Intimidating Light Dragon

The group strolled from one end of the street to the other, then turned at the far end and headed back out.

Tang Wulin still wolfed down a feast. Clearly, even with Lin Yu, an outsider, around, he had not restrained himself in the slightest.

Gu Yue, however, was relatively indifferent this time. Aside from the stewed beef in a jar that had caught her attention earlier, she ordered little of the other snacks and ate even less.

When they passed the stewed beef shop for the second time, Lin Yu could not help frowning slightly.

A crowd was still gathered there, as though nothing had changed.

Did that ten thousand just go down the drain? Lin Yu grumbled inwardly, but he still lowered his head and walked forward a few steps.

"Let's go take a look." After seeing what was happening there, Xie Xie immediately tugged at Lin Yu, who was leading the group, then rushed over first.

"You can't do this, you can't! This is how I make my living!" Before they even got close, Lin Yu and the others heard a mournful cry. It was Uncle Li's voice.

Xie Xie was at the front and quickly squeezed through the crowd.

The stove in front of the stewed beef shop had already been overturned. Clay pots lay shattered across the ground, and beef broth flowed everywhere. The rich scent of meat mingled with rising steam, while the ground was a complete mess.

Uncle Li had fallen at the entrance to his shop. Blood stained the corner of his mouth, one of his eyes was swollen, and his face was filled with grief and anger.

Three burly men stood at the entrance. The leader was bald, and despite the freezing weather, his arms were bare, revealing dragon tattoos.

The other two were also large men, with fierce brows and glaring eyes. One look was enough to tell they were no good.

"Li, you keep saying you have no money, but I caught you now, didn't I? You've got over ten thousand Federation credits in your till, yet you won't hand it over to make up what you owed before. You even hid it from me. Are you looking down on me?" The bald man was counting a stack of bills. Seeing that most of them were consecutively numbered, he hesitated briefly, but assumed Uncle Li had just withdrawn them. He glared at Uncle Li with fury.

Uncle Li hurried forward, rubbing his hands as he said, "Brother Light Dragon, more than five thousand of this is what I earned today. The other ten thousand was left with me by a young brother—it isn't my money! You know my wife. She's seriously ill, and I really can't afford to run out of money. If the Federation hospital doesn't get paid, they won't give her medicine. If her medication is cut off now, her condition will only worsen, and then—"

Light Dragon looked as though he was about to laugh in anger. With a cold snort, he said, "Then it won't be as simple as owing me a little money anymore, will it? So you really don't respect me. Brothers, smash it!"

After he spoke, the lackeys beside him immediately swung their clubs at the shop counter. At that moment, the booming report of a soul-guided gun exploded through the crowd. Light Dragon jumped in fright and immediately looked toward the sound.

Lin Yu stood there holding a still-smoking soul-guided gun. Gu Yue, Tang Wulin, and Xie Xie beside him all stared at Lin Yu in astonishment.

Lin Yu took a step forward and said, "Anyone who really cared about face wouldn't be in your line of work. You got the money, so just leave. Do you really have to drive him into a corner?"

Light Dragon looked at Lin Yu, examining the gun in his hand—or, more precisely, staring at the serial number on its grip. He softly read it aloud.

"AOL-001." Light Dragon frantically searched his memories for what that serial number represented. Then he suddenly remembered the rules for Alliance-standard weapons that his brother had taught him. He immediately said, "You've got some nerve, kid! Aolai City may not be a major city, but it's still an official city under the Federation. You dare steal the gun from its mayor?"

Lin Yu smiled, then said to Light Dragon, "Aolai City's mayor is surnamed Lin. My name is Lin Yu. And those consecutively numbered bills were given by me."

Upon hearing Lin Yu's words, Light Dragon frowned slightly, then said, "What? You want to play hero and stick your nose where it doesn't belong?"

Lin Yu shrugged and said to Light Dragon, "Honestly, over this kind of crap, I don't want to take either side. But let me remind you of something: I've met your brother. If an ordinary person reports your brother, it might not do anything. But if I report him, it may not be useless. You can try me."

Light Dragon glanced at Lin Yu, then said to his lackeys, "What are you standing around for? Put your weapons away. Have some manners. Go collect rent from the next place first."

After saying that, Light Dragon placed the more than fifteen thousand Federation credits he had taken from Uncle Li's counter into Lin Yu's hand. "Don't say I'm not giving you face. I can give him another month or two, but I collect rent on these streets. I have to show some authority, or I won't be able to keep going."

Lin Yu asked instead, "Have you ever raised the rent?"

Light Dragon shook his head, and Lin Yu said, "Then this is easy. The time you gave him before was definitely longer than the time he's owed you, otherwise you wouldn't have let him keep his shop on this street. His family just ran into trouble, and there's suddenly another expense he can't cover. Give him another chance. Worst comes to worst, I'll cover a few months for him first."