“How can that be?” The man with square-framed glasses frowned. “We agreed on five thousand, so it’s five thousand.”
He pulled a stack of bills from a drawer and tossed them onto the table. Old Man Gao’s eyes gleamed at the sight of the money, and without hesitation, he reached for it—only to be abruptly blocked.
“But first, you’ll need to prove he was the one who hit you. Then, you’ll go to the hospital for an examination. If you’re injured, we’ll pay you fifty thousand, let alone five. But if you’re not…”
Beside him, a young man drove a cleaver into the floor with a thud.
Old Man Gao shuddered. He had targeted this seemingly meek young man precisely because he thought he had no connections. Who knew he had backup?
“Business has been slow lately, so my boys and I could use a long-term meal ticket,” the bespectacled man said, adjusting his glasses.
“What are you trying to do?” Old Man Gao blustered. “Dare to lay a hand on an old man? I’d like to see you try!”
“Who said anything about hitting you, Grandpa? Take the money. But we do things by the book—by the law. Show us the evidence, get checked at the hospital, and we’re good. Fair enough?”
Staring at the five thousand yuan, Old Man Gao swallowed hard, greed flooding his mind again. Take the money first—if things went south, he could always claim he couldn’t walk. They wouldn’t dare harass him at home! His fingers closed around the cash.
“Xiao Wu, if the ‘injured’ party can’t walk, take a few brothers over to show some filial piety. Stay at the old man’s place and lend a hand.”
The young man called Xiao Wu grinned, the blade in his hand glinting coldly. “Sure thing. Just make sure there’s food.”
“Grandpa’s got money. Feeding you won’t be a problem.”
Old Man Gao’s heart leaped into his throat. Reason finally prevailed, and he reluctantly set the money down. “Never mind… It’s not that serious…”
Xiao Wu slammed a palm on the table. “Never mind? You think this is a joke?”
Old Man Gao flinched.
The once-timid young man smirked darkly. “Grandpa, take it. Otherwise, my friends here might lose their temper.”
Old Man Gao picked up the money again, and the bespectacled man promptly snapped a photo before having him escorted out.
Standing outside with the five thousand yuan in hand, Old Man Gao felt his back drenched in sweat. Two men flanked him. “Let’s go, Grandpa. We’ll walk you home.”
Old Lady Gao, unable to bear the cold concrete any longer, had long since gotten up and gone home. The jeers of onlookers didn’t faze her.
When Old Man Gao opened the door, she rushed over eagerly, her eyes crinkling with delight at the sight of the money in his hands.
But then two burly young men stepped inside, scrutinizing her while one filmed everything on his phone.
“What are you doing?” Old Lady Gao snapped.
“Grandpa, this isn’t right. Granny’s clearly fine, yet you extorted five thousand from our buddy?”
Old Man Gao opened his mouth, struggling for a retort, but his wife cut in. “Extort? Who’s extorting anyone? Who saw us do anything?”
Fang Zhiyi’s voice echoed from the stairwell. “I did. And I recorded it.” He held up his phone. Though there were no street cameras, Fang Zhiyi—having set the trap—was well-prepared.
The old couple paled. “You’re in cahoots!”
Fang Zhiyi nodded. “Yep. But you’re the ones committing fraud. The evidence is solid.”
Old Man Gao steadied himself. “So what? Call the cops on me.” At his age, he wasn’t afraid.
Fang Zhiyi bared his teeth in a grin. “Why bother with the police? Hey, print screens of this video and plaster them all over Huai City—especially with their names and address highlighted.”
One of the young men nodded. The old couple’s eyes bulged. Fang Zhiyi added, “And get one of those ad trucks to loop it outside that elite high school!”
The Gaos had a strained relationship with their children, which was why they’d moved back here. But they doted on their precious grandson! Every penny they scrounged or swindled went to him.
“H-how did you know…?” Old Man Gao stared at Fang Zhiyi’s smiling face, a chill running down his spine. “I was wrong. Take the money back.” He thrust the cash toward Fang Zhiyi.
Old Lady Gao bit her lip, reluctant but thinking of her grandson.
Fang Zhiyi patted one of the young men on the shoulder and walked downstairs without another word.
“Hey! You—” Old Man Gao tried to call after him, but two men blocked his path.
“Grandpa, since Granny’s unhurt, consider this a loan.” One produced a photo—Old Man Gao holding the money.
“What?”
The two young men smiled, their grins unsettling. “Company policy—loans can’t be repaid immediately. Minimum one month. We’ll be staying here till then.”
“You wouldn’t dare! I’ll call the police!”
Their smiles widened. “Go ahead. We’ll hand over your fraud video and spread the word ourselves.”
Old Man Gao shut his mouth.
Meanwhile, Xie Xiaoli had been running into the girl with the sports car for days. Their outfits often matched, but the other woman’s were clearly designer, while Xie Xiaoli wore knockoffs. Envy and shame gnawed at her daily.
Then, she overheard two girls whispering that standing next to the other woman made her look like a “before” photo in a before-and-after ad. She snapped. Ignoring her busy shop, she hopped on her e-bike and sped off.
At the neighborhood gate, she “coincidentally” crossed paths with the polished woman in her car.
The woman glanced at Xie Xiaoli’s ride and sighed. “What a shame.” Then she drove off.
Xie Xiaoli burned with humiliation.
Seething, she picked a fight with her useless husband that night. Unbeknownst to her, Luo Chenghui had been stewing too. He’d been added to a group where people gossiped, always sneering at those who pretended to be rich. Feeling targeted, he’d gotten defensive—only to be bombarded with photos of luxury cars and watches. Luo Chenghui retaliated with fake images, got called out, mocked, and kicked from the group.
The couple’s fight escalated, each blaming the other for being useless and wasteful.
Finally, Xie Xiaoli dialed a number. A bald man answered smoothly. “Xing’an Loans, hello?” Jotting down notes, he smiled. “Your name? Age?”
“Xie Xiaoli, 28, right? Got it.”
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
