The sudden appearance of the sinking object caught everyone off guard.
The sneak attack was shameless but effective. In the midst of the chaos, he seized the opportunity and struck each of them with a blunt object.
"Ouch! Who the hell hit me?!"
"Damn it..."
"You bastards, this is exactly what I'm doing, hitting you robbers!" Shen Shi swiftly and decisively swung the stick.
"Brothers, let's charge!!"
"You little brat!"
Chen Shi was holding a wooden stick and fighting fiercely with a group of people.
But two fists can't fight four hands. Under the siege of the crowd, he was quickly pinned against the wall and unable to move.
His face made intimate contact with the rough wall. "Let me go!" Shen Shi struggled incessantly.
Zhang Mingyuan, pinned to the ground, looked at Chen Shi, who had suddenly become the target of his beating, and couldn't describe the feeling in his heart.
"Let him go, and if you have any problems, come at me!" Zhang Mingyuan roared.
"Oh! Looks like you know each other?" The person holding him up sneered.
Zhang Mingyuan remained silent.
"What, you think you can be a hero just because you're holding a stick?"
On the other side, the leader drew a dagger from his waist and glared at Chen Shi with ill intent.
His terrified expression was reflected on the silver dagger, and Shen Shi couldn't help but feel afraid.
Or perhaps he was just a coward, and his act of bravery was merely a momentary impulse.
But now that things have come to this, admitting defeat is out of the question.
"What? You still dare to kill me! I advise you to be sensible. I called the police a long time ago. If you don't want to go to jail, you'd better let me go!" Shen Shi was extremely glad that he had a backup plan.
The mere mention of the word "police" would terrify this group, who would secretly laugh triumphantly with their hands on their hips.
Hahahaha!
To Shen Shi's surprise, the person in front of him was not afraid at all, but instead laughed so hard that he bent over, as if what Shen Shi said was not a threat, but a joke.
The group of underlings burst into laughter: "Hahaha..."
"Call the police? He said he'd call the police!"
"Go to jail! Don't you know in your heart who should go to jail?"
He then glared fiercely at Zhang Mingyuan, who was lying on the ground.
Completely bewildered, Chen Shi couldn't help but look into his eyes, only to see that Zhang Mingyuan's face was ashen, showing no sign of being happy to be saved.
Wasn't he robbed? Shen Shi wondered to himself.
His words filled the small alley with bursts of laughter.
The laughter, laced with sarcasm, sent shivers down my spine.
The unexpected and eerie scene sent a chill down his spine, raising goosebumps all over his body.
Chen's expression, as if struck by lightning, effectively amused the other person: "What? Don't you know he's a liar?"
The leader patted Chen Shi's face with the cold blade of his knife.
Shen Shi gritted his teeth, his face ashen, stubbornly refusing to utter a sound.
Ignorance is bliss, indeed. The other party smiled nonchalantly: "You dare to be a hero without knowing anything? What an idiot."
After offering a dismissive assessment, he turned to Zhang Mingyuan and said, "Your friend is quite loyal; I'll remember him."
Zhang Mingyuan immediately became anxious: "It has nothing to do with him!"
"If you don't want anything to happen, bring more money next time. Once the accounts are settled, you can go your own way. I'll go mine. You won't be able to see me even if you want to."
From their conversation, Shen Shi gradually realized that this group of people had come to collect a debt, and Zhang Mingyuan was the debtor.
Things were far more complicated than he thought. His act of bravery backfired, and he ended up getting himself into trouble. In his despair, he wanted to slap himself twice.
But since they're here to collect debts, there's no need to worry about their personal safety.
When Chen Shi was pressed against the wall, he was determined to figure out the situation, so he tilted his head and listened carefully to Zhang Mingyuan's conversation with the other party.
Ten minutes later, I roughly understood the whole story.
In short, Zhang Mingyuan tricked these people into lending him money under the guise of investing in real estate, promising to repay double the amount once the deal was done.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Mingyuan's investment was just a pretext; not a single penny of the money was used for investment, but was squandered by him.
The truth will eventually come out; even though Zhang Mingyuan tried his best to cover it up, the matter was still exposed.
These people invest most of their wealth, hoping to get rich overnight, drive luxury cars, live in high-rise buildings, and have fine wine and beautiful women by their side.
As a result, he encountered a big swindler and lost everything.
Upon learning the truth, the crowd was so angry they wanted to stab Zhang Mingyuan a few times and vowed to send him to prison even if it meant their own death.
Many people are out of control, but some are also clear-headed.
The damage has already been done. Sending Zhang Mingyuan, who has nothing, to prison will only vent their anger and will not make up for their losses.
Zhang Mingyuan, who is good at understanding people's hearts, also realized this.
Under his persuasive words, the group agreed not to call the police and let him gradually repay his debts through work.
Thanks to Zhang Mingyuan's tireless efforts, three years have passed, and the original huge debt has been reduced by one-tenth.
It wasn't that Zhang Mingyuan wasn't working hard; it was just that he owed too much. In 2003, 100,000 yuan was an astronomical figure.
At such a slow pace, it will be ages before he pays off all his debts.
This group of people would come to Zhang Mingyuan every few days to collect debts, and take the opportunity to punch and kick him to vent their anger.
This time, by sheer coincidence, we were caught in the sinking.
As Zhang Mingyuan kept delaying, the group gradually lost patience.
They issued an ultimatum: if Zhang Mingyuan didn't repay the money within six months, he would be sent to jail. Even if he didn't get the money back, they would teach him a lesson.
Zhang Mingyuan repeatedly assured him that he would definitely return it on time, but no one believed him anymore.
After being punched and kicked, Shen Shi helped the limping Zhang Mingyuan out.
"Thank you for today," Zhang Mingyuan said, bowing his head.
Chen couldn't see his expression clearly, but he felt a little uncomfortable having stumbled upon someone's secret.
At that time, Shen Shi had no moral compass. In his view, being able to swindle money was a skill.
Therefore, this matter does not affect his attitude towards Zhang Mingyuan at all.
"There's nothing to thank me for. I didn't help at all," Shen Shi waved his hand dismissively.
Zhang Mingyuan remained silent after hearing this.
Since arriving in Haishi, Zhang Mingyuan has been the only person Shen Shi can talk to, so Shen Shi certainly doesn't want anything to happen to him.
"Um... what are you planning to do?" He scratched his head, looking conflicted, and asked the question that was on his mind.
"It's about money. Six months is a bit short, isn't it?"
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