Charlie Liang's movements suddenly froze.
The effortlessly cool knife draw he'd imagined—the swift swing that would sever someone's tendon in an instant—never happened.
But when Charlie saw half of Evan Lin's face, a shiver ran down his spine. The cigarette dangling from his lips fell to the floor, and for a long moment, he couldn't snap out of it.
Is it that person?
Charlie Liang muttered inwardly, just feeling that Evan Lin's face looked kind of familiar.
At that moment, Evan Lin turned his head slightly, glancing at Charlie Liang—who was half-crouched, gripping the knife handle but unable to pull it out, staring blankly at Evan with a dazed look.
That kid really hit hard. Charlie worried that if Evan elbowed him again, he'd end up bedridden for life, like a vegetable.
"I need to go notify Brother Yu. You guys stand guard here—I'll be back soon!"
Charlie spoke as he dialed Victor Yu in a hurry.
"Hey, Brother Victor, that guy from the other day is back."
But a tiger down in the flatlands gets bullied by dogs. Right now, Shawn didn't care about all that—he just wanted Evan Lin knocked to the floor ASAP.
"Wait."
"Uh, no, I wasn't trying to pull the knife," Charlie blurted out instinctively, quickly letting go and stepping back a bit.
"Looks like Brother Victor wants to recruit him for Imperial Grand."
If he joins Imperial Grand..." Charlie frowned, thoughts racing.
"If you've got nothing else, get out." Evan spat out seven words.
Old Man Zhong (Lily Zhong's father) stood nearby, smacking his lips, throat dry and miserable.
In just a split second, his back was drenched in cold sweat.
After that night, Victor Yu had told Charlie to go find Evan Lin, but Charlie had only just left the hospital this morning and hadn't had the chance yet.
And now, he'd run right into him again.
When it came to Evan Lin, Charlie Liang had zero confidence. Ever since he took that elbow from Evan, his head still throbbed with pain.
"Hey... Where are you going? Charlie, Charlie Liang!" Shawn Young watched as Charlie, who'd just walked in, suddenly changed his expression and rushed for the door like he was dodging the plague, growing frantic.
But Charlie had absolutely no intention of sticking around. In his heart, he cursed Shawn's ancestors eighteen generations deep.
"Quit calling me, you bastard! Who the hell are you? Call me again and I'll kill you!" Charlie snarled, shooting Shawn a vicious glare before leaving.
Barry Shaw might be powerful in Brightsea City, but as long as Charlie stayed in Imperial Grand, Barry couldn't mess with him here.
But if he pissed off Evan Lin, just thinking about it made cold sweat break out on Charlie's forehead.
Lily Zhong's father stood nearby, smacking his lips, throat dry and miserable.
"I gotta go tell Brother Victor. You guys stay here and do whatever he asks—I'll be right back!"
Seeing this, Shawn Young stood there with his mouth open, mind blank, unable to react for a long time.
"Hey, Brother Victor, that guy from the other day is back."
Lily Zhong was stunned too. Just moments ago, Charlie Liang had been full of swagger, but now he'd completely flipped. The contrast was huge.
"Wait."
Just as Charlie was about to close the door, Evan Lin suddenly spoke. Charlie jolted, not daring to leave right away.
He forced out an awkward smile, trying to steady his voice as he asked softly, "What is it, bro?"
Bro?
Hearing Charlie call him 'bro,' Shawn Young's heart skipped a beat.
How many people could Charlie Liang call 'bro'?
Could it be... he's Damon Wang?
Damon Wang was the boss behind Imperial Grand KTV, almost never seen in person—even Shawn had never met him. Thinking of this possibility, Shawn was filled with fear.
Who exactly was Damon Wang?
Forget just taking Shawn Young's leg—Evan could probably finish him off right here and nobody would bat an eye.
But could Damon Wang really be this young?
Shawn's mind wavered, all his composure gone.
"Did you hear what he just said?" Evan glanced at Charlie Liang, asking calmly.
"Huh?" Charlie blinked in confusion.
"He said if I give him a good beating to watch, he'll pay a million." Evan explained, and Charlie instantly got it, nodding hurriedly. "Heard it, heard it! I can vouch for you, bro!"
"Alright, let's begin." Evan nodded slightly, then slapped Shawn across the face with a crisp smack, sending his head twisting to the side.
