Chapter 188 Break One Bone in Each of Their Hands
"What do you want?" Lin Haoran turned around, shielding Guan Jiahui behind him, and calmly addressed the group.
Li Weidong and Li Weiguo stood to his left and right, focusing their attention on the thugs.
"Nothing much. It's almost New Year, and we're short on cash. We saw how generous you were in the jewelry store—must have a lot of money on you. Hand over your cash and gold nicely, and leave the pretty girl behind. Maybe then we'll let you go," the leader said arrogantly.
They had six strong young men on their side, and Lin Haoran's group had only three men. Plus, they were on their turf. These thugs had no fear at all.
More importantly, they could call for reinforcements at any time because they had powerful backers.
"What if I refuse?" Lin Haoran chuckled.
"You're laughing? Let's see if you'll still laugh later. Since you don't want to toast, you'll drink the penalty wine instead. Brothers, get them!" the leader barked, and the six men immediately charged forward.
Each thug was not particularly bulky but wore flashy shirts like those seen in gangster movies, their faces full of menace—clearly the type to dominate the streets through violence.
The nearby pedestrians scattered.
Shop owners didn't panic or pull down their shutters either. They just watched with a detached attitude, as if used to scenes like this.
It was clear that these thugs' bullying behavior was a common occurrence here.
Moreover, having paid protection fees, the shopkeepers had no fear of being targeted themselves.
Li Weidong stepped forward alone, standing between Lin Haoran's group and the six thugs.
To the thugs, Lin Haoran's group seemed like easy prey. Being low-level gang members, they usually relied on squeezing money out of ordinary citizens for survival.
Seeing Li Weidong stand alone in front of them, the six thugs hesitated, gripping their sticks while sizing him up.
"Kid, you're gutsy. Want to take us all on?" the leader mocked.
"You can all come at once. Save everyone's time," Li Weidong said calmly and firmly, as if stating a simple fact.
The thugs were stunned, then burst out laughing, as if they'd heard the world's biggest joke.
They spread out, trying to surround Li Weidong from all sides and overpower him with numbers.
The fight broke out.
In a flash, Li Weidong moved like a ghost, appearing beside one of the thugs. He grabbed the thug's wrist and twisted lightly—accompanied by a miserable scream, the first thug dropped to the ground, his stick flying out of his hand.
With a swift turn, Li Weidong smashed his back into another thug trying to sneak up on him, sending the man staggering several steps back, almost falling.
Li Weidong's movements were smooth and precise, neutralizing attacks while counterattacking fiercely.
He used techniques that looked simple but were profoundly skilled, sometimes using softness to overcome force, sometimes striking with overwhelming power.
In just a few minutes, the six arrogant thugs were all lying on the ground—groaning and clutching their stomachs or arms, unable to get up.
Li Weidong stood where he was, breathing steadily, as if he'd just finished a light morning workout.
"Remember, numbers don't win fights," Li Weidong said indifferently, then returned to Lin Haoran's side.
"Let's go," Lin Haoran said casually, turning around without even glancing at the fallen thugs.
"You better not leave! Our 13K won't let you off! I've memorized your faces! We'll find you!" the leader shouted, despite writhing in pain.
For them, getting beaten up in front of so many shopkeepers and bystanders was an unbearable humiliation.
Lin Haoran, who had initially planned to just leave, turned around again.
"Scared now? You provoked 13K, you're dead meat! If you beg for mercy now, maybe we'll let you go," the leader sneered arrogantly, thinking they had frightened Lin Haoran.
"Li Weidong, break one bone in each of their hands," Lin Haoran said coldly.
He wouldn't kill on the street, but teaching them a lesson was no problem.
"Got it!"
Li Weidong picked up a stick from the ground and approached the thugs.
"What are you doing?! Don't mess around! We're 13K!" the leader cried in panic, regretting his earlier bravado.
They tried to get up and flee, but after the earlier beating, they were too battered and weak.
It was too late to regret.
Without giving them a chance to resist, Li Weidong walked up to the loudest thug first, towering over him. Under the thug's terrified gaze, Li Weidong smashed the stick down.
A sharp cracking sound echoed—the sound of bones breaking.
The leader screamed like a pig being slaughtered, his shrieks sending chills down the spines of the bystanders.
Li Weidong moved swiftly—just six strikes. In less than half a minute, each of the six thugs had a broken hand.
"Let's go. Since they're from a big gang, they've probably called for backup. Staying longer would bring trouble," Lin Haoran said calmly.
