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That night, the moonlight was like water. Less than a kilometer south of Southern University's back gate was a stretch of abandoned buildings. Rumor had it, the area was supposed to become a fancy residential complex, but halfway through construction, a string of accidents happened—several workers died, and the unlucky developer ended up drowning in debt. With no way out, he ran off, leaving these unfinished buildings to rot for years. Word on the street was the feng shui here was terrible; before liberation, this was where criminals were executed, and it was supposedly haunted—a place of bad luck! So, nobody wanted to take over, even though the location was pretty decent. Only a select few knew what was really going on.
Now, weeds grew everywhere among the ruins, with rats and cockroaches darting around. Occasionally, some drunk idiot would stumble in to take a leak, and the air was thick with the stench of urine. The unfinished buildings looked dark and creepy under the moon, overrun with wild grass—a scene of pure desolation. Thanks to the ghost stories, nobody dared to come here at night.
It was already past 9 p.m. In the middle of the abandoned complex was an open, barren lot—originally planned as a public green space, with the ground machine-flattened. The place might be run-down now, but it was perfect for 'settling scores.' At the moment, a dozen or so rough-looking guys were standing around the lot, none of them looking like upstanding citizens. They were smoking, chugging beer, flipping butterfly knives, and laughing loudly, their faces full of menace and arrogance.
Inside a rundown building next to the lot, Jeremy Ling sat looking glum, keeping company with a burly man in his thirties sporting a wild, golden perm. The man’s left shoulder was bare, showing off a tattoo of a snarling wolf head with fangs bared—he looked every bit the beast, his rugged face dark and brooding, eyes cold, and a nasty scar running from his left cheek to his jaw. His camo vest showed off bulging muscles, making him look like he could tear someone apart at any moment.
At that moment, Curly Jack had a pretty young girl in a skimpy miniskirt draped over his lap. One hand was boldly shoved inside her top, roughly squeezing her breasts, while the other was busy under her skirt. The girl, eager to please, moaned exaggeratedly, putting on a seductive show. "Ooh, ahh—" she cried, her voice dripping with fake pleasure.
While groping the girl, Curly Jack looked over at the nervous Jeremy Ling and asked, "Hey, Jeremy, what time is it? Why isn’t that punk here yet? Is he chicken, or are you messing with us?!"
Jeremy Ling checked his phone and replied carefully, "Curly Jack, it’s almost nine-thirty. Uh—the guy should be here any minute now!"
Curly Jack sneered, "Damn it, Jeremy, don’t drag me out to this dump just to stare at the moon! If anyone stands me up, I’ll chop off his balls and feed them to my dog! And listen, Jeremy, you’ve had me and my boys waiting here for over an hour. Time is money, you know—we’re supposed to be watching Leo Leopard’s turf, we’re busy guys! If Leo finds out, the Blue Wolf Syndicate won’t be happy! You get that?"
Jeremy Ling wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "I get it! Once the guy shows up and Curly Jack’s boys mess him up, I promise your payment will be generous. I’ll even treat you and the crew to a wild night at Royal Nightclub—drinks and girls on me!"
Curly Jack’s scar twitched as he grinned wickedly. "Heh, Jeremy, I hit up that nightclub every night—those girls are boring. You know me, I’m all about those fresh-faced college chicks. I heard the punk you want to mess up is fighting you over a campus beauty queen—a real knockout, right? Pure as they come. Bet she’s way tastier than this one! Look at her, not even a hint of resistance—where’s the fun in that? Forget my payment, just let me have a turn with that campus babe—heh heh—"
As he spoke, Curly Jack got rougher, making the girl squeal louder. Suddenly, he yanked his wet hand out and grabbed her hair, shaking her head. He barked, "Bitch, you didn’t eat dinner or something? Is this how you serve me? You wanna get kicked out? Scream—make it sound like you’re really hurting!"
