Are Your Fingers Made of Gold?
Upon hearing the middle-aged man's unwavering offer of "fifty yuan," Lü Yi's feigned honest smile vanished instantly, replaced by an undisguised sneer. His lips parted in a wide grin, revealing a deeply sarcastic expression, as if he had heard the funniest joke imaginable.
"Fifty yuan?" Lü Yi repeated the number, his tone exaggerated. He looked the locksmith up and down, who sat on the ground with an air of entitlement. "Boss, I'm really curious. When you pick locks, are your fingers inlaid with gold? Or are those junk lock-picking tools you're carrying heirloom gold nuggets?"
The middle-aged man's face immediately darkened after being mocked by Lü Yi in such a sarcastic manner. He glanced at Lü Yi sideways, his eyes filled with disdain and a sense of superiority that said, "You don't know anything," and sneered:
"You think it's too expensive? Ha, I think it's a waste of time! If you don't believe me, go out and walk around this area a couple of times and ask around. See if there's another locksmith shop here. See if they're cheaper than mine?"
He exhaled a smoke ring, pointed to the door with the finger holding the cigarette, and said with a confident, threatening tone, "You young people are so immature, you don't know the market. Think it's too expensive? Fine, if you have the skills, you can open your own!"
He seemed unsatisfied and gestured with his chin towards the corner where clutter was piled up, where a rusty Iron Hammer lay. "See? The hammer's over there. If you think you're so capable, try smashing it open yourself! Let's see if you can manage it!"
This combination of suppression and attack was filled with the arrogance of relying on seniority and regional monopoly.
Upon hearing these words, Lü Yi not only didn't get angry, but his smile became even "brighter," though a chilling aura was rapidly gathering beneath it. He maintained his seemingly easygoing, even somewhat timid tone, and said to the middle-aged man:
"Boss, that's not how it works. Look, this lock is new, I just bought it at the hardware store over there, it only cost twenty yuan." He waved the U-shaped lock in his hand. "You're asking for fifty yuan to open a lock, that's more than twice the price of the lock itself! This... this doesn't make sense anywhere! Boss, could you... give me a discount? Even ten or twenty yuan off would be fine?"
This time, the middle-aged man didn't even bother to lift his eyelids. He simply waved his hand, as if shooing away flies, his tone extremely impatient and carrying an undeniable arrogance:
"I can't lower the price! It's been this price for years! Take it or leave it!"
He seemed to feel that Lü Yi's haggling was an insult to his "professionalism" and "industry rules," so he raised his head again and, in a tone that sounded like he was lecturing a junior, uttered an extremely harsh remark:
"Kid, let me tell you, stop complaining about how expensive locksmiths are! You need to think about whether you've worked hard all these years, whether your salary has increased, and whether you've been working diligently."
These words were like a fuse, instantly igniting the already volatile powder keg in Lü Yi's heart.
"Alright, alright, alright!" Lü Yi raised his hand, interrupting the other person's nauseating "theory of hard work." The smile on his face vanished instantly, replaced by extreme coldness and calm. He changed the subject, saying:
"Okay, boss, since unlocking is so expensive, I won't bother. Do you sell U-locks here? I'll just buy a new one, is that alright?"
When the middle-aged man heard Lü Yi soften his tone and say he wanted to buy a new lock, his expression softened slightly, thinking he had "persuaded" the other party. Too lazy to get up, he simply reached into a pile of haphazardly arranged locks and randomly pulled out a similarly packaged U-shaped lock, slamming it onto the counter with a "thud," his tone still curt:
"This one, fifty."
Lü Yi picked up the lock, opened the simple packaging box, took out the equally heavy U-shaped lock inside, weighed it in her hand, made a "tsk tsk" sound, and shook her head, saying:
"Boss, you're really outrageous! My new one only cost twenty, and you're charging fifty for the same model? This isn't just price gouging, it's like you're charging exorbitant prices!"
The shopkeeper snorted and retorted, "Then you should check what material your twenty-yuan lock is made of. What about my fifty-yuan lock? My lock, just the lock cylinder alone is twice as heavy as yours! You get what you pay for, understand?"
"Oh? Really? More durable?" Lü Yi seemed convinced by this reason. He picked up the U-lock, which was touted as more durable, and examined it carefully, muttering, "I'll have to try it and see if it's really that durable..."
Before the words were even finished!
A fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and he suddenly swung his arm, gripping the U-lock, not aiming elsewhere, but directly at the glass counter in front of him, smashing it down hard!
