Hearing this, Ryan Ling's heart clenched—Big Fly really was making his move. But his so-called good brother, Jason Lin, still hadn't shown up.
What should I do now?
If I go to school now, I might end up crippled on the spot!
Because the ever-so-'dutiful' system had already issued an alert: Ryan Ling’s fate was about to change—today, there was a 90% chance he’d get his right leg chopped off. And the worst part? The process would seriously injure his junk, with a 99.9% chance of turning him into a eunuch.
Ryan nearly coughed up blood—no way was he going to school today. He had to wait for Jason Lin to show up, no matter what.
Just then, Ryan’s phone suddenly rang—it was Kevin Lee calling.
"Kev, help me tell the teacher I’m taking the day off. I—" Ryan started to say right away.
But before he could finish, Firecracker’s voice blasted through the phone: "Listen up, punk! If you dare skip school today, I’ll break Kevin Lee’s leg right now!"
"You bastard, screw you!" Ryan cursed instantly. Out of all these scumbags, Firecracker was definitely the worst.
Firecracker just laughed wildly, clearly proud of himself.
On the other end, Kevin Lee suddenly shouted, "Ryan, don’t come! Whatever you do, don’t come!"
"Don’t come my ass! Screw you!" Instantly, the sound of fists and kicks erupted over the phone.
Right after, a cold, menacing voice came through: "Ryan Ling, you better not be a coward. If you don’t show up, you’re just a loser and a bastard!"
Ryan recognized the voice instantly—it was none other than Big Fly.
Without hesitation, Ryan shouted, "Let Kevin go! He’s got nothing to do with this! I’m coming right now!"
"Good! I’ll be waiting for you!" Big Fly roared.
Ryan hung up right away and rushed toward the school. He wasn’t doing this for anything else—he was doing it for his best bro Kevin. Kevin had handed over nearly all his hard-earned savings to Firecracker without a second thought, just for Ryan’s sake. That kind of loyalty meant more than anything.
Warning: If you go to school now, there’s a 95% chance you’ll get your leg chopped off, and a 100% chance you’ll get turned into a eunuch! The system blared another alarm.
Ryan didn’t even look—he just stepped out the door.
Warning upgraded: 99% chance of getting hacked to death. Big Fly’s acting extra psycho today—you’re gonna get chopped, for real!
Ryan hesitated for a second, but still gritted his teeth and kept moving forward.
System stopped with the warnings and went straight for the obituary: "Respect! Harbor City High student Ryan Ling, your dad’s waiting for you down below. Go forth, brave martyr!"
"Screw off! Get as far away from me as possible!" Ryan snapped. He didn’t have time to argue with the system now. He dashed downstairs, grabbed a fruit knife and tucked it into his waistband, ready to call the cops if things got really desperate. He wasn’t about to die for nothing—he’d only risk it if there was no other way out.
Half an hour later, Ryan finally arrived at the school.
The school gates were already locked tight. The cowardly security guards hadn’t dared step outside, while a dozen punks with yellow and green hair smoked arrogantly by the entrance. Big Fly, Firecracker, Howard Lee, Fatty Lowe, and the rest lounged outside a small shop, whose owner looked pale and kept handing out cigarettes.
In the corner, poor Kevin Lee had already been beaten black and blue, with two punks standing guard on either side.
“These bastards are way too cocky!” Ryan took a deep breath. He’d looked up the Axe Club last night—turns out, their reach was huge, and they were getting more powerful by the day. Several factions were backing them, and they were basically becoming Harbor City’s underworld kingpins. Who’d dare mess with a crew like that?
Just as Ryan showed up, Howard Lee immediately shouted, "Big Fly! He’s here! That’s Ryan Ling—chop him up!"
Nothing gets your blood boiling like seeing your enemies face to face. As soon as Howard finished yelling, Fatty Lowe shouted too, "Big Fly, don’t let that punk get away!"
Firecracker had already met Ryan before. He didn’t feel guilty at all about scamming him—instead, he made sure to stand out where everyone could see.