Even though Li Weidong and Li Weiguo were strong, if dozens or hundreds of gang members showed up, or if guns were involved, things could get messy.
It was best to leave now.
Their car was less than 100 meters away. No need to panic.
Guan Jiahui, who had been silent all along, wasn't scared. Instead, she felt a deep sense of security.
They quickly returned to the Mercedes, and Li Weiguo immediately started the engine and drove off.
Although Lin Haoran wasn't afraid of these so-called triads, it was still wise to be cautious on their turf.
Shortly after they left, a crowd gathered around the injured thugs.
"Brother Haobei, are you alright?" a gangster crouched down, concerned about their injured leader.
"Forget about me—go after those bastards! Three guys and a girl, they ran that way!" the leader gritted his teeth, pointing in the direction Lin Haoran's group had gone.
But the pain from his broken hand overwhelmed him, nearly making him pass out.
Dozens of gangsters rushed off in pursuit.
Unfortunately, just a few steps later, they saw a car's headlights flash about 100 meters away, then the car sped off from Mong Kok.
How could they possibly catch up now?
Everything had happened within ten minutes. Even with reinforcements, it was too late.
If they had had more time to prepare, they might have been able to chase properly.
Now, with the car already merging into traffic, it was impossible to track them.
In the back seat of the car, Lin Haoran reflected on what had just happened.
13K?
He knew of them—one of Hong Kong's three biggest triads.
In his previous life, he had seen them mentioned in various Hong Kong movies, though his understanding had been superficial.
In this life, despite his wealthy background, he didn't have much direct exposure to triad affairs.
Beating up a few of their members had certainly offended them.
But he wasn't the type to tolerate being bullied.
Still, making enemies with them was a troublesome matter.
Returning to his villa on Sassoon Road, Lin Haoran immediately called Cui Zilong, the general manager of Oriental Press Group.
"Mr. Cui, this is Lin Haoran," he said, dialing Cui Zilong's home line since it was already 10 PM and Cui wasn't at the office.
"Boss, is there something you need?" Cui Zilong asked curiously.
"Sorry to bother you so late, but I need your help. There was a fight in Mong Kok just now involving some thugs. I need you to investigate it for me," Lin Haoran said directly.
"Boss, give me half an hour!" Cui Zilong said immediately, without questioning why Lin Haoran was asking about something so strange.
"Alright, thank you," Lin Haoran nodded.
After taking a shower, he returned to the phone. Not long after, Cui Zilong called back.
"Boss, I've found out everything. There was indeed a fight tonight at the intersection of Tung Choi Street and Nathan Road. Some low-level members of the 13K triad, used to bullying people, tried to mess with a few individuals but got beaten up instead. These thugs were under Hu Xuyong, the Yau Tsim Mong area leader for 13K. All six had their hands broken. They're still investigating who was responsible, but given their influence, they'll likely find out eventually," Cui Zilong reported.
"How did you find out so quickly?" Lin Haoran asked curiously.
"Boss, we have informants inside the 13K triad. We often rely on them for insider news. It's easy to check this sort of thing," Cui Zilong chuckled.
"Good. Do you have the contact information for the 13K boss?" Lin Haoran continued.
"The current 13K boss, Mr. Ge Zhixiong, has mostly retired and serves as a spiritual leader. The real power lies with several area leaders who don't necessarily get along. Still, no one dares defy Mr. Ge. I can get you contact info for either Mr. Ge or Hu Xuyong—who do you want?" Cui Zilong asked.
"Give me Mr. Ge's number," Lin Haoran said.
Ten minutes later, Lin Haoran had the private number of Ge Zhixiong, 13K's second-generation leader.
After jotting down the number, Lin Haoran sighed—acquiring Oriental Press Group had truly been worthwhile.
The reason he wanted Mr. Ge's contact was because 13K was a massive organization. If he didn't handle this matter properly, it could cause real trouble.
Even the government hadn't been able to fully eliminate 13K, let alone a businessman like him.
Lin Haoran didn't want unnecessary problems.
Although the thugs had provoked him first and he didn't regret his actions, it was better to solve the matter at its root.
With his rising status in Hong Kong's business world, 13K had no reason to oppose him over a few nobodies.
But better safe than sorry.
This needed to be handled, or they might resort to vile methods against him or Guan Jiahui.
It was better to offend a gentleman than to provoke a villain.
(This chapter ends.)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Albino1