The girl, hair twisted in his grip, quickly faked a pained look and whimpered, "Mm, ah, oww—" Her performance soothed Curly Jack’s twisted nerves, at least for now.
Jeremy Ling’s heart skipped a beat seeing this. When he glanced up, Curly Jack’s cruel eyes were locked on him. Jeremy knew Curly Jack was ruthless—a real loose cannon—so he forced a smile and said, "Uh—yeah, Curly Jack, your info’s always on point! But, uh, can I keep the campus queen for myself? I’ll pay you double!"
Curly Jack laughed, then suddenly got serious. "Jeremy, you don’t run with us, so you don’t get the rules, huh?"
Jeremy Ling’s scalp tingled. He quickly lowered his head, stammering, "Uh, Curly Jack, I—I didn’t mean it like that! I—"
Curly Jack stared him down, snorting, "Jeremy Ling, let me spell it out. You call me ‘bro,’ so you should know—when you run with the crew, the best stuff always goes to the boss first. Why else would I bother being the boss? And I don’t care about the money, I just want a shot at that pure, pretty campus queen. At least she’s got something real, not like this faker!"
With that, he barked, "This faker—get lost!" and shoved the moaning girl to the floor. She winced but didn’t dare complain, just crawled off to the corner to nurse her bruised knees.
Curly Jack shook off the sticky mess from his hand and kept talking to Jeremy Ling: "Look, Jeremy, time’s almost up. If that punk doesn’t show, don’t blame me for getting nasty. My boys get paid, they get their late-night snacks, and a trip to Royal Nightclub—plus, you’re bringing me that pure campus queen to play with! Got it?"
Jeremy Ling was kicking himself inside. He knew Curly Jack was greedy as hell, never satisfied. He’d hoped to use Curly Jack and the Blue Wolf Syndicate to rough up Shawn Young, but now it felt like he’d shot himself in the foot! The more he thought about it, the more he hated Shawn—damn kid ditched him, costing him a fat wad of cash, and now he had to figure out how to deliver Cynthia Qian as a tribute! If Curly Jack flipped out, Jeremy would be totally screwed!
Curly Jack saw Jeremy Ling’s face cloud over and threw an arm around his shoulder. "Heh, Jeremy, don’t sweat it. When you ask for help, you gotta be ready to pay the price! No worries, once I’m bored with the campus queen, I’ll let you have a turn. How’s that sound?" He chuckled slyly.
Jeremy Ling cursed him silently: "Damn, after that pervert’s done, the girl will be ruined! What’s left for me?" Of course, he wouldn’t dare say that out loud, so he just forced a smile and played along.
"Hey, Jeremy, why’d you team up with such a greedy bastard? Regretting it now, aren’t you? Man, you’re one unlucky dude!" Suddenly, Shawn Young’s voice rang out behind them.
Jeremy Ling and Curly Jack jumped in surprise, spinning around to see Shawn Young had slipped into the building without anyone noticing. Out in the lot, Curly Jack’s crew hadn’t realized Shawn was inside; they were still hanging around, shooting the breeze and even peeing while they drank beer.
Shawn Young squinted at Curly Jack and said, "So you’re Curly Jack, huh? Take a look at your guys—they’re a mess. I strolled in here and not one of them noticed. And you call the Blue Wolf Syndicate the province’s elite? That’s pretty disappointing."
Curly Jack might be a pervert, but he was no fool. He sized Shawn Young up—this wasn’t some ordinary kid. Facing a whole gang alone, Shawn looked totally unfazed, like he was taking a walk in the park. Curly Jack got suspicious, thinking maybe Shawn had backup waiting outside. He hadn’t brought many men tonight, so if Shawn had a crew, things could get ugly for him.
So, even after Shawn Young roasted him, Curly Jack kept his cool, eyes darting as he laughed, "Haha, you’re right, kid. But my Blue Wolf Syndicate boys are just here for drinks and moon-gazing tonight. Since you and Jeremy Ling are both from Southern University, why not call your friends over and let’s all get acquainted?"