"Heh, look at this broke loser—he’s really worth all of us showing up?" Big Fly sneered at Ryan, full of contempt. The other punks just snickered.
In no time, a dozen guys closed in, some of them just straight-up pulling out knives.
The shop owner freaked out and scrambled to hide inside.
The security guards hiding behind the iron gate were pale as ghosts. None of them dared move. The head guard had even dialed 110 on his phone—but still couldn’t bring himself to call.
This was Big Fly, the psycho who chopped people up, and the terrifying Axe Club. Anyone would be scared of revenge right now.
But the crazier things got, the calmer Ryan became. He wasn’t scared—he didn’t back down even half a step. He pointed right at Kevin Lee: "I’m here. Let Kevin go. One person does the deed, one person takes the fall!"
"Well, aren’t you all about brotherhood? Fine, just for that line—one person does the deed, one person takes the fall—I’ll let him go!" Big Fly nodded, and the two punks guarding Kevin stepped back.
In an instant, every blade was pointed at Ryan.
I’m screwed!
This time I’m really screwed!
School violence is everywhere these days, but I never thought I’d be the one caught up in it.
Ryan was starting to lose hope. The system, as useless as ever, was already playing funeral music in his ear.
"Go! Chop off his right leg!" Big Fly suddenly shouted.
Ryan instinctively stepped back and whipped out his fruit knife. But up against these battle-hardened punks, he didn’t stand a chance. His knife was knocked away in a flash, and he was dragged to the ground by several thugs.
Howard Lee and Fatty Lowe burst out laughing—finally, their revenge was about to be served!
But right then, a voice roared from behind: "Stop! If anyone dares touch a single hair on my brother’s head, I’ll wipe out his whole damn family!"
Big Fly froze on the spot!
Firecracker’s cigarette dropped straight to the ground!
Howard Lee and Fatty Lowe went pale and scrambled backward!
All the punks instantly let go of Ryan!
Ryan’s heart was pounding—because right then, from all directions around the school, over a hundred men in suits and sunglasses surged in, each one carrying a huge machete.
The scene was absolutely epic.
"Wait a second..." Ryan took a deep breath. Only one name flashed through his mind—Jason Lin.
"Are you idiots blind? You dare mess with Brother Jason’s brother?" shouted a sharp-looking guy in a suit.
"Brother Jason’s brother?" Big Fly turned green, his teeth chattering.
Right then, in the middle of the suited crowd, a travel-worn, broad-shouldered man charged toward Ryan like a madman. You could see the guilt and tears on his face.
Without a second thought, he grabbed Ryan in a bear hug and shouted, "Brother! My good brother! I’m so sorry you had to suffer—this is all my fault! I didn’t get here in time!"
Ryan got instant goosebumps and stammered, "Bro, can we chill out a little?"
"No way! It’s all my fault! I let you down—please forgive me, bro!" Jason Lin practically wailed. Ryan was speechless; this Best Bro Card was way too effective.
Everyone around was stunned—nobody could believe Ryan had this kind of connection.
Kevin Lee was dumbfounded. Bro Feng, your background is way too deep—I had no clue!
Firecracker was so terrified he couldn’t even tell north from south anymore, and the school security guards behind the iron gate were swallowing hard. Who’d have thought that a totally average-looking student was actually sworn brothers with Harbor City’s underworld legend Jason Lin?
Even the suited guys were a little stunned by the scene. Some of them couldn’t help but whisper to each other.
"I seriously didn’t know Brother Jason had a brother like this. We totally missed it—so much for being good bodyguards!"
"Yeah, Brother Jason was supposed to be at an international gang conference in the Netherlands last night—a super rare chance. But he dropped everything, chartered the fastest flight home, and rushed back. We thought something huge was going down in Harbor City, but turns out it was for this little bro. Looks like his bond with Brother Jason is next-level!"
"Totally! Brother Jason’s never lost his cool like this. That bro must mean a ton to him. Today we gotta find out who the hell tried to mess with him!"
After hearing all this, Big Fly just collapsed to the ground...