty girl would fancy me or dance with me? She only did it because I was willing to spend money."

After several drinks, Fish Head Xu's face reddened slightly. He seemed to have found his groove and began rambling about what had happened that night.

Yang Chu did not listen closely. His attention was almost entirely on the food, his chopsticks flying as he kept stuffing all kinds of dishes into his mouth.

He was not actually very sensitive to hunger now. After his main consciousness took control of the body, many physiological reactions caused by things like pain and hunger were merely signals from the nervous system.

If he ignored them, he could block them out. They would not create that uncontrollable sensation brought on by the body.

But likewise, if Yang Chu truly let himself eat freely, his appetite seemed bottomless.

Nor did Yang Chu need to worry about eating until he burst. Once large amounts of food entered his body, he could accelerate the digestive system, turning all that food into nutrients and energy to restore his body more effectively.

Steamer after steamer of snacks was brought to the table, only for Yang Chu to pick them up and finish them in a few bites.

Fish Head Xu watched in stunned amazement. "Wow, Chu-zai, you can eat more than any big eater I've ever seen."

"Cross-eyed, you're here? Let's see where you can run this time!"

Just then, a group of people passed by on the street.

One of them, a ponytailed youth, spotted Fish Head Xu sitting at the low table by the roadside and shouted loudly.