Is This Really Second Grade?

Is This Really Second Grade?

The attic window of the Restaurant was open. Curly-haired Nick, his front teeth missing, spoke in a breathy voice to Frank standing beside him. "Look, Dad, that big black guy is in trouble. Alvin's going to teach him a lesson."

Alvin had guessed right. As long as Frank appeared before him, Nick would eagerly acknowledge him as his father. Sometimes Nick felt a little down because he had never met his father, but his mother had told him that his father had always been serving the country, doing work that was both dangerous and noble. That made Frank, his father over the phone, a hero in his heart. He had always been waiting for his father.

One hand rested on Nick's shoulder while the other reflexively hovered around his waist. Frank had watched the entire way Alvin handled things.

Threatening a small-time gangster was nothing difficult, but Black Bear was a well-known figure in Big Apple City. Frank had read Alvin's file and investigated him personally, but all he had gotten were rumors. Some stories had even turned Alvin into a legend. No one had ever seen Alvin fight with his own hands, yet all his former opponents had either disappeared or fled. Those who had fled kept their mouths shut and refused to mention Alvin's methods.

Frank watched with interest, wondering how Alvin would deal with the situation in front of him. He only had two people, while the other side had fourteen, all armed.

Frank even counted the bullets in his pistol, deciding that if Alvin got into trouble, he would lend him a hand.

While Frank's thoughts raced, the situation changed. Nick said excitedly in a low voice, "Look, they're all here. Rome, Athens, Sparta—they're all here. These bad guys are done for."

Frank looked closely and saw three giant wolves across the street, each about the same size as the two wolves at the Restaurant entrance. When Alvin flicked the cigar in his hand into Black Bear's face, all the giant wolves attacked at once.

Razor-sharp wolf claws swept past the heels of the gangsters who were about to turn hostile, spraying blood everywhere. The giant wolves moved so fast that Frank's eyes could barely follow them.

Not a single gangster had time to react and fire. Every guy who reached for a gun took another slash across the hand. One unlucky bastard had half his palm sliced off and sent flying far away.

The whole process took less than ten seconds. More than a dozen gangsters clutched their legs and rolled around on the ground, screaming. Black Bear had it the worst. Thor and Dom each clamped down on one of his legs and pulled outward. Lying facedown on the ground, Black Bear screamed as he watched in Despair while his legs were stretched into a straight line.

Frank wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and clenched his thighs. He could feel Black Bear's pain himself. For a muscular man nearly two meters tall to have his legs pulled apart like that... Frank felt it was too cruel. It would have been better to just shoot him.

Nick excitedly waved his fist and shouted, "I knew it! Alvin is amazing! Bad guys will all be punished."

Frank said stubbornly, "His big dogs are the impressive ones. Alvin himself isn't all that great!" He cared a great deal that the person his son admired was not him.

Nick gave a "Ha~," glanced at Frank, but did not refute him. It was as if he knew something but simply would not say it.

Frank snorted without much confidence. "When I'm on leave, I'll take you hunting, and then you'll see what I can do. Being able to raise animals is nothing compared to good marksmanship!"

Nick gave another "Ha~," ignoring Frank's boasting. "That was over too quickly. Sigh, I should go do my homework, or Alvin will give me trouble." Like a little adult, he patted Frank's waist. "Buddy, I don't blame you for not being able to do my problems. They really are pretty hard. Take it easy. It may be a little late for you to start learning, but it's fine. As long as I can do them, it just takes a bit of time!"

Frank felt his blood pressure rising high enough to explode. He was obviously injured and had lost too much blood, but now the veins on his forehead were about to burst. Thinking about all the boasting he had done to Alvin downstairs only made him angrier.

With a snort, he turned to study Nick's homework with him.

"ABCD × 9 = DCBA. Question: ABCD = ?"

Was this really a second-grade problem? Frank fought the urge to grab a gun and kill Nick's math teacher. He yanked hard at his hair, watching his son struggle but eventually work out the answer. Only then was he sure Alvin had not been messing with his son.

Then Frank thought in shock, What exactly was this community school teaching its students?

At the Restaurant entrance, Alvin had grown impatient with the screams of these scumbags and gave JJ a look.

JJ grinned viciously and, under Jason's terrified gaze as he watched the entire scene, pulled an iron bar from beside the door. One by one, he knocked the howling gang scumbags unconscious. The world became much quieter, leaving only Black Bear still screaming desperately as he covered the crotch that two giant wolves had nearly torn apart.

Alvin glanced at the cigar that had exploded against Black Bear's face and fallen to the ground, then shook his head regretfully. He lit another cigar for himself.

He whistled, and Thor and Dom released Black Bear's legs before running over to rub against Alvin, which counted as a greeting. Then they somewhat unwillingly returned to lie at the Restaurant entrance. This Black Bear was too weak. He could not excite wolves at all.

Even after Thor and Dom left, Black Bear's legs could not close. His hands covered his crotch. His screams no longer carried the force they had at first. His hoarse throat seemed to be leaking air, turning his cries into dry "Ha~ ha~" sounds. Black Bear was no longer the man who had been shouting about starting a war just minutes ago.

Alvin walked over, flipped Black Bear onto his back with his foot, and left him lying faceup. Black Bear's miserable legs dangled limply like two soft noodles.

Squatting in front of Black Bear, Alvin blew out a ring of smoke. "Buddy, we could have reached an agreement easily. I really regret this."

As a major drug dealer, Black Bear had some backbone. He did not beg for mercy or admit defeat. Instead, he endured the pain and glared at Alvin with what he believed was the most vicious, ferocious look he could muster.

Although Black Bear's current state made that glare into a joke, Alvin still asked obligingly, "What? Do you still have questions about my earlier proposal?"

Gritting his teeth, Black Bear said in a hoarse voice, "You'll regret this, I guarantee it! You'll be killed, and your whole family will be wiped out! Our Viper Gang can definitely do it."

Alvin looked at Black Bear as if he were an idiot. "Kingpin couldn't do it, so why do you think a drug dealer can? You people rely on viciousness and brutality to survive in Big Apple City. In terms of fighting strength, you're not even as good as the Russian gangsters in Hell's Kitchen!" He took another drag of his cigar. Squatting while smoking made him feel a little nostalgic. "Buddy, seriously consider my proposal! Or you can call your boss, Bloody Jansen, and ask for his opinion."

Black Bear turned his head sideways, spat out bloody saliva, and said with a vicious grin, "My boss will only bring gunmen here, storm this place, and kill every one of you."

Alvin wrinkled his nose, mentally connected with his pet Crow, then jolted as if electrocuted. He glared at Black Bear with some irritation. "Make the call. Tell your boss to move his fat ass, climb out of the hot tub in his Long Island villa, and tell him my proposal. My patience is running out!"