Black Evil Forces

Seeing Li Ang agree, Xie Xie turned his gaze toward Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin naturally had no objections, especially since he had money on hand, and that money had been provided by Li Ang.

Since the other party was willing to go, it didn't matter if he tagged along.

Once the three of them had decided, they headed straight out toward the Beef Pot Shop.

School let out in the afternoon around four o'clock, and because there were no further classes, they had very little to do.

Of course, the main reason was that Wu Zhangkong had just finished their special training today, so he hadn't required them to continue with extra practice in the evening.

"Sigh, I don't know when this will ever end. I heard the Class Promotion Tournament is starting soon. Teacher Wu said we have to reach at least the top two hundred this time."

As Xie Xie spoke, he glanced at Li Ang, his expression looking uncharacteristically strange.

That was because, according to their teacher's own words, with a monster like Li Ang in Class One, they had a high probability of losing, but Class Two shouldn't be much of a problem.

It was worth noting that Teacher Wu didn't have much confidence in them, yet he had plenty of confidence in himself.

He felt that after he trained them, it would be a simple matter for them to reach an average level.

It was just that hearing Teacher Wu dismiss the matter so directly made Xie Xie quite curious.

They hadn't seen the battle between Li Ang and Wu Zhangkong.

Although the location wasn't exactly hidden, it had been early in the morning when most students were still asleep, and combined with Wu Zhangkong's intentional concealment, most students hadn't seen clearly; they had only seen power fluctuations appearing in that direction.

At this moment, facing Xie Xie's curious gaze, Li Ang fell silent for a moment without offering an explanation, as he felt it wasn't necessary.

The three of them crossed several streets and arrived at the snack street, heading straight for the Beef Pot Shop.

As soon as they reached the entrance of the Beef Pot Shop, a thick, mellow aroma of beef wafted out.

Li Ang sniffed lightly; even someone like him, who didn't care much for food, looked at the storefront of the Beef Pot Shop with some curiosity.

The shop definitely wasn't large, but as the three of them walked inside, it was already occupied by quite a few people.

They walked a few steps further in and found an empty table at the very edge, where they sat down.

A somewhat short, middle-aged man walked over. Upon seeing Xie Xie, the short man was stunned for a moment, then his expression brightened.

"Xie Xie is here? You brought friends this time?"

"The usual?"

Uncle Li smiled at Xie Xie as he spoke.

The specialty of this Beef Pot Shop was the Braised Pot Beef, which tasted incredibly delicious.

"Boss, bring us 10 orders of Braised Pot Beef and 10 bowls of rice."

"If you have any side dishes, feel free to bring those out as well."

Li Ang looked at the boss and spoke very seriously.

Hearing Li Ang's words, the boss looked at Xie Xie, who paused for a moment before nodding at the boss.

"Just 10 orders is fine; this classmate of mine has a big appetite."

Xie Xie said with a smile.

Both of them were well aware of Tang Wulin's appetite; a single serving would definitely not be enough to fill him up.

Therefore, they didn't mind ordering a few extra.

As the pots of tender, succulent beef were brought to the table, the rich aroma spilled out.

Li Ang also raised his hands and began to eat quietly.

The three of them ate and chatted, though it was mostly Xie Xie and Tang Wulin talking about their special training.

Li Ang didn't care much about such things.

He was busy simulating research regarding Battle Armor in his mind.

However, seeing that Li Ang didn't join the conversation, the other two didn't feel ignored like Wang Jinxi or Zhang Yangzi might have; they simply continued chatting among themselves.

The atmosphere was quite cheerful for a time.

However, this warm and peaceful atmosphere didn't last long.

Just as the three of them were ordering another 5 pots of beef, a loud "bang" echoed through the room.

Xie Xie was the first to turn around and saw the pot that had been holding the beef soup kicked over onto the floor, as a burly, bald man walked in.

It was just the beginning of summer, and while the temperature wasn't very high, it was still warm enough that the bald man was shirtless, revealing a tattoo as he scanned the scene.

Seeing the bald man, the customers who had been eating hurriedly dropped their bowls and left, not daring to meet the burly man's gaze.

"Listen here, Li, a wise man submits to circumstances."

"There isn't a single shop on this street that dares not pay protection money. What are you stalling for every single day?"

"I didn't give you a hard time when you paid on time before, did I?"

The burly man walked forward two steps as he spoke.

He looked down at Uncle Li from a position of superiority.

Uncle Li sat on the ground, a smear of blood at the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with a trace of fear.

"I'm sorry, Brother Guang Long, I really can't pay the protection fee for this month. Could I give you half instead?"

"My wife is sick and needs urgent medical attention. I will definitely make up the rest of the protection fee later."

As he spoke, Uncle Li looked at the middle-aged man with a tremble, then hurriedly pulled a stack of cash from his pocket.

A quick glance suggested it was around one or two thousand.

Looking at the money, Guang Long frowned slightly.

"Damn it, you only paid half last month, didn't you? What? You want to pay half again this month?"

"Do you think I, Guang Long, am easy to bully?"

"Hand over the full 5,000 Federal Credits protection fee this month, or don't blame me for being impolite."

As he spoke, Guang Long raised his foot and kicked Uncle Li directly, knocking him flat onto the ground.

Watching this scene, Xie Xie's face was filled with anger.

He had frequented this Beef Pot Shop often, so he had a rough idea of the shop's costs and how much it could actually earn.

This guy is nothing but a beast.

"Uncle Li works diligently all month and can only earn about 10,000 Federal Credits at most."

"If you factor in the costs, he probably only takes home around 6,000!"

Xie Xie's tone was laced with fury.

At this moment, Uncle Li's complexion was ghastly. His eyes held grief and indignation, but even more so, helplessness.

He knew that if he didn't pay up today, he would be finished.

But his wife was seriously ill, and although they still had some savings, he wouldn't be able to hold on much longer if things continued like this.

Before his wife fell ill, the two of them worked together, and a monthly income of three or four thousand was enough for them to barely scrape by.

But now, with his wife's grave illness, all the pressure had fallen onto his shoulders, and this income of one or two thousand was truly not enough.

Especially with the 500 Federal Credits rent, he had really been left with less than 1,500 Federal Credits after last month.

This amount was far too low.

Yet, forced by desperation, Uncle Li fell silent for a moment before staggering to his feet. He took the remaining money from behind the counter and shoved it all into Guang Long's hands.

"Brother Guang, there's about 5,000 Federal Credits here. Please count it."