Shawn Young saw Curly Jack’s shifty eyes and decided to be blunt. "Oh, I came alone tonight—no friends, no backup. You all know why I’m here! Jeremy, what’s your plan for dealing with me? You think Curly Jack’s enough?"
Jeremy Ling wanted to tear Shawn Young apart, still burning from being humiliated earlier. He jumped up, pointed at Shawn, and yelled, "You cocky brat! Still acting tough? Curly Jack’s about to show you what pain really is!"
Curly Jack was surprised Shawn Young came alone and acted even cockier than him. His temper flared as he sneered, "Kid, I’m ex-military police, I’ve cut up plenty of guys, done time, worked as a cop, beaten beggars, kicked doctors, slept with teachers, even ran with the dog squad at city management. Spent years in the Blue Wolf Syndicate, earned my gold baton. Tonight, since you walked in, I’ll show you why the flowers are so red!"
Shawn Young was taken aback by Curly Jack’s wild resume and got curious. "Whoa, you’ve done all that? But what’s this city management dog squad—what do they actually do?"
Curly Jack gazed up at the stars, reminiscing about his 'glory days.' A flicker of sadness and a twisted grin appeared on his face as he slapped his thigh. "Kid, you post-90s types wouldn’t know! Back when I was seventeen, I was the hottest thing for miles—girls lined up for blocks to throw themselves at me. But I felt I hadn’t grown up yet, wanted to see the world, so I joined the army, became military police! Trained hard, even won first place in the police combat tournament! Heh—"
This chapter isn’t over yet ^.^ Click next page to keep reading!
Shawn Young was intrigued. He looked Curly Jack over but couldn’t see a trace of that so-called 'hottest guy around.' He figured the guy was just bragging, so he laughed, "Haha, didn’t expect you had some skills, Curly Jack! But if you were so great, how’d you end up in the city management dog squad? What kind of special department is that, anyway?"
Curly Jack waved him off. "Enough, let’s not get sidetracked. Kid, I gotta say, you’ve got guts—coming here solo is ballsy, way better than Jeremy Ling. If I hadn’t taken his money, I’d give you some advice. But tonight, it’s by the rules—heh heh—shame about you, kid. My boys are gonna mess you up; you want to be paralyzed or a vegetable? Take your pick—those are the options! When we’re done, I’m heading back to bed with a beauty."
Shawn Young couldn’t help but laugh—those two options sounded equally awful. "Hey, Curly Jack, I think I’ll pass on both. Since you’re so eager for me to choose, I’ll take the third option!"
Curly Jack blinked. "Third option? What’s that supposed to mean?"
Shawn Young smirked, "The third option is: you all get wrecked, and I go home and sleep!"
Curly Jack realized he was being played and slammed his palms together in anger. He whistled, and his crew finally snapped to attention, swarming Shawn Young. Curly Jack grinned viciously, "Kid, you pissed me off—bad move! Boys, take your time, beat him for a whole hour. Don’t kill him, just break him up good! I’ll go cool off. Jeremy, get that campus queen ready for me—I’m fired up!"
Jeremy Ling could practically see Shawn Young getting stomped into the ground and got excited, forgetting all about Curly Jack’s greed. He grinned, "Great! As long as Curly Jack wrecks this punk, I’ll take care of that campus queen right away!" He was eager to see Shawn get his comeuppance.
Curly Jack shot him a glare but didn’t say more. He walked outside, grabbed the frightened girl, dragged her to a corner, yanked her hair, and pressed her head down, pointing at his crotch. "I’m pissed off, and you’re gonna help me cool down!"
The girl shivered, didn’t dare protest, and quickly knelt between Curly Jack’s legs. She unzipped him, pulled out his ugly junk, and started working it with her hands before taking it in her mouth.
ps: Hey guys, if you hold onto your votes too long, they’ll go bad! What are you waiting for? Throw them at me! I swear, I’ll never get tired of them—let me feel your firepower!!