At this moment, everyone’s eyes were locked on May Wu; nobody really understood what was going on, but it was obvious Lily Liu was here to settle scores.
Right now, May Wu was still in a daze, totally spaced out, like she hadn’t snapped out of a dream yet.
"Princess Mei..." a well-dressed woman beside her quickly reminded.
That finally snapped May Wu back to reality, and she immediately blurted out, nervous, "Wh-what do you want?"
"I’m here to wish you a happy birthday. What’s with the panic?" Lily Liu said, suddenly standing up straight. Years of pent-up resentment erupted like a volcano, all at once.
She gritted her teeth and walked step by step toward May Wu. With every step, the hatred in her eyes grew deeper. Her anger was so intense that her eyes had turned red.
"Don’t come any closer!" Even with her usual domineering attitude, May Wu couldn’t help but tremble in front of Lily Liu, who now looked like a raging tiger.
"Weren’t you just plotting to strip me naked, post my nudes online, and ruin my reputation?"
"N-no, that’s not true!"
"Didn’t you also want to whip me in front of everyone?"
"How do you know all that?"
"Didn’t you even want to throw me to some wild man and have him screw me to death?"
"Th-this is impossible!"
......
At this point, May Wu’s face turned deathly pale. Meanwhile, Jason Lin just gave a cold smile—obviously, with his reach, he’d already planted guys with listening devices all over the restaurant.
The other venomous women who’d been scheming with her also went completely white, each one itching to slip away. But right now, every single exit of Prosperity Tower Banquet Hall was blocked off—there was no way out.
As for Snake, still kneeling off to the side, he honestly wanted to crawl into a hole. Terrified, he looked at Jason Lin, knowing he was totally screwed this time.
"Lily Liu, what exactly do you want today? It’s my birthday—are you really here to ruin it?" May Wu looked around at the crowd, seeing they were all afraid of Lily Liu. Her spoiled princess attitude flared up, making her act like she was still above Lily.
But before she could finish, Lily Liu slapped her hard across the face—"PA!"—loud enough for everyone to hear.
Everyone froze, staring at each other in shock. Who was May Wu? She was Peachvale’s number-one bad girl—she bullied everyone, but nobody ever dared bully her.
But now...
"You dare hit me? You lowly..."
"PA! PA! PA!" Three more crisp slaps landed in quick succession, leaving May Wu totally dizzy. She’d always thought Lily Liu was the easiest pushover, but she never realized Lily, despite her gentle name, was a hundred times more ruthless when pushed.
"What do you people want? Don’t think you’re so tough—strong dragons don’t mess with local snakes! The Wu Family isn’t so easy to bully!" A Wu Family steward rushed out, and seven or eight henchmen followed.
"Heh! You Wu Family folks really have guts!" Jason Lin snorted, didn’t even hesitate, and swung an iron rod straight at the steward’s leg.
With a loud crack, both kneecaps shattered, and the guy collapsed instantly. The Wu Family’s muscle behind him had their arms twisted and broken by Jason Lin’s men in less than five seconds.
"Want to try again? Next time I won’t be so polite!" Jason Lin said, then casually pulled a bloody submachine gun out of a violin case and slapped it onto the table.
Everyone sucked in a breath and instinctively stepped back.
Jason Lin’s highway restaurant sweep was still the hottest topic. County security chief Xiao Ju was still laid up in the hospital, not recovered yet.
In that moment, every big shot in Prosperity Tower Banquet Hall scrambled to hide in the back. If the Wu Family’s guys fell in five seconds, the other clans probably wouldn’t last three.
As Harbor City’s top gang boss, Jason Lin was seriously hardcore.
But what really baffled everyone was that this total legend actually took orders from Lily Liu, acting like a loyal servant to his lady. The crowd couldn’t figure it out at all.
"Strip her naked and whip her within an inch of her life!" Lily Liu didn’t hesitate for a second. A few slaps weren’t enough—she wanted the whole thing settled, no holding back.
In a flash, Jason Lin flicked his head and two of his guys rushed forward.
