I'm Beating Up the Gao Family!

The tremendous crash shook the entire room!

Who was it?

Yue Xiaofei jolted and snapped his head toward the doorway.

A tall figure stood blocking the entrance.

It wasn't Zhao Mengsheng!

Yue Xiaofei didn't recognize him, yet he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

His taut nerves eased a little.

"Which blind bastard dares come here and cause trouble?"

The Buzz-Cut Thug cursed.

The Meathead Thug rolled up his sleeves, spittle flying. "Got a death wish? Do you know whose place this is? The Gao Family's! Get lost while you can, or we'll chop you up and feed you to the dogs!"

The words had barely left his mouth.

The two turned, saw the man in the doorway, and fell silent.

Their arrogance froze into terror.

Jin Dapao stood there like a god of death on the battlefield!

His square face had sharp features, and his beard bristled like steel needles!

His gaze cut like a blade. No one dared meet it.

But the most important thing was—

The crisp white uniform shirt he wore.

A police officer who wore a white shirt held at least a division-level rank, comparable to the head of a municipal public security bureau.

Thugs feared police like mice feared cats. A white-shirted officer was even worse.

Clang!

The dagger slipped from the Buzz-Cut Thug's hand and rang against the floor.

Thud!

His legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees, stammering.

"Sir, there must be a mistake! We work for the Gao Family! We're on the same side!"

The Meathead Thug had gone deathly pale. None of his earlier viciousness remained.

"That's right! We work for Young Master Gao. Have you come to the wrong place?"

"The Gao Family is exactly who I came to beat!"

Jin Dapao stepped forward and swept a hand through the air. "Take them!"

Before his words had faded—

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

More than a dozen dark figures burst from the shadows behind him.

The Flying Tiger Squad members wore black tactical vests and camouflage paint. Their assault rifles gleamed coldly.

They carried full counterterrorism gear, too!

"Don't move!"

"Get down!"

The squad moved like lightning. Before the two thugs could react, the officers had them pinned to the floor, knees pressing into the backs of their necks. Neither could budge.

Shit!

What's going on?

This is the Provincial Public Security Department's Flying Tiger Squad?!

The two thugs were utterly dumbfounded.

After so many years in the underworld, they knew what they were looking at.

Who hadn't heard of the Provincial Public Security Department's Flying Tiger Squad?

Word was that a deputy director transferred from the military had formed it a few years ago.

At last year's national special police competition, the squad had taken first place overall.

Marksmanship, hand-to-hand combat, counterterrorism assault—they had placed first in everything!

Why would an elite unit trained to take down terrorists come after two small-time thugs?

It was like using an anti-aircraft gun to swat mosquitoes!

But they had no idea this was only the first wave!

Someone even more formidable was still up above!

After dealing with the two small fry, Jin Dapao turned and walked toward Yue Xiaofei.

Then he saw Yue Xiaofei's bloodstained face...

This hardened man, who had never shed a tear even when gravely wounded, found his eyes filling with tears!

He looks like him!

He looks so much like him!

Those young but stubborn features were exactly like Company Commander Yue's in his youth. It was as if the man stood before him again.

There was no mistake!

This was Company Commander Yue's son!

After being forced to leave the military, Jin Dapao had tried to learn what had happened to Yue Changlong, but every inquiry had been met with the same answer: classified.

He had never imagined he would meet Company Commander Yue's son like this!

In a sunless basement!

Yue Xiaofei had been beaten black and blue, and cold iron shackles still bound his ankles.

"Kid..."

Jin Dapao's voice choked, his eyes red. "I'm sorry I got here so late!"

He crouched, pulled a pair of heavy pliers from his toolbox, and freed Yue Xiaofei from the shackles.

"Uncle, you are...?"

Yue Xiaofei looked up at him.

"My name's Jin Dapao!"

He wiped his face and forced a smile.

"I served under your dad. I was the artillery platoon leader in the 7th Armored Company. Now I'm deputy director of the Jiangbei Provincial Public Security Department. Your Uncle Zhao called me just now. He's on his way!"

At those words—

Yue Xiaofei's eyes lit up.

Uncle Zhao hadn't lied to him. Help really had come!

All that unbearable pain, all that desperate waiting—it had been worth it!

"Hiss..."

He braced a hand against the floor and tried to stand.

But the moment he exerted himself, every wound burned as though salt had been poured into it. He sucked in a breath and staggered.

"Careful!"

Jin Dapao quickly caught him. When he saw the extent of Yue Xiaofei's injuries, anger and guilt surged through him.

If only I'd been a few minutes faster...

"It hurts, doesn't it? Hang in there. I'll take you to the hospital right now!"

Jin Dapao moved as gently as he could, afraid of causing Yue Xiaofei more pain.

Even a hardened man had a tender side.

"Uncle Jin, I can hold on!"

Yue Xiaofei shook his head, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and looked toward the two thugs. “But they hit me 1,086 times. Please get revenge for me!”

What?!

Jin Dapao and every Flying Tiger Squad member felt their hearts jolt.

Not a thousand times!

Not 1,080 times!

Exactly 1,086 goddamn times!

He had counted down to the last blow!

What did that mean?

With every punch, the boy had gritted his teeth and counted.

With every kick, he had endured the agony and kept counting.

In that dark basement, he had held on to those numbers and refused to collapse.

Jin Dapao had seen vicious drug traffickers and terrorists fighting to the bitter end, but he had never seen a child like this—

Battered from head to toe, yet remembering every blow!

Trapped with no way out, yet holding on to hope!

Those weren't just numbers.

They were defiance etched into his bones!

They were the refusal to yield running through his blood!

He was a son of the Yue Family, the descendant of a hero!

"Huff..."

Jin Dapao drew a deep breath. His chest rose and fell as he looked at the two thugs on the floor.

"We were wrong! We really were!"

Every hair on their bodies stood on end as the two thugs begged for mercy.

"It was the Gao Family! Gao Zisheng told us to do it! We were just doing a job!"

"Please, have mercy! Let us live!"

"Let you live?"

Jin Dapao gave a cold laugh. His voice held no mercy.

"When you were trying to beat my nephew to death, did you think of letting him live?"

He turned and gave the Flying Tiger Squad a grim order.

"Kidnapping, unlawful confinement, aggravated assault... These aren't ordinary criminals. We need to hit them hard!"

"Work them over!"

"Exactly 1,086 blows!"

"Yes, sir!"

The Flying Tiger Squad answered in unison, barely contained fury in their voices.

They had been itching to act, their anger boiling over.

Then—

Supporting Yue Xiaofei, Jin Dapao walked out of the dark basement step by step. Behind them came the two thugs' agonized screams.

"Xiaofei, as long as I'm here, no one will bully you again!"

Jin Dapao spoke with the conviction of a solemn vow.