Before Shawn could cry out, Evan stomped his foot forward, driving his heel into Shawn's right kneecap.
"Aah!"
Shawn's eyes widened in agony, his face twisted in pain.
His head was still spinning from Evan's slap, and before he could recover, a wave of pain shot through his leg.
Evan didn't stop. He reached out with his left hand, lifted Shawn off the sofa, and hurled him toward the wall.
Shawn crashed into the wall and tumbled down, but before he could hit the floor, Evan kicked him in the waist, sending him flying again, bouncing off the wall and rolling back.
Evan's face was cold, as if he were doing something utterly trivial.
Charlie Liang, watching from the doorway, swallowed hard and felt secretly grateful—it could've been him getting smashed like that.
Shawn Young was like a human ball, getting kicked back and forth by Evan Lin.
Old Man Zhong stood nearby, smacking his lips, throat dry and miserable.
"Enough! If you keep going, someone's gonna die!" Lily Zhong finally snapped out of it, rushing to grab Evan and stop him.
If Evan really killed Shawn Young, his whole life would be ruined.
Thinking that, Lily couldn't help but blame herself.
Evan Lin flashed Lily Zhong a gentle smile, stopped, and turned to Charlie Liang. "Was that a good show?"
"Great!" Charlie nodded vigorously.
Seriously, he'd never seen anyone kick a guy around like a soccer ball before.
Evan glanced at Charlie's men.
"Good! Good!"
"Very good!"
"Awesome, awesome! Really good!"
The guys snapped out of it and quickly nodded along. None of them were stupid—they were all glad they hadn't tried anything.
Evan nodded, then kicked Shawn Young, who was lying on the ground.
Shawn was in so much pain he couldn't even groan. His whole body ached, and his right leg hung limp at his side.
"I've broken your right leg. From now on, you owe me one million. Any objections?" Evan stared at Shawn.
"If you don't object, blink. If you do, I can beat you again—promise it'll be even better."
Evan's gaze was icy.
Shawn was miserable and furious—beaten up by a kid and extorted for a million. He felt every emotion at once, but when Evan looked ready to hit him again, Shawn started blinking like crazy.
"Good." Evan nodded, then turned to Charlie Liang. "You can go now."
"Yes, yes, bro!" Charlie nodded, hurrying to close the door behind him.
Once outside, Charlie felt like he'd been reborn—his whole body relaxed, a huge weight lifted.
"So violent... Damn, he's definitely a master." Charlie took a deep breath.
One of his men sidled up, asking cautiously, "Charlie bro, who is that guy?"
These guys hadn't been around a few days ago, so they didn't know Evan Lin.
"That's the guy who smashed up the place a few days ago."
As soon as Charlie said that, the others sucked in a breath.
"No way, he's that young?" one of them blurted, clearly skeptical.
"He looks skinny, but he's got real skills. You wanna try him yourself?" Charlie sneered, and the guy shut up quick.
"But... doesn't this mean we've pissed off Shawn Young?" someone worried.
The Shaw family's power in Brightsea City was way out of their league.
"Quit worrying. Once the turf gets divided up, who knows if the Shaws will even be around." Charlie cursed.
"I gotta go tell Brother Yu. You guys stay here and do whatever he asks—I'll be right back!"
Charlie spoke as he dialed Yu Weida in a hurry.
"Hey, Brother Yu, that guy from the other day is back."
"Yeah, the one who wrecked the place—he's in private room 201 right now."
"Alright, I'll bring him to meet you soon."
After hanging up, Charlie took a deep breath and looked at the closed door of room 201, eyes flickering.
"Looks like Brother Yu wants to recruit him for Imperial Grand."
If he joins Imperial Grand..." Charlie frowned, thoughts racing.
Charlie had seen Evan's skills firsthand—a young guy this strong and this ruthless was rare.
Just remembering how forty or fifty people ended up in the hospital, all with broken bones, showed how serious he was.
And that knife, stuck through a thigh and pinned to the floor, sent chills down Charlie's spine.
Not just strong—ruthless, too.
"A guy like that could go far anywhere."
"And if I stick with him, maybe I can pick up a few tricks myself."
Thinking that, Charlie shook his head, then stepped up to the private room door, waiting respectfully.