Chapter 35

The panting was light, lasting only a moment before Pei Huai covered her mouth with his hand. He glared fiercely at Xiang Mingqi.

The latter wanted to react, but the space was too cramped, and if his back hit the cabinet wall again, it would inevitably cause noise. Fortunately, he moved his body slightly, so his thigh, which was pressing against the senior's knee, could be pulled back.

Pei Huai didn't like the feeling of having his private parts touched; he couldn't tolerate even the slightest stimulation. He grabbed Xiang Mingqi's hand and disciplined him with bone-crushing force, but he was startled by the sound of a slap from outside the cabinet.

With this jerk, his knee pressed back against his groin, forcing Pei Huai to grit his teeth and gasp.

The magnetic, low voice was extremely sexy when moaning, mixed with masculine temptation. Five fingers grabbed Xiang Mingqi's arm, scratching out bloody marks like cat scratches.

He turned his head away, revealing the fragile protrusion of his Adam's apple underneath.

"Brother." Xiang Mingqi kept calling him softly, and then he leaned over to the side of his neck and bit it gently, "You smell so good."

The soapy scent surged across the clear skin like a wave, overflowing his throat and pushing all the blood in his body to rush to his abdomen. He tightened his abdomen, wanting to rub his nose into the other person's flesh and blood, wanting to keep smelling until the last second before death.

This smell is his sedative and also his passion.

Just one bite can trigger endless reverie.

"Don't get so close to me." It was lip language.

"But I have nowhere to go. Brother, it's so narrow here. I bumped into you accidentally..." Xiang Mingqi leaned over and picked up a strand of his white hair, holding it between his lips and gently pursing it, whispering, "Don't be angry with me, please, please."

"...Don't speak in that tone." The face that wanted to get closer to people was also ruthlessly pushed away.

In the cramped space, the friction between the two intensified, their breaths racing and their heartbeats becoming chaotic. Pei Huai braced himself against the wall, trying not to make any noise, while Xiang Mingqi absorbed the faint fragrance from the crook of his shoulder.

Both parties' attention was simultaneously directed to the door.

After the slap, a figure rose from the ground. Through the narrow gap at the top of the cabinet, one could vaguely make out that it was the hooded boy from earlier.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't do it." He wiped his lips with the back of his hand, which seemed to be broken.

"Sorry? What good is this thing? I've provided you with food, shelter, and supplies, and even ran so many experiments on you. And what's the result? Where's the result I want?" A middle-aged man, his back to the closet, slapped her in the face in frustration. His hair was shaved on the sides, and he had a terrifyingly exaggerated animal tattoo on his upper arm. "You're such a wimp, and you still want to join the Dexing family? I was so kind as to take you in, but who would have thought you'd be of no use at all? I warned you yesterday. If tonight doesn't work out, it's time to assess the value of your babies."

Dexing Family? Pei Huai raised an eyebrow. Sure enough, this underground space was one of the gang's illegal activity locations.

This was a relatively large local gang in Kensos, and he had heard a little about it because he had worked in a mortgage loan office before.

The lower and middle levels of gangs like this one are mostly made up of runaway boys and girls. Finding these runaways, allowing them to make a living in the neighborhood, and then extracting income from them is the foundation of these gangs' survival. The so-called upper echelons are the adults who provide these children with shelter, food, and clothing.

Of course, they will also charge a certain amount of labor remuneration depending on the situation.

Whether it's robbery or being a drinking companion, as long as the money is worth it, they don't care about any means other than money. But if anyone tries to escape, they will definitely be exposed by the people around them, controlled by violence, and injected with drugs.

Like crabs pulling at each other in a cage. Freedom is the biggest taboo.

This is also the charm of money. What kind of interests are there, people can also become what they are.

Those teenagers who choose to stay are often those who refuse to return to their parents and would rather wander around.

They have nowhere to go and no way to find a job, so they can only endure beatings and verbal abuse again and again.

"Give me one more chance. Soon..."

A horizontal punch knocked the boy to the ground, and at the same time brought back Pei Huai's wandering thoughts: "If it weren't for Lao Liu from our group being shot by the police, I tell you, you wouldn't have the chance to come here."

Looking out through the narrow gap, the young man was being grabbed by the hair by the black-clad bodyguards, who were stepping on his face, which was forced to be raised. He was in a bad condition, with half of his lip torn apart, his cheek swollen, and blood dripping down, making the front of his clothes bright red.

The middle-aged man did not take action first. Instead, he turned his gaze to one of the people and smiled flatteringly: "Young Master Han, please forgive me. The people below are really not doing their job well and need to be taught a lesson."

"It's okay." It was a very slender male voice, with delicate and feminine features. He was wearing a thin, see-through shirt and trousers, and had a naturally gentle temperament. "This unteachable beast really needs to be taught a lesson."

The middle-aged man was instantly delighted, like a dog that had received a compliment. The wrinkles around his eyes deepened. He returned, hunched over, and continued to interrogate the young man. "You too, you can't even make the recipe properly, and you're in the chemistry department at a technical secondary school. If it weren't for your claim of being knowledgeable, I would have dragged you away to have your bone marrow extracted long ago. So don't take yourself too seriously, you bastard. I have plenty of homeless kids like you in my hands, and I'm sure one of them will satisfy me."