"No, no—don’t!" May Wu panicked, scrambling backward.
"Don’t? How many times did I beg you, say ‘don’t’? Did you ever care? Strip her—leave nothing!" Lily Liu grabbed a thick leather whip and gave a cold laugh. "May Wu, this is my birthday gift to you—let’s see you become famous all over Peachvale County!"
Right then, every door in Prosperity Tower Banquet Hall was shut tight, packed inside and out with Jason Lin’s men. Nobody dared say a word; even May Wu’s so-called ‘sisters’ were hiding far away.
May Wu kept backing up—her crown fell off, her expensive heels slipped off, and her face turned almost green. But her eyes were still darting around, clearly looking for help.
Just then, a voice boomed from upstairs: "Let’s see who dares make trouble in my Prosperity Tower Banquet Hall!"
Hearing that, May Wu finally breathed a sigh of relief, her face regaining a bit of color. She suddenly shot a vicious glare and shouted, "Mr. Tower, it’s them! These thugs are causing trouble on your turf—they’ve even hurt people!"
After May Wu finished speaking, she snuggled up to a fat, big-eared man, putting on the act of a wronged little fox and pretending to cry.
Seeing “Mr. Tower” show up, the crowd calmed down a bit. He was the boss of Prosperity Tower Banquet Hall—a classic old Shanghai operator with serious clout. The key thing was, he’d recruited the top martial artists in all of Peachvale County, including Ironfist Howard, a true inner-strength master.
Jason Lin was tough, but everyone knew that no matter how fierce you were, you’d always be a step below a real inner-strength master.
Martial inner-strength—that’s what everybody dreams of reaching.
"Gangsters? What gangsters—I don’t care who you are, nobody gets to show off on my turf in broad daylight!" Mr. Tower sneered, glancing at the submachine gun on the table, then gave Jason Lin a cocky look.
"That’s Jason Lin, head of Harbor City’s Axe Club! He bullied me and even threatened to smash up your Prosperity Tower Banquet Hall, Mr. Tower!" Nothing’s nastier than a woman scorned—May Wu’s light little accusation was enough to make Mr. Tower’s hair stand on end.
"Harbor City Axe Club boss? Please! There’s more turtles in the Huangpu River than guys like you. You threaten my Prosperity Tower Banquet Hall? You must have a death wish!" Mr. Tower finished, and right then, a burly man in a green robe—looking every bit the mysterious master—stepped out, coldly laughing.
The moment this guy appeared, everyone’s eyes went wide.
"That must be Ironfist Howard, Peachvale’s legendary inner-strength master. He’s been living up in Taoyuan Mountain for years, training his body to steel and bone. Last year, he broke through at Sword Pool—rumor is, he killed two wolves with two punches, so fast not even a leopard could catch him!"
"That’s right. Even if Jason Lin’s got a gun, he wouldn’t dare shoot at someone like Ironfist Howard. Inner-strength qi might not block bullets, but dodging them? Piece of cake."
"Looks like it’s finally coming to a head. Jason Lin’s been way too cocky—just because he’s got some pull in Harbor City, he thinks he can sweep through the highway restaurant and now strut in here? He should open his eyes and see what kind of place Prosperity Tower Banquet Hall is, and who Mr. Tower really is!"
......
Right then, the crowd started muttering and snorting, each person tossing out their own cold takes. Jason Lin stayed cool and collected, just glancing back at Ryan Ling.
Ryan Ling shot him a look, and Jason Lin didn’t hesitate—he immediately stepped back.
"Whoa, really? One scare and he’s out? Guess Jason Lin’s not that brave after all!"
"It’s not that he’s scared—it’s just that Mr. Tower’s got the aura. When little ghosts see the King of Hell, of course they duck out!"
Seeing this play out, the whole crowd started cracking jokes. May Wu, meanwhile, gave a cold sneer, threw her head back, and glared daggers at Lily Liu—clearly planning to pay back every ounce of ‘humiliation’ she’d just suffered.