"Clang--!!!!"
A deafening, earth-shattering explosion!
The heavy glass countertop, struck by this massive iron object, instantly cracked like ice being hit by a boulder, becoming covered in a dense spiderweb of cracks. Then, with a crash, it shattered completely! Glass shards flew everywhere, reflecting countless fragmented points of light in the sunlight!
The middle-aged man was so startled by the sudden violence that he sprang to his feet! He had initially thought Lu Yi was a bit naive and might be looking for trouble when he saw Lü Yi trying to unlock the door with a U-lock, so he was already on guard. But he never expected that the other party would smash his counter without saying a word!
A surge of furious rage, a mixture of heartache, anger, and being provoked, instantly surged to the top of his head, burning away the last shred of his reason!
"Fuck your mother! You dare smash my counter!!" The middle-aged man roared like a beast, his eyes bloodshot. He didn't care about any technique anymore. Relying on the strength he had gained from years of manual labor, he pounced on Lü Yi with bared teeth and claws, seemingly wanting to pin Lü Yi to the ground and teach him a lesson!
However, when Lü Yi saw him rushing towards him, his face showed no panic whatsoever. Instead, a cruel smile of triumph appeared on his face. He neither dodged nor evaded, and just as the other was about to pounce on him, he swung his arm again!
This time, the heavy U-shaped lock drew a short but deadly arc, striking the middle-aged man precisely on the side of his head!
"Bang!!"
A dull thud that made your teeth ache!
"Ugh!" The middle-aged man's forward momentum came to an abrupt halt, letting out a short cry of pain. He swayed like a puppet with its strings pulled out, his vision went black, and he collapsed limply to the ground. Blood instantly gushed from the wound on his forehead, flowing down his dark cheek and dripping onto the ground covered with shards of glass.
The young man next to him, who had been engrossed in his game, was finally startled by the commotion and looked up in astonishment. When he saw the shattered glass scattered all over the ground, the middle-aged man lying on the ground bleeding, and Lü Yi standing there like a demon holding a U-lock, he was so frightened that his hand trembled and he almost dropped his phone. He instinctively stood up, his face showing fear and a hint of hesitation as he wanted to help.
Lü Yi whirled around, his eyes, filled with violence and chaos, fixed on the young man. Blood dripped from the U-shaped lock in his hand, pointing directly at him.
"None of your business!"
"Sit down!"
These few simple words carried an incredibly brutal aura. The young man was completely terrified by this force, his face turned deathly pale, and the courage he had just mustered vanished instantly. His legs went weak, and he slumped back onto the small stool, his body trembling uncontrollably, no longer daring to make any further movement.
Just then, the middle-aged man on the ground recovered slightly from the initial excruciating pain and dizziness, and his consciousness gradually returned.
He felt a sharp pain in his head and warm blood, and a deeper sense of humiliation and anger welled up inside him. He struggled, using his arms to support himself on the ground, trying to get up, mumbling incoherent curses.
Lü Yi's eyes turned cold. He took a few steps forward, raised his foot, and stomped hard on the middle-aged man's back with the heavy sole of his shoe. The man, who had just propped himself up halfway, was suddenly pressed down by the force and fell heavily back to the ground with a "thud," his face hitting the broken glass and letting out a painful groan.
That's not all!
Lü Yi's foot moved down his back and then stepped on his right wrist! The sole of her shoe crushed hard, and the bone made a teeth-grinding "crunching" sound.
The middle-aged man let out a shrill scream and struggled desperately, but under Lü Yi's power, he was completely unable to move.
Lü Yi lowered her head, looking down at the face at her feet, contorted with pain and fear, a hint of curiosity appearing on her face.
He brandished the blood-stained U-shaped lock in his hand, his tone eerily gentle, as if asking an academic question:
"Boss, I've been really curious about this..."
"Now, I really want to take a closer look..."
His voice suddenly turned stern, like ice shattering:
"Are your fingers made of gold or something?!"
The moment the words fell!
He raised his arm high, lifting the heavy U-lock above his head, and then, under the middle-aged man's utterly desperate gaze, with all his might, he slammed it down hard on the right hand fingers that were pinned to the ground and unable to move!
"Snap--!!"
A clear, chilling sound of bones cracking, mixed with a middle-aged man's suddenly rising, inhuman scream, erupted from the small locksmith shop, piercing through the doors and windows and echoing through the street.