After saying this, he waved to the other bodyguards present and announced, "I have reached an agreement with Yingri Heavy Industry. The cornea will cost 10,000 and the kidney 200,000.[1] They will pay in US dollars, plus a resettlement fee. After all, providing him with food and drink for the past few days is also considered money."

The boy's eyes were wide open, his face pale as he grabbed the other person's trouser legs.

"Wait, I said I can do it. Give me another chance, really, one is enough! I have a way to prove -"

The boy lifted his leather shoes a few centimeters, and seemed to think he was pardoned. He wanted to stand up, but the heel hanging above his head stepped down heavily.

In an instant, from the metacarpophalangeal joints to the tendons, there was a crackling sound of broken bones, and the screams were so shrill that they could not be any more agonizing.

The man squatted down and put out the cigarette butt on his face, which was twisted with pain. "Kid, you chose to go out into society, so whether you live or die is not up to you. Blame it on your bad luck. It's your fault that the daughter of Yingri Heavy Industry is a good match for you."

A bodyguard cooperated and walked towards the crying teenager and grabbed his nearly dislocated shoulder.

"I want to go home... I, I want to go home." His tender face was covered in bruises, and blood from his nose flowed into his mouth and down his chin. His shoulders shrugged as he cried desperately and helplessly, "Duan Heng, where is Duan Heng? He said he'd have food and a place to stay if he came to your place. He lied to me, he lied to me..."

This name was like a switch. The moment he heard it, Pei Huai leaned over and kicked over the cabinet door.

In the next one to three minutes, Xiang Mingqi, who was still in the cabinet, holding half of the broken door in his hand, witnessed the whole process and was dumbfounded: there were a total of seventeen people on the field, and before he could blink, nearly two-thirds of them were lying on the ground.

The attack came suddenly, so even if we were fully prepared and well trained, it was too late.

Pei Huai took a half-step closer, tilting his head to dodge a punch aimed at his left cheek. He pulled his left shoulder back, and with his right arm, he reached up from below and twisted the man's arm. Using the point of impact as the pivot, he pivoted and leaned his back into the man's chest, breaking the elbow bone.

When it was the next person's turn, he continued to prepare for the attack like a snow leopard hunting, exerting his full strength, and hit the man's kidney with his fist, making him unable to straighten his back, and then strangled him with one arm.

He was so strong that it didn't seem like he was fighting a group of well-trained bodyguards, but rather hunting defenseless rabbits in a mountain stream.

Pei Huai bent his elbows inward, forming an irregular cross with his arms, locking the key figure's throat. After he dealt with three or four bodyguards, the armed defense line around Young Master Han became loose, making it easy for him to succeed.

He led the hostage towards him. The inner edge of the claw knife fit perfectly with the throat, making it impossible for the hostage to break free from the arc, let alone escape from himself.

But this Young Master Han was much calmer than expected.

"Who are you working for?" he asked. "Do you know the consequences of attacking me? No matter who is behind you, the Dexing family..."

The only response was the claw knife held in front of the throat, cutting and slicing, leaving a thin trail of blood.

"Whatever you want." A cold voice whispered in his ear. "If you want to threaten me," Young Master Han obediently shut his mouth and said nothing. Seeing this, the middle-aged man, who had been so arrogant just now, was immediately sweating profusely. He tried to smooth things over: "Let's talk it over. Let's talk it over. Um, let the young master go first. We can talk more..."

Pei Huai remained indifferent and extended two fingers forward.

"I want two things."

Hearing the cold voice, the boy curled up on the ground finally looked up and saw his face clearly, and froze in place.

Xiang Mingqi seized the opportunity during the standoff to steal the spotlight. With a snap, he dislodged a bodyguard's upper right arm, then repeatedly struck him in the nose with his elbow before knocking him unconscious with a backhand strike. He then knocked down the remaining single digits and boastfully gave his senior a thumbs-up.

Pei Huai ignored him, staring at the middle-aged man who greeted him with a smile, saying nothing. The latter was trying to make peace with him: "No problem. As long as you want it, as long as it's something I can offer, I will definitely give it to you with all my strength, okay? So, just let the young master go first, and we can talk it over..."

Suddenly, the left hand that was hooked on the scorpion claw ring shook its wrist and swung it, and the claw suddenly pierced through the middle-aged man and moved to his lower back. The hand that wanted to hold the gun had its force penetrate the back of the palm.

"Who the hell are you?!" The latter clenched his wrist, his teeth clenched in pain, and he desperately tried to pull the claw knife out. But the blade cut deep, and it was beak-shaped. So every time he pulled, the blood gushed out more violently. "Who, who sent you here? How much did he pay you—how much do you want, double, triple? We can all afford it, so you..."

"I want to take this person away." As if he didn't hear the other party's retreat, Pei Huai pointed at the young man and said, "Secondly."

"Where's my cat?"

The author has something to say:

[1] In fact, there is a reference to the purchase price in South Korea, but it is more of the price provided by "Black Market Conglomerate".