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"Oh—your dad is the mayor, but you’re not the mayor. You’re just an ordinary person, so what right do you have to meddle in police business?" Helen pursed her bright red lips. As a foreigner, she believed in democracy, freedom, and equality, so she looked down on Howie’s way of flaunting his family background.
"Oh? Gorgeous, who are you then? You’re also one of Old Gao’s higher-ups!? Never would've guessed! Want to know why I have this kind of power? No other reason—my dad’s the mayor, that’s why—hehe—" Howie teased Helen.
"Hmph—I wouldn’t get involved with you at all! You’re just a parasite feeding off power—" Helen shook her head and sneered.
"Hehe—is that so? Well, if you’re willing to come with me, I’ll show you what makes China unique. And today, I’ll let you see just how tough a parasite like me can be—" Howie wasn’t ashamed at all. Instead, he shamelessly leaned in closer, even reaching out to grab Helen’s hand.
"Thud—whoa!!" Before Howie could touch Helen, Shawn Young suddenly lashed out with a powerful kick, sending Howie flying several meters away. He hit the ground with a groan, mouth full of dirt, and only then realized his ribs were broken. Howie screamed in pain.
"Whoosh—" The bodyguards Howie brought immediately surrounded Shawn Young. Earlier, they hadn’t dared touch Zhou Yanyan because she had leverage over them, but they had no such history with Shawn. Right now, their job was still to protect Howie, and after seeing him get beaten up like that, they couldn’t just stand by.
"Damn! That punk actually dared to hit me! Get him—beat him hard, beat him to death, don’t hold back! If anything happens, I’ll take responsibility!" Howie wailed, clutching his waist and howling like a banshee.
The bodyguards got their orders and didn’t hold back—they squared up and lunged at Shawn Young with fierce aggression.
Shawn’s eyes narrowed, and he darted forward, instantly plunging into the middle of the bodyguards. Before they could react, he struck first—moving as fast as lightning—
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Shawn Young unleashed a flurry of punches, using a bit of his 'Breaker Force.' In an instant, the bodyguards were struck in the chest by tremendous power, sent flying like kites with broken strings. Shawn had skillfully controlled his strength, so when they landed, every one of them crashed right onto Howie, leaving him wailing in agony, nearly suffocating.
This time, Shawn had really stirred up a hornet’s nest. Not far away, the burly men in camouflage, hard hats, and wielding iron pipes—who’d been facing off against the residents—charged over menacingly. In a flash, dozens of them surrounded Shawn Young.
Shawn sneered, channeling his internal energy, ready to teach these bullies a harsh lesson. But Gordon Gao, worried that Shawn might get hurt and that he’d be in big trouble if that happened, quickly stepped in front of Shawn and shouted to the men, "Don’t do anything rash! Don’t make this a bigger mess!"
By now, Hu Wanquan had snapped out of it. Seeing Shawn Young standing there looking relaxed and sneering at him, and Gordon Gao actually defending him, Hu’s anger boiled over. He yelled at the men surrounding Shawn, "Damn it, what are you all waiting for? Get him! Beat that punk up! I’m not paying you to stand around! Afraid of what? I’ll take care of everything! If Gordon Gao tries to stop you, deal with him too!"
The atmosphere instantly turned tense. Cold sweat poured down Gordon Gao’s forehead. Just then, an elderly man with white hair stepped out from the crowd of surrounded residents and shouted, "Folks, these thugs want to bully good people! They don’t even respect the police! There’s no law left in this world! These goons are trying to push decent folks around! But we still have our conscience and justice. What are you all waiting for? Grab something and fight back!"
With that, the old man grabbed a wooden stick from the nearby construction site, stood next to Shawn Young, and glared fearlessly at the menacing crowd. He looked pretty imposing.
Inspired, the residents immediately grabbed whatever "weapons" they could find—wooden sticks, scaffolding, wrenches, water pipes, bricks, and some middle-aged women even ran to the greenhouse for kettles of boiling water!
Armed and ready, they lined up alongside Shawn Young, facing off against Howie’s hired thugs. There were so many of them—old folks, sure, but plenty of strong adults too. For a moment, their sheer numbers gave them a crushing advantage.
Howie’s thugs looked terrified. They knew their actions had sparked public outrage, and if things got physical, they’d be totally outnumbered. There were only a couple dozen of them, all just paid bullies hired by Howie to "keep order." Scaring people was easy, but if the crowd really charged, it’d be a dozen-on-one beatdown. Seeing the mob’s righteous fury, they knew if a fight broke out, they’d be lucky to escape with their lives.
Howie was stunned by the scene, but he wasn’t about to give up. Sensing things were going south, he quickly crawled to the side, whipped out his phone, and dialed a number in a flash—
While Shawn Young and the crowd were squaring off against the thugs, Gordon Gao ordered a few cops to rush Zhou Yanyan—who was half-dead—into a police car for emergency treatment. He knew this mess wasn’t over and both sides were way out of his league. All he could do was try to calm things down and hope everyone would talk it out. Worried he’d lose control, he pulled out his own phone and called his boss—William Wu, chief of the Westwood City Police Department—to ask for backup.
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After making his call, Howie stashed his phone and strutted out, looking smug—like he’d already won. With two thugs helping him, he swaggered over, giving Helen’s ample chest a predatory stare before sneering at Shawn Young and the crowd, "You punk, I’ll teach you a lesson! Soon, you and your people won’t even have a place to cry!"
Then, Howie shot Helen another lecherous look, practically undressing her with his eyes, as if he’d already bagged the beauty and was ready to celebrate. But he didn’t notice that Shawn Young had just made a call too—and was now watching him coldly.
Gordon Gao finished his call and learned William Wu was already racing over with reinforcements. Relieved, he felt it was best to hand off this hot potato to his boss—let him deal with it! He quietly led his dozen cops back, seeing both sides locked in a tense standoff, ready to explode at any moment.
Gordon Gao quickly lined up his officers between the two groups, then braced himself and went over to Howie, saying, "Mr. Kay, please do me a favor and call it a day! The folks on Eastwind Old Street have it tough, and they’re not to be trifled with. If things get physical, I’m afraid your side won’t come out on top—"
Howie just sneered, "Hehe, Gordon Gao, why don’t you step aside and enjoy the show! Even if your boss William Wu shows up, he’ll have to stand aside too. Today, I’m going to arrest all these troublemakers! I’ll show you who really runs Westwood City!"
"Uh—this—" Gordon Gao hadn’t expected Howie to guess he’d called his boss, and seeing how unfazed Howie was, Gordon realized he’d probably called in even bigger backup—maybe even his own father, David Kay, the mayor! That would really blow things up! Gordon broke out in a cold sweat, his head pounding.