A Cold Farewell To You

The phone shop owner was frightened by Yang Jian's almost eerie, indifferent gaze.

But he quickly put on a fierce front and shoved Yang Jian away. "What, you want to hit someone? Believe it or not, I'll report this right now. You're obviously a thief. You came here trying to sell off stolen goods and, when that didn't work, you wanted to hit me. If you don't want trouble, take your junk and get lost. Otherwise, I'll have you arrested and thrown in jail. Do you really think I'm afraid of you?"

"Everyone, come take a look! This guy is trying to sell stolen goods in my shop! Call the police and arrest him!"

Not only did he want to cheat Yang Jian out of his phone, he even tried to turn the tables on him.

The people nearby glanced over after hearing the owner shout.

Yang Jian finally understood just how vicious this crooked merchant was.

"Boss, since you're looking to die, don't blame me for being ruthless. You like phones so much, right? Then I'll give you another one."

A cold smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

Without another word, he grabbed a phone and smashed it toward the crooked merchant's head. A faint red glow emerged from his hand, and an eye on the back of it immediately opened.

Smack!

Yang Jian slapped the phone onto the crooked merchant's forehead, but when he withdrew his hand, the phone he had been holding had already vanished.

"You really dare hit me? I'll report this right now! Just wait! If you've got guts, don't run!" The crooked merchant flew into a rage and picked up his phone to call the police.

Yet his guilty conscience got the better of him. He pressed at his phone but did not dare make the call.

If they checked the surveillance footage and discovered that he had switched the phones, the one going to jail probably would not be the young man selling phones—it would be him.

Yang Jian said, "Please do. I happen to need to make a call too."

As he spoke, he picked up his phone and dialed a number.

The call connected quickly.

"Melancholy Moonlight Flows Like a River of Longing."

Suddenly, a ringtone began to play, echoing through the small shop.

But the ringtone was not coming from Yang Jian, nor was it coming from the counter. It was coming from inside the crooked merchant's head.

"Ah!"

The crooked merchant immediately screamed and collapsed to the floor in agony. His entire body convulsed wildly as blood poured from his nose, mouth, and eyes.

At that moment, he felt as though his head were about to explode.

Yang Jian quickly ended the call, then picked up a pen and wrote down an account number beside him. "I've valued that phone at ten thousand. Transfer ten thousand to me within ten minutes. If the money doesn't arrive, the ringtone in your head will ring again. My number is here too. Notify me whenever you want that phone taken out of your head."

After saying that, he took the other phones, slung his backpack over his shoulders, and left the phone repair shop.

You dared cheat me?

I'll make you wish you were dead, you crooked merchant.

Quite some time after Yang Jian left, the owner, who had been writhing on the ground with blood flowing from his nose and eyes, finally climbed to his feet with terror written all over his face.

He touched his head.

He felt as though something had appeared inside his brain, as if a foreign object had been forcibly stuffed into it. His head hurt terribly and felt unbearably uncomfortable. He wanted to crack it open and take that thing out.

He looked outside the shop, but the young man who had been selling secondhand phones with a backpack was already nowhere to be seen.

A note had been left on the counter, containing a phone number and an account number.

Ten thousand yuan?

He had to transfer ten thousand yuan to that person within ten minutes, or the ringtone in his head would play again?

The owner truly did not want to experience that agonizing pain of his head splitting apart again. He hurriedly picked up his phone and transferred ten thousand yuan to the account the man had left behind.

But just as he was about to press confirm, he hesitated.

What if that person had been lying to him?

What had happened just now might have only been a coincidence, an accident.

If that was the case, then transferring ten thousand yuan would mean taking a loss today.

No, no, he could not transfer the money.

The owner drank some water and rested for a while. Although his head still felt foggy, as if something were lodged inside it, it was much better than before.

He should go to the hospital for an examination later.

However, ten minutes later...

Yang Jian, who was walking down the street, did not receive a transfer notification on his phone. Without hesitation, he dialed the number.

"Melancholy Night Flows Like a River of Longing."

The call connected, and the ringtone once again sounded inside the owner's head. The agonizing vibrations of the phone made him collapse to the ground again, convulsing all over, froth spilling from his mouth while blood flowed from the corners of his eyes and his nose.

"Ah!"

Ten seconds later, Yang Jian hung up.

Then he continued walking down the street as though nothing had happened.

This crooked merchant's life was already in his hands. He dared cheat him? He could play with him slowly.

Just a few minutes after that call, a notification came that the money had arrived.

Ten thousand yuan!

At the same time, Yang Jian's other phone began to ring.

The moment he answered it, the crooked merchant's pleading voice came through. "B-Big Brother, please spare me. I've already transferred the money to you. Please let me go."

"Money? What money? I haven't received anything here. You must have transferred it to the wrong account. You have three minutes left. Then I'll call you again, but this time it won't be ten thousand—it'll be twenty thousand." Yang Jian lied without batting an eye, then hung up.

Come on, let's deceive each other.

The crooked merchant had clearly tasted suffering. Before long, he transferred another twenty thousand.

Yang Jian's phone rang with another transfer notification.

"B-Big Brother, I checked the account number three times this time. Did you get it?" The crooked merchant called again, crying as he begged.

Yang Jian said, "I got it. I won't call you for the next ten minutes. I'll call again after ten minutes. Same rules, ten thousand."

Then he hung up again.

What?

He would call again in ten minutes?

If he called again, he really would be finished.

Inside the small shop, the crooked merchant was on the verge of tears. He slapped himself across the face.

Damn it, he truly deserved this. If he had known, he never would have been greedy for that phone. He had done this so many times before without ever running into trouble, but this time he had encountered someone ruthless.

He kept calling, hoping to beg Yang Jian to spare him and settle this matter.

But Yang Jian did not answer.

The small shop owner could not afford to play this game. He directly transferred another ten thousand, then called again. This time, the call went through.

What an expensive call.

Ten thousand per call.

"Big Brother, please spare me. Come back, and I'll return your phone, okay? Please stop torturing me. I've already been extorted out of forty thousand yuan by you." The owner continued pleading.

Yang Jian said, "Boss, weren't you acting pretty arrogant before? You were shouting about reporting me. If you think I'm extorting you, then report me and have me arrested. I'm shopping nearby. That's it. Another ten minutes, another ten thousand."

After saying that, he hung up again.

Seven or eight minutes later, another ten thousand arrived.

The owner called again. This time, he cried even harder. "Big Brother, I'm begging you. I'll kneel and kowtow to you. You're a good person, please spare me this once. I deserve this. I shouldn't have cheated you out of your phone or acted so arrogant. I'll turn myself in later. I'll go to jail. How about that?"

"Going to jail is your business. It has nothing to do with me. I'm only making a deal with you. I never forced you to pay. That's it. Another ten minutes, another ten thousand."

"B-But there's no money left in my account." The small shop owner said despairingly, "I've already transferred fifty thousand to you."

"No money is fine. I know a few online lending platforms. The interest is a little high, but they lend fast and are very trustworthy. I believe they'll suit you quite well. If the money doesn't arrive within ten minutes, then A Cold Farewell To You." Yang Jian said.

"Y-You're robbing me." The small shop owner's voice trembled.

Yang Jian said, "Don't talk nonsense. How could robbery be this fast? That's it. My phone is almost out of credit."

Beep.